MikeLigalig.com

Two of Tubag Bohol's brilliant men have celebrated their birthday today.

Happy Birthday to you sir Benny and dear Glace. May God continue to shower his blessings all through your life.

All the best!

Ginger

TWO ex-monks and a former devotee of a popular shrine in Simala, Sibonga town revealed yesterday allegations of corruption and sex, saying these have tainted the pilgrimage site for years.

The claims, aired in radio and television reports, went unanswered by the shrine’s officials. A senior official of the Cebu Archdiocese said the complaints should have been brought up with Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.

In an interview with radio DyAB yesterday morning, Dr. Edwin Fonghe, a physician from Dalaguete town, and two former monks who identified themselves as Paul Cabillon and a certain Dodong claimed that the group overseeing the Blessed Virgin of Lindogon has been “degrading” the shrine and violating vows of chastity, obedience and charity.

But Msgr. Esteban Binghay, episcopal vicar of the Cebu Archdiocese, said that Cabillon was recently expelled from the congregation of the Marian Monks of the Eucharistic Adoration.

This was reported in the Archdiocese’s publication “Ang Bag-ong Lungsoranon,” Binghay confirmed.

Binghay said the allegations should have been discussed with the archbishop, since the group is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese.

“It could have been done properly and in the right forum,” said Binghay.

If they do not trust Cardinal Vidal, Binghay advised the three men to seek an audience with the Apostolic Nuncio in Rome so that the matter can be investigated.

Miss Gay

He told Sun.Star Cebu that Fray Martin Mary, the congregation’s superior, informed him Cabillon had been expelled because he left the congregation without giving notice.

Binghay said that Cabillon was supposed to be transferred to a sister congregation in Hilongos, Leyte, but when Fray Martin called his counterparts there, he was told the monk didn’t proceed to his new assignment.

Among Cabillon’s allegations were that a Miss Gay pageant had been held in the shrine and that “lewd sexual acts” were practiced there. He also accused the monks of greed.

Cabillon, who said he has been a monk for more than 17 years, also described himself as one of the founders of the shrine in Lindogon.

However, he said he resigned from their congregation due to a conflict with the monks and decided to leave for Hilongos, Leyte. This happened earlier this year, said Cabillon.

Sex

To his shock, in August he found his picture and name printed in the Cebu Archdiocese’s “Ang Bag-ong Lungsuranon,” which stated he has been officially removed since he left the congregation without permission. The notice was signed by Fray Martin and Cardinal Vidal.

Cabillon dismissed the publication’s statement as a lie. He added that before he left the congregation, Fray Martin granted him permission.

Cabillon, a self-professed homosexual, said that in 2006, he had sex with a novice monk who made advances on him.

“Iya kung gisaka sa akong kwarto… Dili unta ko gusto kay naa mi gapuyo sa sagrado na lugar, pero…nagpatintal ra sad ko (He went to my room. I didn’t want to have sex but I yielded to the temptation),” said Cabillon.

Cabillon alleged that Fray Martin advised the monks to confess their sins to him, to protect the congregation’s reputation and the Marian shrine.

Cabillon added that during their anniversary, Fray Martin had allegedly organized a Miss Gay pageant inside the shrine for the monks to join. (A picture is being circulated showing some men dressed in drag, next to a few nuns. There are no marks to prove this took place inside the shrine.)

Cabillon said he tried to stop the Miss Gay pageant, but heeded his vow of obedience and joined it. He won second prize.

Dodong, a novice monk who stayed in Simala from February to November 2007, said he wasn’t spared from the homosexual deeds of his fellow monks.

Dodong alleged that one of the senior monks had him sit on the other’s lap.

Dodong also complained he often spent his time counting the money that devotees contributed to the shrine.

“Sa mga ordinaryong monghe, sige gyud nag silag pangadyi, pero sa amoa, sige lang mig kwenta ug sinseyo. Maabtan lang gud mi ug kadlawn ug sige ug pangwenta (Other monks spend most of their time praying. We spent most of our time counting loose change, sometimes until dawn),” said Dodong.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on September 18, 2009

MANILA - Three weeks after giving up his presidential bid, Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II on Monday formally accepted the invitation of Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III to become the latter's running mate in the 2010 elections.

With shouts of "Noynoy-Mar!" echoing inside the historic Club Filipino in San Juan, Roxas said he is wholeheartedly accepting the challenge of running for the vice-presidency in next year's polls under the Liberal Party (LP) banner.

"Thank you for this opportunity to work with you as we raise the banner of reform. Thank you for the privilege of joining you and our kababayans in the fight for decency and integrity in public service. Taos-puso ko pong tinatanggap na isulong ang reporma sa ating bansa," he said in his speech.

Roxas said the Noy-Mar tandem is a response to the people's "collective thirst for change", adding that their partnership seeks to put an end to the horse-trading and transactional politics that is the biggest road block to the country's progress.

Aquino praised Roxas for giving up his presidential bid and said his sacrifice "gave way to the launch of a movement of our countrymen who are hungry for the return of a decent, clean and organized government." Mar earlier withdrew from the 2010 presidential race last September 1. He also made known his support for Noynoy’s bid.

The formal announcement was made on the day when Muslims commemorate the Eid’l Fitr or the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Monday also marks the commemoration of the 37th anniversary of the declaration of martial law.

Noynoy is the son of the late former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino and the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr.

Roxas, meantime, is the grandson of former President Manuel Roxas and son of the late Sen. Gerardo “Gerry” Roxas.

Noynoy announced his presidential bid last Sept. 9

abs-cbn.com
as of 09/21/2009 11:56 AM

MANILA - Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, son of democracy icon Corazon Aquino and national hero Ninoy Aquino, will run for president in next year's elections, a Liberal Party (LP) stalwart announced ahead of his expected declaration on Wednesday morning.

"Tinatanggap niya ang hamon ng ating mga kababayan, ng partido Liberal na siya ang maging standard bearer ng aming partido (That he is accepting the people's and the Liberal Party's challenge to be our party's standard bearer)," LP national chairman Franklin Drilon told ABS-CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda when asked what will be Aquino's announcement at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City.

Drilon added: "He will be the people's candidate."

Aquino, who went into retreat in his mother's favorite monastery in Zamboanga City, was expected to make the announcement at 7:30 a.m.

The announcement was timed with the 40th day after the late President Aquino's death.

The venue -- Club Filipino -- was the same place where Mrs. Aquino was sworn in as Philippine president after a bloodless people's revolt that ended decades of President Ferdinand Marcos' martial rule.

abs-cbn

TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer   

MANILA, Philippines â€" Philippine police were searching for a maid suspected of conspiring with robbers accused of killing two film critics, a Slovenian and her Filipino-Canadian boyfriend, officials said Thursday.

The newly hired maid allegedly led three gunmen Tuesday night into the suburban Manila home of Nika Bohinc, 30, and Alexis Tioseco, 29, who walked in on the robbery and apparently startled the intruders, police said.

The gunmen shot the couple several times, killing them instantly, police said in a report.

Before the couple returned home, the robbers tied and gagged another maid and gathered the victims' belongings, including two video cameras and several bottles of wine, police said.

They left the belongings behind after the shooting and fled in the couple's car, which they abandoned nearby, police said. Some other items from the house may still be missing and Tioseco's relatives were taking an inventory, said Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego, the police district chief.

"We're still looking for the maid because apparently she was the one who let the suspects in," San Diego said.

Bohinc and Tioseco were members of the International Federation of Film Critics. Bohinc, who lived in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana and Manila, wrote for a Web site on collaboration between independent filmmakers in Europe and Asia. She was a former editor of the Slovenian film magazine Ekran and a board member of several festivals.

Tioseco was the founder and editor in chief of Criticine.com, an online journal of Southeast Asian cinema, and was a regular contributor to several other publications. His friends described him as a champion of Philippine cinema and instrumental in bringing local films to the international scene.

Violent crime, including robberies and kidnappings, is common in Manila.

There are approximately 165,000 dentists in the U.S., and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the yearly earnings of dentists averaged $147,010 in 2007. There is no doubt we are spending a lot of money on dental care and most people do not have dental insurance. But are we spending our money wisely? This is an area of particular interest to retirees and those planning to retire, because dental health issues tend to become more pressing as we age.

Here are the secrets your dentist may not want you to know -- but you need to know to get the best care possible:

Secret #1: Your dentist may not be as educated as you think.

Secret #2: Your dentist may not have the latest technology.

Secret #3: Your dentist may be using mercury.

Secret #4: The lab may be more important than your dentist.

Secret #5: There's more to good dentistry than filling cavities.

Secret #6: You are probably using the wrong specialist for dental implants.

Secret #7: Bad dental advice about dentures can be fatal!

Secret #8: Your dentist may not know enough about sleep apnea.

Secret #9: Not all cosmetic dentists have the skills to really improve your smile.

Secret #10: How to avoid the root canal your dentist says you need.


To read more, click here

www.dailyfinance.com

another live acoustic from U2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANk_Fn0mEyY

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment and now you can't get out of it
Oh love look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment and now you can't get out of it

I was unconscious, half asleep
The water is warm till you discover how deep...
I wasn't jumping... for me it was a fall
It's a long way down to nothing at all

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment and now you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better now
You're stuck in a moment and you can't get out of it

In concept, the human immune system has the power to destroy cancer cells with great specificity. Therefore, cancer vaccines, like vaccines against influenza or other diseases, offer the hope of enticing the immune system to recognize proteins found on the surface of cancerous cells. The reality, however, is that the immune system rarely takes the bait that these vaccines offer, and that other approaches to stimulating anti-cancer immunity are needed.

Now, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center, in collaboration with colleagues at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, have shown that an engineered antibody called DTA-1 led to rejection of 50 to 60 percent of tumors in a mouse model of melanoma. The antibody allows the immune system to overcome its natural reluctance to attack tumor cells, the researchers say.

"Despite the promise of cancer vaccines, it has become clear that a vaccine alone won't necessarily generate an effective immune response, in large part due to suppressive elements within the tumor," says the project's lead researcher Adam D. Cohen, M.D., an oncologist at Fox Chase. "Here we show that we can use DTA-1 to impair regulatory T cells, in effect waking the immune system to the presence of a cancer."

Cohen presented his findings at the 100th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, in Denver, Colorado.

DTA-1 is an antibody designed to stimulate the glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (GITR), a protein found on the surface of many T cells, including the regulatory T cells that suppress immune function and the effector T cells that help carry out an immune response. DTA-1 was developed by Shimon Sakaguchi, M.D., Ph.D., at the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences in Kyoto, Japan. According to Cohen, their studies show that DTA-1 helps the immune system overcome its natural reluctance to attack tumor cells that it would otherwise have thought of as part of the body.

"Of course, we wouldn't want to completely shut down the immune system's ability to differentiate its own cells, which can lead to autoimmune disease," Cohen says. "Our findings suggest, however, that DTA-1 can temporarily and focally skew the ratio between regulatory and effector T cells in our favor."

According to Cohen, their findings provide further support for the continued development of GITR-targeting antibodies, either alone or in combination with cancer vaccines, as an immunotherapeutic strategy for treating cancer.

Funding for this research comes from grants from the National Cancer Institute, the Charles A. Dana Foundation, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and philanthropic funds from Swim Across America.

www.sciencedaily.com

PCD feat A.R. Rahman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piWMN_VNg3Y

i love this song..whew!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFpZ2mlR04I

Lemon is considered to be a sacred fruit since time immemorial in various cultures of the world. It is also associated with rituals to drive away evil spirits, to break up the spells of black magic and to bring health and prosperity. Superstitions aside, lemon is a fruit which is good for health and can cure many diseases.

Lemon contains valuable acids â€ââ,¬Â citric, malic, potassium citrate etc, in addition to vitamin C. These interact with one another to help in the absorption of iron and calcium, improve haemoglobin in the blood and strengthen the bones. These acids also help in dissolving waste products such as uric acid, excessive fat and cholesterol. Because of its effect on the accumulated fat in the body, lemon juice was the first natural tonic given to weight watchers throughout the world.

Lemon is rich in vitamin C, the deficiency of which leads to rickets and defective teeth formation in young children and also causes gastro-intestinal disorders. Vitamin C plays a major role in the formation of collagen which is essential to keep the skin smooth, wrinkle free and soft.

Lemon as a beauty aid:

To improve skin texture and complexion, squeeze a fresh lemon in a glass of boiled milk and add 20 ml of glycerin. Let it stand for 30 minutes and then apply to the face, hands and other exposed areas of the body. Let it dry overnight and wash it the next morning. You will see gradual improvement in your skin with regular use of this face pack.

This preparation also helps to cure cracked heels and palms. It prevents pimples, freckles and dry skin. On application to nails, they became soft and healthy and it is the only cure to reduce brittleness of the nails.

Drink a glass of butter milk adding the juice of a half lemon every morning as a beauty tonic.

The paste of tender lemon leaves with a pinch of turmeric powder, works wonderfully to cure pimples, pimple scars, softens the skin and improves the complexion.

Mix 75 ml of tender coconut water with the juice of one lemon and 75 ml of carrot juice and take regularly to improve the output of urination and to cure bags under the eyes and generalized edema.

Lime juice for hair removing:

For safe, home-made wax to get rid of unwanted hair, mix lemon juice with dissolved sugar and apply over the skin. This can be regularly used in stead of wax.

         
         
A certain man wanted to sell his house for two thousand dollars. Another man wanted to buy it very badly, but he was a poor man and didn’t have the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house to the man for one thousand dollars. But the reduce price came with a stipulation. The owner would sell the house, but he would keep ownership or a large nail protruding from over the front door.

