With Zoe Tay and Kenny Ho

I had the privilege to attend the Gala Premiere of “Love Cuts“, a breast cancer awareness movie starring Zoe Tay and Kenny Ho on 31 Aug 2010. It was a star-studded evening where local celebrities like Felicia Chin, Dai Yang Tian and Joi Chua were there to support the Queen of Caldecott Hill!

The Production Team with the Main Cast

I shall not be a spoiler here, but I swear this is the first time that I ever cried while watching a movie! I teared for three times when I was watching Love Cuts in fact! I could hear audiences opening the tissue packs that were provided by the organisers simultaneously at a several scenes. So do remember to bring along a pack of tissue paper when you are catching Love Cuts as tissue packs are not provided during normal screening.

Do you know that early detection of breast cancer can save lives? It is recommended that women above 50 should go for regular mammography. In fact, I would encourage you to get your parents to go for regular health screening if they are above 40 years old. Health Screening can help reduce the risk of complications of diseases, and might even save one’s life. If you need more details Health Screening, they can be found at www.hpb.gov.sg/healthscreening.

Was happy to see DK, Hisham, Jayden, Mus, Diana and Eevon at our event and glad to meet William for the first time! Friends like Claudia, Nadia, Jacelyn and Lawrence did not managed to make it for our event due to personal commitments and Nicole was not feeling well that day.

Kicking off the event was Jack & Rai singing the unplugged version of “Pixelated”, a song in commemoration of World AIDS Day 2009, live at the blogger event and followed by a screening of August 29, a short film produced by HPB and a group of youths.

[Part 1 of August 29]

[Part 2 of August 29]

Starring Lawrence and Evelyn Maria, August 29 is a heart-wrenching love story about a girl who is dying of AIDS and how she chooses to spend her last days with her ex-boyfriend, a photographer.

My colleague, Janice then shared the objective of the blogger engagement event and programme lined up to commemorate World AIDS Day 2009. This might sound cliché to you but we really hope to create more awareness about HIV/AIDS through the power of our blogger friends.

Did you see the countdown timer on the right column? It will be counting down to December 1, a day when many people around the world can often be seen wearing the red ribbon that has now become a familiar symbol of:

• CARE and CONCERN for people living with HIV and those who have died from AIDS;
• HOPE in the search for a vaccine and care; and
• SUPPORT for people living with or affected by HIV

Did you know that…

• condoms can provide protection against HIV when used correctly and consistently?
• when you are tested negative, it does not mean you are HIV negative for life?
• you will not get HIV by sharing food and drinks with someone who has the virus?
• a lot of people still do not know about the above-mentioned after so many years of public education since the discovery of the virus in 1981?
• and you can find out more about HIV/AIDS at HPB Online?

“Your life, your canvas” is the theme for World AIDS Day 2009 and is inspired by the notion that we are all responsible for painting the canvas of our own lives. What we choose to put on that canvas is entirely up to us, and the choices we make all contribute to a constantly evolving picture.

We will be having the finals of the Graffiti Art Competition at Scape Park on 21 Nov 09 and will also be hosting an exclusive World AIDS Day event of art, music and dance, featuring guest appearances by Jack & Rai on 5 Dec 09 at SupperClub Singapore.

To stand a chance to win one of the 100 pairs of tickets to this special event, all you need to do is answer 3 simple questions on Breathe.sg.

To increase your chances of winning the tickets, do keep an eye on my blog as I will also be giving out 5 pairs of tickets to 5 lucky readers in this 2 weeks! Some of our blogger friends will also be holding a ticket giveaway in their blogs so do keep a lookout on Breathe.sg!

Show your support!

I sincerely hope that you can also show your support for the World AIDS Day 2009 by joining our Twibbon campaign on Twitter and Facebook to create awareness on HIV/AIDS.

If you blog too, you can also show your support by embedding this countdown widget on your blog.

To participate, copy and paste the following codes to your blog:

As you may have known, I am with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) New Media Unit.

The  Ministry of Finance (MOF) and  Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) have  jointly organised the “Singapore Government Web Excellence Awards 2009″ to promote continuous improvement of government websites.

HPB has submitted 3 websites under our stable for this award. They are:

• HPB Online for for Most User-Friendly, Best Content and Top e-Service category
• Lets Talk About Sex for Most User-Friendly and Best Content category
• Healthy Mind Happy Life for Most User-Friendly and Best Content category

Vote now and you can stand a chance to win $100 voucher! Voting closes on 31 Oct 09.

Do vote for us! Every vote counts.

The street next to Iluma was closed yesterday for the World Mental Health Day Street Festival! “The Optimism Highway” themed event features areas such as Positive Park, Recovery Road and Discovery Street.

One booth that caught my eyes was i-Scream! The top 3 loudest screamers will get to compete on stage and win prizes!

