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February 27, 2008

Quoteworthy

"If the lesser mind could measure the greater as a footrule can measure a pyramid, there would be finality in universal suffrage. As it is, the political problem remains unsolved".

-George Bernard Shaw

Bloom's Literary Reference Online

In his works, Shaw criticized almost everything identifiable with English society. He was critical of the English participation in World War I ( Commonsense about the War, 1914) and was sympathetic to the Irish 1916 rebellion. His writing also criticizes the failures of capitalism. In 1923, Shaw refused a knighthood, but he did accept the Nobel Prize in 1925. Despite his many criticisms of life around him, Shaw believed in a natural man who could improve himself by means of correct social awareness combined with the energy Shaw thought emanated from a universal Life Force.

Shaw was convinced that people could live as long as they wished, so long as they were in tune with their own bodies and the Life Force. He intended to prove that it could be done—but when he was 93, he fell out of a tree he was pruning and broke his hip. When his doctor informed him that his hip would not heal, leaving him helpless, Shaw replied that he did not choose to live like that. He died within the week, on November 2, 1950.

Citations:
Image Citation: "Shaw, George Bernard." From: Current History of the War v.I (December 1914–March 1915). New York: New York Times Company. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMDGBS02&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 14, 2008).

Text Citation: Bloom, Harold, ed. "Shaw, George Bernard." George Bernard Shaw, Bloom's Major Dramatists. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMDGBS02&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 14, 2008).

What more could you ask for? Check out our NLB resources TODAY!

Posted by digitalk team at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 25, 2008

Who will win...Who should win

Who Won: Digitalk discusses the 80th OSCAR Awards Ceremony.

So, its out.

We've all got the news on who got their hands on the Little Golden Guy. And as the past Oscars go, some wins were obvious while others put more question marks on one's face than could fit on the Riddler's outfit in Batman Forever.

Contenders for best picture were, amongst the more popular choices, No Country for Old Men, There Will be Blood, Juno and Michael Clayton but it was No Country for Old Men that landed the Oscar eventually, which wasn't a surprise at all, it was one big winner winning Best Director for Joel and Ethan Coen. Javier Bardem's (No Country For Old Men) and Daniel Day-Lewis' (There Will Be Blood) win for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor respectively were no shockers either. In contrast, Marion Cotillard's (La Vie En Rose) triumph for Best Actress over hotly-tipped Julie Christie (Away From Her) was entirely unexpected, but Cotillard was met with raptorous applause nontheless.

Want more juicy news on the Oscars? Check out Library PressDisplay where you can get a glimpse pf hot-off-the-press news about the 80th Oscar Academy Awards straight from U.S.A's leading newspapers like the New York Post and Washington Times Daily.

Image Citation: Evening Standard (West End Final), 24th February 2008

Posted by digitalk team at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eco-logical Ideas

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth."
Umberto Eco

Born in Alessandria, Italy, Umberto Eco is the son of Giralio Eco, an office worker for an iron-bathtub manufacturer, and Giovanna (Bisio) Eco. He grew up amid World War II, dodging bombs in the countryside as a young teen but also embracing American literature and popular music.

Eco received a doctorate of philosophy from the University of Turin in 1954 at age 22. His thesis on St. Thomas Aquinas and his later work, The Development of Medieval Aesthetics (1959), helped stir his passion for the medieval world.After his 1954 graduation, Eco worked in Milan preparing cultural programs for RAI, a new state television network. This exposure to television gave him insights into the world of mass media, a subject about which he wrote extensively later in his career. From 1956 to 1964, Eco held a lecturing post at the University of Turin and from 1964 to 1965 at the University of Milan.

In the late 1950s, Eco began to contribute to such Italian daily newspapers and magazines as L'Espresso, but it was the publication of his first novel, The Name of the Rose, that won Eco worldwide critical acclaim. In 1986, the novel was made into a major motion picture starring Sean Connery and also received the Strega and Viareggio Prizes, as well as the Medici Prize in France.

Eco is also well known for Foucault's Pendulum (1988), a novel set in Milan, Paris, and Brazil. It tells the story of a search for a plan of the universe that involves the medieval religious order the Knights Templar and their plans for world domination. The story comes to this conclusion: "There is no map. There is no plan: the secret, he has come to see, is that there is no secret; the answer is that there is no answer." His other novels include The Island of the Day Before (1994), Baudolino (2000), and The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (2004).

