Linora Low | An Actress Who Blogs about Design

Whitney Houston Dies at 48 :(

By Linora Low On February 12, 2012 · Leave a Comment · In Celebs And Glamour

I know it may sound silly, that the death of a singer whom i’ve never met would make my heart just drop to the floor. But that is exactly what i feel like. Like a piece is missing.. actually everytime i hear an artist i’ve grown up listening to or watching has passed away, i feel like i’ve lost a part of me. Because they did shape my life, with their amazing songs and performance on screen.

Today i just found out that one of the greatest singers of our time has passed away… Whitney Houston.

“Whitney Houston, winner of multiple music awards, singer of 11 chart-topping hits on the Hot 100 and one of the biggest superstars to emerge from the 1980s, has died at the age of 48, ithas been reported. No cause of death has been announced yet, but Los Angeles police stated that an emergency call was placed at 3:23 p.m. today saying that the singer was unconscious on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Authorities arrived within two minutes, but attempts to resuscitate Houston failed and she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.”

A lot has gone on for Whitney and she was set to come back with a new album. She was to perform at the Clive Davis party before the Grammy which is happening tonight… It’s a massive massive shock.

I just want to share that i do not think it’s nice or right for people to look at her negative past. I also don’t think it’s right for people to be sharing horrendous images of Whitney, even if they want to make a point that drugs has it’s effects. Yes we all know that. But i think it’s highly disrespectful. Yes she’s had some bad ups and downs, but imagine what she has to do to maintain her performance standards, her art.. and she has to also go through personal turmoil. it make it even worse that she is in the public eye… Take a listen to what Lionel Richie has to say and there is such a ring of truth in it.

I believe strongly that we should remember her as the sparkling Diva that she is. Just take a look at her list of awards: 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Award..among a total of 4115 career awards as of 2010.

She was the only artist to chart 7 consecutive No.1 Billboard Hot 100 hits (“Saving All My Love for You, How Will I Know, Greatest Love of All, I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me), Didn’t We Almost Have it All, So Emotional and Where Do Broken Hearts Go”)

oh and I managed to find Whitney Houston’s very final performance.. and of all the songs. I’m glad she sand this one… “Jesus Loves Me”.. I feel like tearing knowing that she sang a song bout Jesus.. i’m sure she is now in the safe and loving hands of Jesus in heaven. The origin of beautiful music.

Here i’m sharing a compilation of all my favourite songs from Whitney. Hope you like it too. ^_^

We Will Always Love You Whitney Houston! You showed us what the Greatest Love of All is through your music. It was just One Moment In Time, thats all i needed to be swept from the world from the sound of your voice.

House Restaurant @G Tower

By Linora Low On February 10, 2012 · 2 Comments · In Food

Ever been to House to makan?

I know you love your home and all, but how bout going to this sassy restaurant called House! Located at G Tower Hotel.

There’s even a Valentine’s Day Promotion going on for next week! Check this out.

So do you want a tour of the place? ^_^ They’ve got indoor and outdoor for your preference. Actually it’s still kinda indoor but they decorated the place with lush greenery to give you the cozy cozy feeling. And so cute, they’ got pillows!! Wah you’ll just snooze after a yummy plate of food.

More of the interior at House. Checkout the walls of wine!

The bar, the perfect spot for your favourite sport!

Now let’s move on to the food!

Chevrolet Defense Driving Course

By Linora Low On February 8, 2012 · 1 Comment · In Ads

Men usually say that us females are terrible drivers. I would like to say that’s not true!

I’ve always taken pride in my driving skills.. I would like to think that i’m a reasonably good driver. Yes, maybe overstating the obvious.. lol.. just kidding.

Anyways, one of the best ways to know if your driving skills is worthy to talk about is by taking part in a Defense Driving Course. Wait let me rephrase, you shall become a BETTER driver WHEN you take a Defense Driving Course. Which is exactly what i did last year. All thanks to Chevrolet I was given the chance to go for the second Defense Driving course in my life. The first time i ever went for one was years ago. So do you wanna know what we did? Check out the video! ^_^

What is Defense Driving all about?

Defense Driving aims to help you improve your skills by increasing your awareness of the range of factors that affect your driving :

your own capabilities - proper sitting position and the correct way of holding and turning the steering wheel.
the characteristics of your vehicle – the safety features in your car like the seatbelt, airbags
the road and traffic conditions.

Taking a moment to cam whore before class officially begins. Managed to get all the girls in the pic!

Here’s a shot of the MHB girls all taking a lesson on driving all over again.

Our instructors for the day. Ken Vin Low was our head instructor – he’s the man on the left

The other two handsome males you see on the right are his assistants who were really really helpful and their knowledge about cars and driving made me feel like such a school girl lol.

