Saturday, May 30, 2009

READ MALAYSIA '09 INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR


Hi Everyone!

School is out for the second term and if you have nothing planned for the next 9-10 days, here's some place interesting for you and your friends and families to come by and check what's happening:

EVENT : READ ME '09 MALAYSIA BOOK & EDUCATION FAIR
DATE : 29th May to 7th June, 2009
TIME : 11am to 10pm daily
VENUE : Malaysia International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC)
MINES Resort City, Seri Kembangan, 43300 Selangor
FREE SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE : from Bandar Tasik Selatan (LRT Station)
from Serdang KTM train station

Lots of books in English, BM and Chinese on display and sale at BIG discounts!

A Food Court has also been put up offering a variety of fare to cater to all tastes.
For those on a vegetarian diet... no worries... you will have a wide choice at Dyana Vegetarian Stall.

And, don't forget to drop by at BOOTH F15 (at General Books Section)- if you are lucky... you just might get to meet up with Pencita Alam and me!

See you there!!!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Save $$$$ on Your Electrical Bills


Here's a very good $$$$money$$$ savings tip and a great way to conserve energy which is to be shared with you all. Put this in practice at home and in your office.

HOW TO CUT DOWN ON ELECTRICAL BILLS .....

*** DO NOT leave any electrical appliances on stand by mode. This applies to anything from TV, DVD player, radio,lamps, computer, printers etc. Switch off and unplug them from the mains. Switching off is not enough as these things work on the principle of "phantom load" which is electric power consumed by electronic appliances while they remain switched off or on stand by mode. And this "phantom" consumption can add up to quite a sum at the end of the month!

Remember to SWITCH OFF and UNPLUG to help save your money and help save the environment!

Happy saving!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Hi all...
Heard about the recent news that BELGIANS are big on SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT?
Kudos to them for spearheading the way by becoming 'vegetarians at least once a week' to mitigate the impact of livestock on the environment..

Please read on for details:

BELGIAN CITY PLANS 'VEGGIE' DAYS
By Chris Mason
BBC News, Ghent

The Belgian city of Ghent is about to become the first in the world to go vegetarian at least once a week.

Starting this week there will be a regular weekly meatless day, in which civil servants and elected councillors will opt for vegetarian meals.

Ghent means to recognise the impact of livestock on the environment.

The UN says livestock is responsible for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, hence Ghent's declaration of a weekly "veggie day".

Public officials and politicians will be the first to give up meat for a day.

Schoolchildren will follow suit with their own veggiedag in September.

It is hoped the move will cut Ghent's environmental footprint and help tackle obesity.

Around 90,000 so-called "veggie street maps" are now being printed to help people find the city's vegetarian eateries.

Source of news : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8046970.stm

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

She ran for her life


I am once again amazed by the will of animal to live.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10796026/

Before she would get shot on the head, cut alive, and end up in pieces, ultimately being somebody's cheeseburger, Molly the cow decided to take fate into her own, er.. hoofs by jumping over the fence to her pen, and ran away from the slaughterhouse in Montana.

She reportedly "dodged vehicles, ran in front of a train, braved the icy Missouri River and took three tranquilizer darts before being recaptured."

Yes, the kick-a** heifer even swam through an icy river, she was near to drowning, before finding herself back on her hoofs, on a sandbank and continued being chased by the police :) In all, she survived the 6 hours chase before she eventually "surrendered."

Find out what happened to her:
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Holy-Cow-Bovine-on-the-Lam-in-Queens-.html

May Heaven bless them, humble and loving souls, and may we live in respect for all life.

Monday, May 11, 2009

ARE YOU HAPPY WHERE YOU ARE??


Halo everyone... came across this interesting news article I would like to share with you. Seems that we cannot equate happiness with riches. And that family, social and community networks do play vital roles in one's well-being. HAPPY LIVING... wherever you may be!

Read on for more insights:

WORLD'S HAPPIEST PLACES ....

A new report reveals where people feel most positive about their lives
By Lauren Sherman
Where in the world do people feel most content with their lives?

According to a new report released by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, a Paris-based group of 30 countries with democratic governments that provides economic and social statistics and data, happiness levels are highest in northern European countries.

In Depth: See All 10 of the World's Happiest Places
Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands rated at the top of the list, ranking first, second and third, respectively. Outside Europe, New Zealand and Canada landed at Nos. 8 and 6, respectively. The United States did not crack the top 10. Switzerland placed seventh and Belgium placed tenth.
The report looked at subjective well-being, defined as life satisfaction. Did people feel like their lives were dominated by positive experiences and feelings, or negative ones?
To answer that question, the OECD used data from a Gallup World Poll conducted in 140 countries around the world last year. The poll asked respondents whether they had experienced six different forms of positive or negative feelings within the last day.
Some sample questions: Did you enjoy something you did yesterday? Were you proud of something you did yesterday? Did you learn something yesterday? Were you treated with respect yesterday? In each country, a representative sample of no more than 1,000 people, age 15 or older, were surveyed. The poll was scored numerically on a scale of 1-100. The average score was 62.4.

Why did the northern European countries come out looking so good? Overall economic health played a powerful role, says Simon Chapple, senior economist from the Social Policy Division of the OECD, which put together the report.
While the global economic crisis has taken a toll on every nation, the countries that scored at the top still boast some of the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Denmark, which got the highest score, is not only a wealthy country, it's also highly productive, with a 2009 GDP per capita of $68,000, according to the International Monetary Fund. The United States' GDP per capita, by contrast, is $47,335. Though the U.S. got an above-average score of 74, it did not break the top 10.

