I venture to suggest that pandas have many fans not just because they look cute – but that many people can actually relate to them!
I mean, pandas are "lazy" – eating and sleeping makes their day. In fact, a 45-kilo adult (and pandas can reach 150kg in captivity) spends as long as 14 hours eating. And it can eat 12 to 38 kilos of bamboo a day.
And so, I’m posting these two video clips – one shows a panda loudly chomping on a carrot (Scientific name: Daucus carota subsp. sativus) and the other munching on a bamboo (Scientific name: Bambusoideae):
Strange as it may be but it does seem to me that the panda and I are sharing the same space at the same time and partaking of the same thing!
This reminds me of the “mukbang” fad – a trend that dates back to 2009 and has its origins in South Korea.
It is a portmanteau of the words. “muk-ja”, which means eating and “bang-song”, which translates to broadcast – and mukbang videos first popped up on Afreeca TV, a live streaming Korean Internet TV service.
The essence of these videos basically involves online personalities eating copious amounts of food, purely for the sake of entertaining viewers.
Many mukbang fans agree that these videos make them feel as though they are “eating” too.
Sometimes when I am hungry and there’s no food around and I’m just too lazy to go out to find food, watching mukbang helps to “fill me up”.
There are even those who claim that mukbang is the best way to curb cravings, especially when you know you can’t get your hands on them. And you get to feel satisfied, supposedly.
Two days before Sabahans make their choice, backdoor Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin boasted that a landslide victory is widely anticipated for his grand coalition that he calls Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.
Tomorrow is D-Day. We have to put our trust in the citizens of the state to do the right thing and cast their votes wisely.
On Thursday, Liverpool kicked off their EFL Cup campaign when they took on Lincoln City in the third round – where they thrashed the latter 7-2.
Xherdan Shaqiri unleashed the first of seven Liverpool goals with a brilliant ninth-minute free-kick into the top corner. Nine minutes later, Takumi Minamino curled home from outside the box. In the thirty-second minute, Curtis Jones scored from Divock Origi's cushioned header and four minutes after that, he scored again to give the Reds an unassailable 4-0 half-time lead.
Liverpool were quick on their feet and Minamino scored a volley seconds after the restart. In the sixty-fifth minute, Marko Grujic drilled home from 20 yards and Origi for the second time smashed home from a Minamino pass in the eighty-ninth minute.
As Jurgen Klopp told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We played a really good football game tonight. It was easy on the eye”. Of course, a nine-goal fest makes it a very watchable game!
Also yesterday, Celtic edged past Riga FC to reach the Europa League play-off round.
They won by a solitary goal when Jeremie Frimpong did a terrific run and crossed for substitute Mohamed Elyounoussi to steer the ball into the net in the ninetieth minute.
BBC Scotland’s Thomas Duncan had described the game as a painfully one-paced display against the stuffy Latvian champions. Certainly, it wasn’t an easy game for the Scottish champions because they really struggled to create chances.
Next is Sunday's Scottish Premiership match with Hibernian as Celtic aim to maintain pace with Rangers at the top of the table.
It is pretty common for many of us to have anxieties when we are suddenly called upon to speak on the spur of the moment. Here are 3 reasons why speakers are less confident when we have to shoot from the hip:
So how can we speak more confidently?
The reality is that spontaneous speaking requires us to think on our feet, quickly identifying both what you’re going to say and the best way to deliver the information. Fortunately, once we understand why impromptu speaking presents such a challenge, we can use cognitive reframing techniques to dish out comebacks that address the topic(s).
Cognitive reframing is a method of changing the way in which we habitually evaluate and revert appropriately to situations. By altering the way we think about something – essentially reprogramming our brains to view challenging circumstances in a different way – we can shift our instinctual reactions and responses.
Three specific approaches can help us confront the challenges identified earlier and become more confident impromptu speakers.
Time and time again, research has shown that effective communication skills are critical to success and satisfaction in our personal and professional lives. And since the vast majority of communication situations have some unpremediated elements to them, it is imperative that we become more confident, compelling and connected in these impromptu communication situations.
For sure, it takes time and effort but, once you’ve mastered these techniques, you’ll be just as eloquent and engaging off-the-cuff as you are when you’ve spent days or weeks preparing those three-to-five-minute speeches.
#publicspeakingYesterday, World Speakers' Coalition Kuala Lumpur had their maiden meeting.
Not surprisingly, Cyril Jonas decided on a “familiar” venue in Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar, i.e. Jarrod & Rawlins. Nine members came – we missed you, Alan Chew! – and the clinking of glasses signalled the formal start of our meeting.
Our convener was of course, Cyril and we brainstormed, discussed and mapped the direction we're going to take this Club.
Of course, no meeting is complete without speeches. Suriakumar started the ball rolling by speaking on a "random" topic and all of us took turns to speak. And lo and behold, we surprised ourselves with how our speeches panned out. These speeches had humor, irony, real-life insights, self-reflection, personal anecdotes and more. Indeed, a speaking session in an impromptu setting.
I think it is a great idea to kick off with a session that expects us to make speeches that are unprepared, unscripted and unrehearsed. I'm sure we all know that it’s much harder for speakers to demonstrate aplomb in spontaneous communication settings than in prepared addresses – but in this club, everyone rose to the occasion. And believe me, there were not a few members whose eloquence blew everyone away.
All in all, it was a meeting that gave us a platform to freely speak, share and say our piece in a wine-and-dine setting where we bantered, jested and just had fun!
The main highlight of the meeting was the handing out of Charter certificates – and herewith is a copy of my very first WSC document. Priceless.
This fact was quoted by an expert in medical entomology that was originally published in Sin Chew Daily and reprinted in The Star (p 14) on Monday.
Data in the last 5 years indicated that more Malaysians were bitten by these bloodsuckers indoors rather than outdoors. The situation was made worse by the tendency of homeowners to shut windows and doors whenever a fogging was done.
This, he said, would create a “safe haven” for the insects. He also added that rising temperatures over the last few decades had led to a change in their behavior.
“Aedes mosquitoes will bite at a temperature of between 24-degree Celsius and 30-degree Celsius. However, they are most active between 26 degree Celsius and 28 degree Celsius”, he said.
Okay, noted!
If you don’t know what it’s all about, kindly go and check my post “BRZRKR Sets Earnings Record in First 24 Hours” published September 07, 2020.
Just saw this when I went to the Kickstarter website! With 8 days remaining, BRZRKR has already secured 9,610 backers and accrued $1,005,863 worth of pre-orders todate! That is what I call a massive success!
Keanu Reeves rocks!
