Great Picture (30)

12 Feb 2011 - Many people seem to like this picture I shot in the KL bird park last week, so let's not be modest and label it a Great Picture. It was not difficult to shoot ... just hop over to the Bird Park in Lake Gardens and shoot away. The birds almost fly into the camera. NB All foreign residents living in Malaysia please bring your work permit or bank card, as you will get a considerable discount if you live in the country.

DAD

10 Feb 2011 - The BBC website had an interestiung reflection about modern times. Colm O'Regan wrote that if you work in an office it's quite possible that you suffer from a condition called DAD. He urges us not to panic as it's not serious and nothing a good book or a long walk won't cure.He explains that his internet browser had 24 tabs open. Among them were three separate attempts to reply to the same e-mail. His online banking session has timed out, and in the corner of his screen a Twitter feed is a never-ending scroll of news and links. Which he clicks. And clicks.He wonders what is wrong with him? He did some research and found Divided Attention Disorder, or DAD. DAD encapsulates the growing phenomenon whereby the constant stream of online information could actually be changing the way our brains work.He first read about this in a magazine while waiting to get his hair cut. The article is quite lengthy. Ironically the only reason he had the attention span to read all of it was that my local barber-shop has no mobile phone reception. Sounds familiar?

Giant Prisoner

10 Feb 2011 - A Dutch court has ruled that while the prison conditions of a "giant" prisoner are "somewhat cramped", they are not inhumane, and he must stay in jail.The inmate named as Angelo MacD had asked to complete his two-year sentence for fraud under house arrest, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports. Weighing 230kg (36st) and standing at 2.07m (6ft 9in), MacD has had trouble sleeping and using the toilet. Despite the setback, his lawyer hopes to get his jail conditions improved. Prison officials previously tried to relieve MacD's discomfort by adding a a 2.15m plank and an extra mattress to his bed, which is in a single cell at the prison in the south-western town of Krimpen aan de IJssel. No photograph is available of the prisoner but his lawyer, Bas Martens, earlier told the BBC that his client was not obese, but a giant straight out of the comic books - "a metre wide and a metre deep".MacD began his sentence on 29 September and is not due for release until 12 April 2012.

Melaka

9 Feb 2011 - I went to Melaka for the Chinese New Year weekend. Melaka, the most historical city of Malaysia, traces its origins to the year 1400, when the state was founded by an exiled prince from Sumatra. It gained name and fame as the trading emporium of the region under the Melaka sultanate. The colorful town became a melting pot of various communities and a veritable treasure trove of the past. Attractions include monuments of the Portugese, Dutch and British eras suck as A'Famosa, the Stadthuys, St. Paul's Church and St. John's Fort. The city's museums provide glimpses into its glorious past. It is also possible to wander Jonker Street and its parallel streets which lots of antique and curiosa shops. Modern Melaka experienced the sudden economic boom that swept through Malaysia in the 1990s, starting with massive land reclamation projects. The historic waterfront retreated inland. Many locals argue that the city's distinctive heritage is under threat from modernisation. Melaka is only two hours drive south of Kuala Lumpur.

Hawking

8 Feb 2011 - Malaysia is famous for its hawkers. To "hawk", according to the dictionary, is to "sell food on the street or at doors of houses, especially while moving from place to place". Hawker or street food is therefore the fare commodity sold by such vendors. In Malaysia, hawker food was first offered by petty traders who carried their fare from house to house, in a basket or ray balanced on the head. In two baskets, one in each hand, or in two baskets slung across a pole heaved upon the shoulders - such as was practised by the nasi kandar vendors - or in baskets and other receptacles fastened onto bicycles, tricycles and later, motorcycles. Some hawkers carry along a stove to cook their food, and s stool or a small bench for their customers to sit on while chowing down. Today, the food may also be sold from the back of cares or vans. When  the habit of buying food from vendors became entrenched in the culture, the hawkers could afford to lessen their burden by becoming less mobile, setting up stalls in a fixed spot which allowed the business to expand and the variety of food to increase.

Islamic Arts Museum

7 Feb 2011 - The Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia opened in 1998. Since then it has become one of the world's leading snstitutions dedicated to a field that is attracting more interest than ever. The museum is committed to creating a collection that is representative of the entire Islamic world. instead of concentrating on Iran and the Middle East, there is also a wide range of artefacts from China, India and Southeast Asia. The size of the collection keeps growing, and the museum aims to offer its visitors a constantly changing experience. In addition to a spectacular collection, the museum is notable for its building. Occupying 30,000 square meters, a seamless continuity of light and space is maintained throughout the galleries and into the museum's facilities. there is a unique combination of contemporary international design and features taken from traditional Iranian and Central Asian architecture.

Fat Fatter Fattest

6 Feb 2011 - One in 10 of the world's adults is obese, according to a joint UK-US study published in The Lancet. Imperial College London and Harvard researchers studied body mass index (BMI), cholesterol and high blood pressure data from 1980 to 2008. High blood pressure and cholesterol fell in many developed countries while obesity generally rose worldwide. Men in the UK have the sixth highest BMI in Europe while UK women have the ninth highest BMI in Europe.Obesity, cholesterol and high blood pressure are all risk factors for heart disease.In 2008, 9.8% of men and 13.8% of women in the world were obese - they had a BMI above 30kg/m2. This is compared with 4.8% for men and 7.9% for women in 1980. Pacific island nations had the highest average BMI in the world at 34-35kg/m2. This was up to 70% higher than some countries in south-east Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In common with the rest of the world, BMI rose among most high-income countries. Among those countries, BMI rose the most in the USA between 1980 and 2008, followed by New Zealand and Australia for women and the UK and Australia for men.

Dallas Come-Back

6 Feb 2011 - BBC reports that the hit show Dallas is making a return to our screens, with many members of the original cast including Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy. At its height - in the 1980s - it was one of the most watched programmes on television, but will it be a success this time? It was the show of stetsons, shoulder pads and plenty of sex and scandal. Dallas, which was set in the Texas oil industry, mixed decadence, deceit and drama, and made for compulsive viewing. Millions around the world tuned in every week as the split-screen opening credits and the unforgettable theme tune transported them into the lives of the Ewing family.
The show ran for 13 seasons, from 1978 to 1991. Twenty years on it is being brought back to life by the TNT network with a pilot. The saga of Who Shot JR? gripped viewers around the world

At its peak it drew in huge audiences. The famous Who Shot JR? plot line in March 1980 attracted some of the largest viewing figures in television history.