Pearl River City

5 Feb 2011 - Authorities in southern China's Guangdong province have denied planning to unite nine towns to create the world's biggest city in the Pearl River Delta, Chinese State media reported. "The reports were totally false and there is no such plan," Guo Yuewen, spokesperson for the Communist party's provincial Commitee, was quoted as saying in the China Daily. Media had earlier reported on a project to unite nine urban areas - including Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou into a megapolis with a population of 42 million. The Pearl River delta was always one of the first Chinese regions to open up to foreign business in the 19th century, but also in the 1980s. The area is now among the richest in China and is rapidly growing. Policy or no policy, it seems inevitable that in in 30 - 50 years from now the region will indeed be one big, heavily populated - and polluted - urban zone. Politicians better start planning for it right now.

The Thinker

4 Feb 2011 - Auguste Rodin's (1840-1917) statue "The Thinker" was four years ago stolen by a group of criminals from a museum in Holland. The thieves must have been amateurs as they left a map leading to one of their homes behind on the crime scene. The Thinker was found back after three days. However, the statue was severely damaged during the robbery. The statue has now been completely restored and is again on display in Dutch museum Singer in Laren. The Thinker is thinking about the heaviness of our existence. Rodin was inspired by the works of Dante when he made this statue. Some believe that The Thinker is actually Dante, thinking with every muscle in his body. Every muscle is tense, even the muscles in his toes. Others believe that The Thinker is actually a self-image of Rodin, who thinks about life. Rodin loved this statue, and often he was photographed in a similar pensive position. Dutch museum Singer has now opened an exhibition on Auguste Rodin and his beautiful works - and it comes highly recommended. The exhibition closes on May 28, 2011.

Kuala Lumpur

3 Feb 2011 - We have a bit a strange week in KL with so many holidays. These days we celebrate Chinese New year, and on February 1st it was Federal Territory Day. Kuala Lumpur means literally "muddy confluence" and it is situated at the meeting point of the Klang and Gombak rivers. In the early 19th century tin was found in Ampang, but as merchants could not travel beyond the point of the two rivers convergence, a town soon developed in the area. KL was later made the capital city of Selangor state during the British administration. When the country gained its independence in 1957, bustling KL was made the country's capital. It was accorded city status in 1972 and the city ceded from Selangor on February 1st, 1974, when it was declared a Federal Territory. Although the tin is just a memory now, people from all over the country still flock here in search of fortune. KL has become a vibrant melting pot of cultures and various food traditions.

Not So Cuddly Year

2 Feb 2011 - Kung Hei Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Rabbit conjures images of fluffly bunnies, but fortune tellers across Asia predict that the coming year on the Asian lunar calendar will be anything but cuddly. Among key predictions for the new year are terrorist threats, continuous tensions between the USA and China, natural disasters all around the world and a wobbly global economy. Even Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is not immune from the prognostications, although both were born in the year of the rabbit. Their longtime relationship is predicted to come under pressure. In feng shui, the Year of the Rabbit is associated with the natural elements of metal and wood. This is likely recipe for conflict, according to Hong Kong feng shui master Raymond Lo. Taipei based colleague Tsai Shang-Cai agrees and feels that the West will suffer from vicious energy and will be prone to more terrorist attacks. He also predicts tensions between North- and South Korea.

Biutiful

2 Feb 2011 - I am greatly looking forward to seeing the new Alejandro Inarritu movie "Biutiful". I have been a big fan since his debut with Amores Perros in 2000, and from what I understand Biutiful is another masterpiece. The movie received an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film and the movie's leading man Javier Bardem hopes to receive his second oscar for best actor. The Mexican film academy chose the movie to represent the country, and the film was nominated together with movies from Greece, Algeria, Canada and Denmark. Inarritu said he would watch the other foreign films in the next few weeks and would attend next month's awards ceremony in Los Angeles. Biutiful deals with the lives of immigrants in Barcelona and tells the story of a father, played by Bardem, who knows he's dying and discovers the meaning of life and love. It will also be interesting to see what the movie will do in Malaysia, as immigrants are notoriously poorly treated here.

