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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews


Power Rangers on the big screen: Now, with more power!

Posted: 08 May 2014 10:50 PM PDT

TV's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will finally get a movie.

More than 20 years after taking children's television by storm, the Power Rangers are morphing into the movies.

In a statement, production house Lionsgate said it is partnering with Saban Brands, which owns the rights to Power Rangers, to develop "an original live-action feature film based on the iconic Power Rangers property".

No release date was given, but Lionsgate – whose youth-oriented blockbusters include The Hunger Games and the Twilight franchise – said the film version would "re-envision" the Power Rangers saga.

Adapted from Japan's long-running Super Sentai television series, the Power Rangers is a group of teenagers who "morph" into superheros in bright spandex suits and helmets, ready to combat evil.

The show premiered in the United States in 1993 as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and promptly became a global pop culture hit, supported by a vast range of Power Rangers toys, costumes, videogames and comic books.

Still in production under the title Power Rangers: Super Megaforce, the programme is seen in more than 150 markets around the world and translated into several languages.

Haim Saban, the Israeli-American media entrepreneur who created the series, said the tie-up with Lionsgate should result in "a unique and memorable motion picture phenomenon with a legacy all its own". — AFP Relaxnews

Rebel Wilson to star in 'Private Benjamin' remake

Posted: 08 May 2014 10:50 PM PDT

The Aussie actress is set to star in an updated version of the classic film.

Rebel Wilson is ready for a new challenge – the Marines – as the popular comedienne is attached to star in New Line's reboot of the Goldie Hawn's 1980 comedy Private Benjamin, TheWrap has learned.

Private Benjamin will follow a redneck (Wilson) and a rich city girl who get more than they bargained for when they enlist in the Marines to escape their present situations.

Mark Gordon is producing the movie, which would seem to be a natural fit for Wilson's comedic sensibility. New Line is currently seeking a director for the modern day update.

The original Private Benjamin grossed nearly US$70mil at the domestic box office back in 1980, and its success spawned a short-lived TV series.

Wilson, who currently stars on the ABC sitcom Super Fun Night, will soon begin filming Universal's Pitch Perfect 2 with Anna Kendrick. She recently signed on for a supporting role in Night At The Museum 3. — Reuters

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz


One tough mother: Don't mess with these momma bears

Posted: 10 May 2014 08:35 PM PDT

Fictional mums who prove that they can wipe, whip and kick some serious butts.

Mothers are some of the scariest people in the world ... and that is on a good day. Imagine catching them when they are at their craziest, most insane mood, which usually happens when someone threatens the safety of their family. Scary thought, huh?

Here we take a look at some of the memorable "momma bear" movie characters who would do anything for their cubs.

The movie: The Blind Side

The mother: Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock)

Why she is awesome: Leigh Anne is a tough-as-nails mother who isn't afraid to speak her mind and runs a super tight household. 

In the movie, Leigh Anne welcomes Michael Oher, a homeless high schooler, into her family and guides the troubled boy to become one of the most prominent players in the American National Football League.

The fact that the movie is based on a true story and to know that there really is a tough-talking, no-nonsense Leigh Anne out there just makes this character extra special. Leigh Anne is not only protective of her biological children, she is also very defensive of her adopted son Michael and proved that she would always fight for what's best for her babies.

The movie: Harry Potter series

The mother: Molly Weasley (Julie Walters)

Why she is awesome: *Spoiler alert* (but seriously, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows has been out for almost three years, why haven't you watched it?) Who can forget the moment Molly took on evil Bellatrix Lestrange, who tried to kill poor Ginny Weasley, and screamed: "Not my daughter, you b****!"? It was epic.

We always knew that Mrs Weasley was crazy overprotective of her seven children, as well as of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, but who knew that she had it in her to cast a killing curse on the lunatic Bellatrix? Obviously not the Death Eater.

the incredibles animated GIF

The movie: The Incredibles

The mother: Helen Parr aka Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter)

Why she is awesome: She washes, she cleans and she fights criminals with her superhero husband and children. How much more awesome can Helen Parr get?

