SABAH HARVEST FESTIVAL OR TADAU KAAMATAN

When the Chief Minister of Sabah strike the gong to launch the Papar Harvest festival tomorrow, the celebration all over the state will begin. District level Kaamatan will start and so will villages all over the state. Merry making and the sound of various traditional instruments will fill up the air in its grandeur.

For the first timers, they will be able to view the various ethnic in their traditional finery, their traditional dance and if they are the adventurous one will accepts the invitation to dance or drink the traditional alcoholics drink, which they offered. Once you are offered the drink you must accept it as a token of friendship and respect.

The culmination of the Harvest festival is the state level, which is held for 2 days that is on the 30th May and 31st May. Here, a selection of the prettiest lady or Nguduk Ngadau will be held where all pretty girls representing each district will vie for the title of Nguduk Ngadau whereby the winner will represent Huminodun.

The Legend;

“Unduk Ngadau” owes its origin from that part of Kadazandusun genesis story, which pertains to sacrifice of “Huminodun” - Kinoingan’s only begotten daughter.

Kinoingan (God) and his wife Suminundu had a beautiful daughter Huminodun. The people of Sabah were starving, so Kinoingan sacrificed Huminodun. Out of her body came rice seeds, which grew bountifully. That's why Kadazans have beauty contests during these celebrations: an utterly unique attribute. The Unduk Ngadau (beauty queen, literally means "heart of the sun") is supposed to embody all the qualities Huminodun had: beauty, grace, strength and bravery.

Harvest Festival is not only the main celebration during the month of May but also various and interesting events that being organized by the tourism Industry. More information about the festival for the month of May can be obtained by acquiring from the Sabah Tourism Board.

STRANGE RITUAL – TO BRING RAINFALL

Ever thought of doing traditional rituals that can bring rainfall to cool off the temperature in Kota Kinabalu? I can’t remember if there was a rituals performed by the Bobohizan priestess to please the rain God for the arrival of early monsoon. There was the the high technology performed by the government to spray the salt solution to the clouds by using helicopters but do not know of its effectiveness.


A very strange rituals to bring rainfall was performed in India where a Frog marriage was solemnised to please the rain God and hope of an early arrival of rain. There is a mythological believe among Hindus that if the wild frogs caught by the people were got married with Vedic rites and traditional marriage rituals like human beings, that can bring rainfall in coming days.

The amphibians were then fed a special celebratory lunch of flies and mosquitoes. After the ceremony, the happy couple was sent on their honeymoon - by being released into a local stream. The marriage went off very well but there was no report whether there was rainfall after the marriage ceremony.
The news was not so good, however, for a male toad that attended the ceremony, which died during the proceedings.

TERRIBLE HEAT IN KOTA KINABALU

The temperature in Kota Kinabalu this few days was extremely hot and many are complaining of discomfort and feeling sick but not to the extend of contacting the swine flu. It was reported that a suspected number of deaths rose to 149 in Mexico and nearly 2,000 people believed to be infected of the flu.


It was reported in the local newspaper that the dry and hot weather will persists until June but some reports predicted it until August. I was not enjoying staying at home during weekend because of the heat. It is rather much better in the office because of the 9-5 running of air condition. I pity the workers whose job is exposed to the hot sun. We should refrain from long exposure from the heat as we don’t want to get Hyperthermia.

Hyperthermia, in its advanced state referred to as heat stroke or sunstroke, is an acute condition which occurs when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it can dissipate. It is usually caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures. The heat-regulating mechanisms of the body eventually become overwhelmed and unable to effectively deal with the heat, causing the body temperature to climb uncontrollably. Hyperthermia is a medical emergency which requires immediate treatment.

How can dehydration be prevented?

Take precautionary measures to avoid the harmful effects of dehydration, including:

Drink plenty of fluids, especially when working or playing in the sun.

Make sure you are taking in more fluid than you are losing.

Try to schedule physical outdoor activities for the cooler parts of the day.

Drink appropriate sports drinks to help maintain electrolyte balance.

