Isnin, 19 Ogos 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro


Cabbie who donated liver gets award

Posted:

CABBIE Tong Ming Ming, 34, touched a chord in Singaporeans from all walks of life when The Sunday Times reported last week that he donated a part of his liver to a stranger on the brink of death.

More than 60 readers commended him online and in e-mail to The Sunday Times. The story garnered more than 400 "likes" on The Straits Times' Facebook page.

Two organisations are honouring him, BBC World wants to interview him, students want to meet him for a project and a dermatologist has offered help with his scar, free of charge.

But, perhaps most important of all, two adult children of liver fai­lure patients who are considering donating a part of their liver, reached out to him for reassurance.

One of them, primary school teacher Lee Siew Kiang, 35, will undergo surgery tomorrow to donate a part of her liver to her father who has liver cancer.

Lee said she was aware of the risks of the operation and that her fate might not be the same as Tong's. "But he is a real inspiration. If he can do this for a stranger, I can do it for my dad," she said.

Tong gave his gift of life to civil servant Toh Lai Keng, 43, in March in a nine-hour operation at the National University Hospital. Both men are doing well.

The Government subsidised half the cost of the operation – as it does for all transplant cases involving Singapore citizens.

Toh will pay Tong's bills even in future for expenses related to the surgery.

Tong is the first living donor here to give a part of his liver to someone with whom he has no blood or emotional ties.

The Rotary Club of Singapore informed Tong yesterday that it is giving him a Good Samaritan award, which includes a S$1,000 (RM2,578) cash prize and a certificate.

Meanwhile, Allswell Trading, which represents energy drink Red Bull in Singapore, has made Tong a nominee in an ongoing campaign to identify and honour "Real Singapore Heroes", said the company's director Lam Pin Woon.

The bachelor at the centre of all this attention, meanwhile, lets on that he received more than 100 Facebook friend requests after the article. And although a tad "embarrassed" with the spotlight, he is glad his story helped spread awareness of living-donor transplants.

"Donors must evaluate the risks for themselves," he said. "But if my story can help save even a single life, I will be more than happy." — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates


Operator of crippled Japan nuclear plant says tank leaked contaminated water

Posted:

TOKYO (Reuters) - The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said on Tuesday it believes about 300 tonnes of highly contaminated water has leaked from a storage tank designed to hold overflows from the site.

The leaked water contains 80 million becquerels of radiation per litre, a Tokyo Electric spokesman said by phone. The company will give further details at a media conference at 0330 GMT.

A becquerel is a measure of the release of radioactive energy.

The Fukushima plant was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the world's worst nuclear disaster in a quarter of a century.

The government said this month it would step up its involvement in the plant's cleanup after announcing the station was leaking contaminated water into the ocean, following months of denials of a leakage by Tokyo Electric.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Paul Tait)

Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader Badie -state media

Posted:

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have arrested the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, state media reported on Tuesday, pressing a crackdown on his group.

Mohamed Badie, 70, was detained at an apartment in Nasr City in northeast Cairo, the state news agency reported.

"That was after information came to the security apparatus locating his place of hiding," it said.

The Facebook page of the Interior Ministry was showing a picture of Badie, with dark rings under his eyes, sitting in a car between two men in black body armour, with a caption confirming his arrest.

"Carrying out the decisions of the public prosecutor to arrest and bring forward the general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie, and through collected information and observation of movements it was possible for the criminal search apparatus under the direction of Cairo's security (services) to arrest him ,the caption said.

"The necessary legal measures are being taken," it added.

Badie is the Brotherhood's General Guide.

He was charged in July with inciting violence along with other Brotherhood officials. Together with his two deputies, he is due to stand trial on August 25.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim told Al Masry Al Youm, a newspaper, that Badie had been arrested in the early hours of Tuesday.

(Reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Egyptian authorities arrest Muslim Brotherhood leader

Posted:

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities escalated their crackdown on deposed President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood by arresting the Islamist organization's top leader, state media reported on Tuesday.

Mohamed Badie, 70, was detained at a residential apartment in Nasr City in northeast Cairo "after information came to the security apparatus locating his place of hiding," the state news agency reported.

The Interior Ministry's Facebook page showed a picture of Badie, with dark rings under his eyes, sitting in a car between two men in black body armour, with a caption confirming his arrest.

"Carrying out the decisions of the public prosecutor to arrest and bring forward the 'general guide' of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, and through collected information and observation of movements, it was possible for the criminal search apparatus under the direction of Cairo's security (services) to arrest him," according to the caption.

Badie was charged in July with inciting the murder of protesters. Together with his two deputies, he is due to stand trial on August 25.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim told the Al Masry Al Youm newspaper that Badie was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday.

The military removed Mursi from power on July 3 after mass protests against his rule. Mursi, who was freely elected but alienated many Egyptians during his year in power, is in detention at an undisclosed location.

Egypt's public prosecutor pressed new charges against Mursi of inciting violence in a move coinciding with a court ruling on Monday that toppled military strongman Hosni Mubarak - arrested after his overthrow in 2011 - can no longer be held on a corruption charge.

Mursi was already facing an investigation into accusations stemming from his escape from prison during the anti-Mubarak revolt. These include murder and conspiring with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Almost 900 people, including more than 100 soldiers and police, have been killed since the authorities forcibly dispersed Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo last Wednesday.

'SHARP POLARISATION'

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called on Egyptian authorities to free Mursi, who faced mass street protests as he marked a first year in office on June 30, or at least ensure a transparent process.

Ban also said "the political space for the Muslim Brotherhood should be expanded, because their political space has been very limited."

"With such sharp polarisation in Egyptian society, both the authorities and the political leaders share the responsibility for ending the current violence. They should spare no effort to swiftly adopt a credible plan to contain the violence and revive the political process," Ban told a U.N. news conference.

The United States also urged Egypt not to ban the Muslim Brotherhood.

Founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood used its organisational muscle to propel Mursi to power in last year's presidential election. The group says it has a membership of around one million people in Egypt. The group has inspired offshoots across the Arab world.

The Muslim Brotherhood emerged from decades as an outlawed movement to become the best organised political force after the downfall of Mubarak. Members of the Brotherhood - which renounced violence decades ago - are accused by the state of launching a campaign of militancy.

The 85-year-old Mubarak, arrested after his overthrow in 2011, can no longer be held on a corruption charge, a court ruled on Monday in a decision his lawyer said removed one of the last obstacles to his release on bail.

