the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century

the answer to yesterday's post is - a solar eclipse.
the image shown below is the "diamond ring effect" that happens when the solar eclipse takes place. I think whoever invented the term is a genius, the phenomenon looks exactly like a diamond ring! (such an apt description) and the diamond just keeps getting larger as the sun re-emerges :)

tomorrow morning (22 July 2009) will bring with it this century's longest total solar eclipse, at an estimated total duration of near 7 minutes!
Singapore falls just right outside the zone, so we'll only experience a slight blockage of 10% - 20% of the sun here (which at best probably only reflects slightly gloomier skies). we definitely won't be experiencing the full awe of this amazing astrological event of the century (some cities in China offer the best views of it) but thanks to technology, we'll be able to tune in live on the actual eclipse.

catch the live telecast on channel U from 8:00am - 11:00am tomorrow morning 22 july (condensed highlights at 11:30pm same day) or watch it live online on this Spanish website - eclipse total de sol 2009.

for those who are fortunate to be able to experience this in its full glory, do enjoy the universe's natural marvel and post pictures to share :)

could you tell what this is?

any idea what this is?
make a random guess... and check back for answers tomorrow ;)

the years are short...

i stumbled upon this in a twitter link.
a sweet little message, just wanted to share and pass it on :)

click here to view the short flash clip: the years are short

sounds cliche.. but so true.
sometimes (though it's often easy to take for granted), we just gotta take some moments to appreciate the little things in life, and cherish what we have.

if you don't have the green thumb...

you don't have to have a green thumb to grow some tulips in your office.
all you need is just a usb port, and you'll instantly reap more usb ports out of it - no sowing required :)

get yourself a tulip garden with one of these neat and eye-pleasing usb tulip hubs @ USD22 from fredflare.

with these rings, i thee wed ;)

who says you can only wear your engagement ring on your finger?
and who says there can only be one blingy ring? hehehe..

now, you can also wear the ring on your wrist as a.... bracelet clasp...

or have your dream man propose to you with a dozen diamond rings strung on a bracelet - just to make sure you cannot resist but say "i do" :)

so there we go again, juicy couture and their almost funny - but oh-so-creative ways - of designing and presenting their merchandise.

the multi-ring charm bracelet (USD118) is definitely over the top, but the starter-bracelet (USD68) actually looks quite pretty :)

ehem.. but just so you know (guys out there), it'll take quite a bit more effort, creativity and sincerity (a real bling would score bonus points) to blow me away and win my heart *wink* lol.

juiciest fortune cookie ever! :)

if you receive one of these lovely necklaces as a gift, your fortune can't be bad anyway ;)

check out these adorable fortune-cookie inspired necklaces from juicy couture. each comes packaged in a chinese take-out jewellery box, within which each of these coloured "fortune-cookie" hides a little fortune pendant on a silver chain necklace.

4 coloured fortunes to choose from:

• "you are the fairest" (blue)
• "lighten up be juicy" (yellow)
• "you will always be surrounded by royalty" (pink)
• "you don't know what you got 'til it's gone" (white)

not that any of these fortune phrases makes much sense *lol*... i just like these quirky little whatnots from juicy couture :)

another social media campaign - wrigley's 5 gum

businesses and corporations worldwide have begun to realise the viral marketing power and speed to success of the social media platform. all of a sudden, everyone is talking about and doing something that leverages on youtube, twitter, facebook, myspace etc.

it's all cool and very interesting to follow and watch at the moment, but i have to admit this is getting a little indulgent and overwhelming at times. every single day you're bombarded with yet another new social media campaign, sometimes innovative, sometimes copycat-ish...

having said that, before we all get too fatigued by the mass of such campaigns and too sick to hear of yet another one or even keep up with them... check out this new wrigley's 5 gum initiative. pretty cool, and something different :)

"The aim of the campaign is to encourage consumers to remix content, a spokesman for Wrigley’s told Mumbrella.

The sugarfree gum was launched into stores over the last few days. It comes in three variants – pulse, electro and cobalt.

