Rabu, 28 Ogos 2013

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz


Most wanted job in Hollywood

Posted:

In Tinseltown, what everybody really wants is to break into Voice Acting work.

IN Hollywood, it's the ultimate "nice work, if you can get it" job.

"You're not limited or judged by what you look like," the actress Lake Bell, gorgeous enough to be cast for what she looks like, says. "It's the ultimate acting."

"I like it, because you can be any height, and you don't have to shave or bathe," cracks towering funnyman Brad Garrett.

With animated movies increasing in number and gobbling up a bigger share of the box office, voice acting is entering a sort of golden age – appealing to stars young (Josh Hutcherson, Epic) and old. Some players are cast because of their name. Others, because their voice is their calling card.

"I had this voice when I was SEVEN," booms Garrett, famous for TV's Everybody Loves Raymond, immortalised in such animated classics as Finding Nemo and as an Easter Island statue in the non-animated Night At The Museum. "Animation has, for years, been about hiring who you are."

Cast Robin Williams or Eddie Murphy for their manic energy, Ellen DeGeneres for her vocal dizziness, Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek for their Latin sexiness, Owen Wilson for the laid-back qualities that his voice embodies.

"Back in the day, they'd hire veteran voice over guys who could do a plethora of voices," says Garrett, who voices a fuel truck in Disney's Planes. Now, we're starting to see big name actors do the same thing – disguising their voices, slinging wild accents.

Check out Despicable Me 2. Taking their cue from star Steve Carell, who does a semi-Slavic riff for the mad scientist Gru, co-stars Russell Brand, Steve Coogan and Kristen Wiig colour their voices and "hide behind the mike," as Garrett puts it.

Wiig could just "be myself," she says, playing a secret agent in that film. "But where's the fun in that?"

Bill Hader is unrecognisable as a very funny French Canadian Indy car racer in Turbo. "A lot of the fun in doing that is seeing where you can take it and how hard you can make it for people to realise that's you in there," Hader says.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus voices a French-Canadian plane in Planes, "but until I saw the credits, I didn't know it was her," marvels Garrett. "And I'm in the movie!"

Planes director Klay Hall followed Disney Animation chief John Lasseter's edict of "no 'stunt' voice casting" for the film. Hire the right actor and they'll bring the right voice is their philosophy.

"It's very old school, to hire somebody and get them to go really out there with their voice," Hall says.

"Old school" as in the Golden Age of Looney Tunes, when the rubber-voiced Mel Blanc, Bea Benaderet, Daws Butler and others could "hide behind the mike" and become anyone the cartoon called for. Bell, an actress known for such films as No Strings Attached and What Happens In Vegas, was intrigued enough by her first forays into voice acting (Shrek Forever After, Robot Chicken) to build an entire indie comedy, which she wrote, directed and stars in, around the profession.

In A World ... is set in "that tiny club" of full-time voice-actors and voice-over artists, those who make a living voicing over commercials and movie trailers. It started with Bell wondering "why no woman ever gets to voice-over movie trailers" and led to this grand exploration of a world she, like the character she plays in the movie, would love to be a part of.

"In my movie, Gustav, the big time voice actor, is constantly on speaker-phone griping to his big, fat old Jewish agent," says Bell, who has been playing around with accents since childhood. "And that's me, my voice as the agent on the phone. Would I ever be cast in that part? Never. But actors LOVE doing stuff like that."

And while the ultimate voice actor honour, as Bell suggests in her film, is earning the right to use that immortal movie trailer phrase, In a world ... on movie trailers, real immortality for voice work comes from cartoons.

"As long as we're breeding, as a species," Garrett says, "there'll be little kids dragging their dads to the sofa to watch Finding Nemo or A Bug's Life for the 44th time." – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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Most wanted job in Hollywood

Posted:

In Tinseltown, what everybody really wants is to break into Voice Acting work.

IN Hollywood, it's the ultimate "nice work, if you can get it" job.

"You're not limited or judged by what you look like," the actress Lake Bell, gorgeous enough to be cast for what she looks like, says. "It's the ultimate acting."

"I like it, because you can be any height, and you don't have to shave or bathe," cracks towering funnyman Brad Garrett.

With animated movies increasing in number and gobbling up a bigger share of the box office, voice acting is entering a sort of golden age – appealing to stars young (Josh Hutcherson, Epic) and old. Some players are cast because of their name. Others, because their voice is their calling card.

"I had this voice when I was SEVEN," booms Garrett, famous for TV's Everybody Loves Raymond, immortalised in such animated classics as Finding Nemo and as an Easter Island statue in the non-animated Night At The Museum. "Animation has, for years, been about hiring who you are."

Cast Robin Williams or Eddie Murphy for their manic energy, Ellen DeGeneres for her vocal dizziness, Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek for their Latin sexiness, Owen Wilson for the laid-back qualities that his voice embodies.

"Back in the day, they'd hire veteran voice over guys who could do a plethora of voices," says Garrett, who voices a fuel truck in Disney's Planes. Now, we're starting to see big name actors do the same thing – disguising their voices, slinging wild accents.

Check out Despicable Me 2. Taking their cue from star Steve Carell, who does a semi-Slavic riff for the mad scientist Gru, co-stars Russell Brand, Steve Coogan and Kristen Wiig colour their voices and "hide behind the mike," as Garrett puts it.

Wiig could just "be myself," she says, playing a secret agent in that film. "But where's the fun in that?"

Bill Hader is unrecognisable as a very funny French Canadian Indy car racer in Turbo. "A lot of the fun in doing that is seeing where you can take it and how hard you can make it for people to realise that's you in there," Hader says.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus voices a French-Canadian plane in Planes, "but until I saw the credits, I didn't know it was her," marvels Garrett. "And I'm in the movie!"

