Mardi 11 janvier 2011

Love, money, marriage and prenups

We`re in love, we trust each other, we`ll never get divorced - who needs a prenup? It`ll just spoil our relationship. That`s many Chinese young people`s thinking, though maybe not their parents`.

Nevertheless, as people become more affluent and ffxiv gil divorce rates rise, an increasing number of couples are signing prenuptial agreements on division of property in case of divorce.

"I know nobody wants to talk about divorce before marriage -- it sounds ridiculous. It`s like talking about a funeral at a newborn`s birthday. But practically speaking, a prenuptial agreement does save a lot of time and
ff14 gil disputes in court," Shanghai divorce lawyer Mike Liang said.

Prenuptial agreements, not unusual in the West, are legal contracts signed before two people enter civil union, and include details of property division. For many years these legal instruments were considered peculiar by many Chinese. They were considered proof of how cold-blooded and FF14 Power leveling calculating rich people can be - so shrewd they must even consider the possibility of divorce before marriage.

But along with hectic economic development, a large group of ordinary Chinese now own some property - apartments, vehicles, gold, jewelry, stocks, art, antiques and other FFXIV Power leveling assets. Now there is property to divide in a settlement, and quite a bit can be acquired before marriage.

"I have been getting a lot of inquiries from couples who are about to get married, from young to old, about half and half, and increasingly more in the past three years," lawyer Liang said.

He adds that many people come to buy runescape gold him as individuals, asking whether they can conduct the required ownership verification of prenuptial property by themselves alone - without telling the future spouse.

Some are relieved to find out that ownership of their cheap ffxiv gil apartment, car and other things purchased before marriage does not have to be verified, Liang said. By law, which many don`t know, they are not and will not be considered community property and won`t change hands in a divorce, without consent.

But many others worry that the materialism and rs gold pragmatism represented by a prenuptial accord may harm the necessary bedrock trust in a relationship, suggesting lack of faith and true love. Many who do consider it decide never to raise the issue.

Rebecca Liu, a 27-year-old accountant, recently broke up with her 29-year-old boyfriend Jerry Xu as they started discussing the possibility of marriage, after dating for a year and half.

The reason was simple: Xu`s parents, who bought his apartment and runescape money car, insisted on a prenuptial property agreement so he would not lose the property in case of divorce. Xu obeyed his parents decision, saying, "It`s their money and I don`t have any grounds on which to argue with them about this."

His compliant attitude upset Liu who says an agreement would demonstrate "lack of trust in our relationship, my love for him and even my morality."

They broke up after two months of arguments, neither willing to compromise.
Par ladyyaya - 0 commentaire(s)le 11 janvier 2011
Lundi 10 janvier 2011

Stars embrace magical powers

Kate Middleton has made headlines in the past year, both for her engagement to Prince William and her incredible fashion sense. But the latest headlines to mention her ffxiv gil name have not been nearly as flattering. Middleton was labeled a “dummy” by the UK charity Sense About Science (SAS) for wearing a Power Balance bracelet .

The silicone bracelet, invented by Californian brothers Josh and Troy Rodarmel in 2007, supposedly eliminates “negativity” from the body and boosts energy level. Scientists, however, have slammed the claims as “bunkum”, saying that the bracelet doesn’t work at all.

Britain’s princess-to-be is not the only one sporting the bracelet, however. It has become the latest must-have accessory for the world’s biggest stars, especially after soccer star David Beckham was spotted wearing one ff14 gil last August.

Beckham has not yet commented if it was the bracelet that helped him get back to peak fitness and finally back on the field in September.

But basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal has attributed his success to the FF14 Power leveling bracelet. The Power Balance website quotes O’

Neal as saying: “That night, while playing for the Phoenix Suns, there were about three of my teammates with the product on and FFXIV Power leveling we won that game by 57 points! I kept feeling something when I wore the bracelet.”

Unfortunately for O’Neal, his claims have been proven to be more celebrity nonsense, as Power Balance was forced to admit misleading advertising in Australia last December.