Fareed el-Deeb, Mubarak's lawyer, told Reuters: "All we have left is a simple administrative procedure that should take no more than 48 hours. He should be freed by the end of the week."

A judicial source, without confirming that Mubarak would be released, said Mubarak would spend at least two more weeks behind bars before the criminal court can make a final decision in another corruption case against him.

The killing of 25 Egyptian policemen in the Sinai near the desert border with Israel on Monday was blamed by the new, military-installed government on Islamist militants. State television carried emotional demands for retribution against the Muslim Brotherhood.

The policemen were on their way to their barracks in Rafah when militants attacked them with machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades, according to security sources. Egyptian state television reported that the presidency announced three days of mourning for the "martyrs of Rafah."

The United States said on Monday it was still reviewing whether to freeze any of the $1.55 billion it gives Egypt in mainly military annual aid. The United States has been a close ally of Egypt, the biggest nation in the Arab world, since it made peace with Israel in 1979.

The United States also voiced concern about the deaths on Sunday of 37 men who authorities said were suffocated by tear gas during a bid to flee custody.

"We are ... deeply troubled by the suspicious deaths of Muslim Brotherhood prisoners in a purported prison escape attempt near Cairo," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington.

Having initially defended police action, Egypt later said that two officers had been arrested over the incident.

Egypt's second largest Islamic party, Nour, called in a statement for a presidential decree to create an independent fact-finding committee into the deaths of the 37 men and blamed the interior ministry for the incident.

European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss how to force Egypt's army-backed government into seeking a peaceful compromise.

(Additional reporting by Lin Noueihed, Alistair Lyon, Asma Alsharif, Yasmine Saleh and Shadia Nasralla in Cairo, Alexander Dziadosz in Minya, Michele Nichols at the United Nations and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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Getting to know the world of Elysium

Posted:

DONUTOPIA

HAVE you ever heard of the Stanford Torus? The (American) National Space Society (nss.org) describes it as the principal design considered by the 1975 NASA Summer Study, which was conducted in conjunction with Stanford University with the purpose of speculating on designs for future space colonies. It consists of a torus (a donut-shaped ring) that is one mile in diameter, rotates once per minute to provide Earth-normal gravity on the inside of the outer ring, and which can house 10,000 people.

Blomkamp worked with VFX supervisor Peter Muyzers and production designer Phil Ivey to determine the size and width of the ring, how many people could live on Elysium, and how many houses would there be, what the houses would look like, what kind of infrastructure would be in place, as well as how one would get to the orbiting space station. Real scientists and engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory were consulted to see if the effects people were on the right track.

Interestingly, Blomkamp was familiar with the Stanford Torus because of his interest in the artwork of 80-year-old futurist illustrator Syd Mead (famous for his concept designs for Blade Runner, Tron and Aliens). Blomkamp said: "Syd Mead, who designed some of the sets on Elysium, is one of my favourite artists. Even when I was a young kid in South Africa I used to collect everything of his that I could find. And in 1982 he did an illustration for National Geographic of the Standford Torus. That image always stuck with me.

"Later, when I was trying to figure out how to show the contrast between the rich and poor in a sci-fi setting for this movie, I remembered that image from Syd and I thought that if you could recreate it very realistically – the original idea was not opulent – but if you took that concept and you made it satirical, if you put the rich on the torus and put swimming pools all over it, that would be a cool concept."

FIELDS OF GOLD

The encyclopaedia of Greek Mythology says that the Elysian Fields (i-LEE-zhun or ee-LEE-zhun) is a paradise of the heroes. Here, the likes of Achilles lived on (after death) in pleasant surroundings, in heroic pursuit of the hunt and banquet (mythweb.com). In his Odyssey, Greek epic poet Homer described it as a place where life is easiest for men. His fellow countryman Hesiod also spoke of it, as did Thebean poet Pindar, who described Elysium as having shady parks.

According to filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, his reason for naming the film Elysium was quite different. "My reason was because Elysium is a giant gated community (in the movie). And in Johannesburg (from where the director hails) they have the cheesiest names for the gated communities. Like Eden or Aasgard," he explained almost rolling his eyes. Thus, "Elysium" sounded perfect.

BIONIC MAN

In the movie, a dying Max (Matt Damon's character) is fitted with a biomechanical exoskeletal suit that enables him to have superhuman strength. How else could he posisbly stand up to Elysium's robot guard? Blomkamp gave directions on the look of the suit, as well as the droids and the weaponry used in the movie to the artists at Weta Workshop, who also designed the aliens and weaponry on District 9, according the movie production notes.

"It was my favourite prop in the movie," says Special Makeup FX /Costume /Props Supervisor Joe Dunckley, who said the suit required eight months of research and development and 75 revisions before the design was finalised.

In the end, the actor wearing the suit was impressed. "The big thing was mobility," according to Damon. "Elysium is a real action movie, with running and jumping and climbing and fighting, so they wanted to make sure that I could actually move in the suit, and the guys at Weta knocked that out completely. Everything looked metal, but it was super-lightweight. I could stay in it all day and I'd feel totally fine."

CARRYING CAPACITY

In an interview with Wired magazine's Mark Yarm, Blomkamp talked about the human race going down the road of the Malthusian catastrophe, and much of his movie is based on this idea. Just what is the Malthusian theory? English economist Thomas Malthus claimed that there would be a population explosion that was already becoming evident in the 18th century, and argued that the number of people would increase faster than the food supply. Population would eventually reach a resource limit and the world would see a population crash, caused by famine, disease, or war. Filmmaker Blomkamp feels that there are only two ways we could end up if this theory were to eventuate – survive through technological innovation, or end up extinct.

Harlin's mystery tour

Posted:

The Finnish director, maker of Die Hard 2, on a quarter-century of making movies and what lies ahead.

AS I'm ushered into Renny Harlin's office in Venice, Los Angeles, three blocks from where Orson Welles filmed the opening sequence of Touch Of Evil, his assistant informs me: "Oh, you'll have fun with Renny. He's been doing his homework on you."

My mind fills with horrifying possibilities, recalling how Don Simpson would have a journalist's credit rating, divorce papers, and even criminal record to hand for an interview. But Finland's most successful director simply appears before me with a grin and says: "Hello, John, I very much enjoyed your –" and he quotes something I wrote a month back. "I laughed all day!" he adds.

