Breathtaking!

A rainbow is seen next to Athens' Lycabettus Hill, left, after heavy rainfall in the Greek capital, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

Heavenly - Atlantis and the Beautiful Moon

Gorgeous!

The Space Shuttle Atlantis leaves a streak of light as it passes near the Moon in the east at sunrise Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006 over Tyler, Texas. In this six second time exposure, the Shuttle is moving right to left. Atlantis remains in orbit for an extra day while additional inspections of its heat shield are performed by the crew. (AP Photo/Dr. Scott M. Lieberman

Driving too fast

This one is destined to become a classic, If this doesn't make you laugh or at least smile ... you need to think seriously about getting professional assistance.

Lovely

Found these on bloggingbeirut.com:

One of the pretty pretty mountain views in lebanon .....


Beirut Sunrise at the Corniche

leaning against a railing,
cool morning breeze carries a whiff of salt into a deep puff at a burning bud,
as he contemplates the significance of a yellow sock, and a misplaced kiss.

Poppy

So beautiful, yet so destructive. Poppy fields in Afghanistan.

A poppy field in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar, Afghanistan. The US State Department said that the UN is expected to declare a "significant increase" in cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan stemming from weak eradication, alternative livelihood and interdiction programs.(AFP/File/John D McHug)

Mind Your Language

Don't you just love the Brit sitcom from the 80s called "Mind Your Language"? Such a classic :)

My friend was reading this brochure on a clubhouse and one of the subheads was "Manhood." LOL!

The rest of the subheads: Gatherings, Vitality, Beautification ....

Hong Kong publication - whaddya expect? ;)

Thoughts for the Day

You must be the change you want to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi.

Adversity breeds genius, prosperity hides it. Unknown.

Hehe #2

A joke:

Three Catholic priests visit a nudist colony - a Dominican, a Franciscan and a Jesuit. They all fall to their knees in prayer upon seeing so many beautiful naked women sunning themselves on the beach.

The Dominican's prayer is thus: "O my Lord forgive these people their sin."

The Franciscan's prayer is this: "Oh my Lord, please bless the innocence of these your children."

The Jesuit's prayer is different and he says it out loud: "Oh my Lord, thank you for the blessing of such beauty without the responsibility of having to prove myself at all. Bless you Father for my imagination and this fuel for it, Amen."

Hehe

Here's the joke:
A strict Muslim, a moderate Muslim, and a liberal Muslim are walking down the street when they see a beautiful woman. The strict Muslim shouts, "God forbid!" The moderate says, "God is great!" or "Allahu akbar." And the liberal says, "Inshallah," or "God willing!"

Ode to Trees

Trees
Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

The Stars Look Down - Heaven's Eyes

Plato:

"You look at the stars, my star.

Would that I were the heaven, so that I could gaze at you with many eyes."

Remnants of a star embellishes the beautiful night sky.

Reminds me of the evening we stayed over at Te Anau in New Zealand and the velvet black sky was blanketed with a million and more stars. Not one spot of the black sky was not kissed by sparkling and twinkling stars. It was an awesome, amazing sight. (Couldn't capture it on photo though).

Which was why when I was at Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, I was disappointed by the lack of stars blanketing the sky -- I was hoping for a second inspired sighting. Once was a blessing enough :)

A remark by a character in Aristophanes' Peace, 'Isn't it true what they say, that we become stars in the sky when we die?'

More random thoughts

Watching the Anthology of Love Stories on TV right now - it's hilarious! Local TV has arrived :) The last episode in the Anthology, a drama on how the lives of 8 (or was it 10? many) people's lives intersected was so excellent. I was so proud to be Singaporean :D

(Reminds me of the boss SMSing me on National Day during the parade: Love Live Singapore! haha)

Incidentally, the production manager for the last episode is this lady called Emida. At Uni, as part of her Mass Comm project, she directed a short movie, starring yours truly and my good pal, Celestian Monk (Monkey Man). Brings back memories ;) It was a very dramatic show - romance gone bad, and the gal (moi) ends up dead - traffic accident. Crazy long hours went into filming, lots of waiting around coz they were fixing up the lights and other heavy, industrial equipment (which we the unpaid actors had to carry around), all so tiring. I remember we worked till 1 or 2am one night/ morning, filming the shot of the traffic accident. Many a times I had to lie on the road at the Business faculty at Kent Ridge, so that Emida can get the right shot of the incoming car lights and the lifeless hand on the road. We were so tired, that everything was funny. We cracked up over anything and everything. Hilarious! Quite an experience :)

I never got to view the end product but hey - the journey is the destination, right? ;) It was fun!