Planes director Klay Hall followed Disney Animation chief John Lasseter's edict of "no 'stunt' voice casting" for the film. Hire the right actor and they'll bring the right voice is their philosophy.

"It's very old school, to hire somebody and get them to go really out there with their voice," Hall says.

"Old school" as in the Golden Age of Looney Tunes, when the rubber-voiced Mel Blanc, Bea Benaderet, Daws Butler and others could "hide behind the mike" and become anyone the cartoon called for. Bell, an actress known for such films as No Strings Attached and What Happens In Vegas, was intrigued enough by her first forays into voice acting (Shrek Forever After, Robot Chicken) to build an entire indie comedy, which she wrote, directed and stars in, around the profession.

In A World ... is set in "that tiny club" of full-time voice-actors and voice-over artists, those who make a living voicing over commercials and movie trailers. It started with Bell wondering "why no woman ever gets to voice-over movie trailers" and led to this grand exploration of a world she, like the character she plays in the movie, would love to be a part of.

"In my movie, Gustav, the big time voice actor, is constantly on speaker-phone griping to his big, fat old Jewish agent," says Bell, who has been playing around with accents since childhood. "And that's me, my voice as the agent on the phone. Would I ever be cast in that part? Never. But actors LOVE doing stuff like that."

And while the ultimate voice actor honour, as Bell suggests in her film, is earning the right to use that immortal movie trailer phrase, In a world ... on movie trailers, real immortality for voice work comes from cartoons.

"As long as we're breeding, as a species," Garrett says, "there'll be little kids dragging their dads to the sofa to watch Finding Nemo or A Bug's Life for the 44th time." – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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Colombia president says government ready for peace talks with ELN rebels

Posted:

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's government is ready to start peace talks with the smaller of the country's two guerrilla groups, the National Liberation Army, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Wednesday.

Santos had insisted the government would not engage in talks with the rebel group, known as the ELN, until it released a Canadian geologist it kidnapped in January. The ELN handed the hostage over to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday.

The ELN, which has an estimated 3,000 fighters, has been fighting the government in nearly five decades of bloody conflict. The government is already negotiating peace with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"The government is ready to make this step too and hopefully we can work out the necessary procedures to start dialogue with the ELN to see if once and for all we can put an end to this conflict with the two groups involved in it," Santos said at the presidential palace.

Both groups are considered terrorist organizations by the United States and European Union.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Peter Murphy; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Tropical storm Juliette heads toward Mexican Pacific tourist hub

Posted:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tropical storm Juliette was about 40 miles (65 km) southeast of the Mexican Pacific beach resort Cabo San Lucas, where it is now heading, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday, as authorities there prepared for the prospect of evacuations.

The tropical storm was blowing at 45 miles per hour (72 km per hour) and heading northwest toward the tourist resort in the state of Baja California Sur at 25 mph (40 kph), the NHC said.

Authorities said that up to 15,000 people who live in the storm's path could be evacuated and taken to temporary shelters.

"We're currently on orange alert and tonight we'll be on red alert. We've prohibited sailing for all small vessels," said Carlos Enriquez, head of Baja California Sur emergency services.

Juliette is due to make landfall in the next few hours and produce rainfall of up to 3 inches (8 cm), the NHC said, although it said the storm should weaken by Thursday morning.

Mexican state oil monopoly Pemex has no major oil installations or refineries nearby.

(Reporting by Anahi Rama and Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Andrew Hay and Lisa Shumaker)

China urges restraint over Syria tensions, calls for calm

Posted:

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign minister urged restraint on Thursday in the growing tensions over Syria, saying any military intervention in the crisis would only worsen turmoil in the Middle East.

President Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday that the Syrian government would face "international consequences" for last week's deadly chemical attack, but made clear any military response would be limited to avoid dragging the United States into another war in the Middle East.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said military action would not help, but also repeated that China opposed anyone using chemical weapons.

"A political resolution has, from the very beginning, been the only way out for the Syrian issue," Wang said in a statement on the ministry's website.

There should be no rush to prejudge the findings of a U.N. team currently in Syria to investigate the claims chemical weapons were used. "China calls on all sides to exercise restraint and remain calm," Wang said.

In New York, Britain pushed the other four veto-holding members of the U.N. Security Council to authorise military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to protect Syrian civilians - a move certain to be blocked by Russia and, probably, China. The meeting ended without a decision.

The United States and its allies say a U.N. veto would not stop them. Western diplomats called the proposed resolution a manoeuvre to isolate Moscow and rally a coalition behind air strikes.

Moscow and Beijing have both vetoed previous Western efforts to impose U.N. penalties on Assad, although China has been keen to show it is not taking sides and has urged the Syrian government to talk to the opposition.

It has also said a transitional government should be formed.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Hui Li; Editing by Paul Tait)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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DIARY - Malaysia Aug 29(Thursday)

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Diary:

+ ALL TIMES ARE PROVISIONAL AND IN LOCAL TIME FOLLOWED BY GMT IN BRACKETS

THURSDAY, AUG 29

 * KUALA LUMPUR - Natural Resources and Environment Minister G. Palanivel launches National Utility Mapping Seminar 2013 at Istana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur at 0830am (0030).

 * PUTRAJAYA - Prime Minister Najib Razak attends Bumiputera Agenda Action Council meeting at Prime Minister's Office, Putrajaya at 0930am (0130), and press conference at 1100am (0300).

 * PETALING JAYA - Pantech Group organises press conference in conjunction of its 7th AGM at Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, Persiaran Lagoon, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya at 1000am (0200).

 * KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Automotive Association, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and Volkswagen hold signing ceremony fo KL International Motor Show 2013 at Laman Menara Maybank, Jalan Tun Perak, Kuala Lumpur at 1000am (0200).

