It was such an amazing start to my drama year because of these wonderful Chinese dramas. I call them gems because I don't think they are given much attention compared to other C-dramas. These dramas definitely deserve to be treasured like gems!
Story in a nutshell: From the title itself, the male lead suddenly disappeared without a word. Leaving his college sweetheart, Ye Zi, empty and in pain. Why did he disappear? Will they ever get a second chance at love?
+: ALMOST EVERYTHING! From the music, cinematography, to the whole story itself was almost too beautiful to exist. The main leads were fairly new to the industry and they certainly impressed me with their raw and emotional acting.
Notable OSTs: The Chinese title of the drama is "Ke shi bu shi ni" (Unfortunately it's not you), a song by Fish Leong. It was used as an ending song and during some sad scenes and it never failed to prick my heart. The rendition was by a duet of a female and male singer (which is unfortunately not on Spotify!). Our male lead is a great singer who both showed his skills in the drama and in real life by contributing 3 amazing OSTs: "Ye Zi" (name of the female lead), "When I See Your Eyes", and "听得见吧". These songs really made this drama even more worthy of your time!
-: Nothing big for this drama to be criticized for. It was just all the time taken by the female lead's best friend (who has such a good-looking husband, by the way!) that ticked me off if I remember correctly.
Overall rating: An almost perfect score of 9.5/10 was given to this drama that gave my year such a lovely start! I feel like I was pretty unfair in giving this drama this score as I watched it right after finishing my 2017 top-rated dramas, "Eternal Love" and "A Love So Beautiful". Although this drama was excellent, it just could not match up to all the love that I gave to those two top-rated dramas. That was definitely just me, of course. Even so, I am still highly recommending this drama to you especially if you are on your drama slump because this drama will lift you up even if you think it will not.
Story in a nutshell: High school deskmates who became really great friends and tried to stand through the test of times as they were faced with struggles of growing up, family, friendship, and falling in love.
+: Cute leads!!! Tan Song Yun and Liu Haoran played their parts so well as innocent high school students who were eventually developing feelings for each other. They really looked like they were not acting with their adorable expressions of showing admiration with each other. Aside from the leads, I also liked the second male lead whom I inevitably compared to ALSB's 2nd lead, Wu Bosong. I liked the former more whom I felt was more genuine in expressing his true feelings to the female lead. In short, my drama-watching experience would not be as good if the leads were not played by these amazing actors.
Notable OSTs: "耿耿于怀" (Geng Geng Yu Huai) was the only song that I remembered and loved from this drama. The song title was a wordplay on the names of the leads. Even if it only had one memorable OST for me, it definitely did not affect my love for this drama.
-: Just like any other drama out there, it had filler stories that my short attention span easily flew away. Let us also not forget how this drama was gradually sliding towards a downhill slope up until the last episode. There were some plot holes which were a little bit frustrating for viewers, especially when you are already so invested with the main OTP (like who wouldn't?).
Overall rating: The same reasoning as I had with "Where the Lost Ones Go", I just could not bring myself to giving it a perfect score. This is why it was also only given an almost perfect score of 9.5/10. The amazing recency effect brought about by one of my ultimate 2017 favorites, "A Love So Beautiful", was too strong to defeat in this genre. Nevertheless, I would still highly recommend this drama if you are a sucker for campus and slice of life dramas like I am! This is also one of the more realistic dramas of its kind so it is undoubtedly a relatable and an emotional rollercoaster to watch out for .
Taiwanese Dramas are failing again?
Story in a nutshell: A group of high school friends reunited for a camping trip gone wrong. One dead body was found after another. Who is behind all of these merciless murders?
+: The intriguing plot got me watching this right away. This is not my usual type of genre but China's "Love Me If You Dare" made me appreciate the suspense-thriller genre. Given that this a mini-series, it only had 7 episodes, an amount that is a huge contrast from the usual number of episodes of TW dramas. Sometimes, shorter is better!
Notable OSTs: Unfortunately, nothing was worth mentioning here. Did they even have songs?
-: So why did I write that having only 7 episodes is a positive attribute? Because I just wanted this drama to end so badly! Nothing good was coming out of it. I could not believe that such an exciting plot line could turn out to be such a snoozefest. It was supposed to be a thrilling guessing game of "Who's the murderer?" but right now, I could even hardly remember what went on in this drama.
Overall rating: 4/10 for a drama that had so much wasted potential. The moral of the story was basically to never trust your friends or just trust no one. Even the ending was such a letdown as justice was not served to those who needed it. This is why I would be more than happy to save your life by telling you to watch something else. Let's just go talk about the next dramas, shall we?
Story in a nutshell: A sequel of the same title set after 5 years, the controversy left in the first drama continues with major conflicts arising involving the addition of new characters played by Lego Lee and Summer Meng.
+: If you were my friend since 2016, then you would know how much I was obsessed with Lego Lee. It was such a delight to see him like a cake (colorful with so many layers!) here. His addition to the story was pretty interesting given that he works in the medical but is against most of how things are in his field because of his personal beliefs and family history. What better way to express all of his sentiments but in his role as a rapper at night! Aside from Lego, one thing that I really loved about this drama was how they portrayed the characters' struggles. They all wanted to never give up and save lives but they just could not succeed every time.
Notable OSTs: "Never Give Up" was not only the name of the ending song performed by Lego Lee, but also the tag line of the drama. It spoke to me in so many levels even when they used it in their context as doctors. This line may be a cliche but it just never fails to apply in any aspect of life.
-: This negative aspect of the drama that I will be stating was not their fault but entirely mine. I am not sure where I got the idea that this was set way before "Wake Up" started and so I thought that this was a prequel which had many plot holes. Really, self? How did I get that weird idea? *face palms*. Moving on to being objective about this drama, I thought that the latter parts were too dragging and already veering away from the main plot. I also thought that Summer Meng's character did not really do much to the story (please tell me if you think otherwise!).
Overall rating: A passing score of 7/10 for the sequel of a drama that I really loved. The first installment (you will see my review in a bit!) was just astounding so it was pretty hard to beat. However, I still liked it for sending such a strong and powerful message of knowing when to give up or not at all.
Story in a nutshell: Three siblings joined forces to solve their parents' marriage problems while juggling all of their problems at the same time. Will their family ever be the same again?
+: Wu Kang Ren!!! I have loved this actor ever since his "Autumn's Concerto" days and he just never fails to amaze me no matter what role he plays. Not quite sure if his story line was my favorite only because it was him in it or if the story line was really good. If you're his fan like I am, then this drama would be worth your time because he's going to make you laugh for sure!
Notable OSTs: One OK Rock's "Wherever You Are" (yes, the Japanese band!) stood out for me as one of this drama's OSTs. It sounded like it came from the early 2000s with its pop rock genre with cheesy (but manageable) lyrics. I am thankful for this drama for letting me discover this song and had me add it to my Spotify playlist right away!
-: Given that it came from a Japanese manga converted to a Taiwanese drama, it would be inevitable for this drama not to have some slapstick elements at some point. The first few episodes were too ridiculously silly for my taste. It got me thinking what I was getting myself into… It eventually got better but the story was still not enough to keep me entertained.
Overall rating: 7.5/10 with most of the points being given to Wu Kang Ren haha! This drama had its own eccentricities which were probably not meant for a viewer like me. A good watch if you have limited time to binge-watch given that this is also a mini-series.
Nevermind, there are still good (kind of?) TW-dramas!
It turns out that not all hope is lost because I still managed to find some good TW dramas below!
Story in a nutshell: A perfect housewife, dedicated to her family, has had her life figured out until she discovered that her husband is having an affair with her cousin. How will she go about her life knowing this matter?
