TODAYonline | World | Dad kills 3-year-old by stuffing him in a washing machine

TODAYonline | World | Dad kills 3-year-old by stuffing him in a washing machine

It's a cruel world.

Millions of child-less couples are dying for a baby.

Yet some who're blessed with children are killing their own flesh and blood.

This case exposes human nature's extreme cruelty. According to the reports, the inhumane father put the boy naked into the washing machine "to punish him for getting into trouble at nursery school."

Pardon my language, but WHAT THE FUCK?

How can the demented man inflict such deathly punishment on a 3 year-old boy? Of course the kid will get into trouble! He's so young! Which child has NEVER gotten into trouble at school? It's all part and parcel of growing up!

For crying out loud, the boy was only 3!?!?!?!!

And then there's the murderous mother who microwaved her baby.

It's frightening that the human race, once thought to be superior, has evolved into such a beastly specimen. I dread to think what fate beholds us all. Perhaps this is a sign of times to come.

Thanks Steve!

I was a little shocked when I opened my Safari browser this morning and saw this:

Source: www.apple.com

Source: www.apple.com

I may not know the man personally, but I'm one of the billions of people in the world who've come to know him through his brainchild - the iconic Apple company - and the amazing gadgets and products under the Apple umbrella. His creative genius notwithstanding, Steve Jobs is also a fighter in his career and personal life. His battle with pancreatic cancer ended on 5 October 2011 when he finally succumbed to the disease after many years.

At this very moment, I'm typing on Zac my Mac. I'm also charging my iPod nano while writing this. I haven't got the iPhone or iPad (yet) but I'm planning to get the iPhone when my Nokia dies on me and my contract's up for renewal. I'm a Mac believer and the only reason why I haven't splurged on getting the full Mac range of products is because it's expensive raising 3 kids and I'll spend only what I have to. For me, getting an iPad or Macbook are "wants", not "needs".

Rest In Peace Steve Jobs. Thanks for revoluntionising the world with your creative and innovative brilliance and creation of the iWorld. You will definitely be missed.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/steve-jobs/8809997/Steve-Jobs-dies-live-blog.html

TODAYonline | World | While men stayed put, women roamed the earth

TODAYonline | World | While men stayed put, women roamed the earth

Oh. My. Goodness.

This is quite the revelation! Women being the sole breadwinners in pre-historic times?

Lately I've been thinking long and hard about my career and family. I'm doing relatively well at work and have received recognition for the efforts that I've put in. Plus I thoroughly enjoy teaching and am quite settled at my workplace. In fact, I'm not ashamed to proclaim that I intend to retire here!

With my kids growing up at supernova speed, I'm often at a loss because I really want to be there for them during the important developmental years but I can't convince myself to give up my teaching career. This emotional tug-of-war often wears me down, especially when more ex-colleagues and friends are making a conscious decision to ditch their high heels for slippers, and trade marketing company products for supermarket-ing groceries.

Now I don't feel so darn guilty about working instead of giving up my job to become a homemaker. :)

How to Start a Social Media Campaign: First Steps for Businesses to Monitor and Engage Consumers Online

How to Start a Social Media Campaign: First Steps for Businesses to Monitor and Engage Consumers Online

I'm in the midst of preparing my lecture notes and I chanced upon this article. It's a tad old (published in December 2008) - and if I've learnt anything at all about technology and the 21st Century, it's that the minute something's launched, it's considered 'rad' for about 3 days before it's deemed out-dated - but still covers the basics of social media and its uses in businesses.

I don't confess to be a tech-whiz (far from it) but I do embrace what's new and will amble my Gen-X soul through the intricacies of the tech-age. Yes, it's a slow and steady race and I know I can't grasp the clicks, drags and drops as quickly as the Gen-Yers or the iGeneration, but I'm not competing against anyone but myself.