Harlin, a lean, ginger-haired man of medium height with a wind-burned, tough-guy sort of face, is currently in post-production on two projects. Having readied The Dyatlov Pass Incident for release this month, the 54-year-old is now about to edit his big-budget project Hercules 3D (starring Twilight's Kellan Lutz), due in 2014. "Hercules is an origins story. It starts with the young Hercules – how he becomes a man and comes to terms with being a demigod. I'm involved enough to be one of the writers."

The Dyatlov Pass Incident, meanwhile, is about an eerie happening in the Urals in 1959, when nine experienced Russian skiers died of inexplicable causes. They got lost in a blizzard and were found dead days later: some naked or barefoot, others with crushed skulls or broken bones, one with his tongue cut out – though not a single body showed signs of trauma or struggle. The movie deploys found footage, or recreations thereof, in the style of The Blair Witch Project.

Thomas Jane comes face-to-jaws with a biologically enhanced shark in Deep Blue Sea, one of Harlin's 'bounce-back' movies after the disastrous Cutthroat Island.

Pearly whites: Thomas Jane comes face-to-jaws with a biologically enhanced shark in Deep Blue Sea, one of Harlin's 'bounce-back' movies after the disastrous Cutthroat Island.

"It's such a weird story, one of those unsolved mysteries of our time, but it's not like some 'Flying saucers spotted over the mountains' story. There are crime-scene photographs, reports, maps, drawings – if you go on the web, you can pretty much track down every available piece of information. In Soviet times, obviously, it was hard to find anything out.

"Even when things happened in Russia, like plane crashes, you'd hear stories of people waiting for their relatives at the airport, and they just never showed up. No plane, no bodies. And Chernobyl – they could hardly bear to admit it. But even after all that, scientists have tried, very intelligently and seriously, to establish or guess what actually happened to these skiers. But there are only guesses, no theory that makes sense."

Hercules has the biggest budget Harlin's been handed since 1995's disastrous Cutthroat Island. Ranked one of the biggest box-office flops of all time, the film was said to have stopped his career dead. But it didn't (and anyway, thanks to the perilous economic state of his backers, the romcom action film opened without advertising). Harlin's next two movies were his best: The Long Kiss Goodnight, starring Geena Davis as a schoolteacher waking up to the fact she was once a skilled assassin; and Deep Blue Sea, his hit about brain-boosted sharks.

Harlin has made a movie every 18 months or two years ever since – oddities such as Exorcist: The Beginning, straight-to-DVD thrillers like Cleaner, and on-the-quiet mini-hits like The Covenant. Intriguingly, his later-period work echoes much of his early-career output, when he slalomed from exploitation flicks such as A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, to the Andrew Dice Clay action comedy The Adventures Of Ford Fairlane, before landing the second Die Hard movie in 1990. Just give the man a movie, it seems, and he'll make it one way or another, large, middling or small.

I apologise for my scant knowledge of Harlin's homeland, but am able to mention Aki Kaurismaki, Finland's dourest, driest and most deadpan screenwriter and director. "Aki! Yes, we know each other well. We were pretty much of the same generation of film students. One morning my doorbell rings at 5am and there's Aki. 'We're shooting and our car broke down,' he says. 'We need yours.' I have this 1963 Volvo. 'That's perfect!' he says. 'We'll bring it back later.' For the scene, the car has to brake really hard about 20 times. My brakes were shot by the end of the day. Aki killed my poor old Volvo! That's Aki."

Kaurismaki, with his minimalist black comedies, was able to function in the restrictive Finnish government film-financing infrastructure of the late 1970s. Harlin not so much.

"Because everything was government-financed, it all had to be socially conscious with serious issues: unemployment, divorce, alcoholism – really heavy. And Finnish people just weren't going to see Finnish movies. Aki could break into that – his sensibility could just about be fitted into the system, but I had to break away. I needed foreign financing."

The title of Harlin's first movie hinted at the rebirth to come: 1988's Born American was about three Finns who cross into what was then still Soviet Russia and suffer various tribulations of the blood-soaked variety. It was instantly banned in Finland for "anti-Soviet sentiment", allegedly at the behest of the Soviet ambassador to Finland.

"It was the first film banned for political reasons in Finland since the 1930s, and it was news everywhere. I remember the LA Times headline: 'Born in Finland. Banned in Finland.' It was a shock. We thought, 'Wait, isn't Finland an independent country – or is it still a part of Russia?' They made an enormous mistake, but we used it to our advantage in publicity."

And so he had his Hollywood calling-card. Within five years of arriving, he was directing Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2 and Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger, making money hand over fist for his studios.

In the years since, he worked on a biopic about Baron Carl Mannerheim, Finland's most revered 20th-century leader, a contradictory, hedonistic enigma, and perhaps Finland's Churchill, who spent decades in the pre-revolutionary Imperial Russian army before leading Finnish forces against the Soviets in 1919-21, and then again in the second world war, before routing remaining Nazis in Lapland.

"I worked on it for more than 10 years," says Harlin. "We even started it twice – once in Lithuania, once in Hungary. We had over 1,000 costumes made, all props and sets designed and built, all casting done, award-winning makeup designers for the lifelong ageing."

Despite all this, the film never came to fruition, something that clearly still saddens him. "My parents were both in the war," he says wistfully. "Every Finnish home had Mannerheim's picture on the wall."

He displaced some of his energy into 2011's 5 Days Of August, filmed in Georgia, about the five-day Russian incursion into South Ossetia in 2007. This, for Harlin, was another small and vulnerable place like Finland, hedged in by huge neighbouring empires. "I felt like this Georgia situation offered me a ventilation, a pressure valve from the Mannerheim experience. And I poured all those emotions into it instead."

He regrets now not being more familiar with all sides of the conflict, but he wouldn't trade anything for the days he got to boss the Georgian army around. "It was incredible commanding 80 tanks, with thousands of troops surging across the landscape, and all those planes and helicopters. I felt like Sam Peckinpah making Cross Of Iron."

I wonder which he prefers: shooting or editing. "I love editing, but I'm happiest on the set with the crew, the cast, the extras, being the commander. Not in a pretentious, Napoleonic way, but because I was always like that since I was a kid – in the sandbox going, 'OK, you guys go there, you guys do that.' And it's a role I love still." – Guardian News & Media

Earth-friendly films

Posted:

Here's a chance to catch some films about the environment which are both entertaining and educational. 

IT'S only a movie, people sometimes say. But movies can be more. Here's a chance to catch some films about the environment which are both entertaining and educational.

The 6th Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF) kicked off recently and free public screenings of award-winning films are currently being held every Monday at MAP Publika, KL.

