[Lady Gaga]Japan quake strikes a chord with celebrities

US celebrities are rallying their fans to raise money for survivors of the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan, with Lady Gaga leading the charge and raising $250,000 in 48 hours.

The larger-than-life pop icon announced her plan Monday to raise money for Japan by selling red and white wristbands bearing the message "We Pray for Japan(日本の為に祈りを)" for $5 a piece via her online merchandise website.

Forty-eight hours later, Gaga posted a new tweet praising her fans for ordering 50,000 of the wristbands.

"Monsters: in just 48 hrs you've raised a quarter of a million dollars for Japan Relief," Gaga said Wednesday on Twitter.

On the same day that Gaga launched her wristwear, rock band Linkin Park began taking orders on its website for T-shirts to raise money for Japan, where 13,000 people are dead or missing after a 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami.

Both the shirts were designed by band member Mike Shinoda, whose father is Japanese-American. One featured an origami butterfly against a black background and the other has the words "Not Alone," the name of a song by Linkin Park.

The T-shirts cost $25 each and 100 percent of proceeds from sales will be donated to Music for Relief, a group of artists, industry professionals and music fans that works to support disaster relief, Shinoda said on Twitter.

Shinoda tweeted that he is also working on a single to raise money for Japan.

Popstar Katy Perry joined several celebrities who have tweeted to their followers to either pray, shop or donate money for relief efforts in Japan.

Perry tweeted to fans in Germany ahead of a concert there on Tuesday, urging them to buy a light-up wand at the show's merchandise stand.

"All proceeds will go to #Japanredcross. And when I play Firework, let's ignite the light for them tonight," she wrote.

Canadian teen idol Justin Bieber tweeted within hours of the quake on Friday: "Japan is one of my favorite places on earth...it's an incredible culture with amazing people. My prayers go out to them. We all need to help."

The television and cinema worlds are also mobilizing for Japan, with Warner Brothers pledging part of proceeds of DVD sales of its movie "Hereafter" to relief funds for Japan, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The movie starring Matt Damon and Cecile de France was pulled from cinemas in Japan after Friday's quake because it opens with scenes of death and devastation caused by a tsunami.

Other movies have also been deemed inappropriate for screening in Japan in the wake of the disaster that has hit the country, including one called "Aftershock," directed by Xiaogang Feng and originally due to be released next week.

The movie is about the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck the city of Tangshan, China in 1976, killing a quarter of a million people and reducing most of the city to rubble.

Meanwhile, hip-hop stars the Black Eyed Peas have appended a message to the end of their new music video, urging fans to donate to the Red Cross to help victims of the catastrophe in Japan, according to US media reports.

The video for the Black Eyed Peas' song "Just Can't Get Enough" was shot in Japan a week before Friday's massive quake.

"Our heart goes out to all of the Japanese people who have been affected by this natural disaster," Black Eyed Peas' Fergie was quoted as telling the Entertainment Tonight television show, which will air the new video on Thursday.

Celebrities have the potential to raise millions to help the victims of the quake and tsunami in Japan by harnessing their fan bases.

If every one of Lady Gaga's eight million-plus Twitter followers were to buy one of her wristbands and if every Linkin Park follower bought one of Shinoda's T-shirts, $47 million would be raised for Japan.

[Dreadfully]‘Dreadfully’ yours, Jane Austen fans

The further they get from Jane Austen, the better the zombie mash-up books become.

Enter “Dreadfully Ever After” by Steve Hockensmith, book three in a zombie trilogy that started with “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” which was a combination of Jane Austen’s classic novel of manners set in the early 1800s and contemporary zombie movie mania.

The first in the series was “Dawn of the Dreadfuls” by Hockensmith. Here the five Bennet sisters became trained in the ninja arts to protect England from brain-chomping zombie hordes known as “dreadful.”

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” follows and is more directly based on the Jane Austen novel. Here, not only do the sisters do battle but they try to find husbands. Elizabeth Bennet meets Lord Darcy ― a scion of a notable zombie-battling clan ― they fall in love and marry.

“Dreadfully Ever After” is more a sequel to “Dawn” than to “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” Also written by Hockensmith, “Dreadfully” covers what happens next.

“Dreadfully Ever After,” by Steve Hockensmith is the last book in a trilogy that combines Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and zombie mayhem.



Since Jane Austen did not write a sequel to her classic novel, Hockensmith has a free hand to do what he wants with the characters from the original. And what he does is entertaining.

Taking up the story four years after Elizabeth Bennet has married Lord Darcy, we find the relationship having its rough spots. Darcy worries that his wife is dissatisfied with him; she is reluctant to admit that she’s not interested in having children and wants to go back to fighting.

All this is forgotten by the end of the first chapter when Darcy is bitten by a zombie, thereby dooming him to hunger for bloody flesh and oozing brains as he slowly rots away.

Is there a cure? Told that there might be one, Elizabeth and her sisters ― since it quickly becomes a family affair ― go to London to find the antidote. In the meantime, Darcy goes back to his home where his aunt, the fearsome zombie killer Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and her daughter Anne will keep him as human as they can until Elizabeth returns with a miracle.

Nothing is as it seems in either place. Toss in a royal coronation, a partitioned London with zombie-filled and zombie-free zones, various crazed aristocrats, a “Man in a Box” who has a history with the Bennets, and a huge rabbit called Brummell, and you have a romp of a Regency romance laced with graphic descriptions of meals unfit for human consumption.

As for the happy ending? That depends on your point of view. Chomp!

[Maxine Koo]Maxine Koo wants to become an actress in Korea

Despite being born to an affluent family, speaking seven languages and having a superb educational background, a 26-year-old Hong Kong woman wants to become an entertainer in South Korea, Korean media reported.

Maxine Koo, who majored in economics and English literature at Cornell University, expressed her strong desire to nurture her acting career here.