+: Excellent acting by the leads, James Wen and Sonia Sui. I have always loved these two so seeing them in this drama got my needs for a drama with superior acting greatly satisfied. I knew that they acted well because as much as i loved James, I hated him to the core when I was watching him cheat on his wife. As for Sonia, I wish she had won the Golden Bell for this although it was already a great achievement that she got nominated for a Best Actress award.
Notable OSTs: The opening theme, "五天几年" by Freya Lin gave me good vibes whenever I would listen to it. Who would have thought that it would be an opening song for a drama with this kind of theme?
-: What would be a drama about marriage infidelity be if we did not have the 3rd party? Amanda Chu acted her part very effectively as I just wanted to throw my iPad whenever she would show up. I do not exactly remember the details but I remember disliking the part where the drama did not really give a satisfying explanation about her psychological issues.
Overall rating: This drama broke barriers for starting the trend on the genre of infidelity (it has actually become like a genre @_@). They paved the way for dramas and movies with this theme which became very overused and annoying at some point but this drama was tastefully done. A rating of 8.5/10 for a well-written drama with complex characters who have gone through major developments.
Story in a nutshell: Male lead and his fiancee got into a car accident — losing his sight and his fiancee. He ended up having a caregiver who looked exactly like his fiancee and also met a young woman who behaved so much like his fiancee too. Would he still have hope in love with these women?
+: I can praise a lot of things in this drama: story, acting, music, and the chemistry between the leads. I have liked Lorene ever since she was still known as Kirsten (my beloved "In A Good Way" days!) but her acting was not really a good thing that you could easily point out. Two years after, her acting has greatly improved that it was just right to have her act alongside Kingone — one of Taiwan's greatest drama actors who worked so hard to where he is now. Aside from the actors, the story was well-written that it made me relive the good ol' days of TW entertainment. The kind of story that would want you to feel the experience of falling in love.
Notable OSTs: One of SETTV's strong suits is producing great music to accompany their dramas. My most favorite song here was Tracy Wang's "Empty" which served as the closing theme. "I'm Still Missing You" by Bii (who played as Kingone's frenemy here) was a good opening song too since it set the theme of the drama — the pursuit of happiness despite facing challenges which could not be controlled. Lorene Jen also contributed to the soundtrack with "Loving or Not, I'm Still Lonely", probably the most notable song in the drama since it was vital to the story. My mom even kept asking me to memorize it so I could sing it to her (lol). I don't even sing but she liked it so much that she was willing to listen to my voice because of that song haha!
-: SECOND LEADS/SIDE CHARACTERS' STORIES. One of my downfalls as a drama-watcher is not having enough patience to sit through the story of everyone else aside from the leads. A perfect drama for me would entail being SUPER good that I would not care enough about the second leads for my love to be reduced or it was a well-written that story was just focused on the leads. Unfortunately, "Someone Like You" went downhill for me when they gave so much time to Kingone's stepsister who fell in love with Lorene's brother who was a priest… Say what?!! Their story was definitely unconventional to begin with but Katie Chen's acting was just plain annoying. I wanted her to get out of my screen together with Vanessa (second female lead).
Overall rating: I have always thought that this was another typical Taiwanese melodrama — melancholic, cheesy, and dragging. It has all the elements of a melodrama but it was not heavy at all. Surprisingly, the story turned out to be funny, entertaining, and easy to watch. They even had "Autumn's Concerto" references (SETTV's ultimate 2009 hit) when Lorene was talking about how she loved a book entitled "Next Stop, Happiness". It was very fitting since the literal translation of the Chinese title of "Someone Like You" is "Hearing Happiness". A rating of 9 out of 10 for this relatively recent TW drama that I would totally recommend to whoever needs a drama like it.
Story in a nutshell: Poor girl meets rich boy but rich boy eventually became poor and poor girl tries to save the day.
+: Rainie Yang and Wu Chun in a drama was definitely every fangirl's dream come true! I am not even a fan of Rainie Yang but I was still fangirling about this collaboration. She had to speak Nihonggo most of the time as she was raised in Okinawa by her Japanese grandmother and she did it excellently. As a fan of Wu Chun, I could definitely say that this was worth watching for him. This may sound shallow but he just looked so ridiculously good in this drama that you would want to keep watching. Watch and you will know what I'm talking about!
Notable OSTs: All I could remember was the English opening song which had a cheerful retro tone singing, "Sunny!". I found it interesting that they had that as the opening song instead of having Rainie or Fahrenheit sing it. Speaking of Rainie and Fahrenheit, this drama did not even take advantage of having them by making them contribute to the soundtrack. If they did, I would have added them to my Spotify right away! Bummer.
-: If you know how a typical Taiwanese idol drama conveys their story, then you might already have an idea of the story of "Sunshine Angel" already. If you don't, it is just basically showing how the leads met for the first time and loathing each other. By twist of fate, they meet again but their feelings would eventually become lighter until they keep developing. Evil characters suddenly enter, destroying their lives but their bonds would become tighter because of those evil plot lines. It does not stop there because those evil people would not stop until they get what they want or at least until they get caught. This is the reason why stories like this become dragging and would make the viewers wonder when it is even ever going to end. So in a nutshell, this drama would get low ratings from a watcher like me because I just knew what was going to happen already.
Lo and behold my greatest 2018 discovery: Deng Lun!!! What a surprise. I guess dramaland just never runs out of beautiful actors to bless us with. Thanks to Fifteen, I got to discover and love this man. Let's have a look at his dramas which made that possible!
Story in a nutshell: Childhood best friends of fifteen years with the female lead keeping her feelings since she did not have the courage to express them yet. Will she ever have the courage to tell him how she has been feeling for fifteen years?
+: I really liked the story — best friends for years who could not admit their feelings to each other bounded by their self-made limitations. As a (dra)masochist, I even liked it more when they grow into adults and harbor bittersweet feelings. I just like my drama that way so don't judge haha! The story was written very well that I ended up taking many screenshots of this drama's quotable quotes that I will share with you below. In addition to the story, the actors were such a great discovery with special mention to Sun Yi (lovely girl!), Deng Lun (duh), and Chung Lin Li (boy who played Daniel the cutie). I liked Sun Yi and Deng Lun so much here that I ended up watching their next collaboration, scroll a little and you shall see!
-: Deng Lun's character was unnecessarily evil here and look how fate played on me. I started hating him but ended up falling head over heels for him. Putting my current love for him aside, I loathed his character so much here that I actually felt good that I did not have someone like him close to me (and never did I wish that too). He wanted to ruin Li Li's (Sun Yi) life but like what he has done to me, the cards have turned against him that she ended up ruining his life (*wink wink*).
Story in a nutshell: An iconic family in the field of Chinese embroidery loses their only granddaughter through a car accident. She now lives a completely different life running a wonton shop with her stepmom until she ran into her own family, not knowing what life she could have been living. How will she face reality now?
+: The same reason why I watched Fifteen and the only reason why I watched this drama — my lovely Sun Yi and Deng Lun! There was definitely nothing special about the story and everyone else was just plain annoying but these two made this drama worth watching. Their natural chemistry was oozing with goodness that I even had mistakenly shipped them in real life (just for a few minutes!) until my friend told me that Sun Yi was already married… Moving on, Deng Lun's Li Yun Kai was just every girl's dream boyfriend/husband so he totally set the expectations for men really high.
Notable OSTs: I loved 线 by 刘惜君 so much as it would play during the love lines of our leads, may it be a sad or a happy moment. Too bad that the soundtrack is not on Spotify either!
-: Fifty freaking six episodes with Deng Lun and Sun Yi only appearing during the 7th (or was it eighth? ninth? I cannot clearly recall!) episode. Skip the first episodes if you must but if you are like me who is a drama OC, then don't but it will just make you suffer. Aside from the lengthiness, the evil stepsister and her fiancee (Yun Kai's brother) could be your worst nightmares especially the sister. Who knew that a person could be such a manipulative and a big pathological liar? Watching her made me realize how scary the world really is with people like her and she was just a fictional character so people in real life could definitely be worse.