The Defense Driving Class Breakdown

1. Indoors – The Theory Session

Defense Driving teaches you on the importance of safety and why you should not take it for granted. Have you noticed, when you are placed behind the wheel of a vehicle you suddenly get a rush and that feeling of control. It makes you think that you can do anything and you are king of the “road”. Nuh uh, all the more you need to pay attention to what’s happening around you and be responsible for how you drive on the road.

We learnt about how the road accident statistics have been on the rise lately. We were also shown videos of what are the possible accident situations on the road and man they weren’t pretty. Just take a look at our faces when we saw some of the results of the accidents.

I think for the third image we saw something quite gruesome >.<

We were also shown typical road hazards and how the safety features in our cars works.

I was used as the guinea pig here. Our course instructor Ken Vin giving us an example of what happens when you follow a car too closely. The rule of thumb is to have 2 second gap between car in front. In doing so you would be able to apply emergency breaks without suddenly bumping into the car in front. Remember whenever you knock someone from behind, you are at fault!

2. Outdoors – The Practical Session

Moving on to the outdoors. This is fun part! Where we get to really try out how to do “Defense” driving! But before getting into that, our instructors first gave us a rundown on the basics of what goes on under the hood of the car. While driving correctly is important it’s also necessary to know how our means of transport work and why it’s important to consistently send our car for servicing. basically maintaining the car. Like for example how to check the level of water of our car, where and when is the best time to change the engine oil.

At least now i know how to estimate the age of my tyres.

This is how you read the numbers on the tyres.

And now waiting for the fun part the PRACTICAL DRIVING session!

THE MANEUVERS

1. Slalom and the Push-pull Steering

How The Maneuver is Done: The first practical lesson of the day was Slaloming. Yeah ok it sound like a real weird name – sounds like Shalom. So Slaloming is where you basically need to drive your cars through cones that have been spaced out unevenly in the straight line. Now in order to do this correctly, you also need to steer your car with the correct method which is the push-pull method.

Why The Maneuver is Important: Now we all know how we drive on the road. Sometimes we can get a bit too comfortable at the wheel and then we start to steer the car with one hand. Admit it you do it and thats bad but how bout when you’re driving with two hands. When you go for for the defense driving course you’ll come to realise that the way you steer your car is completely off. Most of the time we don’t usually follow the way we were thought in driving school.. which is the push-pull method. This is a much safer and reliable method of steering, cause it won’t cause you harm in the event you get into an accident. Imagine if your arms are crossed over the steering wheel, your body movement is locked and you are more likely to hit your face with accessories on your hand.

Remarks
Using the push-pull method on the Cruze, the steering was sturdy – (just the way i like my car steering wheels to be ^_^ ) and it felt like you had a good grip on the road.

2. Emergency Braking Accident Avoidance (ABS braking/ collision avoidance)

How The Maneuver is Done:
This practical exercise needs a bit of timing judgement. We were to drive at a speed of roughly 70km/h from a certain distance and come to a screeching halt before we hit an orange cone at the end of road.

Why The Maneuver is Important:
This is to teach us how to apply the emergency brakes in the event suddenly a kid or anyone for that matter runs in the middle of the road. Or maybe the car in front of you stalls and to avoid banging it, you have to apply the emergency brakes.

Remarks:
The Cruze is equipped with 4-wheel disk brakes with Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Brake Assist, and Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) which helps to stop the car in a shorter distance while allowing the driver to maneuver away from a collision

3. Skid Control

How The Maneuver is Done:
The last exercise was probably the “Scariest”. Oil/ Grease was poured on the road and we were to drive through that at a speed of 80km/h. It doesn’t end there, the instructor will then suddenly pull the handbrake which will cause the car to swerve and skid. You are basically doing the move that everyone sorta wanted to do after watching “Fast and Furious” – Drifting! Yeap! What we were taught – When the car is skidding say to the left we have to quickly turn our steering wheel left and and then quickly back to the opposite direction. It took a while to get used to i can tell you that.

Why The Maneuver is Important:

We get a better idea of what happens when your car suddenly runs out of control. From learning this maneuver which i like to call following the direction of the skid, we are taught how to control our “skidaway” car. Once the car is in skid motion you have to try and steer the car back to its original course instead of it doing a 360 degree turn or possibly turning turtle. I experience this situation before, whereby my steering wheel suddenly got locked and my car skidded. Thank God i had the sense to do what i was taught in the defense driving course! So yes very important if i wanna avoid accidents and stay alive!

Remarks:
The Cruze’s ‘Electronic Stability Control’ and ‘Traction Control’ were turned OFF to enable the car to skid (so we could learn how to control a skid)

That concluded the Defense Driving Course! But before i conclude, let me tell you more about the Chevrolet car.. ooo its quite a sleek thing i must say. It’s very sporty which is exactly how i like my cars to be. Sporty like me

Here’s a bit of info on the Chevrolet Cruze.

