இ Countdown ~ II : O : I : II

Countdown-Clocks

The first love is the sweetest, but that first cut is the deepest. Bananaz has gone through the rough patch of blogging when BananazPeople emerged into cyberspace on Nov 03 2009. Glad to mention Bananaz survived the one year of blood sweat and tears with sincere thanks and gratitude to all fellow bloggers and readers for saving its skin. Shall be looking forward for another year of excitement and sharing, digging and learning together. Its time to bid farewell 2010 and hello 2011 and wish to call upon all fellow bloggers and readers to join in the countdown for a better two jilo one one. Weeweechu all the best of the best.

The very first blogger to hop into the countdown 2010 is இ +Ant+ aka "Gratitude", a blogger with plenty of quotes and background music. இ "Globetrotter" you are one super 'flying' lady probably your flying time is much more than some pilots haha. இ Aaah next is "Merryn" the unsinkable submerryn who refuses to submerge always remain above waters mainly in 1Utama with her two darlings Ethan and Darling himself. Today 28 Dec is Merryn's sweet 16 birthday.

இ "Alice Law" trying her level best to grow and cultivate her 2 big trees Juan Juan & Ah Xuan with loads of patience and TLC *tender loving care*... hoping that they would shade and contribute to others in the future! இ "[SK/0617]" just received the scripteaser of the year award for 2010 became a multi million*dong*aire overnight after changing job on his first official trip to Vietnam. 0617 is his bird-day OK. இ Hopefully she does not change her anime avatar love the big sparkling eyes of "HappySurfer". Cannot take my eyes away as it was love at first sight and also love her Friday Frolics Quiz.

இ From Russia with Love our temporary Russian Mr BOOH ЧyH XИAГ, none other than "CH Voon" who faked winning the lottery first prize and still betting. Keep trying *cantonese - sum seong si seng* (word for word translation ~ *heart think think can happen*) never give up its coming soon. இ Now what? Here comes the Big Bozz from Sibu, "suituapui" meaning 'pretty fatso' (as claimed by himself) and still crazy after all these years. He is also pretty *besides being fatso* well known for his foodiegraphy *foodie + photography* and humour. இ Another Bold Talkin' Mafia from The Pearl of the Orient, "Eugene" a Papa of two, a Husband of one and a Boyfriend of none...*Hokkien ~ oo eiah boh* got shadow or not? Can we beleaf this Godfather?  haha.

இ He claimed to be a part-time blogger but we see his jangut *beard* almost everywhere woh, the most active "Tekkaus" in cyberspace. இ A lady with green fingers, "Autumn Belle" who loves to write about garden adventures and a keen shutterbug snapping nice awesome pictures. இ Sweet Caroline says she is a friendly girl with complicated thoughts. A girl who has not enjoy life pretty much as yet but with neverending postings of "My Stories".

இ One foodie blogger "Wai Kitt" with her catchy blog name 一日三餐 *one day three meals* who loves baking and cooking. இ A hobbyist photographer who enjoys creating images and sharing her thoughts on life, food and travel. To date this is her 2.5 years into blogging and "Mei Teng" aint going places without her DSLR. இ A bonus for "CH Voon" who revisited this post for the third time. He is a father of a lovely cute little curly hair girl named Vanessa and you could see how delighted and happy when she saw her dad after a few months absence in Russia. Luckily Vanessa can still recognised him and did'nt ask "who are you uncle? looking for my daddy he's not home" *pengsan* faint.

இ Hate me for who I am, rather than love me for who I'm not. Be a real enemy, rather than a fake friend. Whoa very profound indeed for a zewty Malaysian working in Singapore "As Zewt As It Gets". இ A Penang guy who loves reading, watching movie and traveling. He writes anything based on what he reads, sees and experiences. Bite Me the Blog Idol 2010 "Faisal Admar". இ A special mention to my Chinese mentor "Meichun Jones (Jeannie)" lǎoshī who has been instrumental in guiding Bananaz with her Easy Way To Learn Chinese by introducing the MDBG Chinese Dictionary. From the bottom of my heart Xiexie lǎoshī.

இ The world of Bengbeng and Benghui flows smoothly in My Longkang, a Malay word for My *Drain*. Wanna know why is this site called My Longkang? Flush "My LongKang". இ By some previously unimagined grace, she has the time now to share things of the hearts musing on reflections, memoir, poems, and fiction "Musing By Moonlight". இ We've got someone here born in Raub, one minute having nasi lemak breakfast in her own backyard and the next eating teppanyaki lunch in Japan. Now you see "Lina" now you don't.

