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March 31st, 2008

Do books write about love and grooming?

ASK! about Adults

iVillage is a lifestyle website for women (like me who’s pretty hooked on it). It’s frivolous, commercial, and a downright marketing tool for the company iVillage Inc., a division of NBC Universal. Yet, the cache of information, gossip, tips and games is so immense and varied you cannot help but surf it.

As a librarian, I naturally wonder what books the library holds to rival popular lifestyle websites like iVillage. The answer is: Many books.

How to walk in high heelsHow to walk in high heels: The girl’s guide to everything by Camilla Morton
Call No.: 646.7008422 MOR (General collection)

Morton shares wisdom on many ‘how to’s, such as ‘How to fit everything into your handbag’, ‘How to deal with affairs of the heart’, and ‘How to impress the in-laws’. Sounds bimbo? No. The tips are practical and real, and you’ll love the wit (perhaps we laugh at ourselves for not realising something so obvious) and concise presentation. An example, Morton advises that girls should travel with two bags, a day bag and a smaller bag in it, so that you wouldn’t have to hurl an unglamorous big bag to dinners. Stuff you will need, for various important reasons she highlighted, are mobile phones, money, notebooks, keys, safety pins etc.

What's Your Food Sign?What’s your food sign?: How to use food clues to find lasting love by Alan R. Hirsch, M.D.
Call No.: 306.7 HIR (General Collection)

Now the author of this curious book is no mean thing. Dr. Alan R. Hirsch is a neurologist and psychiatrist, and boasts an impressive CV in his research experience. He is also the director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. According to him and his research, food mirrors our love behaviour. For instance, if you like sour foods, you are someone who ”want a commitment that lasts, regardless of its quality”. If you like salty food, you are someone who wants safety and security, and seeks satisfaction for your primal drives. What about if you like sweet and spicy food? Read the book to find out.

Closet SmartsCloset Smarts by Emily Neill
Call No.: 646.34 NEI (General Collection)

At the front cover, this book claims to show “stunning before-and afters with real women of all sizes, shapes and ages!” It’s not bluffing. You wouldn’t see images of unbelievably extra-small and suspiciously anorexic models, but real figures with cellulite, tummy and love handles. Thus, real advice on dressing up to look like a million bucks no matter what’s your shape.

Blogs can be supported by organisations (like this blog) or individuals who want to share a personal view or experience. In a way, they represent the ‘wisdom of the crowd’. Here are some blogs related to health and beauty for women:

Singapore Personal Trainer - The Fitness Truth
Diana Sabrain is a Singapore trainer at PhysiqueMakeover, She shares the health news happening in Singapore and personal tips and research about slimming and eating.

The F-Word.org: Food, Fat Feminism
The author, Rachel, is a 28-year-old writer and journalist who had herself once been anorexic and bulimic. Her blog aims to be a “disorders awareness and education site that also discusses related issues of fat rights and body size acceptance.” She is ”anti-dieting, and promotes the holistic wellness-based approach known as Health at Every Size (HAES).”

ButYouDon’tLookSick?.com
Its a catchy name for the website, and the author came up with it because people told her “But you don’t look sick?” The author, Christine Miserandino from New York, certainly had been sick before. She experienced many illnesses and is a Lupus fighter. The blog is not just packed with health information. There are also articles on sick humor, book reviews, and recipes as well.

Mei JunPosted by Ang Mei Jun,

Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
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March 27th, 2008

Do you know how many pets are abandoned in Singapore every year?

Kids ASK! about Pets & Animals

Many people buy pets on impulse or as gifts for their children and friends. However, they do not realise the great responsibilities involved in taking good care of the animals. After the novelties of owning a cute furry animal wear off, some people will abandon their pets on the streets while others gave them up to animal welfare organisations.

The Singapore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) reported that it took in 3,002 dogs, 4,716 cats and 1,314 domestic small animals (rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, etc) in 2007, which add up to an alarming figure of 9,487 animals. Unfortunately, many animals that reach SPCA have to be put to sleep, as the shelter simply does not have the space to accommodate all the abandoned pets. Sadly, only about 2 lucky ones out of every 10 animals will have chance of being adopted by kind people.

If you are looking for a pet and you are committed to care of it for life, you can adopt one from animal welfare organisations such as the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD), Cat Welfare Society (CWS) and House Rabbits Society of Singapore (HRSS). You may have to pay a nominal fee but you are giving those lovely animals a second chance to have a home.