Several years later, the original owner decided he wanted to buy the house back. Understandable, the new owner was unwilling to sell. As the result, the original owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog in the street, and hung it from the nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was found to sell to the owner of the nail.

Lesson of the story: “If we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it.”

You may own the entire home, but if you give the enemy access to just one nail in your life, it definitely puts you in the high-risk bracket.

Let me ask you something. Is there a nail over the front door of your life? A nail that you have leased out to the enemy? If there is, you need to deed it over to Christ. NOW.

Is there a nail over the front door of your life?

Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle unveiled the dramatic results of her image makeover today.

The Scottish spinster, who previously insisted stardom wouldn't change her, left her home in Blackburn, West Lothian, with a spring in her step after undergoing a makeover that cost just £100.

Her frizzy grey hair has been cut and coloured for £35  while her famously bushy eyebrows have been reshaped for £5.

The 47-year-old, who was dubbed the 'hairy angel', also raised her game in the style stakes with a pair of high heels and a rather enthusiastic smothering of make-up



Her matronly attire had been traded in for a pair of crisply ironed trousers, a white shift shirt, her favourite new leather jacket and Burberry inspired scarf.

However, her new look has caused consternation behind the scenes with sources on the show said to be 'frantic', as they wanted to preserve her unique looks for the live finals.

The contrast between Susan's unkempt appearance and angelic singing voice is said by many to be the key to her meteoric rise to international fame.

As she returned home from the salon yesterday Susan came over all shy and took great pains to cover up her new locks with a headscarf.

But wisps of the newly-coloured hair could be seen poking out from underneath.

Listen to Susan's 1999 Recording of "Cry Me Like A River"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI2DxkrgpgQ

dailymail.uk

bem and lorenzo, i know you'll like this song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui556ny0r_M

I’m getting butterflies
I’m floating on a dream
Now my world starts spinning
My heart pounds
So happy that I could cry
When I look in your eyes
Cause you keep giving me
You giving me butterflies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDwMbvwBOb4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zJ07SLVPc0

                       

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For "Twilight" movie fans who are anxiously awaiting the sequel but haven't read the second book in the vampire series, "New Moon," the film's star Robert Pattinson offers this advice -- be ready for something different and perhaps a little strange.

Pattinson became an overnight sensation playing a lovestruck vampire in the smash hit that sucked $373.4 million from global box offices, and he is in Vancouver, Canada, this week starting production on the film version of "New Moon."

Before that sequel lands in theaters in November, Pattinson plays eccentric painter Salvador Dali in "Little Ashes," which opens in art houses May 8 and tells of a homosexual love affair between Dali and the poet Federico Garcia Lorca.

But for now his turn as immortal vampire Edward Cullen, who falls in love with high school girl Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) in "Twilight," has catapulted him to fame and his fans are dying for details on "New Moon."

Pattinson, for one, is cautious.

"The book of 'New Moon,' the majority of it is incredibly depressing," Pattinson told Reuters. "Obviously 'Twilight' was about finding first love and the difficulties of that, but 'New Moon' is really about loss and reconciliation, but the reconciliation isn't completely full."

"It's a strange story to have for a market that, I guess, wants to see a love story," he said.

Nevertheless, the London-born Pattinson said everyone involved is working to make "New Moon" as big a success as "Twilight."

Pattinson's rising star has turned the former model into a favorite target of the paparazzi. Only last year, he was a relatively unknown actor whose big film credits were supporting roles in a pair of "Harry Potter" movies.

"It's turned into this crazy situation. I guess it has become a sort of phenomenon now which I really, really didn't expect," Pattinson said.

So, he often escapes to one of his first loves, music. He plays guitar and piano, and his song "Never Think" made it onto the "Twilight" soundtrack.

For now, he said there are no plans to put his music on "New Moon," but he has become "obsessed" with composing songs.

He said his acting hero is Oscar winner Jack Nicholson, and his ideal job would be something out of the spotlight.

"I like any job where you can just shut yourself away from everybody," he said.

"New Moon," from director Chris Weitz, is scheduled to open in theatres on November 20.

By Laura MacInnis

GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations forum on Thursday passed a resolution condemning "defamation of religion" as a human rights violation, despite wide concerns that it could be used to justify curbs on free speech in Muslim countries.

The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted the non-binding text, proposed by Pakistan on behalf of Islamic states, with a vote of 23 states in favor and 11 against, with 13 abstentions.

Western governments and a broad alliance of activist groups have voiced dismay about the religious defamation text, which adds to recent efforts to broaden the concept of human rights to protect communities of believers rather than individuals.

Pakistan, speaking for the 56-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said a "delicate balance" had to be struck between freedom of expression and respect for religions.

The resolution said Muslim minorities had faced intolerance, discrimination and acts of violence since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, including laws and administrative procedures that stigmatize religious followers.

"Defamation of religious is a serious affront to human dignity leading to a restriction on the freedom of their adherents and incitement to religious violence," the adopted text read, adding that "Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism."

It called on states to ensure that religious places, sites, shrines and symbols are protected, to reinforce laws "to deny impunity" for those exhibiting intolerance of ethnic and religious minorities, and "to take all possible measures to promote tolerance and respect for all religions and beliefs."

ISLAMOPHOBIA, CHRISTIANOPHOBIA, ANTI-SEMITISM

The 47-member Human Rights Council has drawn criticism for reflecting mainly the interests of Islamic and African countries, which when voting together can control its agenda.

Addressing the body, Germany said on behalf of the European Union that while instances of Islamophobia, Christianophobia, anti-Semitism and other forms of religious discrimination should be taken seriously, it was "problematic to reconcile the notion of defamation (of religion) with the concept of discrimination."

"The European Union does not see the concept of defamation of religion as a valid one in a human rights discourse," it said. "The European Union believes that a broader, more balanced and thoroughly rights-based text would be best suited to address the issues underlying this draft resolution."

To read more, click HERE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQggQ5b1Fps

                     

Death from a broken heart is often believed to be no more than just the kind of occurrence we read about in books or see in movies with a tragic love story. So far, people said that no one could actually die from a broken heart, but the latest research comes to prove that wrong: too much pain and grief, as well as a very powerful emotional shock can lead to heart attack-like symptoms that may often result in death.

The broken heart symptom is real, researchers say, and goes by the medical name of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, as Japanese doctors first named it when they initially studied it in the ‘90s. It implies heart attack-like symptoms, including chest pains and shortness of breath, which can be triggered by an emotional shock, such as the one following news of an accident, illness in the family or a very violent argument.

Because of the release of a high amount of stress hormones, such as adrenaline, a part of the heart can be weakened and become “stunned,” experts believe.

Researchers from two hospitals in Providence, Rhode Island, who have conducted the study, also note in the American Journal of Cardiology that, while patients displayed different symptoms, what they had in common was that each one had been through an extremely emotional moment before their onset. Moreover, most such cases appeared in spring and summer, as opposed to normal heart attacks, which often took place in winter.

Even if researchers are still not able to pinpoint the exact causes, or mechanisms of the broken heart symptom, they are positive they’re one step closer to doing so, while also showing that it does, indeed, exist.

“Some believe it is simply a form of a heart attack that ‘aborts’ itself early and therefore doesn’t leave any permanent heart muscle damage. Others say that the syndrome has nothing to do with the coronary arteries and is simply a problem with the heart muscle.” Dr. Richard Regnante of The Miriam Hospital in Providence says about the possible theories regarding the broken heart syndrome. At the same time, he believes further studies will prove it’s the latter option.

According to the Daily Mail, Dr. Regnante is now recruiting patients with a broken heart syndrome in order to conduct another study on the same topic. By using ultrasound imaging, Regnante and his team will seek to establish the exact internal damages caused by this condition.

www.softpedia.com

ang tarong ni nga version ha. dili tong gi id-id sa bato

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lpWY2PGLc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyQY0lRDjl0

reminds me of my mom

Unsaon man ni pag gawas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddJzwWLJmqg

Sige lang, antus nalang ko sa shared.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBf2Y5Sm740

Will this be the latest fashion for mobile phone geeks?

Sure you could be a diehard Motorala fan, but this is going way overboard.

Source: Techblog

The indigenous people of New Zealand are the Maori, belonging to the Polynesian group. Between 800 and 1,350 AD, a wave of Polynesians coming from Tonga and Samoa on their canoes settled in New Zealand. The Maori tradition says that a Polynesian chief of the island of Hawaiki, called Ngahua, knowing the abundance of jade in New Zealand, a shiny tough green stone used for making carvings, collars and adornments, headed an expedition made of 8 canoes. Each canoe was 30 m (100 ft) long, harboring over 100 persons. This contingent settled in Te-Ika-a Maui, the Maori name of the northern island of New Zealand, where they made a population nucleus to which new colonizers were soon added. Maori simply means "human" in the Maori language.

Maori had large villages comprising wooden houses and formed numerous tribes headed by an old chief. Houses were made of large tree trunks, used as posts and beams. Houses were decorated
with carved reliefs, often painted in vivid colors. The population boom between the 15-16 centuries triggered frequent conflicts between the tribes, included real wars resulting in large numbers of casualties. The main house of a Maori village was the House of the Council, where the most important men of the community gathered to discuss questions of general interest.

Maori people had four main gods, and some minor gods, the spirits of the dead and the evil spirits. The Lord of the Sea was represented as a two-faced man with a thrown-out tongue. The wooden idols, once carved, were placed in a special location, called marae, surrounded by a palisade. In this sacred enclosure, priests conducted complex religious ceremonies. Through these ceremonies, the spirits of the gods descended to the Earth and seized the image dedicated to them (they resided in them). Each village preserved carefully its idols that were worshiped and offered sacrifices, so that divinities would not cease to protect the villagers. The wooden carvings were made using adzes, gouges and burins, through which the craftsmen achieved complicated geometric motifs or grotesque human faces. The ancient Maori art was more conventional, resembling that of the Marquise Islands. Later, the Maori developed their own more complex geometric style.

Like all Polynesians, Maori are a mix between Mongoloids and Black Asians (like Papues of New Guinea): they have an oval face with marked cheekbone, a prominent and rectilinear nose with wide nostrils which gives the face a triangular look, large eyes, thick lips, a less-marked chin and darker skin.

The faces of the Maori men were covered by intricate tattoos, describing parallel, spiral and volute lines. Men had their entire body covered with tattoos and tattooing was a proof of resistance to physical pain. Moreover, the complexity of the tattoos were a mark of wealth, as the work of the tattoo makers was costly. While the artist made the tattoos with a bone bodkin, he was forbidden to touch food with his hands, that's why he had to be fed by another person. The Maori perfected the art of tattooing and even the heads of the warriors dead in combat were preserved as adornments in the Houses of the Council.

The Maori women could tattoo only their torso, lips and extremities, but many did not make that. Women wore fiber tunics and feather adorned capes. The used fibers were those of the New Zealand flax. The flax was woven by women, under the teaching of a priest who pronounced magic spells during the various stages of the processing. The Maori are known also because of their peculiar way of greeting: by rubbing their noses.

The ancient Maori believed that in the geysers and thermal springs of New Zealand lived gods accompanied by good and evil spirits. Only priests could approach such places in the case of many tribes. Other tribes knew the curative and medicinal value of these springs, frequented by ill or old people, and not only. Maori women also deposited leather bags filled with sweet potatoes (yams), hold by a cord, into the smoking springs to cook them. This food acquired the iron taste of the waters, being beneficial for the health.

Fishing was a main activity of the Maori. For this, they used the canoe with balance beam, called batanga. Maori used fishing nets attached to a long bamboo serving as floater. Each village of fishermen had a sacred place with a shrine, where the fishing master was at the same time a priest who worshipped the image of the God of the Sea. Maori farmed taro and yams, but the cool clime of New Zealand did not allow other common Polynesian crops, like coconut palm, banana or breadfruit trees. In the even colder southern island, not even taro and yams could be cultivated. During the harvesting or a military victory, Maori, both women and men, celebrated through dances. The most famous Maori dance is of course that of the Maori warriors, called haka, accompanied by an aggressive mimic and violent mouth grimaces meant to insult the enemy. Haka was made famous by the Rugby National Team of New Zealand, that plays it before each of its matches.

The Maori were famous as being bellicose people. Each tribe had a group of well trained warriors. The weaponry included a large spear and a wood or stone (often jade) mace cut with multiple adornments. In some cases, the captured enemies were eaten in a ritual act of cannibalism; this was a great offense and the family of the man executed in this manner had to revenge him. Each warrior wore with him a small jade figurine, called hei tiki, inherited from his forebears, which served as amulet and distinctive sign. Each man, when being made prisoner, had to hand over his hei tiki and that of his wife, which was passed to the wife of the winner.

The dog was the only domestic animal of the Maori (even if Polynesians also kept pigs and chickens). New Zealand did not have a mammal fauna, but a rich endemic bird fauna, comprising the huge moa birds (Dinornis), much larger than ostriches (and related with them): they reached 3 m height and 250 kg (550 pounds) in weight. In a very short period of time following their settlement, the Maori hunted these birds to extinction.

www.softpedia.com

The Circus Starring Britney Spears kicked off at the beginning of the month, but it may already be in danger of being canceled, reports in the media claim. Although the reviews for each show are positive, in recent days, Britney has been receiving death threats via e-mail and text messages, which has made her warn of calling off the tour lest her two boys are kidnapped or worse, an unnamed source says for Look magazine, via HollywoodRag.

