Since 2008, the Chinese government has been running the Hanyu Qiao Chinese Bridge Chinese Speaking Competition. The competition gives students learning Chinese a chance to show their skills in Chinese speaking, general knowledge about China and their cultural knowledge and performances.

Twenty students competed for the chance to represent Australia at the finals of the competition in China. Three of them came from Darwin, one of them was yours truly, and the other two were Gabriel Heines and Jeremy Lung.

All of the contestants performed incredibly well, with topics ranging from the humdrum families and activities to international travels and Chinese censorship. There were four winners, and while unfortunately no one from the Territory won, Gabriel won a special mention for his speech, in which he talked about the history of the Chinese in Darwin. Good work Gabriel!

If you are learning Chinese, this competition is a great opportunity to show off your Chinese. And to those who are not, remember to consider learning Chinese due to Australia’s (and Darwin’s) proximity to China and its prominence in the world.

The world’s heating up and there is no better action than to take a reaction towards this climate diffraction. The recent frustration has people in desperation for a simple explanation, showing them how our fundamental interaction is causing a massive transformation of our planet. We must make and take a plan of action, so the next generation can continue to live in this world with the realisation, that we are not the only ones.

Windmills use the breeze and replace burning trees as a better means of forming electricity. There are Hydrokinetic turbines that are designed to refine the energy of water waves when they both combine. Solar panels dismantle the sun’s rays to channel and save potential energy.

These means do not come cheap but are definitely greening our scene and mainly unseen so be serene in our clean energy.

If you found this article to be quite appealing, then I hope you understood the meaning, and had the feeling that you should not be concealing, that you should be intervening and greening the planet in which we are leaving for the next generation.

After a year and a half of looking for the right career for myself I’ve decided to finally put some of my tips and hints about job searching into an article.

1.Build a good resume

The most important part of the entire job searching process is having a solid resume. Work on having a good structure to it and keep it tidy. Also think of a good career objective that summarises what you want out of the position you’re applying for. Don’t be afraid to list all your great activities which don’t necessarily have anything to do with your career of choice, such as volunteer work and community based activities. Plus let your family and friends look over your resume to see if they think you’ve missed anything. Sometimes it takes someone on the outside to see the best qualities in yourself and those qualities are what employers are looking for.

2. Be Persistent to the point of obnoxiousness

Hand in your resumes everywhere! Face to face contact is an excellent way to let the management see that you’re eager. When handing in your resumes to places be presentable. You wouldn’t want someone coming into your workplace looking like they just climbed out of a horror movie would you?

If you’re faxing your resume or even emailing it, you should call to make sure it was received on the other end. This is another good way to let the employer know that you’re a real person and serious about the position.

3. Cover letters make you fancy

Before I started going to job agencies I had no idea what a cover letter was. I quickly learned that they are the piece de la resistance of your application to a potential employer. A cover letter is pretty much just a summary of what you have in your resume already but it gives you a good chance to boast about how great you are. Talk about all the skills you’ve learnt and how they would work great in the position you’re applying for. A cover letter is usually optional, however, if the employer has asked you supply one make sure you do.

4. Don’t be scared if you’ve never worked before

If you’re looking for your first job try not to feel too intimidated by people with more experience than you. Employers usually think of you as a clean slate so they can train you to their standards. Plus they don’t have to worry about any nasty history with any of your other jobs.

5.  Try not to turn down offers

If you’re given the opportunity to work somewhere you don’t really think is right for you there is no harm giving it a try. Most places have a probation period of 3-5 months that allows employers to assess its employees. This gives you plenty of time to decide if the job is right for you. Don’t forget everyone has some issues with their jobs so unless there are some serious dodgy things going on try to look on the bright side of things.

Good luck!

All of a sudden, it was 11.55 and it was time for shaving my hair! I walked outside and met up with my mum. She came to watch, and she had brought a camera to film it. I handed the money into the teacher in charge, handed my school bag to my friend and sat in the chair. There were so many people surrounding the designated area and all my friends were cheering me on. I looked at the teacher who was shaving my hair, Ms Deacon, she was preparing herself, put the smock over my shoulders and positioned my hair. The presenter, Darcy, introduced myself and the crowd cheered, Ms Deacon whispered in my ear ‘Would you like it at a number 3, 2, or 1. ‘ She was talking about how close I wanted the shave. I chose 3, I still had some hair on my head. And within what seemed like half an hour, but was actually a few minutes she started chopping away at my hair. I looked up at my friends and they were pulling scared, exaggerated faces. I felt my hair, it wasn’t there, When I looked back at my hand it was covered in tiny little shaved hairs.  Darcy applauded me and the crowd cheered again, he asked me how I was feeling. I was shaking, I was a bit nervous,  I didn’t respond to what he said and jumped into the crowd to my friend who was holding my bag. My friends came up to me, rubbing my hair, hugging me, and congratulating me.