BANYAN TREE – RESTING PLACE OF THE DEAD

I was fascinated after reading an article regarding centuries of unbroken tradition of rotting the dead by the people of an isolated village called Truyan in the island of Bali, Indonesia. They do not bury or cremate their dead but instead let it rot under a sacred tree called a Banyan tree believed to be the earthly form of a sky goddess. Bodies are placed on the ground under the tree, protected from dogs and wild animals by bamboo enclosures.

I still remembered when I was a little boy and told that the Banyan Tree is the place of the devil and I was told to avoid playing near it. Now when I come near to the tree I felt an eerie and uncomforting feeling. There were also the bravest kids who cut the root of the Banyan tree and swing themselves and howl like Tarzan. If the parents knew that their kids were playing with the roots of the Banyan tree and their kids had a bad dream, they will sought the help of the local priestess (Bomoh) to chase away the devil from their kids.

The Trunyan traditions and ritual practices are inherited from their ancestors dated back at least 800 years ago. If the Trunyan people violate the practices it will cause mishaps like sickness or even death. That is why dares not to change or disobey the practices and rituals.

In Kota Kinabatangan, Sabah, there was also this place called Bukit Batu Putih where dead was carried to the mountain a placed in an opening of the rock hill. The dead were put in a coffin and let it rot. The question is how they manage to carry the coffin top the hill, as the hill was steep to climb. They must have a way to carry those coffins.

ARIL DAPAT UNDI TERCOROT – AKADEMI FANTASIA

Walaupun tidak begitu ikuti AF kali ini tapi bila ada masa ada juga tengok diari mengikuti perkembangan transfomasi pelajar-pelajar Pelajar yang bernama Aril sentiasa menjadi perhatian kepada peminat AF kerana perwatakannya yang sentiasa jadi pertikaman pendapat oleh chatters dan bloggers terhadapnya. Ini kerana personalitinya yang ego dan selalu mengambil kesempatan untuk berada dalam perhatian kamera dalam diari harian AF.

Pada concert Sabtu lepas, pelajar ini terkeluar kerana mendapat undian yang terbawah sekali. Walaupun tidak meminati dengan pelajar ini tapi kalau dilihat pada diari, beliau lah yang selalu dinanti oleh penonton sebab diari akan lebih happening dan bermulanya komen-komen negative oleh penonton.

Adakah diari malam ini hambar dengan ketiadaan Aril dalam AF? Kita tunggu dan lihat apa akan berlaku dalam akademi selepas ini.

OIAM TOP 3

I watched the OIAM top three performances last night but was disappointed with the organizer of which the contestants were asked to sing the best song they sang during the previous performance. One song was selected by the judges and the other selected by the viewers through online voting. In my opinion, the judges should have selected a song which they think suited with the contestant vocals as they always commented of wrong song selection by the contestants. Why pick a song that they already heard and suited with the contestants? The same apply to the songs voted by the viewers. The producer should have selected songs and let the viewers voted for it and not the songs that the contestant already sang during their previous performances.

2 or 3 FOR THE GRAND FINALE
It was announced last night that viewers view are sought whether 2 or 3 finalists for the final by asking the viewers to vote at http://www.8tv.com.my/oiam/index.asp. If the votes are in favour for 3 finalists then the votes for the whole week until the final are counted. I think OIAM producer this year will go for a three finalist to fight it off for the prize money of one million ringgit.

I voted for 3 finalists for the final and based on the votes so far, 37% for two finalists and 63% for three finalists I think it is a three finalist for the grand finals.

I predict Esther to win the OIAM season 3 based on the few things like diehard fan of Tomok to be remained committed and will vote for him. Rocker Aweera fans which are mostly like rock music will surely vote for him too. The teenage girls will be torn between Tomok and Aweera and I think the votes here will be split between this two guys. Esther on the other hand will get most of her royal fans from Sabah and most of the fans all over Malaysia who look for her talent, vocal and her performance.

Will another Sabahan win OIAM season 3 in a row? Let us vote to make her dream come true.

Vote Esther

VOTE FOR SIPADAN

Sipadan is 3 spot away from qualifying for the new seven wonders of nature as of now it is in the 14 spot. To qualify, Sipadan must be among the 11 finalists under the island category in the online competition.

To vote, anyone with e-mail accounts can vote through website at http://www.new7wonders.com/. You can vote more than once but if you have multiple valid e-mail accounts.