Wealth alone does not bring the greatest degree of happiness. Norway has the highest GDP per capita on the list — $98,822 — yet it ranked ninth, not first. On the other hand, New Zealand's happiness level is 76.7 out of 100 on the OECD list, but its 2009 GDP per capita is just $30,556.

According to a 2005 editorial, published in the British Medical Journal and written by Dr. Tony Delamothe, research done in Mexico, Ghana, Sweden, the U.S. and the U.K. shows that individuals typically get richer during their lifetimes, but not happier. It is family, social and community networks that bring joy to one's life, according to Delamothe.

The OECD data shows that another important factor is work-life balance. While Scandinavian countries boast a high GDP per capita, the average workweek in that part of the world is no more than 37 hours. In China, which got a low score of just 14.8, the workweek is 47 hours and the GDP per capita is just $3,600.

Low unemployment also contributes to happiness. "One thing we know for sure," says the OECD's Chapple, "not having a job makes one substantially less satisfied." Denmark's unemployment rate is just 2 percent, according the C.I.A.'s World Factbook. Norway's is just 2.6 percent. The Netherlands: just 4.5 percent. Many economists concur that a 4 percent unemployment rate reflects a stable economy. The U.S. unemployment rate is currently 9 percent.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Musician, Brian Chase goes veg

Brian Chase, drummer of the alternative rock band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, shared his experience of becoming a vegetarian on his blog.

He quoted:

Since becoming a vegetarian I've felt a new openness and lightness. Channels have been cleared and obstacles have been removed; energy is flowing more freely from top to bottom. An elimination of obstructions, both physical and spiritual. And with this I've discovered a new sensitivity. How do you know what it's like to not have something when you've had it all of your life? I've eaten meat for 29 years and I never knew what it was like to not eat meat. Sometimes the best way to know what you have is to take it away. I took meat out of my diet, out of my body, and I was able to see what was underneath and able to experience what I was putting on top. I became more sensitive, sensitive to the quality of food, the character of food, and the impact of what I ate. I developed a new awareness of my body as an organic being, realizing it's made of the same material as Earth and Nature. It seemed so simple and made perfect sense, a new understanding of what it means to live in accordance with the world around me.

I became vegetarian as an experiment, to see what it was like, and to do so without adhering to a hard and fast ideology. First it was a physical experience: I felt lighter, more open, and even stronger; more efficient. I developed an increasing sensitivity to the essence of what I ate: what was wholesome felt instantly energizing and life-affirming; what was unwholesome felt instantly empty and life-draining. I could feel the nutrients of various foods rushing to and kindling various parts of my body. The act of eating became even more pleasurable than before.

Then I understood vegetarianism on a moral level. Here was the way I approached it: To live in harmony with one's environment, there needs to be a constant sense of give-and-take, a mutual respect that promotes sustainability for eternity. Food is sustenance. Nature provides food for humans to live. It offers fruits, grains, plants. When we take of these things we must pay our respects with gratitude: "I am grateful for this food to have as my sustenance." In return for our gratitude, Nature replaces these simple things that we take; no harm done and the Earth is found as it was left. But with animals, there is no gratitude we could possibly pay that would replace taking a life. Once a life is taken, that's it, it's over, it doesn't come back. To kill an animal is the end, the animal does not grow back and it is not replaced. There is no sense of gratitude that can equal the taking of a life. In that regard, I don't eat meat because I could never be grateful enough for eating a life. This sense of gratitude promotes a strong sense of living in harmony with the world around me. If everybody functioned with gratitude, kindness, and respect, the world would be sustainable for eternity. My moral approach to my diet is that food is an offering from the Earth and for that I am grateful. The Earth regenerates its vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes, nuts, etc., so therefore it is within my right to respectfully take from it for my sustenance. I, or Nature, could never replace the life of an animal so therefore it is not within my right to take from it for my sustenance. I began to regard humans and other animals as co-existing on the same rung of the food-chain; to eat animals would be almost cannibalistic.

Tonight, I finally understood what it means to be a practicing vegetarian. Some vegetarians say it's 'wrong' to kill animals or use animals for food (as I did above). I see that as a matter of principle- and principles aren't necessarily true or real. It is almost always more powerful to have something be an innate experience, to feel it from your core rather than as an ideology. It finally made sense to me what it means to be practicing vegetarianism: it has to do with making the decision to willingly act for kindness and to renounce violence. To not eat meat, is to say to myself, "I will consciously make the decision to not eat animals killed for my sustenance."

It is a choice- and that is the point. There is no wrong or right, good or bad. But there is, for me, a prolonged sensation that comes with acting for kindness, peace, and non-violence; with acting for openness. This type of consciousness broadens into every other aspect of life: personal relationships (hostility vs. compassion), attitudes towards one's self (acceptance vs. punishment), and approaches towards daily living (gratitude vs. selfishness). To practice non-violence, in any form, is a reward in itself, and it feels right and undeniably good. So, practicing vegetarianism becomes less about the ideological reason of it being wrong to kill animals for food; it doesn't bother me that other people are meat eaters and I believe people have the right to choose to eat meat if they like (whereas, nobody has the right to kill another human being, not even if they like). I do it as a way of practicing non-violence; it is a way of bringing peaceful consciousness into my life and a way of making choices that help me maintain that feeling from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep. It promotes openness and the removal of obstacles as a means of developing heightened sensitivity and broader awareness; it affirms unity and coexistence; it is a way of acting and living for peace, sustainability, and eternity. For me, it has become a way of cultivating a sense of spiritual well-being, and that always comes down to Love, define it as you will. At the moment, this is the way that is working for me, as it feels right. It is a continual experiment.
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To read the entire blog post: http://site.yeahyeahyeahs.com/blog/brian.aspx