All sorts of shapes and sizes and colourful hot air balloons are floating in the skies of Putrajaya for 4 days. This is the annual international hot air balloon fiesta which is held from March 15th to 18th (7am - 9pm) at the Monumen Alaf Baru in Precinct 2, Putrajaya.
More than 26 balloons from 13 countries are competing in the annual event, which is now in its fourth year. Visitors this year can look forward to hot air balloons in the shape of a birthday cake (USA), kiwi bird (New Zealand) and cartoon character Felix the cat (Vietnam). The fiesta also includes our local balloonists Mohd Sobri and Khairudin, or “Captain Rudy” as he is more commonly known throughout the international ballooning fraternity.
The uniqueness of the event draws crowd from all around Malaysia and neighboring countries. It encourages family togetherness by having fun in variety of activities for all ages. Held during school holidays, it is the perfect time for quick family getaway.
This year’s fiesta will also see the return of the widely-talked about and highly anticipated “night glow” event on Saturday night, where the balloons light up in a synchronised manner to the sounds of music, culminating in a fireworks display.
There is no entry fee for visitors and based on my past experience (my last visit was in year 2010)...if you intend to drive there, please be there early due to limited parking space available. It would be best to use public transportation to visit the fiesta.
Another piece of advice from me...bring along your umbrella, hand fan and drinking water because you will need it somehow :)) Here are a few of the photos taken from my past visit in 2010. Happy Viewing!
Auroras supercharged by the recent March 2012 solar storm. Stunning and spectacular photos! What is an Aurora? An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere.
Aurora over Tromso, Norway
In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the northern lights). Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from farther away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual direction.
Aurora over Minnesota
Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis (or the southern lights), has almost identical features to the aurora borealis and changes simultaneously with changes in the northern auroral zone and is visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, New Zealand and Australia.
Time flies very fast. It seems it was just not long ago when we were still counting down to Christmas 2011 and New Year 2012 to arrive. Now it is already a quarter of year 2012 gone...so fast! What have we in mind for March 2012? Well...off course it is the yearly Earth Hour event. Been following the yearly Earth Hour event for the past 4 years. My kids like the Earth Hour event and already bookmarked it, way in advance.
For those who are not aware, Earth Hour 2012 will be on Saturday, 31st March, 8.30pm to 9.30pm under their campaign "I Will If You Will" (IWIYW) with the intention of engaging its growing global community to go beyond the hour. It is a way of "Uniting People To Protect The Planet". As from today, it is just 21 days to countdown.
Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change caused by human activity.
Earth Hour was conceived by WWF and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. Following Sydney's lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008.
Using a dedicated YouTube platform, IWIYW asks Earth Hour's digital community to inspire people from all corners of the globe to take sustainability actions, and to share their commitment to the environment with their own social media networks. Any movement of change begins with symbolism and it’s a needed step to prove enough people care about an issue.
Earth Hour is past the beginning now and lots of people are switching their lights off every year in March. The Earth Hour YouTube platform hosts a global library of “I Will If You Will” challenges and encourages people to share their dare publically through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and email. With the power of social networks behind the Earth Hour message, it hopes to attract even more participation so we can build a truly global community committed to creating a more sustainable planet.
Earth Hour 2011 was the biggest year in the campaign's five year history, reaffirming it as the largest ever voluntary action for the environment. It took place in a record 5,251 cities and towns in 135 countries and territories in all seven continents, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It had an estimated reach of 1.8 billion people across the globe. In addition to this, the campaign's digital footprint grew to 91 million. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.
In 2011, Earth Hour’s iconic global ‘lights out’ event, some of the world’s most recognized landmarks, including the Forbidden City, Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, Golden Gate Bridge, Table Mountain, Christ the Redeemer statue and Sydney Opera House switched off their lights in a global celebration of the one thing that unites us all – the planet.
Why must we get involved? Simply reason...because our future depends on it! There’s more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It’s all about giving people a voice and working together on the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse) to create a better future for our planet.