 * KUALA LUMPUR - Youth and Sports Minister Khairi Jamaluddin attends Youth and Sports Ministry Aidilfitri celebration 2013 at Juara Stadium, Bukit Kiara at 1000am (0200).

 * KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) holds press conference in conjunction of the National Conference on Services Sector 2013 at InterContinental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur at 0900am (0100).

 * KUALA LUMPUR - Economic Transformation Programme Midyear Briefing: On Track Towards 2020 at Securities Commission Malaysia, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur at 0930am (0130).

 * PUTRAJAYA - Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin attends Premier National Education Congress's resulution handing-over ceremony at Deputy Prime Minister's office, Putrajaya at 1200pm (0400).

 * KUALA LUMPUR - Communication and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek attends Bernama Hari Raya Open House at Grand Seasons Hotel, Kuala Lumpur at 1230pm (0430).

 * KUALA LUMPUR - Telekom Malaysia Bhd announces first half financial results at TM Convention Centre, Jalan Pantai Baharu, Kuala Lumpur at 1400pm (0600).

 * KUALA LUMPUR - Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Abdul Rahman Dahlan attends State Waste Management and Public Cleaning Corporation Aidilfitri celebration at Wisma UOA Pantai, Kuala Lumpur at 1400pm (0600).

FRIDAY, AUG 30

KUALA LUMPUR - Release July 2013 Money Supply data and release of Detailed Disclosure of International Reserves as at end July 2013.

SATURDAY, AUG 31

KUALA LUMPUR - Market and Public Holiday - National Day.

THURSDAY, SEP 5

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of BNM Monetary Policy Statement.

FRIDAY, SEP 6

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of International Reserves as at 30 August 2013, and July 2013 External Trade data.

WEDNESDAY, SEP 11

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of July 2013 Index of Industrial Production (IPI) and July 2013 Manufacturing Sales.

MONDAY, SEP 16

KUALA LUMPUR - Market and Public Holiday - Malaysia Day.

WEDNESDAY, SEP 18

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of August 2013 Consumer Price Index.

MONDAY, SEP 23

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of International Reserves as at 13 September 2013.

WEDNESDAY, SEP 25

KUALA LUMPUR - 4th OIC World Biz 'Business & Investment Zone 2013' Exhibition and Conference at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur at 1000am (0200) (to Sep 28).

MONDAY, SEP 30

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of August 2013 Money Supply data and Detailed Disclosure of International Reserves as at end August 2013.

FRIDAY, OCT 4

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of August 2013 External Trade data.

MONDAY, OCT 7

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of International Reserves as at 30 September 2013.

THURSDAY, OCT 10

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of August 2013 Index of Industrial Production (IPI) and August 2013 Manufacturing Sales.

TUESDAY, OCT 15

KUALA LUMPUR - Market and Public Holiday - Hari Raya Haji

(Eid-Adha).

TUESDAY, OCT 22

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of International Reserves as at 14 October 2013.

WEDNESDAY, OCT 23

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of September 2013 Consumer Price Index

THURSDAY, OCT 31

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of September 2013 Money Supply data, and Detailed Disclosure of International Reserves as at end September 2013.

SATURDAY, NOV 2

KUALA LUMPUR - Market and Public Holiday - Deepavali.

TUESDAY, NOV 5

KUALA LUMPUR - Market and Public Holiday - Moslem New Year.

THURSDAY, NOV 7

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of BNM Monetary Policy Statement.

FRIDAY, NOV 8

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of September 2013 External Trade data.

MONDAY, NOV 11

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of International Reserves as at 31 October 2013, September 2013 Index Industrial Production (IPI) and September 2013 Manufacturing Sales.

FRIDAY, NOV 15

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of 3rd Quarter 2013 GDP.

WEDNESDAY, NOV 20

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of October 2013 Consumer Price Index.

FRIDAY, NOV 22

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of International Reserves as at 15 November 2013.

FRIDAY, NOV 29

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of October 2013 Money Supply data and Detailed Disclosure of International Reserves as at end October 2013.

MONDAY, DEC 2

KUALA LUMPUR - Umno annual assembly 2013 at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur (to Dec 7).

FRIDAY, DEC 6

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of International Reserves as at 29 November 2013, and October 2013 External Trade data.

WEDNESDAY, DEC 11

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of October 2013 Index of Industrial Production (IPI) and October 2013 Manufacturing Sales.

WEDNESDAY, DEC 18

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of November 2013 Consumer Price Index.

FRIDAY, DEC 20

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of International Reserves as at 13 December 2013.

WEDNESDAY, DEC 25

KUALA LUMPUR - Market and Public Holiday - Christmas Day.

TUESDAY, DEC 31

KUALA LUMPUR - Release of November 2013 Money Supply data and Detailed Disclosure of International Reserves as at end November 2013

NOTE: The inclusion of diary items does not necessarily mean that Reuters will file a story based on the event. - Reuters

VEGOILSPALM OIL-Market Factors To Watch Aug 29(Thursday)

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: The following factors are likely to influence Malaysian palm oil futures and other vegetable oil markets on Thursday.

    
FUNDAMENTALS

* Malaysian palm oil futures rose to the highest in more than two months on
Wednesday, as worries persisted over dry weather in the U.S. Midwest that could
lead to lower soybean yields. 

* U.S. soybean futures were mostly stronger Wednesday on signs of strong export
demand and concerns that rain in the forecast for the U.S. Midwest will arrive
too late to provide much benefit for the crop, traders said. 

* Brent crude rose on Wednesday to hit a six-month high in the biggest two-day
rally since November as the threat of Western countries involvement in the
Syrian conflict stirred concerns over Middle East oil supplies.  

    
MARKET NEWS

* Concerns about a possible U.S.-led military strike on Syria sent oil prices
higher on Wednesday and triggered a safe-haven run to gold and the dollar.
 
