Angel-Inn

SAFEGUARD OUR SNAKES

2009-07-24T23:32:00.000-07:00

Pythons skinned alive and left to die in agony. Alligators killed with hammers and chisels.

This is the truly shocking reality behind fashion's shameful new obsession: At a slaughterhouse, deep in the Javanese jungle, blood-stained hands untie a wriggling sack and pull out a ten-foot long python.

The snake is stunned with a blow to the head from the back of a machete and a hose pipe expertly forced between its jaws. Next, the water is turned on and the reptile fills up — swelling like a balloon. It will be left like that for ten minutes or so, a leather cord tied around its neck to prevent the liquid escaping. Then its head is impaled on a meat hook, a couple of quick incisions follow, and the now-loosened skin peeled off with a series of brutal tugs - much like a rubber glove from a hand.

From there the skin will be sent to a tannery before being turned into luxury shoes or handbags. Finally, they will be snapped up by an army of pampered Western fashionistas desperate for the latest look and happy to pay thousands of pounds to get it.

Meanwhile, back in Indonesia, the python's peeled body is simply tossed on a pile of similarly stripped snakes. After a day or two of unimaginable agony it will die from the effects of shock or dehydration. Barbaric, cruel, stomach turning - those are just a few of the words used by those who have witnessed snakes being skinned alive.

But in Europe, the mention of reptile skin - be it snake, lizard, alligator or crocodile - draws a very different response and a very different vocabulary.

'Exotic skins are hot right now, there's a real buzz,' enthuses designer Roberto Cavalli, who has dressed Kate Moss to Sharon Stone. 'I love to use reptile skins because it excites me to take material that is seen as " wild" and mix it with a look that shouts glamour and sophistication.

' Sad to say, Cavalli is not alone in the fashion world in his attitude to the latest must-have 'fabric'.

The European Union is the world's biggest importer of reptile skins. Between 2000 and 2005, it is estimated that 3.4 million lizard, 2.9 million crocodile and 3.4 million snake skins were brought into the EU.

And this year, like never before, skin is most certainly 'in'. Indeed, the hottest fashion debate in town is not about the ethics of the trade - but whether to opt for python or anaconda.

Take, for example, Jimmy Choo, makers of shoes and bags. The high-end fashion house's £ 1,695 Rio clutch handbag is available in the skins of either of the above. Or what about treading in Sienna Miller's fashion footsteps with a pair of python-skin boots by the American designer Devi Kroell? Yours for just a shade under £1,000.

Something else? Try Calvin Klein's alligator jackets, Celine's white python skirt or a metallic python bag by Zagliani - injected with silicone for an ultra-soft feel. Jennifer Lopez has been spotted out and about sporting the Zag-bag while Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria's passion for a giant £1,300 python bag by Prada saw websites inundated with drooling postings from envious fashion-watchers.

'Wow will you look at that!!!,' wrote one such contributor. 'You get a lotta python for your money. It's beautiful!'

But, as environmentalists are only too quick to point out, it looks a whole lot more beautiful on the snake.

On the banks of the River Arno there's an Italian town whose motto goes as follows: 'Always make sure people walk on Santa Croce shoes and dress in Santa Croce skins'. As the saying implies, Santa Croce has been the home of the Italian tanning industry for centuries.

But, while it has traditionally specialised in treating hides from cattle and sheep, nowadays the factories are full of the skins of exotic species such as snakes, crocodiles and ostriches.

Make no mistake, it's big business - the Centro Rettili, one of the largest tanneries, last year dealt with 3,000 individual crocodile skins and 50,000 snakes - producing 170 ,000 metres of python skin (roughly 100 miles, the distance from London to Birmingham).

The three-storey factory is run by Roberto Bachi, who set up the company in 1985 and has 20 employees. Their work consists of turning the sundried skins that arrive at the tannery into a material that is both workable and highly desirable.

'We work for all the big designer labels - Versace, Gucci, Chanel, La Croix and Fendi and the skins are used for handbags, belts and shoes,' explains Mr Bachi. The crocodile skins, he says, are farmed in America while the snakes are imported from Indonesia.

'In the Indonesian jungle, they are caught using ropes. I know some of these poor people have been killed in the process,' he adds. 'They have been crushed or strangled to death and the python also ingests its prey once it is dead - it's not a very pleasant end if you are caught by a python.

' Very true Signor Bachi. But reverse the roles and the same is true.

Equally pertinent are the growing concerns about the impact the reptile skin trade is having on fragile species and the eco-systems in which they live.

For while the fashion industry defends its use of these animals by claiming that they are either farmed or harvested under a strict system of quotas, environmentalists say the reality of what is happening is not that simple.

Consider the plight of the reticulated python, the most popular of snakes when it comes to the manufacture of shoes and handbags.

Found primarily in South East Asia, it is the world's longest snake, with exceptional specimens growing up to 30 ft in length. It is fast growing, has a beautifully patterned skin and has been plentiful in the past.

However, experts warn that the population is under severe threat. This is recognised in part by the fact it is on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - an agreement to which more than 170 countries have put their names.

CITES aims to protect specific species from extinction by controlling the trade in these animals. This year, for instance, it stipulated that 157,000 reticulated python skins could be exported from Indonesia.

The figure has stayed relatively stable for years and one might be forgiven for imagining that the population can sustain the removal of that number of snakes every year. But those on the ground say that simply is not the case.

Dr Mark Auliya is based in Malaysia and is the South East Asian scientific officer for TRAFFIC, an organisation linked to the World Wildlife Fund which helps monitor the international wildlife trade.

He warns that the reticulated python population is under pressure. 'While the quota established by the Governmental authorities stays the same, every year the hunting areas required to fulfill that quota grows larger,' he said.

'This means that 20 years ago a certain amount of pythons could be harvested from a much smaller area than today.

'Also, there is clear evidence that large specimens are getting rarer and rarer. It shows that the reticulated python cannot cope in the long term with the high out-take by the commercial skin trade.

' While clearly better than nothing, the CITES quota system has long been criticised for being far too 'generous'.

'It is really a convention on trade and not on protection,' says Clifford Warwick, a consultant biologist and one of Britain's leading reptile experts. 'Any quotas set by CITES or by anyone else I take with an absolute pinch of salt.

' For every animal or animal product that goes through the system legally, it is estimated that another will be smuggled.

Evidence of the scale of this illicit trade emerged recently when more than half a ton of python skins were discovered hidden in audio speaker parts in a lorry being driven from Malaysia to Singapore.

'In Indonesia relatively low-level bribery gets something through,' says Mr Warwick.' CITES certificates can be bought at very little cost, forged or copied and they are very rarely inspected. It is not a problem - it is simple to move snake and reptile skins around.

'If you have half your trade in the world slipping through the net, you effectively have no control.

' Both Dr Auliya and Mr Warwick's own experiences also raise questions about claims that the snakes or reptile skins used in the fashion industry come from farmed stocks. Mr Warwick says that less than 10 per cent of reptiles are farmed because the process is too expensive and too complicated.

Even alligator ranches in America, he explains, have to be 'topped up' with wild adult specimens because the breeding process has such a high mortality rate.

'The slaughter process is pretty dire,' says Mr Warwick. 'The snakes are often nailed to a tree with a large nail. It doesn't kill them because they have a small brain and there's little chance of actually hitting it. 'The hunters then slice round the base of the head and peel the skin clean off the live animal and then throw the still-living carcass onto a pile and leave it to die. It can take hours or days for them to die from

dehydration or shock - it is a really dreadful thing for them to do.

' He continues: 'In other places they will decapitate the animal before skinning. The problem is that decapitating the snake doesn't kill it instantly. 'With a snake the head will be alive for an hour or two hours - completely conscious, completely sensitive to pain, fear and everything else.

'That comes about because their metabolic rate is much lower and slower than ours and accustomed to low blood pressure. The nervous system is quite resistant to lack of oxygen and continues to survive without its body for some time.