These Monday Movies screenings will be held until the KLEFF is held from Oct 11-13. Showtime is 8pm at The Square in Publika.

Among the films are: The Light Bulb Conspiracy directed by Cossima Dannortizer, the winner of Best International Film at last year's festival; Big Dreams, Little Bears directed by Audrey Low and Howard Jackson; and Bikpela Bagarap (Big Damage), winner of the Audience Choice Award at last year's festival.

Big Dreams, Little Bears is about the world's smallest bears that live on the island of Borneo. Dr Audrey Low follows sun bear expert Siew Te Wong as he tries to save the bears. Low rediscovers her homeland while Siew goes through the most dangerous phase of his work. The film is full of humour while the audience gets to meet Suria, the youngest and smallest bear, ostracised after being injured by other bigger bears.

The Light Bulb Conspiracy is a documentary about the ill effects of consumerism and planned obsolescence, which claims certain products have deliberately shortened life spans to ensure that there is no end to the demand, guaranteeing the manufacturers' long-term profits.

Next month, Monday Movies will showcase the official selection of this year's festival.

The KLEFF, which will also be held at Publika, will offer a wide variety of environment-themed local and international films. There will also be exhibitions by NGOs and grassroots organisations as well as businesses, and community workshops and performances by local artistes.

For more information, visit ecofilmfest.my.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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Harlin's mystery tour

Posted:

The Finnish director, maker of Die Hard 2, on a quarter-century of making movies and what lies ahead.

AS I'm ushered into Renny Harlin's office in Venice, Los Angeles, three blocks from where Orson Welles filmed the opening sequence of Touch Of Evil, his assistant informs me: "Oh, you'll have fun with Renny. He's been doing his homework on you."

My mind fills with horrifying possibilities, recalling how Don Simpson would have a journalist's credit rating, divorce papers, and even criminal record to hand for an interview. But Finland's most successful director simply appears before me with a grin and says: "Hello, John, I very much enjoyed your –" and he quotes something I wrote a month back. "I laughed all day!" he adds.

Harlin, a lean, ginger-haired man of medium height with a wind-burned, tough-guy sort of face, is currently in post-production on two projects. Having readied The Dyatlov Pass Incident for release this month, the 54-year-old is now about to edit his big-budget project Hercules 3D (starring Twilight's Kellan Lutz), due in 2014. "Hercules is an origins story. It starts with the young Hercules – how he becomes a man and comes to terms with being a demigod. I'm involved enough to be one of the writers."

The Dyatlov Pass Incident, meanwhile, is about an eerie happening in the Urals in 1959, when nine experienced Russian skiers died of inexplicable causes. They got lost in a blizzard and were found dead days later: some naked or barefoot, others with crushed skulls or broken bones, one with his tongue cut out – though not a single body showed signs of trauma or struggle. The movie deploys found footage, or recreations thereof, in the style of The Blair Witch Project.

Thomas Jane comes face-to-jaws with a biologically enhanced shark in Deep Blue Sea, one of Harlin's 'bounce-back' movies after the disastrous Cutthroat Island.

Pearly whites: Thomas Jane comes face-to-jaws with a biologically enhanced shark in Deep Blue Sea, one of Harlin's 'bounce-back' movies after the disastrous Cutthroat Island.

"It's such a weird story, one of those unsolved mysteries of our time, but it's not like some 'Flying saucers spotted over the mountains' story. There are crime-scene photographs, reports, maps, drawings – if you go on the web, you can pretty much track down every available piece of information. In Soviet times, obviously, it was hard to find anything out.

"Even when things happened in Russia, like plane crashes, you'd hear stories of people waiting for their relatives at the airport, and they just never showed up. No plane, no bodies. And Chernobyl – they could hardly bear to admit it. But even after all that, scientists have tried, very intelligently and seriously, to establish or guess what actually happened to these skiers. But there are only guesses, no theory that makes sense."

Hercules has the biggest budget Harlin's been handed since 1995's disastrous Cutthroat Island. Ranked one of the biggest box-office flops of all time, the film was said to have stopped his career dead. But it didn't (and anyway, thanks to the perilous economic state of his backers, the romcom action film opened without advertising). Harlin's next two movies were his best: The Long Kiss Goodnight, starring Geena Davis as a schoolteacher waking up to the fact she was once a skilled assassin; and Deep Blue Sea, his hit about brain-boosted sharks.

Harlin has made a movie every 18 months or two years ever since – oddities such as Exorcist: The Beginning, straight-to-DVD thrillers like Cleaner, and on-the-quiet mini-hits like The Covenant. Intriguingly, his later-period work echoes much of his early-career output, when he slalomed from exploitation flicks such as A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, to the Andrew Dice Clay action comedy The Adventures Of Ford Fairlane, before landing the second Die Hard movie in 1990. Just give the man a movie, it seems, and he'll make it one way or another, large, middling or small.

I apologise for my scant knowledge of Harlin's homeland, but am able to mention Aki Kaurismaki, Finland's dourest, driest and most deadpan screenwriter and director. "Aki! Yes, we know each other well. We were pretty much of the same generation of film students. One morning my doorbell rings at 5am and there's Aki. 'We're shooting and our car broke down,' he says. 'We need yours.' I have this 1963 Volvo. 'That's perfect!' he says. 'We'll bring it back later.' For the scene, the car has to brake really hard about 20 times. My brakes were shot by the end of the day. Aki killed my poor old Volvo! That's Aki."

Kaurismaki, with his minimalist black comedies, was able to function in the restrictive Finnish government film-financing infrastructure of the late 1970s. Harlin not so much.

"Because everything was government-financed, it all had to be socially conscious with serious issues: unemployment, divorce, alcoholism – really heavy. And Finnish people just weren't going to see Finnish movies. Aki could break into that – his sensibility could just about be fitted into the system, but I had to break away. I needed foreign financing."

The title of Harlin's first movie hinted at the rebirth to come: 1988's Born American was about three Finns who cross into what was then still Soviet Russia and suffer various tribulations of the blood-soaked variety. It was instantly banned in Finland for "anti-Soviet sentiment", allegedly at the behest of the Soviet ambassador to Finland.

"It was the first film banned for political reasons in Finland since the 1930s, and it was news everywhere. I remember the LA Times headline: 'Born in Finland. Banned in Finland.' It was a shock. We thought, 'Wait, isn't Finland an independent country – or is it still a part of Russia?' They made an enormous mistake, but we used it to our advantage in publicity."

And so he had his Hollywood calling-card. Within five years of arriving, he was directing Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2 and Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger, making money hand over fist for his studios.

