Earth In Perspective

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THE YEAR OF THE TIGER

02/14/2010 - 02/02/2011 (Metal)

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2010 is the Year of a Golden Tiger, which begins on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011. The first day of the lunar New Year 2010 falls on the 14th day of February, which is Saint Valentine's Day, so it is a day the West celebrates as a lovers' day, a day of romance. To the Chinese, it is the start of the Golden Tiger Year. The Tiger is the third sign in the cycle of Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs. It is a sign of courage. This fearless and fiery fighter is revered by the ancient Chinese as the sign that wards off the three main disasters of a household: fire, thieves and ghosts. On New Year's day itself, it is beneficial to celebrate, to be happy, to have smiling faces, and to refrain from scowling, quarreling, or criticizing anyone.

Tiger Years: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010. Are you a tiger?

The Sign of the Tiger

Courageous, active, and self-assured. Optimistic, passionate and independent. Rebellious, dynamic, and unpredictable. Quick tempered but considerate. Affectionate but careless. The Tiger is a natural born leader and symbolizes power, passion and daring.

People born in the Year of the Tiger are generally well liked because of their charming personalities. Often, failing at a given task or being unproductive in his personal or professional life can cause a Tiger to experience a deep depression. Criticism from loved ones can also generate this type of Tiger reaction.

Tigers are fond of competitions. They simply cannot pass up a challenge. They may appear cool and are unpredictable, and it would be unwise to underestimate their reactions. Natural leaders, they have a strong sense of their own dignity. They are intelligent, alert, and farsighted. Good strategists and tacticians, they often have a hidden agenda. As long as they do not risk their luck too often, and keep their restless nature under control, they will enjoy success and happiness.

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Greetings From Hong Kong

Hong Kong Facts

The words Hong Kong mean fragrant harbour.

The emblem for the reunification of Hong Kong with China is Sousa Chinensis (the Chinese White Dolphin) which in fact is pink.

Britain gained Hong Kong Island after the defeat of the Chinese in the Opium War, 1842.

Kowloon, one of Hong Kong's mainland regions, means Nine Dragons.

Hong Kong is very hilly and there are outdoor escalators in the Central district of the Island.

Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated areas. Almost seven million people live in four hundred and fifteen square miles.

On 1st July 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China. There were thirty thousand British citizens living in Hong Kong at the time of the Handover.

The Noon Day Gun was fired every day at Noon. It was made famous in Noel Coward's song "Mad Dogs and Englishmen".

The Regent Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui has been designed so that the dragons can pass through and feed at the harbour. There is a fountain to attract them and huge glass windows to allow them to pass through!

Feng Shui (wind/water beliefs) is an important consideration in the design of buildings. Geomancers divine the harmonies of the site and even doors, windows and furniture are positioned to balance the 8 elements of nature and the spirit of Yin and Yang.

Feng Shui mirrors are hung on houses, shops and restaurants to prevent evil spirits from entering the buildings. The mirrors are octagonal and have a concave mirror inside, so when the spirit looks at it he becomes scared of his image and goes away.

Temples should always have hills behind them and face the sea for good luck.

Chinese lucky numbers are 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9. Unlucky numbers are 1, 4 and 7 (4 and 7 sound like the Chinese word for death)

People eat long noodles on their birthday so they may have a long life.

In the past, children would die of malnutrition or disease, so their parents would protect them with pictures of the five poisons: the scorpion, lizard, centipede, snake and toad or spider.

During the Chinese New Year festivities, children are given "Lai see" (lucky money).

At funerals the Chinese burn paper representations of things, such as money, to help the dead person have an easy after-life.

The Chinese worship many gods and there is one for almost everything. If you want to have success in tests like times tables, you would worship a certain god. People have statues of the gods such as those representing fertility, longevity and prosperity in their homes

In the old days people believed that if their crops failed it was the work of evil forces. Spirit houses and earth shrines were built to protect people from the activities of bad spirits. It was believed that the spirit who lived on the land before the house was built had a place to live. Incense, fruit and drinks were offered to please the spirits.