And as an educator and communicator, I am constantly searching for ways to connect with my students and help prepare them for the working world. And since I teach Corporate Communications, I need to practice what I preach and keep myself updated with the current trends. Naturally, I do have a blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Afterall, I need to mess around a bit to get familiar with them before I enter the classroom, knowing that I'm going up against ardent social media fans whose lives revolve around these platforms.

So, kids (yes, I know some of you guys read this space to find out what your old teacher is up to these days), don't discount the advanatges of social media and how your career (and businesses) could benefit from these seemingly "fun" platforms. You're already social media expert users - it's just a matter of refining and retuning your orientation towards a more "serious" approach.

TODAYonline | World | World in Brief | Dead three-year-old fed olive oil and vinegar

TODAYonline | World | World in Brief | Dead three-year-old fed olive oil and vinegar

What in the world is happening?!??!?!?

First, reports about online-game-crazy addict mums who kill their kids for "disturbing" their games. And now this??!?!?!

If people aren't ready to be parents, they should think twice about having a kid. Parenthood ain't child's play, folks. It's serious business.

Toddler quits smoking

Toddler quits smoking

This must be most horrifying piece of news I've received in a long time.

Minus natural disasters, terrorist attacks and accidents, of course.

How in the world could any sane parent give a toddler a cigarette to smoke?!!? This 2-year-old kid was smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a DAY!

Initially, I taught it was a hoax until I saw the photo.

It's sickening. Why do people perform such ridiculous, downright atrocious acts? Honestly, if you want to smoke, no one is stopping you. But to offer it to an innocent toddler who doesn't know better? That's plain irresponsibility and stupidity!

My heart goes out to the poor kid. According to the reports, he's now cured. But I'm not sure how this is going to last before he succumbs to the stick again...

'Spiderman' arrested

'Spiderman' arrested

The world is full of strange people with strange past-times like climbing skyscrapers with their bare hands and getting arrested for it.

Apparently the French Spiderman has been in trouble with the law before but that obviously didn't stop him from scaling yet another building.

Plus, he's got an AGENT!

I guess he's made sufficient money from his crazy exploits to warrant the services of a publicist to manage his "career".

FIFA World Cup 2010 Finale

Exactly a week ago, at this very hour, I was getting ready to watch the most important soccer match of the year: the finals of FIFA World Cup.

Spain versus The Netherlands. The winner would etch their names in History as neither country has ever lifted the coveted trophy. The Spaniards were playing in their first ever finals. The Dutch were beaten twice.

Paul, the German Oracle Octopus, had picked Spain to win. I was rooting for Holland. I should have known better than to go up against a the eight-legged physic who's record is now 8 for 8!

Anyway, after watching how horrendously thuggish Team Oranje played in the finals, I reluctantly rejoiced when Spain midfielder Andres Iniseta sealed their fate with a goal in the 116th minute. Admittedly, my heart stopped when he netted the winning goal, and my fervent hopes for the Dutch underdogs were crushed. With 10 men and 3/4 of the players yellow-carded, the chances of equalising to drag out the match to a 2nd extra-time were second to none.

For Holland, it was an tragic case of three times a bridesmaid, never the bride. They were sooooooooooooooooo close to tasting victory but for some unfortunate stroke of luck, their unbeaten track record since 2008 came to a nasty halt when winning a match mattered most. Blame it on the rough tackles and ugly play of the orange-shirted team. Dutch stars Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie even claimed that referee Howard Webb was biased and favoured the European Champs.

Here are some highlights, or should I say, low points, of the match:

Spain played well, passing the ball accurately and bidding their time. They didn't resort to violence and cleverly waited for the opponents to grow restless and make costly mistakes. And the Dutch, desperate to win, fell into their trap.

