International Tiger Day

Today is International Tiger Day, a celebration held annually on the 29th of July. It was started in 2010 at the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit to raise awareness of and encourage tiger conservation.

The numbers of wild tigers in areas like China and Bhutan are getting lower by the day but poaching efforts have hardly declined. The current population face three main threats: decline of prey, poaching and loss of habitat.

Many Asian forests are cramped with trees but there is hardly any wildlife. It is estimated that an adult tiger needs to kill 50-75 ungulates every year. However, in order to have adequate prey, conservation efforts for them cannot be neglected too as quite a number are endangered species as well.

Countering poaching efforts is something governments should pay greater attention to. One direct way to show support is to invest more in the development and training of professional rangers dedicated to protecting the tiger population.

Threats to habitat include deforestation and fragmentation. This looks inevitable as the world continues to modernize and more land is required for increasing human populations. A proposed plan to combat this issue is to connect protected areas through a structure of conservation units and ecological passages which target to preserve the integrity of metapopulations.

At the end of the day, the global wild tiger population will only cease to lessen if the locals make an effort to care for them. Despite being afraid of it, many local people of tigers' ranges regard this mammal as an essential and significant component of their environment.

Loquat syrup: More than just a soother

So what if I censored the brand? You would have guessed it anyway!

The loquat syrup, better known as pi pa gao, you always remember as a Chinese medicine is actually a pretty powerful food paste. Like blueberries, loquats are not the most popular within the fruit kingdom yet packs a punch that will make apples and bananas look pathetic.

Most Chinese people associate loquat syrup with soothing sore throats and relieving heat. Other than consuming it as an alternative to lozenges, one can barely think of any other benefits this black-coloured syrup has to offer.

Actually, other than being useful at stopping coughs, loquat syrup can also help you lose weight. Taking one tablespoon of loquat syrup every day as part of your diet is effective in your weight-loss programme. Loquat leaves, one of the ingredients, play the most important role here.

The leaves of the fruit contain vitamins B and C, which are crucial in the process of shredding pounds. Vitamin B assists in promoting metabolism and converts fat into a source for burning energy. Vitamin C accelerates the burning of fat in the body.

To add on, the amygdalin (aka bitter almonds) in loquat syrup is composed of fiber. Fiber is indigestible and your body would need more effort when dealing with it, therefore more calories will be expanded in the process. Amygdalin can also reduce the body's absorption of fat during digestion.

However, amygdalin, when metabolized, generates a toxin known as hydrogen cyanide. If consumed in excess, the risk of cyanide poisoning increases and this may even result in death. But fret not, as long as you take pi pa gao in moderation, you should be fine and on your way to a better body plus complexion.

I like having my loquat syrup refrigerated because it hardens in lower temperatures. When gulping down "chilled pi pa gao", the feeling of it overwhelming your tongue and embracing the pharynx is indescribable. After wolfing down the thick and chilly liquid, the "air-con sensation" that no mint sweet can rival will be present within your throat.

Loquat is also said to possess a light but notable sedative effect so having a tablespoon of it before sleeping might help you get a good night's rest. And that includes the "air-con sensation" which stays in your throat all night.

2012 Olympics preview

The opening ceremony of the London Olympics will start in less than eight hours' time and no, I am not going to watch it at such an unearthly hour; 3:55 on a Saturday morning. Anyway you might have read quite a bit about this quadrennial event in the papers and I am going to give my predictions about it here.

Sprinting

Usain Bolt should be able to defend the gold medal he won four years ago in the 100m and 200m races by a fraction, beating Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay in the process. Although all are very strong challengers, Blake and Gatlin would be the harder opponents for Bolt.

Hurdles

Dayron Robles of Cuba will defeat is Chinese arch-rival Liu Xiang simply because I do not support China and they have far too many medals to win at the Games. Go Robles!

Swimming

Michael Phelps is still looking invincible since those days in Beijing but with his countryman Ryan Lochte in red-hot form, the six-time World Swimmer of the Year might not be able to hog the headlines on sports pages this time. I fancy Lochte to come up tops in at least two events.