Britney is terrified that some stalker (or more) might want to take the threats in the e-mails and text messages and put them into practice, the anonymous spy reveals for the magazine. Granted, she is always surrounded by security, and has even consulted with staff in this sense, but that does not mean that she won’t do everything in her power to protect her children, even cancel the tour altogether if need be, it is further being stressed.

“Britney received some anonymous death threats over the phone and in the mail, and her worst fear is a kidnap plot against Sean or Jayden. She’s been having terrible nightmares ever since then and she wakes up in the middle of the night crying out for her boys.” the spy shares for the mag. “She told her head of security and he thinks it’s a lone stalker. Her paranoia has reached fever pitch and she’s wracked with fear.”

Sadly, it’s not just the death threats that have made Britney consider the option of calling off the tour, although they would be reason enough for anyone. The singer is also feeling its pressure, what with some reviewers criticizing her for not singing live and others picking on her choice of outfits for the performances. All in all, insiders claim, Britney Spears’ Circus tour is not looking so good.

“Britney is under so much strain, what with relentless performing, the bad reviews and the worry over her boys. It all got too much and she screamed at her team, ‘I can’t do this any more, why are you all torturing me?’ She ran out of the room crying.” the same insider tells. With all this, granted these reports are anything close to accurate, up on stage, the singer continues to keep her composure and really put herself out there with her performance, as several media outlets are reporting. If these rumors check out, you will surely find out about it here.

www.softpedia.com

ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2009) â€" Using the natural glue that marine mussels use to stick to rocks, and a variation on the inkjet printer, a team of researchers led by North Carolina State University has devised a new way of making medical adhesives that could replace traditional sutures and result in less scarring, faster recovery times and increased precision for exacting operations such as eye surgery.

Traditionally, there have been two ways to join tissue together in the wake of a surgery: sutures and synthetic adhesives. Sutures work well, but require enormous skill and longer operating times. Additionally, the use of sutures is associated with a number of surgical complications, including discomfort, infection and inflammation. Synthetic adhesives are also widely used, but they are the source of increasing concerns over their toxicological and environmental effects. One such concern with some synthetic medical adhesives is that â€" because they are not biodegradable â€" they do not break down in the body and therefore may cause inflammation, tissue damage, or other problems.

But new research shows that adhesive proteins found in the "glue" produced by marine mussels may be used in place of the synthetic adhesives without these concerns, because they are non-toxic and biodegradable, according to study co-author Dr. Roger Narayan. In addition, the mussel proteins can be placed in solution and applied using inkjet technology to create customized medical adhesives, which may have a host of applications. For example, Narayan says this technique may "significantly improve wound repair in eye surgery, wound closure and fracture fixation." Narayan is an associate professor in the joint biomedical engineering department of NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"This is an improved way of joining tissues," Narayan says, "because the use of the inkjet technology gives you greater control over the placement of the adhesive. This helps ensure that the tissues are joined together in just the right spot, forming a better bond that leads to improved healing and less scarring." This increased control would be a boon for surgery that relies on extreme precision, such as eye repair, Narayan explains.

The study was performed in collaboration with Professor Jon Wilker in the Department of Chemistry at Purdue University. The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Office of Naval Research funded the research.

GOTHENBURG , Sweden, March 9 (UPI) -- Fifteen-year-old boys who eat fish at least once a week achieve higher intelligence scores, Sweden researchers found.

The study of nearly 4,000 teenagers, published in the March issue of Acta Paediatrica, found eating fish once a week was enough to increase combined, verbal and visuospatial intelligence scores by an average of 6 percent, while eating fish more than once a week increased them by just under 11 percent.

Swedish researchers compared the responses of 3,972 males who took part in the survey with the cognitive scores recorded in their Swedish Military Conscription records three years later.

"We found a clear link between frequent fish consumption and higher scores when the teenagers ate fish at least once a week" Kjell Toren of the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg said in a statement. "When they ate fish more than once a week the improvement almost doubled."

The study also found that:

-- 58 percent of the boys who took part in the study ate fish at least once a week and a further 20 percent ate fish more than once a week.

-- When male teenagers ate fish more than once a week their combined intelligence scores were on average 12 percent higher than those who ate fish less than once a week.

-- The verbal intelligence scores for teens who ate fish more than once a week were on average 9 percent higher than those who ate fish less than once a week. Those who ate fish once a week scored 4 percent higher.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A portrait painted 400 years ago and kept anonymously in an Irish home for much of the time since is now believed to be the only painting of William Shakespeare created during his lifetime.

The image reveals a wealthy Shakespeare of high social status, contradicting the popular view of a struggling playwright of humble status, according to Stanley Wells, a professor who chairs London's Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Wells, a distinguished Shakespeare scholar, arranged for three years of research and scientific testing which confirmed it was painted around 1610, when Shakespeare would have been 46 years old.

"A rather young looking 46, it has to be said," Wells said. Shakespeare died in 1616.

The Cobbe portrait -- named after the Irish family that owns the painting -- shows Shakespeare with rosy cheeks, a full head of hair, and a reddish brown beard.

The most common portrait of Shakespeare is a gray image showing a bald Bard with a small mustache and beard, and bags under his eyes.

The identity of the man in the portrait was lost over the centuries -- until Alec Cobbe saw a portrait from Washington's Folger Shakespeare Library. That painting, which fell into disfavor as a Shakespeare portrait about 70 years ago, turned out to be one of four copies of Cobbe's portrait.

The portrait "shows a man wearing expensive costuming, including a very beautifully painted ruff of Italian lacework which would have been very expensive," Wells said.

"It establishes, for me, that Shakespeare in his later years was a rather wealthy, a rather well affluent member of aristocratic circles in the society of his time," Wells said.

"There's been too much of a tendency to believe that Shakespeare, being the son of a glover, coming for a small town in the middle of England, that he necessarily retained a rather humble status throughout his life."

Wells reads even more into what he sees in Shakespeare's newly-found face.

"I think it's plausible as a portrait as a good listener, of somebody who would have been capable of writing the plays, clearly the face of a man of high intelligence," he said.

"It's the face of a man, I think, who betrays a good deal of wisdom in his features. But, of course, as somebody (King Duncan) says in Shakespeare's story Macbeth, 'there's no art to find the mind's construction in the face.'"

It should be noted that Shakespeare's King Duncan paid a price for judging Macbeth to have the face of an honorable man. Macbeth later murdered the king.

The public can read Shakespeare's face from the original painting at Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon where it goes on display for several months starting April 23.

The portrait then returns to the Cobbe family, which inherited it when an ancestor married England's Earl of Southampton -- a friend of Shakespeare who likely commissioned its painting.

cnn.com

CHICAGO, March 6 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests some statin drugs used to lower cholesterol may also reduce sexual pleasure, researchers said.

The research, involving more than 1,000 adults with high LDL cholesterol, found patients who took simvastatin -- marketed as Zocor -- had the largest LDL drop and the largest drop in sexual pleasure, USA Today reported Friday. Pravastatin -- marketed as Pravachol -- did not lower LDL as well as Zocor but patients reported no significant decline in sexual pleasure, the report said.

The findings were presented Friday at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Chicago.

Lead researcher Beatrice Golomb of the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine said statins may reduce Coenzyme Q10, a nutrient that boosts energy. Researchers said there may also be an issue of brain chemistry, sensory nerves or the spinal cord, the newspaper reported.

http://www.upi.com/Science_News

Japanese spa industry, under heavy competition, is trying new features to attract health-conscious bathers on February 25, 2007. This spa has a Wine Spa, under a giant object of a wine bottle. The spa management claims it has health benefits such as relieving fatigue, moisturizing action and anti-aging.

upi.com

The tongue of the chief coffee taster for a worldwide chain of coffee shops has been insured for £10m ($13.95m).

Gennaro Pelliccia personally tastes a sample of each batch of raw coffee beans at its London plant before they are roasted and shipped to its stores.

"My 18 years of experience enable me to distinguish between thousands of flavours," he says.

Costa Coffee, which sells 108 million cups of coffee worldwide each year, aims to double its number of outlets.

The insurance policy was taken out with Lloyds of London.

"The taste buds of a Master of Coffee are as important as the vocal cords of a singer or the legs of a top model, and this is one of the biggest single insurance policies taken out for one person," said a spokesman for Lloyd's broker Glencairn Limited, which arranged the insurance cover.

"In my profession my taste buds and sensory skills are crucial... and allow me to distinguish any defects," said Mr Pelliccia.

bbc.com

by Taylor Swift

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S3FqxxS5O8

SEOUL - A South Korean housewife on Saturday broke a world record in marathon singing after crooning for more than 76 hours without stopping at a Seoul karaoke bar, local record verifiers said.

Kim Sun-Ok, 54, broke the 75-hour Guinness World Record held by Marcus Lapratt of the United States, the private Korea Record Institute said.

She started singing at 11:14 am Thursday (0214 GMT) and sang a total of 1,283 tunes before she gave up at 3:21 pm Saturday following her family's appeal for her to quit for the sake of her health, it said.

Under Guinness World Record regulations, she was given 30-second breaks between songs and five-minute breaks every hour. She was also barred from singing any song she had already sung less than four hours earlier, it said.

"My sister has had a very strong sense of determination since she was young. Once she sets her mind to anything, she finishes it," her brother, Kwang-Jin, was quoted as telling South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

The Korea Record Institute said it would submit video footage of Kim's feat to the Guinness authorities for official recognition as the new title holder in "longest singing marathon by an individual."

abs-cbn

BERLIN â€" A German businessman lost more than 10,000 euros ($13,000) in a plastic bag after forgetting the cash in a public toilet, authorities said on Thursday.

Hesse state police said the man took the "five-figure" sum with him as he stopped to relieve himself in a motorway service station near Haiger in western Germany. He then drove off.

A police spokesman said it was not clear why the man took half an hour to notice his loss -- by which time the money had gone.

An overseas Filipino worker who got fired for his “un-Australian” toilet habits and later rehired is now planning to file a complaint against his employer.

Amadeo “Buddy” Bernabe claims that he’s a victim of harassment because paint thinner was poured over his toilet paper or "baby wipes" causing him injury.

Last January, Bernabe was fired because he used water instead of tissue paper to clean himself after bowel movements.

After the union backed his case, he was asked to return to work. His company, Townsville Engineering Industries (TEI) in Australia, had promised to sponsor his family and guarantee him a job in the next four years.

"Ang hiningi lang nila sa akin is, I will not use water anymore to wash my ass. Instead su-supply-an nila ako ng wet tissue or baby wipes," Bernabe said.

However, Bernabe, along with six other OFWs in the company, were fired a week later allegedly due to the company’s weakening business brought about by the global economic crisis.

Days before their contracts were set to end, Bernabe claimed he was a victim of harassment in the workplace. He said the toilet wipes he kept in his toolbox were doused with paint thinner.

"Yong dapat kung gawin, ginawa ko na. After that magpupunas na ako ng puwet ko, kumuha ako ng wipes. After pagkuha ko ng wipes deretsong punas siya, biglang nag-iinit. Parang nasusunog ‘yong balat ko sa puwet. ‘Nung naano ko, biglang umalingasaw yung amoy. It's thinner. Paint thinner. Which is napaka-delikado sa balat natin," Bernabe said.

His claim was confirmed by a Townsville doctor. He immediately filed a police report.

The Townsville police is set to investigate TEI to determine who was behind the incident. Bernabe is also set to file two other cases of assault against the company.

Now, Bernabe is asking the Philippine government to assist him.

“Walang nagtatanong. Walang tumatawag. Walang kumokontak, as in totally wala. Walang communication sa akin. Hihingi ko sana ng pansin kay [Executive] Secretary [Eduardo] Ermita na kung pwede eh pukpukin ‘yong dapat pukpukin na tao para umalalay sa akin," he said.

Report from Gigi Grande, ABS-CBN News, Townsville, Australia.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

         

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

         

As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the
animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon,
everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of
the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to
getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of
our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

         


Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less

Friendship Among Women:

A woman didn't come home one night. The next day she told her husband that she had slept over at a girlfriend's house. The man called his wife's 10 best friends. Not one of them knew anything about it.

Friendship Among Men:

A man didn't come home one night. The next day he told his wife that he had slept over at a buddy's house. The woman called her husband's 10 best friends. Eight of them confirmed that he had slept over, and two claimed that he was still there.

                   
                       Lori Smith was arrested after deputies
                         say she tried to hug her boyfriend.

Brooksville, Florida - The Hernando County Sheriff's Office says they arrested a Brooksville woman for giving an unwanted hug.

Deputies say they responded to the home of Lori Smith and Kevin Connelly shortly after midnight Monday. When they got there, deputies say Lori told them she tried to hug Kevin twice, however he pushed her away because he did not wish to be hugged. Kevin claims Lori grabbed him several times, so he threw her on the bed to get away from her.

Deputies say due to the fact Kevin did not wish to be touched and Lori continued to hug him, she was taken into custody for one count of Domestic Battery.

http://www.tampabays10.com/news

A village in rural India has been home to something that seems to be taken directly from the story books, namely the wedding of a two year-old infant to a dog, so as to avoid possible attacks from tigers and other such beasts. The ritual is not recognized in the country, but many in the poorest regions still practice it.

In order to deserve the honor of being married to his neighbors' pet, the groom had to grow a tooth in his upper gum. Indeed, it seems that people with teeth are an uncommon sighting in India, as the parents and the rest of the villagers immediately interpreted this unusual phenomenon as a bad omen, and rushed the boy to the temple, were a priest bound his destiny and that of the neighbors' dog together.