In the years since, he worked on a biopic about Baron Carl Mannerheim, Finland's most revered 20th-century leader, a contradictory, hedonistic enigma, and perhaps Finland's Churchill, who spent decades in the pre-revolutionary Imperial Russian army before leading Finnish forces against the Soviets in 1919-21, and then again in the second world war, before routing remaining Nazis in Lapland.

"I worked on it for more than 10 years," says Harlin. "We even started it twice – once in Lithuania, once in Hungary. We had over 1,000 costumes made, all props and sets designed and built, all casting done, award-winning makeup designers for the lifelong ageing."

Despite all this, the film never came to fruition, something that clearly still saddens him. "My parents were both in the war," he says wistfully. "Every Finnish home had Mannerheim's picture on the wall."

He displaced some of his energy into 2011's 5 Days Of August, filmed in Georgia, about the five-day Russian incursion into South Ossetia in 2007. This, for Harlin, was another small and vulnerable place like Finland, hedged in by huge neighbouring empires. "I felt like this Georgia situation offered me a ventilation, a pressure valve from the Mannerheim experience. And I poured all those emotions into it instead."

He regrets now not being more familiar with all sides of the conflict, but he wouldn't trade anything for the days he got to boss the Georgian army around. "It was incredible commanding 80 tanks, with thousands of troops surging across the landscape, and all those planes and helicopters. I felt like Sam Peckinpah making Cross Of Iron."

I wonder which he prefers: shooting or editing. "I love editing, but I'm happiest on the set with the crew, the cast, the extras, being the commander. Not in a pretentious, Napoleonic way, but because I was always like that since I was a kid – in the sandbox going, 'OK, you guys go there, you guys do that.' And it's a role I love still." – Guardian News & Media

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio


More stars are coming

Posted:

FOLLOWING Joey Yung, Twins, G.E.M, Tang Zhi Kei and Adason Lo, more stars have confirmed their attendance to the 13th Global Chinese Music Awards (GCMA) in Kuala Lumpur.

Hong Kong heartthrob Raymond Lam Fung (pic), Taiwanese Golden Melody Awards winner Wei Li An and up-and-coming group IO Band are all set to grace the awards, alongside Malaysian stars Penny Tai, Michael Wong and Gary Chaw. Hosted by 988, the awards show promises to be one of the biggest music events of this year and will take place at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex on Oct 5.

GCMA was established in 2000 with seven Asian radio stations taking turns to host the awards show each time. The seven radio stations are Beijing Music Radio, Shanghai Dong Gan 101 and Music FM Radio Guang Dong from China, Taipei Pop Radio from Taiwan, RTHK from Hong Kong, YES 933 from Singapore and Malaysia's own 988. The main objective of GCMA is to promote the development of Chinese music and acknowledge outstanding contributors in the music industry.

To hype up the event, you can now vote for your favourite stars! There are eight categories in which you can vote for: Most Popular Male Singer, Most Popular Female Singer, Most Popular Band, Most Popular Original Song, Most Popular New Singer, Most Popular Duet Song, Most Popular Group and Most Popular Top 20 Songs.

You can start voting from today. Just head to www.gcma2013.com and pick your top choices.

Get your tickets to the awards early. Go to www.ticketcharge.com.my for more information.

Also on 988 this week

The Feature (Monday-Tuesday, 9am-10am)

Termites may be commonly known, especially in Australia, as "white ants", but they are not ants. Termites are weak and relatively fragile insects that need to stay moist to survive. They are also able to cause great damage to a building's structure. Tune in to The Feature to find out how you can protect your home from pesky termites.

Morning Up VIP: Wednesday-Friday, 9am-10am

Paw Hee Ching comes from a celebrity family. Her parents are actors, her brother is award-winning cinematographer Peter Paw while her partner is actor Henry Fong. With her background and acting talent, it's widely believed that the Hong Kong actress' big break would have come much earlier. Hee Ching talks about how she enjoys working with broadcaster Asia Television Limited.

For more information, log on to www.988.com.my.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Nation

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The Star Online: Nation


USJ 2 folk furious over crane collapse

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SUBANG JAYA: Residents are fuming over the incident in USJ 2 on Saturday.

USJ 2 residents association committee member, Rican Lim, said he was disappointed by the way construction works have been conducted in the area.

"All the drilling and piling works create tremors as though a mini earthquake is taking place," said Lim, who lives just down the road from where the crane collapsed.

He told The Star that tremors are so bad at times that the lights and air conditioner in his house rattle.

According to Lim, due to the incident, many residents faced a power cut that had them all "living in an oven".

Betty Lai, who lives on USJ 2/4E, said that though the accident took place at Jalan USJ 2/3, all USJ 2 residents were affected by construction works.

"Sometimes, the vibration and noise from the piling continues after 7pm," she said.

The association's secretary Harcharan Kaur said that they have been complaining about the construction for six months but nothing has been done.

"Now that this has happened, a lot of residents are worried about their safety," she said.

As of Saturday night, work at all LRT line extension project areas that come under the jurisdiction of the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) has been stopped.

MPSJ president Datuk Asmawi Kasbi said that the stop-work order notice was issued to Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) and its contractor TRC Synergies.

"We will be conducting a meeting with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Prasarana as well as the construction company in question," Asmawi told reporters yesterday.

The meeting, which will be held at the MPSJ office, will look at the standard operating procedures implemented by the construction company as well as to decide on steps to rectify the situation.

Liew ‘did not usually let men in’

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JOHOR BARU: Amy Liew would not usually let any man into her shop but she broke the rule on Saturday which led to her tragic fate.

Liew's husband Toh Qing Foo said she had opened the beauty care centre with her sister in February and everything had been running smoothly.

"They usually do not open the doors to men, but because there was a woman, they let the three people in," he said.

The three entered the shop in Taman Bukit Indah here at about 11.30am on the pretext of being customers.

Police had said that the 39-year-old victim was stabbed twice in the abdomen and had four slash wounds on her neck, one on her back and another on her right hand.

The assailants took a mobile phone, a laptop and some cash.

When met at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital here yesterday, Toh and Liew's family were clearly in shock over Liew's death.

Liew's mother wailed: "She did not die naturally. Someone killed my daughter!" .

The mother and Liew's four siblings rushed from Pahang after receiving the news.

Liew's brother Chee Tong said his sister was a nice and hardworking person who had always made work and family her priority.

He added that she had rarely fought with anyone or kept grudges.