Football

People seem to be focusing on Brazil (because Argentina and Messi are not participating this time), Spain (because they are the World and Euro champions) and Great Britain ('cause they're the bloody hosts). But all of them seem to forgotten about Uruguay. Yes, they will be the unexpected gold-medallists.

Basketball

What is there to talk or elaborate about? With America aka The Dream Team having a place in the tournament, who else is capable of claiming gold? Spain the 2008 runners-up? Dark horse Argentina? Or how about a Yao Ming-less China? No, Jeremy Lin is a Taiwanese.

Badminton

The men's singles is easily a grudge match consisting of China's Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia. If everything goes (smoothly) according to the script, the final should be Lin versus Lee. It is not hard to see who I will be rooting for. Malaysia Boleh!

Table Tennis

As much as I would like to see China getting thrashed by Singapore and the latter being crowned champions, this looks highly unlikely. The mighty PRC would be out in full force with their world-class athletes like Ding Ning, Li Xiaoxia and Wang Hao.

Anything except gold is unacceptable. However, getting silver and irritating the Chinese players in a tense final are still possible for the Singapore team. Expect the finals to either end quickly or last for a long time if you get what I mean.

A winning piece or hasty work?

Taken from blogs.todayonline.com

Barely a week after an art elective student from Hwa Chong Institution won this year's UOB Painting Of The Year award; debate about whether his work deserves the top honour has been raging among observers, professional painters and the so-called art lovers.

The lucky boy, Esmond Loh, named his self-portrait Just Let Me Sleep. The painting consists of (I assume) a youngster who is stressed of life and trying to escape from the harsh reality of doing well academically. The oil painting is made up of coarse brush strokes and consists of mainly dark colours.

A number of people, including full-time artists as well as ordinary folks, have hurled brickbats at Esmond for his mediocre work. They believe that it is disrespectful to professionals and older painters for judges to pick Just Let Me Sleep as the winner.

Although it does look chaotic when I first saw it, I realized that it is supposed to be disorganized. Many claim that the messiness showed a lack of technical ability and the casual title was chosen to cover things up. I think that while the title sounds rather direct, it is there so that people can focus on the picture.

I am indeed impressed that a 17-year-old like Esmond is able to pull off such great work. It stands out visually as a distinctive piece while the dark colour tones make viewers ponder about youngsters in current society and how the latter affects them in their growing years.

Anyway, since I was checking out about this annual art competition, I recalled that my art teacher, Namiko Chan (heck, there's even a Wikipedia article on her), in secondary one was the 2006 champion. However, hers pales in comparison to this year's winner. That is at least what I thought.

Just Let Me Sleep certainly deserves to be crowned as the champion because of its visual appeal and message that it conveys. If a piece of art is judged by the painter's technique, how can it still be considered art? All those so-called art lovers should just shut up.

ArcelorMittal Orbit

This is called the ArcelorMittal Orbit and in case you are not aware, it is a newly constructed observation tower for the upcoming London Olympics. This 115-metre-tall structure is meant to be an icon for the Games and something unique that will make the world remember the capital of England as host.

Although it does look special, negative opinions about the ArcelorMittal Orbit have been everywhere since it was unveiled. Even one of its two designers, Anish Kapoor admitted that the tower was "awkward". Some say that it has the potential to rival France's Eiffel Tower while others reckon that it is just pointless and will end up as a white elephant.

As for me, my first impression of this 19 million pounds project is that it resembles a rollercoaster that emphasizes on vertical movements. I thought Olympic Park, the location of ArcelorMittal Orbit, was an amusement park. I also believe that having some blue, together with the red, would make it look more British.

Furthermore, this steel sculpture reminds me of something familiar in Singapore. Most people would notice it when they are in an MRT that passes by Boon Lay station. It is erm, a very tall clock with red railings in Jurong Central Park which is just across the MRT station.