While many mothers complain of being stretched too thin, Helen literally does that to keep world order and her family together. She may look tame with her soccer mum hairstyle and timid demeanour but if you mess with her family or threaten to hurt her babies, you will have to face her alter ego Elastigirl and her power to stretch like a rubberband that will snap you into submission.

The movie: The Fighter

The mother: Alice Ward (Melissa Leo)

Why she is awesome: Okay, some may say that she is more of a lunatic "ring" mum who makes money by letting her sons beat and get beaten to a bloody pulp, than a heroic mummy. However, Alice, the mother and manager of boxers Micky and Dicky Ward – played respectively by Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale – is a calculative, animal-print fashion abuser who only wants to push her sons to do their best and try to make as much money while they can still fight.

The movie is based on a true story, and Alice really is the foul-mouthed, bleached-blonde iron lady in real life as she is portrayed in The Fighter.

The movie: Terminator

The mother: Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton)

Why she is awesome: If there is one mother who has been to Hell and back just to keep her son safe, it has to be Sarah. From going into the seedy underworld to getting locked up in a mental institution to fighting seemingly indestructable robots, Sarah has done it all in the name of love.

In the original 1984 movie, famous for its "I'll be back" line uttered by Arnold Schwarzenegger aka the Terminator, Sarah – wonder mama to John Connor – changed from a timid mousy woman to a butt-kicking fierce warrior in order to keep her son alive and teach him how to protect himself in a war between humans and cyborgs. Go humans!

The not-so-blushing Bride.

The movie: Kill Bill

The mother: Beatrix Kiddo aka The Bride (Uma Thurman)

Why she is awesome: Hell hath no fury like a mother who has lost her child. After waking up from a four-year coma, The Bride is out to seek revenge for the death of the members of her wedding party and kill her former "colleagues" (they were all assassins) who tried to murder her.

She kills them all, in the most painful way imaginable, and in the process learns that her baby is alive and well. But of course, she is not going to let the baby daddy (Bill), who was behind the kidnapping and countless murders, get away just like that.

The movie: Panic Room

The mother: Meg Altman (Jodie Foster)

Why she is awesome: She didn't once attempt to kill her annoying daughter (played by a young Kristen Stewart), so yes, she is awesome.

Rebel Wilson to star in 'Private Benjamin' remake

Posted: 08 May 2014 10:50 PM PDT

The Aussie actress is set to star in an updated version of the classic film.

Rebel Wilson is ready for a new challenge – the Marines – as the popular comedienne is attached to star in New Line's reboot of the Goldie Hawn's 1980 comedy Private Benjamin, TheWrap has learned.

Private Benjamin will follow a redneck (Wilson) and a rich city girl who get more than they bargained for when they enlist in the Marines to escape their present situations.

Mark Gordon is producing the movie, which would seem to be a natural fit for Wilson's comedic sensibility. New Line is currently seeking a director for the modern day update.

The original Private Benjamin grossed nearly US$70mil at the domestic box office back in 1980, and its success spawned a short-lived TV series.

Wilson, who currently stars on the ABC sitcom Super Fun Night, will soon begin filming Universal's Pitch Perfect 2 with Anna Kendrick. She recently signed on for a supporting role in Night At The Museum 3. — Reuters

Power Rangers on the big screen: Now, with more power!

Posted: 08 May 2014 10:50 PM PDT

TV's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will finally get a movie.

More than 20 years after taking children's television by storm, the Power Rangers are morphing into the movies.

In a statement, production house Lionsgate said it is partnering with Saban Brands, which owns the rights to Power Rangers, to develop "an original live-action feature film based on the iconic Power Rangers property".

No release date was given, but Lionsgate – whose youth-oriented blockbusters include The Hunger Games and the Twilight franchise – said the film version would "re-envision" the Power Rangers saga.

Adapted from Japan's long-running Super Sentai television series, the Power Rangers is a group of teenagers who "morph" into superheros in bright spandex suits and helmets, ready to combat evil.