Back to loving this beautiful land that is my home. The whole country is even more beautiful now. Thanks to us hosting the IMF-World Bank meetings (16,000 delegates), the landscape artists have planted and placed lots and lots of flowers all around this already green city. In addition to the pieces of installation art (a tree that "rains" at intervals at the Singapore River, trees in Orchard Road wrapped in huge red & white polka dot ribbons, and a sublime sculpture of wonderful Dali's melting clock in front of Ngee Ann City, to name a few) all around the country, Singapore's just transformed into an even prettier, more happening global city. Despite the ugly metal barricades and barriers with barbed wires that's cordoning off Suntec Convention Center ... Singapore is super lovely. My project is to take photos of this beautiful city this weekend -- will bring along my trusty digicam and snap snap away :)

I love the theme song of this year's National Day: My Island Home. (Strangely when they played the video on TV, it was sponsored by Bel-Air Paris. Shouldn't national songs be funded by the nation, and not be tainted by commercialism?)

This is my home
She's everything to me
Grace and beauty
In all that you see

My island home
Wherever I may be
I never will forget her
Nor will she forget me

Chorus ^
And I will sing
A song of home
A land of peace
Where dreams are born everyday
My home
Wherever I may be
I believe
You will always be a part of me ^

My island home
Home of my family
This is my future
Where I want to be
(This is my future
This is my home)
Repeat Chorus x 2

My home
Wherever I may be
I believe
You will always be a part of me
A part of me

I am really thankful and blessed to live in Singapore, with its peace, security and economic prosperity.

Today, there were shootings of tourists in Amman, Jordan and the bombing outside the US Embassy in Damascus, Syria. Initial reaction was sick-in-the-stomach and panic. I have no idea which part of the Levant the man is travelling at, so worrying. But I've more or less snapped out of it - solution is not to think. Like Pusang Itim said, "I am learning to surrender to His Will."

Still getting used to being part of this surreal dream. Wish emotions were like a light switch, which one can turn on and off. I am convinced that we humans can be trained, and someday, I'll be a master of my emotions ;)

Why I Want to go to Churchill, Manitoba

Look what I found on the Net. Glorious glorious photo of polar bears at play :)

Caption: Polar bears are seen in this undated publicity photo from the movie The White Planet. The hardest part about making a film with animals is waiting for them to show up. (Handout/ Seville Pictures/Reuters)

Type D personality?

Are You a Type D Personality?
Posted by Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D.
on Mon, Sep 04, 2006, 8:30 am PDT
http://health.yahoo.com/experts/heartdisease/1025/are-you-a-type-d-personality

For almost 50 years researchers have tried to link personality types or behavior patterns to the risk for heart disease.

We've all heard about the driven and highly competitive behavior of people with type A personalities, compared to the more laid-back, noncompetitive characteristics of type Bs.
Studies done in the late 1950s linked the type A behavior pattern with a higher risk for heart disease. But later studies failed to prove a link between cardiovascular disease and these patterns of behavior. Instead, more and more findings have associated an increased risk of heart disease with anger, hostility, surliness, and rudeness.

I don't know if a type C personality or behavior has ever been defined, but you may soon be hearing more about the latest association between an increased risk of heart disease and the type D personality. (The D may stand for "distressed.")