Nusajaya deputy OCPD Deputy Supt Razak Md Said said three suspects believed to be involved in the murder had been arrested.

"We have arrested two men, in their 30s, and a woman, in her 20s, within six hours of the incident," he said, adding that CCTVs from neighbouring shoplots helped track down the killers.

Khairy to defend Umno Youth chief post in next polls

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REMBAU: Khairy Jamaluddin has finally announced his plan to defend his Umno Youth chief post in the coming party polls.

The Member of Parliament for Rembau said that he had made the decision after deep thought and getting the blessings of grassroots supporters.

"I have given this much thought. Following discussions with my friends at the grassroots level, seeking the views of my Umno Youth executive committee friends, the state, the division and the branch levels. I am asking to be given one more term because there are many things I need to do which could not be done in just one term," he said.

He said this at a press conference at his Aidilfitri open house in Kampung Gadong, near here, yesterday.

Khairy, who is also Youth and Sports Minister, said that a survey had shown that Barisan Nasional received 54% support from Malay voters aged between 21 and 30.

"So, our focus now is to ensure that this trend can be improved, not only among the Malay voters from this age group, but also up to 40 years and including the non-Malay voters – the Chinese, the Indian, the Kadazan, the Iban and the other communities as well.

"This needs continuity. I have put in place a plan four years ago to enable Umno Youth and Barisan to become more relevant to the younger generation and their tastes.

"With the approach and programmes that we are taking, there is more openness in bringing the patriotic spirit in line with the wishes of our Prime Minister," he said.

He said that after he was appointed as Youth and Sports Minister, he felt that there was much more that he needed to do.

He now saw more clearly what were the challenges faced by the younger generation. — Bernama

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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Earth-friendly films

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Here's a chance to catch some films about the environment which are both entertaining and educational. 

IT'S only a movie, people sometimes say. But movies can be more. Here's a chance to catch some films about the environment which are both entertaining and educational.

The 6th Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF) kicked off recently and free public screenings of award-winning films are currently being held every Monday at MAP Publika, KL.

These Monday Movies screenings will be held until the KLEFF is held from Oct 11-13. Showtime is 8pm at The Square in Publika.

Among the films are: The Light Bulb Conspiracy directed by Cossima Dannortizer, the winner of Best International Film at last year's festival; Big Dreams, Little Bears directed by Audrey Low and Howard Jackson; and Bikpela Bagarap (Big Damage), winner of the Audience Choice Award at last year's festival.

Big Dreams, Little Bears is about the world's smallest bears that live on the island of Borneo. Dr Audrey Low follows sun bear expert Siew Te Wong as he tries to save the bears. Low rediscovers her homeland while Siew goes through the most dangerous phase of his work. The film is full of humour while the audience gets to meet Suria, the youngest and smallest bear, ostracised after being injured by other bigger bears.

The Light Bulb Conspiracy is a documentary about the ill effects of consumerism and planned obsolescence, which claims certain products have deliberately shortened life spans to ensure that there is no end to the demand, guaranteeing the manufacturers' long-term profits.

Next month, Monday Movies will showcase the official selection of this year's festival.

The KLEFF, which will also be held at Publika, will offer a wide variety of environment-themed local and international films. There will also be exhibitions by NGOs and grassroots organisations as well as businesses, and community workshops and performances by local artistes.

For more information, visit ecofilmfest.my.

Neill Blomkamp refines and reflects

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Neill Blomkamp on creative juices flowing before and after shooting a movie.

South African director Neill Blomkamp, whose sleeper hit District 9 surprised the world and earned an Oscar nomination for best picture in 2009 is all set to release his sophomore effort, Elysium, starring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, William Fitchner, Diego Luna and Wagner Moura. The movie opens in local cinemas on Aug 22.

While Elysium is being heavily critiqued as another one of this summer's big budget duds, it also went straight to the top of the box office on its opening weekend (Aug 10) thanks to its spectacular action scenes and some really neat conceptual ideas brought to life by Blomkamp.

When The Star bumped into him in Los Angeles at the hoity toity Four Seasons Hotel, the director shared where he thinks his forte lies – whether in conceptualising the movie, during the actual film shoot or in post production.

"I think it probably would be in conceptualising and in post production more than production itself," he offered. "Weirdly, on Elysium I liked production. It was sort of fun but that's from a day to day perspective. But from a filmmaking perspective, filming is sort of torture. Because in conceptualising or even in post, you have time to refine things. Whereas when you are shooting – that's most of your expenditure, 60% of your budget or more in that period of time. Which means out of an 80-day schedule, if you don't make one day, your budget is off and you now have to go into contingency. Every day that you fall short of schedule feels like a torture chamber and you end up just compromising all the time.

"Plus I get more feedback from the creation of images and I can do that more effectively before and after."

Things are going well for director Neill Blomkamp at the moment. - AFP

Things are going well for director Neill Blomkamp at the moment. - AFP

Citing filmmakers James Cameron (Aliens is his favourite film) and Stanley Kubrick, music video director Chris Cunningham, futurist/artist Syd Mead and renowned architect Richard Meier as some of his wide and varied influences, Blomkamp said that it wasn't hard settling on a follow up project to his 2009 surprise hit District 9.

"Luckily at the moment in my career, I don't seem to be looking back. You know what I mean? In fact, I have a very small low budget comedy that I want to make which could potentially ruin me," he noted, tongue very much in cheek. "What came before doesn't really matter in that sense. The connection between District 9 and Elysium, I will say, is that my mind was so much in the realm of these two films, and right when I finished District 9 I started writing Elysium. So much so that even though they are different, they have the same DNA. You know it's not xenophobia and race in this film, but there are dark themes in Elysium that are similar and that would be the genetic link between the two."

As for the question of the decade... what about District 10? Blomkamp offered, without skipping  beat: "I want to make District 10. I just don't know when. I have a treatment but I don't have a script ... yet."

Read all about Elysium and Blomkamp's visual expertise in The Star tomorrow (Aug 18) or at thestar.com.my/entertainment

Getting to know the world of Elysium

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DONUTOPIA

HAVE you ever heard of the Stanford Torus? The (American) National Space Society (nss.org) describes it as the principal design considered by the 1975 NASA Summer Study, which was conducted in conjunction with Stanford University with the purpose of speculating on designs for future space colonies. It consists of a torus (a donut-shaped ring) that is one mile in diameter, rotates once per minute to provide Earth-normal gravity on the inside of the outer ring, and which can house 10,000 people.