The future of the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower looks uncertain. It can either end up as a modern version of the infamous Skylon tower or the London Eye, a London icon. With its complicated and messy look plus lack of public involvement, I doubt it would be the latter.

Saving Gaya? Ya, right!

This is definitely one of the worst songs I have ever heard in 2012 so far. I swear I can easily find 30 people on the streets that have a negative opinion about this earth-saving single.

Never mind that the chorus has an irregular tempo that will never be found in a professional singer's hit song, the very humble (I am so kind to use the word humble) singing skills of the school kids made things worse. And not to mention the occasional high pitches which were poorly executed.

If these children are really serious about saving their planet, they should study hard first and be an important person later in life to influence others positively. They should not participating in this meaningless song that serves to irritate instead of educate the public.

Oh, and did you realize that all the singers in the video are of the same ethnicity?

Execution of the execution

The highlight of this week's parliamentary debate has got to be the government's proposed alterations to Singapore's legendary mandatory death penalty. Steps will be taken to refine the Republic’s longstanding position on the death penalty. Capital punishment will no longer be the conclusion for certain drug trafficking and homicide cases.

As an advocate for the abolishment of death sentences since a long time ago, I believe that the law system needs to be flexible in order for it to function. By granting more discretion to judges, the civil society will be able to improve in these days of changing societal norms.

But, in serious cases like terrorist attacks where innocent people are killed because of a stupid decision, judges would still be allowed to mete out death sentences to the offenders. Such criminals do not deserve a second chance hence; the death penalty is no doubt compulsory.

The government acknowledges the call for legal reforms and this is indeed an important first step that was made in the legal history of Singapore. Previously, defence lawyers seemed hopeless and judges were always unwilling to sent convicts to the gallows.

However, with the change, lawyers would have the motivation to work that extra harder in order to prove that their clients do not deserve death for their offences. Now that the defence can argue more and the judges are granted more freedom, the justice system can move forward as a whole.

Although the death penalty is still present, I believe that, ultimately, it will be scrapped within the next decade. This is because death sentences are not entirely proven to deter crimes more effectively than alternative penalties.

One after another Asian

The sale of South Korean midfielder Park Ji Sung and purchase of Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa by Manchester United is definitely more of a commercial than footballing decision. The capture of Kagawa signals Man U's desire to continue profit from the lucrative Asian market.

When Park signed for them seven years ago, shirt sales in his native country increased significantly. The same can also be said of Mexican striker Javier Hernandez when he was bought from his boyhood club in 2010. Signing Kagawa was indeed a wise move as it kills two birds with one stone.

Kagawa recently won the German league and cup titles with his former club Borussia Dortmund and has become the new star in the national team after Keisuke Honda's heroics at the last World Cup. From wearing no. 8 to no. 10, his role as an attacker was further enhanced.

Since the quality of China's football is still a par below Japan or South Korea, it is natural that the Red Devils look at them for a player who can double up as a money-making machine. Although it is clear that Kagawa is signed to sell more shirts, there are still other reasons Man U can use to deny the fact.

Having failed to land Eden Hazard as the Belgian opted for Chelsea, Kagawa looks like the perfect second choice for manager Alex Ferguson. With Paul Scholes ageing day by day, it is important that fresh blood is brought in to rejuvenate the squad.

And at only 23 years of age, Kagawa has at least 8 or 10 years for him to shine at the highest level with an elite European club. Fellow English rivals like Liverpool or Arsenal should try to get Honda to wrestle some revenue from Man U in the East.

Park Ji Sung's decision to leave Manchester for London was a bizarre one and we are not talking about Arsenal or Tottenham when London is mentioned. Damn, it is Queens Park Rangers, the club owned by the haughty Tony Fernandes of AirAsia. Who knows, Malaysian players might be next in line to join them.

The South Korean still has a couple of years left to make fans remember him, after which he is most likely to return South Korea to join the K-League when his two-year contract with QPR expires. I don't believe Man U had forced him out but that he fears that that could happen in the near future.

