Notice

This will be my temporary blogskin while the blog is revamping.

-serving you better...

Just One More Week...

to go before I leave for my trek across the Middle Eastern core.

For any of you who are wondering how am I coping with serious culture shock and other stuff (which includes the crazy amount of E Math homework we have) this are the stuff I'm doing.

1. Psycho myself by believing Singapore is not hot (the Middle East is hotter)
2. Get proper visa and making sure that I have clearance to all of my destinations.
3. Rilek a little.
4. Have an open mind towards Middle eastern culture
5. Get hore riding lessons since I'm riding a horse across the desert to Petra
6. Finish my E Math homework in no particular order (jkjk)

For this trip, I have many typical responses such as "This is your 'O' Level year what..." (quoted from Glenn Wong) and let's make it clear. I believe in absolute continuity and look long term. 'O' Levels in my opinion is a 2 month matter (which doesn't mean I don't care) as compared to the many years I spend on the face of this Earth, which I believe I have addressed the serious issue of the lack of knowledge of it 2 posts ago.

Along my way, I'll take photos with my handphone and upload them during my trip (hopefully Internet cafes are cheap in all my destinations). At the end of my trip, I will create a movie with no words that focuses on Middle Eastern mysticism. So watch out next week for them!

If you have realised, the Antarctican dollar has appreciated in respect to the Singapore dollar, now that it is at a rate of S$29.65 per A$1.

Time to get started on indices...

Branding the Most Beautiful National Anthem

I was at it again, listening to various anthems, and without a doubt, I found the World's Beautifulest National Anthem, which I'm sure you'll agree after listening to it.

Below is a video from YouTube, featuring Hatikvah, the national anthem of Israel. The anthem is in a minor key, which is unusual for national anthems. However, the melody, though heart-renching, is very uplifting and inspiring.

The anthem is in a binary form, AB. Section A is a melancholic tune which roughly translates as:

"Deep in the heart within,
A Jewish soul yearns,
And facing in the East, forward,
A watchful eye overlooks"

Section B is more uplifting as compared to Section A. It translates as:

"Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of 2000 years,
To be a free people in our own land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem"

Section B repeats the last two lines.

Around the World in a Quiz

I am shocked. Many people are not acquainted with the Earth we live in. For example,

"What is the national language of Panama?"

"Ermm, ... Panamian?"

Sighs

Test yourself here!

A Picture Tells A Thousand Words

Spotted in China!







These guys need help!




Wheelchair-bound people beware!




Spotted in Tibet





Bilingual Sign spotted in Canada





Spotted in Ephesus







So true...this sign is taken from Katoomba, NSW






Japanese are hostile towards smokers





...and are straightforward people too.

Spotted in Malaysia! It just so happens they don't care WHERE you spit, just do it quietly.

Thank god all the watches are exact and syncronised

Whoops

Things NOT to do in a toilet

As a side message, PLEASE practice sex SAFELY...

A word on Suvarnabhumi Airport

That it's actually pronounced "soo-wan-na-poom"

For today's episode I will present the weirdest things that I have encountered concerning language. Let's start off.

1. The Estonian word for space explorer is kuuuurija.

2. In the city of Condom of France, it has a Bishop of Condom

3. In Jerusalem, there is a church called "Our Lady Of the Spasms"

4. Bangkok's full name is "Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit ." Fancy that, not even a mention of "Bangkok" in it.

5. There's a village in Canada called Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! , together with the exclamation marks

6. One of the most outrageous place names in the world. This is the world's most stolen street sign.







You might want to read the local's reaction to this: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/09/02/1125302734420.html

7. The world's shortest place name:

8. "Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia" means fear of long words. How ironic.

9. For good measure, here's the longest word in English, it contains 189,819 letters.

It's found on an external page because I got too tired writing up to the 2000th character

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061113221628AAxlNn5

10. The shortest word in the English language is "a".

That's about what I have for today.

And thou shalt seek rest --Book of Philosophies 12:30

Today's topic is something i think is very important -- the importance of sleep. I have recently found out that many who are taking important exams are forcing to stay up late to maximise their time studying. You know who you are.

But is it worth it?

We all know that sleep is very important. It provides the brain time to organise what to be done the next day, and keeps us energised. But lack of sleep by voluntarily burning the midnight oil is not the best thing to do. So we are faced with a dilemma, to sleep or to stay up?

Here is the Golden Question: Is sleep productive?

According to several resources such as Encyclopaedia Britannica and Wikipedia, there are several functions of sleep:

1. Restoration

Sleep can improve and increase the rate of healing within the body. A study shows that wounds take longer to heal because there was insufficent sleep. This is the very reason why hospitals have a quiet atmosphere -- it encourages the person to sleep. Sleep can also cure headaches.

2. Acheiving a catabolic state

Sleep achieves the catabolic state where the body renourishes and rejuvenates our immune, skeletal, muscular and nervous systems vital for the growth of an organism.

3. Memory processing

Sleep is also when the brain processes all the memory. Whatever the brain (not you) feels unnecessary, it simply throws it away. This explains why you remember what you may be wearing five years ago but not where you put your keys. The same goes with stuff you studied for. After brain torture throughout the night, the brain shuts most of it off because it needs to process the more important things you experienced earlier in the day.

4. Preservation

Sleep is also when your body protects itself because the you do not to eat or drink 24 hours a day. As a method of survival, your body sleeps to protect itself from all sorts of danger. If you went to SuperTeens, you will see something similar when Ken makes a fat guy stand over a thin guy, only there, you achieve sleep in a conscient mind.

For those of you who really want to stay up, fret not, the way out is to do Nidra Yoga, an exercise where performed in 15 mins, you feel like you have slept an hour. Trust me -- it works. BUT-- Nidra Yoga should never substitute sleep.

FYI-- circadian sleep disorders are treatable. Those who do not get it treated can be like Mr. Thai Ngoc who has not slept for 33 years. Seriously. He couldn't sleep after he got a mysterious fever.

What are your views on sleep? Write them here!

(The reason for me writing this since last Friday is because I kepp falling asleep writing this article)