Little Qoute Of Life: 2011

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Home > Archives for 2011

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Airbus A380 Struck By Lightning While Landing In London

The moment a lightning bolt struck a commercial passenger plane mid-flight has been caught on tape. None of the 500 passangers on board the Emirates Airlines Airbus A380 were injured as the plane flew through a storm as it approached London's Heathrow Airport.

Videographer Chris Dawson, 37, pointed his digital camera at the plane from his terrace in south-west London about 7.30pm local time. "I saw a storm coming and I thought there could be lightning," he told Abu Dhabi's English language newspaper The National.

"I wasn't expecting it to hit a plane but I just got fortunate." The plane landed without incident.

A United Emirates spokesperson told the newspaper lightning strikes are not rare and that every plane in its fleet is designed and certified to withstand a lightning strike.

Just yesterday a Qantas Boeing 737-800 en route from Auckland to Melbourne was forced back mid-flight after a suspected lightning strike — but it too landed without damage or injury to passengers.

The average lightning bolt produces a current of 20,000 amps and can attain temperatures of 30,000C

But an airplane's metal hull forms a Faraday confine that protects it from lightning, carrying the electric charge through the hull and expelling it at an output point without harming the aircraft or the passengers inside.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Ginza Tanaka unveils Solid Gold Christmas Tree Worth $2 Million

For those of you who love Christmas but can’t stand falling needles and cheap plastic, Japanese jeweler Ginza Tanaka has created the ultimate Christmas tree – made of pure gold and worth a whopping $2 million.

After making a 24-karat gold horse for Japan’s newborn prince, and creating another tree worth $850,000, Ginza Tanaka decided to step it up even more and came up with a solid gold Christmas tree for this holiday season. Measuring 2.4 meters high and weighing around 12 kg, the luxurious tree is decorated with golden plates and around 60 heart-shaped ornaments, and covered with ribbon. It’s the most expensive thing Ginza Tanaka has ever made.

While $2 million is an impressive price for a Christmas tree, this is far from the most expensive tree ever. Just last year a seven-star hotel in Abu Dhabi exhibited a 13-meter-high evergreen Christmas tree decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments, small white lights and expensive jewelry like necklaces and earrings hanging from its branches. It was worth $11 million.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling

Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress. Spelling became known in the early 1990s for her role asDonna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210. Spelling then had roles in a string of made-for-television films, such as A Friend to Die For and Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?. She later appeared in several independent films such as Trick and The House of Yes. She reprised her prominent role in the spinoff, 90210 in 2009. Her autobiographical book sTORI Telling debuted on top of the New York Times Best Seller list and was named the best celebrity autobiography of 2009.

Natalie Wood (1938 - 1981)

Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981 was an American actress.

Wood began acting in movies at the age of four and became a successful child actress in such films as Miracle on 34th Street (1947). A well received performance opposite James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and helped her to make the transition from a child performer. She then starred in the musicals West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962). She also received Academy Award for Best Actress nominations for her performances in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love with the Proper Stranger (1963).

Her career continued successfully with films such as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969). After this she took a break from acting and had two children, appearing in only two theatrical films during the 1970s. She was married to actor Robert Wagner twice, and to producer Richard Gregson. She had one daughter by each: Natasha Gregson and Courtney Wagner. Her younger sister, Lana Wood, is also an actress. Wood starred in several television productions, including a remake of the film From Here to Eternity (1979) for which she won a Golden Globe Award. During her career, from child actress to adult star, her films represented a "coming of age" for both her and Hollywood films in general.

Wood drowned near Santa Catalina Island, California, at age 43, during production of Brainstorm(1983) co-starring Christopher Walken. Her death has been declared an accident. However, on November 17, 2011, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened the case based on new witness statements.

Monday, November 21, 2011

South Korean Lady-Boy Wins Miss International Queen 2010

After four days of enjoying themselves touring the different venues arranged in their honor, the finale of Miss International Queen 2010 went off in sparkling splendor and not a little disappointment for those who failed to make the grade.

The finale of the 6th Miss International Queen 2010 Contest took place on Nov19, hosted by the Tiffany Show Pattaya. As 23 contestants from 15 countries held their cooperative breath, the winner of the “To Dream The Dream” contest was announced. And the crown lastly went to Ms Mini from Korea.

After touring the various tourism activities arranged for them from Nov16, the big instance for the host of beautiful lady-boy contestants had finally come to present their collective talents and prettiness on the final stage. In the first round, the committee selected 10 contestants, which was quickly whittled down to the three semi-finalists from America, Japan and Korea.

Of those final three, two had to share their distress as the title Miss International Queen 2010 went to Number 9, Mini from Korea, who won the crown, honour sash, and US$10,000, along with other gifts from sponsors. The other two got the reward of fine compensation prizes, however. The 1st runner up was Number 20, Ami Takeuchi from Japan, who got US$2,000, while the 2nd runner up prize went to Number 7, Stasha Sanchez from America, who got US$1,500.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Couple Say They Are Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene

An Australian couple who claim they are reincarnations of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene have newly set up camp in Queensland’s Bible Belt, joined by 30 – 40 followers.