No one could say that the ceremony was very spiritual. At least the shaman, priest, or medicine man had his fun at the expense of the people, and sang over the two oblivious creatures for the most part of an hour. In the end, the dog was the one to break the happy union, by going outside in the yard, for businesses that were its alone. The priest assured that the small boy, which would probably have an “interesting” childhood, would still be able to marry a human companion in the future, although people in the area found no flaw in the dog either.

“We performed the marriage because it will overcome any curse that might fall on the child as well on us,” the boy's father explained, as quoted by a local newspaper. After the highly-spiritual ceremony of marrying a sleepy child to an uninterested dog, the locals feasted at a party for the rest of the whole day, eating and drinking in the honor of the newly-weds.

In the evening, the dog was finally allowed to go catch rabbits, or whatever it is that dogs in India did, and the child was taken to bed, after such an eventful day that he was likely to remember for the rest of his life. Or, on the other hand, maybe not.

www.softpedia.com

According to new scientific research, it's not various mental conditions that affect our sleep and make people tired all the time, but vice versa. That is to say, too little sleep or agitated rest can easily trigger “malfunctions” as far as brain health goes, and may open the way to the development of some serious affections. Also, sleep deprivation can cause people to act in ways that can mislead doctors in believing that they are mentally ill.

There is also good news revealed in the study, in that people suffering from some mental conditions can cure them by simply regulating their lifestyles and sleeping sufficient amounts of time every night. On the other hand, the bad news is that many individuals may be taking psychoactive drugs that might be doing very little to help their conditions. Furthermore, these types of medication may actually be making things worse, by acting on parts of the brain that are not ill or otherwise affected, but simply fatigued to the point where they cannot function properly.

This “is very frightening. Wouldn't you think that it would be important for us as a society to understand whether 3 per cent, 5 per cent or 50 per cent of people diagnosed with psychiatric problems are simply suffering from sleep abnormalities?” psychologist Matt Walker, from the University of California in Berkeley, asks. It's crucially important then, he adds, that researchers further look into this issue in order to realize exactly to what extent sleep influences mental health, and just how many people suffer from actual disorders, as opposed to those who are just utterly tired and sleep deprived.

As an example, the researcher notes, individuals affected by depression are approximately five times more likely  to experience difficulties while breathing in their sleep than others. This means that less oxygen reaches the brain, which is basically starved to the point where “errors” occur. Similarly, somewhere between 25 to 50 percent of children and teenagers suffering from the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience sleep disorders, as opposed to just 7 percent of their healthy peers, who are not diagnosed with the condition.

“It was just so easy to say about a patient, well, he's depressed or schizophrenic, of course he's not sleeping well â€" and never to ask whether there could be a causal relationship the other way,” Harvard University sleep researcher Robert Stickgold comments, and adds that a thorough reassessment of psychological procedures is in order, considering the new facts.

www.softpedia.com

Fans of the “Twilight” vampire film have had plenty of rumors coming their way regarding the much-hyped sequel for it, “New Moon.” They can now add another such report to the ever increasing pile, as rumor in the industry has it that Madonna will also be involved in the production in a double capacity, as both singer and actress.

The hearsay was ignited when Ryan Seacrest reportedly told E! that Guy Oseary, Madonna’s manager, was also executive producer for “New Moon.” At the same time, Seacrest also hinted that Oseary was doing all he could and pulling all strings to get the singer on board the sequel. Madonna, on her part, is said to be equally thrilled about the prospect, hoping she will get both to work on the soundtrack and act in the film, as Seacrest teases.

Calls for comment with Madonna were not immediately taken. However, industry insiders are saying, knowing Madonna’s obstinacy in proving herself as a real actress, it’s very likely that there is some truth in the report, even if she’ll only get a minor part or just a few seconds of onscreen time. If this fails, it is further being added, getting just one of her tracks on the soundtrack of “New Moon” would still qualify as an impressive feat, since the score for “Twilight,” the first film in what will prove to be a successful franchise, performed unexpectedly well in both national and international charts.

Speaking of which, another act that is eager to jump on the “New Moon” bandwagon is the teen sensation the Jonas Brothers band. Just recently, the boys spoke to MTV and revealed that they had been contacted for a song on the soundtrack. They also used the opportunity to state that, though they had not seen “Twilight” yet on account of their busy schedule, they were big fans of it.

“The movie was obviously a huge success, and if they asked us to be a part of [the sequel], that would be great.” Nick Jonas told MTV. “It would be really cool,” he added, while Joe and Kevin agreed, “That would be really cool.” As of now, negotiations are still underway and no definite understanding has been reached. “New Moon” drops in theaters on November 20, which also means that it won’t be long until all these rumors are confirmed or infirmed, whichever be the case.


www.softpedia.com

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The first photos of Tiger Woods cradling his new baby boy have been released amid speculation that the injured world number one could announce a return to competitive golf "any day now."

         

Charlie Axel Woods was born on Sunday, February 8, and is the second child for Woods and his wife Elin.

He's pictured here with his 20-month-old sister Sam their dogs Yogi and Taz, who is seen planting a well-timed lick on Tiger's face.

Woods had been waiting for the birth of his second child before making public any decision about a return to the Tour in 2009.

His long-time caddie Steve Williams told Television New Zealand an announcement could come "any day now," and that Woods could return to competitive golf "in the next few weeks."

"He's probably 95 percent of the way there. He was waiting for the birth of his second child which came about last week so he's ready to go, just needs a little bit more walking," Williams told TVNZ.

"He hasn't been able to walk too well. But anytime in the next few weeks he's going to tee it up."

Williams said Woods "definitely" wants to play a couple of tournaments before the U.S. Masters at Augusta in early April.

The world number one has been out of the game since winning his 14th major title at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines last June.

He underwent reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and a week later ruled himself out for the rest of the 2008 season.

Williams told TVNZ that Tiger had been practicing six hours a day, and that the only concession he has made to his injury was to adjust his swing.

"He's had to modify his swing a little bit to accommodate his knee but the guy always finds a way," Williams said.

He added: "Nine months out of the game after a major operation is a long time. But he's a hell of a competitor and one of the best we've ever seen in this game so I would suspect that he'll carry right on, but time will tell that."

Last month, Tiger issued a statement saying that he was practicing and making progress towards at a return to the PGA tour.

He said after January 1, he started hitting longer irons and his driver, although was not swinging as hard as he could, adding "I'm working towards that goal."

Earlier this month he predicted the new addition to the family would make it a "hectic Spring" and said that he'd be taking it "tournament-to-tournament."

(CNN) -- Under fire from tens of thousands of users, the social networking site Facebook said early Wednesday it is reverting to its old policy on user information -- for now.

The site posted a brief message on users' home pages that said it was returning to its previous "Terms of Use" policy "while we resolve the issues that people have raised."

The "Terms of Use" is the legalese tacked on to the bottom of most Web sites that details what the site's owners can do with the information that users provide.

Facebook, the Web's most popular social networking site, has been caught in a content-rights battle after revealing earlier this month that it was granting itself permanent rights to users' photos, wall posts and other information even after a user closed an account.

The popular site allows users to create personal profiles where they can then connect with one another, upload photos and share links. The site boasts more than 150 million active users.

Member backlash against Facebook began over the weekend after a consumer advocate Web site, The Consumerist, flagged a change made to Facebook's policy earlier in the month.

The company deleted a sentence from the old Terms of Use. That sentence said Facebook could not claim any rights to original content that a user uploaded once the user closed his or her account.

It replaced it with: "You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. ... (H)owever, you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content."

In response, Chris Walters wrote in the Consumerist post, "Make sure you never upload anything you don't feel comfortable giving away forever, because it's Facebook's now."

Thousands of indignant members either canceled their accounts or created online petitions. Among them were more than 64,000 who joined a group called "The People Against the new Terms of Service." iReport.com: Too much information posted online?

On Monday, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg tried to quell the controversy by saying the company's philosophy is that "people own their information and control who they share it with."

But members were not appeased because the site did not fix its Terms of Use. The company, in its post Wednesday, said it was returning to its previous Terms of Use because of the "feedback" it had received.

"As Mark expressed in his blog post on Monday, it was never our intention to confuse people or make them uneasy about sharing on Facebook," company spokesman Barry Schnitt said in a blog post. "I also want to be very clear that Facebook does not, nor have we ever, claimed ownership over people's content. Your content belongs to you." iReport.com: Your thoughts on Facebook's about-face

Schnitt said the company is in the process of rewording its Terms of Use in "simple language that defines Facebook's rights much more specifically."

"Well that worked pretty fast," wrote member Al Reford of Vancouver, British Columbia. "Numbers count when giving feedback "

And Shahrzad Grami of St. Paul, Minnesota, added: " YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! nice job guys! i won't be canceling my account after all."

Bobo: Pare, hulaan mo ugali ko, nagsisimula sa letter A.
Pare: Approachable?
Bobo: Mali .
Pare: Amiable?
Bobo: Mali pa rin!
Pare: O sige, sirit na nga!
Bobo: Anest.


Tindero: Bili na po kayo gatas ng baka. Sampung piso lang isang baso.
Manong: Ang mahal naman! Wala bang tig-pipiso lang nyan?
Tindero: Meron po, pero kayo na po ang dedede sa baka....


Pasyente: Dok, bakit po ganito ang operasyon sa ulo ko? Halos kita na utak ko!
Doctor: Ok lang yan, yan ang tinatawag na open-minded.


Amo: Bakit ka umiiyak?
Katulong: Sabi po ni dok, tatanggalan daw po ako ng butlig!
Amo: Butlig lang eh iiyak ka na....
Katulong: Ok lang po sana kung right lig or left lig..... pero bakit naman butligs pa! hu hu hu....

The Silliman National Writers Workshop is now accepting applications for the 48th National Writers' Workshop to be held May 4-15, 2009 in Dumaguete City.

This Writers Workshop is offering fifteen fellowships to promising young writers who would like a chance to hone their craft and refine their style. Fellows will be provided housing, a modest stipend, and a subsidy to partially defray costs of their transportation.

To be considered, applicants should submit manuscripts in English on or before March 27, 2009 (seven to ten poems; or three to five short stories; or three to five creative non-fiction essays).

Manuscripts should be submitted in hard copy and on CD, preferably in MS Word, together with a resume, a recommendation letter from a literature professor or a writer of national standing, a certification that the works are original, and two 2X2 ID pictures.

Send all applications to Department of English and Literature, attention Prof. A.G. Soluta, Chair, Silliman University, 6200 Dumaguete City.

For information, please email english@su.edu.ph. Or go to the workshop website at www.geocities.com/nwwdumaguete

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LMmu-DKaQ0

MANILA, Philippines - Jaime Paule, the alleged Malacañang liaison in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, on Friday urged the Supreme Court to quickly act on his writ of habeas corpus petition filed last Thursday.

In an urgent motion filed by his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, Paule challenged his continued detention at the Pasay City Jail for allegedly lying under oath, saying the arrest warrant issued against him by the Senate was set to expire within the day.

Paule's camp argued that once the Senate's arrest warrant expired Friday, Paule would no longer fall under any of the three categories that justifies a person's detention:

• He is facing a "clear" criminal case.

• He has been issued an arrest order from the Senate.

• He has been convicted of a crime.

Topacio said they would file illegal detention charges against the Senate if it would insist on having Paule detained.

The lawyer said they were also mulling pressing charges against the Commission on Human Rights.

Paule was immediately transferred to the Pasay City Jail after his discharge Thursday night from the St. Luke’s Hospital Medical Center in Quezon City.

In his petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed Thursday night, Paule named as respondents Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Richard Gordon and Senate sergeant-at-arms Jose Balajadia.

Topacio said that the respondents failed to comply with the SC’s ruling issued in Neri vs. Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations where the Court declared that the latter committed grave abuse of discretion in holding former National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Chairman Romulo Neri for contempt.

In that ruling, the court held that the Senate did not comply with the requirement that the invitations should contain the "possible needed statute which prompted the need for the inquiry," along with "the usual indication of the subject inquiry and the questions relative to and in furtherance thereof."

- Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV

Collecting clocks, watches and other small items was just a way for a Filipino based in London to take his mind off loneliness and homesickness from being away from his family.

Eventually, Butch Ambion said his diversion became a hobby that in a span of five years, he was able to collect about 5,000 different kinds of clocks and watches displayed in his home in London.

His collections are not ordinary as these are not often found inside local stores in London.

“Nasisiyahan ako kapag nakakabili ako ng relo na gusto ko. At least wala kang mabibiling ganun sa karaniwang tindahan,” said Ambion.

Prior to the clocks and watches, Ambion started collecting small liquor bottles, later on expanding to memorabilia of the Royal Family, particularly that of Princess Diana during his three decades in England.

His collections gained the admiration of Filipinos who visits his home.

"Una akong dumating dito nagulat talaga ako kasi siya lang yung nakita kong tao na kahit ano kinokolekta niya. Like pati yung mga phone cards siguro mga 50,000 na yung estimate ko doon sa mga phone card niya,” said Ronel Rante, a student.

His collections are estimated to amount to 15,000 to 20,000 pounds or around P2 million.

At the moment, Ambion is setting aside his hobby due to the global financial crisis.

-ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau

Love is definitely in the air at the Commission on Elections office in Quezon City's 1st district.

Couples in red flocked to the local Comelec office on Friday to signify not only their love for each other but also love for their country by coming out to register and vote in the 2010 synchronized polls.

Husbands and wives bore heart-shaped signs that read: "Mahal ko ang bayan ko, magpapa-rehistro ako' and 'Gusto ko ng pagbabago, boboto ako."

