Saturday, September 29, 2007

The 7 wonders of the world

This topic came from our kopitiam talk yday. We, the 3 musketeers were at the kopitiam talking nonsense until like 11:30pm yday. I was supposed to go Yishun to get a costume from May so that I can wear tomorrow. Then after that we went to this ulu yishun kopitiam to la kopi.

This was the second time that YH ask me what are the 7 wonders.

So I told her there are 2 sets of 7 wonders, the old one and the new one.

The old 7 Wonders

This earliest version of the 7 wonders was compiled in the 2nd century BC by Antipater of Sidon.

The Great Pyramid of Giza

One of the ancient 7 wonders is the Great Pyramid of Giza. There are 3 very prominent pyramids at Giza and they are the only survivors among the old 7 wonders. They were thought to have been built between 2589 - 2566 BC

Compare the pyramid to the man at the bottom! Can you see the man?

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was believed to be built around 600BC by Nebuchadnezzar II . Babylon is the present day Iraq.

The Hanging Gardens are extensively documented by Greek historians such as Strabo and Diodorus Siculus, but otherwise there is little evidence for their existence. In fact, there are no Babylonian records of any such gardens having existed.

According to accounts, the gardens were built to cheer up Nebuchadnezzar's homesick wife, Amyitis. Amyitis, daughter of the king of the Medes, was married to Nebuchadnezzar to create an alliance between the nations. The land she came from, though, was green, rugged and mountainous, and she found the flat, sun-baked terrain of the Mesopotamia (a region of southwest Asia) depressing. The king decided to recreate her homeland by building an artificial mountain with rooftop gardens.

The Hanging Gardens probably did not really "hang" in the sense of being suspended from cables or ropes. The name comes from an inexact translation of the Greek word kremastos or the Latin word pensilis, which means not just "hanging² but "overhanging," as in the case of a terrace or balcony.

Temple of Artemis

This was a Greek temple dedicated to Artemis completed around 550 BC at Ephesus (in present-day Turkey) under the Achaemenid dynasty of the Persian Empire.

The Temple was designed and constructed around 550 BC by the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes. This early construction was built at the expense of Croesus, the wealthy king of Lydia. Marshy ground was selected for the building site as a precaution against future earthquakes, according to Pliny the Elder.

The temple of Artemis at Ephesus was destroyed on July 21, 356 BC in an act of arson committed by Herostratus.

The site of the temple was rediscovered in 1869 by an expedition sponsored by the British Museum, and while several artifacts and sculptures from the reconstructed temple can be seen there today, as for the original site, only a single column remains from the temple itself.

The graphical image of the temple of Artemis.

The only column left from the Temple of Artemis. The rest was destroyed.

Statue of Zeus
The very classic wonder. It was carved by the famed Classical sculptor Phidias (5th century BC) circa 435 BC in Olympia, Greece.

Zeus was carved from ivory (technically the ivory was soaked in a liquid that made it softer, so it was probably both carved and shaped as necessary) then covered with gold plating (thus chryselephantine) and was seated on a magnificent throne of cedarwood, inlaid with ivory, gold, ebony, and precious stones.

The circumstances of its eventual destruction are a source of debate: some scholars argue that it perished with the temple in the 5th century AD, others argue that it was carried off to Constantinople, where it was destroyed in the great fire of the Lauseion.


Mausoleum of Maussollos

The Mausoleum of Maussollos was a tomb built between 353-350 BC at Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey), for Mausolus a provincial king in the Persian Empire, and Artemisia, his wife and sister.

Mausolus Artemisia spent their huge amount of tax money on beautifying the city. They bought statues, temples, and buildings of gleaming marble. In the center of the city Mausolus planned to place a resting place for his body after he was dead. It would be a tomb that would forever show how rich he and his queen were.

In 353 BC Mausolus died, leaving Artemisia broken-hearted. (It was the custom in Caria for rulers to marry their own sisters. One reason for these marriages might have been that it kept the power and wealth in the family.) As a tribute to him, she decided to build him the most splendid tomb in the known world. It became a structure so famous that Mausolus' name is now associated with all stately tombs through our modern word mausoleum.

Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes was a giant statue of the god Helios, erected on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos between 292 BC and 280 BC. It was roughly the same size as the Statue of Liberty in New York, although it stood on a lower platform. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The statue stood for only 56 years until Rhodes was hit by an earthquake in 224 BC. The statue snapped at the knees and fell over onto the land. Ptolemy III offered to pay for the reconstruction of the statue, but an oracle made the Rhodians afraid that they offended Helios, and they declined to rebuild it. The remains lay on the ground for over 800 years, and even broken, they were so impressive that many travelled to see them.