 

“I liked Korea ever since watching the drama ‘My Name is Kim Sam-soon.’ I really like Korean entertainers and therefore want to become an actress here,” she said.

Koo starred in a fashion program “Launch My Life,” where she serves as a translator for Yoo Ah-in, a popular Korean actor playing the program’s title role.

In 2009, Koo starred in “Global Talk Show,” a popular KBS program that featured a panel of foreign women talking about their experiences in Korea.

Last year, Koo played one of the main roles for the seventh season of a hugely popular “Bad Girls’ Diary,” a reality cable show depicting a luxurious lifestyle of girls born to the wealthy families.

Koo can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Shanghai dialect, English, French, Japanese and Korean, partly due to her experience of living in different countries including Canada, the United States, China, France and Japan.

Koo came back to Korea after working at a firm on Wall Street in the U.S. and Lehman Brothers in Japan.

“People think I have everything but having a good background doesn’t mean you have a happy life. Without my background, I am just the girl next door. I want to make my dreams come true and live in Korea for a long time,” said Koo.

[caesium]Radiation spike in sea near Japan nuclear plant

SENDAI, Japan (AFP) - Radiation levels have surged in seawater near a tsunami-stricken nuclear power station in Japan, officials said Saturday, as engineers battled to stabilise the plant in hazardous conditions.

Urgent efforts were under way to drain pools of highly radioactive water near the reactors after several workers suffered radiation burns while installing cables as part of efforts to restore the critical cooling systems.
 

An aerial view taken by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) in 1998, shows TEPCO's Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant and its drainage gate to the Pacific Ocean at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture. Radiation levels have jumped 10-fold in days in seawater near Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear plant. The iodine-131 level in the Pacific Ocean waters just off the Fukushima plant was 1,250 times above the legal limit on March 26, 2011.

The new safety worries further complicated efforts to bring the ageing facility under control, and raised fears that the fuel rod vessels or their valves and pipes are leaking.

"It is becoming very important to get rid of the puddles quickly," said an official at the nuclear safety agency, Hidehiko Nishiyama.

One of the worst-case scenarios at reactor three would be that the fuel inside the reactor core -- a volatile uranium-plutonium mix -- has already started to burn its way through its steel pressure vessel.

"Highly radioactive water is flowing inside the buildings and then into the sea, which is worrying for fish and marine vegetation," said Olivier Isnard, an expert at France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety.

"One hypothesis is that the reactor vessel is breached and highly radioactive corium is coming out."

Fire engines have hosed thousands of tons of seawater onto the plant in a bid to keep the fuel rods inside reactor cores and pools from being exposed to the air, where they could reach critical stage and go into full meltdown.

Several hundred metres offshore in the Pacific Ocean, levels of iodine-131 some 1,250 times the legal limit were detected on Saturday, a tenfold  increase from just days earlier, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said.

Drinking a half-litre (20-ounce) bottle of fresh water with the same concentration would expose a person to their annual safe dose, Nishiyama said, but he ruled out an immediate threat to marine life and seafood safety.

"Generally speaking, radioactive material released into the sea will spread due to tides, so you need much more for seaweed and sea life to absorb it," he said.

Because iodine-131 decays relatively quickly, with a half-life of eight days, "by the time people eat the sea products, its amount is likely to have diminished significantly," he said.

However, TEPCO also reported levels of caesium-137 -- which has a half life

of about 30 years -- almost 80 times the legal maximum. Scientists say both

radioactive substances can cause cancer if absorbed by humans.

Government assurances did little to lift the gloom that has hung over Japan since a 9.0-magnitude quake struck on March 11, sending a huge tsunami crashing into the northeast coast in the country's worst post-war disaster.

The wave easily overwhelmed the world's biggest sea defences and swallowed entire communities. The confirmed death toll stood at 10,489 as of 9:00 pm (1200 GMT) on Saturday, Kyodo News said, citing the National Police Agency, with 16,621 listed as missing.

The tsunami knocked out the cooling systems for the six reactors of the Fukushima plant, leading to suspected partial meltdowns in three of them.

Hydrogen explosions and fires have also ripped through the facility.

High-voltage electric cables have since been linked up to the reactors again and power has been partially restored in two reactor control rooms.

Worried about the salt buildup in the crippled plant, engineers have started pumping in fresh water into some of the reactors. The US military is supporting the effort by sending two full water barges from a naval base near Tokyo.

"I believe we have prevented the current situation worsening, taking steps towards real progress such as resuming power and injecting water," chief government spokesman Yukio Edano told reporters.

Radioactive vapour from the plant has contaminated farm produce and dairy products in the region, leading to shipment halts in Japan as well as the United States, European Union, China and a host of other nations.

Singapore extended a ban on food imports from Japan on Saturday, suspending imports of all fruit and vegetables from the whole Kanto region, a large area including greater Tokyo.

Higher than normal radiation has also been detected in tap water in and around Tokyo, some 250 kilometres (155 miles) from the plant, leading authorities at one stage to warn against using it for baby milk formula.

Japan widened the zone around the plant from which it suggests people evacuate to 30 kilometres -- still below the 80 kilometres advised by the United States.

Environmental watchdog Greenpeace started its own monitoring near the plant, saying "authorities have consistently appeared to underestimate both the risks and extent of radioactive contamination".

The campaign group said it would provide "an alternative to the often contradictory information released by nuclear regulators".

[Steve Jobs]The Steve Jobs Way: Can it work everywhere?

Apple Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs has become the iconic figure of innovation as his iPhone and iPad products have entirely changed lifestyles in the 21st century. His leadership has also been in the limelight after he brought the struggling tech giant back to the throne.

Many people both at home and abroad have become enthusiastic about the ailing but innovative leader. The 56-year-old CEO has inspired many of us with his classic charisma and fiery personality, and business leaders around the world are busy trying to learn his leadership and innovative management skills.