Today is 29th February and it is a leap day. This year, 2012 is a leap year and consists of 366 days. This particular date is special because it only comes in every four years once. What are your best memories of a leap year? My previous leap year 2008 was a memorable one because my mum and her spouse came back from USA for two months holidays in Malaysia. They had a great time here and so did we.
Age did not deter my stepdad (my mum's spouse) from travelling. He was very sporting indeed for his age :) I remember having our two weeks journey driving from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu. We did a short check-in at Awana Kijal in Cherating before heading on to Kota Bahru. We passed by the Kerteh oil refinery along way and also managed to visit a few of my mum's relatives in Kuala Terengganu. My mum had her favourite durian after so many years and rambutans too but not for my stepdad...he has to stay FAR away from the aroma!
We continued our journey through the small towns in Kelantan along our Malaysian borders and moved on from Jeli, Kelantan to the beautiful Pulau Banding in Temenggor Lake, Hulu Perak before reaching Gerik. The view in Temenggor Lake was awesome! That was my second time visiting the lake. Located approximately 35 kilometres to the north-east of Gerik and covering an area of 15,200 hectares, the Temenggor Lake is the largest man-made lake in Perak. In a clear day, jungle stretching to Thailand can be seen from the top!
With the East-West highway running through the island, Pulau Banding is the only island in Malaysia that is serviced by two bridges linking it to the mainland. The tranquil beauty surrounding the lake is complemented by the diversity of its flora and fauna. This enchanting atmosphere is home of the `orang asli’ with their unique traditional lifestyle of totally depending upon the jungles and surrounding lake. The lake has a rich variety of freshwater fish including Toman, Sebarau, Tenggalan, Baung and even the renowned Kelah, providing ample challenge to fishing.
From Gerik, then we moved on to Pengkalan Hulu (near the border of Kedah). Along the route, we can see signboards reminding drivers "Beware...wild elephants crossing"! I can still remember the previous time when we came here years back, there was a few elephants sitting right in the middle of the road at night. Drivers are not supposed to honk or put on their car lights on. We have to turn off our engines and wait till the elephants move away.
By the time we reached Baling, Kedah it was late in the evening...way past dinner time and was raining heavily. After having a simple dinner there, we continued on to Kulim, Kedah and since Penang is not very far, we moved on. Spend three days in Penang roaming for food and moving around. A break from being confined in the car for days. Penang food is super good! I love Penang food! Well that wasn't the end yet...
We decided to add a few more days to our vacation and the next destination is Perlis and Langkawi. The following day, we made a move to Sungai Petani and Alor Setar. By the time we reached Alor Setar, Kedah it was already late afternoon. Check-in for a night at Seri Malaysia Hotel and visited a few places there. We adjourned our journey early morning the next day. Using the North South Highway and the Changlun - Kuala Perlis Highway, we reached Kuala Perlis, Perlis by noon.
We have to park our car at the parking bay. Walking to the jetty, buying the tickets and waiting for the ferry (because we just missed one ferry) took us quite a while. My hubby and I have to carry most of the bagages (kids still young and my mum has to take care of my stepdad). We reached Langkawi by late afternoon. After renting a car, we managed to get a comfortable room in a hotel near the Langkawi airport.
Nothing much can be done for the day...we took a short rest and waited for dinner time to come. We had decent and reasonable chinese dinner in Kuah town. Drinking, drinking and drinking...beer was so cheap as Langkawi is a free trade zone! After dinner we were back to the hotel to recharge our body for the following day. Super tiring but it was great. Many things and places to see. "To know Malaysia is to love Malaysia" by our late Malaysian singer, Sudirman Arshad is very true. More to come in the next posting...stay on ;D
Gone too soon...for those who grew with her music, this article is about her life and also I will be posting some of her award winning MTV from youtube. I have many of her original CDs at home since my dear hubby was an ex-DJ when he was very young. Been listening to her songs ever since schooldays and dating era till now. Even my kids are fans of her too.