இ He loves to cry father cry mother *cow peh cow boo* no wonder the insane onion is making him tears. Yes "Kelvin" is nutz. Don't Cry For Me Argentina Kelvintina. இ We cant afford to miss this guy, an Engineering and Financial Consultant by day! Daddy and chef for 3 kids after sunset and weekends and probably a vampire after midnight. Loves to punch like Bruce Lee and dances the "PeteFormation" just like the King of Pop MJ. இ Netstering too long on his blog name "Netster" and wanted a change using his surname Jong. Just be careful of guy who eats domain names when hungry. Will it be The Jongle, Jong at Heart etc will depend very much on your votes. May wanna wish him all the Jongness with an early Xmas's Jongle Bell Jongle Bell.

இ Day Day is Good Day another foodie blogger with mostly comments in Chinese posing a huge challenge to Bananaz but will slow slow come to comprehend Chinese. Not to worry translators are easily available "Casendra" let the horse come over. *Chinese saying ~ Release the horse I'm ready*. இ He hails from a teeny-weeny romantic country of 2 million sLOVEnians, which gained popularity at the recent World Cup. What in the world is this "Nino" angmoh *Caucasian* doing in a Taiwanderful place winning the 3 Best Taiwan Blog Awards 2010 when he can't even distinguish his Chinese girlfriend "Lily" from a Taiwanese or a Japanese from a Nihonjinese thinking they are Malaysianese. Not all those ending with 'ese' are the same.[caution:stop googling no such wordese! *ahem*]

இ Latest addition to the countdown is Taiping mali the infamous faucet town *water dragon head* [pinyin ~ shuǐ lóng tóu] where the residents even gamble on the weather at high noon. A single drop of rain may make one richer or otherwise. From Taiping With Love is a mother of BIG CHII & small CHI who enjoys kaypoh-ing a.k.a CNN-ing and that's a perfect connexion. Show us the Rainmaker and we'll show "Yvonne" the money. இ All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances...This blog will mainly be dedicated to movies OR TV OR MV and serves as a reminder that we're all actors / actresses in our own way in the real world...A perfect mirror image of PETERGOHEKKEHOGRETEP sometimes.."MODERN-DAY ROBINSON CRUSOE".

இ Deng Xiaoping once said "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice". Somehow this cat is special who loves food, hunting, sight-seeing and read books purr-fectly well. Mamarazzi let the cat out of the bag that this aint a black or white cat but a "small kucing" who cant even catch a lame mouse. இ His first attempt in My Very First Blog who likes to blog on anything, nothing but just anything. Nicknamed the sexy Panda who only expose his hairy legs but not the face. We wonder how we wonder why he is so obsessed and easily carey-ed away by Mariah Carey. An avid believer of wind water perhaps the fengshui flows well with the name "foongpc". இ A very handsome chick magnet with irresistable charm. Also known to be thick skinned, self-obsessed and living in his own world of "Shingo T"

இ Aces go places and she has been flying around the globe like nobody's business fly on.."Life Ramblings" we love all your personal collection of travel journals & photos. இ Lesson to be learned: Find a whale and stay in its stomach for few days, and you will find your happiness. If there's something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Not ghostbuster but "Ghosty n@na". இ A father of 20 blogs and just cant imagine how our friendly pinoy finds time and energy to feed em. Whoa 20 aint enough he wants more to fulfil his dream, you wanna more we give you more "Bluedreamer27".

இ I was born with the most curious eyes, I enjoyed looking at autumn skies. I was tickled by the rich colors of Fall, I enjoyed pumpkin pies, my grandma used to recall. Who am I? She is a superb poet, extremely good in haiku and her name "Jingle" every end of the year. இ She has a phobia of people knowing and tracking her so like the Panda can never see her face. Editor/novelist by day and blogger by night and as fairy cannot sleep after midnight coz "Cleffairy" is watching you from a distance Over A Cuppa Tea. இ Ipoh mali I care & I swear Caring Is Not Only Sharing.. with lots of passion for Traveling, huge stomach for Food, and a keen interest in making ton$ & ton$ of money keeping her "Reanaclaire" mind open to all opportunities.