Here is a simple question. “Does every company need a Steve Jobs?” Many would answer “yes” without hesitation, but a world-renowned HR consultant replied “no,” saying there was no single ideal model and leadership styles change over time.

“You can certainly look retrospectively at that kind of success that companies with leaders like Steve Jobs enjoyed during their tenure. I think that those kind of leaders are most effective in those kind of circumstances, as well as what that leaders are made of,” Mark V. Mactas, president and chief operating officer of Towers Watson, said in an exclusive interview with BusinessFocus held at the global consulting firm’s Seoul office on March 7.

“My guess is that whether it’s Steve Jobs or anybody else, the nature of their leadership over time has evolved. So it wasn’t one formula, when he made his company into what it is today,” he added.

His message is that a leader should not necessarily be charismatic and it may not be in the best interest of some companies to have a single, charismatic leader, suggesting that a Steve Jobs type of boss can fail as a CEO in other companies in different circumstances and cultures.

“Historically, there is a picture of the right leader being charismatic, a very dynamic personality leading an organization. It might have a place in industries and companies at some point in time. But I don’t think there are many more leaders like that,” he said.

Leadership

The veteran consultant, who was chairman of Towers Perrin before it merged with Watson Wyatt in January, 2010, pointed out that although there is no ideal leadership model, there are a set of requirements and roles that a leader should have to become successful.

“Some say that management is power by position, and leadership is power by influence. Both are equally necessary. For me, viewing leadership as power by influence means first, that a leader’s ideas matter and that they must have merit; and second, that a leader must be able to get people to follow him or her,” he said.

“In addition, effective leadership provides direction, builds confidence, and helps people execute for their organization’s sake as well as their own,” he added.

Finding DNA

Asked how Korea’s world’s top class manufacturers, such as Samsung and LG, can turn into innovators from fast-followers, Mactas said that Korean players should focus on indentifying their core DNA.

“Some are fast followers, while others are good at supply chain management, business model improving and other areas. So I think that it’s important for (Korean) firms to know what they are really good at or what their DNA is and to leverage it. And maybe leverage it in different ways so when it is exhausted, they can look for alternative DNA to become innovators,” he said.

“Companies have challenged themselves to do things in different ways. Historically, they did these usually by necessity. Because when companies are successful they tend to do tomorrow what they did yesterday, to break that habit can be difficult. I think this requires self-examination.

[NCsoft]Sci-fi Epic From NCsoft Due in Fall

After six years of trial and error, NCsoft and Richard Garriott are finally satisfied with the quality of their ``Tabula Rasa'' project. The company opened the closed beta testing of the new sci-fi online computer game in the United States last week, with a plan to launch the final product around this fall.

The start of closed beta marks the game's final development stages and NCsoft isn't hiding its high expectation on it. NC has been running out of fresh ideas after the success of the ``Lineage'' and ``Guild Wars'' series. Its ``Lineage 3'' project also looks dubious at this point after the whole developing team left the firm earlier this year amid conflict with the management.

Garriott, who oversees the ``Tabula Rasa'' project from Austin, Texas, is one of the greatest pioneers of the role-playing game genre. He is best known for creating the legendary ``Ultima'' game series, including the first commercially successful massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, ``Ultima Online.

A son of a NASA pilot, Garriott also showed special interest in the fledgling industry of zero-gravity traveling and operates his own space traveling agency, Space Adventures. Reflecting on such experiences, he tries to place players of ``Tabula Rasa'' in an epic sci-fi story where they will be challenged by dynamic and fast-paced adventures on alien worlds. Garriott even created the new language system of Logos for the game, introducing a whole set of new symbols and grammas.

In an e-mail interview with The Korea Times, Garriott said that such new ideas will be ``staples in MMOGs of the future.'' The game should be launched in the United States and Europe in fall. NC is yet to decide whether to release it in Korea.

A scene from "Tabula Rasa,'' which is due out in fall in the United States and in Europe.

Korea Times: I can imagine that how eagerly the NCsoft management in Seoul including CEO Kim Taek-jin has been waiting to see the final product of ``Tabula Rasa.'' What is his expectation on TR, and what is your expectation on it?

Richard Garriott: You'll need to ask TJ about his expectation for TR. But I can't imagine it being much different from our own, which is to develop a next generation MMORPG that appeals to a broad base of players. We are innovating on the current MMORPG model as I described above and believe our ideas will be staples in MMOGs of the future.

KT: What (who) inspired you to create TR? Is it relevant with your successful space adventuring projects?

RG: It's no secret that I have a keen interest in areas related to space and space travel. My father is a former NASA astronaut and I've collected many space-related items over the years. And just recently I've been training for a journey to space and you may have read about my flight on the Zero-G plane with Dr. Stephen Hawking taken this past week.

That being said, many of us on the TR team have a deep fantasy background. I think what you're seeing is that most every MMOG has been a retooling of the fantasy genre. We set out at the beginning to create as fresh a new reality as possible. We felt a future fantasy offered us a lot of fresh ideas! And we're extremely happy so far with the results.

KT: The pictograms you have invented look very enchanting, intriguing, and complex. Do you have any prior knowledge in linguistics?

RG: The Logos language we've created for TR was actually years in the making. I did a lot of research which involved reading many books on various symbolic languages, pictographic languages and languages from other cultures and eras. I spent months figuring out a language that could make sense for multiple cultures, not just western, but eastern as well.

I would take vacations and spend my spare time and that of my girlfriend, Kelly Miller, writing symbols on little pieces of paper and mixing them around to come up with combinations that worked. I believe that what I arrived at is certainly plausible and fits within the context of TR.

The team has been working with it for several months now and can decipher and translate with ease. I think it's something that the players will pick up on quickly and will enjoy. We've also worked the symbology of Logos into a physical science system within the game. So collecting these symbols will enable the player to acquire new powers.