* Oil and gold prices surged for a second straight day on Wednesday as
speculation of an imminent military strike on Syria raised worries about Middle
East oil supplies and pushed safe-haven investors toward precious
metals.      
    
    
RELATED NEWS 

> Soybeans rise on export boost, crop concerns; corn mixed       

> Indian soyoil hits 10-week high on weak rupee; oilseeds firm   

> Two-day Argentine soy crushers strike slows port activity      

> Sugar dips as Brazil crushes more cane, cocoa rallies          

> EU wheat crop finishing, larger than feared after tough weather - Reuters

DIARY-Malaysia 2013 Corporate Earnings

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Following is a list of release dates for the quarterly earnings
of some top Malaysia-listed companies.

All dates are confirmed except those marked by a "T", which
means it will be released around those dates.  

(T): Tentative

TBD: To be determined
    

 Company                      RIC      PERIOD  DATE

 AirAsia Bhd                              Q2      Aug 21

 AMMB Holdings Bhd                        Q1      Aug 16

 Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd              Q2      TBD

 Axiata Group Bhd                         Q2      Aug 30

 British American Tobacco                 Q2      July 25
 (Malaysia) Bhd                                   

 MISC Bhd                                 Q2      Aug 16

 CIMB Group Holdings Bhd                  Q2      Aug 26

 DiGi.com Bhd                             Q2      July 19

 Felda Global Ventures                    Q2      TBD
Holdings Bhd                                     

 Genting Malaysia Bhd                     Q2      Aug 29-30

 Genting Bhd                              Q2      Aug 29-30

 Hong Leong Bank Bhd                      Q4      Aug 29-30

 Hong Leong Financial Group               Q4      Aug 29-30
 Bhd                                              

 IHH Healthcare Bhd                       Q2      Aug 27

 IOI Corporation Bhd                      Q4      Aug 21

 Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd                  Q3      Aug 20

 Malayan Banking Bhd                      Q2      Aug 21

 Malaysian Airline System                 Q2      Aug 20
 Bhd                                              

 Maxis Bhd                                Q2      Aug 5

 Petronas Chemicals Group                 Q2      Aug 22
 Bhd                                              

 PPB Group Bhd                            Q2      Aug 21

 Petronas Dagangan Bhd                    Q2      Aug 21

 Petronas Gas Bhd                         Q2      Aug 22

 Public Bank Bhd                          Q2      July 23

 RHB Capital Bhd                          Q2      Aug 29-30

 Sime Darby Bhd                           Q4      Aug 30

 Tenaga Nasional Bhd                      Q3      July 18

 Telekom Malaysia Bhd                     Q2      Aug 29

 UEM Sunrise Bhd                          Q2      Aug 29-30

 UMW Holdings Bhd                         Q2      Aug 29-30

 SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd              Q1      June 28

 Petroliam Nasional Bhd                   Q2      Aug 26

 YTL Corporation Bhd                      Q4      Aug 22 - Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Nation

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15 Malaysians to stay on in Syria

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Fifteen Malaysians, including nine students, have opted to stay behind in restive Syria despite being told to return home, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.

He said that the ministry would like to repeat its travel advisory issued on July 21 and Nov 12 last year, urging Malaysians in Syria to return home.

Those intending to travel to Syria were also advised to postpone their journey for safety reasons, he said in a statement yesterday.

Anifah said that the ministry was monitoring the situation in Syria through the Malaysian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, as the Malaysian embassy in Damascus was closed in July last year.

In Cairo, the remaining Malaysian students registered under the evacuation programme will be flown home from strife-torn Egypt at the latest by Friday.

Second Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said that so far 1,305 students had returned home while 1,056 more would follow suit.

"The National Security Council has done a good job. Compared to the 'Pyramid I Ops', the operation this time around is smoother and better," he told reporters at the Cairo International Airport before flying home together with 260 Malaysian students on Monday night.

Idris said that the registration for the evacuation programme had been closed for the time being.

Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that the Government had decided to bring home Malaysian students in Egypt via commercial flights in view of the volatile situation there. — Bernama

Special privileges for Hong Leong credit card users

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Existing and new Hong Leong MATTA credit card users will be able to enjoy special privileges at the WITM-MATTA Fair that will be held from Sept 6-8.

One of the highlights for existing cardholders is that they will be able to enjoy a 12-month, 0% inte­rest instalment plan for purchases worth RM1,000 and above at the fair, while new card applicants will receive travel-related gifts and a multi-plug power adaptor upon approval of their application.

"In addition, those who spend at least RM1,000 within 60 days of the card's approval date will get a trolley bag," said Hong Leong Bank personal financial services (unsecured lending) general manager Genista Tan at a press conference here yesterday.

According to Tan, Hong Leong MATTA credit card holders will enjoy free entry to the WITM-MATTA fair at the Putra World Trade Centre via a VIP express lane, and if a friend comes along, he or she also gets in free with the cardholder.

The credit card also offers complimentary travel insurance up to RM1.7mil, including coverage for overseas medical expenses, and loss of money and valuables, including to snatch thieves, while overseas.

Fair adviser-cum-patron Datuk Mohd Khalid Harun said MATTA would also be launching the MATTA­Kad during the fair.

"Some 50,000 cards will be given out to our customers when they buy entrance tickets," said Khalid, who added that those who purchase their entrance tickets online would be given the card when they collect their passes at the counters.

"Those with the cards will enjoy discounts, collect points that are redeemable for items, as well as enjoy other benefits from 2,000 to 3,000 merchants," he said.

It will be the first time that MATTA, or the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, is holding the World Islamic Tourism Mart and the MATTA Fair simultaneously.

In conjunction with the fair, top industry players in the Muslim travel business will share with local players, through the WITM 7th Incomthu Conference, on how to successfully market to this segment of tourists.

