Food flags

These twelve flags created from edibles indigenous to the country they represent will be seen in the new Sydney International Food Festival in October, 2009.


Italy

Japan

Lebanon

Spain

India

Greece

France

Brazil

Australia

South Korea

Switzerland

Vietnam

Identifying Your Child's Thinking Style

Is getting your kids organized a constant uphill battle? You might find this daily challenge less frustrating if you could identify your kid's thinking style. According to Lanna Nakone, organizing consultant and author of Every Child Has a Thinking Style, "You need to figure out how they learn, so you can create a system that supports them,"

Take this quiz to determine if your kid is a maintainer, harmonizer, innovator or prioritizer. Circle one answer for each question to determine how he/she learns.

1. When playing outside, he/she:
a. Moves quickly
b. Moves slowly
c. Motivates others
d. Plays by herself

2. His/her most noticeable personality trait is:
a. Being organized
b. Helping people
c. Being innovative
d. Being goal-oriented

3. With changes, he/she is:
a. Rigid
b. Worried
c. Flexible
d. Logical

4. With toys, he/she focuses on:
a. Following instructions
b. Relationships between toys
c. Elaborate fantasies about the toys
d. The function it can perform

5. When irritated, the best way to calm him/her down is by:
a. Explaining the rules and giving her a strategy to follow them
b. Empathizing then changing the subject
c. Showing a sense of humour and being informal and open-minded
d. Listen closely then give her sound, logical advice

6. His/her handwriting is:
a. Very legible
b. Attractive
c. Creative
d. Minimal

7. In her spare time, he/she likes to:
a. Tidy up
b. Hang out
c. Do crafts
d. Fix things

8. Others see him/her as:
a. A rule-follower
b. Friendly
c. A day dreamer
d. Competitive

9. A symbol for him/her is:
a. A compass
b. An ocean wave
c. A flying bird
d. A lightening bolt

10. He/She could be:
a. An inspector
b. A diplomat
c. An artist or scientist
d. A decision-maker

Circle the right answers, then tally each letter type. If your child scored:

Mostly As: Penguin (Maintainer)
Mostly Bs: Dog (Harmonizer)
Mostly Cs: Horse (Innovator)
Mostly Ds: Lion (Prioritizer)

If your child scored equally on two thinking styles, consider the following advice on both before deciding which he/she is most prone to.

THE PENGUIN - MAINTAINER

Similar in character to penguins, maintainers love schedules and rules and are not particularly fussy - unless you suddenly need them ready to go, now! Kids who fall into this category are mostly meticulous, love being punctual and are always prepared. But they tend to play by the rules and can be controlling.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
* Respect their need to be highly organised.
* Teach them early to tell time and make schedules they can follow
* Let them have a "Do Not Disturb" sign on their bedroom and avoid interrupting them.

THE DOG - HARMONIZER

Kids who are harmonizers tend to be the "most loyal, sensitive and helpful of the four thinking style", says Lanna. Unfortunately, because they focus on feelings rather than defined, solid concepts such as deadlines, harmonizers often run late. And they're clutter bugs.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
* Try to be generous with praise and compliments.
* Make organising their clutter as fun as possible.
* Harmonizers respond to colours, so colour-code their storage boxes, hangers and homework folders.


THE HORSE - INNOVATOR

The innovator tends to be a "big picture' thinker. Often very bright, they live in their heads more than their real world, don't care where all their stuff is kept, and are very easily distracted.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
* Innovators often forget homework, so always give them a reminder list.
* Have two sets of school books - one for school and the other for home.
* Get simpler home furnishings, like hooks instead of hangers for your kid's clothes.

THE LION - PRIORITIZER

Charming, confident and rarely intimidated, the prioritizer has the take-charge-and-get-it-done sort of personality.But they loathe details and will try to delegate any activity they consider to be too mundane.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
* Keep their homework area functional and neat. They resent having to search for pens or paper.
* Use logic, rather than emotion, to communicate and negotiate with lions:
* Give specific directions, schedules and instructions

source - The Malaysian Women's Weekly

Margaux Lange

Unconventional , bizzare but nonetheless artistic , jeweller Margaux Lange uses Barbie parts for her eclectic, wearable creations.

“My childhood spent with Barbie cultivated my interest in adornment. Extensive play with the doll and her miniature world strengthened my dexterity. This is a skill imperative to the art of jewelry making. Hence it feels natural for me to make art on a small scale.
I enjoy the funny juxtaposition of wearing the body, on the body. Barbie has become the accessory instead of being accessorized. I take pleasure in the contrast and contradiction of something mass-produced being transformed and revealed as a unique, handmade, wearable piece of art.” – Margaux Lange.

Roberto Bernardi

Yeap, I had to do a double-take when I first saw these pics. They are paintings and not photographs by Roberto Bernardi. These highly realistic paintings are nothing but a combination of oil, canvas, and pure genius.

Definitions By Gender

* THINGY (thing-ee) : n.
Female … Any part under a car’s hood.
Male … The strap fastener on a woman’s bra.

* VULNERABLE (vul-ne-ra-bel): adj.
Female … Fully opening up one’s self emotionally to another.
Male … Playing football without a cup.

* COMMUNICATION (ko-myoo-ni-kay-shon): n.
Female … The open sharing of thoughts and feelings with one’s partner.
Male … Leaving a note before taking off on a fishing trip with the boys.

* COMMITMENT (ko-mit-ment): n.

Female … A desire to get married and raise a family.

Male … Trying not to hit on other women while out with this one.

* ENTERTAINMENT (en-ter-tayn-ment): n.
Female … A good movie, concert, play or book.
Male … Anything that can be done while drinking beer.

* FLATULENCE (flach-u-lens): n.

Female … An embarrassing byproduct of indigestion.
Male … A source of entertainment, self-expression, and male bonding.

* MAKING LOVE (may-king luv): n.
Female … The greatest expression of intimacy a couple can achieve.
Male … Call it whatever you want, just as long as we do it.

* REMOTE CONTROL (ri-moht kon-trohl): n.
Female … A device for changing from one TV channel to another.
Male … A device for scanning through all 375 channels every 5 minutes.

* BUTT (but) n.
Female: The body part that every item of clothing manufactured makes "look bigger."
Male: what you slap when someone's scored a touchdown, homerun, or goal. Also good for mooning.

Janet Riffe - Nail Art

Check out these fantastic themed nail art by Janet Riffe.


The Flintstones




Roger Rabbit

Simpsons

Smurfs

Moon Cake Festival

The Mid-Autumn festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival or Lantern Festival in Malaysia, is celebrated annually on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month to mark the end of the harvest season.

Mooncakes

The festival is celebrated with a big feast where friends and families gather to enjoy mooncakes and kids play with colourful lanterns.
The moon, a symbol of wholeness, unity and harmony in Chinese traditions, is the brightest and fullest on that day.

There are a few legends associated with this festival but my favourite folklore is the one told by my grandma when we were kids.
According to the story, there was an uprising in China against the Mongolian rulers during the 14th century. As mass gatherings were banned, planning a rebellion was impossible. Secret messages were then hidden inside mooncakes giving the exact date and time of the revolt against the Mongolians. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty. To celebrate their victory, eating mooncakes has become an important part of the festival.

Handmade dough dolls in the shapes of a ram and a snail

A crab-shaped mooncake

A dragon lantern

Butterfly

Dinosaur

Ben 10

Lanterns sold in the malls