Overall rating: 9/10… I am actually laughing and pulling my hair out now on why I gave such a very high rating. Oh wait, I think I remember now! Deng Lun and Sun Yi sent me to the skies filled with love that I could not dare to rate it any lower despite all the sufferings that I had to endure for this drama. If anyone sees a cut version of this drama with just these two, then please take my money! Will I recommend this? Hmmm maybe only when you love Deng Lun and Sun Yi enough to go through all of those crazy episodes, then go!
Story in a nutshell: A relationship that never seemed to have a decent closure when she suddenly left him and lived her own life. Will they ever have a second chance in love again?
+: My "The Four" babies, Zhang Han and Janine Chang's reunion! I have always loved these two and their acting here did not disappoint at all. They were able to rekindle their chemistry here and how they acted in this drama's many emotional scenes were enough to keep me watching. What better way to top all that was to place it in beautiful cities such as Shanghai and London — both bustling and charming enough to wipe away their pain even for awhile.
Notable OSTs: I was probably way too annoyed to remember any OST from this drama. it could be that or they just did not really provide us with great music.
-: If you have watched any modern corporate Chinese drama, then you would know how the story flows. It would start with the leads working hard in their respective fields until someone would have to move and eventually meet the other lead. Then once they meet, they will plot revenge of all sorts against each other but still realize that they have only been doing that as a defense mechanism for their true feelings. "Here to Heart" was exactly it and add some crazy sister and unnecessary story lines to complete the recipe. This all boils down to — Voila! A recipe for disaster.
Overall rating: 6/10 with my ratings only going to Janine and Hans's acting and chemistry (they were even rumored to be dating and I was cheering for that haha!). If you want a good modern corporate Chinese drama, then go see "Boss and Me" starring Zhang Han as well. You're welcome!
If you have seen my most anticipated dramas of 2018 here then you could only imagine how my eyes were just sparkling with hearts while watching them. Lucky for me that they turned out to be as great as I expected them to be (or even better!).
Story in a nutshell: Before you watch this drama, please make sure that you won't read its synopsis online. So many sources are completely wrong so it's better for you to just watch it instead. Based on my watching experience, Lie Ruge (Dilireba Dilmurat) is the daughter of the master of the most powerful martial arts sect who entered a brothel to find ways on how to lure her ex-fiancee (Zhang Bin Bin) back. Instead of finding ways on getting her fiancee back, she found Yin Xue (Vic Zhou) who easily warmed up to her and wanted to be with her no matter what happens. What is in their past that makes them connected to each other?
+: THE STELLAR CAST, that's for sure! 2018 was an amazing comeback for my dearest Zai Zai (Vic Zhou's nickname) that he released two dramas which he does not usually do. It was even more rewarding as a fan since he did this drama with my other favorites: Dilireba, Bin Bin, Ruilin, and Daisi aka the lovely artists of Jaywalk Studio. This drama was an even more enjoyable watch with how the story was developed. Sometimes, the quality of the story would be compromised to give way to the martial arts scenes but luckily, this one didn't and it turned out to be great.
Notable OSTs: Both the opening and closing theme songs were added right away to my Spotify playlist. The opening was entitled "Ru Ge" (titular character) by Jason Zhang (who sang TMOPB's opening too!) and "Yu Huo Cheng Shi" was sang by Dilireba and Mao Buyi. They were written to fit the drama and they fit perfectly with the theme — love against all odds.
-: As much as I loved seeing my favorites together, they did not seem to have enough chemistry needed for a love like theirs. Others might say that it could be the age difference but come on, I think we have seen enough works with a similar situation and an even greater age difference at that, yet we did not have that problem. It could just be really their pairing and how both Zai Zai and Reba probably did not have the kind of chemistry that is flexible — maybe they could only possess great chemistry with certain people (*ehem* Zhang Bin Bin *ehem* and *ehem* Barbie Hsu *ehem*). Their chemistry was very crucial like what I said, what they had was love that could surpass life and death.
Overall rating: As much as I had problems with the chemistry, this drama still deserved a rating of 9.5 for me. Everything was still a delight to watch and I was even squealing at the sight of seeing Zhang Bin Bin and Vic Zhou's (my kings!!) scenes together that I wish they had more. Real talk: both of them and Liu Ruilin were such great eye candies that you would not want to look anywhere else. These wonderful actors were the main reason why I got to sit through this kind of drama and I do not usually watch wuxia! It is a great martial arts drama for beginners as it is not as confusing with its characters and plot. Even so, the characters had a kind of complexity that made their strengths and weaknesses very critical to the story's development.
+: From the casting, music, story, and tributes to the classic drama, this new version mostly gave justice to the source. Every episode was like going on a trip down memory lane and some scenes were even made better than the original. I also loved how they were able to adapt quite a number of scenes/story lines from the manga which were never done by the previous versions. They had an advantage of doing such given the number of episodes that they could play around with.
Notable OSTs: LOVED EVERYTHING! I have the whole OST album in my playlist and I do not ever skip the songs whenever they would be on shuffle. My most favorite part was how they still kept the songs from the original drama such as Penny Tai's "Ni Yao De Ai", Harlem Yu's "Qing Fei De Yi", and F4's "Meteor Rain" (I just wanted to cry when this came on!). They rearranged the former but the original is still better but of course, nostalgia at its finest! I also loved that the 2018 F4 boys contributed to the OSTs with their personal and team collaborations. Let us also not forget the 2018 Dao Ming Si's anthem, "River" by Bishop Briggs. Now we can never listen to the song the same way again because we will just always imagine Dao Ming Si walking down the hallway or trying to save us from the evil guys haha!
-: If you have been reading my episode reviews here, you will surely know what ticked me so much while watching this. That story line could just freely disappear on the face of this earth, please… Just to refresh your memory, it was the story line of Meizuo and Caina. I mean it was great that we finally had a story for the F4 member that never got attention no matter what version you watch, but this drama did an overkill. One thing that I also disliked was the forced product placements on every opportunity that sponsors could get. I understand that it was how this adaptation became a realized dream but really, how will this drama become a classic if they had those ads pestering not only the viewers, but also the story itself.
Overall rating: I have only placed a few negative things and I would take forever if I write everything and at least my episode reviews are there if you want the specifics. Even so, my feelings of enjoyment still overpowered my feelings of disdain so I gave this drama a very high rating of 9! If you want to know what aspects of this 2018 version has done better than the 2001 one, it would definitely be the bromance of Hua Ze Lei and Dao Ming Si. I mean, Zai Zai & Jerry and Shun and Jun forever but the 2018 bromance provided a lot of fangirling service that we never got the chance to see even in the other versions. Another thing that I surprisingly loved was Ximen and Xiaoyou's story line. I never really cared about them before but this version simply did their story well that they could use another drama just to showcase that.
Okay, I think I talked way too much and made me wish that I had continued my full-length drama review because I have so many feelings and thoughts about this version. You can ask me if you want to know more instead!
I don't even remember the last time that I watched a Korean drama. It was probably "Stained Glass", "Save the Last Dance for Me", or "One Mom, Three Dads" which were a decade ago. The Sinophile in me just did not have enough time and interest for them anymore until I somehow forced myself so I could have the greatest achievement (maybe just one of?) of every Hana Yori Dango fan out there: finish all available adaptations of HYD!
Story in a nutshell: Read this part above in Meteor Garden 2018 haha!
+: This adaptation had a very interesting start that no other versions has done yet. It immediately caught my attention and credits are also given to Lee Minho's Gu Jun Pyo. I could understand why he is one of the most famous actors in Korea as the boy's got charm! His competition with Kim Hyun-joong's Ji-hoo kept me entertained that I would be way too confused if I were Jan Di.