In the finale, Holland's Wesley Sneijder and Spain's David Villa (who was substituted by Fernando Torres in extra time) were both denied an opportunity to win the Golden Ball and had to settle with 5 goals each. Uruguay striker Diego Forlan, who also scored 5 goals, won Best Player at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

So Spain is now World Champion and they will get to defend their title in 4 years. And after fighting to stay awake for hours on end to catch the matches, I now have World Cup withdrawal symptoms. I'll be anticipating the adrenaline rush again. Brazil 2014 - I'll be waiting!

Yeah Oranje!

I can't believe it! The Dutch beat the Brazilians in the quarter finals!

What a shocker! I'd expected the Samba Kings to dazzle with their fancy footwork and slick passing skills. Indeed they lived up to expectations in the first 10 minutes with an opening goal by Robinho and looked set to cruise into victory at the end of the first half.

But this was not to be as the Brazilian' fortunes nosedived when the teams reconvened on the pitch after half time. The Dutch equalised in the 53rd minute (actually it was an own goal by Felipe Melo when he tried to head the ball away from the goal) and Wesley Sneijder's 68th minute header put the Oranje in the lead.

Then came the shocking red card for Felipe Melo as he stamped hard on Arjen Robben's hamstring. And that was the proverbial final nail in the coffin for Brazil. With 10 men and 1 goal down, it would take a miracle for the tournament's favourites to move on to the semi-finals, especially after the Dutch managed to get their act together in the second half.

Although both teams had advanced without losing a single match in the finals, I felt that Brazil's a much stronger team in terms of playing style, skills and technicality. So it was a major disappointment that they were knocked out as I'd expected them to play in the finals.

I've always been a supporter of the underdogs and I'd wanted Holland to score so that the game would be more exciting. I didn't think they'd beat Brazil and it was indeed a pleasant surprise. I guess the bookies and punters are in a rage now.

Here's the official write up on FIFA's page.

Next match: Uruguay vs Ghana, and the winners will meet the Oranje! But tomorrow's fixtures of Germany vs Argentina, and Spain vs Paraguay are more drool-worthy. Thank goodness it's the weekend and I don't have to be up at 5.30 to get Xian ready for school!

World Cup 2010

The short term break is over and school's in full swing.

And now that we're in the thick of World Cup fever, I'm a little disappointed that I'm no longer able to function with just 3 to 4 hours of sleep so the 2.30am matches will soon be a thing of the past. Age is indeed catching up.

*Sigh*

It's getting progressively tough to stay focused during the day when I've only caught snatches of winks. A few days ago, my head was pounding so badly that I skipped dinner and took an hour's rest immediately after I reached home from work. I sprawled on the mattress and vaguely remember Xian coming in to the room sporadically to "check" on me and asking if I needed water. The throbbing pain didn't go away even after I had a quick shower and ate a few spoonfuls of rice just to fill the stomach.

I did, however, manage to catch the historical match between Portugal and North Korea where the former trounced the latter 7-0. I've never been a huge Cristiano Ronaldo fan because he's a bit of a show-off. But then again, with such chiseled good looks and sexy physique, it's hard to remain grounded. With a headache still gnawing at my brains, I went to bed early and gave the later matches a miss.

Yesterday, my head wasn't so heavy but I could still feel the tension against my temples throughout the entire day. Last night, I watched former world champs Les Blues fall from grace as they lost to host South Africa 2-1. The French were in wretched disarray and it was excruciatingly painful to watch. WIth their recent spade of bad luck, poor form and controversial internal squabbles, and the fact that they were down to 10 men, France was fortunate to salvage a goal to ensure that they didn't leave the tournament without scoring.

So far, the many of the European giants have failed to deliver. Reigning World Cup champs Italy and Euro Champs Spain seem to be struggling and their last few matches have been disappointing to say the least. Tonight, England takes on Slovenia while USA tackles Algeria.

Hopefully, I rid myself of the blasted headaches as I'd really love to watch the matches!

The Gores No More

My usual routine when I get to my desk every morning at work once I switch on my notebook is to click on the Yahoo news pop up "Top Stories" which usually features a mix of news and entertainment headlines. If there isn't any article that tickles my fancy, I just ignore the links and move on to check my email.