இ Another Ipoh mali "Wenn"ever and where ever she goes on holiday overseas will not stop to blog and she brings home nice & sweet souvenirs for those tracking the Experiences together with her. இ Namaste! We can learn a lot from the trees never stop reaching heaven wards. Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky. And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree. I'm turning my head up and down. I'm turning turning turning turning turning around. Oh yeah now I can see it is not a lemon-tree but an "Evergreen Tree". இ Life is short, let's blog and laugh like there's no tomorrow. No matter what zone you are in always choose to be with Grandma in the "Twilight Zone".

இ You're going to the moon! What did you forget to pack? Never leave for the moon without Elmo! He keeps "EastCoastLife" warm. இ Cloudia clouded Det. Steve Mc Garrett of Hawaii Five-O to popularise Hawaii with her Aloha greetings. Check out her Hawaii Novel in "Comfort Spiral". இ Lots of hobbies one of which is blogging and photography is in his blood. Doing free lance photographer for wedding and company events in between his full time job. "Willie A.K.A. Reptoz" got feautred as June Blogger of the Month for his passion in photography.

இ From houseowner to homemaker since she got married. Founded The Sunshine Group (1997). Still a Toastmaster at heart after what she has gone through of keeping quiet when her lips are sealed with CTM *Cant Talk Much* & DTM *Dont Talk Much* etc etc. Let the rays of the sun shine through "KeatsTheSunshineGirl" and spread to the whole universe. இ By three methods we may learn wisdom: First by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and Third, by experience; which is the bitterest. A profound wisdom of Confucius that constittute the "Three Wisdoms". இ Goldfinger is undoubtedly not related to "Goldflower" inspite of both having the same surname Gold and obviously no blood relationship whatsoever with You Only Live Twice against her One Life Can Make a Difference.

இ A Civil Engineering student who seems to have a never ending studies from Hiroshima, Japan to Germany for his MBA, thereafter working in Singapore and currently doing a research project in Brazil and have lots of fun and samba in Latin America while getting his Head Permanently Damaged *PHD*. In studies he has double, triple or more degrees in name sake he's none other than the double tiger "fufu". இ ehhhh.....maybe someone with too much free time, or someone who is dreaming to be a writer one day, or someone who thinks too much lar....."Manglish", please errrr.....because we are Malaysians ar? இ From the ninth state a Mum to 2 lovely kids YX & XJ who hails from Seremban. Just waiting for them to grow up to go places together as exposure is the greatest learning tool for "mNhL".

இ The lady from DownUnder always reminds me of her nice looking adorable soap. Even though she would expect "It's Raining Ice-Cream" sorry with the change of weather condition Australia is receiving heavy down pour and its raining cats and dogs instead. Better luck next year 2011 oh one more thing I scream when I see Ice-Cream. இ Freelance copywriter working from home. Loves cats, perfumes & daydreaming but dont dream for too long dearie "Marzie". இ A Sabahan who lives in KL. The Queen of Procrastination. The Devil who doesn't wear Bra oops Prada. Thanks thanks thanks thanks "Monica". [song by Leslie Cheong]. இ LadyGaga Being Woman nope its "LadyJava" settling down smoothly & comfortably down south in the Lion City, Singapore~;)

இ He has a strong passion for #1 Traveling ~ which brings out a lot of emotions from deep inside him. #2 ~ Care for the Environment where mankind is so unkind to have done enough damage to our Mother Nature, Life Is Like That. Currently enjoying his 9 days honeymoon tour to China dont call him you might "Jam" his handphone. இ I am nothing not even "Kordo" இ You Are Never Alone sorry I lost you somehow too many of your blogs shall seek you out "Shikira".

இ "KhengSiong" Principle of Uncertainty shall also touch on life being impermanent and death is certain? இ Letting go and embracing change, gaining strength, courage and confidence LIVING and LOVING LIFE more "Inside My Bubble Today".

Special mention :
இ DBLCHIN~ MISS CAMWHORE CITY© இ Mompreneur Journey Toward Financial Freedom. இ Donna@Dolly இ Kenwooi இ Skycity இ Haus of KAKA இ Justin Choo இ James Oh இ Travel Shack இ Back To English இ Favorites Bookmarks இ Ayie இ Levian இ Glennis இ Iamthewitch இ Wazz's Up இ Artistic World இ Ishmael Fischer இ Ben இ TZ இ
Shining Voice இ cHristinA_YY இ Gorilla Hugs இ

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இ Weeweechu

Christmas Eve: Last year same time, same computer, same place, same pair of hands with enthusiastic fingers clicking good, Bananaz posted Christmas greetings with a Bollywood video clip. Click शुभ क्रिसमस for flashback. This year moving on from India to China with love presenting to you 12 gorgeous and talented Santarinas playing the ancient traditional Chinese musical instruments, check this out ~ 'Christmas Eve'. Be mesmerized by their charm, beauty and poise as well as their awesome musical performance blending traditional with modern music.