The site features the work of artists, musicians and designers and invited consumers to create mashups or submit their own efforts."
(more details on mUmBRELLA)

ps: some say the gum packaging looks like condom, i think it's probably intentional... :P and since we can't get chewing gum here, we likely won't be able to see these on our shelves.






(courtesy of the5feed on youtube)

discover the evian "live young" experience

check out this video commercial from evian (yes, the mineral water)...
meet the evian roller babies *lol*

"evian live young" it says...

soo cute, but on second thoughts.. maybe a bit scary if this became real :P
anyway, i like that act-cool baby in the first scene, leaning against the music player, rocking to the beat.. lol. cuteness!

if you liked the clip, check out the official website too - evian live young.


(courtesy of EvianBabies on youtube)

a cool "iPhone" concept music video

chanced upon this clip through twitter.
(source: @proteusguy via @brainshortcake)

a very cool "iPhone" video concept by a progressive rock band - rega.
not the best, but definitely a very potential idea.. simple but interesting :)


(courtesy of VictorMusicChannel on youtube)

we live in singapura - animated MTV version

some years back, hossan leong made this very singapura piece an instant hit (at least amongst singaporean young folks). soon after, this other animated MTV version of the same rap/song started circulating around.

i personally haven't seen the entire clip up until today. so this is not new, has been around since 2006/2007 but check it out anyway - 5 mins. of laughter, just for fun - the historical facts are real though! in the spirit of our upcoming 44th National Day celebrations... btw, have you hung out your Singapore flag yet? ;)


(courtesy of NCHProductions on youtube)
click here for the original hossan leong in-person performance.

ps: if you don't get the jokes and acronyms, then you're either not living in singapura or not singaporean enough ;)

a really goode job - final 10

from some 2,000 entries, shortlisted to 50... now they're officially down to the last 10 standing in the quest for "a really goode job".

i must say, some of these video entries are really innovative and refreshing, just like the earlier groundbreaking "best job in the world" tourism queensland campaign - which btw, i really liked this entry from mitch moffit, it's like some broadway musical show.. lol.
(see youtube clip below)



this guy even made a sequel after not making it through.. hehehe.. very creative!


anyway, back to a really goode job, check out the top 10 finalists' clips and make your own predictions to who'll ultimately become the industry's first-ever "wine country lifestyle correspondent" come 21st july 2009 :)

2009 singapore museum night festival returns!

if you've enjoyed last year's museum night festival as much as i did (or don't have a clue what exactly you've missed), go grab a friend and head down to the national museum precincts this weekend.

2009 museum night festival
- 10 & 11 july 2009 (friday/saturday)
- 7:30pm - 2:00am

the Loop of Fortune performance looks awesome!
hope i can get a good spot to capture some some nice shots :)

check out the public art installations too.

food, inc. - upcoming movie

another "fast food nation" type movie coming up soon - food, inc.
i think my dad would be keen to watch this if they had chinese subtitles.

(trailer courtesy of inlinetv2009 on youtube)

i'm definitely watching it too, maybe not on the big screen... perhaps when the DVD is released. it's a good thing that people are now more aware, and have access to more information to what exactly goes on within/behind the food chain. i admit it's not easy to fight against the big powers and what's part of our daily life (i indulge in processed/fast food too!), but at least we are aware and can make the choice for ourselves.

"you'll never look at dinner the same way..."

king's ice-cream sale @ suntec this weekend

if you work at or near suntec area, lucky you! check out the king's ice-cream sale at the tropics atrium (booth A13) happening this weekend 9 - 12 july 2009.

prices look quite attractive.
i LOVE the 3 for SGD10 treats! the cookie monster is goooood! yumm yumm...
you even get a free shopping bag with every SGD12 purchase. now i wish my office is nearer... go grab yours first thing tomorrow.