Notable OSTs: "Almost Paradiseeee!" If this does not make you sing while reading it, then it was not probably remarkable enough for you which is probably just a 1% chance haha! I have mentioned in my previous year-end drama round-ups that I do not usually remember OSTs in J-dramas maybe because of my unfamiliarity with the language. The same principle applies here now that I have watched a K-drama, I barely know their language so the songs just could not stick in my memory *shakes head in disappointment*.
-: I said earlier that the start kept me hooked right away but it eventually went downhill when things started to drag. It was so dragging that I could not even remember what parts of the drama I was talking about. Most importantly, the chemistry between Jan Di and Jun Pyo was probably this drama's biggest letdown. Even the unofficial Chinese adaptation (lol at my comparison) had leads with amazing chemistry and this version just failed big time. Another disappointment of mine was also because of me being such a huge Hua Ze Lei/Hanazawa Rui stan since 2003 so Kim Hyun-joong's Ji-hoo just did not do it for me. Not sure if my mind was already tainted with his real-life scandals or if it was just really his acting or how his character was translated into this version that made me impossible to like him *heavy sighs*.
Overall rating: I am very happy that I got to watch all the TV adaptations of Hana Yori Dango but this version got my lowest rating of a passing score of 7. It might not be as bad as others think it is because this could be their first drama so it has the nostalgia factor. The same logic applies to me given that "Meteor Garden" is my ultimate favorite and so I just could not appreciate "Boys Over Flowers" as having the former set my expectations high. Will this now make me want to watch other K-dramas? Yes, it could but I would still prioritize my other dramas instead!
Having this year as my fourth time to write a year-end round-up, it is only the first time that I gave a perfect score to just one drama. Although I am not quite sure if this is something that I should be happy about because it probably means that my taste has upped a notch by having seen such extraordinary dramas in the past years. However, it could also mean that the quality of dramas is deteriorating but it could also be my choices. Okay whatever, off to awarding the best one that I have seen this year!
Story in a nutshell: A hardworking doctor gets blamed for his patient's death due to anesthetic complications. He was easily blamed due to his health problems involving his sleep and mental health. He and a medical insurance agent (played by Wu Kang Ren) team up to figure out the real score behind the patient's death.
+: EVERYTHING from the story, actors, and how it all tied ends together in just a matter of 6 episodes.
Notable OSTs: I think I was too engrossed in the story that I did not pay attention to the music anymore (oops!).
-: For the first and sadly the last time this year, I did not dislike anything in a drama.
Overall rating: A perfect 10, of course! Taiwan rarely makes medical dramas but when they do, they just provide you with all the possible brilliance and keep you amazed. The last medical drama of theirs that I enjoyed was Jerry Yan's "The Hospital" and I was so glad that they were able to create something as real and powerful in sending a message even after almost a decade. "Wake Up" was done perfectly that I managed to finish all the episodes in one sitting (my flight from Vietnam to home haha!). Unsurprisingly, they won many awards in the Golden Bell (Taiwan's Emmy's) including Wu Kang Ren for the Best Supporting role and he deserved it. I highly recommend this if you want to watch a drama that was made to win all the awards possible.
Added a bonus content here by sharing with you some reality/variety shows with Jerry Yan that I enjoyed this year.
How it works: Celebrities perform dance numbers which would determine their dance coach/partner that they will be performing with for the rest of the show.
+: Jerry Yan! Do we really need to answer this? Haha! On a more serious note, I give all my respect for this drama for being able to have Jerry as part of the lineup. What did they ever do to have him dance on the stage?! This show also had my fangirling worlds collide as he formed a wonderful bromance with another favorite of mine, Jiro Wang of good ol' Fahrenheit. They were basically giving all praises and perfect scores to each other that the other people would think that they were already invading their private time haha!
-: This show was supposed to showcase celebrities who are mostly first-timers in the dance industry. Jerry could not really dance to save his life as much as he wanted to be a dancer so it was a great disadvantage for him to be competing (who were not really beginners) alongside Jiro (even though I loved their bromance!) and other actors whose names I could not really remember well. The worst part that this show has done as well was how most of the actors just suddenly disappeared without any explanation. Say what?! They were even my favorites such as Jiro, Deng Lun, and Jerry which was such a failure for a production like theirs. They had silly rules during elimination which were probably implemented to make up for the sudden disappearances of the celebrities but that was just plain crazy.
Overall rating: I am very thankful for this show's existence because without it, we would probably never have discovered Jerry's love for dancing, how Jiro was fanboying (lol) over, how Deng Lun could not also dance for his life but still managed to be so charming, etc. With that said, I could only give a very low score of 5 and also because I have only watched the episodes with my favorites so it could just not go lower or higher. There are no subtitles for this show but I was able to translate the episodes with Jerry here.
How it works: Male celebrities try to be hands-on dads for quite a long period of time, having to do chores and bringing them to different places with lots of fun activities.
+: One of the few best things that happened in 2018! Again, I watched it for Jerry but the concept of this show was just beyond lovable all because of the babies (some are big ones!) and the loving ge ges. I loved all of the ge ges because they were all genuine in working with the babies, so genuine that they would even bully them (I'm looking at you too, Jerry!). They all had their own style of "fatherhood" and it was also what made this show extra special.
This turned out to be a lengthy post so congratulations if you got this far! 2018 was not a wonderful drama year as I had expected to be only because I mostly watched dramas that came from the previous years. I actually started my 2019 watching some great 2018 dramas such as "Accidentally in Love" and "Ashes of Love" so you may see my reviews for them this year!
Have you watched any of the dramas that I listed here? What was your favorite? Did you dislike any of those too? Please feel free to share me your thoughts below.
Wow, I didn't realise Jerry went on so many reality shows! I watched Fifteen too and that was an unexpected gem for me – I learnt about Sun Yi, Deng Lun and Zhang Ruoyun for the first time and they all became my loves. I must admit, even though Deng Lun was an antagonist, I was completely sold by him. I even rooted for him at some point…. Hope he would do more modern dramas ^-^ I also watched Because of You for the two of them, and the fact that I actually watched the original kdrama that it was based on… and liked it. Makjang as it was, it was a satisfying watch. Unfortunately, the chinese version performed badly. But I did like the new actors and actresses that I learnt of because of that drama.
Yes, 2 in one year! Not sure if he's ever going to do that again 😦 I agree with everything that you said! Good thing he's taking advantage of his fame so he's been on a roll with projects lately! I also heard that the Kdrama was nice and that Because of You was just a complete disaster lol but Sun Yi and Deng Lun were just the cutest!!!
Thank you very much for writing this comment! WTLOG got me intrigued and hooked because of the story. Such a gem. I wish I could work by myself too haha! You will be surprised by the depth of Spotify when it comes to licensing Mandarin songs and I just love it. Same here, TFD's chemistry wasn't just convincing as I had also stated in my review but it was an enjoyable watch, nonetheless. I rewatch sad scenes too but I've never tried doing it in TFD. Again, thank you so much for this lovely comment. It totally made my day!


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Uber, Canadian union reach deal to support gig worker benefits, flexibility
Uber and United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW) said they will jointly lobby Canada's provincial governments to pass labor reforms that would provide gig workers with minimum earnings of at least 120% of local minimum wage, a benefits fund that includes pension and sick pay and other workers' rights.
Today, those benefits are generally reserved for employees, leaving gig workers, who are largely independent contractors, without benefits and protections.
By Tina Bellon
Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday said it had reached an agreement with Canada's largest services-sector union to offer employee-like benefits to contractors who work as ride-hail and food delivery drivers.
Under the five-year agreement, Canada's 100,000 Uber drivers and delivery workers would also have a right to legal representation by the union in case of disputes with the company, such as when getting kicked off Uber's platform.
The union will also meet with Uber twice a year to address workers' health and safety concerns, said Barry Sawyer, the executive assistant to the UFCW national president.