For more information on the card and the fair, log on to www.hlb.com.my and www.witm-mattafair.org.my respectively.

Johor police chiefs in reshuffle

Posted:

BATU PAHAT: Several police chiefs in Johor will be moved to other states in a move to strengthen the force, says Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He said the reshuffle would also involve other senior officials as the ministry believed the move would prevent the officers from staying too long in certain places.

"The ministry is discussing with the relevant agencies on the matter and we hope to start the exercise soon.

"This is part of the Government's response to the people's views and opinions from the NGOs who had called for the capabilities of the police force to be strengthened," he said after closing the Civil Defence Univer­sity Corps passing-out parade at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia here yesterday.

Wan Junaidi said the police had done a good job in combating crime and that only a few bad apples had tarnished the force's image.

"We hope the public will continue their close cooperation with the police as combating crime needs the help of all sides."

On a separate matter, Wan Junaidi concurred with Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who had called for the resignation of Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Depart­ment P. Waythamoorthy.

Waythamoorthy had earlier criticised the killings of five people suspected to be hardcore criminals in Penang by the police recently.

Wan Junaidi said the police were facing a life or death situation when the officers wanted to apprehend the suspects.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies


Most wanted job in Hollywood

Posted:

In Tinseltown, what everybody really wants is to break into Voice Acting work.

IN Hollywood, it's the ultimate "nice work, if you can get it" job.

"You're not limited or judged by what you look like," the actress Lake Bell, gorgeous enough to be cast for what she looks like, says. "It's the ultimate acting."

"I like it, because you can be any height, and you don't have to shave or bathe," cracks towering funnyman Brad Garrett.

With animated movies increasing in number and gobbling up a bigger share of the box office, voice acting is entering a sort of golden age – appealing to stars young (Josh Hutcherson, Epic) and old. Some players are cast because of their name. Others, because their voice is their calling card.

"I had this voice when I was SEVEN," booms Garrett, famous for TV's Everybody Loves Raymond, immortalised in such animated classics as Finding Nemo and as an Easter Island statue in the non-animated Night At The Museum. "Animation has, for years, been about hiring who you are."

Cast Robin Williams or Eddie Murphy for their manic energy, Ellen DeGeneres for her vocal dizziness, Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek for their Latin sexiness, Owen Wilson for the laid-back qualities that his voice embodies.

"Back in the day, they'd hire veteran voice over guys who could do a plethora of voices," says Garrett, who voices a fuel truck in Disney's Planes. Now, we're starting to see big name actors do the same thing – disguising their voices, slinging wild accents.

Check out Despicable Me 2. Taking their cue from star Steve Carell, who does a semi-Slavic riff for the mad scientist Gru, co-stars Russell Brand, Steve Coogan and Kristen Wiig colour their voices and "hide behind the mike," as Garrett puts it.

Wiig could just "be myself," she says, playing a secret agent in that film. "But where's the fun in that?"

Bill Hader is unrecognisable as a very funny French Canadian Indy car racer in Turbo. "A lot of the fun in doing that is seeing where you can take it and how hard you can make it for people to realise that's you in there," Hader says.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus voices a French-Canadian plane in Planes, "but until I saw the credits, I didn't know it was her," marvels Garrett. "And I'm in the movie!"

Planes director Klay Hall followed Disney Animation chief John Lasseter's edict of "no 'stunt' voice casting" for the film. Hire the right actor and they'll bring the right voice is their philosophy.

"It's very old school, to hire somebody and get them to go really out there with their voice," Hall says.

"Old school" as in the Golden Age of Looney Tunes, when the rubber-voiced Mel Blanc, Bea Benaderet, Daws Butler and others could "hide behind the mike" and become anyone the cartoon called for. Bell, an actress known for such films as No Strings Attached and What Happens In Vegas, was intrigued enough by her first forays into voice acting (Shrek Forever After, Robot Chicken) to build an entire indie comedy, which she wrote, directed and stars in, around the profession.

In A World ... is set in "that tiny club" of full-time voice-actors and voice-over artists, those who make a living voicing over commercials and movie trailers. It started with Bell wondering "why no woman ever gets to voice-over movie trailers" and led to this grand exploration of a world she, like the character she plays in the movie, would love to be a part of.

"In my movie, Gustav, the big time voice actor, is constantly on speaker-phone griping to his big, fat old Jewish agent," says Bell, who has been playing around with accents since childhood. "And that's me, my voice as the agent on the phone. Would I ever be cast in that part? Never. But actors LOVE doing stuff like that."

And while the ultimate voice actor honour, as Bell suggests in her film, is earning the right to use that immortal movie trailer phrase, In a world ... on movie trailers, real immortality for voice work comes from cartoons.

"As long as we're breeding, as a species," Garrett says, "there'll be little kids dragging their dads to the sofa to watch Finding Nemo or A Bug's Life for the 44th time." – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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Controversial college opens in Singapore

Posted:

YALE University formally opened a controversial liberal arts college in tightly governed Singapore, saying there was demand for "critical thinking" in the city-state and other Asian nations.

The Yale-NUS College, a joint project with the National University of Singapore, had been criticised by faculty members of the leading US university due to Singapore's restrictions on protests and on student political activity.

"Singaporeans, and Asians more broadly, have a greater hunger for pedagogy that truly encourages critical thinking and a model of liberal arts and science education adapted for the 21st century," Pericles Lewis, president of the college, said in a speech.

He said that "we're not setting out to change any political discourse, but we're giving students the tools to be active in citizenship, to think about the issues".

The pioneer batch of 157 students from 26 countries – 97 of them Singaporeans – was selected from a pool of over 10,000 applicants and began lessons this month in temporary facilities.

The college's own purpose-built campus with residential facilities will open in 2015 and is designed to have a full capacity of 1,000 students. 