Just remember: “A pet is not a toy. Think before you get one”, a message from ASD.

Sources:
1. Potential Pet Owners. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore web site: http://www.ava.gov.sg/AnimalsPetSector/
ResponsiblePetOwnership/BeingResponsiblePetOwner/
PotentialPetOwners/index.htm
2. Don’t Dump Animals. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from the Singapore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals web site: http://www.spca.org.sg/dump.html
3. Surrendering An Animal. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from the Singapore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals web site: http://www.spca.org.sg/surrendering.html

Books for thoughts:

little-dog.jpg

Little Dog by Lisa Jahn-Clough.
Publisher : Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2006. 
Call No.: JP JAH
Summary: Rosa was an artist. But all of her paintings were sad and gloomy until one day, a stray little dog wanders into her gallery, looking for someone to love.

dog.jpg

Dog by Daniel Pennac ; translated by Sarah Adams.
Publisher : London : Walker Books, 2002.
Call No.: J PEN
Nearly drowned at birth, left for dead in a garbage dump, and hounded by dog catchers. No question: Dog’s puppyhood is tough. Alone in the world, he decides it’s time to find himself an owner, someone he can love and, of course, train. But human beings can be fickle, unpredictable creatures, and who would take in an ugly, scruffy little stray like him?

patches.jpg

Patches and scratches by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.
Publisher : Tarrytown, N.Y. : Marshall Cavendish Children, c2007.
Call No.: JS NAY
Sarah prides herself on being an “idea” girl. In fact, she looks for problems just so that she can help to solve them. This time, she tries to help Peter find a pet that he and his grandmother will like. Can Sarah get Peter to accept the stray cat that happened to appear at his door?

homeless.jpg

Homeless by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Publisher : New York : Puffin Books, 2007.
Call No.: J AND
Sunita and her fellow volunteers at the Wild at Heart veterinary clinic put in a lot of efforts to save a group of feral and abandoned cats. After nursing the cats back to health, she wants to release the cats into the neighbourhood. But the neighbours consider those cats as dangerous pests. Will her plan backfire?

You can check the availability of the above titles through our online catalogue.

All images were extracted from www.bn.com.
Book summaries were taken from book descriptions listed on www.bn.com.

adeline.jpgPosted by Ms Adeline Tan
Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
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March 25th, 2008

The new SQ A380 airbus

ASK! about Science & Technology

SingaporeA380.jpg Image extracted from www.theage.com.au

Singapore airlines (or SQ, for short) is the first in the world to get hold of the new A380 airbus. So, what’s the hype about this new fleet of airplanes?

(ASK! Editor speaks : Recently, I had the opportunity to fly on the new A380, and I must say I’m suitably impressed. And I was lucky to be seated on the top deck!)

To learn more about the new A380 airbus, go here. Airbus explains the greener, cleaner, quieter, and smarter qualities of the new jet. 

To see what new features and amenities SQ has installed on-board the new A380 airbus,

go here. CNET news posted a series of photos of the special features onboard. 

Below are some book recommendations:

1) Birds of prey: Boeing vs Airbus: a battle for the skies by Matthew Lynn

Call no.: 338.8 LYN - [BIZ]

2) Boeing versus Airbus: the inside story of the greatest international competition in business by John Newhouse

Call no.: 338.762 NEW -[BIZ]

3) Airbus wide-bodied jetliners by Robbie Shaw

Call no.: q629.133 SHA

4) Airbus A380: superjumbo on world tour by David Maxwell

Call no.: R 629.133 MAX

To check the availability of titles, please visit our online catalogue.

Originally answered by Ms Grace Leong, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

Yen_ASK_Pic.JPG Posted by Ms Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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March 24th, 2008

Do you know what is in your shampoo?

ASK! about Anything & Everything 

Anti-dandruff, 2-in-1, moisturising… The different types of shampoo available out there is endless. But do you know what type of ingredients are used in the shampoo?