Umberto Eco is currently a Professor of Semiotics at the University of Bologna, Italy.

Text citation:Diamond, Marie Josephine, ed. "Eco, Umberto." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 19th and 20th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. (Updated 2006.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.

Image citation: Transactions and Proceedings of the Modern Language of America, Vol. 103, No. 3 (May, 1998), pp. 254-261. JSTOR.

Other than Bloom's Literary Reference Online and JSTOR explore NLB's wide range of eResources which cover an abundance of topics that will amaze you, and all for FREE!

Posted by digitalk team at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 22, 2008

High Five: Singapore WINS the 2010 Youth Olympic games

Yesterday marked the union of the five stars with the five rings as Singapore won the bid for the 2010 Youth Olympic games. It triumphed over its main rival, Moscow in a closely fought battle to become the first country ever to host the inaugural Youth Olympics.

Singapore's win of 53 votes against Moscow's 44 showed that Singapore was well ahead of Moscow in the voting, marking us as a clear choice for the event. For all the benefits that the impending Youth Olympics is predicted to provide Singapore, one can be sure that the spirit of camaraderie everyone felt last night is the one thing we will remember it for. The joy and jubilation were apparent in all who heard the news, and it was evident that an undercurrent of pride surged through the entire nation.

And it gets more exciting - 2010 will be a year of firsts for the Olympic Games. It is not only the year of the first Youth Olympics but also the first ever Olympics to be held in a South-east Asian nation. Mr. Ng Ser Miang, Singapore’s sole International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative was the gutsy genius who first mooted the idea to bid for the games last May. On winning the bid, he said that “this is something really made in Heaven”. Even Olympian and Singapore Sports Council Chief executive Oon Jin Teik was ecstatic. “The journey has started for the spark to come back”, he said.

The Youth Olympics will be a 12-day event with athletes from all over the world aged 14 to 18 years of age. They will take part in the same events as in the traditional Olympic games. With over 3000 athletes and 875 officials, one cannot imagine the immense excitement the event will create.

If you are as proud as most of Singapore (and even if you’re not), write in and tell us how you feel. Leave your thoughts in our comment box.

To read more about Singapore's victory check out e-versions of Today newspaper and The Straits Times on Library PressDisplay and do check out SportDiscus, a comprehensive eDatabase on sports to get more insight into the Youth Olympics.

Posted by digitalk team at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

February 18, 2008

eNEWS ANNOUNCEMENT

Take part in our READ ALL ABOUT IT! eNews Quiz

You could walk away with an IPOD NANO with a storage capacity of 4 GB!

Quiz is open from 13 Feb-20th Feb 2008.

To participate, Click HERE now!

Posted by digitalk team at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kosovo Declares Independence- eNews Update

Read about the event and the world's response to it on NLB's eNews sites. Get reliable information and authoratative news from worldwide newspapers. Receive the breaking news and analysis from these eNews databases:

To view a complete list of e-newspapers provided by the NLB, click here

- Library Press Display
- Newsbank
- Lexis Nexis

P.S: A repository of information at your fingertips, completely FREE.

Posted by digitalk team at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 15, 2008

Singapore Team Champions Amazing Race Asia!

We've got the latest news and it's juicy enough. The Singapore Team which embarked on the Amazing Race Asia 2 has won. Here, we provide interesting information of their journey to the top.

Also, in line with the Asian theme, these collections to pique your interest from Overdrive, OnAsia.com for an Asian Wildlife special and AsiaRom , Asia Studies Full Text Online, Bibliography of Asian Studies,

Read on to hear more about their claim to fame!

Channel News Asia carried this artcle:
By Gamar Abdul Aziz, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 February 2008 0034 hrs

Gym buddies Adrian Yap, 27, and Collin Low, 35, beat nine other teams in a race that started in Singapore and took them across four continents in 24 days.

What is more amazing is Adrian is hearing-impaired, making it the first time in the Amazing Race history that a disabled person has emerged as a winner.

Collin says his partner's disability actually proved to be an advantage.

They communicated in sign language when they did not want others to know about their strategies.