' Equally disturbing, says Mr Warwick, is witnessing alligators being skinned at U.S. ranches. They are clubbed to death or have a chisel smashed through their spinal cord with a hammer ('it paralyses the animal and they then get a short knife and slice through as many blood vessels they can reach - so you have a paralysed animal that is slowly bleeding to death and that usually goes through the skinning process before it is dead').

The gulf between the blood and gore of the 'harvest' and the boutiques that sell the end products could hardly be more stark.

In London's exclusive Harvey Nichols, for instance, they are selling Zagliani python clutch bags for £725. They are highly sought after because the snake skin from which it is made is treated with silicone. It is a technique developed by Mauro Orietti-Carella, the man behind the Zagliani label, who insists that the snake skin he uses is always CITES certificated.

Carella said: 'I think it's very important to keep the equilibrium of nature so what is taken out of the environment is replaced - I deal in a very honourable way with skins.'

They are fine words. But quite what they count for, in the jungles of Java, one can only wonder.

700 YEAR OLD VILLAGE

2009-07-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

Kandovan (also spelled Candovan[citation needed]) is a tourist village near Osku and Tabriz, Iran. Its fame is due to its special houses which are carved inside rocks. Some of the houses are at least 700 years old and are still being inhabited. Kandovan also has scenic beauty. It's a popular resort with hotels and restaurants there to serve tourists. Its mineral water is also popular by visitors and is believed to be a cure for kidney disease.......

WHY WHY LOVE / EXCHANGE LOVE

2009-07-23T23:26:00.000-07:00

Created by the production crew & starring the casts of 'Devil Beside You' is 'Why Why Love/Exchange love a story about Tong Jia Di (Rainie) who needs a life besides work, paying down family debt, and more work. So her best friend Jiang Xiao Nan (Yan Xiu) sneaks in a “Love” coupon in Jia Di’s raffle box praying that the lucky guy who draws it will sweep Jia Di off her feet. As it so happens, Huo Yan (Kingone), the compassionate manager Jia Di has secret crush on, is the lucky guy. But, though the prince can exchange the coupon for Cinderella’s love, it doesn’t mean he will, especially when his devilish younger brother (Mike He) is determined to exchange his “Master/Angel” coupon for her servitude.

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE : 22 JULY 2009

2009-07-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

The solar eclipse of July 22, 2009, is the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting at most 6 minutes, 39 seconds.It has caused tourist interest in eastern China, Nepal and India.

The eclipse is part of saros series 136, like the record-setting solar eclipse of July 11, 1991. The next event from this series will be on August 2, 2027.The exceptional duration is a result of the moon being near perigee, with the apparent diameter of the moon 8% larger than the sun (magnitude 1.080) and the Earth being near aphelionwhere the sun appears slightly smaller.
This will be the second in the series of three eclipses in a month, with the lunar eclipse on July 7 and the lunar eclipse on August 6.

It will be visible from a narrow corridor through northern Maldives, northern Pakistan and northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati.
Totality will be visible in many large cities, including Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Dinajpur, Siliguri, Tawang, Guwahati, Chengdu, Nanchong, Chongqing, Yichang, Jingzhou, Wuhan, Huanggang, Hefei, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Huzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo and Shanghai, as well as over the Three Gorges Dam.According to some experts, Taregana in Bihar, India is the "best" place to view the event.A partial eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of Southeast Asia (all of India and China) and north-eastern Oceania.This solar eclipse will be the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in the 21st century, and will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132. Totality will last for up to 6 minutes and 39 seconds, with the maximum eclipse occurring in the ocean at 02:35:21 UTC about 100 km south of the Bonin Islands, southeast of Japan. The uninhabited North Iwo Jima island is the landmass with totality time closest to maximum, while the closest inhabited point is Akusekijima, where the eclipse will last 6 minutes and 26 seconds.

AND ANOTHER KOREAN DRAMA

2009-07-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

Looks like my blog is gonna be a moview review page for korean dramas....Hahaha

1st Shop Of Coffee Prince

Choi Han Kyul, played by Gong Yoo, is the cocky son of a rich family who runs a food corporation. He doesn't believe in love and certainly doesn't want to get married despite his family's requests. On the other hand, Go Eun Chan, played by Yoon Eun Hye, is a 24-year old tomboyish female who gets mistaken as a guy quite often. She takes up every job possible - waitress, food deliverer, etc - and has the responsibility of taking care of her mother and younger sister. Eun Chan accidentally meets Han Kyul twice, once on a delivery and once during a robbery. During the robbery, Eun Chan's delivery motorcycle ends up being damaged. Han Kyul, not knowing that Eun Chan is actually a girl, decides to hire Eun Chan as a false "lover" so that he can escape the blind dates arranged by his grandmother. Meanwhile, Han Kyul's cousin, Choi Han Seong, is an established music producer and his ex-girlfriend Han Yoo Joo, who Han Kyul secretly loved for nine years, is a famous artist who studied in New York. The two were lovers for about 8 years but their relationship ended when Yoo Joo broke up with Han Seong. Two years after they separated their paths cross again when Yoo Joo returns to Seoul.After getting an ultimatum from his grandmother, Han Kyul takes over a run-down old coffee shop, later renamed Coffee Prince, to prove his ability, both to his grandmother and Yoo Joo. In order to attract female customers, he only hires good looking male employees. In a struggle with money, Eun Chan, whom Han Kyul has already mistaken as a boy, hides her gender identity to get a job at Coffee Prince. Soon feelings start to spark between Eun Chan and Han Kyul. Because he's unaware that Eun Chan is a girl, Han Kyul starts to question his sexuality.

FINALLY COMPLETED!!!

2009-07-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

'Devil Beside You'

After finally getting the courage to confess her feelings, Qi Yue (Rainie Yang) was handing her love letter to Yuan Yi (Kingone), but by a stroke of bad luck, he did not see and walked passed her. The person standing in front of her was the troublemaker of the school, infamously known for his devilish ways – Jiang Meng (Mike He). The devil will get what he wants, and the object of his desire was Qi Yue. Although having a cruel exterior, Ah Meng’s heart is kind and caring, which truly touched Qi Yue. The big problem remained – Ah Meng is the son of the man Qi Yue’s mother is going to marry.

'Princess Hours'

The series starts off with the news that the King, Shin's father, is very ill. With the grim outlook on the King's health, the royal family scrambles to find a wife for Shin, so as to allow him to take over the royal throne if the situation requires. Despite being in love with another girl, the ambitious and talented ballerina Hyo-rin whom Shin initially proposed to (she rejects him to pursue her ballet dreams), Shin eventually marries a commoner to whom he was betrothed by his late grandfather in an old agreement with the girl's grandfather. Shin marries the headstrong yet lovable Chae-kyeong after Hyo-rin's rejection. Despite initially feeling nothing for Chae-kyeong, love eventually blossoms between the couple.In the meantime, however, matters are further complicated with the return of Yi Yul and his mother Lady Hwa-Young, who was once the Crown Princess (Bingoong) before the death of her husband, the late Crown Prince, older brother of the current King. Yul and his mother were chased out of the palace some time after the death of his father, and it is later revealed that this was due to the King's discovery of an affair between Yul's mother and the current King who was his father's younger brother. Yul's mother had returned with a sinister motive in mind; to restore her son back to the throne, which would have been his eventually, if his father had not died. A series of events befall the palace with the schemes Yul's mother carries out, and is further intensified by the various scandals involving the royal family, which are inclusive of the Shin's continuing relationship with his old flame Hyo-rin, and the budding love Yul develops for Chae-kyeong, his cousin's new-found bride.

CHILLING @ DANGA BAY

2009-07-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Danga Bay "Vison City Of The South"......