Every year between April and May a bun festival takes place on Cheung Chau Island. It is held to placate the hungry ghosts that roam around. Giant bun towers are built and at midnight on the last day after the ghosts have had their fill, the young men of the village used to compete to see who could be first to reach the highest bun. However, someone was recently injured so now buns are distributed in the morning, mainly to women and children.

Fireworks are important in celebrations in Hong Kong but people are not allowed to have private firework parties.

Before the Handover, portraits of the Queen were removed and people collected souvenirs of Hong Kong as a British colony.

Chris Patten was the last British Governor of Hong Kong.

When the Chinese in Hong Kong marry, they go through two wedding ceremonies. The first is the official signing of the register and the bride wears a white western bridal dress. The second ceremony is the banquet which can take place up to two years later. The marriage is not recognised until the banquet takes place. During the banquet the bride wears the traditional red mandarin collared gold embroidered dress and a tea ceremony takes place where the bride and groom serve tea to the groom's parents.

Songbirds are favourite pets in many Chinese households and are bought for their singing abilities. People in Hong Kong "walk" their songbirds and take them with them to the teahouses.

Goldfish are a favourite of the Chinese and many exotic fish are kept such as the dragon-eye fish with big bulbous eyes. Goldfish originate from China and are believed to bring good luck. The word for fish, Yu, means prosperity and good fortune.

The new airport is on Lantau Island and is linked to the mainland by the Tsing Ma Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension bridges. When the new bridge was opened people were crazy about going to see it and Lantau Island ... One Sunday there were 30,000 people going to the Island. This created many traffic problems ... some people were even fighting to get on the bus to the Po Lin Temple on Lantau

All information above provided by World InfoZone. Click on this entry title to visit site!

Boeing 777

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National Gas Prices Heat Map

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Do I need a Waiver?

Alright everyone, time for some discussion. Just for arguments sake, do I need permission to put my sisters scrunched up face in my new burning hot "Duck Riders" movie? Read the article by clicking on this blog entry and sound off in the chat bar!

If you can see it, you can shoot it

Let's get the easy stuff out of the way. Aside from sensitive government buildings (e.g., military bases), if you're on public property you can photograph anything you like, including private property. There are some limits — using a zoom lens to shoot someone who has a reasonable expectation of privacy isn't covered — but no one can come charging out of a business and tell you not to take photos of the building, period.

Further, they cannot demand your camera or your digital media or film. Well, they can demand it, but you are under no obligation to give it to them. In fact, only an officer of the law or court can take it from you, and then only with a court order. And if they try or threaten you? They can be charged with theft or coercion, and you may even have civil recourse. Cool. (For details, see "The Photographer's Right.")

It gets better.

You can take photos any place that's open to the public, whether or not it's private property. A mall, for example, is open to the public. So are most office buildings (at least the lobbies). You don't need permission; if you have permission to enter, you have permission to shoot.

In fact, there are very few limits to what you're allowed to photograph. Separately, there are few limits to what you're allowed to publish. And the fact that they're separate issues — shooting and publishing — is important. We'll get to that in a moment.

You can take any photo that does not intrude upon or invade the privacy of a person, if that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Someone walking in a mall or on the street? Fair game. Someone standing in a corner, looking at his new Prozac prescription? No. Using a long lens to shoot someone in an apartment? No.

Note that the limits have nothing to do with where you are when you take the shots; it's all about the subject's expectation of privacy. You can be on private property (a mall or office-building lobby), or even be trespassing and still legally take pictures. Whether you can be someplace and whether you can take pictures are two completely separate issues.

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Classic movies like Bullit, Easy Rider, The French Connection, amongst others, are guy movies, but our list is a modern guide (past 20 years). The movies in this list are pretty much everything that chick flicks are not: any or all of bad ass cars, ass-kickings, kick-ass girls, scary monsters, super creeps, outrageous or immature comedy, with the occasional bit of real emotional or intellectual depth. It’s not necessarily about an award-winning film, though we’ve included lots of those. It’s about the elements of a guy movie. Some of these should be seen for the actors/ acting, some for the story, others for the cinematography or special effects, and still others for more obscure reasons that are harder to define well.