KT: During your visit to Korea in 2005, you had said that TR would be released by the end of 2006. Now that the final product is yet to come, could you explain why it took another year to complete game, and what sort of changes you have made?

RG: As in most cases involving game development, you're never really certain when a game will be ready for launch until you get much closer to the date you've set as a goal and the game has been properly tested both internally and publicly.

The movement to the latter part of this year is nothing more than a need on our part to spend the proper amount of time to meet our expectations for TR and what we believe will be the expectations of our player base.

KT: Do you believe that it would be difficult for TR to appeal to both Western and Eastern audiences?

RG: The two markets are moving closer and closer together, more than they are pulling further apart. But there are still many differences in how, for instance, Korean people play online games versus how American people play online games.

There are still differences in the expectations that each culture holds for online games. In the early years of our relationship with NCsoft, we tried to create a game that would appeal to both territories at the same time, but determined that along the way, we were failing to appeal to ourselves. So we've moved to an idea where we make a game that will be first and foremost one that we would love to play, and thus we know that we will succeed in the west.

After we have that version well in hand, we will see what additions we may need to make to maximize our appeal in the east.

KT: Both FPS games and MMORPGs are already abundant (probably too abundant) in the market. Is Tabula Rasa really going to be something new and fresh?

RG: First of all, we firmly believe that there is still a lot of growth ahead in the MMOG market. In North America the MMOG market continues to grow even as more and more products come on line. What's needed is a game that really adds something different, something unique.

That's where TR comes in. Many of these innovations are things that we believe will be adopted by other MMOGs. For example, Tabula Rasa uses a real time fast action and tactical combat system, that remains an RPG (not a FPS) by giving players the immediacy of one click _ fire your weapon _ coupled with sticky targeting to avoid being an arcade game, coupled with the use of cover and position to modify the RPG probabilities of damage via the attributes and equipment of characters. This creates a real time tactical RPG game play that is fast paced, thoughtful and highly rewarding instead of the plodding DOT (damage over time) turn based combat of other MMOGs.

TR also has dynamic play environments. NPCs and players will take and hold territory, such that creature spawning and NPC availability change significantly over the hours and days of game play. TR allows players to save and clone their characters at any time, thus players can easily explore all the options of character development without starting over to try new classes and roles.

Finally TR has a far deeper and relevant story line, where decisions players make along their quests are more important and lead to more relevant wins than in previous MMOs.

KT: Do you have plans to transplant TR to video game consoles, or making it a Hollywood movie?

RG: Not at this time.

KT: There was a small turbulence in the Korean stock market in March when you sold some of your NCsoft shares, since other investors thought it as a bad omen for the company.

RG: That was nothing more than me converting some shares for personal reasons. People should not read any more into it than that.

[Galaxy Tab]Samsung hopes to upset Apple in tablet bout

Samsung Electronics has high hopes for its new Galaxy touch-screen tablet computer that it plans to release soon but Apple’s iPad 2 will be a tough act to follow.

Samsung Electronics has cut the price of its 7-inch Galaxy Tab on the heels of Apple’s launch of the iPad 2.

The decision is also aimed at easing the Korean firm's inventory ahead of the launch of its 10.1-inch Tab.

Samsung moved 2.5 million Tabs up to March 6 both domestically and abroad. Of those, Samsung sold 500,000 to SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus.

The Tab is selling at 896,500 won domestically, down from 995,000 won, minus subsidies and contracts with carriers.

Galaxy smartphones are also available to Korean consumers at a discount, according to carriers and Samsung.

"Samsung is feeling heat from the iPad 2 and a price cut is set for a battle with Apple in the nascent market," said a high-ranking Samsung source, asking not to be identified.

"It's a smart move. Samsung is reconsidering its price strategy on the next Galaxy Tab with a 10.1-inch screen."

A Samsung spokesman said the price cuts were "expected" and don't mean anything more.

KT, the first carrier to sell the iPhone and iPad is planning to launch the iPad 2 in the next couple of months, according to KT sources. KT spokeswoman Kim Yoon-jeong declined to confirm this.

SK Telecom, now the second Apple vendor here, is expected to release the new Apple tablet following the launch by KT. A SK spokeswoman Kim Ji-won declined to comment.

Samsung released its 8.9-inch tablet at a technology exhibition in Orlando, the United States, which opened Tuesday. The Tab's third version has a slim profile at 0.33 inches, similar to Apple's iPad 2

Samsung's dual track of aggressive pricing for 7-inch Galaxy Tab and caution in pricing its forthcoming 10.1-inch tablet reflects a fierce fight that is looming between the two market leaders.

Samsung sources told The Korea Times that an internal consensus has been reached that its 7-inch tablet has been well accepted.

Apple said it sold over 14 million iPads last year, easily outperforming Tabs.

Samsung believes it is finding a springboard to further narrow the gap with Apple with its strategic alliances closer with top global carriers.

"It's not been fixed yet but Samsung is considering pricing the upcoming Galaxy Tab at the level of the iPad 2," said another Samsung source on the condition of anonymity.

"The lower pricing is litmus test ahead of its pricing decision for the Galaxy Tab 2," added the anonymous source.

Samsung plans to make more updates on its software applications for the new tablet as part of its strategy to soothe concerns over its late response for software-related updates.

Samsung said it is aiming to increase the sale of its tablets fivefold to 7.5 million throughout this year from last year's 1.5 million, the Samsung spokesman said.

Inspired by the iPad’s success, Motorola, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, LG Electronics, Toshiba of Japan and Acer of Taiwan are other major players that have confirmed their strong appetites for tablets.

But JPMorgan warned that the global tablet market might face an oversupply due to limited growth in demand.

The U.S.-based investment bank expects 81 million tablets to come onto the market by the end of this year, while just 47.9 million, or some 40 percent will go to end users, resulting in a possible supply bubble.