The youth volunteers from Audible Hearts were there to sell koyok too! Audible Hearts is an online peer support by youths for youths, where the youth volunteers lend their listening ears and providing sound advice just as a close friend would.

Our Monkey from our “Positive Thinking for a Healthy Mind” campaign also made his appearance at the event and I managed to catch a shot with him! Nice shot, eh?

Positive thinking helps us cope with life’s challenges and lets us seize the opportunities. Having positive emotions go a long way towards helping us deal with the stresses of modern living!

“Got peanuts better than no peanuts!”

What say you?

For the rest of the photos, they can be viewed on my Facebook album! Do check out the Healthy Mind website for articles on how to cultivate a healthy mind!

I think I am really getting too anal over things. I managed to name the company of the participant immediately after viewing the video!

• Carpark markings: “For DDB only”
• Formation: Tribal DDB Logo

Yup. This is a submission by our Digital Agency. Hee hee.

Is this entry good enough for you to cast a vote for them? Do it now and you maybe one of the 3 lucky winners of the $50 shopping voucher!

If you think you can produce better videos than them, join the contest and stand to win up to $1,500 worth of shopping vouchers! All you need to do is to express an idea that will keep Singapore going strong in a one minute video! Closing date is on 16 Oct 09.

In Health Minster Khaw Boon Wan’s update to Parliament today, he said that the H1N1 prevalence in Singapore should peak within a week or two. This means that if you have flu-like symptoms in the next 2 weeks, there is a high chance of you being infected by H1N1.

So what should you do if you develop flu-like symptoms?

1. Put on a mask.

Put on a mask like Singa

2. If your symptoms are mild, visit your nearest Pandemic Preparedness Clinic (PPC) or polyclinic for initial assessment and treatment. The PPCs are identified by the “H1N1 Ready” symbol. Depending on the severity of their illness and other risk factors, they may be referred to the hospital for further management. The hospitals will increasingly focus on managing more complex cases.

However, if you are pregnant, on active cancer treatment or on kidney dialysis, please contact your regular specialist as the illness may complicate your underlying conditions.

"H1N1 Ready" Symbol

There are a few convenient ways to locate your nearest PPC and they will provide you with the basic information such as address, contact number and location map:

• Online: PPC Website
• Mobile: SMS “CLINIC” to 70550 (Toll-free for M1 and Starhub only). You will receive a SMS with a link to the PPC mobile search site after sending the initial SMS. Data charges are waived for M1 and Starhub users. You will need a 3G or GPRS-enabled mobile phone to use this service. Standard data charges apply for SingTel users.
• iPhone: iHealth SG application. User can use the GPS capability to search for your nearest PPC, which are identified by the “H1N1 ready” symbol in this application. iPhone users can now download the application for free via the iTunes App Store.

3. If you have severe symptoms such as breathlessness and chest pains, please call 995 for an emergency ambulance. The 993 ambulance service for H1N1 suspected cases will cease with effect of 21 Jul 09.

Exercising good hygiene practices

It is important that we exercise good hygiene practices, such as washing our hands and covering the mouth with a tissue when coughing and sneezing.

But have you been washing your hands correctly? View this video to see if you do!

Keeping yourself updated

To keep your self updated on the latest H1N1 developments, I’ve have list 5 ways to keep yourself up to date previously. Read it to find out more!

1. Local Government Websites

• Ministry of Health, Singapore
• Flu.gov.sg

2. Twitter

• @flusingapore – Flu Update Twitter account by Health Promotion Board
• @sgflu – Ceased operation on 6 May 09
  

3. Local News Sites

• Channel NewsAsia Special Report – Swine Flu
• The Strait Times Online – H1N1 Flu Developments

4. Facebook

• Updates on Influenza A(H1N1) Fan page by Health Promotion Board
• Singapore Swine Flu Front Team (SoSwiFT) group

5. Website

• SwineFlu.sg

If you happened to know other sources on local updates, please leave a comment and I will update accordingly. Cheers!

Edited at 2 May 09, 2254hrs – Added SoSwift Facebook group
Edited at 4 May 09, 1054hrs – Added SwineFlu.sg
Edited at 4 May 09, 1239hrs – Updated HPB with new fan page
Edited at 6 May 09, 1336hrs – @sgflu ceased operation

Did you know that a cough or sneeze that you think is harmless may infect anyone up to 1 metre or more, spreading your flu bug further and faster than you can imagine?

The following are the 3 simple steps that you can take to help prevent the spread of flu:

1. Stay at home – If you are down with flu, rest at home. Going to work only puts others at risk of infection.
2. Wear a mask - If you really have to report for work, spare a thought for others by wearing a mask.
3. Sneeze or Cough into a tissue paper – Minimise the risk of spreading your flu by sneezing or coughing into a tissue papers wherever you are. Throw the tissue in the rubbish bin after you use it.