A recent report from the Netherlands found that type D personality was associated with a significantly increased risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes.
Type D individuals tend to experience negative emotions like hostility, anxiety, anger, depressed mood, tension, and a negative view of themselves. They are likely to be constantly on alert for signs of impending trouble and to overreact to stressful events. An equally important factor in the type D personality is the inability to express these emotions, which leads to feeling tense, insecure, and uncomfortable in social situations.

According to authors of the Dutch study, the difference between the type D definition and those for types A and B suggests that "how people cope with negative emotions may be as important as the experience of negative emotions per se."

We all know people who have a type D personality, and some of us may recognize this pattern in ourselves or in family members. I'm not sure what, if anything, can be done about this personality type, and more time will surely be needed to develop a thorough understanding of its importance in matters of health, especially heart health.

However, it does make sense to me to link people's negative personality traits with how they cope, or don't cope, with stressful circumstances and everyday challenges.

What can I do daily that can make a difference in this world to help create peace?"

My friend Manama is now nicely and happily ensconced in at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver to begin her PhD. Very envious of her staying in Vancouver -- the place is just so pretty.

Been there a week and she's been to two sessions to listen to the Dalai Lama, who's in Canada to open the Dalai Lama Center for Peace Education - http://www.dalailamacenter.org/

At the talk, a person asked: "What can I do daily that can make a difference in this world to help create peace?"

He answered (paraphrased): "being compassionate in your family and teaching your children to be compassionate." As he said, change does not come from laws, it comes from within peoples, to societies, to nations, then to the worlds.

One of the lecturers at the islamic spirituality conference said: smiling is a piece of charity, so smile -- and contribute to a little bit of happiness in the world :)

BIG HUGS and BIG SMILES to everyone … one more thing the Dalai Lama said… arms are naturally made for hugging! :D

'Kiss me not on the eyes ...'

'Kiss me not on the eyes, a kiss on the eyes tears people apart'
Lyics of an old Abdel-Halim Hafez song

Weekend is here! Happy bummin' :)

Asiatic black bear takes a rest at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006. (AP Photo/Mainichi Shimbun)

LOL: How Do You Decide Whom to Marry? (By Kids)

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY? (Written by kids)
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
-- Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
-- Camille, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that Usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
-- Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
-- Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
When they're rich.
-- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
- - Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.
-- Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
-- Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is........
HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
-- Ricky, age 10

Photo of the Year - Incredible

Apparently one of the best photos of 2005. The photo is taken from above, the real camels are in white in the photo, the black marks are just shadows. INCREDIBLE.

LOVE this! I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul

Invictus
William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Picture of the Day - Frames / Symmetry

Back to school: Palestinian students chat as they head to their classroom at their school in Gaza City. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)

The kind of incredible photos I am to capture someday ;)

Collection of Random Thoughts

James Joyce's Ulysees from the early 20th century is a literary breakthrough. Joyce pioneered a "new" way of writing the novel - streams of consciousness. A collection of (seemingly) random thoughts which appear unconsciously in the pages of the novel. Kinda like writing a journal. No method in the madness - unlike Sylvia Plath. (BTW, I HATE Ted Hughes for causing her death and destroying their letters before he died. Evil man). Ulysees was cool because it broke with convention, it was so novel and unique that he won the Nobel Literature prize, if my memory serves me write. Ulysees was pretty entertaining, although very self indulgent. A magnum opus, a tome, encyclopaedia. Guess Joyce didn't subscribe to Shakespeare's "Brevity is the soul of wit" ;)

Well, this edition is my Ulysees. You've been forewarned. Haven't blogged for a while and miss it -- so sacrificing my sleep for this :)

Pretty significant happenings over the last few weeks. Over the weekend, hung out at an International Islamic Conference on Spirituality. The focus of the conference was on putting God at the centre of one's existence and having "God-consciousness" always, as a guide for living the virtuous life. Was so compelling that I stayed on for two whole days - and hung out with the cousins, which was fun! - and went for another lecture on Monday evening.