[sex scandal]Taiwanese actress linked to sex scandal

Taiwanese production company and entertainment agency officials, fearing that they would be easily found out in their own country, took models abroad to receive sexual services in return for favors, China’s media reported Tuesday.

Typically, they were taken to Hong Kong or Las Vegas and were paid starting at 380,000 won, the report said.

Taiwanese supermodel and actress Lin Chiling was said to have been given four billion won for one night, it said.

Lin was allegedly with men in Las Vegas and collected the large sum of money.

She has yet to comment on the allegations.

This has led to wide speculations among Internet users. “If you are innocent, explain yourself,” “Why are you keeping quiet?” and “I can’t believe these services have prices attached,” were some of different responses to the scandal.

Recently, the Chinese and Taiwanese media went public with the news of sexual services being priced according to the actresses’ popularity.

[UFO]Bigger-than-Belgium UFO detected

An enormous unidentified object (UFO) that is larger than Belgium has been sighted.

This donut-shaped UFO had appeared on satellite weather images in central Europe but disappeared in the blink of an eye. Experts explain that these donut-like formations are significantly different from normal natural phenomena, such as clouds or hurricanes.

Recently, a similar appearance had been seen over the lower southwest corner of western Australia.

The unusually shaped UFOs, captured on government weather radar, have been gathering attention from Internet users all over the world.

[Japan nuclear]Global food scare widens from Japan nuclear plant

Countries across the world have shunned Japanese food imports as radioactive steam leaked from a disaster-struck nuclear plant, straining nerves in Tokyo.
The grim toll of dead and missing from Japan's monster earthquake and tsunami on March 11 topped 26,000. Hundreds of thousands remained huddled in evacuation shelters and fears grew in Tokyo over water safety.

The damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant from the tectonic calamity and a series of explosions has stoked global anxiety. The United States and Hong Kong have already restricted Japanese food, and France wants the European Union to do the same.
Facts: Japan's food exports

Russia ordered a halt to food imports from four prefectures -- Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi -- near the stricken plant some 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo.
Moscow also quarantined a Panama-flagged cargo ship that had passed near the plant and put its 19 crew under medical supervision after detecting radiation levels three times the norm in the engine room.
Australia banned produce from the area, including seaweed and seafood, milk, dairy products, fresh fruit and vegetables.

It said, however, that Japanese food already on store shelves was safe, as it had shipped before the quake, and that "the risk of Australian consumers being exposed to radionuclides in food imported from Japan is negligible".
Canada implemented enhanced import controls on products from the four prefectures.
Singapore suspended imports of milk products and other foodstuffs from the same four prefectures, as well as all food products from two more -- Chiba and Ehime.

The city-state's move came after officials found "radioactive contaminants" in four samples of vegetables from Japan, though the authorities stressed the radiation levels in the produce were still very low.
The Philippines banned Japanese chocolate imports, and Indonesia asked that Japan certify its exported processed foods as radiation-free.

"Food safety issues are an additional dimension of the emergency," said three UN agencies in a joint statement issued in Geneva, pledging they were "committed to mobilising their knowledge and expertise" to help Japan.

Japan was taking the right actions, said the International Atomic Energy Agency, World Health Organization, and Food and Agriculture Organization.
In greater Tokyo, an urban sprawl of more than 30 million people, strong aftershocks served as uncomfortable reminders that Japan's capital itself is believed to be decades overdue for a mega-quake.
Scene: Hotels deserted in Tokyo amid nuclear scare
The anxiety was compounded by the Tokyo government's revelation Wednesday that radioactive iodine in the drinking water was more than twice the level deemed safe for infants, although it remained within safe adult limits.

The news triggered a run on bottled water in shops and the city's ubiquitous vending machines, while the Tokyo government started to give families three 550-millilitre (18.5-ounce) bottles of water per infant.
Scene: Japan parents spooked by tap water scare
A measurement on Thursday was in the safe zone for infants again, officials said, but this was not enough to calm all parents of young children and many bought up what bottled water they could.
Authorities in Chiba, Tochigi urged parents not to give infants tap water after finding levels of radioactive iodine breached the safe limit for babies.
Japan's government has also halted shipments of untreated milk and vegetables from Fukushima and three adjoining prefectures, and stepped up radiation monitoring at another six, covering an area that borders Tokyo.

The health ministry has detected 82,000 becquerels of radioactive caesium -- 164 times the safe limit -- in the green vegetable kukitachina, and elevated levels in another 10 vegetables, including cabbage and turnips.
At the source of the radiation -- the Fukushima plant located on the Pacific coast -- white smoke was seen wafting from four of the six reactors.
Fire engines again aimed high-pressure water jets at the number three reactor, a day after a plume of dark smoke there forced workers to evacuate, in a bid to avert a full meltdown that would release greater radiation.

Highlighting the risks taken by the emergency crew, three workers were exposed to high radiation -- at least 170 millisieverts.
Two of them were sent to hospital after they stepped into a puddle of water that reached the skin on their legs despite their radiation suits.

Engineers have now linked up an external electricity supply to all six reactors and are testing system components and equipment in an effort to restart the tsunami-hit cooling systems and stabilise the reactors.
On Thursday, they partially restored power to the control room at reactor number one.
Facts: State of Japan's stricken nuclear reactors
The grim statistics from Japan's worst post-war disaster kept on rising, with 9,811 now confirmed dead and 17,541 listed as missing by national police.

Scientists at the Port and Airport Research Institute meanwhile found that the tsunami that swallowed entire towns was even bigger than first thought. In devastated Ofunato, Iwate prefecture, it topped 23 metres (76 feet).

[Alertpay]I use Alertpay to send Money, Pay and Get Paid!

You might think that PayPal is the only company that offers online money transfers because they’re the one that’s most widely-used and advertised. But there are options to PayPal that you should be aware of, especially if you’re someone who does a lot of online businesses.