We have located some websites that provide information about the ingredients used in commercial shampoo:

Proctor & Gamble

Chemical & Engineering News

The organisation, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has also come up with a list of ingredients found in food and cosmetics that may be derived from animal sources.  However the ingredients listed on your shampoo bottle may or may not come from animals, because the same ingredient can have other sources, e.g. plants. Go to: PETA

For more information on ingredients in shampoo and other hair care products, you can refer to the recommended books below:

Title: Don’t go shopping for hair care products without me: over 4,000 products reviewed, plus the latest hair care information

Author: Paula Begoun

Call no.: 646.724 BEG

Title: Milady’s hair care product & ingredients dictionary

Author: John Halal

Call no.: 646.724 HAL

You can check the availability of titles through our online catalogue.

Question answered by Ms Jillian Lim, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

Yen_ASK_Pic.JPG Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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March 23rd, 2008

Why do we say “hello” when we answer the phone?

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

I had a housemate who answered the phone by way of saying “John* speaking”, instead of “Hello?” like we are used to here in Singapore. This seemed to make more sense to me, as it identified who it was picking up the phone. It also, in turn, makes asking “Who’s that on the line?” or “May I speak to John (if John was the one who answered)?” redundant. Furthermore, one could say the word “hello” is a greeting that applies more to face-to-face contact than over the phone. The Online Etymology Dictionary suggests the word originated as “a shout to attract attention”.

Have you ever observed the different ways people answer the phone? Back when I was in secondary school, I was at a friend’s house doing a project, and I still remember feeling slightly appalled by how he answered the phone – with a simple “Yes?” Sure, this serves the purpose of having something to say after picking up the phone, but it is also rather curt and impatient.

People also answer the telephone differently in specific settings. There’s the formal yet somewhat of a mouthful “Good morning. Thank you for calling ABC Company, this is Jane speaking. How can I help you?” used in customer service and other office settings greeting. There’s the cool, fast-paced “Talk to me!” employed by salespeople and agents. Then there’s “Hi (name of person)!” if you have caller id :)

Can you think of greetings in other languages that people say after picking up the phone? Here are some, taken from this site:
- Japanese: Moshi moshi
- Mandarin Chinese: Wei?
- Spanish: Hola
- French: Allo?
- German: Hallo
- Italian: Pronto!
- Finnish: Haloo?
- Ebonics: Yo yo yo yo, Whuddup dawg?

In 1998, a Leonso Canales from Kingsville, Texas, proposed that “Hello” be replaced with “Heaveno”, and claimed that many of society’s ills is due to the unconscious use of the word “hell”. As a result, town officials decided to adopt “Heaveno” as its official greeting.

For more interesting reads on greetings, you may be interested in the following books:


Can you greet the whole wide world? : 12 common phrases in 12 different languages, by Lezlie Evans
Publisher : Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Call No. : JP 395.4 EVA

greetingsoftheworld.gif
Greetings of the world, by Richard Kozar
Publisher : [Philadelphia, PA] : Chelsea House Publishers, c1998.
Call No. : J 395 KOZ

greetingskarin-luisa-badt.gif
Greetings! by Karin Luisa Badt
Publisher : Chicago : Childrens Press, 1994.
Call No. : J 395 BAD

mannerstelephone.jpg
Manners on the telephone, by Carrie Finn
Publisher : Minneapolis, Minn. : Picture Window Books, c2007.
Call No. : JP 395.5 FIN

billbryson_mothertongue.jpg
The mother tongue : English & how it got that way, by Bill Bryson
Publisher : New York : Bard, 1998, c1990.
Call No. : 420.9 BRY

(*not his real name)

All websites were last accessed on 22 March 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.
All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the
library catalogue.

Galv.JPGPosted by Galvin Soh
Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
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March 20th, 2008

Sir Arthur C. Clarke dies at 90.

ACCportrait.jpg 

 Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - 2008)

 Image obtained from www.clarkefoundation.org

After a successful writing career,  having published more than a hundred titles, Sir Arthur C. Clarke passed away at age 90 yesterday in his Sri Lankan home.

Clarke was made known to the world through his work “2001: A Space Oydessy”. This acclaimed work was later made into a movie, where Clarke parterned up with Stanley Kubrick on the movie script. In 1968, they received an Oscar nomination for the film version of “2001: A Space Oydessy”.

In 1998, a most prestigious honour was awarded to him. Clarke was conferred a Knighthood in recognition for his lifetime works. To celebrate his science fiction works, Washington D.C. had a day dedicated to him. February 7th 2001 in Washington D.C. was Sir Arthur C. Clarke Day. An avid diver himself, he had penned his experiences about diving. One can read about his diving tales through ‘ The coast of coral’ and ‘ The reefs of Taprobane: underwater adventures around Ceylon’.

