Ocean Dome

    Leave it to Japan to create the largest indoor theme park on the beach. The beauty of it is that it can be enjoyed no matter how warm or cold is outside. You can see power from waves, a volcano that erupts every hour. The dome clear sky ceiling makes you think you are enjoying hot weather even in winter.

    Nitendo Amusement Park

    Like it's not strange enough to be a grown up addicted to Nintendo games, here comes a park ready to let you experience exactly the same games live. It may sound cool and it may be safe. But surely spending time in such a place can only show that you have a funny taste in experiencing gaming.

    Alien Apex Resort

    Located in Roswell, a known spot for alien related events, this one is the place for the fans of alien life to enjoy themselves. One can get abducted(绑架) here, enjoy seeking help and have fun. Strange enough is that anybody would want to……

    Suoi Tien Park

    Buddhist theme park, this one comes with Bible like story, heaven and hell, a lot of real thrills and of course some unusual fun including bats, crocodiles and crazy rides. It is a cool experience for crazy fans and it can really be something you would like to visit as a young person

    Digger Land

    Seeing the hard work of the digging machines can be actually full of education for kids. This park has everything any amusement park would have but dirt is dominant(最突出的). You can be sure your kids will enjoy getting dirty by doing crazy things involving digging with excavators(挖掘机) or operating heavy machines.

    Happy Shakespeare Day!

    The 23rd April is World Book Day, but did you know that it is also Shakespeare Day? Everybody has heard of Shakespeare, but do you know many plays he wrote? Have you heard of many of his poetry?

    Shakespeare's plays fit into three categories: tragedies, comedies and histories. Perhaps his most famous play is the tragedy story of Romeo and Juliet, which deals with two young lovers who are forbidden to marry by their parents. Other tragedies include Hamlet, a play about a vengeful ghost Othello, about an army general who is manipulated(操纵) into killing his wife, and Macbeth(麦克白). If you've seen Harry Potterandthe Prisoner of Azkaban written which is sung in the Great Hall after the Sorting Ceremony. These words come from the Witches in Macbeth!

    Shakespeare's comedies include Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is a play about confusing identities. Two twins are shipwrecked and the sister, Viola, dresses up as her brother, Sebastian, who she thinks is dead. It's hilarious, because the brother reappears without Viola realizing and there's a big love triangle going on: Viola is in love with the Duke Osino, who is in love with Olivia, who falls in love with Sebastian, except she doesn't realize that Sebastian is actually Viola dressed up! Everybody falls in love with the wrong person, but it is all made right in the end.

    The history plays, such as Antony and Cleopatra, Richard III and Henry V are based on the lives of real historical people. Antony and Cleopatra is a story about a doomed romance in ancient Egypt. Cleopatra becomes Antony's mistress and Antony becomes so obsessed with her that he loses his military might. Cleopatra kills self by letting a snake bite her after Egypt's army has been defeated by Octavius and Antony kills himself too.

    Shakespeare's plays can be very heavy going sometimes. Some of the themes they deal with are heavy and complex, so they almost always contain a lighter subplot with characters who aren't closely linked to the characters in the main plot. They are often used in tragedies to lighten the mood of the play and to keep the audience interested in the main plot.

    When we do something, we all have our own plans. Some people are born planners. I can't claim (宣称) to be one of that kind of people. Most of the time, I try to at least expect what might go wrong. I have taken to making lists and, although I'm not yet achieving perfection, I usually manage to achieve goals. But there are times when even the best plans do not succeed. All that is left then is to smile and to make or do something using whatever is found.

Hanukkah (光明节) came early this year, perhaps too soon after Thanksgiving to allow us to prepare well. During the first night of Hanukkah, the Hanukkah candles were nowhere to be found in the entire Dallas area where we lived. Birthday candles wouldn't work! The tall long thin candle fell in small drops. "What would our ancestors do?" I thought. "What shall I do now? That's where ingenuity comes from. Don't be nervous and worried. Never let missing candles spoil a family celebration." Later what we did find was a bag of tea lights. The long, silver bread tray became the base for our tea lights. The younger ones were wide-eyed and happy as Grandpa lit the first tea light and all recited the blessing. We sat at the dining table, happy to be together and the food was plentiful.

    No matter how imperfect it is, the fact that families gather to share a special event, an event that has held meaning for so many generations of families, is the meaning itself and forms the important part of the observance (仪式). What we need to remember, and to carry with us, is the knowledge that togetherness is much better than all other concerns.

    Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy-five, he gave 12,000$ to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children's playground.

    As a result of his kindness, many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk, Johnson said that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy—five. Johnson had a sense of humor. He liked whisky(威士忌)and drank some each day. "I have an injection(注射)in my neck each evening." he told the newspaperman, thinking of his evening glass of whisky. The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and had a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain asking him for the secret of his daily injection.

    Having good etiquette(礼节，礼仪) at the workplace is very important to be a favorite in an office. However, many people aren't aware of the workplace etiquette and this creates a very bad impression in the office. So it's important to know some workplace etiquette tips.

    Among all the workplace etiquette guidelines, the most important is to be punctual(准时的) to your office. Though going late due to an emergency is okay, habitual late comers are never appreciated in any organization. By arriving at your office on time, you show that you're aware of your responsibilities and have respect for the organization. In case you feel that you would be late, call the concerned authority and report the matter to him or her.

    Also, a proper knowledge of the workplace email etiquette is a must. In the official emails, you need to mention the subject concisely (简洁地), while at the same time include all the important details which are to be shared. You should use good and grammatically correct language while writing emails.

    A knowledge of telephone etiquette in the workplace is very important as well. While talking on the telephone, be polite and listen to what they're saying carefully. Only then should you say what you feel. Speak in a voice which would be heard clearly at the other end.

    The workplace guidelines are important even while you're dining or celebrating with your co-workers. If you get a call in between, receive it after you're permitted by the others by saying "excuse me". Don't talk loudly while eating. Greet people well and try to make them feel comfortable, while being in your company.

    These guidelines will help you become the best employee of a company. All the best!

    Skeptics are a strange lot. Some of them refuse to admit the serious threat of human activities to the environment, and they are tired of people who disagree with them. Those people, say skeptics, spread nothing but bad news about the environment. The "eco-guilt" brought on by the discouraging news about our planet gives rise to the popularity of skeptics as people search for more comforting worldviews.

    Perhaps that explain why a new book by Bjorn Lomborg received so much publicity. That book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, declares that it measures the "real state of the world" as fine. Of course, another explanation is the deep pockets some big businesses with special interests. Indeed, Mr. Lomborg's views are similar to those of some Industry-funded organizations, which start huge activities though the media to confuse the public about issues like global warming.

    So it was strange to see Mr. Lomborg's book go largely unchallenged in the media though his beliefs were contrary to most scientific opinions. One national newspaper in Canada ran a number of articles and reviews full of words of praise, even with the conclusion that "After Lomborg, the environmental movement will begin to die down."

    Such one-sided views should have immediately been challenged. But only a different review appeared in Nature, a respected science magazine with specific readership. The review remarked that Mr. Lomborg's "preference for unexamined materials is incredible (不可信的)".

    A critical (批判的) eye is valuable, and the media should present information in such a way that could allow people to make informed decisions. Unfortunately, that is often inaccessible as blocked by the desire to be shocking or to defend some special interests. People might become half-blind before a world partially exhibited by the media. That's a shame, because matters concerning the health of the planet are far too important to be treated lightly.