The company has agreed to refund customers’ money and cheap ffxiv gil remove the words “performance technology” from the bracelet, according to the BBC News.

However, the Japanese equivalent Phiten still claims that their titanium necklace can help promote life and relieve stress.

But Professor John Green at the University of Washington doesn’t buy rs gold it. He told a Seattle newspaper: “I know of absolutely no scientific evidence to implicate titanium to improving performance.”


slow down the aging process

increase resistance against diseases

sustain your peak performance

SAS has released a report naming and shaming celebrities who have been guilty of promoting health fads with no basis in science. Let’s take a look at some of 2010’s main culprits:

Lemon Detox Diet

British model Naomi Campbell revealed the secret of her stunning figure was a drink made from lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup. Campbell claimed she survived on the drink alone for up to 18 days.

Expert: Detox is a marketing myth: our bodies detox naturally without any help from pricey drinks or diets.

Charcoal Diet

British pop star Sarah Harding told Now magazine in April that she sprinkled charcoal over her food. “It doesn’t taste of anything and apparently absorbs all the bad, damaging stuff in the body,” said Harding.

Expert: It is unnecessary to buy runescape gold eat charcoal because the body is already quite capable of removing any bad stuff.

Blood Type Diet

British singer Cheryl Cole suggested that people eat foods based entirely on their blood types. For example, those with type O blood should have a high meat intake and runescape money consume no dairy. “It has made such a difference to how I feel and my energy levels,” Cole said.

Expert: Your blood group cannot affect digestion or the way food is broken down.
Par ladyyaya - 5 commentaire(s)le 10 janvier 2011
Vendredi 07 janvier 2011

Wizard series ends

Who would have expected that a story about an 11-year-old boy wizard would turn into a multi-billion dollar business? Who would have thought that the series would still be so popular after a decade? Who could have anticipated that the child fans of the original story would loyally follow the series well into their 20s?

That’s the magic of the Harry Potter series. Now, with the release of the final ffxiv gil installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, fans must accept that the series is nearing its end.

It’s doubtful that popular culture will see anything quite like the Harry Potter phenomenon for a long time to come. Harry Potter’s impact has unquestionably been felt in both book sales and ff14 gil box office receipts.

But why has the series been so successful?

“The genius of JK Rowling was that she grounded the wish fulfillment of a real kid with magical powers in the context of the real world. You enter the runescape money fantasy with her,” Lionel Wigram, a production executive at Warner Bros, told the Los Angeles Times.

And, after 10 years, millions of fans seem to have enjoyed the FF14 Power leveling ride. “It’s a fantasy that’s also very true to life,” said Deng Hao, 22, a junior student at Shandong University who’s also a Harry Potter fan. “The special effects in the movies don’t outweigh the fact that it’s deeply personal,” said Deng. “It’s really about the characters.”

Jemima Owen, a 20-year-old college student in the UK, was in her final year of primary school when the first Harry Potter film was released. She recently wrote an article for FFXIV Power leveling The Observer from a fan’s perspective.

“Eleven-year-olds picking up the first Harry Potter book now will never understand the anticipation and yearning we felt as we waited three years for cheap ffxiv gil the release of the next installment,” she wrote.

“To say we ‘grew up’ with Harry, Ron and Hermione might be clichéd, but to me, the end of the series is like a farewell to childhood.”

Ultimate battle

No longer a mere boy, Harry Potter is drawing closer to buy runescape gold the task for which he has been preparing since the first day he stepped into Hogwarts: the ultimate battle with Voldemort.

The film begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on rs gold their dangerous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality–the Horcruxes. Without the guidance of their professors, the three friends must rely on one another more than ever.
Par ladyyaya - 2 commentaire(s)le 07 janvier 2011
Jeudi 06 janvier 2011

Music talent school fuels superstar dreams

Talent shows have been the rage in China since the success of the "Super Girl" national singing competition organized by Hunan satellite television from 2004.

This year, Shanghai`s Dragon TV pushed its own "China`s Got Talent" show, the local version of the UK series "Britain`s Got Talent", to the top of its audience ratings chart.