Some of the registrants were also given pre-Valentine gifts in the form of heart-shaped lollipops. Some of the couples kissed amid the teasing of Comelec personnel and the rest of the crowd.

The Comelec said the pre-Valentine event is one gimmick to entice more people to register ahead of next year's elections.

Meanwhile, regular commuters of the Metro Rail Transit received a pleasant surprise as policemen sang love songs and even gave away flowers to select passengers disembarking at the EDSA Shaw station.

Chief Superintendent Lino Calingasan, Eastern Police District chief, said the roses also had calling cards that bore the phone numbers of EPD's emergency hotlines.

Director Leopoldo Bataoil, Metro Manila police chief, earlier placed the entire Metro Manila police on full alert to prevent a repeat of the Valentine's Day bombing four years ago.

-abs.cbn

By James Morrison and Nelly Fortado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrZcB-9i7I0

Let me hold you
For the last time
It’s the last chance to feel again
But you broke me
Now I can’t feel anything

When I love you
It’s so untrue
I can’t even convince myself
When I’m speaking
It’s the voice of someone else

Oh it tears me up
I tried to hold but it hurts too much
I tried to forgive but it’s not enough
To make it all okay

You can’t play on broken strings
You can’t feel anything
That your heart don’t want to feel
I can’t tell you something that ain’t real

Oh the truth hurts
A lie is worse
I can’t like it anymore
And I love you a little less than before

Oh what are we doing
We are turning into dust
Playing house in the ruins of us

Running back through the fire
When there’s nothing left to save
It’s like chasing the very last train
When it’s too late

Oh it tears me up
I tried to hold but it hurts too much
I tried to forgive but it’s not enough
To make it all okay

You can’t play our broken strings
You can’t feel anything
That your heart don’t want to feel
I can’t tell you something that ain’t real

Oh the truth hurts
And lies worse
I can’t like it anymore
And I love you a little less than before

But we’re running through the fire
When there’s nothing left to say
It’s like chasing the very last train
When we both know it’s too late

You can’t play our broken strings
You can’t feel anything
That your heart don’t want to feel
I can’t tell you something that ain’t real

Oh the truth hurts
And lies worse
I can’t like it anymore
And I love you a little less than before
Oh and I love you a little less than before

Let me hold you for the last time
It’s the last chance to feel again

A man who thought he would pretend to commit suicide, accidentally succeeded by shooting himself three times in the heart with a nail gun.

An inquest found Damon Ra Sturmey, 39, from New Zealand, had been locked out of his house by fiancee, Sarah-Lee Harlow.

He returned with a nail gun and tried to scare her by shooting himself. The cororner found that he had no intention of committing suicide but fired too close to his heart three times.

But when the ambulance arrived he was able to walk towards it and tell the paramedics to go away.

They were able to treat him but he later died in hospital.

www.metro.co.uk

         

A baby boy was killed by two pet dogs who snatched him from a table while his grandmother slept, an inquest has heard.

Three-month-old Jaden Joseph Mack was staying with his grandmother at her home in Ystrad Mynach, South Wales, while his parents went out on Friday night last week.

Detective Chief Inspector Jon Williams of Gwent Police told the inquest in Merthyr Tydfil: "His grandmother placed him on a dining table, as had happened before with the agreement of his parents, within the front living-dining room.

"She would appear to have dropped off to sleep and upon waking found Jaden had been taken from the table, apparently by the two dogs, and sustained serious injuries."

Jaden was taken to the Prince of Wales Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil, where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on Saturday.

Mr Williams said post mortem findings indicated Jaden died from the injuries inflicted by the dogs, a Staffordshire bull terrier and a Jack Russell which were later destroyed.

His grandmother, named locally as Denise Wilson, was treated for shock in hospital.

Neither she nor Jaden's parents, named locally as Chris and Alexandra, attended the hearing.

Peter Maddox, coroner for Bridgend and the Glamorgan Valleys, adjourned the inquest for further inquiries to be carried out.

Speaking after the inquest at Merthyr Tydfil Law Courts, Mr Williams said the baby was lying on a large pillow on the dining table when the dogs took him. Jaden had been placed there temporarily, and would not have stayed there all night, he added.

www.metro.co.uk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUaL6hHluZ8


   
The Oarfish - A Creature Of Legend

The Oarfish is a very long, bony fish with an appearance similar to that of a dragon. It is believed to be the source of many sea serpent tales. This is the first time it has been filmed alive at the surface.

The Guinness World Record for longest fingernails was broken Wednesday, so to speak.

The fingernails Salt Lake City resident Lee Redmond has been growing since 1979 were broken off in a four-car pileup Wednesday in Holladay, said Salt Lake County sheriff's spokesman Don Hutson.

Redmond was a passenger in one of the cars in the 1:30 p.m. crash. She and at least two others were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, Hutson said. She was ejected from the vehicle, Hutson said.

Redmond's nails were 33 inches long when The Tribune last interviewed her in 2007. She then was 66. In a 1995 article, she said she once turned down $10,000 to trim her nails on Japanese TV.

-the salt lake tribune

MICHAEL JACKSON is suffering from an acute MRSA-type skin infection which threatens to EAT his flesh.

The singer has been receiving antibiotics via a drip in a bid to beat the superbug, which sources say has spread throughout his body.



Jacko, 50, revealed painfully-inflamed skin on his face and hands as he visited a Beverly Hills clinic where he is being treated.

The stricken pop legend may have contracted the infection following plastic surgery on his NOSE, it was feared last night.

The 50-year-old Billie Jean singer is said to have a severe “staph” infection, resistant to conventional antibiotics.

Experts warned it threatened to develop into a terrifying flesh-eating disorder which could kill off areas of the superstar’s skin and leave him in need of major reconstructive surgery.

Jacko has been receiving antibiotics via an IV drip in a bid to beat the condition.

But the skin on his face and hands looked inflamed when he was snapped on his way to a Beverly Hills clinic during another week of intense treatment.



A source revealed last night: “Michael Jackson has a severe staph infection that he contracted during work to reconstruct his nose.

“The disease is an MRSA-style infection because it is resistant to conventional antibiotics, so he has been visiting a clinic to get antibiotics via an IV drip.

“The infection has spread throughout his face and body and is being aggressively treated by doctors.

“There’s a chance it could turn into a flesh-eating disorder where it begins to kill off his skin so he’s being very carefully monitored.”

Swollen

Jackson was seen twice visiting the same clinic within a week.

He emerged with his face covered by dark sunglasses and a surgical mask â€" and with his hair hidden behind a surgical cap.

The usually-pale skin on his hands and face appeared visibly inflamed with red and purple blotches and he appeared to have a severely swollen cheek.

US celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Anthony Youn, who has not treated Jacko but has viewed the shocking photos of the star, said: “It is possible that Mr Jackson has a staph infection or MRSA.

“This is called a ‘super-infection’ because it is resistant to conventional antibiotics. It does look like his skin is red and inflamed and has become infected.

“Staph infection or MRSA is extremely worrying because it is an aggressive infection that is resistant to most conventional antibiotics.

“In some worse cases surgeons will have to remove the infected tissue if it dies â€" leaving the patient needing major reconstructive surgery. It is particularly worrying if it is on the face.”

Dr Youn, who runs The Hills Plastic Surgery and Laser Centre and is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said: “Many people in the health-care system can contract this disease via cuts to the skin.

“But it is possible Mr Jackson contracted it through surgery on his nose. There are occasions where patients contract the infection during plastic surgery procedures.

“Doctors try to treat the infection early with antibiotics administered via IV drip â€" and in many cases the patient can make a good recovery if it is caught early enough.”

Jackson’s increasingly frail appearance has prompted speculation about the state of his health.

Last month Ian Halperin, author of a Jackson biography, claimed the singer was suffering from potentially fatal lung disease. But Jackson’s spokesman dismissed this as a “total fabrication”.

He added: “Mr Jackson is in fine health, and finalising negotiations with a major entertainment company and television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances.”

The spokesman refused to return calls last night.
Jackson has always insisted he suffers from a skin condition called vitiligo, a chronic skin disease which causes loss of pigment.

Despite the dramatic changes to his appearance, he admits only to having two minor cosmetic procedures. He has admitted to minor work on his nose to help him breathe.

Last summer, the star was seen being pushed in a wheelchair as he approached his 50th birthday. The gaunt singer was clad in pyjamas and slippers.

Witnesses described the skin on his hands peeling off â€" almost like that of a snake.


http://www.thesun.co.uk/

In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of
triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the
pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size,
they died shortly after birth.

The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started
to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The
veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a
depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate
another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.

After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing
news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to
the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that
had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one
species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans"
that could be found quickly, were a litter of weaner pigs. The zoo
keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the
babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops??
Take a look........ you won't believe your eyes!!  Scroll down to view.

Does your Pepsi lack pep? Is your Coke not the real thing? India's Hindu nationalist movement apparently has the answer: a new soft drink made from cow urine.

The bovine brew is in the final stages of development by the Cow Protection Department of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India's biggest and oldest Hindu nationalist group, according to the man who makes it.

Om Prakash, the head of the department, said the drink â€" called "gau jal", or "cow water" â€" in Sanskrit was undergoing laboratory tests and would be launched "very soon, maybe by the end of this year".

"Don't worry, it won't smell like urine and will be tasty too," he told The Times from his headquarters in Hardwar, one of four holy cities on the River Ganges. "Its USP will be that it's going to be very healthy. It won't be like carbonated drinks and would be devoid of any toxins."

The drink is the latest attempt by the RSS â€" which was founded in 1925 and now claims eight million members â€" to cleanse India of foreign influence and promote its ideology of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness.

Hindus revere cows and slaughtering them is illegal in most of India. Cow dung is traditionally used as a fuel and disinfectant in villages, while cow urine and dung are often consumed in rituals to "purify" those on the bottom rungs of the Hindu caste system.

In 2001, the RSS and its offshoots â€" which include the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party â€" began promoting cow urine as a cure for ailments ranging from liver disease to obesity and even cancer.

The movement has often been accused of using more violent methods, such as killing 67 Christians in the eastern state of Orissa last year, and assaulting women in a pub in Mangalore last month. It also has a history of targeting foreign business in India, as in 1994, when it organised a nationwide boycott of multinational consumer goods, including Pepsi and Coca Cola.

The cola brands are popular in India, now one of their biggest markets, but have struggled in recent years to shake off allegations

, which they deny, that they contain dangerous levels of pesticide.

Mr Prakash said his drink, by contrast, was made mainly of cow urine, mixed with a few medicinal and ayurvedic herbs. He said it would be "cheap", but declined to give further details about its price or ingredients until it was officially launched.

He insisted, however, that it would be able to compete with the American cola brands, even with their enormous advertising budgets. "We're going to give them good competition as our drink is good for mankind," he said. "We may also think of exporting it."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Are you a Maria Clara? A Gabriela Silang? Or a Cory Aquino? Like all women, Filipinas do come in all shapes and sizes.

But what sets us apart is our character â€" unique, distinct, feisty, yet caring to the max. Find out what type of a Filipina you are and have fun!

You’re a Maria Clara if you…

Dare not dine alone in a restaurant
Can’t wear a dress with low neckline
Won’t go out on a first date without a friend or a chaperone
Are demure and would not think of raising your voice
Would rather “die” than call a guy on the phone

You’re a Gabriela Silang if you…

Don’t mind drinking with the boys
Dare to learn how to ride a motorcyle
Change the color of your hair depending on your mood
Don’t mind experimenting with make-up or fashion
Go out of town at the spur of the moment

You’re a Cory Aquino if you…

Want to change people’s views and attitudes
Dare to make a difference in the society
Love doing volunteer work
Perform on the world stage and get accolades
Demand for your rights as a woman and as a person

Did you get a glimpse of yourself there? We’re sure you’re a merry mix of all three and it doesn’t really matter.

What’s important is you belong to a great race and deep down… proudly Filipina.

(Story courtesy of Proudly Filipina)

Bestfriends Rin (Erin Paula) on the Rox (Roxanne) who loves to sing in the bathroom is now one of the most watched and subscribed videos in you tube. Rin is a pure Filipino while Rox is half-Filipino and white.

These girls rock!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4_1lC-49mM



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho-RaVagVAM



To watch more of their videos: Rin on the Rox

IBM has just announced that it has signed an agreement that will enable it to build its next-generation BlueGene supercomputers, for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). IBM is expected to deliver two systems, one of which will be dubbed Sequoia, will provide a performance of 20 petaflops and will be based on future BlueGene technology.

“The longstanding partnership of NNSA, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and IBM is ushering in an era of multi-petaflops computing,” said NNSA administrator, Thomas D’Agostino. “These powerful machines will provide NNSA with the capabilities needed to resolve time-urgent and complex scientific problems, ensuring the viability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent into the future. This endeavor will also help maintain U.S. leadership in high performance computing and promote scientific discovery.”

The Sequoia is set to be delivered starting in 2011 and will be deployed in 2012. With a speed of 20 petaflops, the system is expected to be the most powerful supercomputer in the world, consequently being 10 times faster than today’s similar machine. The Sequoia will be built on another system, called Dawn, which will be capable of delivering a speed of 500 teraflops, and which is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2009.

According to the available specifications, Sequoia will have 1.6 petabytes of memory, 96 racks, 98.304 compute nodes and 1.6 million cores. An IBM spokesman said that Sequoia would not be designed as a hybrid system, like the Roadrunner. It will be based on a future generation of IBM Power processors.