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[晚秋]湯唯與韓國演員玄彬人氣倍增《晚秋》

湯唯之前宣傳《晚秋》的時候穿了醬紫色的不對稱斜肩禮服，此衣來自LANVIN 2010秋冬。

唯最近頻繁的出現在大家的實現，新戲《晚秋》在韓國受到熱烈反響，人氣也忽然暴增，有著一張東方臉孔的湯唯，穿衣打扮也十分的優雅，熟女的魅力盡情釋放。

 

    《晚秋》湯唯攜手韓國演員玄彬，講述了發生在異國他鄉的一對陌生男女之間的戀情，湯唯在戲中是演一位假釋的女犯人，所以她幾乎是素顏出演本片，海報中的卡其色風衣倒是很有造型感。
 

　 

    湯唯韓國之行的戰衣很多，還有這件鵝黃色的曳地長裙，《晚秋》男主角玄彬很紳士的照顧湯唯。
 

    《晚秋》的VIP試映會，湯唯攜手玄彬走過紅地毯，一身碎花連衣裙裝扮的湯唯，稍顯活力，優雅的長發披肩，氣質優雅。

湯唯再次換了一件紅色斜肩禮服，同樣是Lavin 2011春夏新品。

[湯唯]玄彬 vs. 林秀晶 vs. 湯唯，三位俊男美女，你會投誰一票呢？

玄彬早前參加柏林影展時，一身的千金機場時尚使人目不暇給。雖然最後在柏林影展未能得獎，不如看看他和拍擋美女們在柏林的盛況吧﹗

當地時間2月17日，玄彬及林秀晶為電影《愛，不愛》走紅地毯，以黑色情侶裝亮相。 玄彬穿上Giorgio Armani的黑色Tuxedo, 繼續「一針一線」的傳說，剪裁俐落的西裝顯露了玄彬的完美身材，額前的瀏海全部Gel起，突顯了玄彬的成熟和幹勁。不似《秘密花園》中的闊少，這樣的玄彬很有男人味﹗

扮演玄彬妻子的林秀晶，則穿上Hexa by Kuho量身訂造的黑色長裙。前面感覺高貴典雅，後面卻是性感的大露背﹗ 配Hexa by Kuho Spring 2011的閃石戒指和黑色坡跟鞋。黑色長裙大方得體，露背的內斂式性感，一點也不過份；加上大熱紅唇，實在是太完美了﹗ 唯一的是坡跟鞋，和高貴的長裙格格不入，其實一對簡單的黑色high heels已經綽綽有餘。不過，在長長的裙腳覆蓋之下，你還會特別留意她的鞋子嗎？

 

若說《愛，不愛》的紅地毯是嚴肅認真的，那麼接著的《晚秋》記者會便是浪漫奔放。

身為男主角的玄彬，海軍藍西裝外套X白色長褲blue jacket，比起肅殺的「晚秋」，感覺更像生機處處的春天……Stop! Pencake是非常非常排斥這個match。

帶點老土的花紋西裝，上身的內裡和外套撞哂直間pattern……vintage過火到有點「老餅」吧？

比起玄彬的失手，湯唯的deep red晚裝便是大獲全勝﹗ 斜背design的晚裝並不特別性感，單是湯唯的美艷和紅色的熱情，讓人感受到夏天的熱情奔放~很誘人呢﹗

玄彬 vs. 林秀晶 vs. 湯唯，三位俊男美女，你會投誰一票呢？

[汤唯(Tang Wei)]玄彬＆宋慧喬散了 湯唯是「小三」？

玄彬與宋慧喬（喬妹）戀情日前宣布分手，經紀公司8日對外宣稱，兩人於今年1月分手，原因是工作太忙、聚少離多，加上戀情多次被唱衰造成過大壓力，因此選擇分手。不過，據揚子晚報報導，湯唯和玄彬合拍電影《晚秋》時傳曖昧情愫，是介入兩人感情的「小三」！

據報導，玄彬和宋慧喬2008年合拍電視劇《他們生活的世界》結緣，其後公開戀情得到祝福和支持，但忙碌的兩人儘管小心維持戀情卻屢次傳出分手的消息，但總是遭玄彬否認，甚至到7日玄彬入伍，喬妹也以「工作忙」而不現身送行，但仍未爆分手，兩人的分手一直忍到玄彬入伍後才公開。


金童玉女分手，引來議論紛紛，有人甚至從《晚秋》首映時玄彬和湯唯的親密互動，以及影片中玄彬和湯唯的三分鐘熱吻中找到靈感，猜想湯唯可能是「第三者」。報導說，兩人在該片上月10日的首爾記者會上互動親密，玄彬不時深情凝視湯唯，還細心手扶她下樓，因此報導直指湯唯是玄彬與喬妹分手的導火線，而玄彬體貼舉止，更被網友笑說是「倒貼男」。只不過消息傳回南韓，玄彬經紀公司斥無稽之談：「實在很好笑，根本是捏造的故事。」


在玄彬與喬妹正式發表分手宣言後，韓國媒體指出，3月7日玄彬入伍前還與喬妹互通慰問電話，堪稱是好聚好散的典範；不過日本周刊「女性seven」卻指出，宋慧喬常和合作的男星傳出戀情，是「魔鬼一樣的女人」，非常擅長誘惑男人。但奪走男人的錢和心後，發現對方沒有利用價值，就像扔垃圾一樣扔掉。


不過此說法，引來網友反駁，網友指稱，「喬妹那麼清純，日本媒體在亂寫什麼啊？」還有網友斥責日本八卦周刊是在喬妹的傷口上撒鹽。但也有網友表示，從喬妹過往情史包括李秉憲、Rain、宋承憲等人來看，她確實是太容易跟合作的男星在一起了。

Billy Elliot (2000)

Billy Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of ‘Everington’ in the real County Durham, UK, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy’s older brother, and Julie Walters as his ballet teacher. In 2001, author Melvin Burgess was commissioned to write the novelization of the film based on Lee Hall’s screenplay. The story was adapted for the West End stage as Billy Elliot the Musical in 2005; it opened in Australia in 2007 and Broadway in 2008.


