security threat by the numbers

did you know:

• online ads are 182 times more likely to deliver malicious content than pornography sites?
• ... and that online shopping is 21 times riskier than counterfeit software sites?

just some interesting snippets :)

mother dog saved puppies from fire in Chile

"In a fire that occurred yesterday in the city of Temuco (Chile) a mother dog saved all her puppies of only ten days old, carrying them from the burning house to a safe place, as the ladder of the firetruck. The pups are now recovering in a Veterinary Clinic, doing ok, except for one of the pups that has burnings." (source)

such a beautiful and heart-warming story... and a reminder of how a mother's love and courage transcend all kinds, human or not. the wonders of life.

such bravery, Amanda! hope all of them are now safe and well.

view the original article in Spanish

show some kindness today

it's world kindness day.

i believe kindness should be shown every single day; but for today, let's all just make that one extra act of kindness.

something small, something big...
make someone's day.
make someone smile :)

http://makesomeonesday.sg

die-die-must-have: tokidoki Barbie! *heart*

here's my "die-die-must-have"....
the tokidoki Barbie doll!! OMG! 110% tokidoki-ness! *silent shriek* :)

 

isn't she pretty? so edgy, so chic, so top-to-toe tokidoki... i love!!

fellow fans will notice that this Barbie girl is truly authentically tokidoki - tattooed punk rock, chic and sexy, signature pink hair and pouty lips, sporting the tokidoki skull-heart-and-bones t-shirt and leopard-print tights, carrying a real tokidoki miniature purse in hand, walking her cute Bastardino cactus pup... all that attention to these tiny little details, oh wow, i'm impressed!

well, you may be shaking your head and clucking your tongue, thinking i'm no longer 16... but if tokidoki could get me acting like one, then why shouldn't i indulge and just give in to my occasional insane little fancies *grin*.

available from Sep/Oct at selected collectible stores, i am so going to pre-order this right away! if this arrives in October, then just a perfect little birthday gift for myself ;) 

references: Lovetokidoki; Hong Kong magazine

would you like to own a petite lap giraffe?

this is not exactly new but i've only come across a picture of the oh-so-adorable petite lap giraffe (PLG) on Facebook over the weekend via a friend of a friend's profile picture.

 

the utter cuteness and intriguing (tiny) size of the giraffe made me stop and instantly google for answers... i just had to find out for myself, whether a giraffe that tiny really exists in this world.

and here's my answer - the petite lap giraffe - nothing but another make-believe story spun off as the anchor of a viral marketing effort of DirecTV.

here are the two TV commericals that started it all (courtesy of directv on youtube):

read all about it here - Petite Lap Giraffe Story Controversy - and visit the website to see how unsuspecting audiences worldwide fell in love with the cutest little fictional creature, and fell into the marketeers' trap :) even more remarkably, there is a 24/7 live feed of the farm on the homepage, if you're lucky, you might even spot the PLG strutting around right in front of your eyes!

in today's buzzling world of social media and citizen journalism, it is getting increasingly difficult for one to differentiate between real vs. fiction. there is often controversy around such tactics and the unorthodox engagement of social media marketing. but if you asked for my take on it, i'd say that's the beauty and power of the social media today. it's the flexibility, the possibility of creating anything out-of-the-box, things so bizarre and unbelievable, and actually making it convincing and viral. the onus is on you and i, to have an open mind, to question and investigate, to understand what's real and what's not, and while at it, take time to enjoy the ride, and appreciate some of these "how does anyone come up with something like this" kind of strange ideas and marvels :)

enjoy! and perhaps indulge in the thought that somewhere out there, in some far far away land, there could really be a colony of petite lap giraffes, yet unknown to the rest of the world...

my favourite moment of the Royal Wedding...

i feel like a stalker posting this, but then who isn't? the whole world is probably a bigger stalker than i am, when it comes to the Royal Wedding that just took place 2 days ago :)

so, i don't feel so bad putting this on my blog. afterall, how many fairy tale royal weddings do one get in a lifetime anyway? *smile*.

such a sweet, happy, lovely picture... beautiful couple.

Congratulations to the new

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

 (source: via news.xin.msn.com/royal-wedding)

high school students now get to use iPad for lessons..

Yahoo! News: Nanyang Girls' High students use iPad for lessons

wow! fortunate students.. to think i was once a student of NYGH Singapore too :)
whoa.. S$878 x 140 iPads... you do the math. anyway, i bet their school feels are like 100 x more expensive now, compared to what i had paid for back then.. *smile*, so i guess their parents must have paid enough for such luxuries anyway.

really cool initiative but pricey too, and how much it actually contributes to the students' learning... guess no one can really tell for sure.

i wonder though, how did the school select the exclusive 140 students from the entire cohort to enjoy this privilege?