Met some people who've clearly reached Nirvana. There was this young British guy of Pakistani descent, a political scientist, who spoke on "Finding Meaning in a Fractured World." He said: when trouble befalls on you, say, believe, "Alhamdullilah" (Thanks to Allah). The cousin and I turned to each other in awe/ disbelief. Nirvana, we both said simultaneously to each other. (This was extremely hard to achieve - we curse and swear at small things that don't go right. The efficiency of Singapore has made highly impatient -- or we are just highly fallible creatures hehe) Anyways, I aspire to reach that level of Nirvana and thank the Prime Mover for every single thing that happens to me, cos good or bad, they come from Him. (Am so far from that state ;)

There was another lecturer, a lady, who told us about her affliction - the Giullian-Barre Syndrome - where parts of her body just became paralysed without any reason. The months that she was struck with this illness made her realise she how fortunate she was to be simply alive. (Everything's in the mind). To the point where she thought to herself, I love Your Will, whatever it maybe. And when she thought that, she found that her fingers started to move. That was the start of her road to recovery.

There was a hushed tone and sniffles when she was telling her story. We were all so moved.

We Muslims believe a lot in Fate, especially in life, marriage and death, and that everything happens for a reason. We may not know or understand the reasons, but there are always good reason when it comes from the Big Kahuna. But to embrace God's Will like the two speakers have done demonstrates an astounding level of faith and trust. These people totally subscribe to what Ibn Abbas says: "no matter how bad things are, it could be worse."

Imagine - to go beyond patience and acceptance, to love the Will of the Prime Mover. How much control one must let go to achieve that consciousness? WOW.

I am so way behind that curve, but it's definitely a standard to aspire to :)

Here I was constantly whinging about this and that and questioning why things happen to me -- how far away I am from Nirvana. Just several days after the conference, there I was letting out steam on my singular, strange predicament haha

(Complaining is fine, and women cope much better with stress and troubles, because they can talk it out, bitch, screame and shout -- or shop ;) Unlike men, who bottle everything up, and that explode in violence. Or worse, go to war. Testosterone is so destructive.)

Sad
Anyways, my favourite blogger, www.readingwhilefalling.blogspot.com, has decided to leave Beirut to go back to the States to do his Masters in Ethics. He wrote his last entry in the last week of August. I really hope to meet this person some day - kindred spirits in politics. Good thing he's gonna start his own website, www.readingwhilefalling.com -- I will be a true fan :) Things never really end, there are just new beginnings elsewhere and in other permutations.

Little Ironies
Little Ironies is a lovely collection of Singapore short stories by Catherine Lim, which I studied in secondary school. Quite a nice read. Anyways, the friend I was venting my frustrations to, was strong in wanting me to stop sliding this slippery slope of M. Where was this all heading, she asked? I laughed. This is also the same woman who has been in a string, succession of clearly wrong relationships for years on end, and here she was advising against mine - how ironic ;) How funny it is that when you're the external observer, you see life so clearly. I was tickled.

I can see clearly now the rain is gone, sings Jimmy Cliff. Just LOVE that song, and LOVE that movie Cool Runnings. Jamaica winning the ice bobsled race in the Winter Olympics - unheard of eh? but that happened :D Wonderfully funny and inspiring story, and what a wonderfully apt song.

Seeing clearly
Two or three weeks ago, I met an old, old friend for dinner. She was getting married and was gonna update me on her Man. Over char kway teow at Sakura, my friend, Farazabad, got quite emotional. Her husband-to-be wasn't ready to convert to Islam, and she, despite being a staunch Muslim, decided to get married to him in a civil ceremony. In the Quran, it does say, there is no compulsion in religion. But it was a tough call.