The film was theatrically released by the Motion Picture Association of America with an R rating for “language”, when released on video, the film was re-cut to a PG-13 for “some thematic elements”; this cut version removes many of the used F-words.


The film is set during the UK miners’ strike (1984–1985) and centres on the life of Billy (Jamie Bell), his love of dance and his hope to become a professional ballet dancer. Billy’s father (Gary Lewis) and brother Tony (Jamie Draven) are both out on strike. Billy’s mother is no longer alive and Billy and Tony’s nan (Jean Heywood) also lives with the family.


Billy is taken to the boxing gym by his father, but he finds out that he doesn’t really like the sport. Part of the boxing gym is used by a ballet class because their usual studio in the basement of the sports centre is being used as a soup kitchen for the striking miners. He is drawn in by the ballet teacher (Julie Walters), and with her help, secretly starts taking ballet class. Billy’s father finds out after the boxing teacher makes comment of Billy’s absence. Billy is then forbidden to dance but continues secretly because he is becoming passionate about it.
As a consequence of Tony being arrested during a confrontation between police and striking miners, Billy misses an important audition for the Royal Ballet School. His ballet teacher goes to their house to tell his father about the missed opportunity. Billy’s father and brother, fearing that Billy will be seen as a “poof”, become outraged at the idea of him becoming a professional ballet dancer.
Once having seen Billy dance however, his father understands that ballet is Billy’s passion; and he takes him to an audition for the Ballet himself. Billy is accepted to the Royal Ballet, and moves out on his own at age 11 to attend the school.


The film ends with a scene that takes place about 14 years later, where Billy has finally reached his goal through dancing: the older Billy (dancer/actor Adam Cooper) takes the stage to perform the lead in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake as his father and brother watch in the audience.


Cast
* Jamie Bell as Billy Elliot
* Julie Walters as Mrs. Georgia Wilkinson
* Gary Lewis as Jackie Elliot
* Jamie Draven as Tony Elliot
* Jean Heywood as Grandma
* Stuart Wells as Michael Caffrey
* Nicola Blackwell as Debbie Wilkinson
* Colin Maclachlan as Mr. Tom Wilkinson
* Billy Fane as Mr. Braithwaite
* Janine Blirkett as Jenny Elliot
* Adam Cooper as Billy Elliot, age 25
* Merryn Owen as Michael Caffrey, age 25
* Stephen Mangan as Dr Crane



—
This movie is surely one of the most encouraging story I’ve ever seen, the struggle of a Billy Elliot in achieving things that he wants to do is really remarkable. Even though his father and his brother were against him, but they eventually came around and even supported him no matter what.
A picture of Jamie Bell, then and now





Fave quote:
Mrs. Wilkinson: So. Do we get the pleasure of your company next week?
Billy: It’s just, I feel like a right sissy.
Mrs. Wilkinson: Well don’t act like one. 50p please. And if you’re not coming again give us your shoes.
Billy: [thinks] No, you’re all right.
Mrs. Wilkinson: Right.
Trailer:

[Otto Klemperer]Beethoven. Oberturas. Otto Klemperer.

Queridos amigos. Un pequeño homenaje en el cumpleaños del gran Beethoven, nacido un 16 de diciembre de 1770, en manos de un enorme maestro (del que hemos colocado poco, la verdad, en este espacio), el gran Otto Klemperer.

Maestro de sólida formación en el ámbito musical centroeuropeo y brillantísimo intérprete y traductor de las obras del clasicismo y romanticismo austrogermánico, Klemperer nos dejó un particular y enorme legado de sus compositores del alma, Bruckner, Mahler y Wagner amén de un testimonio de comprommiso personal y humano con la música de vanguardia y la sociedad y época duras que tuvo que afrontar en su patria.

Su testimonio musical nos muestra a un director de carácter completamente diferente a sus coetáneos como Walter (diferencias enormes en lo musial y en lo humano), Toscanini, Furtwängler o Kleiber. Una aproximación musical global más cercana al carácter de Szell, Fricsay o Wand que fue variando con la edad llegando a ofrecer interpretaciones que, sin dejar de ser personales y duras, fueron "suavizándose" con los años.

En la década de los años 60 realizó un enorme trabajo discográfico de la mano del gran Legge dejando en EMI un conjunto de registros de valor incalculable que, además de su difusión mundial y éxito, contribuyeron de manera esencial a su aceptación paulatina en el recalcitrante universo musical germano, universo que sinceramente no le concedía demasiados parabienes (como había sucedido y sucedería en otros muchos círculos musicales de EEUU y Europa) a pesar de la defensa constante que del mismo realizó Klemperer. Quizá su difícil carácter (difícil por ser honrado consigo mismo y para con los demás) y su enorme mala suerte contribuyeron también a dificultar el merecidísimo despegue como figura musical que era y que en los círculos oficiales del poder musical nunca logró.

Las interpretaciones de Beethoven resultan extraordinariamente ricas, sugestivas, aceradas y duras en su sonoridad pero grandiosas y apasionadas. Enormemente bellas de escuchar y sorprendentes por su perfección, su libertad a pesar de su estricta veracidad y su emotividad profunda. La unión con los excepcionales músicos de la Philharmonia de la mejor época hace aún más bello su Beethoven, consiguiendo un color, una tímbrica, un ritmo y una perfección sonora maravillosas. Un Beethoven que al igual que otros maestros fue visto por Klemperer de manera continuamente revisada a la luz de su propia experiencia personal llegando a interpretaciones matizadas y, en cada ocasión o época, diferentes, distintas a las anteriores sin dejar de ser siempre el obstinado, humano y fuerte Klemperer.