The Singapore pair edged out Malaysian sisters Vanessa and Pamela Chong, as well as hot favourites Marc and Rovilson from the Philippines, to win the US$100,000 prize. - CNA/de

And so, we decided to provide you with 2 books that would inspire YOU to run your own race.
In the spirit of overcoming all obstacles to triumph:

Combining compelling stories from the author's twenty-five-year practice, examples from his own struggles with addiction and depression, and practical exercises and tools, Embracing Fear does not pretend to teach the impossible and eliminate fear, but rather shows us that once we understand it we can live beyond its tyrannical control. Instead of repressing or ignoring the voices of panic and dread, we learn that it is only through facing, exploring, accepting, and responding to fear that we free ourselves from its paralyzing grip.

In the spirit of travel in Asia:

This amazingly detailed guide, assembled by an intrepid and tireless team of writers, takes you through the best of 10 countries with all the practical information, late-breaking bargains, cultural insights, and user-friendly maps that have long been hallmarks of our series.

Posted by digitalk team at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 14, 2008

Je t'aime, Je t'adore

Valentine's Day 2008 is upon us. It is a day to express your love, and to celebrate the spirit of love. However, for those of you who do not want to shell out the big bucks for a fancy dinner and find that giving V-Day cards filled with some sappy, love stricken opportunity to beg for some good loving, a little too cheesy; we understand your predicament.

Thus, we have lined up a fine selection of eBooks and audio Books from our Overdrive eBook collection. You can either wind down and relax with these titles or impress your loved ones with 'intellect'!

For All the Singles Out There

Are you having trouble meeting the right people at the office? Are you tired of the bar scene? Then why not join thousands of other singles who are using the Internet to find love and romance? This 80+ page step-by-step downloadable guide will show you: - Why dating online is convenient and fun - How to figure out exactly what you're looking for in a date - How to find and use a quality digital dating website - How to write a great ad that will attract the right kind of dates - The best way to evaluate all those wonderful new dates - How to correctly respond to other people's ads - Great ways to protect your privacy - How to safely meet your online dates in the real world -The best way to impress your date and start a relationship.

Is finding someone to share your life an impossible task? Are there really any worthy fish left in the sea? According to clinical psychologist Judith Sills, finding love is easier than you think—and more within your control than you realize. This practical guide to finding the right mate for you reveals: · The three “Golden Rules” of dating · How to change your negative attitudes and expectations · The best model for choosing a mate · The Gourmet Single’s guide to screening strangers · How to identify and evaluate sexual problems early in the relationship Complete with proven strategies and quizzes to help clarify your dating priorities, How To Stop Looking For Someone Perfect and Find Someone to Love provides invaluable advice for all singles on how to stop inventing obstacles and start seeking love.

Welcome to the definitive guide to flirting in the 21st century. Learn essential tips such as how to make your first impression count, when physical contact works (and when it doesn't), what to say and, more importantly, when to leave them guessing. Actions speak louder than words and in the universal language of flirting this book is the essential phrasebook. The author has been appearing regularly on TV and radio for the past 8 years as an expert on flirting and chat-up techniques. His TV credits include interviews on GMTV, Richard & Judy, BBC TV News, The Good Sex Guide, and more than 45 other shows. He is formerly one of Britain's Most Eligible Bachelors and one of Tatler magazine's Top Dates. He is the author of the bestselling books How to Chat-up Babes and The Little Book of Chat-up Lines.

For All Those Truly, Madly, Deeply in Love

Thirty-five short stories about love, romance and relationships by John Broussard.

We all know the fantasy about our other half, the person we're destined to marry and the endless love that will sweep us away. In the fairy tale, every day after the wedding is summed up the same: And so they lived happily ever after. Yet ask anyone who has woken up after the honeymoon to find Prince Charming's socks on the floor, and she'll tell you a far different story: Daily life has a way of usurping the magic--unless we learn how to make more.
Touching, perceptive, and often hilarious, EVERY DAY I LOVE YOU MORE (JUST NOT TODAY) is a guide to making love last. It celebrates the times that make married hearts soar and helps cushion the fall on those inevitable days when your prince looks a little bit froggy, like the Christmas he gives you business cards or the days he leaves his breakfast dishes on the table and his helpfulness at the office.

Welcome to The Mr. & Mrs. Happy Handbook, Steve Doocy's laugh-out-loud perspective on love, marriage, and family. The book can be used for its hilarious husband and wife wisdom or, if things aren't going well, as a projectile to get somebody's attention. This is not an advice book. It is a DON'T EVEN THINK OF TRYING THIS book. The author, his family, and his collection of friends (some very famous in the worlds of entertainment, business, and politics) have already discreetly made almost every conceivable marriage mistake, and it is their hope that this irrev- erent manual can save you the trouble of being an idiot on your own.