Blomkamp worked with VFX supervisor Peter Muyzers and production designer Phil Ivey to determine the size and width of the ring, how many people could live on Elysium, and how many houses would there be, what the houses would look like, what kind of infrastructure would be in place, as well as how one would get to the orbiting space station. Real scientists and engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory were consulted to see if the effects people were on the right track.

Interestingly, Blomkamp was familiar with the Stanford Torus because of his interest in the artwork of 80-year-old futurist illustrator Syd Mead (famous for his concept designs for Blade Runner, Tron and Aliens). Blomkamp said: "Syd Mead, who designed some of the sets on Elysium, is one of my favourite artists. Even when I was a young kid in South Africa I used to collect everything of his that I could find. And in 1982 he did an illustration for National Geographic of the Standford Torus. That image always stuck with me.

"Later, when I was trying to figure out how to show the contrast between the rich and poor in a sci-fi setting for this movie, I remembered that image from Syd and I thought that if you could recreate it very realistically – the original idea was not opulent – but if you took that concept and you made it satirical, if you put the rich on the torus and put swimming pools all over it, that would be a cool concept."

FIELDS OF GOLD

The encyclopaedia of Greek Mythology says that the Elysian Fields (i-LEE-zhun or ee-LEE-zhun) is a paradise of the heroes. Here, the likes of Achilles lived on (after death) in pleasant surroundings, in heroic pursuit of the hunt and banquet (mythweb.com). In his Odyssey, Greek epic poet Homer described it as a place where life is easiest for men. His fellow countryman Hesiod also spoke of it, as did Thebean poet Pindar, who described Elysium as having shady parks.

According to filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, his reason for naming the film Elysium was quite different. "My reason was because Elysium is a giant gated community (in the movie). And in Johannesburg (from where the director hails) they have the cheesiest names for the gated communities. Like Eden or Aasgard," he explained almost rolling his eyes. Thus, "Elysium" sounded perfect.

BIONIC MAN

In the movie, a dying Max (Matt Damon's character) is fitted with a biomechanical exoskeletal suit that enables him to have superhuman strength. How else could he posisbly stand up to Elysium's robot guard? Blomkamp gave directions on the look of the suit, as well as the droids and the weaponry used in the movie to the artists at Weta Workshop, who also designed the aliens and weaponry on District 9, according the movie production notes.

"It was my favourite prop in the movie," says Special Makeup FX /Costume /Props Supervisor Joe Dunckley, who said the suit required eight months of research and development and 75 revisions before the design was finalised.

In the end, the actor wearing the suit was impressed. "The big thing was mobility," according to Damon. "Elysium is a real action movie, with running and jumping and climbing and fighting, so they wanted to make sure that I could actually move in the suit, and the guys at Weta knocked that out completely. Everything looked metal, but it was super-lightweight. I could stay in it all day and I'd feel totally fine."

CARRYING CAPACITY

In an interview with Wired magazine's Mark Yarm, Blomkamp talked about the human race going down the road of the Malthusian catastrophe, and much of his movie is based on this idea. Just what is the Malthusian theory? English economist Thomas Malthus claimed that there would be a population explosion that was already becoming evident in the 18th century, and argued that the number of people would increase faster than the food supply. Population would eventually reach a resource limit and the world would see a population crash, caused by famine, disease, or war. Filmmaker Blomkamp feels that there are only two ways we could end up if this theory were to eventuate – survive through technological innovation, or end up extinct.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Metro: Central

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The Star Online: Metro: Central


Singaporean ship cruises to N. Korea

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GIANT speakers thump out club hits as the deejay bellows: "Everybody get on the dance floor!"

The nightspot is a boarded-up swimming pool on a ship sailing in North Korean waters. The groovers are mainly middle-aged men and women wearing pins featuring pictures of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.

Conspicuously missing was the beat of South Korean popstar Psy's Gangnam Style.

"We're not allowed to play that one," explains Danny Tay, the 46-year-old Singaporean who owns the ship.

His Royale Star was the only ship permitted to ply North Korea's first commercial cruise route running between northeastern Rajin port and the scenic southeastern Mount Kumgang resort.

Since getting its licence in February, it has made three trips.

Formerly a gaming ship in Singapore waters, the 138m-long vessel is no luxury liner, but a big improvement on the previous ship approved to ply the same route, the Mangyongbyong, with its bare minimum of amenities.

The Royale Star's bathrooms are functioning, for starters, and all passenger cabins on its nine decks come with bunks, allowing for up to 250 passengers, with room for 250 crew. There's also a karaoke lounge, a duty-free shop, a small casino, a massage parlour and a hair and nail salon.

The Pyongyang government representative overseeing the operations on board told The Sunday Times: "Customers seem happier with the 'Royale Star' than with the ship before, so our government is pleased with its crew and Singaporean management... This cruise is important to developing our tourism, and we want to give more people a taste of North Korea."

So how did a Singaporean and his modest vessel end up promoting tourism in reclusive North Korea? Tay says that he made the first move last year after learning that North Korea had a cruise route.

A primary school dropout who worked his way up the marine industry and who acquired the Royale Star in 2011 under his British Virgin Islands-registered company, Everis Capital Holdings, he approached North Korean officials to pitch his idea and the deal was sealed at the end of last year.

"It's been a dream to venture into North Korea since I was sent to repair a ship's elevators in North Korean waters back in 1996," said Tay.

"I don't speak the language but saw an opportunity and the untapped potential in cruises there."

The cruise was being marketed as a way for foreigners to visit one of the world's most secretive countries.

Several passengers on board during its latest trip at the end of last month had told The Sunday Times that curiosity had indeed prompted their travels.

The five-day, four-night 4,000 yuan (RM2,132) cruise was targeted mainly at foreigners.

Those who want to join the cruise must approach the vessel's management directly, or sign up at the Royale Star booth in Rajin port. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

More cases of women being molested, many on public transport

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THE number of suspects arrested for outraging the modesty of women in Singapore has risen sharply this year, with many cases happening on public transport.

Figures collated from police news releases show that 46 men have been arrested since January in connection with at least 54 cases.

Twenty of the alleged offences took place on public buses or trains, or when the victims were near train stations or busstops.

There were 17 arrests for outrage of modesty during last year.

These figures, however, are just the tip of the iceberg.

For starters, the police do not publicise all arrest cases. Also, many reported cases remain unsolved. In fact, many more incidents go unreported, often because the victims do not want to come forward.

Monthly crime statistics shared by the police on its smartphone app, Police@SG, show an average of between 90 and 100 reports of molestation each month – the highest among the five preventable crimes in Singapore.