Sawyer said the union purposefully avoided addressing the thorny issue of gig workers' legal status in its agreement with Uber.
Uber and labor unions around the world have for years sparred over the question of whether gig workers should be reclassified employees, a designation that would force Uber to provide substantial and costly benefits.
"We're not focused on what you call the workers; the government can make that decision. We just want them to get the rights and benefits they deserve," Sawyer said.
Gig companies have long been criticized for the lack of benefits and protections they offer drivers. Many labor unions, some lawmakers and the Biden administration have said gig workers should be reclassified as employees.
In surveys with UFCW, drivers said they wanted to maintain the flexibility to work on their own schedule, Sawyer said.
Uber, Lyft Inc, DoorDash Inc and other companies have argued that flexibility would be eliminated if they were forced to reclassify workers employees.
In recent years, Uber has pushed lawmakers across the United States, Canada and the European Union to implement what it refers to as the "third way" - a compromise that would maintain workers' contractor status, but provide them with some benefits.
Uber struck a similar deal last year with Britain's GMB union, allowing it to represent up to 70,000 drivers and boosting the power of workers with collective bargaining.
California voters in 2020 approved such a compromise model in a decisive win for the companies, dividing the U.S. labor movement in its strategy towards gig workers. (Reporting by Tina Bellon in Austin, Texas Editing by Paul Simao and Cynthia Osterman)
texas editing
gig worker
barry sawyer
Uber CEO Khosrowshahi thought of rejecting the job before Spotify head changed his mind
A story of shattered hope behind every pink slip: Look up LinkedIn
Uncertainty, layoff fears raise tech pros' stress, anxiety levels

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Palmdale solar panels | guide to solar incentives, costs and savings in Palmdale !!
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This system would offset 100% of your energy usage if your typical monthly bill is $220, however your situation may vary so try our solar calculator to get a result tailored to you.


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#AtoZChallenge 1970's Billboard Hits - I is for...
Today is day ten of the #AtoZChallenge and that brings us to the letter I. These four songs were the top 'I' songs according to the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End lists.
1971 - It's Too Late / I Feel The Earth Move - Carole King
"It's Too Late" is a song from Carole King's 1971 album Tapestry. Toni Stern wrote the lyrics and King wrote the music. It was released as a single in April 1971 and reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. Sales were later certified Gold by the RIAA. Billboard ranked "It's Too Late" and its fellow A-side, "I Feel the Earth Move", as the No. 3 record for 1971.
The lyrics describe the end of a loving relationship without assigning blame. Music critic Dave Marsh noted the implicit feminism in the fact that the woman has left the man. Marsh also remarked on the maturity of the theme.
"I Feel the Earth Move" is a song written and recorded by pop singer-songwriter Carole King, which first appeared on her album Tapestry; additionally, the song is one half of the double A-sided single, the flip side which was "It's Too Late". Together, both "I Feel the Earth Move" and "It's Too Late" became among the biggest mainstream pop hits of 1971.
1972 - I Gotcha - Joe Tex
"I Gotcha" is a song by Joe Tex. He originally intended for the song to be recorded by King Floyd, but Floyd never recorded it. Instead, Tex recorded it himself in the late 1960s but did not release it at that time. He decided to re-record the song in late 1971 and released it as the B-side of "A Mother's Prayer", the first single off his 1972 album that was also titled I Gotcha. This angry song has the singer accusing his lover of being unfaithful to him, by having an affair with another man, so he tests her to ask her to kiss him for a longer time, and when he is unsatisfied, he demands to her to have her give him back his love, as a result of playing with his affections. Radio DJs decided to flip the single over and started playing "I Gotcha". This would result in Tex having his first major hit in five years as "I Gotcha" eventually peaked at Number 1 on the R&B chart and Number 2 on the Pop chart for two weeks, behind "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack and would sell around three million copies. Billboard ranked it as the No. 6 song of 1972.
1977 - I Just Want To Be Your Everything - Andy Gibb
"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" is a song recorded by Andy Gibb, initially released in 1977. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, starting on the week ending 30 July 1977, and again for the week ending 17 September 1977. It was Gibb's first single released in the United Kingdom and United States. His previous single, "Words and Music" was only released in Australia. It is ranked number 26 on Billboard's 55th anniversary All Time Top 100 list. The song became a gold record.
Be sure to follow the 2017 AtoZ Challenge playlist for all of the songs featured in this years challenge.
Did you listen to any of these tunes in the 70's? Would you like to know more about these artists in future posts? Let me know in the comments.
What does tomorrow bring?
Tomorrow brings us the letter 'J'.
Any guesses as to which Billboard Hits from the 70s will be showcased?
Labels: A to Z Blogging Challenge
Sophie Duncan Tuesday, April 11, 2017 3:13:00 AM
I don't know any of these songs today, so you have educated me :)
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - Dragon Diaries
Mary B Tuesday, April 11, 2017 4:07:00 AM
The only one that I didn't know today was Joe Tex. Andy Gibb was one of my first crushes.
Suzy Tuesday, April 11, 2017 5:09:00 AM
I had the Tapestry album and how can you not love Andy Gibb. Never heard the Joe Tex song.
Suzy at Someday Somewhere - Inaction
Mary B Tuesday, April 11, 2017 1:39:00 PM
Hi Suzy
I'm with you, Joe Tex was a new one for me as well. I think I'll do a separate post about him after the challenge. He seems like an interesting guy.
Arti Tuesday, April 11, 2017 6:01:00 AM
Hi Mary. I've been meaning to look you up this year but it's taken me 10 days! Am saving this post to have a listen later (when I'm not rushed).
I is for Island of Brac
Thank you Arti!
I know the challenge can be rather hectic for all of us. That's one of the nice things about putting together the playlist for you. So that you can listen to it any time during the year. I often listen to the playlist that I made for the challenge I did 2 years ago.
Bushra Allaboutthewoman Tuesday, April 11, 2017 6:36:00 AM
I gotcha is my favourite from this list
Interesting post, enjoyed a lot
Dr Bushra
Do visit mineI for Imbibe Yourself about Antenatal Care during Pregnancy – Part 1
Thanks Dr Bushra
I Gotcha was one that I had not heard before. Thanks for stopping by!
Darla M Sands Tuesday, April 11, 2017 8:52:00 AM
Good music. I remember listening to Carole King and watching Soul Train. Fabulous clip from the show! I'd enjoy learning more about all these artists. ~grin~ Happy blogging!
http://darlamsands.blogspot.com/
I think it was the fall of 1983, in Idaho. We had an earthquake. Carole King had some property not far from the epicenter. 'I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet' got quite a bit of airplay locally for a week or two after that. I remember watching Soul Train as well, but for some reason, I just don't remember this song.
Michele at Angels Bark Tuesday, April 11, 2017 9:52:00 AM
Hi Mary. Fun post today! I LOVED Joe Tex's I Gotcha! Great Soul Train clip and an awesome way to start my day. Love Carole King, especially the two songs you chose to spotlight. I'm a fan of anything Gibb!
Another great I song from that era is In A Gadda Da Vida. Who can resist a little Iron Butterfly? :)
Thanks for introducing me to Joe Tex. I'm going to come back later and re-watch that video. It's terrific!
Michele at Angels Bark
Hey there One-El Michele!
Believe it or not, In A Gadda Da Vida, is technically from the 60's, being released in 1968. Great song choice, though!
Michele at Angels Bark Tuesday, April 11, 2017 2:00:00 PM
Ah yes it is. Forgot that you were focusing on the 70s decade alone. Of course I usually lump late 60s in with "my era" of music, baby boomer that I am...:)
Ha! I actually had to look it up to respond. I read your comment and my mind said "Hey! How did we miss this one?!?"