Sipadan is one of the 261 national and multinational nominees from 222 countries, which participated in the New Seven Wonders of Nature search. Sipadan successfully qualified the first stage, the national qualification, on December last year. It must get through to the second stage period from January 2009 to 7th July 2009.

So people, vote for Sipadan to be among the 10 best island in the world as only three spot away from qualifying for the final rounds of voting.

VOTE …. VOTE ….VOTE SIPADAN

AMERICAN IDOL JUDGE SIMON COWELL COMMENTS WILL INFLUENCE VIEWER VOTES?

I predicted Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai eliminated from the American idol correctly yesterday. Both singers were dismissed Wednesday after it was revealed they received the fewest number of viewer votes on the popular Fox singing competition.

I picked Anoop Desai due to the fact that he was one of the idol picked by the judges as wild card, which I think lack die-hard supporters, which voted for him. On the other hand idol Lil Rounds have not been favourable to the judges for the past several weeks.

It seems that whatever Judge Simon Cowell commented about the contestants, the audience of the popular show will listen to his comments and it will altered the voting trend of the viewer votes. The acerbic judge correctly predicted Lil Rounds would be dismissed following her performance. Most of the time viewers will listen to his comments after each of the idol performance.

Can Simon Cowell influence the viewers to pick his favourite idol to win the American idol 2009?

WHICH TWO AMERICAN IDOLS WILL BE ELIMINATED?

I predict Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai will leave American idol when votes are counted tomorrow. Anoop Desai received favourable comments from three of the judges except Simon Cowe, he still be booted out of the competition. Lil Rounds received unfavourable comments from all the judges and told straight on the spot by Simon Cowe that was her last performance in American Idol.



All the other Idols performed splendidly and received good comments from the judges and if they find themselves in the bottom two that would be very surprising. Matt Giraud was save during the last show and if the votes he receive remain the same, he will be also in a dangerous position.

KE NEXT TOP ENTERTAINER WINNER DONATE WINNING PRIZE

The winner of the Next Top entertainer Carrey Oliver donated his winning cash of RM1000 to the poor people of Kg Paitan and Kg Sonsogon through a welfare Organisation.

It was indeed appropriate for such a noble gesture from the winner of the Next top entertainer to share his happiness and at the same time thinking of the under privilege poor people. It was really very apt for a winner to think of others of their misery and suffering. He was indeed the rightful winner of the competition with a heart of gold and a pat in the back to the organizer of the Kadus entertainment next top winner for earthling a very talented singer.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRES ACTRESS FOR SALE – WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH?

Anyone who watched the SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRES film will be devastated to know if it was true that one of the actress is for sale due to poverty or rather greed by the parent or just a stunt by the media for attention.

The father of Slumdog Millionaire child actress Rubina Ali has denied that he tried to sell his daughter for £200,000 ($410,500 Cdn) in an illegal adoption and insists that he was framed by a British tabloid.

In an interview on Monday, Rafiq Qureshi rebutted an article published on website on Sunday saying that he had demanded £200,000 from its reporters who were posing as a wealthy Arab family who wanted to adopt Ali and take her to live in Dubai.

Nine-year-old Ali played the young heroine Latika in the Oscar-winning film.

Following Qureshi's denial, the tabloid insisted they have thoroughly investigated information that the father of Rubina was seeking to sell his daughter for adoption. “We are entirely satisfied that our report is fair, true and accurate."

GUAVA AND SOUR SOP DESSERT

It was really a very hot day on Saturday afternoon and decided to look for something to cool off. I went to Ka Nong at Beverly, Jalan Bundusan with a friend to quenched my thirst for a cold drink. I remembered last time when I ordered a dessert of ABC or Air Batu Campur called Guava and Sour sop. Initially I don’t know the name of the dessert but somehow asked for the menu and look for the picture as seen on the picture.



ABC – a popular dessert found in Malaysia and Singapore, which has a sweet tasting, and primarily ice served with sweet flavoured syrup, jelly, beans and fruits mix together. Formerly, it was only made from shaved ice, beans and milk but today, ice kacang generally comes in bright colours, and with different fruit cocktails and dressings.