After having limited opportunities on the field last season, Park might have sensed that his days in a Manchester United jersey are numbered hence, decided to "unglam" things a little by switching to a more modest club like QPR where he can continue to be used frequently.

One great Asian's departure led to another's entrance, it is true that good things and times won't last forever. I wish Park and Shinji all the best in their careers with their new employers.

Integration

I am not sure if it's the first time I am doing it on this blog but I going to praise prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. During a citizenship ceremony held yesterday, PM Lee pointed out that new citizens must learn to integrate into Singapore's society.

He stressed that new Singaporeans should make an effort to socialize with locals and expand their network via making friends with people of different cultures and customs. It is obvious that he is referring to a certain nationality that tends to discriminate other races.

PM Lee might have had a negative experience with a foreigner-turned-Singaporean who does not wish embrace the Singapore identity which made him mention the above points during his speech.

He even came up with the example of the word "curry" where a new Indian immigrant was confused when he heard the phrase "chicken curry" as "curry" sounds similar to the Indian word for meat (kari). Although Indians are mentioned here, one can clearly see that he is indirectly talking about another nationality.

But the third prime minister of Singapore still contradicted himself, or rather his father, a little when he said that it would be even better if new citizens were able to converse in Singlish. Now, is the government telling us to speak good English and asking foreigners to learn Singlish?

$2200 for a bike is reasonable?

Not too long ago, there has been some controversy over the National Parks Board's (NParks) decision to purchase 26 bicycles - foldable ones that amount to $2200 each. What raised more eyebrows, especially the bike otakus, was the brand of the bicycles, Brompton.

Brompton is a London-based bicycle manufacturer and it is obvious that NParks was paying for the brand. However, there are still alternatives to Brompton like Dahon which hails from Taiwan and Taiwan bikes are actually pretty decent. A Dahon bicycle can cost less than half of what NParks had fork out.

The matter was further intensified when it was known that only one single bid, from bicycle shop BikeHop, was made for the tender. Netizens stated that BikeHop is not the authorized distributor of Brompton here. Instead, it is Diginexx but its marketing manager claimed that it was not aware of the statutory board's tender.

I am quite certain that the cycling circle in Singapore did not know about the tender's existence to a great extent. If majority of bicycle distributors were aware of it, there will no doubt be more than a solitary bid.

To me, the most shocking thing about this entire issue was NParks claiming that "we found the quoted price to be reasonable after comparing with market prices". This definitely sounds ridiculous as one who knows bikes knows that renowned brands like Dahon or Tern Link are cheaper alternatives.

This may be a sign that Singaporeans will have to purchase COE for their bicycles in the future too. Maybe ERP gantries will be set up at certain areas of public parks as well.

Bizarre smses

In the early hours of today when I was still in dreamland, my handphone received three weird smses. These messages hardly make any sense and the sender of the first two is "no number"? What on earth is this all about? Somebody please enlighten me about it. Thanks in advance.

Cheese Top Burger

This may sound incredibly dumb but something called Cheese Top Burger has turned out to be the latest product of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). To be exact, it is the KFC of the Philippines (where else?)

This very strange fast food from the land of Pinoys has generated quite some buzz around the world since it was introduced. Negative comments about it easily outnumbered the positive ones in cyberspace.

As the name goes, it is a chicken burger with the cheese on top of it. Moreover, the Pinoys call this burger streetwise but in my opinion, nothing about it looks wise at all. Call it a dumb burger and you might get more people buying it instead.

KFC Philippines claims that it is the "first and only cheese topped bun burger" but its Malaysian counterpart already has a Cheesy Egg Bun which is also a cheese-topped burger on its breakfast menu. Now, what's with all these Southeast-Asian countries?

If Pionys decide to take their dumbness level higher, you might end up seeing products like veggie top burger or chicken patty top burger. Everything that is supposed to be between the buns will end up being on top of them. Ultimate streetwise!