Can you believe we're as old as we are? Just last week I posted on Facebook that my sister would have been celebrating her 63rd birthday, and then I realized she's been gone for 21 years. Then the mortifying thought that if she is that old, I must be getting old, too! In my head, I'm still in my early 30's.
Random Musings Tuesday, April 11, 2017 10:15:00 AM
I love "It's too Late" I haven't heard it in ages!
Carole King's 'Tapestry' was a pretty decent album. Give the whole thing a listen.
Stephen T. McCarthy Tuesday, April 11, 2017 1:07:00 PM
WHAT?! One of the Gibb Brothers AGAIN?
Oh, Gibb it a rest!
Ha! I'm just kidding, MMQE! I'm just being "contrary".
~ D-FensDogG
Check out my new blog @
(Link:] Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...
Those Gibbs were all over the 70's! I think you may get a reprieve from them on Thursday, but then they'll make another appearance next week.
When are you not contrary? :p
John Holton Tuesday, April 11, 2017 2:20:00 PM
I remember all of them. "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" was what I call an EBS Special (https://thesoundofonehandtyping.wordpress.com/what-is-an-ebs-special/), but the others were good.
I read years ago that Joe Tex changed his name to Joe X at some point.
Oh John, that hurts my heart. Andy was my tweenage crush. I'm definitely going to do some more research on Joe Tex. He sounds like an interesting person.
Unknown Tuesday, April 11, 2017 2:53:00 PM
Oh the 70's! My husband's favorite time for music. All of these brought a smile to my face but especially Aerosmith!
Thanks, Heidi
I think the 70's had some really good tunes. The early 70's have special memories of my siblings, and the later 70's were just my crazy teenage years.
XmasDolly Tuesday, April 11, 2017 8:27:00 PM
Great job! I haven't heard these tunes in a while, but they all definitely ROCK! Thanks for sharing! hugs
Mary B Wednesday, April 12, 2017 1:06:00 AM
Thanks, Marie!
I think the pace is going to pick up a little bit in the alphabet. We're dealing with more stuff from later in the decade now. (at least for a few days)
Alana Tuesday, April 11, 2017 8:30:00 PM
I have the Tapestry album on CD. I got it for my 50th birthday (almost 15 years ago!) Joe Tex, however, was not one of my favorites.
Hi Alana!
Joe Tex is one that wasn't on my radar either. But he had big sales, as Billboard Hot 100 Year-end has him ranked at #6 for 1972.
Anonymous Wednesday, April 12, 2017 4:01:00 AM
Hi Mary some what late this week love Carol King song also never heard the Joe Tex song before and just not into Andy Gibb
Mary B Wednesday, April 12, 2017 5:32:00 PM
Hi Roger.. I'm running late myself ;)
At least there was one that you liked...
Cathy Kennedy Wednesday, April 12, 2017 7:57:00 AM
Mary, All of your songs are a big part of the 70s decade and my life but I do not remember "I Gotcha" by Joe Tex. I do remember the hot pants, though. lol Great clip from the Soul Train. Thanks for visiting yesterday's "I" post! ;)
Hi Cathy
I'm with you. When I was putting together the post, I thought I had written my notes wrong. Had to double check my sources because I had not heard of Joe Tex either. I'm running behind today - mostly because I had to report for work at the last minute (my boss/cousin is sick and she needed someone to cover for her) I'll be around later this evening hopefully.
Arlee Bird Friday, April 14, 2017 5:26:00 PM
Carole King wrote and co-wrote such a huge catalog of great songs. Some of the best in our generation.


Donna Woodburne SC and Elizabeth Olsson SC have been appointed as judges of the District Court. Ms Woodburne is a deputy director of public prosecutions who has been part of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions since 1988. She was appointed a barrister in 1997 and a senior counsel in 2008. Ms Olsson, who was appointed a senior counsel in 2003, is a part-time deputy president of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and a part-time member of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal. Ms Woodburne will be sworn in as a District Court judge on 7 February 2011, while Ms Olsson will be sworn in on 7 March 2011.


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text:
Bitwa pod Olszanicą (1527) – bitwa rozgrywająca się na polach wsi Olszanica pomiędzy wojskami litewskimi pod dowództwem hetmana Konstantego Ostrogskiego), a Tatarami.
 Bitwa pod Olszanicą (V 1920) – walki polskiej 4 Brygady Jazdy z oddziałami sowieckiej 14 Armii toczone w okresie II fazy operacji kijowskiej w czasie wojny polsko-bolszewickiej.
 Bitwa pod Olszanicą (VI 1920) – walki polskiej grupy "Wasylków" ppłk. Stefana Dęba-Biernackiego z oddziałami sowieckiej 44 Dywizji Strzelców w czasie wojny polsko-bolszewickiej.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Panchagarh, Jan 14 (UNB) – A festival to celebrate the winter was held with hundreds of children, their guardians and teachers at Pilot High School ground in Tetulia upazila on Monday.
In the festival, approximately 6,000 minor students from 38 educational institutions in the upazila were provided with warm clothes while their parents and teachers were also present.
After the warm clothes distribution a cultural programme was held with performance of local artists.
Every year Shishu Sharga Foundation with the aid from former students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) organise the festival to minimize the suffering from cold of underprivileged children.
Shishu Sharga Foundation (Children's Heaven Foundation) organised the festival where former secretary of Food Ministry Md Kaikobad Hossain, Additional secretary of Public Administration Ministry Din Mohammad, Dr Saidur Rahman Selim, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Tetulia Md Saniul Ferdous, Shishu Sharga Foundation's founder Md Kabir Ahmed were present.


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Hello everybody, I hope the start of the school year went smooth for everybody. And if you are like me, and don't have to deal with school, then I hope that the end of summer has gone good none-the-less. There are 23 new houses on the market, 21 pending properties, and 17 sold homes.
I couldn't help but notice that a lot of condos have gone for sale on 1st ST! It makes me curious to check out the area!
Hi Dianne!! I loved your post about the Appraisal Crisis! I can relate.. We just pushed to have an appraisal rushed so we could hold our locked interest rate on the house you sold me in Tigard, trying to move from an FHA to a conventional loan. I would love to chat with you! Please write me back or call me.. I also wrote you on facebook. I need your expertise as this goes even deeper than the appraisal issue.


Reading- Next week we will be switching up reading groups and starting new books. Now that testing is over for us, it finally feels like we can get back to a normal schedule. We are still reading Save Me a Seat by Sara Weeks, and the students have been able to make some really valuable connections and point out figurative language.
Math- We are continuing to learn about fractions, and are almost finished up with this unit. We will also begin a new E4Tech module next week that will focus on area and perimeter.
Writing- We are working on our classroom book titled T is for Think Tank, modeled after the book B is for Buckeye. This is an alphabet book that is all about things that are important to our classroom. Each student was assigned a letter and is working on a page of the book with a partner. Each page will have a 4-line rhyme, a colorful picture, and information about the word they chose. Students have been so creative and it's been fun to see what is important to them.
Social Studies- Flat Stanley mail is still coming in, but we're slowly getting less and less, as expected. We should be getting the Flat Stanleys back now, as the letter said to send them back in April. If your child did not receive any mail, they are not alone in this. Many students did not receive mail and we talked about how that may happen before we sent them out.
Science- Today we're going to talk about Earth Day and watch a short Magic School Bus video on recycling.
Can you believe summer is almost here?!
Miss Pratt will be offering private tutoring this summer at the New Albany library. If you are interested in tutoring services for your child, please reach out to discuss availability and rates.
If you'd like information or suggestions on other teachers who are tutoring this summer, we can provide that as well.


