It has been quite a while since my Iast visit to cinema for most time has been spent on exploring blogging. Sharkwater is my first movie for 2008 and one that I would strongly encourage all to watch.

Rob Stewart
It took the Director cum Biologist, Rob Stewart, 5 years before this true life documentary movie is ready for view. During the filming, Stewart was struck with flesh-eating disease, charged for attempted murder and even got himself and his team infringed with Taiwan mafia; all because the truth will cause the involved parties to be stripped off their illegal, yet highly profitable shark finning business.

Facts and Myths of Shark
The truth about shark was so twisted by the media that for so many years, we have been painted with all the bad and how menacing shark is. Rob Stewart used himself as a ‘bait’ to surface the truth. Shark is in fact such a picky eater that man is not even ranked anywhere near its delicacy list! As Stewart swam near the sharks, they are actually so shy and fearful that they kept a distance. The scene of how Stewart stroked the shark (just like how one adores Dolphin), is simply beautiful. That scene itself would shatter all our past perceptions about shark - deadly.

Unbearable sight
The sight of how fisherman catch and slaughter the turtle LIVE is very unbearable. And it is very disturbing to see the shark being thrown back into the sea after its fin and tail is being cut. I can’t help but wonder what if these sea creatures can talk? Can we then HEAR their pleas? What if it is now a human being whose limbs are being chopped off (just because of others handsome rewards) and after which, be dumped into the sea?

It does not stop at shark
Banning of shark finning is a spark to the other live stock eco-system. How many of us eat the whole chicken? So, for those who savour only chicken wing, what happen to the rest of the chicken parts when there are more demand for wings? Could these live stocks have similar fate as that of shark – being thrown back into the sea / land, limbless?

Do our part
So, how much more has the media deprived us from the truth? And for how long more, do we man want to open our eyes and dig further to find the ultimate truth, rather than to point finger and feign ignorance?

Do our part and:
1. Eat but eat moderately.

2. Pledge to stop shark finning by clicking on the banner below:

3. Support and watch the movie, Sharkwater. Singapore is currently showing the sneak preview. The movie will be officially released from 17th Jan 08 onwards. The negative image it might portray on our proud homeland (YES! Rabbit Brand Shark fin is from Singapore) is NOTHING as compared to the grander vision of saving shark from extinction and in turn reversed our eco-system to save the world.

4.. Support and buy Sharkwater: The Photographs

5. Read “The Food Revolution” by John Robbins and make a decision of how your diet can help save your Life and our world. The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World

Lack of time is the most common excuse that is repeated right through the year for not exercising. Interestingly, I stumble upon this mind your body article that listed out the most common excuses from January to December.

January – need to work on those pineapple tarts
February – New Year festive
March – school is out
April – short getaways
May – Corporate travel
June – It is holiday time
July – got to go shopping
August – fasting month
September – year-end projects start piling up
October – I am bored
November – Wet weather
December – Party time

And amongst the listed, about half are exactly the same excuses I uttered ;p Nevertheless, all excuses really pale in comparison when I get to know this Sikh runner.

Life only begins for Fauja Singh at the age of 90. Born in 1911 and for the first 81 years of his life, Fauja Singh was a farmer. He rediscovered his new running career only at the age of 81 and is still running.

Some distinctive milestones of Fauja Singh:

• He rediscovered running at age 81 (because he was bored sitting around his son’s house) and ran his first marathon at 89.
• In year 2000, he set a world record for 90 year-olds
• He ran faster as he got older!
• He became a poster boy for Addidas’s campaign “Impossible is Nothing” and he gave a large chunk of the money to charity
• He’s a pure vegetarian
• He ran Marathons-London(5), Toronto(1), New York(1)

This is 2008 and Fauja Singh hopes to return in 2009 to break the record for the oldest marathon runner – held by a 98-year-old Greek athlete...

Man becomes great when they truly live their dreams. So, what is your (my) excuse for not exercising and living your dream?

You have to see this to believe it - a unique dance team, Spencer, 25 and Barbara, 84; perform to Coldplay’s “The Hardest Part”. Though 84, Barbara is more agile, flexible and stronger than most 20-year-olds I know. I simply adore her.

WARNING: the video will take quite a while to load.

Attempted google search for more information over this unique dance team but quite limited details. Probably, because the video was done up in the 80’s.

PS: Would appreciate if anyone could post me the lyrics of “The Hardest Part” (if you have).

PPS: More details regarding this dance team is greatly appreciated. I am a fanatic in collecting inspirational stories and biography.

What can a 12 years old kid do with Internet, other than for educational or gaming reasons? For Carl Ocab who started at 12 but only make his mark at 13 years old, he has clearly demonstrated that a person who experiences most wins. He has collapsed his timeline by having the experience of an old man while still young. And because he doesn’t give a dime of his past failures, he has gotten himself lots more experience to add into his blogging inventory. He is only 14 now… Too young to start?

Olive Riley. Born in 1899 and started the first post of her blog on 16 February 2007….. She is like a GREAT grandmother to all bloggers in the blogosphere. So what if her friend Mike is the real blogger who types as Olive tells her stories? If one truly desires, one will find all alternative ways to attain that desire. For Olive, Mike is her technical arm So, you think you are too old to learn new things? Olive Riley has just celebrated her 108 years old birthday!

Great achievement often happens when our backs are up against the wall. I have witnessed how this typical normal young chap have grown and is still growing because his boat was burnt. Shouldering the burden of being the sole breadwinner for a family of 5 and with the urgency to attain monetary success for a bedridden father, Alvin Phang is another walking testimonials of why blog to success is not a fad nor a fallacy.

Really, having read about these two bloggers of extreme age gap 14 and 108 and to know Alvin Phang personally, leaves me with no BUTs. I stood by the fence for two years before I finally start blogging. Carl Ocab reminded me to collapse my own timeline to relish my utmost experience while still on this physical realm and Olive inspires me to keep learning. Indeed, aging only happens to those who lost their lust for getting better and disconnect from their natuarl base of curiousity.

I have collected my World Class Reference points to carve my niche in blogging. Start collecting your own list of heros too.Still undecided? Burn your boats. When retreat is not an option, one will show up fully.

Michelangelo’s career as a sculptor and painter wasn’t handed to him on a silver platter. Although he possessed great talents, his accomplishments and fame came only after he invested himself to the point of physical exhaustion. Michelangelo spent years lying flat on his back on a scaffold painting the fresco in the Sistine Chapel. By the time he completed this magnificent project, he was virtually blind from the paint that had dripped in his eyes. Now that’s commitment! Because Michelangelo was willing to invest himself, he created art that had been admired for more than four centuries.

~ Tribute to Dr Clemen Chiang