The college is the first established by Yale outside its campus in New Haven, Connecticut. 

"We believe that the college has the potential to serve as a model for others, particularly in Asia," said NUS president Tan Chorh Chuan. 

In a resolution passed in April 2012, the Yale faculty expressed "concern regarding the history of lack of respect for civil and political rights in the state of Singapore". 

It called on Yale-NUS to uphold civil liberties and political freedom on campus and in broader society. 

Campaign group Human Rights Watch accused Yale of "betraying the spirit of the university as a centre of open debate and protest by giving away the rights of its students" at the new campus. 

"Instead of defending these rights, Yale buckled when faced with Singapore's draconian laws on demonstrations and policies restricting student groups." 

Singapore's education ministry said at the height of the controversy that student demonstrations on campus would require approval from the Yale-NUS administration. — AFP

114 pieces of Night Festival artwork go missing

Posted:

ALMOST a third of an art installation that was displayed in public has gone missing after the opening of this year's Singapore Night Festival last weekend.

Artist Karen Mitchell, who will not be replacing the 114 missing pieces as she does not have the time or the budget, made an appeal yesterday on her Facebook page for the pieces to be returned.

"When any one piece is removed, it deprives others of enjoying the experience of interacting with this installation fully," she wrote.

Her installation, called Everyday Aspirations, was set up along the alley between The Substation and the Peranakan Museum. It was made up of 365 pieces of "words of aspirations", such as "laugh" and "smile".

The artwork involves small wooden panels with words cut into them using a laser. 

The pieces, stretched across a space 14m long, are used to cast shadows of these words onto a wall. 

The different shadows overlap one another, "to represent the shared aspirations of everyone", she said. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network
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The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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Kesha is coming to Malaysia

Posted:

The colourful pop-dance singer brings her Warrior Tour to Kuala Lumpur. 

American pop star Kesha will be performing a concert at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 26.

Presented by Tune Talk and organised by Livescape Asia, the concert is expected to attract over 7,000 fans from around the country to the singer's first appearance here.

Kesha rose to fame in 2010 with her debut album Animal. Her hit singles include Tik Tok, Blah Blah Blah and Your Love Is My Drug. Though some critics have dismissed the singer for her hedonistic lyrics and out-of-this-world fashion sense, Kesha said her album is an "empowering record" for young women.

The glittery pop star is currently enjoying the success of her second album Warrior. The lead single from the album – Die Young – peaked at #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In April, her reality show My Crazy Beautiful Life premiered on MTV. The show gave viewers a personal look at Kesha's life and adventures during her first concert tour back in 2010. In July, MTV announced that the show has been renewed for a second season.

Tickets for the Kesha Warrior Tour Kuala Lumpur are priced at RM108 (free seating), RM158 (numbered seats), RM208 (rock zone) and RM 258 (VIP numbered seating). They will go on sale from Sept 1 via redtix.airasia.com and Rock Corner outlets nationwide.

Log on to www.tunetalk.com for information on how to win tickets and exclusive passes to the concert. —
Angelin Yeoh

Madonna is top dollar

Posted:

Iconic pop singer is the year's top-earning celebrity, trumping Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.

She's still the Material Girl. Pop diva Madonna, who recently turned 55, is the world's top-earning celebrity, according to a Forbes list. She raked in an estimated US$125mil (Rm400mil) in the past year, mainly from her US$305mil (RM976mil)-grossing MDNA tour, but helped by sales of clothing, fragrance and various investments.

Director Steven Spielberg, who had a big hit last year with Lincoln, was a distant second with earnings of US$100mil (RM302mil) in the year ended June 2013, most of which came from his catalogue of past hits such as E.T. and Jurassic Park, which continue to bring in big bucks.

"Madonna's success, at age 55, just goes to show the incredible power of a successful music career," Forbes reporter Dorothy Pomerantz said, noting that 27-year-old pop singer Lady Gaga has often been said to be channeling Madonna's four-decade-long career.

"The young star is certainly emulating Madonna when it come to raking in money," Forbes said, with her US$80mil (RM256mil) in earnings largely from the singer's Born This Way Ball world tour, placing Gaga 10th on the list.

Forbes compiles its annual list of celebrity earnings using input from agents, managers, producers and others to calculate its estimates for each celebrity's entertainment-related earnings. The figures do not reflect tax deductions, agent fees or "the other expenses of being a celebrity".

Madonna's top spot compares with her previous peak of US$110mil (RM352mil) in 2009, but falls short of the US$165mil (RM528mil) taken in by Oprah Winfrey in the previous year, Forbes said.

Talk show queen and media mogul Winfrey took a big pay cut this year according to Forbes, falling to No.13 on the list with earnings of US$77mil (RM246mil). At No.3 with earnings of US$95mil (RM304mil) in the past year was a three-way tie among 50 Shades Of Grey author E.L. James, radio shock jock Howard Stern and music and television producer Simon Cowell.

Others in the top 10 earners included TV host Glenn Beck, director Michael Bay of the Transformers franchise, and thriller novelist James Patterson, who Forbes said was now the best-selling author of all time.

Both Spielberg and Bay also made last year's top 10, though with significantly larger earnings. The full list of top-earning celebrities can be viewed at www.forbes.com. — Reuters

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The Star Online: Metro: South & East

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Controversial college opens in Singapore

Posted:

YALE University formally opened a controversial liberal arts college in tightly governed Singapore, saying there was demand for "critical thinking" in the city-state and other Asian nations.

The Yale-NUS College, a joint project with the National University of Singapore, had been criticised by faculty members of the leading US university due to Singapore's restrictions on protests and on student political activity.

"Singaporeans, and Asians more broadly, have a greater hunger for pedagogy that truly encourages critical thinking and a model of liberal arts and science education adapted for the 21st century," Pericles Lewis, president of the college, said in a speech.