Simon Frederick Cynster has a perfect life - one of enormous wealth and impeccable social status. His lean handsomeness turns the heads of naïve debutantes, while his sensual allure ensures he never lacks for more sophisticated partners for a night of pleasure.

For Those of You Needing Inspiration to Spruce Up Your Love Life

An amusing and entertaining collection of inventive, imaginative, incredibly impressive and sometimes downright insane ways to say the three most romantic words in the English language... ‘I Love you’.

Anthony Rapp captures the passion and grit unique to the theater world as he recounts his life-changing experience in the original cast of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent.
Anthony had a special feeling about Jonathan Larson’s rock musical from his first audition, so he was thrilled when he landed a starring role as the filmmaker Mark Cohen. With his mom’s cancer in remission and a reason to quit his newly acquired job at Starbucks, his life was looking up.

Of all the stimuli that have inspired poets over the centuries, love in all its guises has been an unceasingly rich and varied source of powerful, romantic and exquisite verse. Love poems have retained their popularity through the years by expressing eternal and universal emotions. From Chaucer to Coleridge, Shakespeare to Shelley, the same message of love has been put to verse in a myriad of poetic styles. Classic Love Poems contains a cross section of the true ‘classics’ of the genre, and constitutes a thorough representation of the enduring power of love over all humankind. Poets in this anthology include: Blake, Byron, Chaucer, Coleridge, Donne, Keats, Marlowe, Marvell, Milton and many others.

For Those Who Hate Cupid

Roses are red Violets are blue I hate Valentine's Day... Just like you. One of the top wedding photographers in town, Liv Hetherington, steadfastly single, hates Valentine's Day. This year she's putting her foot down and has vowed there'll be no dinner party set-ups, speed-dating frenzies or any other form of accidental dating organized by her father, flatmate or best friend. Liv's ecstatic, to say the least. Now she can concentrate on more important things like setting up her own studio and polishing off her Dickens collection. But are relationships really not for her? Drew, the new man in Liv's life, would beg to differ. As would Cupid, who's had enough of Liv being stubbornly single... Valentine's Day...bah, humbug. Or is that about to change?

Avoid the booty call blues and get the love you deserve! Come on. Admit it. He may not be that into you, but were you ever really that into him? He was never "the one," but you lowered your standards and dated him in the meantime. Why? For any number of reasons: you were lonely, you were horny, you thought dating him was better than being alone, all your friends are getting married - you name it. And before you knew it, you got hung up on the jerk. Go figure. The world is full of sensational women, but in today's market there are too few good men to go around (or so it appears). Now, Dr. Ian Kerner, clinical sexologist and author of the smash hit She Comes First, explores the battlefield of sex, hook ups, go-nowhere relationships.

Posted by digitalk team at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sprinklings of Love on Valentines'

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" - Elizabeth Brennett Browning

So Love is in the air! And this is how we plan to celebrate it here at Digitalk: a seductive list of chocolates and sweets, cinnamon spicy and food encapsulating all things nice. Throw in our aromatic recommmendation vintage wine and you have the perfect combination for lovers and loving alike.

Oolala.

You know, Valentines' shouldn't just be celebrated on Valentines' Day. No matter how cliche it sounds, EVERYDAY IS V'DAY. Inevitably, our recommendations here will carry you through the whole year and the next. So live it up for LOVE.

DESSERTS:
1) So, here's the formal definition of chocolates:
(England & Spain) A bitter dark brown solid mixture of cocoa butter and cocoa bean solids made from the fermented pods of the cacao tree from which the seeds are removed, dehusked, roasted and shelled, then ground into a paste which is worked between rollers until the correct smooth physical form is achieved. This chocolate is then further processed to make cocoa solids, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, chocolates (confectionery), cooking chocolate, couverture, etc.

2. A confectionery item made by mixing chocolate and cocoa butter to give about 35% fat content then flavouring with almond, vanilla and/or other spices and sweetening to taste. In the UK, chocolates are adulterated with vegetable fat, butter fat and milk solids.