One beautiful December evening, Bananaz and his

girlfriend Mango were sitting by the side of the

ocean. It was indeed a romantic full moon, when Mango

said "Hey baby, let's play Weeweechu."

"Oh no, not now let’s watch the moon" said Bananaz.

"Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I play Weeweechu. I love

you and it's the perfect time," Mango begged.

"But I rather just hold your hand and watch the moon."

"Please Bananaz just once, play Weeweechu with me."

Bananaz looked at Mango and said, "OK, we'll play Weeweechu."

Bananaz grabbed his guitar and they both sang.....

"Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry

Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy

New Year."

Weeweechu fellow bloggers and readers a Merry Christmas
 and looking forward to a brighter Two Jilo One One in another 8 days to countdown.

聖誕快樂 shèngdàn kuàilè, 新年快樂 xīnnián kuàilè

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இ Happy Dōng Zhì (冬至) or Winter Solstice Festival

Image courtesy of Wikipedia
A bowl of tāng yuán 湯圓

The Dōng Zhì (冬至) lit. *winter arrive* (quite mouthful for me to pronounce zzzzhiiii) is one of the most significant festivals celebrated by the Chinese and many other East Asian nations. Thought Bananaz would not wanna touch on the subject of I-Ching after so much confusion then again somehow it relates back to the concept of Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony, significantly symbolized by the I-Ching hexagram fù (復), "Returning".  Dōng Zhì (冬至) solar term (winter solstice) corresponds to the 22nd of the 24 solar terms 二十四節氣 where the sunshine is usually at its weakest and the daylight shortest, falls on or around December 22. After the celebration there will be an increase of positive flow of energy due to longer daylight hours.

It is mandatory in celebrating the Dōng Zhì (冬至) Festival, making and eating tāng yuán 湯圓 lit. *soup round*, the glutinous rice flour balls, is inevitably indispensable during this festival. Traditionally coloured in pink and white however over time more colours are added to make it much more 'prettier' to swallow. Anyway no matter what colour used, it has no impact on the taste except to for the kids to have more fun with the rice balls. Most importantly the festival is also an encouragement for the family to spent time together thus eating tāng yuán 湯圓 is symbolic of family unity and family prosperity.

Here is an abstract from Wikipedia about other similarity to the tāng yuán 湯圓 found in southern Vietnam, a similar dish, called chè xôi nước, is served in a mild, sweet liquid flavored with grated ginger root. In northern Vietnam, bánh trôi (also called bánh trôi nước) and bánh chay are also very similar, with the latter being served with coconut milk. In the Philippines, the dish ginataang bilo-bilo is also served in coconut milk, and sometimes local produce such as plantains (saba), tapioca, and/or sweet potatoes are cooked in. Gulab jamun is an Indian dessert that is made of fried dairy dough balls served in a bowl of syrup.

Of course when comes to tāng yuán 湯圓 and the Dōng Zhì (冬至) festival this song is part of the ingredient and must go hand in hand blending with the festival just like jingle bells jingle all the way with X'mas. The lyrics are not in pinyin but in Roman spelling nevertheless would be quite close if you wanna sing along. Hopefully one day Jay Chou周杰倫 or Namewee黄明志 would come out with a rap version of the new tāng yuán song. Keeping fingers and toes crossed yo! yo! yo!.

When was the last time you made or ate tāng yuán 湯圓? Bananaz could not remember the very last bowl probably many many years ago. Last year, bloggers CH Voon posted how to make tāng yuán 湯圓 with style, Tekkaus with his Malaccan way and lastly Jam and his Fuzhou Snack. Sorry cannot recollect the rest if I have missed out any its non-intentional. Maybe you can give me a buzz and say "hey what about me?" ~;)

" HAPPY Dōng Zhì 冬至快乐 "

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இ The Absolute..一頭霧水

Gotta go easy after my last entry on the I- Ching has caused perplexity to majority thus created '一頭霧水' [yī tóu wù shuǐ] *one head mist water* literally means 'to be baffled' or most commonly known E=mc² ~ "mung cha cha" in Cantonese ie 'blur blur' reflecting the pix on the right. Hope this post should be easy to comprehend about the Absolute which is the combination of oneness of Yin and Yang. {If still E=mc² sorry, would suggest a fast forward to the next paragraph relax and have fun with [SEM]}. All things or events are the result of Yin and Yang hence it can be considered part of the Absolute. Up above the totality of the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space of the universe is the Absolute in big form and down below a speck of dust is the Absolute in small form. The summation of three total time of the past, present, and future constitute time in its big Absolute state. A blink of the eye is time in its small Absolute state. Not only the form but also the attributes and correlation of events and things are manifestations of the Absolute.