He said that "we're not setting out to change any political discourse, but we're giving students the tools to be active in citizenship, to think about the issues".

The pioneer batch of 157 students from 26 countries – 97 of them Singaporeans – was selected from a pool of over 10,000 applicants and began lessons this month in temporary facilities.

The college's own purpose-built campus with residential facilities will open in 2015 and is designed to have a full capacity of 1,000 students. 

The college is the first established by Yale outside its campus in New Haven, Connecticut. 

"We believe that the college has the potential to serve as a model for others, particularly in Asia," said NUS president Tan Chorh Chuan. 

In a resolution passed in April 2012, the Yale faculty expressed "concern regarding the history of lack of respect for civil and political rights in the state of Singapore". 

It called on Yale-NUS to uphold civil liberties and political freedom on campus and in broader society. 

Campaign group Human Rights Watch accused Yale of "betraying the spirit of the university as a centre of open debate and protest by giving away the rights of its students" at the new campus. 

"Instead of defending these rights, Yale buckled when faced with Singapore's draconian laws on demonstrations and policies restricting student groups." 

Singapore's education ministry said at the height of the controversy that student demonstrations on campus would require approval from the Yale-NUS administration. — AFP

114 pieces of Night Festival artwork go missing

Posted:

ALMOST a third of an art installation that was displayed in public has gone missing after the opening of this year's Singapore Night Festival last weekend.

Artist Karen Mitchell, who will not be replacing the 114 missing pieces as she does not have the time or the budget, made an appeal yesterday on her Facebook page for the pieces to be returned.

"When any one piece is removed, it deprives others of enjoying the experience of interacting with this installation fully," she wrote.

Her installation, called Everyday Aspirations, was set up along the alley between The Substation and the Peranakan Museum. It was made up of 365 pieces of "words of aspirations", such as "laugh" and "smile".

The artwork involves small wooden panels with words cut into them using a laser. 

The pieces, stretched across a space 14m long, are used to cast shadows of these words onto a wall. 

The different shadows overlap one another, "to represent the shared aspirations of everyone", she said. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Diverse team to plan 50th birthday

Posted:

SINGAPORE'S 50th birthday celebrations should resonate with all Singaporeans, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat as the wraps were taken off the Singapore50 (SG50) committee tasked with planning events for the jubilee year.

The 29-member team unveiled was a diverse one, comprising representatives from a broad range of sectors and included such names as top music producer Iskandar Ismail and film director Royston Tan.

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat is the chairman of SG50 and he said the team wants to let ordinary Singaporeans have a role in planning and organising activities for the celebrations.

"We want every Singaporean to be able to connect through their personal stories with the broader Singapore story, and be a part of the anniversary celebrations," said Heng.

Speaking on the sidelines of a scholarship ceremony at the National University of Singapore, he added: "We should use this special occasion to come together to reflect on our past, to celebrate our past and our journey together as one people, as well as come together to imagine and create a better future together."

Heng said the 2015 jubilee will be celebrated with several key events like the National Day Parade, and, he hopes, many more ground-up initiatives.

His committee meets for the first time today. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health

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Looking just like K-pop idols

Posted:

K-pop heat triggers South Korean medical tourism boom.

AMANDA travelled all the way from China to get her new look in South Korea.

She's having her first consultation with seven plastic surgeons at a renowned clinic in Seoul, shopping around to choose her new nose, jaws and eyes.

Like Amanda, thousands of Chinese, South-East Asian and Japanese patients are choosing to get their plastic surgery in South Korea.

Many of them are fans of the Korean pop culture, hoping to look like their idols.

The overall medical spending by foreign visitors hit a record US$116mil (RM359.6mil) last year. Out of them, 14% sought plastic surgery or skin treatments such as botox.

Nose jobs, facelifts, jawbone reductions or tummy tucks are popular among Chinese tourists.

Thanks to the boom, there are now more than 400 plastic surgery and skin clinics in the affluent Gangnam district in Seoul.

The authorities are actively behind the medical tourism boom – easing regulations and helping promote Korean plastic surgery overseas.

They hope the country can cash in on the success of K-pop – and foreign fans' bid to be beautiful. – AFP Relaxnews

I eat my placenta

Posted:

Some new mums swear by consuming baby's placenta.

MOLLY Halper never dreamed she'd consume her baby's placenta, an organ that serves as a link between mother and foetus and is usually discarded after birth.

"My husband and I used to make jokes" about people who did that, said Halper, who lives in Arlington Heights, Illinois, with her family. "We're not vegetarians or tree-hugging, granola-eating people. We're suburban Republicans. We thought it was some hippie thing."

But after struggling twice with the baby blues and needing to supplement her breast milk supply with formula, Halper became intrigued by the idea that the hormones in a placenta could help. To reduce the ick factor, Halper paid someone to process the tissue into capsules when her third child was born.

Medical experts say there is no scientific evidence that consuming placenta benefits women, as no controlled studies have tested it versus a placebo. Nor have placenta pills been analysed to see what substances they contain.

"Until all the science is in, the cautions outweigh the expected benefits," said Mark Kristal, a New York neuroscientist who has studied placentophagy – the scientific name for placenta consumption – in laboratory animals.

Yet the idea is popular enough that Halper's doula, Deb Pocica, said she has encapsulated more than 250 placentas for about US$250 (RM775) apiece. Pocica said she also has trained 30 people to make placenta capsules, mostly in the Chicago area.

Women who have consumed their baby's placenta claim benefits including reduction of fatigue, a more balanced mood and increased breast milk production.

Those reported gains also could be nothing more than the placebo effect, some doctors and researchers say. Encapsulation and digestion probably would destroy at least one class of hormones in the placenta, they note.

Halper said her doctors didn't object to her plan. Worst-case scenario, they said, the pills would have no effect. Her husband also was supportive.