International Dictionary of Food and Cooking, Peter Collin Publishing, © Charles G. Sinclair 1998

Read more about it at CREDO Reference Library

2) Petit Fours

Small sweetmeats, chocolates and tiny decorated cakes served with coffee at the end of a meal.

Typically, petits fours consist of alternate layers of sponge cake and butter cream topped by frosting and are approximately 1 inch square and about 1.5 to 2 inches high. Petit Fours are covered with fondant, often pastel in color. Petits fours are commonly decorated with piped icing roses or other sugar embellishments. Petits fours may also, however, refer to any number of small confections.

Complement your petit fours with a string of rhapsodies and poetic quatrains, old-fashioned sonnets at The Columbia Grangers' World of Poetry

3)BEST WINES:

A signature dish at the Parkview of Shilla Hotel, the all-day dining restaurant where breakfast is served. It offers 214 seats and the panoramic views of Nam San mountain in the heart of Seoul. The Parkview is also the first buffet restaurant in Korea to offer authentic Cantonese and Mandarin style dim sum by chefs from China and Hong Kong.

Vintage Wines
A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown in a single specified year, and are accordingly dated as such. Variations in a wine's character from year to year can include subtle differences in color, palate, nose, body and development. Good quality red table wines in particular can improve in flavor with age if properly stored.Consequently, it is not uncommon for wine enthusiasts and traders to save bottles of an especially good vintage wine for future consumption. Most countries allow a vintage wine to include a portion of wine that is not from the labeled vintage.

Want the lowdown on the classifications of wine by vintage and country?
Visit, NLB's Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Savour it all with this playing in the background:

A Broadway Love Song
By: Helen Ahern

Synopsis:
Love and art collide in this tale of Tin Pan Alley and the Great White Way. Originally published in the August 1934 issue of Thrilling Love.

Read it at OVERDRIVE

And so, as we conclude this section on Valentines' deserts, we wish all our blog readers a HAPPY VALENTINES' DAY! (including all the singles, anti-valentines, couples, babies, mommies and daddies and so forth).

Because love knows no boundaries.

Posted by digitalk team at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

February 13, 2008

Don't Get Burned On eBay

Fancy doing some online shopping? Browse and click according to your needs? eBay has heeded the call of this raging market. But here's the interesting twist!

A book written by: Shauna Wright

Overview:
Lots of books tell you how to buy and sell on eBay. But what if something goes horribly awry? Do you have to chalk it up to a "lesson learned," lick your wounds and move on? Not a chance. Don't Get Burned on eBay offers relevant lessons based on real-life stories posted on eBay's Answer Center. With sharp, witty rhetoric, veteran eBay user Shauna Wright (co-founder of the popular web site WhoWouldBuyThat.com (www.whowouldbuythat.com), shows eBay veterans and newcomers alike how to avoid those nasty scenarios, and how to pull themselves out of the muck if they've already fallen in.

Book Review:
Six entertaining (and hair-raising) chapters cover real problems that people have encountered with bidding, payment, shipping, packaging, dealing with other eBayers, and coping with the eBay system. This book is for anyone who's ever used eBay, because even veteran buyers and sellers often don't know the intricacies of eBay's and PayPal's rules. Don't Get Burned on eBay will leave you well-informed and better protected from potential pitfalls. The book's extensive glossary and numerous in-depth sidebars also make the book useful to people who haven't yet taken the plunge into eBay.

An eBook from an NLB database: Safari Tech Online
To read DON'T GET BURNED ON EBAY, click HERE

Posted by digitalk team at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 12, 2008

Earthscape: Cambodia

"More than 1.7 million people visited the Angkor Wat last year. With a 30 percent increase per annum, it is the fastest growing tourism industry for any World Heritage Monument. Unfortunately, little of the money generated by the site trickles down to the village level. Moreover, the hosting province, Siem Reap, remains one of the poorest in the country. Concerned about this polarisation of wealth, a string of tourism operators have chosen to take the poverty problem into their own hands. By encouraging travellers to not only stay but spend money at a community level, Siem Reap is fast becoming a model for sustainable and responsible tourism in Asia" On Asia photographer Luke Duggleby reports.

An aerial view of Angkor Wat set in the vast flat plains of northwestern Cambodia. The Angkor temple complex was made a UNESCO World heritage site in 1993. At that time the number of visitors was small but is now increasing at almost 30% a year. Today over one million people visit Angkor each year, already leading to massive problems for the site, but authorities are hoping that by 2012 the number will reach 6 millions.