1 day only - Apple store lunar new year specials (Singapore and selected countries only)

deck yourself out in all things Apple this lunar new year.
don't miss this one-day special promotion, only at the Apple Store (Singapore and selected countries).

hurry down to your nearest store now, or check out www.apple.com.sg - remember, reduced prices only on 14 jan 2011! :)

see the world through Barbie's eyes (or chest) :P

toys nowadays are really changing so quickly to catch up with the times. meet VideoGirl, this very cool Barbie doll released earlier in July this year - she's a doll and a video camera at the same time! makes me wonder what's the age of the youngest film-maker on youtube now :)

anyway, as with all things, with the good stuff.. comes some bad stuff too.
check this out too: FBI warns Barbie doll could be used for child porn

the polar bears have swum their way to Long John Silvers

gotta check this out if you:

• love the white fluffy polar bears
• are a huge fan of coca cola and all things coke
• enjoy Long John Silvers

i haven't stepped into a Long John Silvers restaurant for the longest time. in fact i think i can count with one hand, the total number of times i've ever had food there. by fast food standards, it's actually not a bad place but somehow it just never comes up to the top of my list even when I do crave some fast food *shrugs*. i have to admit though, i do kinda like their salty crispy fries, the coleslaw and the extra crunchy flour bits they throw in whenever you order fried stuff :)

this evening, i passed by a Long John Silvers restaurant after running some errands, wasn't thinking of getting anything there but the promotional pullup banner at the entrance stopped me in my tracks. it said - purchase any combo meal, upsize your drink, and get one of the featured coca-cola-branded stuffed polar bears for only S$1.80! :) yea, i know... i really don't need another stuffed toy, but the picture of those cute little palm-size wintery white fluffy bears with their festive red scarf, fleece hat and coca cola bottle in hand, just made it so hard to resist, you know? hehe. so i succumbed and walked right into the restaurant... figured i could have a mango fish wrap combo for dinner anyway.


just look at him, isn't he super uber adorable? wouldn't you be tempted if you saw it too? ;) promotion started today (27 nov), one new bear each week.... so hurry down to your nearest branch, and collect all 4!

this is how a McDonald's Happy Meal looks like after 180 days...

let's take a look at an interesting photography project - the McDonald's Happy Meal Project, or view the original photos posted on Flickr by Sally Davies.

granted this 'Happy Meal Art Exhibit' was created and photographed in New York City, where weather conditions are generally cooler and less humid than it is here, it is still quite scary to imagine how the 'meal' could withstand decomposition for that long.. 180 days, that's 6 whole months!

and if you think the insane amount of preservatives in the food is the sole reason protecting it from decomposition, read this...

"But scientists say preservatives aren't the main reason why the Golden Arches' food won't break down -- it's fat. Fries and burgers sold by McDonald's are high in fat -- more than 50 percent of the calories found in McDonald's french fries come from fat, the same amount as in the restaurant chain's burgers.

"Anything that is high in fat will be low in moisture," Washington State University Professor Barry Swanson said. Low moisture on a surface means mold can't grow, which means the food can't decay. And don't forget the salt." (Source: ThirdAge.com)

i really can't decide which is worse :P

SMRT green campaign = fail whale?

my colleague pointed this out today.
check out SMRT's latest "SMRT is Green" campaign.

i wonder if the agency behind the web design meant to put some pun on this.. but i just can't figure how "fail whale" can imply anything good for the campaign.

those of you who are on twitter, do you see the uncanny resemblance to twitter's "fail whale" too? lol :) hmm... so weird.

serious flooding on Orchard Road

this was what happened to Orchard Road (Singapore), after 2 mornings of seriously heavy downpour...

pictures were taken this morning (16 june).

source: unknown (forwarded by colleagues via email)

wow. i have never seen Orchard Road like this before. Lucky Plaza, Liat Towers.. many of the lower-level shops were semi drowned in rain water. there are video clips showing ankle-high flooding in the basement of Lucky Plaza too... poor guys. i bet the losses and damages are quite bad, and if Orchard Road was this flooded, i'm sure some other areas might be worse.

see more photos of the flood here and here (scroll to bottom).

news articles:

• The Straits Times: Floods hit shops, business
• The Straits Times: Flash floods wreak havoc
• TODAY Online: Wet, wet Wednesday

the Vuvuzelas - to stay or not to stay?

i'm not a soccer fan, hardly even follow the hugely popular (in Singapore) English Premier League, but who can resist catching a match or two of the one-in-four-year FIFA World Cup, even for a soccer noob? :)

my brother's not home these days, so we did not subscribe to the World Cup channels on cable. i did however sit down to watch the 1st opening match between South Africa and Mexico on local mediacorp TV Channel 5 last friday.