The cold dessert of Guava and Sour sop was so appertising that I finished a big glass/bowl of it. What I like about it was the sourly taste of the sour sop. I was trying to taste the guava but it was overwhelm by the taste of the sour sop. Apart from the fruit, a crunchy texture of agar-agar seaweed and sea coconut cubes were so refreshing to the taste bud.

Anytime you visit Kak Nong in the future just try Guava and Sour sop dessert for a change.

KE NEXT TOP ENTERTAINER FINAL - KDCA

KE NEXT TOP ENTERTAINERS final was successful in the sense that it was their 1st competition and the KDCA hall was nearly full. There was glitches here and there but as it was their maiden competition, that was a good effort on their part to move to the next level of producing a very talented and credential artists.


The selections of songs by the finalist with a little bit of modifying the original songs to suit with trendy and upbeat tempo was credible which proved our singers are on par with the rest of the more established singers. As can be seen at the KE final, more singers from this competition are more eligible to compete in a high level competition in the future.


It was a great choice of guest artists by the organizers as some of the popular local artist was there to support the organizer by rendering their popular songs. Artists such as Jiaja, Raphael Pinus, Da Prinz, Ateng and few others sang their popular songs. Popular DJ Othoe was there for a special appearance.

The winners of the KE NEXT TOP ENTERTAINERS are Carrey Oliver as the winner, Faraday Ongkuling and Afred as the 1st and 2nd runner-up respectively. Congratulation to the winners and bravo to the organizer of the KE Next Top Entertainers and looking ahead for another competition next year.

AMERICAN IDOL – NO ELIMINATION THIS WEEK

History is made when judges decided to make a save without sending any of the idols home. The top seven of the American Idol will take on Disco music and 2 contestants will be send back after tallying the votes for the next American Idol show next week.

The Top seven American Idols are;

1. Adam Lambert
2. Allison Iraheta
3. Anoop Desai
4. Danny Gokey
5. Kris allen
6. Lil Rounds
7. Matt Giraud

REALITY SHOW ARTIST - MANAGE YOUR CAREER WE VOTED FOR YOU

Manage your own career once you win or the reality show is over and should not rely too much on government for sponsors in organizing your concerts and events. One assistant minister said after receiving a courtesy call from members of a fan club at his office.

Once an artist wins a competition that should give them a stepping-stone to launch their career. The fans have done their part by voting their favourite artist to win via sms. Organizers of reality shows should be sincere in their roles to promote the entertainment industry by guiding potential singers and just not placing too much on making profits.

APA SIA BILANG (What I say).
It is all right to ask for support for any particular potential artist through SMS but asking for donation especially from fans club is not right. Audience now is really very smart and only singers with great credentials and personality gets their votes.

I think artists who completed or wins any reality shows should not ask for donation for their promotional concerts or events to any parties or individuals.

WHAT ARE FRIEND FOR?

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.' I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.


His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him... He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.'
They really should get lives.

' He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!'

There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are going to really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!

' He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
When we were seniors we began to think about college.
Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found him during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!' He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. ' Thanks,' he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began 'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends....

I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.'
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. 'Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions.
With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other’s lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.

You now have two choices, you can:
1) Pass this on to your friends or
2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

As you can see, I decided to share it in my blog and you can do the same too.

'Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.' There is no beginning or end. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

LEARN ENGLISH TO SUCCEED IN SINGAPORE

Singapore’s minister mentor and former Prime Minister told new immigrants, their children must study hard for better prospects, and that mastering English is an essential step towards achieving success in Singapore. Only then will they be able to compete on an equal footing.



Mr Lee said: "If you want to succeed in Singapore, you must have a good grasp of English. English is a common language to communicate with people from different places and races."

Apa sia Bilang (What I Say).

In Malaysia, English is the second language but used as a medium of instruction in the Science and Mathematic subjects. Some quarters are vocally aggressive in urging the government to revert back to the teaching of the subject to Bahasa Melayu. If the government revert to using Bahasa Melayu then we are going backward as English is a language of knowledge.

STACY MENANG, JO-ANN RAMPAS MENANG

Congratulation to STACY for winning the Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian Artist Baru Wanita 2009. Just barely a year after winning the reality shows AKADEMI FANTASIA and now the Best New Artist for the lady category. It shows that Malaysian appreciate any talented singers and will not select artist through it colour, race or religion. We are heading in the right direction of one Malaysian as advocated by our newly installed Prime Minister Dato Najib Abdul Razak.