Not only was he famous for his science fiction novels, Clarke also carved a name for himself in the realm of space sciences. He even came up with Clarke’s laws:

Clarke’s three laws

1)”When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.”

2) “The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible”.

3) “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”.

To find out more about Sir Arthur, you can visit his foundation’s webpage. Readers can now leave their thoughts on Sir Arthur on the page.

Readers can find his fiction novels on our shelves under the call number: CLA -[SF]

Above information extracted from http://www.nytimes.com/ & http://www.clarkefoundation.org/

Yen_ASK_Pic.JPG Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

If you have any questions regarding Sir Arthur C. Clarke,  please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg

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March 19th, 2008

Can children be gifted in sports?

Kids ASK! about Health & Fitness

We know that regular exercise is important for a variety of reasons, from being healthy to keeping fit and looking good. However, how important is it for children, who are by nature active and whose muscles have not yet fully developed? How advisable is it to cultivate an affinity for sports and exercise from a young age?

We hear of child geniuses who complete their degrees at the age of 13, or child prodigies who master their instrument at a young age, but seldom do we read of children who are able to compete alongside adults in the sporting arena. This raises the question of whether it is possible for a child to be destined to be great in sport – is sporting excellence an inborn talent or a cultivated skill?

The fact is, unlike mental capabilities which typically define if a child is gifted or has high IQ, sports has largely to do with a person’s physical and muscular development, which, unless the child is Clark Kent, is more a product of nurture than nature.

Some examples of famous sporting personalities who started training in their fields at a young age include Chinese diver Fu Mingxia and golf sensation Tiger Woods. Fu started diving training at age 8 after being deemed too old for gymnastics, and at age 11 won her first gold medal at the Goodwill Games in 1990 in Seattle. Woods on the other hand started playing golf as soon as he could walk and by age 6 had recorded two holes in one.

Then there’s the ugly side of exploiting the young into becoming sporting phenomena. Recently, it was reported that a boy from India became the world’s youngest marathoner after he completed a 65 kilometer run at the age of 4½ in 2006. Human rights bodies questioned whether this constituted child abuse. At the expense of his health, Budhia Singh completed the torturing run and in return gained numerous television advertisements and invitations to tour abroad. His coach claimed he did not pressure the boy and the boy wanted to run on his own, but there can be no doubt of the strain on the child’s little limbs doing a punishing distance that even adults have difficulty with.

With the inaugural Youth Olympics to be held in two years here in Singapore (see ASK blog post on the official announcement), our sporting profile is set to increase further and people should soon have confidence in sports as a viable career option.

For further reading on children and sports, you may wish to check out these publications:

physically_superb.jpg
How to teach your baby to be physically superb : birth to age six, by Glenn J. Doman
Publisher : Garden City Park, N.Y. : SquareOne Pub., c2006
Call No. : 649.1 DOM –[FAM]
Description : Explores the early development of mobility in newborns in playing a vital part of their future ability to learn and grow to full potential.

why_johnny.jpg
Why Johnny hates sports, by Fred Engh
Publisher : Garden City Park, N.Y. : SquareOne Pub., c2002
Call No. : 796.0830973 ENG -[REC]
Description : In his book, the author argues that children should be allowed to have fun and learn the fundamentals of the game without the pressures of overzealous parents, coaches, and administrators looking to mold the next Ken Griffey or Kobe Bryant.

running_start.jpg
A running start, by Rae Pica
Publisher : New York : Marlowe & Company, c2006.
Call No. : 372.86 PIC
Description : Young kids can spend their free time finger painting, playing in the sandbox, inventing games, and still turn out to be smart, talented, successful adults. In A Running Start, renowned educational expert Rae Pica looks at the many misconceptions under which today’s parents are laboring. Among them are beliefs that “earlier is better” when it comes to athletics and academics; achievement is more important than play.

fitkids.jpg
Fit Kids : Smarter Kids, by Jeff Galloway
Publisher : Oxford : Meyer & Meyer Sport, c2007
Call No. : 613.7042 GAL -[HEA]
Description : A guide for parents, teachers and youth leaders on how to make exercise fun, with research showing how fit kids learn better and are more successful.