This morning was no different. But I did a double take when I saw this screaming for my attention: "Al Gore, wife Tipper, to separate".

At ages 62 and 61 respectively, the high school sweethearts have decided to end their marriage after 40 years - a union which spawned 4 kids, an 8-term Vice Presidency, an unsuccessful President candidacy and even a Nobel peace prize in 2007.

I'm sure the question on everyone's mind is: So what really happened? A seemingly perfect partnership gone sour? Were there external catalytic factors that drove a wedge between them? Or did they just became bored with each other? According to another source, timesonline, the couple had "grown apart".

This set me thinking about my own marriage. We'd just celebrated 11 years together as man and wife. So far, it's been a remarkable journey riddled with ups and downs, as all marriages would attest. But would we ever reach the stage where the mere sight of each other would send each running to opposite directions?

I guess that's something we'll never know for sure. After all, the only thing certain in life is death.

Hooray for Mummy's Milk!

The world's caught up with the Influenza A (H1N1-2009) bug. It's now a global pandemic. Although the virus appears to be relatively harmless, precautionary measures have been put in place to try and prevent its spread in Singapore.

I've been a tad uneasy about being exposed to the virus because we've got 3 young kids and 2 elderly folks at home. So when the numbers hit over 1,000 and a few cases emerged at the workplace, I got a bit worried.

And then I received an email from Mothercare which made me relax a little:

Click here to read the EDM in detail or visit this website for the write-up:

http://breastfeeding.suite101.com/article.cfm/cdc_advises_breastfeeding_during_h1n1_pandemic

Wouldn't it be amazing if the labs discover that breastmilk *is* the cure for H1N1?

I'm glad I'm still breastfeeding!

Michael Jackson: Gone Too Soon

By now, many people would have know that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, died yesterday on 25 June 2009.

He suffered a cardiac arrest and paramedics were unsuccessful in their attempts to revive him.

Such a tragic end to the world's greatest performer and entertainer. The iconic superstar garnered numerous awards and many accoladesfor his music and dance. His signature "moon walk" was unique, and his creativity knew no bounds, especially his music videos.

Despite his waining popularity over the last decade and his infamous child sexual abuse scandals, marriages-of-conveniences and general weird behaviour, MJ still has hordes (millions) of die-hard fans.

Here's a song "Gone Too Soon" which he dedicated to Ryan White, a young boy who was infected with AIDS through blood transfusion. In an ironic twist, these very words would echo the thoughts of every faithful MJ follower.

"Gone Too Soon"

Like A Comet
Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon

MJ, a million thanks for the music and memories.

2008's top 10

it's the final day of 2008!

no time for a lengthy post as i've still got to finish up setting the last set of test papers. but figured i'd like to quickly pen down my thoughts before the clock strikes at midnight.

so here's my list of top 10 events in 2008 that affected my life one way or the other:

10. The Sanlu tainted milk scandal - thank goodness i breastfeed :)

9. Obama's election into the White House - Change has finally come!

8. The Beijing Olympics record-breaking moments - go, BOLT!

7. Woofy's Corner - a new insight into the pet food retail industry

6. Pre-nursery classes for Wen - so proud that she's picked up stuff real quick

5. Primary One Registration for Xian - it's the start of my nightmare

4.Avenue Q the Musical - a rare chance to catch musicals so i totally treasure it

3. My x'mas surprise - Peni

2. My Perth Trip - 9 fantastic days with the family Down Under

1. Being mum for the 3rd time to Baby Wei

that wraps up 2008. and, before i go, here's a quick look at my 3 leonglets Monsterina (Xian), Rascalrella (Wen) and Terrorliza (Wei):

Have a very Happy and Healthy 2009!