She's made peace with God, but clearly it was a decision which left her traumatised. Parts of her family would probably disown her, but thankfully not her mum and dad. Many would probably wonder, if she was that staunch, why not wait until the boyfriend decided to convert? At which point is a decision optimal? How long does one wait? How long does one philosophise and ponder over all the options/ alternatives before deciding? (Reminds me of Socrates. Socrates kept questioning and questioning and questioning everything under the sun, and didn't offer any answers. It was inevitable this incredibly annoying man would get into serious trouble with those around him. They poisoned him with hemlock. This Socrates story amuses me to no end. Lessons: Don't act too smart ie ya ya papaya. Don't philosophise till the cows come home -- unless you've got a suicide wish ;)

Anyways, I am happy for her. She was one person I never thought would get married or end up with anyone. (I have a chance haha). She said that everytime she prayed, she asked for a good Muslim man. But look who she ended up with? (I told her that I'd never liked a muslim guy in my entire life, and the first muslim guy I like is a gazillion miles away and living in a precarious edge of a precipice bad neighbourhood, where war is a norm. Blah.) Life works out strange.

We Singaporeans organise our lives around food. And so it was with Farazabad's news. So over delicious beef kway teow, were these two teary women discussing fate, religion, family, love and how quaintly life works.

Waiting
That brings me another story that lady in Nirvana at the conference told us. She met this Scottish woman on a plane from Cairo and they struck a conversation. And this old Scottish lady spoke about her life story. She was a Christian married to an Egyptian man. She never converted but raised their kids as Muslims. When her kids grew up, they asked her if she'd like to convert. So she told them she would pray on it. So for 14 years she prayed every night for a sign. After 14 years, she had a dream that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) appeared before her. She continued to pray for another 7 years, and then another dream and the Prophet appeared again beckoning her. The next morning she told her kids that she would convert. Due to her old age, they suggested that she did the haj pilgrimage as well. And she did so. The Scottish lady went to the Prophet's mosque in Madinah and there, she saw the image of the Prophet, what she had seen in her two dreams. WOW.

21 years of waiting.

Limbo rocks - Not! Waiting for Godot?
Anyways, enough of being in this limbo. I cannot live like this, waiting, waiting. I do not want to. My angry friend is probably right. I do not want to wait around and find out that I have been Waiting for Godot. But what's life without risk right? I take little risks and I'm terribly impatient. How long will I keep on pondering and thinking? I do not want to do a Socrates on myself ;)

Faith: a nice SMS from C. Monk, whom I am constantly beating up because the boy just makes wild general statements all the time. "Hang tight. He knows best, what is best for us even when we think we do. Let Him guide us. We can only move forward in faith. He will give you strength."

Anyways, in Blink, Professor Malcolm Gladwell concludes through many studies and experiments that the best decisions are not the ones who are pondered over and over, where all the alternatives are considered. In an interesting experiment, more people bought bottles of jams from a vendor who sold 4 types of jam, as opposed to a vendor who sold 20 types of jams. More choice apparently makes us less decisive -- and more schizophrenic, perhaps? ;) Anyways, Blink was an awesome, interesting read. (Can't wait to read The Tipping Point, his first book, which was recommended by one of my nice HP clients).

Waiting for Godot is this play by Samuel Beckett, about two tramps who wait day in and day out, day after day, for Godot to appear. But Godot doesn't appear. But the sad thing about this tragicomedy (tragedy more like) is that the two main characters can't help but wait and Godot can't help but turn up. They speak about moving from this tree where they wait for Godot but they never do. A play about despair and desolation. Godot symbolises "Nothingness." Beckett was a true 20th century writer and a bit depressed and felt that Life was meaningless, I reckon. Well, Godot was about meaninglessness.

If there was any piece of art which portrayed Waiting for Godot, it would probably be Edvard Munch's "Scream" (recently recovered - it had been stolen for years). This is one of my favourite paintings, by the way. Isn't it about the human condition? So many of us scream and no one hears the sream, and we live with the despair and desolation in our heads and the environment around us takes on the shape and sound of the despair and desolation.

There are many many things that I am blessed with, like newfound friends. An acquaintance, Pusang Itim (Black Cat in Tagalog), from the Philippines has recently started pinging me and we have these fun chats. She's really delightful, nothing gets her down ever, always bright and happy and chirpy. Truly infectious. We have great conversations about technology, travels, families, cats, philosophy. Her parents have been married for 51 years -- and they have yet to agree on anything but what time they should go to church everyday. But they so love each other. How sweet.