Myself and Shima went to J.B. on the 1st July (SAF Day...ha ha ..those days), we were exploring City Square out....Had our lunch, looked around till about 6pm. We parked my car at the shopping complex carpark and took a cab down to Danga Bay.However, we were too early as many of the shops were yet to be opened, we walked through the street malls, saw many attractive stuffs. The imitation LV bags there were so many varieties and they look so original, at only SD 22.50..Then we walked further down to Danga Bay itself, went to the petting zoo had an upclose with the lions and tigers...we even went on a pony ride...haha. Poor pony I hope my weight was bearable for him...Then we walked along the stretch of Danga Bay, unfortunately we could not have our shisha as planned,the restaurant opened quite later in the night and we had to rush back to City Square to check on my car....However, there definitely is gng to be another trip......

FINALLY CAUGHT THE MOVIE

2009-06-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got to watch "Transformers :Revenge Of The Fallen".

The movie was superb, certain scenes made me cry.

The plot of the USAF joining forces and backing up the Autobots and the way they fought the Decepticons was really awesome.

Great plot,visual effects and sounds.......really worth the money!!!I'll definitely watch it again....

DRAMA MAMA

2009-06-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

If you've been following my blog, by now you would have realised that i'm a Korean Drama Addict.
I've never had any commitment to dramas in my own mother tongue(Tamil) but i'm so into Korea ones.

I just finished watching "My Girl" in 2days....It's so damn good....

The story was about when Gong-chan (Lee Dong-wook) meets the lively and beautiful Yu-rin (Lee Da-hae), he finds out that she has connections to his missing cousin, who his grandfather has been searching for a long time. He asks Yu-rin to lie about being his long missing cousin until he can find his real cousin. She says yes, but soon their feelings for each other get in the way of their plans. Gong-chan's friend Jung-woo (Lee Joon Ki) falls for Yu-rin while Gong-chan's ex girlfriend, Seo-hyun (Park Si Yeon), who is a pro tennis player, tries to win him back. Kissing scenes were superb, and very emotional scenes as well, more than enough to make cry. Songs superb...

Now I'm trying to complete "Princess Hours" another korean production.

And "Devil Beside Me" a taiwanese drama which was recommended by Rosza...It's the 1st taiwanese drama i'm watching..Let's see if it could be better than the koreans...

IN LOVING MEMEORY OF MICHEAL JACKSON (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

2009-06-26T03:16:00.000-07:00

"If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can he dealt with. "

IN LOVING MEMORY OF YOU

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recordi ng artist and entertainer. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, his 1982 Thriller is the world's best-selling record of all time and four other solo studio albums are also among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).

In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.

One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades. He died unexpectedly on June 25, 2009, aged 50. The specific cause of death is yet to be determined.

LIST OF AWARDS
AASA Awards
American Cinema Awards
American Music Awards
American Video Awards

Bambi Awards
BET Awards
Hall of Fame
Billboard Awards
Billboard Music Awards
Billboard Music of the 80's Poll
Billboard Year in Music Survey
Billboard Video Awards
Black Gold Awards
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
BMI Urban Awards
Bob Fosse Awards
Boy Scout's of America
Bravo Magazine
Brazillian TVZ Video Awards
BRE Awards
BRIT Awards
British Phonographic Industry Awards
British TV Industry Awards
Bollywood Awards

Cable Ace Awards
Canadian Black Music Awards
Capitol Children Museum
Cashbox Awards
Celebrate the Magic Foundation
Children's Choice Awards
Crenshaw Community Youth & Arts Foundation
Critic's Choice Awards
Crystal Globe Awards

Danish Grammy Awards
Dutch Music Factory Awards

Ebony Magazine
ECHO Awards
Entertainment Tonight

Forbes Magazine
Friday Night Videos

Genesis Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Grammy Awards Grammy Hall of Fame
Guinness Book of World Records

Harry Chapin Memorial
Hollywood Walk of Fame

International Awards

Australia
Brazil
Gabon
Greece Holland
Italy
Japan
The Netherlands
Spain
The United Kingdom
Hong Kong Hit Radio Awards
Irish Music Awards
Le Film Fantastique Awards
Live! Magazine
Mix Magazine
MTV Awards
MTV European Music Awards
MTV Japan Awards
MTV Movie Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Vanguard Awards
Music Connection
Music Video Producers' Hall of Fame
NAACP Image Awards
NARM Gift of Music Awards
National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters
National Urban Coalition Awards
NRJ Awards
Oneness Awards
Operation One to One Awards
People's Choice Awards
Popcorn Magazine
Pop Rock Magazine
Poprocky Magazine
Presidential Awards
Puls Music TV
Radio Music Awards
RIAA Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rolling Stone Awards
Critic's Poll
Reader's Poll
Smash Hits Awards
Smash Hits Poll
Songwriter's Hall of Fame
Soul Train Awards
Hall of Fame
United Negro College Fund
United States Congress
Vanity Fair
Video Software Dealer Association Awards
World Awards
World Music Awards

DISCOGRAPHY
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music and Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
Invincible (2001)

TRANSFORMERS : REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

2009-06-25T02:16:00.000-07:00

Hey the long awaited Transformers Marathon is here, I've blogged the plot since the very first movie in 1986 till the latest one in 2009....For those who just got hooked to the movie, have a refresher on the story then till now...Cheers!!

PLOT :

The film opens with a short prologue narrated by the voice of Optimus Prime. It depicts primitive human beings in the year 17,000 BC hunting a tiger, only to be interrupted by the appearance of the Fallen which begins to attack them. In the background, more Transformers can be seen constructing a gigantic device before the scene fades to black.

Two years after the events of the 2007 film, the Autobots have joined forces with the British and American military to form an organization named NEST to combat the Decepticons hiding out on Earth. Optimus Prime leads NEST into Shanghai, China, to eliminate Decepticons Demolishor and Sideways. He is joined by newcomers including Arcee, Sideswipe, Jolt and the twins Skids and Mudflap. Sideswipe kills Sideways with the help of Arcee and the twins, and Optimus and Ironhide kill Demolishor but not before the Decepticon utters that The Fallen will "rise again".
American National Security Advisor Galloway berates the Autobots and NEST for the massive collateral damage they caused in Shanghai, suggesting that the Autobots leave. While Optimus does agree to this if the President of the United States of America commands it, he questions what will happen if the planet is left defenseless. Soundwave, a Decepticon intelligence officer, hacks into a satellite and discovers the location of Megatron's corpse and the location of a piece of the AllSpark. Soundwave deploys his minion Ravage to retrieve the shard, which he succeeds in accomplishing by deploying hundreds of bug-like looking nanobots that group to form a single robot. Deep within the Laurentian Abyss, the Constructicons and a surgeon-robot named Scalpel revive Megatron using the piece of the AllSpark and parts obtained from sacrificing one of their own. Megatron flies to a Decepticon spacecraft on a planet, where he is reunited with air commander Starscream and The Fallen, Megatron's master. The Decepticons are seen growing hatchling Transformers. However, these die immediately at birth due to insufficient energon, "the life blood" of the transformers. The Fallen intends to destroy the Sun and Earth in the process in order to create more energon.

Sam Witwicky prepares to head off to college, intending to live a normal life. Whilst packing, he finds another shard of the AllSpark which fills his mind with ancient Cybertronian text. The AllSpark fragment burns his hand, and through his room's floor into the kitchen, bringing various appliances to life. The resulting robots are then destroyed by Bumblebee, wrecking the Witwicky family's house in the process.

Sam entrusts the shard to his girlfriend Mikaela, who hides it in her father's safe at the motorcycle workshop she works at. Decepticon Wheelie tries to steal it, but is captured by Mikaela, who catches him with some clippers and locks him into a toolbox she later takes with her.

