Bird's Nest Stadium Could Have Been UFO Stadium

Bird’s Nest Stadium, designed for the Beijing Olympics, looks pretty incredible - as do many of the other buildings created for the Olympics. But for every building that gets built, there are many ideas that don’t. For the national stadium, China had a competition. Here are some of the other entries (click on thumbnails to see a larger picture):

“a symbolic link - a bridge - between old and new,” apparently, the roof moves as 2 leaves, but I dont really understand how… “a floating water lily surrounded by petals and blossoms,” the central roof can open to a perimeter of 130 meters yep, another retractable roof, complete with UFO aesthetics

pretty neat shape that doesnt show in the thumbnail. click on image to see larger picture

I don’t understand this, but apparently the floating thing is a suspending retractable roof See the 13 finalist entries, multiple pictures of each and a full explanation here.

Olympic Mascots for 2008 Beijing Olympics: FUWA

Mascots of 2008 Beijing Olympics

I read a lot about the FUWA when they were first unveiled as the 2008 Beijing Olympic mascots about a year ago. Thought now, on this opening day might be a good time to review how the mascots came to be. According to the Olympic site, each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name -a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China: Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow. When you put their names together — Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni — they say “Welcome to Beijing.”

Beibei: fish and water are symbols of prosperity and harvest, as well as having a surplus for a good year and good life. According to the site, “Beibei is known to be gentle and pure. Strong in water sports, she reflects the blue Olympic ring.” Jingjing: a symbol of happpiness. The Panda is loved and protected throughout China. He and the lotus’s on his head symbolize the lush green of the Panda’s environment and the desire to protect nature’s gifts. “Jingjing is charmingly naïve and optimistic. He is an athlete noted for strength who represents the black Olympic ring.”

Huanhuan: “In the intimate circle of Fuwa, Huanhuan is the big brother. He is a child of fire, symbolizing the Olympic Flame and the passion of sport. Huanhuan is outgoing and enthusiastic. He excels at all the ball games and represents the red Olympic ring.”

Yingying: a fast and agile antelope, she symbolizes China’s great and huge landscape. “Strong in track and field events, Yingying is a quick-witted and agile boy who represents the yellow Olympic ring.”

Nini: represents the golden winged swallow - the most popular kite design in China. “Nini is as innocent and joyful as a swallow. She is strong in gymnastics and represents the green Olympic ring.

Han Meilin designed the mascots, went through many renditions (bureacracy is everywhere, after all), and infused the mascots with meaning and depth. they are not just a bunch of cute little dolls. He got his original idea from the five factors making up the world, including gold, wood, water, fire and earth. Han Meilin was given an original concept by another person involved with the Olympics. His design team came up with over 4000 iterations of the characters and over 60 changes to the prototypes Here is a sampling of what some of the other mascot ideas were:

Read this great interview with Han Meilin from the China Daily about how he came up with the characters.Or see the Official Olympics Site to get more details about the mascots and their final meanings.

How to Naturally Regrow Your Lost Hair?

Are you concerned about your hair loss? If you are, then you might/would be interested in the following content that I just learned about through a very informative conversation with my colleague regarding how to re-grow your lost hair Naturally. Yes, Naturally!One of the guys I work with in his 30s had been losing his hair significantly for a couple of years. I could not help but really noticing that his hair is re-growing back dramatically a few weeks ago. My initial guess was that he probably was taking/applying some medicine or had a surgery or something till yesterday we finally had a chance to have lunch together with other guys and chat.The thing he mentioned that was indeed something new to us and, sort of, shocked me at the moment is “Most hair loss is NOT genetic!” The real reason of losing hair is because our hair follicles are trapped and blocked off from vital blood supplies that are needed to nourish their development. Our hair is literally being starved to death. To solve that and most, if not all, of our lost hair will come back, we have to address and eliminate the causes, NOT the symptoms of hair loss. All of a sudden, he did sound like an expert in the hair re-growing thing and seem knowing a lot about it, which is odd. But the hair re-grown on his head is truly a piece of solid/convincing evidence that no one can actually argue about. At the end, he honestly confessed that he learned all the stuff he talked about from an e-book, ”How To Naturally Regrow Lost Hair in 15 Minutes a Day,” found on the Internet and simply gave it a shot. He got nothing more to lose anyway…This e-book shows you how to re-grow your hair by taking only 15 minutes a day for a few weeks with some grocery store stuff without going through those expensive/suffering processes. It certainly can save you some money and time. My colleague is still on it and looks like ten years younger.Click here and check it out yourself.