when the match started airing at 10:00pm here, i noticed a distinctive constant honking noise around the stadium. i couldn't make out what it was, thought it was perhaps caused by some international broadcast connectivity problem. so, i temporary switched channels and came back to Channel 5 again about 15 mins. later. but it didn't work, the constant droning in the background remained and it was beginning to get so annoying it drowned out the excitement of the match. i couldn't feel or sense the crowd or hear the commentators clearly, and it made me wanna stop watching. and finally, after another 5 minutes of staring at the screen with the increasingly annoying noise at the back, i gave up and decided World Cup was just not for me. so i switched channel and played my pre-recorded NCIS TV drama episodes instead :)

of course, i must admit, i am not a soccer fan nor a World Cup fan. my first attempt at watching a World Cup 2010 match failed, and i still had no idea what made that annoying buzz at the stadium... until i read a few articles today. apparently, this had already sparked off quite a controversy, with many international players and viewers rooting to get it banned.
 
so what exactly is it? do you feel the same way about it too?

the Vuvuzela

reactions to the Vuvuzela at the World Cup 2010:
- Reddif sports: Ronaldo slams ear-shattering Vuvuzela trumpets
- Yahoo! sports: Vuvuzela might yet be banned from the World Cup
- AP: Vuvuzela drone killing World Cup atmosphere
- AFP: Vuvuzelas stir online debate at World Cup
- Vuvuzelas: the sound of 2010

11 - 13 june 2010: L'occitane Singapore - Marina Bay Sands promotions

ooh.. a new L'occitane Singapore store will be open at Marina Bay Sands this weekend (11 - 13 june). check out the store opening specials below:

perhaps this shall be incentive for me to drop by Marina Sands to check out the stores there. guess which sets i'm eyeing... hehe ;)

21 june: get Apple iOS 4 for your iPhone

come 21 june, watch out for the new iPhone operating system - Apple iOS 4.
existing iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch will get a free upgrade on the handset.

read more on ZDnet.com.au.
looking at the list of new features... i am most looking forward to getting 'multitasking':

"at long last, we'll be able to run multiple apps — including third-party apps — at the same time."

yay! glad it's finally here! *happy dance*

ps: while you upgrade the OS, give your iPhone a mini makeover too.
download some fancy icons or wallpaper to go with it ;) browse iphone toolbox for more.

cozycot's free newspaper available today!

wow.. cozycot seems to have evolved so much over the years, doing pretty well.. they have just launched their very own "newspaper", available at various locations nationwide from 15 april 2010 (that's today!)

hmm.. i'm definitely curious what goes into their first newspaper, shall see if i can get hold of a copy this week. any of you with easy access to it, please don't forget me ;)

available at the following locations and times:

or
view a PDF version of the newspaper (issue #01) here.

btw, cozycot is also launching a paid membership card this saturday, 17 apr, 11:00am (singapore time) at Orchard Central... looks like quite some new initiatives from them. check out the teaser ad. here :) given the huge following on cozycot forums, this can be quite successful.

3rd Sephora Singapore store coming to Great World City!

*woohoo*.. i'm really excited that Sephora Singapore will soon be opening their 3rd store at Great World City (GWC) next to Zara on level 1! this is fantastic news because i can literally walk to GWC!! hehehe *happy dance*

just read about it on rouge deluxe, makeupstash and makeup&me, looks like news have been going around for several weeks now, i'm just slow on this. ok, my wallet may not be that happy.. but the idea of having a Sephora store so near my home is just too inviting ;)

honestly, Sephora has always been a must-go stop whenever i visited USA in the past years, i don't always buy tons of things there but it's just such a makeup/skincare/fragrance shopping haven for all ladies (at least for those of us who are crazy over them)... wide floor space, rich variety of products, freedom to walk around and try out everything without being closely tailed by sales assistants, plus access to all the unique brands that were (back then) not available here at home! so even on occasions when i ended up buying nothing from the store, the shopping experience in there was enough to perk me up (well yes, i'm a true blue shopaholic) :P

anyway, just wanna share the good news.. in case some of you, like me, aren't aware of this yet. looks like the GWC grand opening will be happening very soon (late-April)... who knows, the next time my friend and i go watch a movie at GWC, we'll be able to pop by the brand new Sephora store there! such a happy thought *swoon*... :D

so, McDonald's brought the pig back..

those of you who have heard of the controversy (and the Hong Lim Park protest) on how McDonald's Singapore had removed the "pig" doraemon toy from its original family of 12 zodiac sign animals, and their reasons for doing so... latest update: the pig is now BACK on the menu! (only in mid-april 2010).

McDonald's Singapore actually placed a print advertisement in today's Straits Times to express their apologies for that.

find out more on Straits Times.com and see more pictures of the now famous piggie here :)

flaunt your assets to get free drinks...

wow. what do you think of this?
some publicity stunt.. lol.

club offers free drinks based on bra sizes

"there are two judges, a man and a woman, who visually determine each woman's cup size. A women with an A cup would get one free drink, a B cup would get two, a C cup would get three, and a woman with a D cup gets a free bottle of vodka."

and yes.. this is a Singapore club.

i don't think i'd be that desperate for a free drink but if you've got assets you're proud of, what's stopping you from claiming your free vodka or two anyway? ;) and if you're not thrilled by the gimmick, just don't go to there *shrugs*.