The lure of stardom

With the lure of stardom, many Chinese young people are starting to look at singing as a career option.

One is 21-year-old Ren He. Despite opposition from his parents, he closed the small restaurant he owned in his hometown of Tongliao, a ffxiv gil city in northern Inner Mongolia, and took a big part of his savings to pay for his course at the Lee Wei-song School of Music in Shanghai.

The music talent school offers a full time course for its "Asian Music Artist" class, with students taking in about four hours of different classes every day including ff14 gil voice training, studio recording, keyboard skills and dancing.

The full time course costs 24,000 yuan ($3,600) for half a year and is divided into junior and FF14 Power leveling senior levels for a full two-year course.

The school was founded first in Singapore by local musician Lee Wei-song in 1995, and FFXIV Power leveling the Shanghai branch was opened in 2007. Lee and his twin brother Lee Shih-shiong are credited with being pioneers of the Singapore xinyao music movement, a local music movement with a focus on songs about life in Singapore.

Lee Wei-song`s school later became famous for grooming one of Singapore`s most famous singers, Stefanie Sun.

His school now hopes to buy runescape gold unearth mainland China`s next singing superstar and expand its presence in other Chinese cities.

There are now more than a cheap ffxiv gil dozen similar professional singing schools in Shanghai alone, offering music courses to wannabe singers looking for a shot at fame.

Though TV talent shows have fuelled the boom in these schools, they are actually a double-edged sword, said Ethan Han, manager for the Lee Wei-song School of Music.

"It`s a dilemma because talent shows give a quick shortcut out from our school. Some talent shows judge you on your image and general package, and rs gold you do not have to sing very well. So they are not choosing the best singer," he said.

"We had a training class for contestants in a talent show in the past. It was for a month, they learn some things, they go compete and runescape money they stop studying here."
Par ladyyaya - 2 commentaire(s)le 06 janvier 2011
Mercredi 05 janvier 2011

21 ways to 'kick the habit'

EACH and every one of us is responsible for the greenhouse gases we emit in our daily actions and choices. Therefore, combating climate change is going to take the combined efforts of everyone on the planet.

The average household carbon footprint in China is 2.41 tons of carbon dioxide annually. That`s enough to fill half an Olympic swimming pool.

Surprised? Well, here`s how you can work to reduce it:

1.Get started by calculating your own carbon footprint. This will give you a ffxiv gil starting point from which to begin monitoring your progress. You enter details such as what sort of apartment you live in, your personal energy use and travel habits.

2. Each week, choose one day when you don`t eat meat. Meat uses up lots of energy because it takes a long time to produce. Animals produce methane, which is another dangerous greenhouse gas, when they burp and fart.

3. Only buy the amount of food you need and if there are leftovers, get creative. For instance, make them into a soup. Ask to take food home from restaurants if there`s some left, but remember to take your own ff14 gil container to avoid using a disposable carton.

4. Find out what the recycling options are in your area. Then make sure you keep items such as paper and plastic bottles separate so that they can be recycled. There are places where you can recycle electronic appliances and FF14 Power leveling batteries. Make sure you find them.

5. Conserve energy by using efficient light bulbs. They use about one-third of the energy of normal bulbs and last 10 times as long.

6. Only turn the water heater on when necessary, and FFXIV Power leveling adjust temperature controls to avoid overheating. Put a lid on a pan when boiling water.

7. After use, waste water has to be treated, and some methane from sewage escapes into the atmosphere. Take showers rather than baths and reduce your shower time by two minutes. This will save water and give you an extra two minutes in bed.

8. When using the washing machine, be sure there`s a full load and cheap ffxiv gil turn the temperature down if it`s not really grubby.

9. The greediest home device along with the washing machine is the fridge. Make sure it`s as efficient as possible by keeping it out of direct sunlight and away from the oven or heater. Don`t put food in when it`s still warm.

10. This is obvious, but essential: switch off all appliances when you`re not using them. This includes lights.

11. There`s no point having the heat up high while the wind`s blowing in under the door or rs gold sneaking in through the window. Reseal all window frames to keep the heat in.

