Tuesday 26 February 2013

From the web : Tips to get fit and motivated

Let’s face it. When it comes to staying healthy and fit, we’re all battling our inner demons. We struggle everyday to get out of bed – or the sofa – and wonder in amazement at how others could do it. Staying motivated has much to do with the psychology of the mind and social support.
 
First, understand that we all are creatures of positive reinforcement. No one likes to be told to do something. So when it comes to workouts, choose something that you enjoy doing. Alina Kamaruddin speaks of her gym class, “When choosing a gym, I make sure that it has a variety of classes that fits my personality. I don’t do workouts that I dislike, in this case, zumba. But that’s just one class out of a week and my gym still leaves me with plenty of option to do something else.”

Rewarding yourself after a workout also helps get you committed to more workouts in future. Personal trainer Jonathan Quek says, “I encourage my clients to reward themselves after a good workout – whether they want that ice-cream or that burger bakar.” There is nothing wrong with indulging, especially in food, says Quek “because you have worked hard at burning off those fat, and so long as indulgence is done in moderation, it is a good motivator.”

Self-control is another way to motivate you to exercise more. Understand that every one has limited self-control, and that this resource thins out the longer the day wears on. For example, you have better self-control to plan your day if you start in the morning. As the day goes by, and more variables go into it, you will keep on losing control of what you can or cannot do.

This is why some fitness experts encourage us to exercise in the morning. This is when you’ll have less hurdles and excuses to overcome, for example an over-extended meeting at the office or running errands after work. If a morning workout is simply impossible, then come up with an alternative plan that can help you remove those hurdles or have you work around them.

 

Finally, embrace the concept of social support. Human beings are by nature, sociable. We like to feel we belong, and whether you admit it or not, we sometimes seek a group’s approval of our actions and behaviour. This is the reason why people who work out in groups fare better in sticking to their exercise routine than one who works out alone. MetCon X founder, Daing Daniel Fitri, explains, “In a group workout such as with MetCon X, you never feel alone. There are always people in your group to motivate and cheer you on, regardless of your fitness levels. Sometimes when you feel like giving up, you won’t because you see others marching on.” 

Another reason group workouts are great, he says, is they also motivate you to work harder. “You don’t realise this but in a group, when everyone’s doing it together, you’re more likely to go beyond your comfort zone.” So the next time you plan to workout alone, try roping in a friend or a group. Committing to a workout with others is the best motivating factor to get you out the door and onto the road of fitness.

(FMT : Free Malaysia Today - Anis Ramli ) 

Monday 25 February 2013

From the web : ‘Harlem Shake’ shocks

 

WASHINGTON: The up-and-coming Brooklyn DJ behind “Harlem Shake” said yesterday he’s thrilled to see his cutting-edge electronic dance music (EDM) track going viral in a very big way.

“Honestly, (I’m) just happy to see people go crazy to my stuff,” Baauer told fans during a two-hour ask-me-anything session on Reddit.com as more and more “Harlem Shake” memes kept finding their way onto YouTube.

“It will definitely create lots of hype but thats not something i worry about,” he wrote during the online chat.

“The viral craze was something totally out of my control. I see it really positively. At the end of the day lots of new people are listening to my music. Im hoping that my music will speak for itself.”

Baauer, 23, the stage name of Philadelphia native Harry Rodrigues, released “Harlem Shake” last May, four months before a New York Times music critic identified him as a rising star on the underground Brooklyn EDM scene.

Few outsiders knew of its existence, however, until Feb 2 when a satirical blogger named Filthy Frank, who performs video skits in a pink body suit, posted a YouTube clip of himself and friends grooving to the tune.

 

Within 10 days, spinoffs by everyone from firefighters and Norwegian soldiers on cross-country skis to college students and cubicle-bound office workers were being uploaded at the staggering rate of more than 4,000 per day.

In every 30-second clip, the concept is largely the same: a masked or helmeted individual boogies solo in the midst of disinterested bystanders, until, on the cue of the words “Harlem shake,” the video cuts to the whole group dancing wildly.

Baauer’s single, meanwhile, leaped into the iTunes Top 10 charts in North America, Europe and Australia – happily coinciding with an ongoing tour with producer Just Blaze that will soon take him to Britain and the Netherlands.