At college, Sam meets his roommate Leo Spitz, who runs an alien conspiracy website, and a girl named Alice who makes disturbing advances on Sam. Sam begins to constantly get outbreaks of seeing Cybertronian text in his mind, and having the urge to write them on everything. After one of such episodes in his astronomy class, he calls Mikaela and she comes to Sam's aid, finding him being attacked by Alice. When Alice is revealed to be a Decepticon Pretender, Mikaela, Sam and Leo drive off, with Alice chasing them. Mikaela, being the car's driver, disposes of Alice, but while on the highway their car gets carried away by Grindor in his helicopter mode. After Grindor drops them into a building, the trio gets confronted by Megatron, Starscream, Grindor and The Doctor. Sam is then immobilized by Megatron, and as The Doctor prepares to dissect Sam's brain to get information on the location of a new energon signal, Optimus and Bumblebee arrive. Optimus then pursues Megatron to a nearby forest with Sam. Telling Sam to hide, Optimus soon realises it is a trap and is confronted by Megatron, Grindor and Starscream. Optimus takes on all of the Decepticons, killing Grindor and severing Starscreams arm. However, Optimus is impaled through the chest by Megatron and enters stasis lock in a near death state. The rest of the Autobots arrive on the scene and fend off the remaining Decepticons while Sam is evacuated by Bumblebee and the twins.

The Decepticons invade the planet, sinking an aircraft carrier upon their arrival. Soundwave hacks into all television signals to broadcast The Fallen demanding that Sam be surrendered. Meanwhile, Galloway shuts down NEST and Sam's parents are captured by Rampage in Paris.
Sam, Mikaela, Leo, Bumblebee, Wheelie and the twins rendezvous in a remote location to hide Sam. Leo suggests seeking the help of his website rival "RoboWarrior", who is revealed to be former Sector Seven Agent Simmons. Simmons reveals his hidden archive of alien research and explains the history of the Transformers on Earth. It is explained by Wheelie that the language Sam sees is of the Dynasty of Primes, the original seven Transformers who powered the AllSpark like a battery by destroying suns. Wheelie leads the group to Jetfire, an old Seeker who joined the Autobots due to "personal choice". When Wheelie hears Jetfire's reason for changing sides, he too decides to join the Autobots. After getting updated on the situation, Jetfire uses a space bridge to teleport the group to Egypt. Upon arrival, Sam injures his left hand while everyone else is ejected out of the space bridge in different directions. After everyone regroups, Jetfire explains that the Primes used the suns to power the AllSpark by using machines called Sun Harvesters, which uses the Matrix of Leadership as a key. The Primes, however, maintained that the Sun Harvester not be used in a star system with life forms. One of their own — now known as The Fallen — betrayed them, and sparked the war for the AllSpark. The other Primes defeated The Fallen and then sacrificed themselves to seal away the Matrix in a tomb hidden somewhere in the desert.

Through clues, the Matrix is found in Petra but it crumbles to dust in Sam's hands. Nevertheless, Sam piles the dust into his sock. Simmons contacts Major William Lennox and his troops and asks them to bring the Autobots and Optimus' corpse to Egypt so Optimus can be revived, a Prime being the only one capable of killing The Fallen. The military arrive but so do the Decepticons. Leo, Simmons and the twins face off against Devastator, the combined form of several Constructicons, who scales a pyramid to uncover the Sun Harvester. Devastator is ultimately destroyed by a rail gun round fired from a nearby destroyer on Simmons' orders.
Bumblebee rescues Sam's parents, killing both Ravage and Rampage, while two of Arcee's bike modes are mortally wounded in the fight.Additional reinforcements are summoned, killing Long Haul, Scrapper and Hightower. However, Sam is caught in the attack and is severely injured by Megatron, rendering him unconscious. While in this state, Sam has a vision of the Dynasty of Primes. He then reawakens, telling Mikaela that he loves her just as the Matrix regenerates, and uses it to revive Optimus. However, before Optimus can be fully revived, The Fallen travels through a space bridge and takes the Matrix back out of Optimus' spark.

After killing Mixmaster, Jetfire fights and kills Scorponok, but is mortally wounded. He then gives up his own spark and parts to Optimus, which are attached with the help of Jolt and Ratchet. Optimus uses his new strength to destroy the Sun Harvester and kill The Fallen with Megatron and Starscream making a tactical retreat.

The film concludes with Optimus proclaiming that the Transformers and humans now share an untold history and will combine their differences.

TRANSFORMERS: 2007

2009-06-25T01:59:00.000-07:00

Sam Witwicky, a teenager involved in a war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, two factions of alien robots who can disguise themselves by transforming into everyday machinery. The Decepticons desire control of the All Spark, the object that created their robotic race, with the intention of using it to build an army by giving life to the machines of Earth. Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson and John Turturro also star, while Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving provide the voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively.

PLOT :

The film opens with Optimus Prime, heroic leader of the benevolent Autobots, describing in a voice-over the destruction of the Transformers' home world, Cybertron. It was destroyed by the evil Decepticon leader Megatron in his quest to obtain the All Spark. The Autobots want to find the All Spark so they can use it to rebuild Cybertron and end the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, while the Decepticons want to use it to defeat the Autobots and conquer the universe. Megatron managed to locate the All Spark on Earth, but crash-landed in the Arctic Circle and was frozen in the ice. Captain Archibald Witwicky and his crew of explorers stumbled upon Megatron's body in 1897. Captain Witwicky accidentally activated Megatron's navigational system and his eye glasses were imprinted with the coordinates of the All Spark's location, an incident that left him blind and mentally unstable. Sector 7, a secret United States government organization founded by Herbert Hoover, discovered the All Spark in the Colorado River and built the Hoover Dam around it to mask its energy emissions. The still-frozen Megatron was moved into this facility and was used to advance human technology through reverse engineering.

In the present day, the group of Decepticons — Blackout, Scorponok, Frenzy, Barricade, Starscream, Devastator and Bonecrusher — have landed on Earth and assumed the disguise of Earth vehicles (except Scorponok, who hides within Blackout). Blackout and Scorponok attack the U.S. SOCCENT forward operations base in Qatar and try to hack into the U.S. Military network to find the location of Megatron and the All Spark. Their mission is thwarted when the base staff severs the network cable connections. While Blackout destroys the rest of the base, Scorponok chases a small group of survivors, lead by Captain William Lennox and Sergeant Richard Epps, who have photographic evidence of the robots. Scorponok is eventually repelled and, after his tail was damaged, hides in the sand. During this battle, the military discovers the only effective weapons against the Transformers' armor are high-heat sabot rounds.
After Blackout's failure, Frenzy infiltrates Air Force One to again hack into the military network, planting a computer virus. He finds the map imprinted on the Captain Witwicky's glasses. Frenzy's plan is interrupted by the Pentagon but finds that Witwicky's descendant Sam Witwicky intends to sell the glasses on eBay. Frenzy and Barricade begin tracking Sam's location. Autobot scout Bumblebee is also on Earth, disguised as a 1976 Chevrolet Camaro, and is bought by Sam while shopping for his first car. Bumblebee helps him woo his crush, Mikaela Banes. Bumblebee leaves at night to transmit a homing signal to the rest of the Autobots. Sam pursues Bumblebee, thinking someone is stealing his car, but is shocked to find his car is actually a giant robot. After an incident, Sam is arrested, and, in the police station, tries to explain the police officer what happened, but the officer just assumes he's on drugs. When Bumblebee (in car mode) returns the following day, Sam leaves, believing the car is stalking him. While out, Sam is attacked by Barricade, who interrogates him about his grandfather's glasses. He and Mikaela, whom he ran into while running away, are saved by Bumblebee. Frenzy's head was severed by Mikaela, but he morphs into Mikaela's cellphone and hides in her purse. They leave to rendezvous with the rest of the Autobots — Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet — who have landed on Earth and taken the forms of Earth vehicles as well. Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots return to Sam's home and obtain the glasses; however, agents from Sector 7 arrive and take Sam and Mikaela into custody. The Autobots intervene, but Sector 7 captures Bumblebee and sends Sam and Mikaela away.