There were few others from Sabah nominated for the prestigious awards like Adam, Ayu, and Rich apart from Stacy. It was indeed a big recognition already if you get nominated for the awards and I must say that Sabahan artists are really very talented singers. Let us hope that with those nominations for the awards, artist from Sabah will produce even more sophisticated in their performance.

Airing simultaneously with the Anugerah Berita Harian last night was the quarter final of the Bintang RTM where two Sabahan was contesting. It was indeed a night of Sabahan when its contestants Jo-Ann Rampas and Ikbal sang through to the semi-final. I would’nt want to be bias but it really showed that the Sabahan contestants were way too strong for the other contestants. The selection of songs and rendition was perfect and I might say that these duo performance lifted the show from boring. Let’s hope they will go far in the competition.

HAPPY EASTER

The meaning of Easter is Jesus Christ's victory over death. His resurrection symbolizes the eternal life that is granted to all who believe in Him. The meaning of Easter also symbolizes the complete verification of all that Jesus preached and taught during His three-year ministry. If He had not risen from the dead, if He had merely died and not been resurrected, He would have been considered just another teacher or Rabbi. However, His resurrection changed all that and gave final and irrefutable proof that He was really the Son of God and that He had conquered death once and for all.

We have all sinned and deserve God's judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, "Jesus is Lord," you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.

AMERICAN IDOL – WHO WILL BE ELIMINATED?

After watching the top idols performing and judging from the judge’s comments, I predict Scott MacIntyre, Lil Rounds, Chris Allen and Anoop Desai as the bottom four. If my prediction is correct it means Scott MacIntyre will be eliminated from the American Idol. Another idol that will be in danger of being eliminated is Anoop Desai as his performance is like yo-yo as what Simon Cowe commented and if the voters give him another chance he will be safe for another week.

Chris Allen although his performance was below par, he still can make it to another round as he is very popular with the younger sets of voters especially the girls. It cannot be too safe for Lil Rounds as her performance was just like karaoke as commented by Paula Abdul. If the voters listened to what the judges thought about her performance, of which most of the time the voters listened, most probably will be eliminated tomorrow.

Adam Lambert was given a standing ovation by the judges and judging from his performance and the reaction by the judges, he will be a hard idol to beat for the title. Overall the performances from the idols were much better and it will be another best performance from them to stay in the competition.

JO ANN SUE RAMPAS - FINALIS BINTANG RTM 2009

Pertandingan nyanyian pada masa-masa lampau sebelum station dan radio swasta belum ada maka RTM lah yang monopoli apa-apa pertandingan nyanyian. Bintang RTM pada masa itu adalah sangat popular dan ramai penyanyi popular seperti Sudirman dan ramai lagi penyanyi veteran.

Bintang RTM tahun 2009 ini mendapat suntikan dan liputan yang meluas bukan saja di media cetak tapi juga dalam internet dan blog-blog perseorangan serta forum-forum. Search saja Jo-Ann Sue Henly Rampas dan akan terpampang wajah si gadis Nguduk Ngadau tahun 2007 dengan pose mautnya. Memang gadis kacukan KadazanDusun dan Orang Putih bukan sahaja ratu tapi hebat menyanyi. Dia selalu juga menyanyi dan menjadi pengacara rancangan terbitan RTM Kota Kinabalu.

Baru-baru ini dalam satu pertandingan lagu-lagu popular Dusun, beliau memenangi vocal terbaik mengalahkan Bintang AF Linda Nanuwil dan beberapa penyanyi yang sudah lama berkecimpung dalam nyanyian.

Ramai peminat pertandingan nyanyian tidak sedar bahawa RTM masih lagi menganjurkan Bintang RTM sebab mereka membandingkan kualiti rancangan ini dengan pertandingan nyanyian yang dikendalikan oleh stesen swasta yang lain mengunakan technologi yang canggih serta perbelanjaan yang tinggi.