“The last few months have cast him as the poster child of this contemporary US fusion of dance and rap music,” says Mixed Management Group, which oversees the business side of Baauer’s promising career.

More than a few EDM enthusiasts have embraced “Harlem Shake” as welcome relief from South Korean rapper Psy’s chart-topping “Gangnam Style” that similarly generated a YouTube sensation.

But Baauer is magnanimous. “I think that guy (Psy) is doing pretty good right now, so I’m not too upset about that,” he told Interview magazine a few days ago as “Harlem Shake” took flight.

Trivia lovers will recall that the Harlem Shake was originally an urban dance style that grew out of the eponymous Manhattan neighborhood in the early 1980s when hip hop was in its infancy.

But Baauer — a one-time Harlem resident who’s previously remixed tracks by the likes of No Doubt and Prodigy – told The Daily Beast his track is no more than a sample of Philly rapper Plastic Little’s 2001 song “Miller Time.”

“I just had the idea of taking a Dutch house squeaky-high synth and putting it over a hip-hop track,” he told the news website. “And then I tried to just make it the most stand-out, flashy track that would get anyone’s attention.”

Meanwhile, the man most responsible for all the euphoria seems to be having second thoughts. “I’m thinking of just deleting the harlem shake video,” Filthy Frank tweeted Sunday. “It’s just so pointless and attracts useless people.”

Thursday 14 February 2013

Blow Me (One Last Kiss) - PINK



White knuckles and sweaty palms from hanging on too tight
Clenched shut jaw, I've got another headache again tonight
Eyes on fire, eyes on fire, and they burn from all the tears
I've been crying, I've been crying, I've been dying over you
Tie a knot in the rope, tryin' to hold, tryin' to hold,
But there's nothing to grasp so I let go

I think I've finally had enough, I think I maybe think too much
I think this might be it for us (blow me one last kiss)
You think I'm just too serious, I think you're full of shit
My head is spinning so (blow me one last kiss)

Just when it can't get worse, I've had a shit day (NO!)
Have you had a shit day? (NO!), we've had a shit day (NO!)
I think that life's too short for this, I want back my ignorance and bliss
I think I've had enough of this, blow me one last kiss.

I won't miss all of the fighting that we always did,
Take it in, I mean what I say when I say there is nothing left
No more sick whiskey dick, no more battles for me
You'll be calling a trick, 'cause you'll no longer sleep
I'll dress nice, I'll look good, I'll go dancing alone
I will laugh, I'll get drunk, I'll take somebody home

I think I've finally had enough, I think I maybe think too much
I think this might be it for us (blow me one last kiss)
You think I'm just too serious, I think you're full of shit
My head is spinning so (blow me one last kiss)

Just when it can't get worse, I've had a shit day (No!)
Have you had a shit day? (No!), we've had a shit day (No!)
I think that life's too short for this, I want back my ignorance and bliss
I think I've had enough of this, blow me one last kiss.

Na na na na - da da da da
Blow me one last kiss

[Not in the music video version:]
Na na na na - da da da da
Blow me one last kiss

I will do what I please, anything that I want
I will breathe, I will breathe, I won't worry at all
You will pay for your sins, you'll be sorry my dear
All the lies, all the why's, will all be crystal clear

I think I've finally had enough, I think I maybe think too much
I think this might be it for us (blow me one last kiss)
You think I'm just too serious, I think you're full of shit
My head is spinning so (blow me one last kiss)

Just when it can't get worse, I've had a shit day (No!)
Have you had a shit day? (No!), we've had a shit day (No!)
I think that life's too short for this, I want back my ignorance and bliss
I think I've had enough of this, blow me one last kiss.

Na na na na - da da da da
Na na na na - da da da da
Na na na na - da da da da

Blow me one last kiss.

Na na na na - da da da da
Na na na na - da da da da
Na na na na - da da da da
Blow me one last kiss.

Just when it can't get worse, I've had a shit day (No!)
Have you had a shit day? (No!), we've had a shit day (No!)
I think that life's too short for this, I want back my ignorance and bliss
I think I've had enough of this, blow me one last kiss.