The show premiered in the United States in 1993 as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and promptly became a global pop culture hit, supported by a vast range of Power Rangers toys, costumes, videogames and comic books.

Still in production under the title Power Rangers: Super Megaforce, the programme is seen in more than 150 markets around the world and translated into several languages.

Haim Saban, the Israeli-American media entrepreneur who created the series, said the tie-up with Lionsgate should result in "a unique and memorable motion picture phenomenon with a legacy all its own". — AFP Relaxnews

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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Keep an eye on companies where US revenue rules

Posted: 10 May 2014 06:14 AM PDT

NEW YORK: US stock investors are finding the value of staying close to home.

Even as the U.S. economy barely grew in early 2014, companies with a domestic orientation have on balance delivered better first-quarter sales and profit growth than their globally oriented peers.

RBC Capital Markets found that sales growth among companies with a high percentage of their revenue coming from the United States was three times stronger than those with a bigger international sales mix. Earnings growth was six times as robust. U.S.-focused names had bigger upside surprises on both the top and the bottom lines.

"With the U.S. economy vaulting energetically out of its winter cold spell but China looking even more beset by gravitational forces ... the two-speed developed market-vs-emerging market global recovery ... is growing more clear and present," analysts at Nomura wrote in a note to clients.

Companies with U.S.-oriented revenue rank among the year's leading advancers in the S&P 100 Index.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp, which gets more than three-fourths of its revenue from the U.S. market, is up nearly 27 percent in 2014. In its latest quarter, the company's revenue grew 50.1 percent, representing an upside surprise of almost 50 percent compared with expectations.

Utilities are 2014's runaway outperformers, with the S&P utilities index up nearly 11 percent. Utilities also have some of the highest U.S. revenue exposure. The stock of Exelon Corp is up 32.2 percent in 2014; in its latest quarter, Exelon posted revenue growth of 17 percent, good for an upside surprise of 28 percent relative to analysts' forecasts.

Power sector-focused funds have attracted inflows of almost $2 billion in 2014, according to Thomson Reuters' Lipper, though the sector is also favored as a defensive or dividend play, offering an average yield of 3.7 percent.

Conversely, technology companies have the highest percentage of foreign revenue exposure, according to Standard & Poor's. The group, which has sold off recently on concerns that valuations are stretched, has had outflows of $1.25 billion this quarter, according to Lipper.

Qualcomm Inc and Broadcom Corp have more than 94 percent of sales coming from abroad and both disappointed in their most recent results, with Chinese growth a major factor.

The week ahead will feature earnings from several companies representing both the domestic-leaning and international camps.

Applied Materials, which gets about 80 percent of its revenue from abroad, will report results next week. Analysts expect the company to post revenue growth of 19 percent.

Deere & Co, which gets 63 percent of its sales domestically, is set to report earnings on Wednesday, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the largest of a slew of retailers reporting next week, is due to post results on Thursday. Wal-Mart gets 71 percent of its revenue from the United States. - Reuters

China to avoid big economic stimulus: central bank chief

Posted: 10 May 2014 06:11 AM PDT

NEW YORK: China will not use any large-scale stimulus to boost its economy, Central Bank Chief Zhou Xiaochuan was reported as saying on Saturday, in response to speculation that authorities might lower reserve requirements for banks to spur growth.

Zhou, who was speaking at a closed-door session at the Tsinghua University, was also reported by Phoenix New Media Ltd as saying the central bank would only "fine-tune" its policy to counter economic cycles.

There has been market speculation that China may reduce the amount of cash commercial banks must hold as reserves at the central bank to shore up its economic growth, which fell to an 18-month low in the first quarter. - Reuters

Merkel says German government would support Siemens-Alstom tie-up

Posted: 10 May 2014 06:08 AM PDT

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that the German government would support a tie-up between German engineering firm Siemens and French rival Alstom if the corporate decision-makers decide that it would make sense.