12. Only print things out when necessary, and print double-sided and reduce the margins.

13. Take your own mug and cutlery to work. This saves throwing away disposable cups and
buy runescape gold containers - but that could be outweighed by washing your cutlery. So, pay attention to how you use water when washing your dishes.

14. Food production eats up lots of energy. When you buy food, go local rather than imported, and get fresh vegetables instead of frozen.

15. Look for reusable, recyclable, biodegradable items and remember to carry your reusable shopping bags!

16. Try to buy high-quality, long-lasting products even though they may cost a little more. A laptop is more efficient than a desktop, and a small screen TV is better than a big flat-screen.

17. Don`t purchase unnecessary clothes, and runescape money be careful about the materials you buy. Wool and cotton fabrics have a really high greenhouse gas impact. Manmade fibers such as polyester are a better choice.

18. All motorized travel is carbon-intensive. Buses and trains are better than cars, but walking or cycling is better still. It`s also better for your health and cheaper.

19. Air travel is an environmental disaster. As well as carbon dioxide, planes emit nitrogen oxide, another nasty gas.

20. Chris Goodall says: "Study the issues. Understand the options available to China. Get involved in the debates about what to do. Find ways of using the country`s immense skills to provide answers to the rest of the world. If climate change goes on unchecked, China will not be able to feed itself. Water will run out. We have no choice. We have to act."

21. Find out about local groups that are committed to combating climate change. Stay informed, get involved, and spread the word.
Par ladyyaya - 0 commentaire(s)le 05 janvier 2011
Mardi 04 janvier 2011

Chinese Dream Culture

As the Hollywood blockbuster Inception wowed audiences around world, more and more people are interested in dream exploration.

Dreams are reflections of humans’ inner spaces and ffxiv gil a connection between human subconscious and consciousness. And in human civilizations, dreams have always been regarded as a mystery. In primitive tribes, dreams were thought to be the indication of God or the haunting of the devil.

Ancient Stories about Dreams in China

Dream culture is an important part of ancient Chinese culture. There are many ff14 gil ancient stories about dreams in China, and the most famous one is Zhuangzhou Dreamt of Butterfly.

There are also some other stories on dreams such as Golden Millet Dream and Jiang Yan dreamt about the blooming of his writing brush.

The Book Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams

Dream interpreting is popular in China, and the most famous FF14 Power leveling reference for dream interpreting is the book Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams.

Ancient Chinese people thought that dreams can imply auspicious and inauspicious things. The book Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams was usually used as a reference for FFXIV Power leveling ancient people to interpret their dreams. Since different dreams have different meanings, people can get implications of auspiciousness or inauspiciousness by interpreting them, as ancient people had the idea that dreams were the implication from God.

Dream Interpreting Has Some Scientific Basis

Actually, dream interpreting is not totally a superstition. It does have some scientific merit.

1. Dream is the reflection of fact. Many dreams are actually the repetition of things that happened in an awakened state.
This kind of dream can be easily understood without dream interpreting.


2. Dream is the body’s self-implication. Traditional cheap ffxiv gil Chinese medical science stated that dreams are related to the health condition of human’s bodies. When Yin and Yang are unbalanced, dreams come into being. According to Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang were two opposing principles in nature: the former negative, the latter positive. Yin is female and Yang is male.

If someone dreamt that he or she was roasted by a big rs gold fire and it is too hot to bear, it means the body’s inner heat is too strong. As a result, he or she may easily get angry or nervous.

3. Dreams are usually contrary to the facts, which coincide with the philosophy that things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme.

Based on the experiences and runescape money practices, an anonymous author wrote a book for interpreting dreams and predicting the auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, which was named Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams.

As ancient Chinese peoples’ wisdom and experiences crystallized, Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams became less regarded as a superstition. To some degree, it is buy runescape gold scientifically reasonable. Handed down over thousands of years, the profound book still has many mysteries waiting for us to explore.
Par ladyyaya - 1 commentaire(s)le 04 janvier 2011
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