Thousands of tourists fight for space and view everyday at the top of Phnom Bakheng. The Angkor temple complex was made a UNESCO World heritage site in 1993. At that time the number of visitors was small but is now increasing at almost 30% a year. Today over one million people visit Angkor each year, already leading to massive problems for the site, but authorities are hoping that by 2012 the number will reach 6 millions.

Everyday thousands of tourists, particularly Japanese and Koreans, clamber up and down the ancient steps of Angkor Wat. The Angkor temple complex was made a UNESCO World heritage site in 1993. At that time the number of visitors was small but is now increasing at almost 30% a year. Today over one million people visit Angkor each year, already leading to massive problems for the site, but authorities are hoping that by 2012 the number will reach 6 millions.

At Wat Damnak temple in the centre of Siem Reap, one of the monks helps run a sewing centre for women in collaboration with the luxury Hotel de la Paix. Clients are usually guests of the hotel, and everything they produce is sold to give money back to the community. It is one of a several responsible tourism projects that are helping locals who do not profit from the nearby famous national monument, Angkor Wat.

The elegant art-deco Hotel de la Paix. Situated in the heart of Siem Reap, this hotel not only provides luxury accommodation for visitors of the famed Angkor Wat temples, but also actively supports and encourages the interaction of guests with the local community through sustainable tourism. They do this by encouraging the guests to take part in community-based activities such as rice sponsorship, educational support and mentoring programs. Through the hotel's links with international NGOs and local aid organisations, guests can make direct contribution to Cambodia's rural poor, those who see nothing of the massive amount that Angkor Wat receives through entry fees every year.

On the steep steps leading up to Ta Keo temple, a old Buddhist monk struggles up as a young Khmer boy speeds past him.

A rickshaw driver waits for tourists to leave the many bars that are now opening in Siem Reap

Planning to travel to Cambodia? Be a responsible tourist. Check these out!

1) TITLE: VIETNAM, LAOS & CAMBODIA ADVENTURE GUIDE

Enormous lakes, huge waterfalls, elephant rides, jungles, warm and friendly people, fabulous food – experiences that will last a lifetime. Canoe on historic lakes, kayak the South China Sea, snorkel its pristine waters, see some of the largest waterfalls in the world, visit untouched islands, trek to hill-tribe areas, collect ethnic art, wander through the food and craft markets, explore the ancient teak forests. The author visits the area each year for several months and knows it intimately. She shows you the best ways to see every part of it. Visit the Chinese border of Vietnam to watch the trading hubbub, see Hanoi and the remnants of its Colonial past, rent a bicycle to explore the old city and the French Quarter. The author shows you how. In Hué the imperial temples along the Perfume River will never leave your memory. We tour them. Laos & Cambodia, almost undiscovered by Westerners, are lands of stunning scenery, raging rivers, fantastic food. We provide detailed information on where to stay, what to eat and where, what to see and do. The author shows you how to experience this region more intensely and directly than most travelers know how to do – seeing the places close-up through walks and other adventures, both cultural and physical.

2) TITLE: CAMBODIA
BY: CLAUDIA CANESSO

This book describes one of the major world nations, Cambodia, a land with a magnificent history. Once the heart of a mighty empire of the ancient world, it ruled Southeast Asia for 500 years. For the past 40 years, this small nation has been torn by civil war and political strife. Cambodia suffered immensely under the regime of Pol Pot, wherein 3 million people were ruthlessly killed. However, recent events indicate that the future will improve in the tropical country.

Posted by digitalk team at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 11, 2008

My Friend- Ah Meng

It is claimed that thousands thronged the Singapore Zoo last afternoon, hoping to catch a final glimpse of a beloved creature, close to the hearts of many Singaporeans and zookeepers alike. Grieving on such a scale would not have been possible if the persona herself had not been charismatic, influential and loving to grab the hearts of so many.

Ms Fanny Lai, executive director of the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari commented, " Usually we try not to get emotionally attached to the animals. However, Ah Meng was different".

About 4000 visitors gathered at the Garden With A View yesterday morning to pay their respects to Ah Meng, who was laid to rest in a coffin with a bronze statue marking the spot. Plans have also been made for a durian tree to be planted near the gravesite. (Durians were Ah Meng's favourite fruit).