Obamamania!

the people of United States have spoken.

they want CHANGE.

and Barack Obama, the Agent of Change, has been elected as USA's 44th President.

i was rooting for Obama all the way. i honestly didn't expect him to triumph over the powerfully connected Hilary Clinton during the Democratic primaries. however, once he secured the support of the democratic delegates and super delegates, i knew there was a strong chance of him becoming President.

just last week, before the elections, the hub and i were discussing who'd win the Presidential race. the polls had indicated Obama would win, but i was still skeptical.

then on 5 November (Singapore time) the results were announced state by state, and it became obvious that Obama was the clear winner even before all the ballots had been counted. it's a historic victory because a few years ago, no one would have believed that an African American would be given the country's top job.

and if there was any niggling doubt after the win was announced, the President Elect's sombre yet inspirational victory speech in Chicago erased all that uncertainty. to me, his most important words were:

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there."

Obama delivered his speech with utmost sincerity, dignity and credibility - all the makings of a great President.

and i am sure he'll be one.

McCain or Obama?

within the next 24 hours, the United States of America would have selected their next President.

will it be Republican war veteran John McCain the "Maverick"?

or Democrat Barack Obama, who'll make history as the first African American to head the so-called most powerful country in the world?

US citizens have begun to cast their votes. punters have placed their bets on Obama, and even the polls indicate that he'll walk away victorious.

but it's politics. and everyone knows how dirty and unpredictable it can get in the race to the White House.

i'm going to be glued onto CNN and check the detailed updates on http://www.cnn.com/.

mumsy the teevathlete

i'm suffering from the post-olympics hangover.

and it just won't GO AWAY!

for 2 weeks in august, i was a teevathlete. my eyes were glued onto the screen almost every night as i struggled to catch as many events as i possibly could. the coverage from starhub was AWESOME! 6 different channels broadcasting almost every single game, round, race, match...

volleyball. beach volleyball. swimming. track and field. gymnastics, diving etc. it was every teevathlete's dream.

everyone was talking about US swimmer michael phelp's quest for a seemingly impossible feat of 8 gold medals which he amazingly pulled off, smashing almost all the world records he'd already owned. phelp's going to be a gazillionaire. the golden boy can retire NOW and still support his future great grandchildren with money from sponsorships, endorsements and advertisements.

while i enjoyed watching the swimmers thrash and splash about in the watercube, my main focus was on the track events.

and boy, did it bring back memories of my days as a competitive school athlete. it was such a loooooong time ago when i sprinted. but whenever the runners lined up at the starting blocks, my heart would thump loudly. the adrenaline rush made me giddy with excitement and i felt like i was literally at the starting line waiting for the gun to go off!

without a doubt the beijing olympics sprint sensation was jamaican usain 'lightning' bolt who dashed the world records in 100m, 200m and the 4x100m men's relay. this unusually tall sprinter cruised so effortlessly to victory and caused a stir when he actually slowed down towards the end of his 100m final race. despite his clowning (and some say arrogant) antics, bolt still struck gold thrice and claimed new personal world records in 9.69 seconds (100m) and 19.30 (200m)!

imagine how much faster bolt would have been if he'd been really serious...

check out this youtube spoof of bolt's historic race:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzSpPaCIG0g&feature=related

well, it's been almost a month since the visually spectacular beiing 2008 opening ceremony directed by the talented zhang yimou. personally i felt the closing ceremony wasn't as breathtaking although the fireworks stole the show.

and the clever people at starhub probably realised there would be many teevathletes like me who'd be experiencing traumatising withdrawal symptoms and kindly scheduled re-runs of several final games and matches. i sought some measure of relief watching these re-runs and was grateful that i didn't have to suffer the cold-turkey treatment.

for now, it's 4 more years of wait. many things can happen in 4 years.

will usain bolt retain his sprint double fastest-man-in-the-world status?

will there be another upstart who'll challenge his reign?

will michael phelps come back to haul back more golds?

all will be revealed in 4 years' time.

see you in london 2012.