How about having some fun to see what you can guess when the pictures are in its small form. All these pictures are from the book 'Microcosmos', created by Brandon Brill from London with scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of insects, human body parts and household items. These are the most amazing images of what is too small to see with the naked eye.

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1. The surface of an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory silicon microchip

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2. The surface of a strawberry

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3. Human sperm (spermatozoa), the male sex cells

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4. The head of a mosquito

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5. Household dust which includes long hairs such as cat fur, twisted synthetic and woolen fibers, serrated insect scales, a pollen grain, plant and insect remains

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6. Bacteria on the surface of a human tongue

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7. The eight eyes (two groups of four) on the head of a Mexican red-kneed tarantula

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8. Eyelash hairs growing from the surface of human skin

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9. The head of a Romanesco cauliflower

Bananaz kinda likey pix#4 the mozzie head is cute hehe & yuks the tongue is so 'clean'..!!!

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இ The I Ching 易經 Yìjīng

The I Ching (Classic of Changes or Book of Changes), also known as the Yi Jing, Yijing, or I Ging. "I" 易 (yì) used as an adjective, means "easy" or "simple", whilst as a verb it indicates "change" or "the exchange or substitution of one thing for another". "Ching" 經 (jīng) here means "classic works". The symbols used are one of the oldest form of divination over 5000 years old. Also known as the Zhou Yi周易, and has certainly come a long way in achieving a dominant influence in Chinese culture inspiring famous thinkers, scientists, mathematicians and philosophers like Lao Zi and Confucius to name a few. Even until this current millennium the I Ching is still maintaining its popularity and the most sought-after among millions through its role in astrology, geomancy, medical theory and fortune-telling .

In the I Ching the most logic Yīn阴 and Yáng阳 would come to mind almost instantaneously, with the common sequence of Eight Trigrams八卦 Bā Guà and Five Elements. Numerology is part and parcel of the I Ching where numbers are used in the Magic Square of Three when with fusion and combination of the Eight Trigrams and 64 Hexagrams, produces an enlightening magical results in a straight forward, objective and with the least psychic of all forms of divination. The basic principle at the root of the I Ching is the alignment of the cosmic order and human nature to be in a balance harmony.

八卦 Bā Guà (Eight Trigrams)

Symbols are used to represent Yīn阴 and Yáng阳 which are called "line". The 'full' line represents Yáng and the 'broken' line represents Yīn. Yáng is associated to masculine, active, creative, bright and hard. Symbols of Yáng阳 are sun, fire, red color, south, the dragon, mercury and all odd numbers. Yīn is the opposite of Yáng which is feminine, passive, receptive, soft and dark. Symbols of Yīn阴 are moon, water, tiger, clouds, turtle, black color, lead, north and all even numbers.

Chart of Life Links and Five Elements 五行wǔxíng

GENERATING  INTERACTION 生 shēng

The common memory jogs :

Wood feeds Fire;

Fire creates Earth ;

Earth bears Metal;

Metal carries Water (as in a bucket or tap);

Water nourishes Wood.

OVERCOMING INTERACTION 剋 kè:   

Wood parts Earth (such as roots; or, Trees can prevent soil erosion);

Earth absorbs (or muddies) Water;

Water quenches Fire;

Fire melts Metal;

Metal chops Wood.

The Zhou Yi encompasses the way of heaven, earth and man hence the six lines form a Hexagram

Leibniz was inpsired by the Eight Trigrams who invented at least two things that are essential for the modern world: calculus, and binary arithmetics based on bits in modern computers. He noted with fascination how the I Ching hexagrams correspond to the binary numbers from 0 to 111111.

The Magic Square of Three arranges numbers in an all round harmony when they are added up horizontally, vertically or diagonally the total would be 15. Interesting and amazing right? Anyway Bananaz is merely scrapping superficially on the tip of the iceberg and just cannot figure out the formation of the full and broken lines as in the Trigrams and even more so blur blur in the 64 Hexagrams (guà) to correspond exactly into the 64 codons of the universal genetic code of the DNA.

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