Sam and Mikaela are taken to Hoover Dam, as are Lennox and Epps, under Defense Secretary John Keller's orders. Frenzy sends an alert to the other Decepticons and sneaks into the computer system, freeing Megatron from his frozen state. Sam convinces the Sector 7 agents to release Bumblebee so that he can deliver the All Spark to Optimus Prime. Frenzy's virus has shut down government communications, but Keller and two hackers, Maggie and Glen, manage to establish a signal to the Air Force in order to support the Autobot-human convoy, who have gone to nearby Mission City to hide the All Spark. The Decepticons attack and Bonecrusher, Frenzy, Jazz, Devastator and Blackout are all killed during the ensuing battle. Sam, who was instructed to put the All Spark into Optimus Prime's chest (subsequently destroying it and Optimus Prime if the battle went in Megatron's favor), instead chooses to ram the All Spark cube into Megatron's chest. The All Spark disintegrates, and its power kills Megatron. Optimus takes a fragment of the All Spark from Megatron's corpse, but realizes that with its destruction, their home world Cybertron cannot be restored. The government orders the closure of Sector 7 and has the dead Decepticons dumped into the Laurentian Abyss. Lennox and Epps are reunited with their families, and Sam and Mikaela form a relationship. Optimus transmits a message to all surviving Autobots in space, telling them that they have a new home on Earth.During the credits, Starscream, who fled the battle in Mission City, escapes into space.

THE TRANSFORMERS : THE MOVIE (1986)

2009-06-25T01:36:00.000-07:00

The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986.The film was directed by Nelson Shin, who produced the original Transformers television series, and features the voices of Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Casey Kasem, Robert Stack, John Moschitta, Jr., Peter Cullen and Frank Welker. It was also the final role for both Orson Welles and Scatman Crothers.

The story takes place in 2005, 20 years after the events of the TV series' second season and serves to bridge into the third season. Set to a hard-driving metal music soundtrack, the movie has a decidedly darker tone than the television series, with detailed visuals in Toei Animation's typical animated feature film styling, and Decepticon villains that are more menacing, killing without hesitation. The film features several grand battles in which a handful of major characters meet their end.

PLOT:

Unicron, a space-roaming artificial planet, destroys and eats robot planet Lithone, along with its population. A few of the inhabitants attempt to flee the planet in spaceships but only one gets away.

It is revealed that the evil Decepticons have gained control of the Transformers' homeworld, Cybertron at some point in the intervening twenty years since the beginning of the struggle between the robotic warriors on Earth. The heroic Autobots are readying themselves on two of Cybertron's moons for a strike against the Decepticons, preparing a supply shuttle for launch to Autobot City on Earth. Their transmission is intercepted by the Decepticons, who ambush the shuttle and kill its crew, consisting of Ironhide, Ratchet, Prowl, and Brawn. The Decepticons then attempt to use the ship to infiltrate Autobot City on Earth without being detected.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Daniel Witwicky and Hot Rod fish in a lake nearby Autobot City, discussing Daniel's loneliness, as his father Spike is on one of the Autobot moon bases. They pick up the shuttle's signature, and race up to Lookout Mountain to see it land, irritating the old Autobot Kup in the process. They notice its damaged exterior and spot Decepticons, upon which Hot Rod fires at the stowaways. After a brief battle pitting Hot Rod and Kup against the Decepticons Blitzwing and Shrapnel, the Decepticons begin their attack on Autobot City. The outnumbered Autobots, including Autobot City Commander Ultra Magnus, Blurr, Springer, Perceptor, and female Autobot Arcee, transform Autobot City into a battle fortress and both sides settle down for a long siege that lasts the rest of the day and all of the following night. Early in the battle, Ultra Magnus sends orders to alert Blaster to radio for assistance from their commander Optimus Prime. An attempt to thwart the transmission by Soundwave and his cassette Decepticons fails, and the next morning Optimus and the Dinobots arrive to successfully repel the Decepticon invaders, including the here far more competent Devastator, who is displayed as being far more effective and brutal when compared to his depictions in the Television series prior to the release of the film.

Upon arriving, Optimus almost single-handedly takes down many Decepticons before confronting his arch-enemy Megatron. Optimus and Megatron engage in a memorable final battle that leaves Optimus mortally wounded, due to the untimely, though well-intentioned, intervention of Hot Rod. Optimus manages to turn the tide of battle however and defeats Megatron. Starscream takes command of the Decepticons and orders a retreat with their fallen leader and other war-wounded loaded aboard Astrotrain for transport back to Cybertron.
Inside Autobot City's walls, Perceptor alerts the other Autobots that the wounds that Optimus has suffered during his battle with Megatron are fatal. The dying Optimus calls on Ultra Magnus to assume command of the Autobots and bestows him with the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, which Optimus extracts from his chest. Optimus asserts that the Matrix one day will light the Autobots' darkest hour, right before he dies. Back in space, Astrotrain's shortage of fuel prompts the Decepticons to eject the dead weight of their injured — including the protesting Megatron. This leaves the remaining Decepticons lieutenants, including Starscream, Soundwave, and the Constructicons, to bicker among themselves for leadership.

Drifting aimlessly, the Decepticon castoffs encounter Unicron, who offers to give Megatron and the others new bodies on the condition that they destroy the Autobot Matrix, which, Unicron says, is the only thing that can stand in his way. Megatron reluctantly agrees, and Unicron uses his power to convert Megatron into a new form: the powerful Decepticon warrior christened "Galvatron". His damaged underlings were also reformatted into Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Sweeps. Unicron provides them with a craft on which they travel to Cybertron, where Galvatron confronts and obliterates the treacherous Starscream and takes command of the Decepticons, as his alter-ego Megatron did before him.

Back on Earth, the Autobots are alerted as Unicron consumes Cybertron's two moons, along with Autobots Jazz, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Daniel's father Spike (who are ultimately rescued). Galvatron leads the Decepticons in another assault on Autobot City. The Autobots board a pair of shuttles and flee toward their threatened planet of Cybertron. Hot Rod, Kup and the Dinobots are shot down over the planet Quintessa, while Ultra Magnus and company evade their pursuers and set down on the planet Junk for repairs.

Captured by Quintessa guardsmen, Hot Rod and Kup witness the sentencing and execution of Arbulus, a native of Lithone, and are then subjected to a mock trial by Quintesson executioners. Before the trial, they see Kranix, now Lithone's last survivor, who then tells them about Unicron, before he's taken away by the Quintessa guardsmen to also be fed to the Sharkticons. At the trial, Hot Rod and Kup battle the Sharkticons with determination, but luckily they are rescued by the arrival of the Dinobots. Dinobot Grimlock intimidates the Sharkticons to rebel against the Quintessons with ease, while the Autobots escape. With help from the Dinobots' new ally, Wheelie, the group locate a ship and depart for the planet to join the other Autobots.

Meanwhile, Galvatron finds and hunts down the Autobots on Junk. Ultra Magnus tries but fails to awaken the Matrix's powers, and then is destroyed by the Sweeps. Galvatron, no longer willing to serve Unicron due to being put through a form of psionic torture by Unicron on two occasions already, steals the Matrix, stating that he intends to use it to make Unicron his slave. The remaining Autobots are harassed by hostile Junkion natives, led by Wreck-Gar, until Hot Rod's party touches down to befriend them. The Junkion allies repair Ultra Magnus and volunteer a vessel to help the Autobots fight against Unicron.

Back in space, Galvatron attempts to subjugate Unicron using the Matrix but is unable to unleash its power. Unicron, saying that Galvatron underestimates him, transforms into a huge planet-sized robot and attacks Cybertron. As protest against this, Galvatron opens fire on Unicron, but Unicron simply swallows him up. Decepticon defenders scramble to counter Unicron's attack, to no avail. When the Autobots reach the scene, Hot Rod crashes their ship through one of the giant's eyes and then they find themselves separated within Unicron's body. Meanwhile, Wreck-Gar and his Junkions fight back against Unicron, but Unicron crushes their ship. However they survive. The Dinobots also attack Unicron from behind, but to no avail.
Inside, Hot Rod fights the recently consumed Galvatron. Hot Rod secures his grip on the Matrix, and the power of The Matrix is unleashed, transforming him into Rodimus Prime. Rodimus unleashes its power to destroy Unicron from within, but not before he throws Galvatron deep into space. Rodimus leads the other Autobots out of Unicron's body before it explodes, sprawling parts of the giant across the galaxy. The Autobots, triumphant and now seeming to outnumber the Decepticons in the aftermath of Unicron's assault on the planet, reclaim Cybertron. The final scene depicts Unicron's heavily damaged head floating through space in orbit around Cybertron as a new satellite.