Still to this day, even though it’s only been a few weeks since it happened, people still come up to me, patting my hair, and telling me what I did was so fantastic.  All together, I raised $448 dollars.

I hope the money I raised helps someone out, and maybe even saves a life. I personally did this because of the people from my past I know that have passed away because of cancer, cancer is a terrible thing.

School has started again, but we all know chillax time is just as important! Grind has composed a list of activities and ideas that may keep you occupied and entertained when it’s time for a break from school.

1. Riding buses to nowhere

This idea came up as we sat around doing nothing in particular. Round up a few mates, hit the buses and cruise. As students get to travel for free, provided they have student cards, a group can travel all around Darwin for free. Buses also provide luxuries such as air conditioning and, since they move, the scenery is always changing. Another advantage of riding buses is that you will get to know Darwin and its bus routes.

2. Learn something new

Not exactly an original idea, but learning to do something new, whether it be a musical instrument, a new trick on a bike, or learning to draw can be very rewarding. Some suggestions of things to learn are: Morse code, juggling, as many digits of pi as possible, and trick card shuffling. See which ones you can come up with, try them out and leave us a comment saying how you went. You’l kill some time and learn something new while you are at it.

3. Write a short story

If you are anyway interested by reading fiction, then writing a short story can be interesting. You can write a short story about a character from a book or TV show you have watched or read, or you can make up a character. Even the character creation process can be interesting, as you can give your imaginary character any trait you want, any flaw, any strength and any name. And what is great about writing your own story is that anything can happen; from your character attempts to buy a trombone in Humpty Doo to Darth Vader attempting to destroy the human race from another galaxy, its up to you. And at the same time, you practise things such as spelling (very important) and grammar, as well as putting ideas into words.

4. Cooking

If you have a well stocked pantry or fridge that is full of ingredients, then cooking can be very rewarding and keep you occupied until you have finished. If you have never cooked before, you might want to try something simple like cupcakes, and then progress from there. Cooking can win you points with your parents and friends. Also, cooking is a valued skill by the opposite sex, so keep at it.

5. Get arty farty

Whether you are into art or not, it does not matter. Just do something which involves art, whether its finger or toe painting, drawing, arranging displays or leaving encouraging messages to passers by on the footpath in chalk. It does not matter if can or cannot draw, paint, write legibly or be creative. You can also attempt to teach yourself any of these.

Note: finger and toe painting is extremely fun, but remember only to get the paint on the thing you are painting, you do not need to redecorate the floors of the house while toe painting.

6. Make something

Home made items can be a lot of fun to make, whether you decide to make a sculpture out of the pebbles in your garden or make a castle out of a cardboard box. Or, you can make small gifts out of items laying around your house. You can make jewellery out of erasers, or robots out of you old VCR, or even a chain out of paperclips. If you are interested check out:

http://dollarstorecrafts.com/

7. Make a mini movie

If you have a video camera or a digital camera that can record videos, you can make and direct a mini video. With simple items, a few friends and a bit of improvisation you can make just about any type of mini movie from a three minute action thriller involving fights with a giant cardboard box monster to a ten minute sci fi featuring an alien with a liking to a laundry basket.

8. Make someone’s day

There are a few ways to go about brightening up another person’s day. You could write a thank you letter to someone who helped you, it is always nice to be appreciated. Or, you could write to a distant friend who may be drifting out of touch; its always good to hear from different friends. Another good idea is to write a list of things you like about someone then give it to them. If you find a display of appreciation embarrassing you could find a way to give it anonymously. If there is someone new in your street or at school/work, you could welcome them and introduce yourself and things of importance, such as your friends.

If you are interested check out http://www.operationnice.com/

9. Plan world domination

Plan out how to take over with a friend. You could try any approach, from taking over the world’s security services to contacting aliens and using them to take over the world. You could write up plans, and draw arrows on a world map and label it master plan as well as include photos and plans for strategic targets. This can keep you occupied for quite sometime.