Green Textures

1 Feb 2011 - Landscaping is in fashion. In creating a pleasing garden, the emphasis on the texture of plants is as important as color. Texture refers to the visual appearance of garden elements that includes  the leaf of flowers size, surface condition  and shape. These can either be soft, hard, rough, smooth, fine, shiny or bold and are categorized into fine, medium and bold texture. Plants with small, finely divided and shiny leaves or flowers are in the fine texture category. Plants with big, rough and large leaves or flowers are bold texture plants. Medium textures are in between the fine and bold plants . You can ascertain the texture by just placing the plants next to each other. A pleasant combination of the three would bring about an appealing visual contrast in a garden design. Over-planting any of the three would make the garden look blurry or heavy.

Living on Water

31 Jan 2011 - Dutch people love to live on water. Most tourists visiting Amsterdam are fascinated by the numerous houseboats in the canals, but houseboats can also be found in other parts of the country. Amsterdam-north now has the first floating office. Attika Architects is a Dutch agency specializing in the design of  floating homes and offices. Attika developed a floating office for the Amsterdam Water company. The company invited Attika for the project as it was in need for a flexible office that could grow with the company's needs. The office offers the possibility to dock about 20 smaller boats. The offices are on the upper floor, while the ground floor has a lobby and a visitors annex meeting room. There is also a level under water, mainly consisting of showers and dressing rooms for the water engineers. The building is environmentally friendly and re-circulates water. It was shipped to its first location on January 26, 2011.

Birthday

31 Jan 2011 - It's my Birthday today - not my favorite day of the year. I wondered what Wikipedia has to say about the concept of "birthdays". It is explained that many cultures have one or more coming of age birthdays. Jewish boys become bar mitzvah on their 13th birthday and Jewish girls become bat mitzvah on their 12th birthday. In North America, families often mark a girl's 16th birthday with a Sweet sixteen celebration, and in Hispanic-American countries the quinceallera celebration traditionally marks a girl's 15th birthday.In Indian Hindu culture the 12th or 13th birthday is replaced with a grand "thread ceremony". The child takes a blessed thread and wears it, symbolizing his coming of age. However, some Asian countries that follow the Zodiac calendar have a tradition of celebrating the 60th birthday. The birthdays of historically significant people, like national heroes or founders, are often commemorated by an official holiday. Some saints are remembered by a liturgical feast (sometimes on a presumed birthday). By analogy, the Latin term Dies natalis is applied to the anniversary of an institution (such as a university). A person's Golden or Grand Birthday, also referred to as their "Lucky Birthday", "Champagne Birthday" or "Star Birthday", occurs when they turn the age of their birth day (e.g., when someone born on the 26th of the month turns 26). Too bad a month does not have 49 days.

Nadal's Turn

30 Jan 2011 - Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal may not have won the Australian Open, but it is his turn to bare it all for Emporio Armani. The fashion of tennis once centered on the outfits on white, whiter and whitest outfits of its stars, and especially on the revealing outfits of some women players. But now world's number one Rafael Nafal ("Rafa") is leading the way to a whole new game with an Emporio Armani underwear campaign. Within weeks, ads and billboards will go up with him wearing only cotton and elastane boxers. Nadal will also be the face (and the rest of him) of Armani jeans. Armani is taking a certain risks by abandoning their barely-dressed footballers Beckham and Ronaldo for the tennis god. Retailers reported that Beckham and Ronaldo had helped them to sell a great deal of underwear, but Armani is convinced that Rafa will also be able to inspire thousands of man (and women) to update their underwear. Nadal himself cofessed he was not totally in his comfort-zone while posing for the ads. He wrote on his blog : "I am a tennis player and I like sports, not really photo-shoots....".

Festive Cookies

30 Jan 2011 - It is a good time for making some extra money. Housewives who bake well make a small fortune here in Malaysia during the build up to the Chinese New Year. A ready market coupled with a passion for making homemade goodies has enabled many talented homemakers to earn an extra income. Housewife Leong Koon Ying, 32, first started selling her homemade cookies during the Chinese New year period 13 years ago. Leong says she was fortunate because her youngest son shared her passion for baking cookies and pastries. She claims her most popular biscuit is the pineapple tart. However, her son Chan has mastered the art of making fait koh which has been their best selling item over the years. Fait koh is associated with good fortune as they are made in the shape of money bags. The pastry is offered as gifts with ang pow, kuih bakul and mandarin oranges. It's almost as if Leong can go straight to Harry Pooter school.