To better put into perspective what 20 Petaflops actually means, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said that “if each of the 6.7 billion people on earth had a hand calculator and worked together on a calculation 24 hours per day, 365 days a year, it would take 320 years to do what Sequoia will do in one hour.”

www.softpedia.com

Acer is reported to have started shipping its recently announced 10-inch version of the Aspire One netbook in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The PC vendor is now expected to continue its shipping plan, by making the netbook available for global markets, as soon as mid-February, according to market sources cited by Digitimes. In addition, it looks like retailers have already started to offer deals on Acer's first netbook, the 8.9-inch Aspire One, consequently preparing their stocks for the next generation of Aspire One netbooks.

According to a recent news-article on Digitimes, Acer, the world's third largest vendor of computer systems, has already begun shipping its new 10-inch Aspire One netbook to markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The company is said to have informed its panel partners that it may purchase up to nine million 10.1-inch panels in 2009, which indicates Acer's plans with the new netbook, in terms of sales. Also, according to an earlier statement, coming from the company's chairman, Mr. JT Wang, Acer is planning a more aggressive policy, targeting shipments of 12-15 million units, for its netbook business alone.

Following Hong Kong and Taiwan, other markets are expected to receive the new netbook in mid-February, with an approximate price tag of 400â,¬, or about US$511. In the meantime, the 8.9-inch version of Acer's Aspire One netbook is now benefiting from a better deal, at select retailers and various online stores. For example, at Newegg.com, the netbook is priced at $239.99, offering users a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB storage on an SSD and a Linpus Linux lite OS. At Buy.com, the netbook is priced at $259.99, but this configuration sports a Windows XP operating system.

The new 10-inch version of the Aspire One netbook is built on Intel's highly successful Atom platform, featuring a 1.6GHz N270 processor, support for up to 1GB of DDR2 memory and a 160GB SATA hard drive. The system is said to weigh 1.33kg, with a 6-cell battery.

I noticed that some of you guys were talking about techniques and styles in taking photos using high end or ordinary digital cameras in picture of the day thread.

I started this thread for us to be able to have a venue to share how we can improve our skills in photography. May it be a Pro like capture or just a beginner.

Share your views, ideas and suggestions on how to capture and create good pictures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaUQPq4disM

cute

An 11-month-old baby has shopped his marijuana-growing dad to police by accidentally dialling 911.

Mounties in Canada have revealed how they took a 911 call but, on hearing no voice, traced the address and turned up to see if they could help.

When no one answered, they forced their way into the home in White Rock, British Columbia - and found a 500-plant marijuana growing operation.

The 29-year-old father was arrested and the child taken into care, though later restored to his mother.

White Rock police constable Janelle Canning said: "The gentleman was quite surprised."

When the father denied making the call, officers spotted the baby boy - phone in hand.

"We saw him playing with the cordless phone and just pressing all the buttons, so evidently he had called 911," Canning said.

metro.co.uk

The scent of a man, at least among mice, can reveal the state of his health and determine whether a female gets pregnant, a new study shows.

The research suggests that other animals, perhaps even you, choose mates in part based on the strength of their immune systems.

Previous research had shown mice prefer to breed with mates whose immune-system genes -- which produce chemicals that help the body fight invading cells -- are different from their own. Such selective sex leads to healthier offspring.

The new study shows how the selection occurs.

Researchers at the University of Maryland examined molecules known as peptides that come from the immune system and end up in urine. Each mouse's disease-fighting peptides are unique, like fingerprints. A female records and remembers the scent of a mate's peptides using its vomeronasal organ, inside the nose.

"Exposure, during a critical period, to urine odor from another male, will prevent embryo implantation, leading to loss of pregnancy, while exposure to the familiar odor will not," said Frank Zufall of the university's School of Medicine.

Spiking the punch

"We can trick this odor memory and the outcome of the pregnancy-block test by adding peptides to urine," Zufall told LiveScience. "In other words, we can switch an unfamiliar urine odor to a familiar one (and vice versa) by spiking the urine with only a few peptides."

Other studies have shown that vomeronasal organs in many animals detect pheromones and other molecules that pack information on sexual and social status. Pheromones were first discovered in the 1950s to be sex attractants in insects.

"We believe that detection of [immune system] peptides via the nose may be of general significance for social behaviors in all vertebrates," Zufall said.

The study was led by Trese Leinders-Zufall and will be detailed in the Nov. 5 issue of the journal Science.

Picky, picky

Similar peptides exist in human immune systems. But our vomeronasal organ has apparently been rendered defunct by evolution, many scientists believe, though there's some uncertainty about this. In fact the question of how and whether scent affects a woman has been widely debated in recent years.

Since discovering powerful sex pheremones in silkworms decades ago, scientists have been hot to learn whether humans could be similarly stimulated. The investigation has proved frustrating.

"Compared to insects, whose behavior is stereotyped and highly predictable, mammals are independent, ornery, complex creatures," notes writer Maya Pines of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Like any animal, we humans are picky. And that provides a line of investigation.

Stinky T-shirts

In 1996, Claus Wedekind, a zoologist at Bern University in Switzerland, conducted what's become known as the stinky T-shirt study. Wedekind had 44 men each wear a t-shirt for two nights straight, then tested how women reacted to the smelly shirts.

Like mice, women preferred the scent of men whose immune systems were unlike their own. If a man's immune system was similar, a woman tended to describe his T-shirt as smelling like her father or brother.

Since then, companies have developed pheremone-based perfumes and cologns, with promises of increased sexual attraction. Researchers don't agree on their effectiveness.

More research is needed to figure out how and to what extent a woman's nose leads her to sex, and how adept she is at picking a healthy partner.

"We cannot rule out that other parts of the human nose are able to detect the peptides," Frank Zufall said. "We can now ask whether these peptides are present in human secretions such as sweat and saliva, whether they can be detected by the human nose, and if so, whether they have any influence on our own social behavior."

livescience.com

Marimar

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1661403/marimar_by_moymoy_palaboy/

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6b0_1223647591

The scent of a woman is more attractive at certain times of the month, suggests a new study that had men sniffing women's armpit odor.

"We were interested whether armpit odor changes across menstrual cycle," said study author Jan Havlieek of the Department of Anthropology at Charles University, Prague. "To test this, we asked a group of women to wear cotton pads in their armpits for 24 hours."

The women didn't wear perfumes, use deodorants, eat spicy or smelly foods, smoke, drink alcohol or use hormonal contraceptives such as the pill. Body odor was collected during three phases: menstrual (at the beginning); follicular (between the first day of menstruation and the onset of ovulation); and luteal (the fertile stage).

"The fresh pads were subsequently rated for their attractiveness and intensity by a group of 42 men," Havlieek told LiveScience.

The most attractive smells, men said, were from the time between the first day of menstruation and ovulation.

The cycle

The typically 28-day menstrual cycle involves the physiological changes that occur in a woman to prepare for a possibility of pregnancy. It is controlled by the reproductive hormone system.

A cycle is divided into four parts and starts on the first day of menstruation, which is the shedding of tissue and blood from the womb.  In the follicular phase, a dominant ovarian follicleâ€"which is a sack that contains the ova, or eggâ€"grows, becoming ready to ovulate. The mature egg is then released in the phase known as ovulation around day 12. The cycle ends with the fertile phase.

Although many men would tell you they're always in the mood, Havlieek and colleagues discovered that men find odors during the follicular phase the most attractive and least intense. On the other hand, the highest intensity smells, corresponding to the lowest attractiveness for men, were found during the time of menstrual bleeding.

"Traditionally it's believed that ovulation in human female is concealed and there are no changes in attractiveness across the cycle," Havlieek said.

The study is detailed in the January issue of the journal Ethology.

Further sniffing

Two other studies by different research teams came to similar conclusions. But those investigations used T-shirts for odor sampling, "making it difficult to pinpoint the source of the smell," said Havlieek, whose team restricted sampling to armpits only.

Finally, the attractiveness of women's faces also changes during the month.

Havlieek's team found that facial images of women in the follicular phaseâ€"when the dominant ovarian follicle is getting ready to ovulateâ€"are considered more attractive as compared to images taken in the luteal or fertile phase of the cycle.

The researchers hope to find out which chemical compounds are responsible for the odor changes across a woman's menstrual cycle.

livescience.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFowYW-YG04

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRkczEUW0T4

Bem, don't think of it as each year you get older, think of it as each year you get better... because you do!

Happy Birthday!

I love you! mwaah

G, this song is for you!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCbOEZ8c8dM'

"Let us be lovers we'll marry our fortunes together."
"I've got some real estate here in my bag."
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And we walked off to look for America.
"Kathy," I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've come to look for America."

Laughing on the bus;
Playing games with the faces;
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy;
I said "Be careful his bowtie is really a camera."

"Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat."
"We smoked the last one an hour ago."
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field.

"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping.
"I'm empty and aching and I don't know why."
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike:
They've all come to look for America
All come to look for America
All come to look for America

CLERMONT, Fla. (AP)- A Clermont man is lucky Sprint offers an unlimited text messaging plan.

Brad Cox's 14-year-old daughter, Emilee, sent or received more than 35,000 messages a month twice in the past year. Cox called the Orlando Sentinel to report his daughter's excessive texting after reading an article on the Web about a California girl who topped 14,000 in a month.

Emilee's highest month was June, when she tallied 35,463 messages, or about 1,182 a day. She attributed the spike to constantly trading text messages with friends while she was at cheerleading camp.

A spokeswoman for Sprint confirmed the number of messages. Cox says as long as his daughter continues to get good grades, he doesn't have a problem with her texting.

Healthy habits are what makes our life as beautiful as it is, it has been claimed. Health experts and nutritionists, for instance, say that it’s the healthy eating habits that we have that make the restrictions we impose upon ourselves easier to bear. On this note, the morning cup of coffee many of us can’t get through the day without should not be eliminated â€" as long as we make sure it’s healthy and calorie-free.

Nutritionist Alexa Fishback, author of “The Daily Fix,” tells FitSugar that the morning coffee routine is to be encouraged, but only on the grounds that we pay close attention to what goes in it so as to not gain weight. For instance, if a sweet tooth is what would best describe us and there is absolutely no way we could have black coffee, then it’s best if we just add a teaspoon of plain sugar to it, Fishback tells us, as it has only 20 calories, which makes it considerably better than other artificial sweeteners on the market.

A general list of types of coffee that are both good for our health and kind on our silhouette would include regular or flavored brewed coffee (black), espresso, americano (espresso topped with hot water), misto or cafe au lait with skim or lowfat milk (half regular coffee, half steamed milk), as per the same nutrition expert.

However, if your favorite caffeinated drink is not on the list, that does not mean that all hope is lost. Fishback says that there are plenty other coffee-based drinks that we can have on a daily basis without having them show on our waist and thighs. For instance, latte with skim or lowfat milk (“a shot or two of espresso that has been poured into a cup filled with steamed milk and then topped off with foamed milk”), cappuccino with skim or lowfat milk (“one-third espresso, one-third steamed milk, and one-third foamed milk - more foam than a latte”) and macchiato with skim or lowfat milk (“an espresso with a small amount of milk on top”) are all allowed.

Also allowed as a daily drink is tea, be it hot or iced, plain, black, white, herbal or mixed. Again, the secret to not piling on the pounds because of this one habit is to not add sweeteners if possible. For more flavor and a boost of taste for our fave morning drink, Fishback recommends spices, the kind we also find at various coffee joints, such as cinnamon and nutmeg, which make a cup of coffee a truly wonderful experience without having to count the calories.

www.softpedia.com

By Elena Gorgan

Although news of a “Karate Kid” remake was received with raised eyebrows when it was made official in November last year, it seems that Will Smith and his production company are busy at work to get things moving along. The Hollywood Insider reports, from very reliable sources, that Jackie Chan has already been contacted and agreed to take on Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi part in the upcoming production.

No confirmation of this has yet been made, but it was enough for word to get out on the Internet to bring fans of the cult classic into a frenzy. It’s not so much that Jackie Chan would not fill in the shoes of the mentor just fine that’s the problem, most fans seem to agree, but that they are really going to make a remake of what must be one of the most popular movies of its kind. Remakes, as it is known, often pale in comparison to the originals, and it’s precisely this that bothers fans.

If the rumors checks out, Chan will join Jaden Smith, son of reputed actor Will Smith, who has already made his debut on the silver screen opposite his father in “The Pursuit of Happyness.” He has also appeared in the alien flick “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” where his performance was, however, bitterly criticized by movie watchers worldwide. Therefore, he is not a stranger to acting, and would probably do just as well in “Karate Kid,” it is being said.

The same source also says that “Pink Panther 2” director Harold Zwart will be at the helm of the remake, with Will Smith’s production company, Overbrook, directly overseeing production. “China Film Corp. Group will coproduce the movie, which will shoot entirely in China.” the Insider also states, again citing the same well-placed insiders in the industry.

At the same time, proving that, indeed, “The Karate Kid” remake is to remain a family business, it is being said that Jada, Will’s wife, will also be actively involved in the film, by playing the part of Jaden’s mother.

New study shows women play on their attractiveness whenever opportunity arises

         

While the latest study made on the faithfulness of beautiful women as opposed to that of average looking ones is no groundbreaking discovery, it does help to finally settle the matter. Gorgeous women are not made to be loyal, and it’s not something that they can do to help it, as the research has showed.

It’s all in the hormones, scientists say, and not in the way a woman was raised or the values she upholds. More specifically, it’s in the level of oestrogen that a woman’s fidelity is to be found, as the study has showed that those with high levels of it are more likely to be unsatisfied with their current partner, therefore more prone to cheat on them when the opportunity arises. Coincidentally, these women are also very good looking, scientists pointed out.