How to Fast Lose Weight for Busy Women?

Another interesting topic my colleagues and I talked about at lunch the other day was “Fast Weight Loss,” quite a hot subject and a serious concern to some people, particularly, busy women who really want to keep their bodies in a good/attractive shape with extremely limited time available to do so on a daily base. It is fair to say that some people among us do have to worry about their body weights, increasing like a rocket and out of control down the road, and, I believe, most of them have tried various ways/methods to fight but the results usually are pretty frustrating and disappointing. Thus, a question always being asked by them so we heard is: "Why do I try all the "so-called" right stuff, such as eating right and exercising, yet I don't lose any weight as expected/advertised? "One of my female co-workers, who has significantly lost some weight recently, seemed confident and got it all figured out. The reason why our bodies didn't allow us to lose weight on most weight loss programs, designed so that you will often fail to lose weight no matter how genetically gifted you are, was because we were damaging our bodies with an unhealthy approach to weight loss. Almost like your body got brain of it's own to protect itself from any unnatural change/damage. And guess what, your body does! She had tried quite a few things, apparently, but none of them ever worked out for her till she found this eBook/program, “The Advanced Guide to Fast Weight Loss for Busy Women,” on the Internet. According to her, it is fairly easy to follow the step-by-step instruction without taking too much time out of her busy schedule everyday, and the result shows up within a week dramatically. She is certainly much thinner and, at the same time, looks younger, healthier and, of course, happier. If you are a busy woman and trying to figure out how to lose/control your weight fast, it is highly suggested that you should click here and check it out yourself. I am actually thinking of getting a copy of this eBook/program for my wife, but just don’t know how to bring this up to her yet…

How to Watch TV/Movies on PC/Laptop?

Have you ever wondered how to watch TV on your own PC/laptop? Alternatively, how to turn your PC into a TV with all your favorite channels and movies? This is certainly a sweet dream of some people (mine too), particularly, those who are on travel all the time, do not have access to cable/satellite TV in their areas, want to see some great programming the current TV provider doesn't offer, want TV channels from all over the world in many different languages, want an alternative to their cable or satellite TV services, and/or just simply want to save money from the high cost of cable/satellite TV services. In case you do not know what to start with and/or which program you should choose from the Internet, here comes an extremely exciting website, “Watch TV on PC,” we just learned about from some collage kids (they always know the best about those IT/Hi-Tech stuff in many ways) that you definitely want/have to visit. Those kids love this program because they can use on as many as SIX computers/laptops and get more than 12,000 TV channels with only ONE membership (a pretty decent one-time payment)! With one membership, you can provide everyone in your household with this service, share it with your roommates/classmates/officemates, and/or install at your work or business. On top of these, it is absolutely portable if you got the program setup on a laptop. For downloading movies from the web (legally of course), they recommended “Movies Capital”. The reason is simple and twofold: the price is cheap and they have a choice on the access, from 6 months up to unlimited. Both programs are rather good deals! Wish to learn more? Click here for “Watch TV on PC,” and/or click here for “Movies Capital”. Enjoy! Click Here!

How to Grow Your Own Vegetables Efficiently?

When facing more and more issues/concerns, such as the price, safety and availability, about vegetables on the market, more and more people are wondering how to grow their own at home with limited resources and time. Nevertheless, it usually requires a yard and an investment of time, and most people do not know where to start and how to do it efficiently. Here it comes a pretty handy solution/idea, particularly, ideal for those who live in an apartment and are busy all the time, which I just learned from some of my old buddies upon visiting their places in the Northwest. They introduced me a new concept/method, Hydroponic Gardening, with which you can basically grow anything indoors or outdoors without using soil and with amazing results. Yes, you heard me right! You do not have to use soil to grow your own vegetables inside/outside your place. This fascinating system of growing plants is part of the future. Scientists are studying its ability to feed parts of the world beset by hunger. They recognize it as a means of decreasing pesticide use. The people at those space agencies even consider it part of our future in outer space. * Hydroponic gardening is efficient. You get a higher yield while using fewer resources.* Hydroponic gardening is flexible. You can grow plants without a yard. * Hydroponic gardening is simple. Once you know the basics, you can do wonders! * Hydroponic gardening is affordable. You don't have to spend a fortune to get involved. * Hydroponic gardening is Great Fun. There's something wonderful about finally being the person with a bright green thumb. More importantly, anyone can do it essentially if you follow the step-by-step instruction in this rather intriguing and informative e-Book, “The Hydroponic Garden”. Although I am a dummy to gardening, I was impressed/convinced by those lovely green stuff they grow both indoors and outdoors using no soil and very few resources. I got a copy of this e-Book right after getting home and can’t wait to start my own “Hydroponic Garden”… If you want to find a fun, challenging new activity and/or would like to eat safe, healthy, homegrown vegetables of your own, it is highly recommended that you should definitely click here and check it out yourself.