Australian cult watchers are worried about a new organization known as Divine Truth, led by Alan John Miller and Mary Suzanne Luck, who claim they are Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The two rely on donations made by their followers in order to maintain themselves, and authorities fear they could be taking advantage of the vulnerable.

Mr. Miller, 47, was born in Luxton, South Australia, and is the father of two children from a past marriage, which ended when he began remembering facts from his past life. He seems to believe this is his 22nd life and that he has the amount of divine love in his heart accumulated in 22 life cycles. Now he and his soul mate, 32-year-old Mary Magdalene, real name Mary Suzanne Luck, are reunited and have formed their very own little cult, in Wilkesdale. Miller first bought 16 hectares of land in the area, and his followers soon followed his example now to be close to their charismatic spiritual leader.

In 2009, Divine Truth members joined forces and bought a $400,000, 250 ha property where they could conduct meetings and build a center for international visitors. Concerned friends and families contacted the Cult Awareness and Information Center to advise followers are selling their houses to move to Wilkesdale. Land clearing has created a cross-like shape which locals say wasn’t done deliberately, and that’s bound to convince plenty of believers this is a divine sign. Meanwhile, police say they’ve been called to examine screams on the property, only to find Divine Truth members practicing an exercise that actually helps them deal with “past soul damage”

Alan John Miller admits”There’s almost certainly a million people who say they’re Jesus and most of them are in asylums. But one of us has to be. How do I know I am? Because I remember everything about my life.” He means all 2,000 years of it…

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Boxing Legend 'Smokin' Joe' Frazier Dead at 67

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier, who was known for his personal and professional battles with Muhammad Ali, has died at the age of 67 after a brief fight with cancer.

The youngest of 12 children, Frazier was born in 1944 into a working-class family on a farm in the racially-segregated southeastern U.S. town of Beaufort, South Carolina. Frazier dreamed of becoming a prize fighter from an early age, watching boxing matches on his family's black-and-white television.

After fighting as an amateur for several years, Frazier won a gold medal for the United States at the 1964 Olympic Games. But "Smokin' Joe" Frazier really made his name in the 1970s during his epic rivalry with boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

Frazier became the first man to beat Ali, winning the heavyweight title in 1971 in a dramatic, 15-round unanimous decision at New York's Madison Square Garden. Dubbed the "fight of the century," an estimated 300 million people worldwide viewed the match, which left both men hospitalized.

After Ali responded with a 12-round victory in 1974, the two men met in the Philippines for the famed "Thrilla in Manila," considered as one of the most famous sporting events in history. After battering each other for 14 rounds, Frazier was forcibly held back by his trainer after nearly being blinded by Ali's punches. Ali later said the match was the "closest thing to dying" that he had ever experienced.

The no-nonsense Frazier was often overshadowed by Ali's more aggressive and charismatic personality. Frazier resented being verbally attacked by Ali, who referred to him as a "gorilla" and accused Frazier of being too accommodating to the white-dominated society.

The two men remained bitter enemies for decades. But in later years, Frazier came to forgive Ali, saying he felt no bitterness against him for his attacks outside the ring. Ali also later apologized, saying the insults were only meant to promote the fights.

Ali said in a statement late Monday that "the world has lost a great champion," and that he will always remember Joe with "respect and admiration."

Frazier's aggressiveness, close-range style and devastating left hook compensated for his relative small size. He weighed just 93 kilograms - considered small for a heavyweight boxer. Frazier retired in 1976 with a record of 32 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw.

The boxing icon's family said late Monday that he died in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia - one month after being diagnosed with an advanced form of liver cancer.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Newfound Raptor Dinosaur had 'Switchblade' Killing Claws

Battle damage linked to the fearsome curving talon of a newly discovered dinosaur relative of Velociraptor is shedding light on how it was used as a weapon, scientists find.

This research also adds to the mysterious complexity seen in the lost continent where this fossil was found, researchers added.

The newfound 75-million-year-old dinosaur is a feathered raptor named Talos sampsoni — "Talos" in homage to a winged bronze giant in Greek mythology that could run at lightning speed and that succumbed to a wound to his ankle, "sampsoni" in honor of Scott Sampson of the PBS series "Dinosaur Train," and a research curator at the Utah Museum of Natural History.

Fossilized remains are all that's left of the once mighty dinosaurs that dominated our planet. Here, the most recent finds from these ancient beasts.

The raptor dinosaurs, made famous by the book and film "Jurassic Park," all possessed unusually large, sickle-like claws on the second toes of each foot, which they held off the ground like folded switchblades.

A famous discovery made in Mongolia 30 years ago seemingly of a Velociraptor locked in mortal combat with prey — fossils dubbed the "fighting dinosaurs" — suggested these talons were used as weapons. Now the injured claw of Talos sheds even more light on how they lived with these weapons.