Exterior:-

1. Dynamic design with a wide track, long wheelbase and crisp sculpted shoulder lines.
2. Dual Bezel Design Headlamps.
3. Split-Design Tail Lamps.
4. Large 6.5J x 40.64 cm Alloy wheels.

Interior:-
1. Three-Gauge Instrument Cluster: Centre-positioned Driver Information Display sets out digital text information like odometer, average fuel, fuel consumption and average speed. Plus its ice-blue dash illumination heightens cabin sophistication and improves instrumentation and easy reading.
2. Three Spoke Steering Wheel: Thicker rim design enhances grip and feel while driving.
3. Integrated Centre Stack: Advanced integrated centre panel with graphic infotainment display, radio, HVAC controls and a 6-CD changer with MP3 compatibility.

Comfort and Convenience:-
1. Rain Sensing Wipers: Automatically starts when precipitation is detected and adjusts wiper speed based on rain intensity.
2. Smart Screen: A graphic information display on which numerous settings are possible. It also detects outside temperature and shows date and time.

Safety:-
1. Dual Airbags: Equipped with dual front airbags.
2. Anti Lock Braking System (ABS): Prevents the wheels from locking while braking and allows the driver to maintain steering control, especially on slippery surfaces.
3. All Wheel Disc Brake: Provides excellent stopping and stable braking capability, reduces brake noise and enhances pedal feel.
4. Front and Rear Crumple Zone: Maximises your safety by absorbing the energy from an impact.
With a precisely designed network of active and passive safety mechanisms, the Chevrolet Cruze is serious about giving you maximum protection. Its 4-wheel disc brakes with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and occupant protection system is all about being protected every time you drive.

It is available in 7 colours. The Chevrolet Cruze 1.8LT costs RM98,716.40 (without insurance) and the Chevrolet Cruze 1.8LT Special Edition costs RM116,716.40 (without insurance).

All thanks to Chevrolet for giving MHB the chance to go for this course. You can say there are now 10 girls who are more aware about how to drive safely on the road! Personally, i would recommend that everyone should go for a Defense Driving course. Don’t think you know everything there is to driving. Sometimes you may not realise the way you drive can be quite reckless. A course like this will put you back into the road safety perspective.

Lets all try to be safer drivers on the road now. The only way to decrease road accidents it is for people to be aware of this. When people are aware, hopefully they will then take into consideration that their lives and lives of others is in their hands.

Once again THANK YOU CHEVROLET!!! ^_^

Want more info bout the Chevrolet Cruze ?
Click here – www.chevrolet.com.my

Want more info bout the Malaysia’s Hottest Bloggers (MHB) ?
Click here– http://www.facebook.com/myhotbloggers

Want to enroll in the Defense Driving Course?
Click here to ASIA ADVANCED DRIVING ACADEMY - http://www.aadasb.com/

Comedy Court Tickets

By Linora Low On February 1, 2012 · 1 Comment · In Blog It

I love a good laugh. Laughter is the best destresser, no one can deny that. Laughter is also infectious… See someone laughing chances are you are going to end up laughing too.. hehe.

So how bout laughing your head off at this funny night!

Loga and Singam from Comedy Court are back and Red FM gives you the chance to laugh out loud with them all this week. Find out what Allan and Indi are up to this time this dynamic duo brings you “Not Guilty” from the 1st – 6th Feb 2012 at the PJ Live Arts, Jaya One.

You’re in for a hilarious time as they create humour out of everyday issues from family to politics.

That’s just a taste of what you could be watching, Win tickets from RedFM starting today all the way to Friday. So don’t miss out on this. Tickets range from RM100, RM150 and RM300. Just listen up for the cue to SMS to 33988.

Overcheating Means Punishments

By Linora Low On January 30, 2012 · Leave a Comment · In Fitness

Last week was Chinese New Year and it was a horrendous horrendous week of cheating. When I say cheat, I really really went all out in cheating..

Now here’s something of a shocker.. I EAT!!

I do and just cause i workout does not mean i get to over eat or I get to eat whatever i want and how much of whatever i want.

People can make fun and say “oh.. Linora’s allergic to food” or ”Oh Linora is nuts”. Yes i do admit that i am strict with my diet, i do it because i know my body and i know what happens when i let go. I know where my weaknesses are when it comes to eating and that is why i’m strict and fussy about my diet. Some people do not understand for a simple reason, they do not see the need to want to take care of their diet. Just a random rambling thought..

While i am strict, there are days where i let go…

So where was .. ah yes last week was a massive cheat week and yesterday was just nuts.. i’m not going to state it but i’ll just admit that i cheated a lot in my food and type of food intake. >.<

Today to ease my guilt, i went on a partial liquid diet.

Diet:
Morning: oats + walnuts + macadamia nuts.
Snack: Green tea Venti latte with soy milk and very little sugar
Snack/Post workout: Royal booster – Beetroot, green apple and Chlorophyll & Body Builder Smoothie – Banana, strawberry, soy milk and low fat berry yoghurt.