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Canada urged to monitor Colombia's fragile peace accord as killings of activists mount
by Malubla | Aug 6, 2018 | CASA
By Nicholas Keung
Immigration Reporter
Mon., Aug. 6, 2018
Colombian Canadians, alarmed at the number of human rights leaders murdered in the South American nation, will gather in Toronto to condemn what they see as a threat to the country's long-fought peace.On Tuesday, a rally will be held at 6 p.m. at the Mark Cohen Park near Bloor St. W., and Spadina Ave., to protest the violence and send a message to Colombia's newly elected right-wing president Ivan Duque to uphold the 2016 Peace Accord.
The agreement, signed by then-President Juan Manuel Santos and rebel leader Timochenko, ended Colombia's 50-year guerrilla war which left more than 220,000 dead and countless missing and displaced. Rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was disarmed and demobilized, and a transitional justice system was established to seek out the truth of the conflict.
Since then, the country's civilian murder rate has reached an all-time low — 24 people per 100,000 last year — however, there has been a surge of killings of community activists who had been trying to enforce the peace agreement.
According to Colombia's Human Rights Ombudsman, Carlos Alfonso Negret, 311 social movement leaders have been murdered in the country since January 2016, more than 100 of them killed this year alone by what locals called "Fuerzas Oscuras" in Spanish or "dark forces" in English.
"The accord has failed to open up a space where people can advocate for themselves without themselves being targeted," noted Ilian Burbano of the Colombian Action Solidarity Alliance, a Toronto-based advocacy group.Burbano fears that Duque, who will be inaugurated on Tuesday, will stall the full implementation of the accord."It's not easy for the government to backtrack but it is a concern for everyone if the accord fails."Academics, activists and Colombians in Canada have started a petition to call on Ottawa to use its economic muscle — with bilateral trade totalling $1.73 billion in 2017 — to protect Colombian rights leaders and monitor the implementation of the peace process.Ottawa has committed more than $78 million to projects in support of Colombia's peace efforts, such as demining and rural education, and recommended the new government improve the human rights situation through strengthening security, timely investigations and addressing impunity.
"Canada has strongly condemned continued attacks against human-rights defenders in Colombia," said Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Krista Humick.
A spokesperson with the Colombian Embassy in Ottawa noted that the recent presidential election was "the most peaceful … in Colombian history, with the highest turnout of voters ever. We had 19 million engaged citizens who voted and will demand accountability from their elected officials."
The spokesperson added that the government has vowed to carry out an intervention plan in troubled areas and increase the budget for a national security. "The implementation of the peace agreement involves some ambitious and long-term goals to really transform the country and prevent future conflicts. This will take time and there will be bumps in the road to reconciliation."
READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE!


Over the next ten years, Bill Gates plans to spend $10 billion on vaccines for children in the developing world. That's more than double what his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has spent in the past ten years, and which is already seen as a phenomenal success.
At the TED conference last month, however, he put vaccines for the poor countries aside in order to address climate change as he thinks energy and climate are most important to those same poorest countries: climate determines if crops grow or not, and energy prices determine what they can afford.
Gates says we need energy miracles, and now we have a deadline. To reduce C02 output to near zero, which is the necessary target according to current scientific predictions, Gates thinks TerraPower might have an answer. He is placing his hopes on innovation and he's backing a traveling wave reactor design that would supply the world's energy using mostly the depleted uranium waste from today's reactors, of which there is plenty, instead of using only enriched uranium like current reactors. Nevertheless, he recognizes the need for many solutions.


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J&J completes acquisition of Buck's County biopharmaceutical firm
08 Dec J&J completes acquisition of Buck's County biopharmaceutical firm
Posted at 14:22h in News	by	admin
Johnson & Johnson completed its previously announced acquisition of Novira Therapeutics Inc., a Bucks County biopharmaceutical company working on a cure for hepatitis B.
Novira Therapeutics Inc., which operates out of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County, is now part of the Infectious Diseases & Vaccines Therapeutic Area of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).
FDA approves Teva cancer treatment
The acquisition includes Novira's portfolio of antiviral drug candidates, including its lead product, NVR 3-778 which is in mid-stage testing as a potential cure for hepatitis B. Hepatitis B virus infection, a potentially fatal liver disease, affects an estimated 350 million people worldwide.
Novira, founded in 2009, was one of two companies at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center in Doylestown, Pa.
Read the full article at Philadelphia Business Journal.
Robin Hood 101
Ellen Weber, executive director of Robin Hood Ventures, talks about raising money from angel investors.
FUELING MID-ATLANTIC STARTUPS
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The volatility of foreign currency exchange rate has created a great deal of risk to businesses. Thus, executives who are responsible for risk management in this area must be knowledgeable with the appropriate use of tools and methods to deal with this type of risks. Nevertheless, the accounting transactions to record these hedging activities can be complicated. Also, the selection of instruments to be used in managing the risks and impacts from exchange rate volatility is quite complex. The overall research plan has two study objectives. The first objective is to develop a mobile game as the data collection instrument for this research. The game is called "Hedge Accounting Game for Foreign Currency Exchange, HAGFCE." HAGFCE is designed to run on the tablet with either IOS or Android platform. The scope of hedge accounting content is limited to two topics, Fair Value Hedge and Cash Flow Hedge. The foreign currency exchange hedge transactions are limited to account receivables and agreement to sell. The second objective is to collect data from game users in terms of their learning experience. Personal risk attitude of each individual game user will also be collected. Therelationship between the level of individual's personality risk and his or her choice making experience in the HAGFCE will be examined. Data will be collected and compared the difference between before and after an individual plays the game. A 2X2 group of semi-experimental design will be conducted with a total of 120 game users. The groups are first classified according to their personal risk attitudes (risk avoidance and risk-aversion) and then by the sequence of topics being introduced while playing the HAGFCE game (Fair Value Hedge before Cash Flow Hedge or Cash Flow Hedge beforeFair Value Hedge). The present manuscript outlines the research design of the computer-experiment using the HAGFCE. The paper also provides a baseline result used to classify personal risk attitudes. This is done by systematically verifying whether the Passive Risk Taking Scale (PRT) developed by Ruty Keinan & Yoella Bereby-Meyer in 2012 can be used in Thai environment. The original 25 self-administered statements were evaluated by 117 graduate students from three universities. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to determine the applicability of various aspects of the original scale. Further analysis was done to reduce the original 25 statements to 13 manageable statements that will, in turn, be used to assess the individual's risk attitude of game players in the semi-xperimental research.
Kraiwut Tangsattayacheepa และผู้แต่งคนอื่นๆ. (2015) Risk attitudes and game playing experience: The game of hedge accounting tools for foreign currency exchange. Social Science Asia,1,73-83.
Kraiwut Tangsattayacheepa และผู้แต่งคนอื่นๆ. "Risk attitudes and game playing experience: The game of hedge accounting tools for foreign currency exchange". Social Science Asia 1 (2015):73-83.
Kraiwut Tangsattayacheepa และผู้แต่งคนอื่นๆ. Risk attitudes and game playing experience: The game of hedge accounting tools for foreign currency exchange. National Research Council of Thailand:ม.ป.ท. 2015.


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Beigi A, Behdani R, Zarrinkoub F. Preoperative povidone-iodine vaginal gel in abdominal hysterectomy: a randomized clinical trial. Tehran Univ Med J. 2007; 65 (7) :83-88
Preoperative povidone-iodine vaginal gel in abdominal hysterectomy: a randomized clinical trial
Beigi A , Behdani R, Zarrinkoub F
Background: Infectious complications of hysterectomy remain common despite the use of antibiotic. The usual existing methods of preoperative antisepsis do not control the vaginal bacteria that are the primary cause of contamination at the surgical site. Our goal was to assess whether febrile morbidity after total abdominal hysterectomy is decreased by the addition of povidone-iodine gel at the vaginal apex after the routine vaginal preparation with povidone-iodine solution.