LATEST UPDATES ON H1N1(SWINE FLU)

2009-06-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

As of 23rd June ,Singapore has confirmed another 26 new cases (169th to 194th cases) of Influenza A (H1N1-2009) comprising 10 local cases and 16 cases with travel history. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Singapore to 194.

Ten of the new cases are local transmissions. Of these, four are from the Butter Factory cluster, a popular night spot.One is from River Life Church and another is from the Singapore Armed Forces Maju Camp. The rest are unlinked cases, infected from those who had travelled overseas.
The World Health Organization has raised the pandemic alert phase for Influenza A (H1N1) to Phase 6 from Phase 5. This phase indicates a pandemic of Influenza A (H1N1). At this time, WHO considers the overall severity of the influenza pandemic to be moderate. But it is concerned about current patterns of serious cases and deaths that are occurring primarily among young persons, including the previously healthy and those with pre-existing medical conditions or pregnancy. Large outbreaks of disease have not yet been reported in many countries, and the full clinical spectrum of disease is not yet known.

LEE MIN HO

2009-06-22T05:24:00.000-07:00

He's Cute,Hot & Gorgeous...
Wat else can you ask for in a guy!!!WhooHoo........
Who Is Lee Min Ho, really?

Profile:

Name: Lee Min Ho

Profession: Actor / Model

Birthdate: 1987-Jun-22

Height: 185cm

Star sign: Cancer

Blood type: A

TV Series:

Boys Before Flowers as Go Jun Pyo ( 2008)

But I Don’t Know too as Min Wook Gi ( 2008)

I’m Sam as Heo Mo Se (2007)

Mackerel Run as Cha Gong Chan ( 2007)

Secret Campus as Park Doo Hyun (2006)

Love Hymn ( 2005)

Movies:

Our School E.T (2008)

Public Enemy Returns (2008)

Lee Min Ho is a South Korean actor who is best known for his leading role as the leader of F4, Goo Jun Pyo, in the Korean adaptation of the popular manga series, Hana Yori Dango, titled Boys Over Flowers, in 2009. He started his career in 2006 since then has been cast in various TV serials, short dramas and minor movie roles.

DURING AN INTERVIEW ON ISPLUS(KOREAN CHANNEL)

IS: The Baeksang Arts Awards fall (referring to Min-ho tripping on the Red Carpet) was a hot topic.
LMH: Yeah what a silly mistake and I was embarrassed. But my fans did cheer me on and I could see the love of the fans.

IS: What is your motto in life?
LMH: Not to give up on my goals. Victory is not as important as possessing a fighting spirit. My motto is to not give up even if I fail. I think to have that attitude is just beautiful.

IS: What was the biggest crisis in your life to date?
LMH: There was this traffic accident in 2006. I had to stay in the hospital for 6 months. At first I was frustrated and I couldn't even walk. But I am glad I overcame that.

IS: How do you relieve stress?
LMH: Just sleep. Sleep until the stress disappears. I have slept for 24 hours previously. (Ha ha ha...Orchid likes this! I could sleep all day too!)

IS: What's your sleeping habit like?
LMH: I grind my teeth and talk in my sleep, which is why my pals don't want to sleep with me when we travel.

IS: When and where was your first kiss?
LMH: It was when I was a freshman in high school. I kissed my girlfriend, standing right in front of her house.

IS: What do you think most women want as a gift?
LMH: If I had a girlfriend, that would be good. Women want you to be their best friend. That's the best gift of all.

IS: When was the last time you dated and had a girlfriend?
LMH: When I was 20. I haven't had a girlfriend since University.

IS: What is your ideal type of woman?
LMH: I think more of her overall style and my feeling toward her than her appearance. I'm drawn to a woman, although not pretty, that appeals to my feeling strongly.

IS: If you had a lover, which term of endearment would you use to call her?
LMH: It depends on the style of the woman (literal translation. But i guess he means the term of endearment he will use depends on what kind of woman she is. There is no fixed term for all.)

IS: What if your parents were against your marriage -- like in the character Gu Jun-pyo?
LMH: We will run away and elope.

IS: Which actress would you like to work with in future?
LMH: Song Hye-kyo sunbae. She is elegant and classy and has loads of charisma and possesses excellent acting skills. Should I get a chance to work with her, I would be able to learn a lot and no doubt be very nervous. (Ahem...sounds like he has a crush on Song Hye-kyo.)

IS: Person whom you most want to meet?
LMH: I want to meet Hollywood actor Edward Norton. He has a laid back, comfortable charisma that is so impressive. When I meet him, I will ask "Will you teach me how?" But I must brush up on my English first.

IS: Who is your favourite sports star?
LMH: Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. It was my dream in elementary school to become a professional soccer player. If I continued to play football, I hope to be a player like Cristiano Ronaldo now.

IS: What's your favourite food and what dish do you cook well?
LMH: I like meat. Recipe? Just roast it. I have a secret roasting process. Beef, pork or chicken, I use the same recipe.

IS: What do you always carry in your bag?
LMH: Cologne / Perfume. I always like to smell nice.

IS: What is your favourite drink?
LMH: I usually don't drink alcohol. Three cups of soju is my limit. I like hard liquor.

IS: Do you have a jinx or habit?
LMH: Whenever I'm in a drama or movie, I injure myself. I have to be extra careful.

IS: What three things would you bring to a desert island?
LMH: A bed, lighter and my mobile phone. Having a nice bed to sleep on would be good (yes! i agree with this!!). On a deserted island, your food should be cooked - hence the lighter. I could cook fish. I would be so bored on a deserted island that I would play with all the games I downloaded to my mobile phone.

IS: What do you envy of your F4 members?
LMH: Kim Bum's small face, Kim Joon's big eyes, Kim Hyun-joong's fair complexion. As for the whole package, I am actually the best. (ha ha ha)

DID YOU KNOW

2009-06-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

Jang Ja Yeon suicide by hanging on March 7th 2009 at the age of 26 due to stress and depression. South-Korean actress best known from "Boys over flowers"(hana yori dango korean version) as Sunny. She had suffered from depression and stress, and received medical treatment for her illness during the past year. She left behind letters explaining that she was forced to have sex with some producers and when she complained about this to her company they would beat and threaten her. On her last day she called her sister and said "it's too difficult, i want to die". Her sister came home after she couldn't reach her on the phone anymore, but it was too late, she was already dead.

Korean Drama Saga : Boys Before Flowers

2009-06-20T22:47:00.001-07:00

Yet another great drama in korean.I must comment this was much better than FullHouse. The characters were strong and compared to the Taiwan's "Meteor Garden" and Japan's "Hana Yori Dango" this Korean version was much more well produced. The lead characters acted really well, and the storyline was great.

Here's a brief summary of the storyline :

Jan Di is an average girl whose family owns a dry-cleaning shop that is located near the luxurious and well-known Shin Hwa College. Jan Di meets the four most richest and spoiled boys when she delivers laundry to the school one day. The boys are known as the F4 and cause trouble to those who speak out against them.
Catch "Boys b4 Flowers" @ MySoju.com

FULLHOUSE

2009-05-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been like so hooked to korean soap dramas,and I've become a fan of Rain Bi.

He's soooooo cute and charming.

Anyway you should catch this soap "FullHouse"...A story about love and heartbreak, sadness and self-preservation.A naive, cheerful albeit, somewhat of a recluse writer, swindled out of everything she owns. Not by strangers, but her best friends! Stranded in China, she is determined to get home with the help of an actor. She borrows money from him after coming up with a clever lie and plans to pay him back after landing in Korea, only to find that all which is precious to her has been sold. In an attempt to get her possessions back, she has entered in a contract marriage for one year. It is quite simple, until strong feelings start to develop. Everyone around them test the "love" they have for one another.
In spite of it all, the female lead role remains to be humorous and endearing - even when her heart is breaking.