Speaking at a news conference with French President Francois Hollande in the Baltic shore town of Stralsund, Merkel said it was above all a corporate decision and her government did not want to intervene in that process.

Cash-strapped Alstom, which makes power generation and transmission systems as well as trains and trams, is the target of a takeover bid from U.S. giant General Electric.

"Those are corporate decisions and we, from the German side at least, will not get involved in that," Merkel said.

"But we talked about it. If the corporate decisions lead to the point where one says 'that would be advantageous' then Germany will also positively accompany it."

Hollande agreed with Merkel that any take-over was above all a corporate decision.

Both said their governments were waiting for Siemens to make an offer. Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser has already discussed a possible bid for Alstom's energy business with Merkel.

"We are awaiting the detailed offer from Siemens before taking a position. We don't want to prejudge the choice," Hollande said.

He also said the French government was focusing on what would be in the best interests of Alstom and Siemens employees.

Alstom said last week it was reviewing a binding $16.9 billion offer from GE for its energy arm but also left the door open to a potential deal with Germany's Siemens.

The French government has previously signaled that it would prefer a tie-up with German conglomerate Siemens. – Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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Rebel Wilson to star in 'Private Benjamin' remake

Posted: 08 May 2014 10:50 PM PDT

The Aussie actress is set to star in an updated version of the classic film.

Rebel Wilson is ready for a new challenge – the Marines – as the popular comedienne is attached to star in New Line's reboot of the Goldie Hawn's 1980 comedy Private Benjamin, TheWrap has learned.

Private Benjamin will follow a redneck (Wilson) and a rich city girl who get more than they bargained for when they enlist in the Marines to escape their present situations.

Mark Gordon is producing the movie, which would seem to be a natural fit for Wilson's comedic sensibility. New Line is currently seeking a director for the modern day update.

The original Private Benjamin grossed nearly US$70mil at the domestic box office back in 1980, and its success spawned a short-lived TV series.

Wilson, who currently stars on the ABC sitcom Super Fun Night, will soon begin filming Universal's Pitch Perfect 2 with Anna Kendrick. She recently signed on for a supporting role in Night At The Museum 3. — Reuters

Power Rangers on the big screen: Now, with more power!

Posted: 08 May 2014 10:50 PM PDT

TV's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will finally get a movie.

More than 20 years after taking children's television by storm, the Power Rangers are morphing into the movies.

In a statement, production house Lionsgate said it is partnering with Saban Brands, which owns the rights to Power Rangers, to develop "an original live-action feature film based on the iconic Power Rangers property".

No release date was given, but Lionsgate – whose youth-oriented blockbusters include The Hunger Games and the Twilight franchise – said the film version would "re-envision" the Power Rangers saga.

Adapted from Japan's long-running Super Sentai television series, the Power Rangers is a group of teenagers who "morph" into superheros in bright spandex suits and helmets, ready to combat evil.

The show premiered in the United States in 1993 as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and promptly became a global pop culture hit, supported by a vast range of Power Rangers toys, costumes, videogames and comic books.

Still in production under the title Power Rangers: Super Megaforce, the programme is seen in more than 150 markets around the world and translated into several languages.

Haim Saban, the Israeli-American media entrepreneur who created the series, said the tie-up with Lionsgate should result in "a unique and memorable motion picture phenomenon with a legacy all its own". — AFP Relaxnews

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Nation

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Witness to shooting escapes gunman, but falls into drain

Posted: 10 May 2014 08:59 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: A witness to a fatal shooting incident early Saturday morning at a restaurant in Jalan Ipoh here said he managed to avoid being killed, but fell into a drain in his attempt to flee the shooters.

Recounting those terrifying moments, S. Vijay, 29, the younger brother of S. Saravanan, 38, who was fatally shot in the incident, said he was also targeted by the suspect, who fortunately missed him.

Vijay said he was with his brother and four others at the restaurant, having a meal.

"A man approached us and started shooting. I was shot at but the bullet hit the wall of the restaurant instead," he told Bernama when met at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) mortuary here Saturday.