bk_of_yoga.jpg
Children’s book of yoga : games & exercises mimic plants & animals & objects, by Thia Luby
Publisher : Santa Fe, NM : Clear Light Publishers, 1998.
Call No. : J 613.7 LUB
Description : Presents six complete yoga workouts designed for children from three to twelve years of age.

si-kids-2008.jpg
Sports Illustrated for Kids : Year in Sports
Publisher : New York : Scholastic, Inc.
Call No. : J 796 SIKYS
Description : An almanac for children for all that they need to know in sports, in the form of handy, concise sports facts.

peak_rsmith.jpg
Peak, by Roland Smith
Publisher : Orlando : Harcourt, Inc., c2007
Call No. : Y SMI
Description : An emotional, tension-filled story of a fourteen-year-old boy’s attempt to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.

All websites were last accessed on 19 March 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.
All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.
Book summaries were taken from book descriptions listed at www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Galv.JPGPosted by Galvin Soh
Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
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March 14th, 2008

The Nobel Book of Answers

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

Many people will tell you that kids ask the strangest and most unthinkable questions but from a librarian’s perspective, there are quite a number of questions that get asked over and over again. So you can imagine what a pleasant surprise it is to find this book on the shelf called The Nobel Book of Answers. In this book, Nobel Prize winners take the time to answer in depth some of these questions kids are famous for. Let me just list some of them

What is love?
Why can’t I live on French fries?
What is politics?
Why is the sky blue?
Why do we have to go to school?
Why is there war?
Why do we feel pain?
Why are some people rich and others poor?

And many more…

Nobel Book of Answers

You can find this book in the children’s section of most libraries at J English 001.4 NOB.

If you are interested in books that give you answers for questions you have always wondered about but have no answer to, here is a list of books you can check out from our libraries.

For Children:

Bogeys

Why eating bogeys is good for you– and other crazy facts explained! By Mitch Symons
Publisher: London : Doubleday Children’s, 2007
Call Number: J 032.02 SYM

Rivers flow into the sea, so how come rivers are freshwater but the sea is saltwater? How does a mother hen sit on her eggs without crushing them? Why do you laugh when you are tickled by someone else but are not able to laugh when you tickle yourself? This is a perfect book for curious kids and kids who have questions about everything and anything. So why is a question mark the way it is? Curious? Read this book.

Exploratopia

Exploratopia by Pat Murphy
Publisher: New York : Little, Brown and Co., 2006
Call Number: J 507.8 MUR

There are some people who do not like reading facts as much as they like playing around and discovering it for themselves. If you are like that, then this book is for you. There are experiments to learn more about the human body, places in the home like the kitchen (find simple cooking recipes in this section), colour, light, electricity, magnetism and more. Open this book and explore, the first step to learning more about the world around you.

Do Elephants Forget?

Do elephants ever forget? by Guy Campbell ; illustrated by Paul Moran
Publisher: London : Buster, 2007
Call Number: J 032.02 CAM

Another one of those “puzzling questions” books similar to the eating bogeys one (just in case you cannot find the first book in the library because it is loaned out).

All websites are last accessed on 12 March 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
All images of books are extracted from http://www.amazon.com
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Felicia_ASK_w100.jpgPosted by Felicia Chan,
Librarian,
Children’s Services

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March 13th, 2008

Is the Loch Ness (monster) real?

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

I received a question from a kid just other day asking if the Loch Ness is real. Well, it certainly is real enough - there is indeed a lake called Loch Ness in Scotland. However, whether the Loch Ness Monster is real is another thing altogether.

The unknown is always fascinating, Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman, the Loch Ness Monster, aliens and the list goes on. We are always trying to prove their existence. This is even more so when books and movies fuel our imagination.

Did you know that the current movie The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep comes from Dick King Smith’s book - The Water Horse? (This book can be found at J KIN) Dick King Smith is the author who brought you Babe, made famous by the movie. History is repeating itself, his book is again popularized by its film.

I have not watched the movie so I cannot say very much about it BUT I certainly can tell you something about the Loch Ness Monster.

Photo of Loch Ness
Image retrieved from http://www.loch-ness.org/, 13 March 2008

Firstly, the Loch Ness is a lake in Scotland. It is 37 kilometers long and 1.6 kilometers wide. Loch is the Scottish word for “lake” and the Loch Ness is a tectonic lake formed as a result of movements in the Earth’s surface. The Loch Ness was formed about 500 million years ago when tremors in the Earth caused a crack to open up and water filled up the opened crack to form the huge lake that is there today.