I bet my life you'll never regret.... And thanks Rosza and Nicole for having me addicted to the drama..

Still looking out for the song "Fate" by korean artist Why.

Gone For The Weekend

2009-05-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

MARK & MAGGIE

Maya / Lucky / Maundy

Rocky & Phoebe

Mark & Maggie are gone for the weekend to Hubby's place, along with Jacintha. Sleeping without them was so different last night. The house felt so empty without them, and my bed seemed so unoccupied despite having Maya, the 4 pups, my sister and brother sleeping next to me....can't wait to see them back at home tonight...

Tomorrow's gonna be a super long off day for me. I'm gonna be home till thursday...Guess I'll be hybernating back in my cave!!!

ALL ABOUT MOTHERS!

2009-05-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

All About Mothers
These answers were given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
Mostly to clean the house.
To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
We're related.
God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?
My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
His last name.
She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
She got too old to do anything else with him.
My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
Mothers don't do spare time.
To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

MY PERFECT MOM

Since the moment I entered this world,

She have cared for me like no other.

There is only one word to describe her,

That is in every way a perfect Mother.

In the years she has watched me grow

So many memories we can now replay.

She's been there to love and protect me,

From my birth to this very day.

When there's a cloud covering my path,

Or a problem I am about to face.

She'll be the one wipe away my tears,

And put everything back in its place.

Her warm touch is one of a kind,

So gentle to send me to sleep.

Her voice is one of an angels,

A beauty only she deserve to keep.

The way she always make me smile

And the way she play with my hair.

When I need to talk, she'll put me first,

So I know how much she care.

The sun in her heart will continue,

To shine in the future in all she do.

The most special person in my life by far,

I'm happy to say is my MOM!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY...

Caught Finally : Mas Selamat

2009-05-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Born on 23 January 1961, in Kendal, Central Java, Mas Selamat grew up in Kaki Bukit leading a typical childhood kampung life. He attended the Kaki Bukit Primary School, and was known simply as "Selamat" to his neighbors. In the early 1980s, Mas Selamat moved to a flat in Bedok Reservoir and became married with five children.Mas Selamat was believed to begin his involvement in the 1990s when he joined Darul Islam, a precursor movement to the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group. By 1992, he had joined the Singapore JI cell and was sent to Afghanistan for training a year later. In 1998, he studied the Taliban system of government and returned home 'deeply impressed'.According to Singapore intelligence authorities, Mas Selamat has met Hambali, the leader of JI, and discussed various terror plots including hijacking a plane from Bangkok and crash it into Singapore Changi Airport. He escaped from Singapore in 2001 before authorities conducted a massive operation to arrest 13 suspected JI members in December 2001.Mas Selamat had earlier been arrested in February 2003 in the island of Bintan, Indonesia, to assist Indonesian police in their investigations of several bombings in Indonesia in 2001 and 2002. Mas Selamat had changed his identity, assuming the name of Edy Heriyanto and obtained an Indonesian passport. Found in his possession were literature on making bombs and the virtue of suicide. He was jailed for 18 months in 2003 for immigration offences. He was, however, not handed over to Singapore upon his release, since Indonesia and Singapore do not yet have an extradition treaty. During this period of imprisonment, he broke his left leg in a botched attempt to escape when he jumped from a high floor, resulting him walking in a permanent limp.

On 20 January 2006, he was arrested again for using a fake identity card in Java, where he was visiting his son who was said to be studying at a religious school there. Singapore requested for Mas Selamat's extradition and he was handed over to Singapore on February 3, 2006,where he was detained in Singapore under the Internal Security Act without trial. The Malaysian intelligence authorities also wanted to question Mas Selamat who had made frequent visits to Johor before fleeing to Indonesia.

At 4.05pm on Wednesday, February 27, 2008, the JI leader escaped from the Internal Security Department's Whitley Road Detention Centre where he was being detained. His family were visiting him at the time, and he was being led to a room to meet them when he asked to go to the toilet. He then fled.A massive manhunt comprising personnel from the Singapore Police Force, the Gurkha Contingent, the Police Tactical Unit and the Police National Service Key Installation Protection Unit were deployed in the vicinity of the area immediately after the escape. They were later aided by members of the Singapore Guards and the Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command, before the operation was wound down over 17 hours later without success in locating the fugitive, who was believed to be unarmed.
Authorities said security was very tight at the detention centre and conducted an independent study to determine how the fugitive escaped.Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng acknowledged that a security lapse led to his escape, and that everything was being done to recapture Mas Selamat.The Onraet Road facility has armed guards, high wire fences and CCTV cameras. Reactions to the escape were filled with surprise and disbelief in what Western observers describe as a country where "security breaches are virtually unheard of",brought serious embarrassment to the Singapore government,and many questions raised by the public and the press.Security around the schools in the area was also beefed up to assure worried parents.Indonesia and Malaysia announced that they stepped up their own border security in the wake of this incident.. Government authorities received more than 1100 calls on sightings of Mas Selamat. The earliest sighting of him was in a back road near MacRitchie Reservoir leading to Toa Payoh Lorong 1 right behind Braddell View Estates.
An urgent worldwide security alert, or Orange Notice, was issued by INTERPOL to each of its 186 National Central Bureaus following a request from Singapore.The alert was later changed to red.Wanted posters of Mas Selamat were put up in shopping centers, buses, train stations and even schools islandwide to appeal for the public to inform Police should they spot him, and leaflets given out by volunteers to members of the Public.The three telecommunications companies in Singapore sent out Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages starting on 1 March 2008 to all 5.5 million subscribers with Mas Selamat's photograph, as well as email messages to SingNet Internet users.The MMS read "Please call 999 immediately if you see Mas Selamat bin Kastari. He is short (1.58m tall) and limps on his left leg. Thank you." Lockdowns at border and immigration checkpoints also resulted in much longer queues for people leaving Singapore.There were conflicting reports on the whereabouts of Mas Selamat. While Singaporean police initially believed that he remained in Singapore,others such as Malaysia's The Star reported that he may have fled to Indonesia via a speedboat ride.

On 21 July 2008, a cash reward of one million dollars was offered for information leading to the apprehension of Mas Selamat. The million dollar reward was put up by two private individuals who had approached the Home Affairs Ministry, wishing to remain anonymous.

On 8 May 2009, the media in Singapore reported that Mas Selamat had been captured by Malaysian authorities in Johor, Malaysia.This report was later confirmed by both the Singapore and Malaysian governments, with the date of capture given as 1 April 2009.Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed that Mas Selamat is being held under the Internal Security Act, saying that he was "planning something, which allowed us to arrest him".Hishammuddin declined to give details, since the case is sensitive as it involves intelligence agencies of Singapore, Indonesia as well as Malaysia.Inspector-General of Malaysian Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said that the arrest was made possible as the involved parties had been sharing intelligence reports since his escape.According to the media, Mas Selamat was captured in a secluded house in Skudai, 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Johor Bahru.Several people who had helped Mas Selamat to hide in the country were arrested along with him, and the news of the arrest was undisclosed for weeks to enable investigations into his network in Malaysia.

Injections & Infections

2009-05-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

Woke up last morning @ 9.30am juz to discover a sore on my left arm and a high fever at 37.8C. The pain was unbearable...Called my baby to fetch me to the nearest clinic...informed my colleauges and boss that i won't be turning up for work. Left home and rushed down to the clinic. Doctor's diagnosis was infection due to the flu vaccine i got myself the other day @ work.So for the rest of the guys who've got the vaccine juz like me here's some tips on the side effects:

What side effects can occur with flu vaccination?

Side effects of the inactivated flu vaccine are not common. Side effects include soreness at the site of the injection, muscle aching, fever, and feeling unwell. Very rarely, serious allergic reactions have been reported.