Methods: We carried out a prospective randomized trial on women admitted for elective abdominal hysterectomy. Inclusion criteria included planned abdominal hysterectomy for benign or malignant gynecologic conditions. Exclusion criteria consisted of emergency surgery, current treatment for pelvic infection, and known povidone-iodine allergy. A total of 168 patients were randomized to either the control group or the intervention group, who received 20 cc povidone-iodine gel placed at the vaginal apex immediately before the operation. Both groups received the routine preoperative preparation of antimicrobial prophylaxis, abdominal and vaginal scrubbing with povidone-iodine solution prior to the operation. The primary outcome was post-operative febrile morbidity. Other outcomes included abdominal wound infection, vaginal cuff cellulitis or pelvic abscess. Data was analyzed using Fisher's exact test. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The overall rate of febrile morbidity was 20.5%. Febrile morbidity occurred in ten of 80 (12.5%) women receiving the povidone-iodine gel preparation and 24 of 86 (27.9%) women not receiving the gel (p<0.05). The rate of abdominal wound infection was 18.6% (16) in the control group, and 5% (4) in the gel group (p<0.05). Vaginal cuff cellulitis was seen in three patients from the control group versus one woman from the gel group (p>0.05). Pelvic abscess was diagnosed in one patient from the control group and in no patients from the gel group (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Preoperative vaginal povidone-iodine gel is an effective technique for reducing febrile morbidity and the risk of abdominal wound infection after hysterectomy.
Keywords: Abdominal hysterectomy, povidone-iodine gel, febrile morbidity


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Batwa: A Spiritual Relation With The Forest
A retrospect on the condition of the Batwa people and their close ties to the jungle.
Below is an article published by The Observer:
It's a humbling moment listening to 41-year-old Steven Barahirwa recite the Batwa golden days in the jungle. It is a moment that leaves you torn between fighting to protect the environment or allowing the Batwa to resume their genetic life in the forest. Barahirwa's touching story brings into focus the old debate about animals versus people.
To many people, the jungle is the least place they would think of living, but to Barahirwa and his fellow Batwa, it's home. Yet ageing Barahirwa has never lived in the forest, although he talks about it with fondness. The Batwa were made to live in the forest, Barahirwa says. And with the growing cultural tourism whereby tourists are looking for cultures that are still intact, perhaps the government should have appreciated their way of life and developed sustainable means of their co-existence in the forest, he argues.
"You forced us out of the forest into an environment, which doesn't accept us; where we are segregated and treated like outcasts - often not permitted to eat or sit with others or use wells at the same time," Barahirwa complains.
He adds: "We have to struggle to get items such as cooking utensils, cups, clothes, etc, which we did not need before."
Wearing some attire made out of animal skin, with a spear in his right hand, Barahirwa who was recently in Kampala for the first time to fund-raise for his kin, he emphasised that the Batwa were ordained to live in the forest by their creator, Gahinga.
No matter where you take them, their heart belongs to the forest. This was evident at Sheraton Kampala Hotel as the Batwa pimped up Victoria Ball Room into some sort of a jungle. Right from the entrance, you went through a jungle with shrubs lined up on either side. Even the stage was decorated with tree branches, and it's on this stage that the Batwa led by Barahirwa told their story.
Gihanga had three sons: Gatwa, Gahutu and Gatutsi. One day he wanted to test their abilities. He prepared three jugs of milk and left the sons to sit around the fire through the night. When he woke up the next morning, Gatutsi had a full jug, Gahutu had drunk half the milk, and Gatwa had nothing left in his. Their father, Gihanga, decided to give them gifts and talents accordingly.
Gatutsi got herds of cattle and grazing land, and was told his children would always have enough food and milk. Gahutu got a hoe and fields to farm and was told he would have good houses and a good life. Gatwa received only a bow, arrows and a spear, and Gihanga told him his life would depend solely on the forest. Legendary Gatwa and his tribe, the Batwa, survived by hunting small game using poison-tipped arrows or nets, and gathering plants and fruits that the natural forest has to offer.
Small, temporary huts constructed with leaves and branches served as their temporary dwellings. Their tools were remarkably pre-stone age in the exotic trans-boundary greater Virunga forests on the border between Rwanda, Congo and Uganda. Until recently, the forest people, who are said to be the oldest inhabitants of the Great Lakes region of Africa with their societies dating nearly 60,000 years, compared to 14,000 years for most of the people of the world, did not associate with other communities.
Their first contact with other people in Uganda came around 2,000 years ago when Tutsi pastoralists and Hutu agriculturalists migrated north from what is now Rwanda in search of more land for agriculture. The change in politics that came with colonial rule also had a brutal impact on the Batwa. Whilst their patronage to the Batutsi continued under Belgian rule, the advent of British rule in 1909 marked the time when the Batwa lost the last of their political and economic resources.
In the 1930s, the colonial powers occupying the area created forest reserves in south-western Uganda, evicting many Batwa from their ancestral lands but permitting them access to the forest for hunting, fruit gathering and cultural practices such as burial and worship. By the early 20th century, the Batwa had changed from being largely unhindered occupants of the forest to marginalised communities reliant upon ever decreasing resources. The Bahutu agriculturalists and Tutsi pastoralists needed land, and the Batwa's forests provided that and more.
In 1991, Mgahinga area was gazetted as a national park to protect its rich biodiversity and the endangered mountain gorillas within its confines. In the process, the Batwa were now completely evicted from the park. With no land titles, they got no compensation. Access to the forest and all the traditional activities of the Batwa were henceforth prohibited. This resulted in a complete loss of the Batwa traditional economic, social and cultural modes of expression.
Yet the Batwa had never had a history of hunting gorillas. In fact, they treated them with reverence. Barahirwa explains that when they look at a gorilla, they can tell it is human by looking at its eyes and as such it should not be hunted. The Batwa even refused to help the white explorers in tracking the gorillas early in the colonial days because they knew the animals would be killed. Further still, the Batwa did not cut down trees because they never practised agriculture.
They didn't need timber for building either. While in the forest, Barahirwa recalls that all their ancestors needed was bamboo trees that served as their jerry cans to collect water and saucepans to cook, and a few branches and leaves for making shelter and cooking. Today, Barahirwa lives in a grass-thatched hut covered with dry banana leaves in Musasi village, Rukongi parish, Nyarusiza sub-county, Kisoro district, where the father of six survives by working as a casual labourer on other people's gardens.
In 2000, the Batwa had an under-five mortality rate of 38% compared with the national average of 18%. With a life expectancy of only 28 years and an annual income of $25, their very existence is severely threatened. No official figures exist, but estimates place the Batwa population in Burundi at 30,000-40,000, in Rwanda at 33,000 and in eastern Congo at 90,000.
Uganda is the only one of the four countries with census data; the 2002 census results showed Batwa numbered 6,705, which is 0.03% of the population. According to Barahirwa, following their eviction from the park, the Batwa feel they have become separated from their spirits, which has made the spirits angry and is one of the reasons behind the bad fortune surrounding them.
For the Batwa, the forest is the womb from which they were born and the only place where they truly belong. For example, among its many secrets, the Gahinga mountain hides an underground lava tube, the Garama cave. All Batwa see the cave as an important part of their cultural attachment to the forest as their king's palace (Ulutale).
The fund-raising spearhead by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) was intended to raise funds for the Batwa to acquire land and get shelter. The inaugural fundraising raised Shs 12m that went to fund the United Organisation for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU).
Recently, in an effort to find a sustainable revenue generating project for the Batwa, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), UOBDU and Kisoro local government, with financial support from the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, Greater Virunga Trans-boundary Collaboration and USAID STAR Project and the Netherlands Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS) developed the Batwa trail, a new culture-packed experience that would spawn income for the improvement of the Batwa livelihood.
The trail activity costs $80 per tourist, of which 70% goes to their fund, 20% in taxes and 10% to UWA.
Author: Simon Musasizi