Her songs have been played everywhere...radio stations, internet, at functions especially wedding functions, movie soundtracks etc. The lists can go on and on. Especially on Valentine's day which is just hours away, many entertainment outlets and restaurants are expected to play much of her songs.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was born in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, the third and youngest child of Army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston, Jr. (September 13, 1920 - February 2, 2003), and gospel singer Cissy Houston. Her mother, along with cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin were all notable figures in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle class area in East Orange, New Jersey when she was four.
At the age of 11, Houston began to follow in her mother's footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. She spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. Then in 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman," a song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on her monster-selling The Bodyguard soundtrack album.
In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She appeared in Seventeen and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of the magazine. She was also featured in layouts in the pages of Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Young Miss, and appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink TV commercial. Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her one of the most sought after teen models of that time. She signed with Arista Records (label head Clive Davis) in 1983.
She was an American singer, actress, producer and model. In 2009, Houston was the most-awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records. Her list of awards includes two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide.
Houston released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. She was the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits ("Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go").
She was the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Top Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston, became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Her second studio album Whitney (1987), became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African-American female artists to follow in her footsteps.
Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. She then met R&B singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. Nearly a year later, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her first and only child.
Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film The Bodyguard (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period. The album makes her the only female act in the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four.
Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). The Preacher's Wife soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history. Three years after the release of her fourth studio album My Love Is Your Love (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records. She released her fifth studio album Just Whitney in 2002 and the Christmas themed One Wish: The Holiday Album in 2003. In 2009, Houston released her seventh studio album I Look to You.
After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston was separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006, filing for divorce the next month. On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter.
On February 11, 2012, Houston died of unknown causes at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly Hills paramedics found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR for about 20 minutes before declaring her dead at 3:55 p.m. PST Local police said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent".
RIP Whitney Houston...your legacy will live forever!
Harbin is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, as well as the tenth most populated city in the People's Republic of China. Harbin serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications hub in Northeast China. Harbin is originally a Manchu word meaning "a place for drying fishing nets."
It is known for its bitterly cold winters under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia and is often called the "Ice City". The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius, -16.8 degrees Celsius in winter. It can be as cold as -38.1 degrees Celsius in winter. Lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River, Harbin is well known for its beautiful ice sculptures in winter and its Russian legacy and still plays an important part in Sino-Russian trade today.
The Harbin local culture is based on Han culture, combined with Manchu culture and Russian culture. In the 1920s, the city was considered China's fashion capital as new designs from Paris and Moscow reached there first before arriving in Shanghai. Due to its early influences, the architecture style of Harbin shows a unique combination of oriental and European architecture styles especially from Russia.
The annual "Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival" is one of the four largest ice and snow festivals in the world. It has been held since 1963 and had been interrupted for a number of years during the Cultural Revolution until it was resumed in 1985. Officially, the festival starts January 5th and lasts one month or even longer.
Swing saws are used to carve ice into blocks, taken from the frozen surface of the Songhua River. Chisels, ice picks and various types of saws are then used by ice sculptors to carve out large scaled ice sculptures, many of them intricately designed and worked on all day and night prior to the commencement of the festival.
Deionised water can also be used, producing ice blocks as transparent as glass to make clear sculptures rather than translucent ones. Multicoloured lights are also used to give colour to ice, creating variations on sculptured spectacles when lit up especially at night.
Some ice sculptures designs made in previous years includes buildings and monuments of different architectural types and styles, figures including animals people and mythical creatures, slippery dips or ice slides and lanterns. These exquisitely-detailed, mass-produced ice sculptures are the main draw card in attracting tourists around the world to the festival.
There are record-sized snow sculptures longer than two football fields, and some ice buildings, palaces, monuments, or statues about 50 meters tall (160 feet high). These displays are technologically sophisticated, using computer controlled LED and regular lighting to put on stunning displays of changing color and design. For example, there was a replica of the Great Wall of China that people could slide on. Many of the architecture replicas have ice slides.
Here are some of the beautiful photos taken from the net for your viewing.....