Membaca komen-komen forummer maka minat penonton untuk menonton Bintang RTM akan bertambah mendadak disebabkan hendak menonton nyanyian Si Gadis Kacukan ini. RTM patut mengambil kesempatan ini untuk membuat sesuatu supaya penonton akan berduyun-duyun menonton pertandingan ini. Pada siaran pertama minggu lepas, suasana dalam dewan amatlah mengecewakan disebabkan banyak kerusi yang kosong dan stage
Pertandingan kurang memuaskan serta pemilihan lagu yang dinyanyikan oleh finalis kurang tepat.

Saya akan menonton pesembahan Si gadis ini yang dijadualkan pada hujung minggu ini. Go Jo-Ann show your talent ….

DO YOU KNOW SURFING INTERNET INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY?

Surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity. A study showed that people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive that those who do not.



Workplace Internet leisure browsing, helped to sharpened workers' concentration. People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days' work, and as a result, increased productivity.
Among the most popular WILB activities are searching for information about products, reading online news sites, playing online games and watching videos on YouTube.

Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity but that's not always the case.The study looked at people who browsed in moderation, or were on the Internet for less than 20 percent of their total time in the office.
Those who behave with Internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without. So bloggers do not overdo your time on the internet otherwise we lack productivity.

AKADEMI FANTASIA 7 - PESERTA SABAH OUT

Peserta Akademi Fantasia dari Sabah Rubisa dan Zizi terkeluar kerana tidak mendapat undi daripada pengundi-pengundi Sabah. Tidak pernah peserta dari Sabah tidak masuk ke final dan amat pelik sekali. Adakah pengundi Sabah bijak menilai pesembahan mereka?

Saya berpendapat expectation pengundi Sabah tinggi terhadap peserta dari negeri ini maka satu standard telah mereka harapkan dan juara Af tahun lepas STACY diletakan sebagai benchmark. Maka pesembahan kedua-dua peserta Sabah ini tidak menepati sasaran maka pengundi dari Sabah tidak memberikan undian seperti peserta-peserta yang lepas.

Tidak ada gunanya kalau kita menyokong seseorang itu hanyalah datang dari negeri ini tapi tidak mendapat sokongan diseluruh negeri. Sabah membuktikan bahawa mereka hanya mengundi peserta-pesertanya yang betul-betul ada kehebatan yang boleh dibanggakan.

ADAKAH TRANSFOMASI AKADEMI 7 FANTASIA BERJAYA?

Kenapa saya rasa boring menonton Akademi fantasia kali ini. Selepas tiga penuntut membuat pesembahan maka saya hidupkan computer untuk membuat posting pasal concert ini. Saya rasa penambahan pengkritik membuat concert ini lebih boring kerana pengkritik mengambil masa terlalu lama untuk membuat kritikan. TOO MANY COOK SPOIL THE BROTH.

Pada awal pesembahan terdapat gangguan siaran langsung dan ini berlaku masa Qhaud membuat pesembahan maka beliau terpaksa membuat pesembahan lagi lalu pada awal terlupa lyric nasib baik penyanyi latar tolong nyanyikan part yang terlupa itu.

Tenaga pengajar kali ini diberi peluang untuk memberi kata dua dan ia nampak macam defensive untuk anak murid mereka sahaja.

Apa-apa pun kalau dibandingkan dengan standard Akademi fantasia dahulu dengan tarikannya maka akademi fantasia season ini amatlah mendukacitakan. Apakah transformasi yang cuba diperkenalkan berjaya?

Mungkin penuntut yang boleh dibanggakan adalah Hafiz dan berharap pesembahannya kosisten setiap minggu. Kalau tidak menang pun sudah jadi menyanyi dan penghibur yang akan berjaya.

Saya tidak kisah sangat siapa yang terkeluar minggu ini sebab akademi fantasia kali ini standard sudah menurun.

MOST EMBARRASING MOMENTS

Here are some embarrasing moments that I read after browsing through the internet today just for a good laugh.