The 48 year old orang utan has been an iconic representation of the Singapore Zoo. In fact, Ah Meng was the first non-human to be crowned Tourism Ambassador for Singapore. Sumatran orang utans are a dying breed in the wild and many have been reared in captivity in order to preserve their species. Ah Meng had played a crucial role during her lifetime in promoting the conservation of her species in the region and further on in Australia.

There has been some discussion over who should take over the reigns of Ah Meng as icon of the Singapore Zoo. Some name Chawang, the 35-year old elephant that resides there or Chomel, Ah Meng's grandaughter and favourite or Inuka the polar bear. There are still other possible candidates who reside in the zoo.

However, one thing is clear: Singapore has lost an icon dearly treasured by all those who were acquainted with her. She exuded warmth and personality that struck a chord with everyone. Today we bid farewell to a HUMBLE CREATURE and a FRIEND- Ah Meng

Posted by digitalk team at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 07, 2008

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Over the New Year holiday in China, millions of people will travel from work to home or to visit relatives. All over the world, Chinese communities will be celebrating. From Bangkok to San Francisco, Taipei to Washington D.C, firecrackers, incense, lion dancers and the colour red will paint the traditional ushering of the New Year.

We give you the perpective of a photojournalist, as we delve into the Chinese New Year.

Bangkok-Paper and gold to be used in the afterlife. Women pray in the streets of Chinatown during this period.

In the Tibetan town of Shangrila, locals celebrate the Chinese New Year by performing traditional Tibetan dances in the main-square of the old town.

A security guard walks underneath lanterns that have been hung outside Ditan Park as part of the festivities to welcome the Year of the Rat. Festivals, packed with street theatre, music, games are as much a part of Chinese New Year as astrology and family reunions.

Bangkok- Backstage during a Chinese New Year performance. The Chinese opera shows are especially popular during this festive period. This specific troupe of Thais and ethnic Chinese tour Southern Thailand every year.

Taiwan- A man dressed as a God Tsai Hsen-Yeh assistant, welcome traders at the first opening day after the Lunar New Year holiday at Taiwan Securities. Trading started with a jump in the stock market, leaving traders confident at their prospects in the new year.

San Francisco- Members of the Police Department Lion Dance team perform during the annual Chinese New Year parade. San Francisco is home to the largest Chinatown outside Asia. The year 2008 is the year of the RAT.

Singapore- the lighted streets of Chinatown. Locals and visitors mingle in the throng of crowds as people grab best-priced food, decorations, music and performances in the month preceding the Chinese New Year.

Kuala Lumpur- Incense sticks burning in a Chinese temple.

China- A girl entertains the crowd at Dongyue temple during the Lunar New Year festivities. People all across China flock to festivals with live performances such as opera, dancing, street theatre and acrobatics- during the week-long holiday!

Malaysia- Workers install light bulbs into traditional Chinese lanterns in preparation for the upcoming Chinese New Year at a Buddhist temple in Kuala Lumpur. The ethnic Chinese Malaysians are looking foward to the Year of the Rat.

These pictures are provided by OnAsia.com.
The NLB's largest repository of pictures with a unique Asian touch.
Explore it for FREE here.

Posted by digitalk team at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 05, 2008

Love What You Do

Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
Kahlil Gibran

Gibran, Khalil (1883-1931)

Lebanese-American writer and artist, best known for 'The Prophet', a book of poetical essays that has sold millions of copies worldwide. Gibran was a leader in the Arab-American community and published periodicals that influenced literary development in the Arab world. His 'Spirits Rebellious' (1908), a collection of short stories protesting religious and political tyranny, was publicly burned in the Beirut marketplace and suppressed by the Syrian government. Gibran was exiled from Lebanon and excommunicated from the Maronite Church.

Kahlil is also known for his inspirational and thought-provoking love quotes that got many reminiscing about their past loves and old flames.

The short biography of Kahlil Gibran was taken off from our new database, Blooms Literary Reference Online. It explores the lives and works of great writers throughout history and the world, with new literary criticism and writings of renowned literary critic, Harold Bloom.

Read about the fascinating lives of world-famous writers—from Aeschylus to Anita Desai, from Ernest Hemingway to Émile Zola. In addition to that, study the great works of world literature—from influential novels, poems, and plays to important works of nonfiction.

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