Pusang's wisdom: "Love is a decision you make and renew every day. If we just go by knee-jerk emotional reactions, then that would make loving hard to do. If we let a bit of brain into the picture, it would work more smoothly. Love takes work and perseverance and patience and it does not always wear a pretty face. But it is wonderful and it is worth working for all of one's life."

Doesn't she have a way with words? I may not agree with everything she says, but she may have a point.

Pusang's take on Faith: And teaching you the meaning of faith, which is believing in something or someone that you don't see, touch or feel at the time you affirm your belief. You will grow stronger. Think of this as growing pains.

Going for Westlife's concert on Friday evening. Tea with Gen the Ben back from HK land at Marmalade Pantry on Saturday and a movie & makan with C. Monk after. Must catch two photo exhibitions and the Singapore Biennale that's on right now, and the Deutcshe Bank art show at the Singapore Art Museum - I love Zaha Hadid's architectural designs, so off the wall! (Literally :) Sunday - hangin with angry friend and watching Monster House ;) And find time for chores and rest. Weekends are just too short. Time to sleep!

Jimmy Cliff - I Can See Clearly Now

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshinin' day
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshinin' day

Oh yes, I can make it now the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshinin' day

Look all around, there's nothing but blue skies
Look straight ahead, there's nothing but blue skies

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Here's the rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshinin' day
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshinin' day
Real, real, real, real bright, bright sunshinin' day
Yeah, hey, it's gonna be a bright, bright sunshinin' day

The Heavens Shine On Us

This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope released by NASA August 31, 2006, shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of 300,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The red color around these bright regions is from dust heated by stars, while the red dots scattered throughout the picture are either dusty, old stars or more distant galaxies. The greenish clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. FOR EDITORIAL USE REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/M. Meixner (STScI) & the SAGE Legacy Team/Handout (UNITED STATES)

This photo, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and released 29 August 2006, provides a detailed look at the tattered remains of a supernova explosion known as Cassiopeia A (Cas A). Astronomers say they have recorded a supernova in real time: the death explosion of a massive star that is typically only ever spotted days after the blast.(AFP/NASA/File)

Thought for the Day - Making It Happen

"The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen." Frank Lloyd Wright

Lovely Alexander Nevski

C'est magnifique!

A woman passes the golden domed Alexander Nevski cathedral as a reflection of them is seen in a puddle after a heavy rain storm in Bulgarian capital Sofia, Monday, Aug. 28, 2006. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)

Picture of the Day - Roses

This is the type of photo I aspire to shoot in my travels. Just gorgeous.

A groom kisses the hand of his bride during a wedding ceremony in St.Petersburg August 16, 2006 REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk (RUSSIA)

Thought for the Day - Perspective

"Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different." Katherine Mansfield

Loving Animals

A wonderful series of photos of baby and adult animals found of Yahoo! News that will warm the cockles of your hearts :)

Tania, the polar bear in Artis, plays in the snow in Artis Zoo in Amsterdam. Tania the polar bear woke up to a winter wonderland in the middle of summer in Amsterdam when the Artis Zoo where she is kept blasted her enclosure with a snow cannon.(AFP/Evert- Jan Daniels)

Snow leopard cub Gul'cha (L), born July 8, 2006, and its mother Dshamilja explore their outdoor pen at the zoo of Zurich, August 31, 2006. REUTERS/Siggi Bucher (SWITZERLAND)

Snow leopard cub Gul'cha, born July 8, 2006, gets the first prophylactic vaccination of its life at Zurich Zoo, August 31, 2006. REUTERS/Siggi Bucher (SWITZERLAND)

In this undated photo released by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society Friday Sept. 1, 2006 a hedgehog eats left over ice cream from a discarded cup. McDonald's Corp. said Friday, Sept. 1, 2006 it had redesigned the cups for its McFlurry dessert so that they no longer posed a danger to the spiky woodland creatures. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society has campaigned for years against the containers, saying hedgehogs had died while trying to eat leftover ice cream from discarded cups. Campaigners said the opening in the lid was large enough for hedgehogs to stick their heads in, but not to get them out again, and that animals not rescued by passers-by had died of starvation. (AP Photo/British Hedgehog Preservation Society, HO)
A hedgehog is seen in Germany. US fast food giant McDonald's announced it had gone hedgehog-friendly, following a long running campaign waged by British lovers of the prickly mammals.(AFP/File/Stefan Puchner)