10. Write a Grind article

Whether you are a part of Grind or not, you can write a Grind article. You can write it about anything from school subjects to genetic engineering. Anything that is relevant to you is probably of interest to others, and you could write an article about it. If you have an article already written, or even just need ideas, or maybe just interested, just email: grind@grindonline.com.au

It is well known that the main reason for celebrating Christmas is that the 25^th of December is Christ’s birthday.  However, the exact date is unknown. On the same day, the Romans celebrated the winter solstice, and connections by a few professors have been made.

The first mention of Christmas comes from 336AD, from a Roman calendar.  The celebration of Christ’s birth on the December 25^th probably came about as other non-Christian festivals were also held at this time.

When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the celebration of Christmas spread.  And as Christmas spread, so did the art associated with Christianity, with many paintings depicting Christ and his birth.

Then The Reformation, beginning in the 16^th century, saw an end to Christmas for quite some time.  Seen as a non-Christian holiday due to non-religious customs surrounding the holiday, those who had split from the church stopped celebrating Christmas.  In Boston, Christmas was banned by law from 1659 to 1681, although other states allowed Christmas to be celebrated.

An important player to Christmas’ comeback was Charles Dickens.  His story, A Christmas Tale, embodied what was an ideological Christmas, and invented the Christmas spirit.  As the story was so popular, the holiday took off with resounding success.  After it’s publication in 1843, Christmas has been celebrated since.

Well that sums up the history of the holiday itself, but what about it’s customs?  In the 1800s, two now significant parts of Christmas became popular, namely decorating Christmas trees and the sending of Christmas cards.  The tree itself originates from Germany, from the sixteenth century.  The Germans spread the tradition, but it’s first recorded use in Britain was by the royal family in the mid 19^th century.  An engraving of the British royal family celebrating Christmas, ‘Americanised‘, was circulated in 1850.  Twenty years later, the practice was widespread.

In 1843, Henry Cole produced the first Christmas cards.  They were of images of spring, rarely including images of religion or winter associated with Christmas.  In 1875, Lois Prang printed the first cards in America, but they were so popular cheap imitations drove Prang off the market

Santa Claus, or Father Christmas is another symbol associated with Christmas.  His image originates from Saint Nick, who lived in the third century.  Saint Nicholas was noted for his generosity, and gifts that were being given anonymously to the poor were attributed to Saint Nicholas.  After his death, people continued giving gifts anonymously to the poor, and these gifts were also attributed to Saint Nick.  A few hundred years after his death, Nicholas was made a Saint by the Catholic Church, and his image spread around Europe.

In Holland Saint Nick was known as Sinter Klass, Sinter for Saint, and Klass presumably for Nick.  When the Dutch immigrants arrived in the New World (America), they brought with them the traditions of Sinter Klass.  Around 1822, “The Night before Christmas” was published anonymously, and the many different ideas about St Nicholas were unified into one.

A cartoonist named Thomas Nast also played his part.  A cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly, he drew pictures inspired by the poem “The Night before Christmas”.  Nash gave his own version red robes, and Santa Claus as we know him was born.  However, his immortalisation was undertaken by Coca Cola.  In the 1930s, Coca Cola used his image extensively to promote their soft drink.  Many urban myths claimed that the soft drink was the source of Santa Claus’s current depiction.  This however is untrue.

In Britain, Father Christmas originates from the 17th century.  He wore green and was depicted as an old jolly plump man.  He displayed Christmas cheer and festive spirit, and was the ghost of the Christmas Present in Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”.

If you are into the habit of sending Christmas cards, think of Lois Prang and his clever invention. Iif you are also into the practice of decorating Christmas trees, you can take pride that it was popularised by the British royal family, and do not forget that without Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol“, it is reasonable to think that Christmas would not be as popular among non-Christians.

As soon as I turned the MacBook on, I could see the difference. The LED screen is fantastically glossy, looking brighter and more colourful than any other laptop I have used, including the earlier MacBook versions. My pet peeve here unfortunately is the 13” doesn’t have the option of a matte finish, which means it’s reflective like you wouldn’t believe. Luckily, I enjoy looking at my reflection, but in bright conditions – a sunny day for example – it can be a bit of a drag. This can be lessened by fiddling with the screen brightness, but overall it’s not really a big issue for me.

The design of the MacBook is very sleek and has none of the staining problems that I have noticed on the white plastic model MacBooks.  Carved from a solid block of aluminum, the MacBook Pro is much stronger and sturdier, and is unlikely to crack from being carted around. Apple has decided to reintroduce the Firewire port, which was suspiciously missing from the previous models, and there is also an SD card reader, which is a first, even though most pro photographers so not use SD cards anymore.

