Starbucks Malaysia will be offering complimentary grande size Frappuccino when you check-in to Foursquare at any Starbucks store during Earth Hour from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on March 31, 2012.


So that's the reward for you guys during Earth Hour.

But what is Earth Hour all about?

Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Source: Wikipedia

Where Earth Hour began?

In 2007, WWF-Australia inspired Sydney-siders to show their support for climate change action in the first ever Earth Hour event. It showed that everyone, from children to CEOs and politicians, has the power to change the world they live in. In Sydney, Australia, 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights out for one hour to take a stand against climate change.

We in Malaysia celebrated the first Earth Hour on March 28, 2009.

Source: Earth Hour website

You want to play a role in this Earth Hour?

Firstly, reduce the electricity consumption at all time; efficiency please!

Next, spread out the message (like a virus) with 4 steps:

Step 1
Invite your friends and colleagues to like Facebook Page

Step 2
Post this to your Facebook wall to let your friends know you’re part of the world’s largest grassroots environmental movement. "I'm switching off the lights for Earth Hour. Show your support too at http://earthhour.org"

Step 3
Tweet this to show your support and use the hashtag #EarthHour in all your Earth Hour tweets. "@earthhour I'm switching off the lights for #earthhour. Show your support too at http://earthhour.org"

Step 4
Find your local Earth Hour Meetup group and invite your friends and family to join too.

The campaign's website, wwf.org.my, allows Malaysians to make “go green” pledges.




That's all for this post, long and complicated enough.

Switch off your lights!!

I would highlight this issue regarding show-cause letter by Home Ministry. It is The Star over the article “Persuasion, not compulsion”, that was published on Feb 19.

The commentary, written by managing editor P. Gunasegaram in his column Question Time, was on the caning of three Muslim women for illicit sex.

Several groups have since lodged police reports against him and the newspaper.

Since then, the column is replaced by other, with removal in The Star Online.

Question Time

Another columnist suffered the blow when her article was rejected by the daily for fear KDN permit revoked. She is Marina Mahathir and the full article is on her blog.

Musings

IT is simple to answer the reasons, I read the article before as the content which opinioned that the punishment is politically motivated to show the Muslims that they have great concern on religious matters.

For that, I think P.Guna will continue to fight for readers and I supported you. Home Ministry is abusing their power, a liar ministry.

Some of these festive must-haves are symbolic to everyone who celebrates.

Ang Pow
Ang pow-giving is a customary practice during Chinese New Year, where red packets or envelopes with money inside are given out by married individuals to those who are not married, especially the children. Giving the ang pow is a symbol of goodwill to bless the children with health and good fortune in their studies or jobs. The ang pow colour is usually red, which means good luck and prosperity.

Mandarin Oranges
In Cantonese, mandarin oranges are known as kam, which means gold and these are must-haves as they signify wealth and good fortune to come. These days, mandarin oranges come in boxes flown in from China and are given away as gifts to friends and relatives.

Lion Dance
The lion dance is a form of traditional performance in Chinese culture that has become ubiquitous during Chinese New Year to ward away evil spirits. These days, lion dances are also performed during opening or launching ceremonies and special functions.

Tasty treats: Yee Sang and Nian Gao (below) are among the must-haves in the food department.

Lanterns
The lighting of lanterns symbolise brightness that brings hope and luck, and homes as well as temples will be lit up with these during the celebration period.

God of Prosperity
Chinese New Year has to do with everything auspicious and everyone looks forward to the God of Prosperity making his appearances to bring good luck and blessings like giving out sweets, mandarin oranges and also ang pow.

Bamboo
These days, handy and decorative bamboo plants or twisted bamboo canes are among the must-haves for the home, as bamboo is said to symbolise resilience, nobility and longevity.

Yee Sang
This multi-coloured raw fish salad makes its presence during Chinese New Year where it is tossed with friends and family members, and the higher one tosses, the better it is as it signifies greater fortunes. Fish, or yu, stands for abundance or excess and surplus of luck and wealth through this new year.


Nian Gao (Sticky Cake)
The sticky pudding, where the Chinese characters nian and gao translate to year high or tall, respectively, is eaten to symbolise the “raising of oneself” in each coming year, as with the Chinese saying Nian nian gao sheng (or higher leaps every year).

Everything Red
Red is an important colour as it is supposed to give good luck, which is favoured by the Chinese, especially during this festive period when you go house visiting.

However, red is not played up as much these days.

Vegetables
Price of vegetables that is believed symbolise good tidings are expected to go up (30 %) as higher demand and lower supply.

These include pak choy (cabbage – which gives the meaning of wealth), sang choy (lettuce – longevity), spring onions (chung – wisdom) and leeks (suan, which rhymes with “counting” in Mandarin).

Mandarin oranges stay affordable
A container of mandarin oranges cost US$1,500 (RM5,000) compared with US$1,200 (RM4,000) last year.

The difference of US$300 is about RM1,000, making a box of mandarin oranges dearer by about RM2 compared with prices last year.

Best asam laksa
I'm interested to read On The Beat section which highlights the best asam laksa in country. So here is the quote:

Sparkle of magic as we get together (The Star)

The roads in Penang normally come to a gridlock especially on the second day of CNY as tourists start to make their way here.

My family house is in Kampung Melayu, Air Itam, which is not too far from the Kek Lok Si pagoda temple and Penang Hill.

It’s a lot worse for Penangites staying in Tanjung Tokong and Tanjung Bungah with traffic on the road leading to the hotels in Batu Feringghi almost certain to come to a standstill. The asam laksa at the nearby wet market (Paya Terubong), I swear, has to be the country’s best

Happy Chinese New Year '10

Motorists using the Kuala Lumpur-Karak and the East Coast highways will not be charged any toll for certain hours in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebrations while other highways will offer discounts of between 5% and 20%.

Toll free	Discount on tolls
Kuala Lumpur - Karak Highway	North-South Expressway
East Coast Highway	Seremban – Port Dickson Highway North-South Expressway Central Link Malaysia-Singapore Second Link Expressway Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong Sprint Highway New Pantai Highway Putrajaya Highway Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway Shah Alam Expressway Silk Highway Besraya Highway

Highway users will be given a discount of 20% when they used PLUS highways between midnight and 7am during the Chinese New Year holidays.

The discount will be given on Feb 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 in conjunction with the celebrations.