How to Grow Greenhouse Tomatoes in Your Backyard?

Another interesting thing I saw/learned from a couple of my friends in the Northwest during my visit is that they actually grow fabulous tomatoes, usually grown/seen in a greenhouse, in their own backyard. Their secret is rather simple. They got a copy of the book, “Grow Greenhouse Tomatoes Outside” by Frank Kilgore, and just followed the content page by page. I took the chance and went through the book quickly. The author seems a real expert with experience of 20 years in growing greenhouse tomatoes, and the content is indeed concise and easy to carry out. This informative book essentially tells you (1) how to grow outstanding mouth-watering tomatoes, quickly and easily, every time, (2) how to grow plump and abundant tomatoes with very little water, and (3) how to get great overall gardening results without spending a fortune or working yourself silly. If you have a backyard and want to make the best out of it, this is the book that you definitely should look into. It can/will save you a lot of time, trouble and, more important, money. Please click here to learn more.

How to Ensure Your Canine Health Care?

Frankly, I am a dog lover, and used to have a beautiful male Samoyed years ago. However, due to lack of common sense/knowledge about canine health care seriously, it sadly past away at age of about only 6 years old. Ever since, I have been paying attention to how to take good care of dogs whenever I get a chance. If you have a dog/dogs and consider yourself a dog lover as I do, then please ask yourself the following common questions and see how much you actually know/care about your dog(s). (1) Dogs shouldn’t be given chocolate? Do you know why? (2) Dogs get allergies just like people. Can you identify them? (3) How to give your dog CPR? (4) Are you giving your dog real nutritional food? (5) Are you randomly selecting your dog diet just based on what’s the cheapest? You should be careful if you are uncertain about the answer to some/all of the questions listed above like I was. To some extent, pets are just like kids. They can easily run into a lot of serious health issues simply because of our ignorance/negligence! "Canine Health Care" is for the dog owner who wants to better understand the health of their pet so they know when it is appropriate to take serious action to assist a vulnerable or ailing dog, something I learned during my trip to the Northwest again. In this true dog lovers’ guide, a lot of details are illustrated, a lot of issues are addressed, and a lot of questions are answered. It is rather informative, efficient and, more importantly, cheap. If you got a beloved dog on which you want to have the best canine health care, you definitely have to get a copy of this book as one of your desktop references. Believe me. It is indeed heart breaking to lose a dog/pet. Been there, done that! Click here to learn more before it is to late…

How to Do Organic Cooking Properly?

By reviewing the notes/photos taken during my trip to the Northwest, I found that there are a couple of more interesting things worth sharing with you. “Organic Cooking” is one of them introduced here. Believe it or not, some people in the Rocky Mountains really know how to live/enjoy a natural/green life. One of my friend’s neighbors got a beautiful/lovely log house in the woods and invited us to have dinner with her the other night. She certainly knows how to cook and claims that all the green stuff used are from her own garden. Those dishes were really fresh and tasty. We somehow noticed that the cooking and the vegetables are quite unique/different but just couldn’t figure out why and how at the moment. After dinner, we had a fire-side chat. Out of curiosity, I asked her about her cooking skills and secrets. She was kind enough to tell me all she knows about organic gardening and “Organic Cooking,” something really new to me, by showing me an eBook, “Guide to Organic Cooking,” from which she basically learned most of the stuff she was talking about. Based on some general concepts that most of us probably have already known, this interesting book reveals more detailed info/tricks regarding how to do organic gardening and cooking according to the author’s own experience/ideas. It turns out organic cooking is not complicated, easier than you think, once you know a few basics. In fact, it is way easier (and in most cases healthier) than trying to cook by some crazy fad diet guidelines! As I said, some people in the Rocky Mountains really know how to live/enjoy a natural/green life!If you wish to have something healthier and more natural/organic to cook/eat, you should click here to learn more. I have seen it, and it actually worked.