Lesser panda twins are seen near their mother, rear, at Chiba Zoological Park in Chiba, east of Tokyo Friday, Sept. 1, 2006. The twins are the cubs of a male lesser panda Futa, which became famous last year for standing upright by a pair of legs. The park opened the cubs, born in June, to the public Friday. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

In this photograph provided by the National Zoo, Guntur and Maharani, two of three Sumatran tiger cubs born at the Smithsonians National Zoo May 24, 2006, seem oblivious to the morning downpour as they play around their mother, Soyono while making their public debut Saturday, Sept. 2, 2006 at the zoo in Washington. (AP Photo/National Zoo, Jessie Cohen)

In this photograph provided by the National Zoo, Maharani, one of three Sumatran tiger cubs born at the Smithsonians National Zoo May 24, 2006, peers through the morning downpour, which soaked the cubs official public debut at the National Zoo, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2006 in Washington. (AP Photo/National Zoo, Jessie Cohen)

A handout photo made available by Froso Zoo Aug. 24, 2006, the survivor of a pair of albino Pygmy Marmoset monkeys born at Froso Zoo in Ostersund, Sweden, clings to a zoo keeper's thumb in this photo taken Aug. 22, 2006. This South American monkey is the world's smallest monkey tipping the scales at 100 grams (3.5 ounces) measuring 35 cm (13.7 inches) in length fully grown. (AP Photo/Froso Zoo/ho)

Fluttering by : A swallowtail butterfly flaps its wings in the fully bloomed orange cosmos flower field at Tokyo's Hamarikyu Park. (AFP/Yoshikazu Tsuno)

A panda holds it's 4 week old cub at Changdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's western province of Sichuan August 26, 2006. REUTERS/ Nir Elias (CHINA)

A one day-old baby gorilla is cradled in the hands of her mother Zuri at the Calgary Zoo, August 6, 2006. Picture taken August 6, 2006. REUTERS/Calgary Zoo/Handout (CANADA)

Soft landing: A wild duck lands at the Geneva Lake, near Villeneuve. (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)

A pigeon seeks relief from soaring temperatures in a fountain in Catena Square in Riva Del Garda, northern Italy, August 23, 2006. REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito (ITALY)

Pigeons in Bogota : Pigeons walk over water puddles where Colombian national flags are reflected, next to the National Congress at the Bolivar Square, in Bogota, moments before the Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's inauguration. (AFP/Martin Bernetii)

Photo from May 2005 at Amneville zoo shows a rare Arctic wolf and her cubs. Two Arctic wolves, the first China has imported, have refused to eat since their arrival at a zoo last week, putting the endangered animals' health at risk, state media said.(AFP/File/Jean-Christophe Verhaegen) Pigs make their way through a snowy landscape near the Alpine village of Schruns in the western Austrian province of Vorarlberg, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2006. The unusual cold weather caused snowfall in higher regions of the Austrian Alps. (AP Photo/Dietmar Stiplovsek)

I Dream of this Place - Patagonia

In Patagonia is a travelogue by Bruce Chatwin. The first brush I had with Patagonia :) Patagonia is in Chile -- the far end of the earth before we meet Antarctica. It's remote, rugged and to me, oh so romantic. I've dreamt of going there for a while now -- and Tierra Del Fuego, Punta Arenas and Ushuaia (that's the jumping off point for folks who are fortunate enough to particpate in $10,000 a head journey to the wild and apparently amazingly beautiful Antarctica) too. Someday, someday ....

Landscape of the Torres del Paine national park in the southern Patagonia region of Chile, March 31, 2005. REUTERS/Josh Stephenson IA/JK