Sirva este pequeño ejemplo de las Oberturas de Beethoven como homenaje tanto al compositor como al maestro. Espero que lo disfruten.

Beethoven

Oberturas

Leonore I; Leonore II; Leonore III; Fidelio; La Consagración de la Casa; El Rey Stephan; Coriolan

Otto Klemperer

Philharmonia Orchestra

Londres; Leonore I, II y III, noviembre de 1963 ; Fidelio, febrero de 1962; La Consagración y El Rey Stephan, octubre de 1959; Coriolan, octubre de 1957.

Les Noces de Cana

Dans la note « La visite du Louvre par Shaba » du 25 février, je parlais du tableau Les noces de Cana qui se trouve en face de la Joconde. Jojo le couteau - qui veut tout savoir sur tout depuis quelque temps - ne cesse de me demander ce que c’est. Vite la réponse pour tenter de remettre de l’ordre dans le tiroir !

Nouvelle recherche sur Wikipedia (bien pratique même si certains disent qu’il y a des erreurs…) : « Les noces de Cana est un récit tiré du Nouveau Testament chrétien. Il n'est présent que dans l'Evangile selon Jean et n'est pas rapporté par les évangiles synoptiques.

Sens symboliques

Le miracle de Cana est présenté comme le premier miracle de Jésus, c'est dire toute son importance symbolique et sa portée spirituelle. Les auteurs de cet évangile, que la tradition chrétienne attribue à Jean, présentent Jésus comme tout puissant.

Jésus et ses disciples sont présentés comme ne respectant pas scrupuleusement les consignes sacramentelles de l'époque puisqu'ils détournent l'usage des jarres, normalement utilisées pour les ablutions.

Les noces de Cana en peinture

Le thème des « Noces de Cana » a toujours beaucoup inspiré les peintres. L'un des tableaux les plus célèbres sur ce thème a été peint à Venise pour le réfectoire - construit par Andrea Palladio - du monastère bénédictin de San Giorgio Maggiore (en face du Palais des Doges) en 1562-1563, par l'un des plus grands - avec Le Titien et Le Tintoret - peintres vénitiens, Paolo Caliari dit Veronese, alors que celui-ci avait 35 ans. Véronèse y a représenté une scène biblique dans le cadre d'une fête vénitienne, mêlant les personnages de la Bible et des figures contemporaines. On peut, parait-il, y reconnaître quelques-uns des plus grands souverains de l'Europe : le roi de France François Ier, l'empereur Charles Quint, le sultan ottoman Soliman II Le Magnifique, la reine Marie d’Angleterre, les seigneurs et les dames les plus illustres par leur valeur et leur beauté, Eléonore d’Autriche, Alphonse d’Avalos, les cardinaux Bernardo Navagero et Charles de Lorraine, ainsi que, Le Titien, Bassano et Véronèse lui-même parmi les musiciens, Pierre l’Arétin en maître de cérémonie.

Le tableau lui a été commandé dans le cadre des travaux de reconstruction du couvent. Dans le réfectoire, il surplombait la chaire d'où l'abbé faisait la lecture pendant le repas, ce qui obligeait les regards à converger vers lui. Il est peint sur toiles car les fresques se conservaient très mal à Venise en raison du haut degré de salinité. La représentation d’un banquet semble tout à fait logique dans le cadre d’un réfectoire. Véronèse s'est vraisemblablement inspiré, pour la mise en scène de son tableau d'un texte de l’Arétin, qui rédigea en 1535 les Quatre livres de l'humanité du Christ - ouvrage de vulgarisation de l’histoire sainte - dans lequel celui-ci indique des détails (que l'on retrouve dans le tableau) qui ne figurent pas dans le texte de saint Jean.

La scène se déroule sur une sorte de terrasse surplombée par une balustrade et une esplanade contre laquelle s'appuient des personnages. On aperçoit sur la droite et la gauche du tableau des monuments, et l'on peut voir que ceux-ci relèvent de différents styles architecturaux : colonnes doriques, puis corinthiennes, enfin composites. Une tour à plan carré a été placée au centre du tableau, légèrement sur la droite, afin de rompre la symétrie qui, sans elle, serait trop écrasante. Sur cette terrasse est dressée une grande table, autour de laquelle sont installés les convives en grand nombre (on en compte 132), entourés par les serviteurs. Curieusement, ce ne sont pas les mariés qui occupent le centre de la scène, mais le Christ, qui a, à sa droite la  Vierge Marie et Pierre, et, à sa gauche, André, Philippe et Barthélémy, en habit de pèlerins. Les mariés sont exilés en bout de table à gauche. Véronèse mêlant le sacré et le profane, le sujet religieux disparaît quelque peu dans l'éblouissement de cette fête princière. Les symboles religieux annonçant la Passion du Christ côtoient une vaisselle d'argent et une orfèvrerie luxueuses du XVIème siècle. Il a apporté un soin particulier à tous les détails et cette minutie contribue à faire de ce tableau un chef d'œuvre, et l'une des œuvres majeures de la Renaissance.

Ce tableau est actuellement exposé au musée du Louvre à Paris, faisant face à la Joconde de Léonard de Vinci.

Parmi les autres peintres qui ont représenté cet épisode des Noces de Cana dans un tableau, on peut citer : Giotto (début du XIVe siècle), Gérard David (Musée du Louvre, v. 1501-1502),  Giuseppe Maria Crespi (Lo Spagnuolo) (v. 1587-1588). »

Pour des images

http://www.google.fr/images?um=1&hl=fr&biw=1020&bih=554&rlz=1R2ADFA_frFR413&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=Les+noces+de+Cana&aq=f&aqi=g9&aql=&oq=