However, as to whether the Loch Ness Monster exists, that remains to be proven. There have been many stories and photos of sightings of the monster. People have even gone down to the Loch Ness to search with specialised equipment but they have not found the monster. In fact, so many people have tried looking for it that many are convinced that the monster does not exist.

Nessie
Image retrieved from http://www.nessie.co.uk/index.html, 13 March 2008

It started with a famous photo on April 1, 1934. Dr. R. K. Wilson took a photo of the monster, which was to become the basis of proof that inspired many search parties to follow. Then people lost interest but it came up again in the 1950s when Constance Whyte published a book about the Loch Ness Monster. This time round, due to improvements in technology, people were able to do more extensive searches with underwater cameras and sonar equipment.

But technology has its limitations. In 1957, a sonar search suggested that a large creature lived in the lake but it ended there because there was no physical evidence.

Some people believe that the Loch Ness Monster is a dinosaur that has lived through the years, a plesiosaur to be exact. Some others believe it is just an illusion as the mist that hangs over the lake can cause one to see things differently. There are also talks of there being deep caves or crevices at the bottom of the lake but again, no one knows for sure.

Whether the Loch Ness monster exists is still a mystery to this day BUT in 1994, the famous photo was proven to be a fake. The monster in the photo is really a gray head on a toy submarine. No everyone believes that the photo is a fake and sightings of monsters still surface now and then.

Do you believe in the Loch Ness Monster?

Source:
Sievert, A. (2005). The Loch Ness Monster. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press.

Retrieved March 12, 2008, from The Legend of Nessie Web site: http://www.nessie.co.uk/index.html

If you want to read more about the Loch Ness Monster, here are books that you can check out at our library.

For Children:

Loch Ness Book1

The Loch Ness monster: Scotland’s mystery beast by Jack DeMolay
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : PowerKids Press, 2007
Call Number: J 001.944 DEM

Loch Ness Book 2

The Loch Ness monster by Terri Sievert
Publisher: Mankato, Minn. : Edge Books, c2005
Call Number: J 001.944 SIE

Loch Ness Book 3

The Loch Ness monster and other lake mysteries by Gary Jeffrey
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Rosen Pub. Group, 2005
Call Number: J 001.944 JEF

All websites are last accessed on 12 March 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
All images used are extracted from http://www.amazon.com and http://www.bn.com.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Felicia_ASK_w100.jpgPosted by Felicia Chan,

Librarian, Children’s Services

Filed under ..Children, Anything & Everything Comments (14)
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March 12th, 2008

What do Singapore men and women want?

ASK! about Singapore 

What do women want?
According to a survey by the Singapore Development Unit (SDU) of 200 single women, over 80% of the women expected the following of men:

- Pay for dates
- Escort them home
- Take initiative in celebrating special occasions like birthdays
- Dress up for special occasions

Nearly a quarter expected men to carry their bags for them, and half consider gentlemanly gestures like opening doors necessary.

What do men want?
A poll of what 85 men expected of their ladies was carried out by Straits Times Urban news supplement revealed the following:

- 78% ranked looks as an important feature they look out for in their date
- A girlfriend must not stop the man from socialising with his girl friends
- A girlfriend must also enjoy going out with his male friends

What some are saying on their blogs:
- This is Jenna’s Space ”We aren’t expecting very much, but it will be so good if Singapore men are a bit more caring and sensitive.
- SgForums ”Do SG Women expect too much?”
- Steph’s Blog Read this humorous love story by NTU undergraduate Stephanie. She has a modest collection of meaningful stories on love and relationships, some base on true accounts. Check them out using ther ‘Stories by me’ tag.

Where to find books on love and relationships? Check out DDC 306.7 and 646.77 in the General collection of libraries.

Source:
1. Mak Mun San, ”Love me, spoil me”, Straits Times, 24 Feb 08, Factiva, 9 Mar 08, www.factiva.com
2. Tee, Karen, Qianhua, Yeo, Straits Times Urban, “Urban man: Their ideal woman”, 6 March 2008, pg 6-7.

Mei JunPosted by Ang Mei Jun,

Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sginstead of sending a comment.

Filed under ..Adults, ..Teens, Singapore Comments (0)
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