If you’ve been contemplating the MacBook, you’ll already know about the multi-touch track pad, which isn’t all that new, and the backlit keyboard, which is new for this size. But in reality, what pushed me to the MacBook Pro was the battery life and the graphics card. Reviews on the Nvida GeForce 9400M are impressive, and while I’m not a gamer, the advantages of this for any photographers are obvious. The battery life on this new MacBook is much better than any PC I’ve used, but with my minimal experience in Macs, I don’t really have anything to compare it to.

Overall? I have to say that I’m sold. This is one PC user who is more than happily a Mac convert.

N.B. If you liked the little sticker, you can get one for yourself here (http://www.gelaskins.com/)

Why should I be vegetarian? What are the benefits?

Now, I’m not going to quote statistics, because the studies on vegetarian living are numerous, so if you want details, hit the net. What I will tell you is that these studies have shown that overall, vegetarians have lower rates of death from heart disease, they have lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, lower rates of hypertension and are less likely to develop diabetes and cancer. They are also less likely to be obese. It has also been shown that vegetarians eating a balanced vegetarian diet have stronger immune systems and they live, on average, six to ten years longer than their meat-eating counterparts. I could go on, but you might get bored, so I’m just going to answer your next question.

I think I want to be a vegetarian…

Good for you. People need change sometimes. It’s what characterises us as an adaptable species. If you’re sick of the steak and salad life, and you want to try something new, vegetarianism might be for you. But be warned, it’s not as easy as cutting the meat out of your diet; you must also replace it. Speaking from personal experience, if all you do is stop eating meat, you will notice; I mean big time. Symptoms for me included frequently passing out, fatigue, explosive blood noses, constant sugar cravings… I think that is everything, no wait, I also had the flu, 10 times in six months. Not exactly a walk in the park, but that’s because I was stubborn, and I didn’t think. But, you can think, and you can plan, so here’s some tips for moving into a vegetarian lifestyle:

• Read, read, read… I mean books, cookbooks, web pages, blogs, whatever you need to be in the know about vegetarianism.
• Decide where you stand. Not everyone is a total vegetarian. There are fancy names for the different types, lacto-ovo etc. Personally, I call myself a vege-quarian, because I still eat fish as well as eggs.
• Go slow. Start by swapping one meal a week from meat to vegetarian. Then two, then three. If you think that you don’t want to go all the way, then don’t. Even on a half-vegetarian diet you will see the health effects.
• Tofu is your friend. So are nuts and lentils. If you do not like them, you will probably have some problems.
• Be aware of your surroundings. Make sure people know you’re vegetarian. That way, in a social situation, you will be considered. Don’t sit by the sidelines, you’ll just be left hungry.

In the end, what you eat is entirely up to you. What I hope to provide in this article is a little look into the sometimes misunderstood world of vegetarians. We’re not all meat hating individuals, hell bent on converting you. We are just making a choice.

Further reading…

http://www.goveg.com/healthconcerns.asp

http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Smi-Z/Vegetarianism.html

http://www.annecollins.com/vegetarian-diet-health-benefits.htm

Why it’s the best and worst thing you will ever let into your life.

You’ve heard about it, you’ve seen it on your mate’s computer. A little button at the top of their screen that simply says ‘Stumble!’. The StumbleUpon toolbar is a mysterious and powerful tool, whose mystery is only exceeded by its power.

Be aware, for you have been warned. If you have the StumbleUpon toolbar on your computer, two things are likely to happen. One, you will discover total radical and awesome sites that will blow you away. Two, you will never sleep again. I’m telling you, it’s addictive.

“Just one more Stumble,” you say to yourself over and over and over, as the clock hands drift. Then you look and it’s three in the morning, and you haven’t moved in six or seven hours. “Oh no! I’ve got school/work tomorrow!” you think, “I’ll just have one more…”

So it goes, on and on. Yet, I have no regrets about Stumble. Since I signed up for a (free) account, I have seen areas of the internet that I would never have found. I have learned random and useless facts. I have seen amazing photos of events I would never have known about. The concept is so easy! All you do is go to www.stumbleupon.com, and sign up for an account. You tick a heap of boxes so Stumble (in all its mystery and power) knows which sites to drop you at, and then you put your like it, or  you don’t. After that it’s even easier. You can write a review of the site, you can friend and connect to people who like the same stuff you do, or you can sit for hours in front of your computer like a mindless drone… Or if you’re looking for a more positive spin, a sponge eager for information. So in a nutshell, Stumble is like channel surfing on the internet.

I know you want to know more, so go and check it out. And remember, Stumbling is less awkward on the internet.