(source: tualobang)

do you have 4320 minutes to spare?

riding on the social media marketing hype, v australia and virgin atlantic have launched a new campaign that challenges you to tweet once every minute for a straight 72 hours (that's 4,320 minutes exact)!

at the end of the contest, one final team of 3 members will be selected to travel from australia to los angeles to complete the "4320 minutes in LA" challenge. imagine, tweeting every single minute of the day for 3 whole days.. wow... that'll be quite interesting. wonder how they'll take turns to sleep/eat/use the loo etc. :P

if the team completes the challenge successfully, they will win themselves a free trip around the world! awesome!

sadly though, this contest is only open to australian residents.

my new friven & co bedsheets :)

the friven & co singapore office is near my office building, so on our way back from lunch yesterday, my colleagues and i decided to stop by to check out what they have there (it's also a small boutique-ish concept retail store amidst the rows of factories/warehouse buildings).

about 10 mins. later, all of us walked out with something... and i got a new set of bedsheets :P not that i needed news ones, nor was it for chinese new year or any special occassion, i just couldn't resist the pink rosey prints! hehehe.. look how pretty and vibrant this is!
usual price SGD55, marked down close to 70% - so i paid only SGD18 for this, very good deal! *thumbs up* even though it's 300 thread count per 10 square cm (not the best in the market), the fabric is very soft *heavenly*.. i love it! value for money.. and so pretty! made me a happy girl :)

do these look like M.A.C. makeup palettes to you?

do these rectangular blocks look like M.A.C. cosmetics makeup palettes to you? (esp. the holiday lip/eye palettes)

my boss came across these at a chocolate store at wheelock place - chocolate research facility - and bought some back for us to try. the exterior boxes look so fashionably cool, i would mistake them for makeup compacts if i didn't know :) even the design style, the size of the box etc. all look soooo M.A.C., don't you think? i especially like the safari prints, the alphabets/ checked/ polka dot prints on the boxes.

anyway, i tried a small piece of each - hazelnut milk chocolate, macadamia dark chocolate.. (didn't get to try the irish cream - all gone by the time i got to the pantry *lol*, must be good). for me, the macadamia dark chocolate wins hands down! very smooth, just the right amount of sweetness and so chocolatey, i like!

retailing at approx. SGD8.00 - 12.00 each credit-card-size piece/box, these chocolates ain't cheap but that's kinda expected cuz look at them... such PRETTY packaging, they're almost like art/collectibles. i'm sure the bulk of what we're paying goes to the design and packaging (plus the cool variety of good tasting chocolates) and the interesting retail store display.

i just saw on their website, they actually have a "tea series" too. imagine milk/white chocolates with tea flavours such as earl grey, jasmine, lavender, green tea, bergamot, rose hip, darjeeling, spiced tea (OMG, i soooo have to try this!)... i'm getting excited just thinking of it. mmmm... yummy tummy!

retail stores located at millenia walk and wheelock place, i must go check them out personally soon. very soon :)

reviews from other bloggers:
- bagaholicboy
- juleslife
- ladyironchef

starbucks ice-cream, anyone?

if you're a starbucks fan, you'd be happy to know that some of your favourite starbucks coffee flavours now come in ice-cream too!

choose from customer favourites - caramel macchiato, mocha frappuccino, java chip frappuccino - or just plain ol' coffee. i wish they'd make tea flavours like vanilla tea latte or chai tea latte too (though i know they probably don't sell as well as the coffees) :P

wonder if the ice-cream launch will eventually make it outside of the US. for now, lucky folks there will be able to get free pints of ice-cream from now till 19 july if you have a facebook account - details here (free coupon - restricted access for US users only).

deprived of my sleep-in-saturday

this post is just my outlet to vent.

i've been working some long hours this past 2 weeks (including last weekend), only got 4 hours of sleep on thursday, somewhat sleep deprived. i was so looking forward to this weekend so i could sleep in late this morning... but even this simple plan got ruined *sigh*

sometimes i hate having a room by the common corridor, makes it easy for everyone else in the family who had forgotten their keys or whatever not to just shout through my bedroom windows and wake me up. it's just not fair.

but that's what my brother did this morning, he forgot his keys on his way out and decided to conveniently wake me up to pass him those keys. I HATE THIS. mum did that last weekend too. *bummer* and now i'm still in desperate need of sleep but just can't go back anymore.

*sigh* *yawn* *sigh*