Being beautiful means, in turn, more potential mates, which makes women “play on their desirability to snare the best mates,” say the researchers as quoted by the Daily Mail. Their standards for what they want from a partner are also highly influenced by them being good looking, which translates into not being able to come across a person to meet those standards, which makes them move from partner to partner.

“Physically attractive women may not only have more alternatives but also high standards that are difficult to satisfy. Accordingly, they have fewer reasons to be committed to any particular partner if higher quality potential mates are available.” Dr. Kristina Durante pointed out for the aforementioned publication. Their cheating is, thus, not reason for opprobrium for being a spur of the moment thing, but simply them acting as their very nature dictates.

The same study also revealed that, while attractive women are admittedly the “most unsatisfied with their lot,” they will also choose a long-term relationship instead of brief flings â€" still, nothing will stop them from moving on to another partner when something better comes up. “Without necessarily being consciously aware of their motives, highly attractive women are probably able to capitalize on their desirability and continually acquire valuable resources and a higher quality long-term mate by trading-up when the opportunity arises.” the researchers explained.

www.softpedia.com

A LONELY postal worker has landed himself in huge debt â€" after handing over £130,000 to a string of internet scammers.

Shane Symington started sending cash to the fraudsters in 2007 after he was contacted by a woman claiming she needed funds to help her sick mother.

The trusting postie agreed and started sending money from an inheritance he had received when an elderly relative passed away.

Fraud

He even stumped up the cash for a funeral when the woman said her mother had died.

He finally smelt a rat after the woman failed to reply to any of his emails.

Symington was then contacted by another 'victim' who told him the woman he had been in contact with was actually a Nigerian gang.

That email was quickly followed by one from men claiming to be the FBI who said they were investigating the fraud.

The men told Mr Symington they would take on his case if he sent money to fund their trip to Nigeria, including any costs they incurred during the trip.

Mr Symington agreed and, after taking out loans to raise the funds, he eventually sent money to three separate ’FBI’ agents.

This went on until December last year when Mr Symington realised he had been scammed again.

In total he forked out just over £130,000.

Now to rub salt into his wounds, police say he won’t be able to recover the money he sent because the Nigerian police are not willing to cooperate.

Detective Jon Knox said: “This is a very sad situation.

“This man has now parted with huge sums of money through his own good nature - by trying to help others and then by trying to recover some of what he had lost.

“We do not want anyone else to fall foul of this kind of shocking activity.

“I would warn anyone who is asked for money over the internet by people they do not know to refuse, and not put yourself at risk.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk

The colours are magical...the lilac tones of the sky and clouds are so soothing.

Found this kind of game in other website and it's fun. here's how it works. every post will have the following:

^  say something about the person above you.
<  say something about yourself.
v   say something about the person below you.


I'll start!!!

<  fun-loving
v  has yet to post (is that you kiams?)

Tubag...

I'd be a whale. Huge but gentle.

The rain reminds me of my childhood years.

How about you?

The world needs love, let there be peace.

AN assistant prosecutor of the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office was shot, while trapped in a traffic jam, by two men on a motorcycle on Ma. Gochan St., Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City.

The gunman attacked Assistant City Prosecutor Patrick Ian Osorio about 100 meters away from the Mambaling Police Station and only 20 meters away from the N. Bacalso Ave. national highway.

Osorio, a 36-year-old father of four, was hit four timesâ€"twice in the right side of his abdomen, once in the right leg and once in the right arm. He was alone in the car during the attack, but managed to step outside and yell for help.

A trisikad driver and PO1 Jeric Caballero, a beat patrol policeman of the Mambaling Police Station, rushed Osorio to the Miller Hospital in a taxi. He was taken to the operating room.

Two trisikad drivers who witnessed the shooting told SPO4 Alex Dacua, team leader of the responding Homicide Section investigators, that the attack took place at 4:25 p.m.

Witness Romulo (full name withheld) said a Toyota Revo (GPB 203)â€"later identified as the car Osorio was drivingâ€"stopped on Ma. Gochan St., in the middle of a traffic jam.

Romulo said he and his fellow trisikad driver, who were fixing a vehicle, noticed a red motorcycle without a plate number as it turned right and stopped near the passenger side of Osorio’s car.

Two men rode the motorcyle, both wearing helmets that fully covered their faces, Romulo told reporters.

Without alighting from the motorcycle, the gunman pulled out a gun and fired two shots that shattered the windshields.

Romulo said the culprits sped away and turned right, heading south.

Called for help

The wounded assistant prosecutor disembarked from his car and shouted for help.

A team of policemen headed by Mambaling Police Station Chief Andres Bayarcal immediately arrived in the area.

While P01 Caballero and a concerned trisikad driver brought Osorio to the hospital, Bayarcal led his men in trying to chase the culprits.

Bayarcal, in an interview, said they lost sight of the culprits and failed to arrest them.

Operatives from the Theft and Robbery Section, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau and agents from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group also tried to pursue the attackers.

One empty shell from a caliber .45 was found at the crime scene.

Dacua said his team is still looking into all the possible motives for the attack, including the possibility that it was work-related.

NBI’s help

Director Medardo de Lemos said the National Bureau of Investigation 7 will help probe the case, while personnel from the justice department’s protection program are securing the hospital where Osorio was brought.

Osorio followed in the footsteps of his father, lawyer Jesus Osorio. But he could have chosen a different path: priesthood.

In an interview with radio dySS last night, Jesus said that Patrick and elder brother Tata enrolled at a seminary in Mabolo in high school. But by the third year, Patrick told his father he didn’t want to be a priest.

Instead, he took up AB Political Science at the University of San Carlos and would have continued his law studies there, but was late for enrolment because he was out mountain-climbing with friends.

He earned his law degree at the University of San Jose Recoletos and passed the bar in 1998.

The younger Osorio practiced law in his hometown in Dalaguete for five years. He was then offered a position at the Department of Justice in Manila but later transferred to Cebu City, where he has since been working as an assistant prosecutor.

Family court

Jesus said that after work, Patrick usually drove through the Cebu South Coastal Road to pick up his children from school in Inayawan.

Patrick has four children. The eldest is Grade 2, the second is Grade 1 and the third is still in kindergarten. The youngest is scheduled to start school this year. His wife is pregnant with their fifth child.

“I talked with Fiscal (Mary Ann) Castro and she said that Patrick has no enemies. She would know better about the activities of a prosecutor,” Jesus said in Bisaya in the same radio interview.

“He handles a family court where cases are not controversial but personal,” Jesus continued.
Osorio is assigned as the resident prosecutor of the 24th branch of the Regional Trial Court, a family court. He is known to be a quiet, approachable man who steers clear of controversies.

Last Monday, when hearings at the Cebu City Regional Trial Courts were scarce, Patrick was one of only five prosecutors who attended hearings.

Find them

Castro, said Jesus, theorized that the attack could only be work-related. Jesus could not offer any theories of his own but only wants a speedy investigation of the attack.
“Since what shouldn’t happen already happened, I just hope that it will be immediately investigated,” he said.

While Osorio conducts inquest and preliminary investigation on complaints filed before the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor, co-workers find it hard to believe that he may have been shot because of one of those cases.

“He never spoke about getting threats or anything like that,” one co-worker said.

Osorio was appointed as prosecutor in 2004, during the term of Regional State Prosecutor Antonio Arellano, six years after he passed the bar exams.

In his 2006 Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth, he posted the lowest net worth among prosecutors that year, at P122,000.

Of the cases he handled, only few attracted media’s attention.

One was his resolution recommending the filing of charges against SPO1 Mateo Yanson, who was later found guilty of the murder of moneylender Pilar Hernandez, 61,
and her secretary, 55-year-old Wivina Pancho.

www.sunstar.com.ph

A sculpture of Christ has been removed from a church following concerns that it was scaring young children, a vicar said today.

The Rev Ewen Souter said the 10ft-high resin figure also failed to convey the message of hope of the resurrection of Christ.

The sculpture was installed in St John's Church in Broadbridge Heath, West Sussex, in the Sixties after being designed by former Royal Society of British Sculptors president Edward Bainbridge Copnall.

It was removed from the side of the church just before Christmas and delivered to Horsham Museum, where it will be mounted on a large wall in its grounds.

In the meantime, artist Angela Godfrey has been commissioned to design a new cross for the church expressing the joy of the Christian faith.

Mr Souter, who has been vicar at St John's since 2001, said: 'It was felt that the crucifix was unsettling for young children, that it was off-putting to people outside the church and conveyed nothing of the hope of the resurrection of Christ.

'As part of a local community survey done by my predecessor, all the comments about the cross were negative and we wanted something that communicated the hope and joy of the Christian faith.'

A museum spokesman told the West Sussex County Times: 'Thanks to the generosity of St John's, the remarkable sculpture of Jesus on the cross by Edward Bainbridge Copnall has in effect been given to Horsham Museum.

'The museum was keen to have the figure because it is not only a stunning example of Edward's ability and skill as a sculptor, but also being made out of coal dust and resin it represents the cutting edge of materials as well as being a dramatic interpretation of a well known image.'

www.metro.co.uk

         

Angry monkeys turned on their trainer - and beat him senseless with his own stick.

The enraged primates struck back after their owner handed out a vicious beating to one of the trio during a performance in which they rode mini bicycles in a market in Sizhou, eastern China.

While one monkey twisted their cruel master's ears, another pulled his hair out in handfuls and bit his neck.

Then, when he dropped his cane, the third snatched it up and began beating the trainer around the head until he broke the stick.

The dazed trainer confessed: 'They were once wild and these performances don't always come naturally to them. They may have built up some feelings of hatred towards me.'

Now police are investigating allegations of animal cruelty and may confiscate the monkeys.

www.metro.co.uk

What would you say if you walked on the street and the air smelled like coffee instead of burned gas? Although the very few people who can't stand the smell of coffee (assuming there are any) may be disappointed, for those who aim at having waste turned into fuel, good news is here: coffee and biofuels just became one. A team of experts from the University of Nevada have managed to obtain diesel fuel from coffee grounds leftovers.

It's not even hard to do, claimed the team, comprised of Mano Misra, a professor of engineering, Narasimharao Kondamudi, and Susanta K. Mohapatra. They stated having employed regular chemistry techniques both in order to extract the oil they needed for the process from the coffee grounds and to turn it into fuel. Also, the whole process did not require more energy than the typical fuel manufacturing, and the price of the biofuel was estimated at about one dollar per gallon (some 22 cents per liter).

Once again, the discovery was completely accidental, and it was related to the fact that Misra found coffee contains an important amount of oil. “I made a coffee one night but forgot to drink it,” he explained, as cited by the NY Times. “The next morning I saw a layer of oil floating on it.” Then, together with the other researchers, he concluded that, if the used coffee grounds were rich enough in oil content, this could be put to good use.

Based on 50 pounds (23 kg) of material bought from Starbucks stores, their analyses indicated that some 10-15% of the coffee waste weight represented extractable oil. But obtaining the waste may prove harder than extracting its oil, since there are only a few places this could be bought from, such as the bulk roaster that the researchers will use for their program.

Now, don't get your hopes too high, coffee won't be the next major breakthrough in fuel industry. Actually, all the coffee waste on the planet could only produce about 1% of the US diesel requirements for a year. “It won’t solve the world’s energy problem,” shared Dr. Misra. “But our objective is to take waste material and convert it to fuel.” And the exhaust does smell like a fresh cup of coffee.

www.softpedia.com

The time of the holidays is also a time when parents fear that too much sugar ingested by their children, usually in the form of chocolate, candy and other sweets, can harm them and make them hyperactive. Some also believe that festive meals, served late at night, can cause them to gain weight, even if they eat responsibly.

Two scientists, Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll, from the Indiana University School of Medicine, set out to debunk some of the most widespread myths about the Christmas season, which they say are simply not true. So they started browsing previous studies and searching the web for evidence to the contrary. Their discoveries were published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

"In the pursuit of scientific truth, even widely held medical beliefs require examination or re-examination. The holiday season presents a further opportunity to probe medical beliefs recounted during this time of year," they say.

"Regardless of what parents might believe, however, sugar is not to blame for out-of-control little ones," their paper reads. Most parents believe, with no scientific background, that their children become hyperactive around Christmas because of the larger amounts of chocolate and sweets they eat, but Vreeman and Carroll say that this is not the case, and that the kids are simply excited because everyone around them is.

People also believe that, with cold weather, they have to put on woolen hats, so as to avoid losing heat through the head. "If this were true, humans would be just as cold if they went without trousers as if they went without a hat. But this patently is not the case," the researchers say.

They also add the fact that all common cures for headaches caused by hangovers may only work on individuals alone and are not a valid treatment for this condition. "From aspirin to bananas to Vegemite and water, Internet searches present seemingly endless options for preventing or treating alcohol hangovers. No scientific evidence, however, supports any cure or effective prevention for alcohol hangovers," they conclude.

1. Make It Fast
The longer you take to get to the point (whether it's hours or days), the less they will take you seriously. And if you make it look like you're having a hard time going through with the breakup, they will think they can change your feelings or stick around in your life.

2. Be Honest
Don't sugarcoat the situation. If you're seeing someone else, tell them you're seeing someone else. My little sister broke up with a live-in boyfriend because she kissed another guy during a business trip. She told her boyfriend the deal -- it made it more concrete. Avoid cliche's like "I love you, I'm just not in love with you." Guys don't understand this stuff. If you've lost feelings for them, just say it. They can't argue with that. And avoid covering up -- "I just can't be in a relationship right now." Sure you can -- if you were still really into him, you'd be in a relationship with him.