I don’t think I will share an embarrassing moment of my own but I was reading on the Internet the other day and this girl was talking about an Embarrassing DATE that she had. So I guess ill share it with you. Well she went on a ski trip with a guy she had met and she had drank a lot of hot chocolate, and on their way off in her dates car she realized that she really had to use the bathroom but since they were in the mountains they were to far away to make it to a bathroom in time so she decided to have her date pull over to the side so that she could use the bathroom. Well anyways to make a long story short the girl ends up sitting to close to the car and before she could notice it her butt had got stuck to the car like a tongue on a frozen metal pole...and the only way to detach her but was for there to be something hot poured over her rear. Lol anyways her date ends up having to pee on her so that she can get freed. Gross I know but hey it worked!

I think I haven't anything too bad that would cause me to run to the nearest hole in the ground, but there is something that comes to mind. During the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school I was at an open gym for basketball. I was unfortunately on my period and was wearing a pad because that was B.T. [before tampons] and I was getting really sweaty from running and playing and such. All of the sudden on the gym floor was my sweaty, bloody pad! It had fallen out of my shorts! Our male JV coach was playing with us and the boys were starting to come because their open gym was right after ours...

My most embarrassing moment happened about 6 years ago. My then boyfriend (now husband) was practicing safe sex, and when we were done he threw the condom in the trashcan. At the time I had a crazy dog, she went dumpster diving after it while we were out of the room. We had no clue she had done this. So the next day we were going out of town, and my mom came and took the dog with her to my grandmother’s house. Well, my dog ended up pooping under the guest bed, and apparently pooped out the used condom. My mom called me and in a very serious tone said, "I am glad to know that you guys are being safe, but please watch how you dispose of your condoms." Oh, and of course my grandmother was the one who found it!!

NAJIB WILL TAKE OATH AS 6TH PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

DATO SERI NAJIB RAZAK NEW PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA




DATUK SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI 5TH PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

Malaysia's incoming leader Najib Razak will be sworn into office as prime minister today (Friday 3 April 2009)), cementing a smooth transfer of power.

Malaysia's king Thursday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after six years in office, clearing the way for a smooth transfer of power to deputy Najib Razak.

MEGAN JOY ELIMINATED FROM AMERICAN IDOL

Megan Joy was kicked out of the American idol and it was no surprise as I predicted her to be eliminated. Of the previous contestants eliminated thus far, I think she was the least surprised to be booted out as her performance and singing was below par compared to the other idols.



Anoop Desai must thank his shining star, as he’s always safe to be booted out. How long can he stay if his performance remains unpredictable? The other idol in the bottom three was redhead Alison, the youngest idol of the competition.



If the duo performance for the next round remain the same it is not surprising that they will find themselves at the bottom and eliminated from the show next week.

AMERICAN IDOL - MY REVIEWS

My bottom three predictions for this week elimination after the idols performance are Anoop Desai, Megan Corkery and Matt Girrad. I based my prediction on their song choices and performance.

The most probability to head home and my prediction this week is Megan Corkery. Her performance was a bit shaky. It was not her best performance.

Heading the best performance tonight were Adam Lambert, Danny Gorkey and Kris Allen. I bet it will be between Danny Gorkey and Adam Lambert to square it off to the final.

APRIL FOOL

April Fools' Day is observed throughout the Western world. Practices include sending someone on a "fool's errand," looking for things that don't exist; playing pranks; and trying to get people to believe ridiculous things.

It was observed before but gradually as years passed by it was no longer practiced as before where people were trying very hard to get somebody fooled. Here in Malaysia particularly my place Sabah also observed April fool in our own way.

There was one time few years ago that I finally get a friend fooled. During that time I was working and just remembered that it was April day. There was this friend who returned from KL after studying there for couple of years. During that time it was like some sort of celebrity if you happened to study there and when you went back to the hometown you tend to show off.

I called him for breakfast in town and informed him to fetch me at home. He was excited and for sure will wear his celebrity like outfit to show off. I was in the office doing my routine work as office staff as usual after the call I made.

He did come to my house and according to my mum; he was wearing his best up-to-date outfit and did not believed my mum telling him I was working. He didn’t realize that he was on a fool’s errand. Still not believing my mother that I was working and thought I was sleeping, he tried to look at my bedroom.

He was not happy and called few of his friends of what happened to him but was reminded that it was April fool prank from me. He tried to get even with me by trying to make use of his friends to fool me but I was prepared then of any prank by them. It was indeed very funny but at the same time felt sorry for my friend.