Pharos of Alexandria

The Pharos of Alexandria was a lighthouse built in the 3rd century BC on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to serve as that port's landmark, and later, a lighthouse.

With a height variously estimated at between 115 and 135 metres (383 - 440 ft) it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries, and was identified as one of the Seven Wonders of the World by Antipater of Sidon.

It ceased operating and was largely destroyed as a result of two earthquakes in the 14th century AD; some of its remains were found on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour by divers in 1994.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

A funny clip

I came across this stupid clip about PC VS MAC. So funny and stupid! Hahaha... I didn't luff for a long time and the clip made me laugh. Share it with your guys.



The americans are so funny when it comes to silly things like this. They can make fun of anything and everything! My god... I will search for more and post up ;D

Birthday wishes

Birthday wishes from all my friends....

1) MD 12.09am - Did you hear what I said? No? I said Happy Birthday! (The first person to msg me)

2) Lock 1.55am - Let me tell you a secret. Ur growing old! Ur face will soon dissolve into a repulsive mass of wrinkles! Happy Birthday, btw. :) (Lock always msg me weird things on my bday!)

3) LJ 2.01am - 生日快樂!祝你天天開心。永遠漂亮。年年又今日,嵗嵗有今朝!笑口常開哦!

3) Zhenyin 8.23am - Yo, Happy birthday to you =! =!

4) James 9.26am - 美麗育英小姐!祝你生日快樂!做工開心!笑口大大!(What is xiao kou da da?? Hahaha.. )

5) Da Li Qing 11.18am - 生日快樂!Happy Birthday! (surprised she remembered!)

6) Father 11.28am - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! u are now 27 years old! OMG! (My father thought I am 27. What the hell?)

7) Gina 12.50am - Happy Birthday!

8) Fongleng 3.58pm - Miko靚女,生日快樂!祝你天天充滿著驚喜,歡樂!

9) Francis 04.07pm - Hello Nicole! 'Happy Birthday to u'! May all your every wishes come true. But dun be so greedy, a few wishes can come true enough liao, ok! Enjoy your day :-) (This person didn't even know how to spell my name?

10) Andy - Happy to you my friend!

Dun be mistaken that May and YH never sms me.. They did but I can't find the msg leh... Dunno if I have deleted them accidentally. Haiz.. recently can't concentrate on anything. I dunno what I am doing sometimes too so.... paiseh la... May and YH. There are some other birthday which I accidentally deleted cuz my hp msg full le....

This year I got a very important birthday wish and I hope my wish will come true. Normally I don't take birthday wish seriously cuz there is nothing I would like to wish for particularly. Haiz.. Sianz..

Monday, September 10, 2007

Grasshoppers

The first time I idolise anyone was the Grasshoppers. You know who are the grasshoppers? You cannot dunno lor cuz they were the best singing group for many years until some dunno what ikan bili group took over and they went into acting.

They are the 3 grasshoppers! I remember that I was in primary school when I idolised them. I love their songs. They have this very famous song, Shi Lian. Everyday I go home after school, I will play the CD and started singing and dancing around like the way they dance in the MTVs. My father like their songs too so he had a CD in his car. Everytime when we go out during sundays, I will listen to their songs in the car. I know nothing about going after idols at that time. I just know that I like to listen to their songs and sing along with them.

I remember that I told my father if grasshoppers ever come to SG for concert, I will want to watch and he has to sponsor me. He said ok. A few months ago they had a concert in SG. I crave to go see them!!! Finally after so long, my wish is fulfiled but unfortunately, that exact same day I was not in SG or I got performance. I dunno which one. So in the end I never go to see the concert. So sad.... They are already quite old and they won't open another concert any time soon. I think the last time they had one was about 10 years ago.

So in the end, I bought the dvd.

This was the DVD I bought a few days ago. Lovely cover isnt it? So I watched the DVD happily at home and recaptured my childhood. Singing along those ever so familiar tunes and dancing away.

Haiz... my childhood was quite happy I think. Everyday happily singing and dancing.. when not doing homework. My idol was the grasshoppers.. my first idol. They sing well.. they can compose their own songs, choreograph their own dance and they dance well! Yay! I hope one day I can get to see their concert... ! :(

Sometimes I do think the grasshoppers are a bit extreme tho.. always doing some weird stuff or challenging some extremes, always do weird zao xing.. even dressing up as women.. abit extreme... but.. I still like their songs. haha. Many ppl criticise them for being old and singing those old fashion old songs... and they too extreme etc...

but..

WHO CARES?

Their concert got a full house lor.. so heck those stupid few ppl who criticise. Hahaha...