3. Don't Feel Sorry for Anyone
People will beg, cry, get angry, or shower you with guilt. Just keep going, try to ward off your guilt. It's just going to slow you down and prevent you from getting to your objective. And never take someone back, or cancel breaking up because you feel sorry for them. Do you really want to stay with someone you feel sorry for?

4. Set Post-Breakup Rules
Let them know the deal: you won't be answering their calls or emails. You won't be accommodating them if they show up at your apartment. Eventually, if they have any personality and independence, they will stop bothering you -- but only if you stick to these rules. If you lay these rules out at the time of breakup, then they can't say: "why are you ignoring my calls?" Don't tell them what they are allowed to do -- they can call you all they want, but if you have stated you won't be answering their calls then you are well within your rights when you don't pick up.

5. Stick With It
The more you take them back, the less seriously they'll take your breakup attempts.

6. Neutral Site
Never do it at your place. You want to be able to leave on your own time. Neutral places are the easiest locations to make a quick getaway. The longer you've been together, the more likely it is that you'll be required to do it in person.

Breaking up takes strength. I have found that people who can't break up with someone they are no longer into are somewhat weak. Do what you want to do, and don't get swayed by the situation or the other person.

The seven warning signs that a relationship is in trouble are:

1. Fighting has become the rule rather than the exception to the rule.
2. You find yourself looking outside the relationship for comfort, care, and
understanding.
3. You can't remember what attracted you to your partner in the first place.
4. There is little or no intimacy in your relationship -- sleeping in different
rooms or different beds, lack of interest, anger, and hostility so that
intimacy is out of the question.
5. Spending very little time together, friends seem to be more important
than your partner.
6. Reactions to situations are disproportionate to the content of the
disagreement (i.e., feeling your partner doesn't love you because she/he
didn't like the meal you cooked).
7. Feeling helpless and hopeless to change anything. Feeling done with the
relationship, but unclear as to where to go and what to do. Feelings of
anger, resentment, pain, and desperation are predominant.

If any or all of these describe you in your relationship, your relationship is in trouble and it won't be long before something more drastic happens, such as an affair, arguments get worse and inflate with intensity, increased jealousy, silence for longer periods of time, and sometimes even physical and/or verbal abuse.

Calling all pioneers (dormant and active), present Tubag Bohol members for a Christmas Virtual Tagay. I really missed the old times... mag online tang tanan either sa atong Virtual Payag or sa Conference Hall sa YM.

Ate A, Bella, Grace, Happy, Mari, C2, lumine, bulak, svetlana, teng, swakee, GEC, Julain, Alex, Paul, etc... etc...

Ning daghan na raba ta buyag. Atong himamaton silang bnc, calle, manay tess, buwadsanga, a'lie,  ug uban pa....


You suggest the date and we will make it happen before the year ends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnvJHgrt95g

OSLO, Norway â€" Members of the first batch of Filipino nurses in the Norwegian capital who took the drug administration test in 2002 deplored the charges leveled against them that they cheated to pass the examination.

They also challenged their accuser to come out in the open and identify himself.

“The charges have greatly affected our reputation which we have difficulty in building because of racial discrimination," one nurse said. She noted that local patients now shun black-haired nurses.

The nurses met at the Philippine Embassy in Oslo on Friday to plan how to counter the damage brought about by the allegations and redeem their tainted reputation.

“We Filipino nurses are highly regarded here. It was very unfortunate that this issue came out," Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) president Cynthia Baluyot said. She called on her fellow nurses to continue dispensing their duties diligently and prove that they are competent and efficient workers.

In a story published in a local Norwegian paper recently, a certain “Romeo" approached the paper and reported that Rizalina Galiza Jenssen, general manager and owner of ASOR recruitment agency, was allegedly responsible in the cheating.

ASOR is responsible for bringing in nurses to Oslo and reports have it that since the signing of agreement with the Oslo government in 2003 to provide health workers, ASOR has earned close to 40 million Norwergian kroner (US$5.78 million).

Romeo told the paper that Ms. Jenssen copied all his answers and distributed the same to all the examinees, adding that she took the answers from him because she knew that he had the competency and experience in drug administration.

“(And) the proctor did nothing to deny Jenssen’s access to the school or even stop her from talking with the examinees," the paper reported, based on Romeo’s narration.

A member of the batch vehemently denied Romeo’s allegation saying that Mrs. Jenssen was not present when they took the exam.

“She was nowhere to be seen while we were taking the exam," Cesar dela Cruz said. A fellow nurse corroborated his statement saying that she only saw Mrs. Jenssen when she unlocked the door where the exam took place.

Fifty examinees took the test administered by Hogskolen i Vestfold. The school management denied the allegations and said that Mrs. Jenssen was possibly there before the examination but she was not present during the examination.

And contrary to Romeo’s report that almost all passed the exam, the school said that only half passed the test administered during that time.

Previous reports posted online say Rizalina Jenssen, who is married to a Norwegian and has been living in Norway for 28 years, is the only person authorized to recruit OFWs for Norway.

While the demand for nurses in that Scandinavian country is high, she was able to send 289 Filipino nurses to Norway in the last seven years due to the tough requirement. The recruits have to complete a six-month course on Norwegian language.

“To help applicants, Jensen established a small school that offers a course in Norwegian language in Ilocos Norte, her native province. Jenssen said, a total of USD 6,000 will be paid out by each recruit but only after the worker gets his or her first salary," said one report posted on the website http://www.nclex-rn.net.

“Upon arriving in Norway, newly hired OFWs still need to go though an advanced Norwegian course. The additional tutorial course usually lasts for a month and fees are included in the expenses," the report added.

It said Filipino nurses who are hired in Norway and have brought their families there consider it a dream come true. The starting salary is US$3000 a month.

“Even if Oslo, the capital of Norway tops the list of cities with the highest cost of living, residents enjoy various benefits. - GMANews.TV

Recent scientific studies show that the unconscious mind can be a very powerful tool in finding the best answers to a very complicated issue, but that it can also lead to failing to reach the best solution in a certain scenario. That is to say, you could analyze a problem meticulously and find a solution, or you could think of something else and let the solution come on its own â€" but the rewards of your actions may vary considerably.

To prove this, four researchers at the Duke University, John W. Payne, Adriana Samper, James R. Bettman and Mary Frances Luce, organized a “lottery” of sorts, in which participants were asked to choose an answer to a problem that, in the first stage, offered them similar rewards regardless of the solution they selected.

The test subjects were divided into three sub-groups â€" one was allowed as much time to think about it as they wanted, the second one was allowed only a limited amount of time for their decisions, while the third group was distracted just before making the choice, which left the whole decision-making process up to the unconscious mind.

There were little-notable differences between the three groups, when all decisions they could have made awarded them with similar payoffs. However, in a second experiment, when each option had a significantly variable reward, researchers learned that analyzing the problem thoroughly led to the test subjects obtaining the best possible outcome under the circumstances. With unconscious decision making, the participants also selected a good choice, but not the best and the most rewarding.

The team also found out that allowing people to think of a problem for a specific amount of time could make their minds wonder off the issue at hand, and could lead to them bringing the lesser issue into focus, thus losing their perspective on the main problem. During both experiments, people in this group performed poorly, worse than any of the other two groups.

As a conclusion, the Duke team says that letting solutions to problems appear on their own might provide people with an easy way out, but that a self-paced, thorough analysis holds the key to really figuring out all the ups and downs of a decision, and ultimately leads to people making the right choice for themselves, under given circumstances.

www.softpedia.com

The seaweed or hydrocolloids industry in the country continues to grow by 10 to 14 percent annually resulting to huge world market earnings of $ 3 billion this year.

This was revealed by biologist and seaweed consultant Ronald Simbajon in his presentation at the Mindanao Investment Conference (Min iCon) recently held in this city.

Simbajon said there are three big major companies serving as key players of the industry with state-of-the-art facilities, including 18 local processors.

China is identified as the emerging major buyer for raw material of the carrageenan industry.

Statistics showed five years ago, over 100 carrageenan processors were already operating. There and more than 50 additional today.

The carrageenan industry requires about 80,000 metric tons of dried seaweeds annually.

The growing seaweed industry has benefited 160,000 coastal and island dwelling families and allied services farming of over 20,000 hectares.

Simbajon said the seaweed industry is a lucrative business. One-fourth hectare can generate an annual income of P300,000 at an investment cost of P80,000.

The one-fourth hectare planted to seaweed would produce 1,000 kg. per cropping within a 60-day cycle.

Seaweed raw material could be applied to various food and non-food products and liquids, among others: jellies, ham, patties, sauce, juice, petfood, toothpaste, ice cream, beer, milk and chicken.

Aside from economic benefits, seaweed is also a catalyst for ecological preservation since its biomass attracts various marine species that provides sanctuary and breeding ground for marine life while dramatically minimizing destructive fishing practices, Simbajon said.

In Mindanao, seaweed farming thrives in the farmlands of Zamboanga, Cagayan, Cotabato, Butuan, Davao Region and General Santos.

Story courtesy of PNA

Rex Book Store (RBS) has started digitizing some of its books as part of the Google Book Search Publisher Partner Program wherein book publishers can place their books in the Google Book Search tool.

RBS will digitize over 5,000 of its books under the Google Book Search program (http://books.google.com.ph).

RBS already has a website (www.rexinteractive.com) which has a number of books digitized.

The bookstore publishes books and journals in English and Filipino, which cover pre-school to post-collegiate levels. It also has supplementary non-textbooks, reference and leisure books.

The company is hoping that the Google Book Search service will open the company to over users in the Philippines and abroad.

Rex Group of Companies Chief Operating Officer Don Timothy Buhain said the company hopes to become one of the most searched publishers for Filipino textbook materials under the program.

“Our pride in our Filipino authors drives us to seek avenues to further the reach of their scholarship and creativity. This association with Google opens a gateway for our publications to be searched with ease, and for our local authors to gain appreciation from markets far beyond the Philippines,” Buhain said.

www.goodnewspilipinas.com

Manny Pacquiao is eyeing his next big challenge, not Ricky Hatton or Floyd Mayweather Jr.â€"but earning a college diploma.

Pacquiao back in the Philippines after defeating Oscar de la Hoya on Sunday, said his boxing career would not last forever. The Filipino southpaw said education is what would sustain him after retirement from fighting.

“Gusto ko pa ring ipagpatuloy ang pag-aaral ko. Gusto ko matapos iyun. Iba naman ang boxing hindi pang-habangbuhay [I want to continue my schooling. I want that. Boxing is different, as that is not for life],” he said.

Pacquiao’s statement is indeed welcome news to the Department of Education. Secretary Jesli Lapus announced that Pacquiao would serve as the department’s champion and spokesman for its Alternative Learning System, a program designed to lure back to school some 12 million out-of-school children and adults nationwide.

In 2007, Pacquiao earned the Education department’s Accreditation and Equivalency for high-school dropouts. The boxer took the exam at the Ireneo Santiago National High School in General Santos City, his hometown.

Based on department records, he scored 82 percent in communication skills, 82 percent in English comprehension and 66 percent in Mathematics and science.

His overall ratings were 70 percent correct, a standard score of 95 percent and a percentile rank of 70 percent.

The equivalency qualified Pacquaio to apply for admission to a college or university, but apparently, he has not decided which one.

We are proud of Manny as a boxer, a professional, and as a person, as he sees the value of education as a key component in life, and we do hope many people who haven’t finished their college education will emulate his plans, and finish a degree.

www.goodnewspilipinas.com

Don't expect to spot an Apollo lunar lander. But Friday night, weather permitting, sky-watchers around the world will see the biggest and brightest full moon of 2008.

Although a full moon happens every month, the one that rises tomorrow will appear about 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than the other full moons seen so far this year.

At its farthest from Earth, the moon is said to be at apogee. (Find out more about Friday's perigee and watch a moon-facts video in National Geographic News's space blog, Breaking Orbit.)

Perigee and apogee each happen generally once a month, but the moon's wobbly orbit means that its exact distance at each of those events varies over the year.

The moon's phase can also be different during each apogee and perigee.

"Typically we don't have the full moon phase and perigee coinciding at the same time, so that makes this event particularly special," said Ed Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California.

What's more, tomorrow's event will be the closest lunar perigee since 1993, at 221,560 miles (356,566 kilometers) from Earth.

The moon's farthest apogee for the year will occur a couple weeks later on December 26, when the natural satellite will be 252,650 miles (406,601 kilometers) from Earth.

Highest Tide

Because this unusually close perigee is happening during a full moon, it is expected to have an effect on Earth's tides.

"While high tides happen each month when the sun, Earth, and the moon are aligned, there is going to be an enhanced effect, with the moon being the closest it's been in more than a decade," said Ben Burress, staff astronomer at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California.

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Frog farm in Singapore urges visitors to come and enjoy its 6,000 strong 'frog orchestra' perform before they are sold for consumption.

                                 

American bullfrogs kick back at the the Jurong frog farm in Singapore, the only frog breeder in the city-state that raises bullfrogs primarily for human consumption. It is also an educational tourist attraction, urging visitors to come and enjoy its 6,000-strong “frog orchestra” and offering tips on how to tell male and female frogs apart.

The farm sells products such as Essence of Bullfrog with Ginseng and Cordyceps and Snow Frog Jelly, and offers recipes for “yummy frog porridge”. Singaporeans eat 2,000kg of frogs daily and the farm supplies 25 per cent of this amount.

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