Christian the Lion

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

Christian The Lion - A True Story.

Christian was separated from his parents at an early age and put up for sale in a London department store. Christian's parents were zoo lions, the father came from the Rotterdam zoo and the mother from Jerusalem, and they lived at the Ilfracombe zoo. When they had cubs, the zoo sold them, and two cubs went to the department store.

Two men, Anthony Bourke and John Rendall, found him there and immediately fell in love with him and determined to buy him. They scraped together the money and brought the little lion home when he was only a few weeks old. They named him Christian.

Tony and John dedicated themselves to giving Christian the best life they could, and the bond that developed between them is a joy to behold. Christian was a remarkable lion, obviously very intelligent and loving, and gentle to everyone, both human and animal.

As he grew, Christian began to need bigger facilities than Tony and John could provide. Thanks to a chance meeting with Bill Travers (who had starred in the movie Born Free), they hit upon the idea of sending Christian to Africa to live as a wild lion.

Bill Travers contacted George Adamson to set up the project, and came up with the idea of making a documentary movie of it all, to fund the project. Christian is an absolute joy to watch in this movie. The love he shows, his intelligence, his joie de vie, are beautiful. All the color pictures here are from the movie.

The first step when Christian arrived at George's compound, was to introduce him to Boy, a lion who had been in the movie Born Free and who George had already sent "back" to the wild, without losing his relationship with him.

Christian and Boy eventually became best friends, and within a year Christian was living as a wild lion.

When that year had passed, Tony and John came to Africa to see Christian. After a year of struggle, tragedies, and life with a pride of lions in the wild, the relationship Christian felt with Tony and John was as strong as it had always been. In fact, Christian's wonderful relationship with Tony and John caused the other lions in the pride to accept and be at peace with them as well.

A bridge existed, and it withstood the separation and the learning of a new way to live. Christian was another lion of two worlds. Ace and John saw Christian again, the last time was in 1974 when Christian was twice as large as he was in the movie, and had cubs of his own.

Adapted from: http://www.kimbawlion.com/christian.htm

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I was really touched when i first watched this video. It enlightened me about the communication and bonds that can develop between human and all living creatures. Besides domestic pets such as dogs and cats, animals from the wild are also able to convey their affection to humans through various non-verbal cues.

The fact that Christian the lion still remember his owners after living in the wild for several years, showed that animals too, have humanistic qualities (love, friendship, gratefulness, etc.).

This incredible development of relationship speaks of love, having no boundaries, stretching beyond mere human beings.

Unlike humans, i feel that animals are way more affectionate creatures and often display their true emotions. Human beings on the other hand, often put on a facade before others.

"...we are not much different in fact to many other forms of animal life;and it is because of subtle human conditioning-- not the actual facts --that we are raised to believe there is a wide gap between what is human and what is animal."
--Gareth Patterson, Last of the Free (1994)

Monkey Business

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeSQ5Rv7eH8&feature=related

I saw this recently on the news and found it really amusing!

Monkeys, like humans are able to understand language and communicate with humans. Perhaps the reason behind this, is that monkeys are the evolution of humans and have adopted some humanistic qualities.

What makes this so interesting is that although they are merely monkeys, they are still able to comprehend the japanese language and serve the customers with drinks and hot towels in the restaurant!!

Communication does not only involve humans. All living creatures are able to communicate with one another and i believe that there are no boundaries to communication. In this case, there is non-verbal communication depicted through the kinesics(study of body movement) and physical appearance of monkeys. The monkey is assigned to do human tasks (serving) and through its affect dispays(display of emotions) and body language, the japanese customers are able to readily accept this novel idea and develop a liking for its adorable behaviour. What's more is that the monkeys are dressed in uniforms which creates a very fun appearance.

The monkeys are not perceived as pets in this unique restaurant, customers are able relate with these clever creatures and treat them as part of a family. If i were to visit Japan, i would definitely take a trip down to this special place!

Matchmake My Daughter

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/374355/1/.html

80 parents turn up for first matchmaking session at Hong Lim Park

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong first mooted the idea in his National Day Rally Chinese speech. And now, for the first time in Singapore, dating agency Clique Wise has organised a matchmaking session, aimed solely at the parents.

The usually quiet Hong Lim Park was bustling with activity, as over 80 eager parents turned up for the matchmaking party.

They may be camera-shy, but when it comes to finding a spouse for their child, they are anything but coy.

One parent said: "A girl normally is very shy, and more cautious than a boy. And so the parents should make the first move and you know, nudge her along."

When asked whether their daughter knew of their presence there, another parent said: "I told her, and she didn't react, just gave her silent consent."

So it's the daughters, it seems, who need help the most. And these parents certainly came prepared - exchanging personal information such as job and educational histories, contact details, and photographs.

Most have children who are degree-holders in their mid-20s and 30s.

Organisers say the response had gone beyond their own expectations, and they are planning to hold more of such events in the future. - CNA/de

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In this modern era, the idea of matchmaking is gradually diminishing. However, the rising number of matchmaking firms in Singapore, indicates that there is still a high demand for it.

Today, matchmaking firms have taken a different approach towards attracting its customers. Scheduled activities would not end just in a single day. The entire service stretches to a few weeks or even a month, where they plan various bonding and interactive activities between potential candidates. This exciting experience has attracted many single men and women, even those in their 20s.

I believe that Knapp's Model of Interpersonal Relationship can be applied in present matchmaking services. The first 5 stages of Knapp's Model include - initiating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating and bonding. Matchmaking activities serve as a platform for individuals to form social relationships, to meet new people rather than merely searching for "Mr Right".

In this article, the matchmaking event was aimed to attract parents who wanted to find suitable mates for their children. Personally, it would be deemed acceptable only when parents had the consent of their children before joining this event. Otherwise, i would think that it is extremely annoying. I believe women or men these days, have the right and freedom to choose their own partners and parents also have become more open on such issues. In our modern society, it would be rather ridiculous to stereotype women as "shy", as women have become more independent and are are confident to speak up. Therefore, i find this quite skeptical as it would not be an effective way of helping singles find true love.