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an illness characterized by fever, nerve damage, and muscle weakness. In 1976, vaccination with the swine flu vaccine was associated with development of GBS. Studies have been done to evaluate if other flu vaccines were associated with GBS, with only one of the studies showing an association. That single study suggested that one person out of 1 million vaccinated persons may be at risk of GBS associated with the vaccine.

The Belitung Shipwreck

2009-05-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, I was able to catch an exhibition about the shipwreck laden with Tang Dynasty treasures that sunk off Belitung island in the 9th century. What was it about this shipwreck that made it so spectacular? What treasures were stored aboard the ship and where was it headed? And what did the Belitung Shipwreck tell us about maritime trade n Asia and Southeast Asia at that time?

The Belitung Shipwreck was discovered in 1998 - like most shipwrecks, this one was discovered by chance by some fisherman. The wreck rested on relatively shallow waters - about 17 metres below the sea-level and recovery of the wreck took about two years. It is currently the oldest shipwreck in Southeast Asian waters.

The majority of the cargo (some 60,000 pieces) recovered consists of ceramics, most of which are Changsha ware. Changsha ware was mass produced for export in Tang China, and the dates imprinted on a couple of the bowls place the shipwreck from between 826 and 850AD. Other significant finds from the wreck include lead ballasts, some pieces of resin which would have come from Sumatra, pillow-shaped silver ingots, a number of gold vessels and several rare pieces of high-fired blue-and-white, white ware and Yue wares.

The wreck’s construction strongly suggests that the ship was of Arab or Indian origin: stitched hull planks, the lack of wooden dowels or iron fastenings and later, the identification of the wood type. Combined with the large number of export ware, this find suggests the existence of a Maritime Silk Route, a direct trading link between China and the Arab lands as early as the 9th century.

Dr Rosemary Scott, who gave the lecture on the Belitung Wreck in June goes even further to suggest that the wreck is possibly the most important wreck uncovered to date because the evidence strongly suggests the presence of a Maritime Silk Route, rather than through the role of intermediaries like Srivijaya. Besides the ship’s construction, other evidence for this direct link include the small number of Changsha ware inscribed with “salaam” and other Arabic verse, and the presence of the rare ceramics, all of which have a close association with the imperial court. This in turn suggests the importance of this particular cargo as a form of royal tribute. While Changsha ware is found just about everywhere in the ancient world (all the way to India, Persia and the Near East), the Yue and Xing wares have been found only in a handful of Near Eastern sites, including the ancient city of Samarra in Iraq.

An interesting point about the Belitung shipwreck was its location. Ships plying between China and India would have come down the Malacca strait, into the sphere of Srivijaya influence. Ships would possibly call at the Srivijayan capital at Palembang, before sailing to the Riau islands and up north again to China. The Belitung shipwreck is located a little too far south. Given that the majority of the shipwreck’s cargo was mainly for the Persian market rather than the coastal ports of Srivijaya, the ship would bypass the major Srivijayan markets and take an alternative route through the Sunda Strait (between Sumatra and Java), before heading northwest to India - stil Srivijayan territory, but not as important as the ones along the Malaccan strait..

The H1N1 (SWINE FLU) Outbreak

2009-05-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

This morning i just got myself a flu vaccination for free @ work, thanks to the recent outbreak of the H1N1 or Swine Flu.Everyone assumes that the pandemic is caused by consuming pork. Well here my friends are the outlook of the pandemic for you :

Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, also known as A(H1N1), is a subtype of influenzavirus A and the most common cause of influenza (flu) in humans. Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans, including the strain(s) responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic which killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Less virulent H1N1 strains still exist in the wild today, worldwide, causing a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a large fraction of all seasonal influenza. H1N1 strains caused roughly half of all flu infections in 2006.Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs and in birds.
Influenza A virus strains are categorized according to two proteins found on the surface of the virus: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). All influenza A viruses contain hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, but the structure of these proteins differs from strain to strain due to rapid genetic mutation in the viral genome.

Influenza A virus strains are assigned an H number and an N number based on which forms of these two proteins the strain contains. There are 16 H and 9 N subtypes known in birds, but only H 1, 2 and 3, and N 1 and 2 are commonly found in humans.There is no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products.

Is it safe to eat pork and pork products?
Yes. influenza A(H1N1) has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork (pig meat) or other products derived from pigs. The influenza A(H1N1) virus is killed by cooking temperatures of 160°F/70°C, corresponding to the general guidance for the preparation of pork and other meat.

How can I protect myself and prevent illness?
Practise general preventive measures for influenza to prevent infection:
Avoid close contact with people who appear unwell and have fever and cough;
wash your hands with soap and water thoroughly and often;
practise good health habits including adequate sleep, eating nutritious food, and keeping physically active.

How do I care for an ill person at home?
Separate the ill person from others, keeping the person at least 1 metre in distance from others.
Cover your mouth and nose when caring for the ill person. Either commercial or homemade materials are fine, as long as they are disposed of or cleaned properly after use.

Wash your hands with soap and water thoroughly after each contact with the ill person.
Improve the air flow where the ill person stays. Use doors and windows to take advantage of breezes.
Keep the environment clean with readily available household cleaning agents.
If you are living in a country where there are infections follow additional advice from your national and local health authorities.

What should I do if I think I have the illness?
If you feel unwell, have high fever, cough or sore throat:
Stay at home and keep away from work, school or crowds.
Rest and take plenty of fluids.

Cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissues when coughing and sneezing, and dispose of the used tissues properly.
Wash your hands with soap and water often and thoroughly, especially after coughing or sneezing. Inform family and friends about your illness and try to avoid contact with other people.

What should I do if I need medical attention?

Contact your doctor or healthcare provider before travelling to a health facility, and report your symptoms. Explain why you think you have influenza A(H1N1) (if you have recently travelled to a country where there is an outbreak in humans). Follow the advice given to you.
If it is not possible to contact your healthcare provider in advance, communicate your suspicion of infection as soon as you arrive at the facility.Cover your nose and mouth during travel.

A Boring Weekend

2009-04-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads. This can be traced back to the very beginning of the world. The gods were bored; therefore they created human beings.

Lucy Angela's 28th Death Anniversary - 22/04/2009

2009-04-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

My grandmother's 28th death anniversary. Every year on this day the whole family from my mum's generation till my nieces and nephews would gather in my elders uncle's place to pay our respects to my grandmother by conducting a short prayer, with offering of her favourite foods, fruits,drinks etc etc without fail. This year was the same, only diff was the food offerings got larger in quantity as the family bloodlines are expanding by the years.

Anyway,this year was really a memorable one. My mum consumed something that she had an allergy to, and she had a verybad reaction to it. Her whole face swelled up like a goldfish!! She looked no different from the monkey god that the chinese worship.....Myself, my sister and my cousin rushed her to the hospital-TTSH immediately, these are the times where having a car is like a godsent....reached TTSH at 3.00am waited for 20mins and she was admitted for observation.

I had to go back to my uncle's place to fetch my dad and niece send them back home, took a quick nap and rushed down again to the hospital the following morning at 7.00am....my eye were almost tearing in fatigue...waited for the doctor to arrive which was almost 3.00pm, reviewes my mum's condition and discharged her.

Now she's recuperating at home.....
Thank God!!

21-10-1981 ~ Present Day

2009-04-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

Born on the 21st of October 1981, I was the second child in my family,well actually i'm considered the 3rd. The 2nd child was a baby girl too but she was still born,afterwhich I was born months later. I was diagnoised with cardiac defect, in laymen term a hole in the heart.
I lived in a small heartland known as Ang Mo Kio, in a family of five. My parents, an elder brother and a younger sister. We lived there for 16years, and moved out in 1997 to Choa Chu Kang. In other words, I completed my education while my residence in AMK. My career took off once we shifted to CCK. I was in the Republic of S'pore Navy for 10years, completed my service in Jun'08 and joined the Certis Cisco in Nov'08

And so life goes on.....