So, after Halper's daughter was born, Pocica encapsulated the placenta and Halper took the pills for about six weeks.

Deb Pocica, who has been a placenta encapsulator for five years, encapsulates a dried placenta at the home of a client in Bartlett, Illinois, July 27, 2013.  (Carolyn Van Houten/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

Medical experts say there is no scientific evidence that consuming placenta benefits women, as no controlled studies have tested it versus a placebo. Nor have placenta pills been analysed to see what substances they contain. 

Physically, she felt energetic and recovered quickly, Halper said. She was able to breastfeed her daughter without supplementing with formula, and she had no problems with the baby blues.

At her six-week appointment, her obstetrician remarked on how well she seemed to be doing.

"I was so shocked at how much better I felt," Halper said. "I can't recommend it enough."

In a survey of 189 women who had consumed their babies' placentas – raw, cooked or in capsule form – 95% reported their experience was either positive or very positive, and 98% said they would repeat the experience.

"Of course, we don't know if those are placebo effects and their positive results are based on their expectations," said Daniel Benyshek, corresponding author of the study and associate professor in the department of anthropology at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

The survey results were published this year in Ecology of Food and Nutrition. The report disclosed that the first author, Jodi Selander, is the founder of Placenta Benefits, an online information source that also offers training for placenta encapsulators.

Kristal, a professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, has documented some benefits among rats that consumed raw placenta and amniotic fluid after giving birth. But he cautioned against attributing benefits to placenta consumption by human mothers.

"The science in humans just isn't there," he said. "There's nothing we can point to that says scientifically that eating placenta is helpful and that it is completely harmless."

Benyshek said he is in the final planning stages of a double-blind pilot study that would compare the effects of placenta capsules and a placebo on women's postpartum experiences.

The placenta, a rounded organ roughly the size of a Frisbee, grows inside the womb and serves as the boundary between woman and foetus, delivering nutrients and oxygen via the umbilical cord and carrying away waste and carbon dioxide.

It also takes over a mother's hormone production during pregnancy.

Many other female mammals, including humans' closest primate relatives, eat the placenta soon after birth, but there is no evidence that the behaviour is common in new mothers from any human culture, according to Kristal and Benyshek.

Kristal's work on laboratory rats has found that consuming both amniotic fluid and placenta leads to an increased tolerance for pain and quicker onset of maternal behaviour by modifying how some signals are processed in the brain.

He thinks the molecule that contributes to those positive effects probably is present and can function in people, too.

Yet Kristal said he suspects most benefits that mothers report from consuming their baby's placenta are rooted in the placebo effect. He notes that, among women who cite benefits, it does not seem to matter how the placenta is prepared, when the woman consumes it, or how much she consumes.

"It's almost part of human nature to assign causality where it doesn't necessarily exist," Kristal said. "Two things happen and people relate them in their minds. We all do it."

Dr Marybeth Lore, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said she also thinks benefits can be attributed to the placebo effect.

Still, she added, it's hard to find fault with a placebo if it improves symptoms.

Kristal said he thinks one type of placental product – molecules called peptides – would be destroyed during processing or later in the digestive tract. But steroid hormones, which include progesterone and oestrogen, could be intact in placenta pills and survive digestion to be absorbed in the small intestine, he said.

None of those ideas has been scientifically tested, he emphasised. Nor is it clear whether consuming a placenta could be dangerous.

"I don't think it's a huge risk; I think it's possibly a slight risk," Kristal said. "We just have to be very careful about whether there's a negative side to it or not."

Dr Lore said that in 15 years, she has encountered perhaps five patients who wanted to consume their baby's placenta. While she tries not to be obstructive, Dr Lore said she does not encourage women to do it. "It's unlikely to be harmful, but you don't know."

Thirty-one percent of the women who responded to the survey on placentophagy did report some negative aspects, including unpleasant taste or smell, headache and cost to encapsulate.

Selander, who lives in Las Vegas and took placenta pills after the births of two of her three daughters, views encapsulation as a way to reduce the risk of postpartum blues during a time of fluctuating hormones.

"In every case, we're talking about healthy women consuming healthy placentas," which minimises potential risk, Selander said.

Deb Pocica, who has been a placenta encapsulator for five years, encapsulates a dried placenta at the home of a client in Bartlett, Illinois, July 27, 2013.  (Carolyn Van Houten/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

Deb Pocica, who has been a placenta encapsulator for five years, encapsulates a dried placenta at the home of a client.

Hospitals in Chicago have varying policies on patients who want to keep the placenta. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, for instance, requires the mother to sign a release form. She then is asked to take personal possession and transfer it out of the hospital, said Sue Fulara, operations manager of triage and labour and delivery.

Pocica, of Schiller Park, said the woman's partner or another family member usually brings the placenta home on ice. Pocica likes to start the encapsulation process within 24 to 48 hours, so the organ is as fresh as possible.

First, she lightly steams the placenta, then dehydrates it overnight in a food dehydrator. The next day, she grinds the dried placenta into a powder and puts the powder into capsules, which are kept in the fridge. She said she sterilises all her equipment and wears gloves.

New Lenox resident Marcy Pluchar said her husband introduced the idea of placenta encapsulation during her second pregnancy. He hoped it would help her feel better than she had after the birth of their first daughter, she said. "I was never diagnosed with postpartum depression, but I think I had it with my first."

Pluchar said taking placenta pills "really helped" – she even found herself checking her watch to see if it was time for the next dose.

Because of her positive experience, it was "not even a question" that she would enlist Pocica to encapsulate the placentas of her next children, twins now almost five months old.

"I think it's awesome," Pluchar said. "Could it be partly the placebo effect, that it works because I think it's going to work? Sure. But I don't care." – Chicago Tribune/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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