Molestation was flagged as an area of concern by the police when they released the 2012 crime statistics earlier this year, after reports of the offence on public transport shot up by more than a third – from 114 in 2011 to 153 last year.

Alvin Yeo, an MP on the Govern­ment Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law, said that the spike in molestation cases could be because there are more commuters and also because more victims are willing to make a report.

"We still need to monitor the situation and certainly, if there is an increase, police should be concerned and take steps proactively to stamp such behaviour out," he said. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion


Connecting over canvas

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She creates works by having a 'dialogue' with her canvas, and she wants you to 'talk' to her paintings too.

THE sea of colours is the first thing that strikes you when you enter Sutra Gallery's main hall exhibiting Lekhasri Samantsinghar's series of 20 paintings entitled Memories Of The Other Earth.

"I love working with colours, I think that's the main reason why I started painting in the first place," says Lekhasri.

She has always had a passion for art, being drawn to "the sensuality of paint, its smell, its texture and colour", all of which inspires her.

"But I grew up with parents who believed a creative person would not be able to sustain herself, that is why I ended up having a science education," the Indian artists explains at an interview when she was in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Lekhasri decided to study Zoology, and moved on to win gold medals for excelling in her Bachelor and Master of Science.

MUST USE: Passion for paint: Lekhasri Samantsinghar loves 'the sensuality of paint, its smell, its texture and colour'.

Passion for paint: Lekhasri Samantsinghar loves 'the sensuality of paint, its smell, its texture and colour'.

But husband Bijay Mohanty, knowing her passion for art, helped her realise the creative energy in her and encouraged her to pursue her passion.

She took up a one-year course on painting while she was on her post-doctoral leave, saying that she "grabbed the opportunity with both hands and never looked back".

Since then, the 42-year-old has become one of the most dynamic and cutting-edge woman painters in Odisha, India.

On top of being a rising artist, Lekhasri is also a Zoology professor at Ravenshaw University in Odisha, and is raising two daughters with her husband.

When asked how she juggles her family, teaching career and painting, Lekhasri says, "When you have a real passion, you make time for it. Everyone has 24 hours in a day, but when you love something, you simply make time for it.

"People do see influences of my biology training in my pieces," she adds.

Homage To Klee

Homage To Klee

Memories Of The Other Earth is Lekhasri's third solo exhibition and her very first exhibition in Malaysia. According to the artist, the whole series took her over two years to complete and she describes her work as "philosophical bordering onto the spiritual".

"I believe in the immortality of the soul, my works are like a remembrance of a past life, past thoughts, past wishes and desires. It's something that's in the subconscious, something that is there but yet not there.

"It's like when you wake up from a dream and you're not sure whether it was a dream or it really happened because sometimes it feels so real," she adds.

Lekhasri identifies strongly with her Oriya identity and has cites Oriya philosophy as an influence on her works. (Oriya is an ethnic identity in India with its own culture and language.)

She also expresses a strong sense of déjà vu while working on her paintings: "Sometimes, I feel like I've felt this before or I've done this before, but I'm not exactly sure what it is. The shapes and ideas keep recurring, and I sometimes have to make a conscious effort not to repeat them," she reveals.

"But it's difficult because there are certain colours, certain textures and certain shapes that you like so much that you end up doing that," she adds.

When asked which painting in her series is her favourite, she replies that she particularly likes the title piece as well as Homage To Klee.

"Memories Of The Other Earth has a really strong feeling of other-worldliness to it. It is as if I belong to a different planet and this is that planet," she muses during a tour of her works.

Her other favourite is a homage to one of her favourite artists, Paul Klee, who she describes as "the father of modern art".

OPTIONAL: Scars On The Flesh

Scars On The Flesh

"I like Homage To Klee because if you watch it from a distance, the figures seem to float off the surface of the canvas.

"This piece is inspired by Klee, it is, literally, a homage to him. In Hindu philosophy, whichever god you eulogise, you give your best offering to them, so it's my best work that I'm giving to him," she adds.

Lekhasri is not about to slow down when it comes to painting because the best moment is when she is creating her paintings: "I'm in a hyper-excited state when I paint. It's like my painting is more of a dialogue with the canvas, it's not like I'm thinking of a particular thing then putting it on the canvas.

"I have a vague idea of what I want the final picture to look like but sometimes that's not what the final picture turns out to be. But I like it all the same; whatever that comes out in the end is to my satisfaction.

"But after the painting is done, it is like an anti-climax for me and it's time for the viewers to take over," says Lekhasri.

If you plan on visiting the exhibition, the artists has a recommendation: "I want them (viewers) to spend some time with my work. I believe that my paintings will speak to them and they will speak to my paintings and they will be part of the dialogue that I have shared with the canvas when I created it," says Lekhasri.

Memories Of The Other Earth by Lekhasri Samantsinghar is on at the Sutra Gallery (No. 12, Persiaran Titiwangsa 3, Kuala Lumpur) until Sept 5. The gallery is open to the public from 9.30am to 6pm every weekday; entry is free. For enquiries, call 03-4021 1092, e-mail sutrafoundation25@gmail.com, or go to sutrafoundation.org.my.

For a sneak peak at the artist's works, visit The Star Online (thestar.com.my).

Oil portraits

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THE Palm Portraits photo essay competition, which closed in May, attracted 583 entries – all creative shots which portrayed anything and everything related to palm oil and its industry, from the fruit and tree to entire plantations and the by-products, as well as everyday uses of palm oil.

The contest, organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), aimed to capture the essence of palm oil and raise awareness among the public on the palm oil industry.

A total of 115 entries were shortlisted; the images featured on these pages are the top 10. From these, five winners will be chosen and announced at the Palm Oil Industry Leadership Awards later this month. The prizes are RM5,000, RM3,000 and RM2,000 cash plus photography workshops, and the Judges' Choice Award and the People's Choice Award. The winning entries will also be featured in a coffeetable book.

For details, go to palmportraits.com or facebook.com/PalmPortraits.

Nature And Palm Oil: A portrait of nature¿s beauty: sunlight + earth + oil palm trees = flowers + birds + palm fruits enriched with naturally nourishing oils; nature¿s perfect complement for both us and our environment. -- Photo by Teh Yong Teck

Nature And Palm Oil: A portrait of nature's beauty: sunlight + earth + oil palm trees = flowers + birds + palm fruits enriched with naturally nourishing oils; nature's perfect complement for us and our environment. — TEH YONG TECK

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my
 

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