He said in his haste to flee, he fell into a drain near the restaurant but he managed to get a glimpse of the suspect.

"The suspect was a thin, tall man wearing a cap. I tried to look at his face but could not identify him," he said.

Vijay said the suspect later ran into a silver-coloured Perodua Myvi.

"I rushed to check on my brother, but he was already dead. Four others were injured.

"I carried my brother to the car while the rest were taken to HKL in an ambulance," he said.

According to him, he was not sure of the real motive behind the shooting.

"My brother and I have been operating a phone shop in Sentul for the past two years," he said.

Vijay said his brother's body would be brought back to their house in Ampang after the post-mortem in HKL Saturday.

Meanwhile, one of the victims' relatives who was only identified as Giva, said one of the injured victims, Murugan, worked as a personal driver and had five children.

"As soon as I received a call from his children, I rushed to HKL. As far as I know, he has no enemies," he said.

Sentul police chief ACP Zakaria Pagan, when contacted by Bernama, said the suspect was carrying a semi-automatic pistol and that the case would be investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code. - Bernama

Rescuers in search of lost boy find headless body instead

Posted: 10 May 2014 08:19 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Bentong rescue personnel, searching for a missing 15-year-old boy, made a gruesome discovery of a headless, half-decomposed body near Jalan Karak-Manchis, Saturday evening.

The search party, comprising 50 police, Fire and Rescue department personnel and a number of volunteers, were about to wrap up their search for student Sean Ng, who went missing at the Sungai Gapoi waterfall in Telemong on May 2, when they received a tip-off from the public at about 6pm.

It reported a foul stench coming from a river along KM21.5 of Jalan Karak-Manchis, some 5km from the waterfall where the boy vanished.

"Officers found a male body trapped behind a log in a decayed state, lying on its right side with no head.

"Judging from the state of decomposition, the victim may have been dead for about eight days.

"We believe we may have found the missing person, but DNA tests will be done at the Bentong Hospital to determine the identity," said Bentong OCPD Supt Mohamad Nor Mansor.

Ng, who hails from Taman Melawati here, was on a trip with 11 other friends to the waterfall on Monday.

He dove into the river along with seven others from his group at around 3pm but failed to resurface.

Sabah cops ram boat trying to enter Sandakan, three arrested

Posted: 10 May 2014 08:05 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Three intruders, trying to make their way into Sabah's eastern Sandakan district, were arrested after authorities rammed into their boat following a brief chase.

The Police General Operations Force (GOF) tiger platoon team pursued the men for two to three kilometres before ramming their boat,

Sources told The Star that the police patrol boat personnel came across the intruders in a 200HP speed boat and fired a warning shot before ordering them to surrender at around 7.15pm Saturday.

The incident ended at about 8.15pm following a brief struggle with the suspects.

One of the three suspects sustained injuries in the incident.

The injured suspect was sent to the Duchess of Kent Hospital, while two other suspects are in the custody of Sandakan police for questioning.

However, police did not find any firearms inside the boat of the suspects, sources added.

Police are investigating if the group were planning to commit a kidnapping or were involved in smuggling.

Senior police officers in Sandakan and Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) could not be reached for further details.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Metro: Central

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Sweat or shiver no more

Posted: 09 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

HOMEGROWN technology could make walking in sweltering outdoor temperatures and working in chilly offices a more comfortable experience.

It involves powder- and fibre-like materials which can be used in clothes.

They can be about as thick as a strand of hair or thinner. These can keep a person cool in warm weather by absorbing body heat and dispersing it.

When the person is in a cold environment, the materials, which are said to be thrice as good as existing products in conducting heat, are able to do the reverse.

The technology was one of several showcased by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) yesterday at its Next-to-the-Skin exhibition at Biopolis in Buona Vista.

Exploit Technologies – the technology commercialisation arm of A*Star – put up the exhibition to go alongside the two-day Startup Asia conference, which ended yesterday.

The conference organised by Tech In Asia, a tech news site, showcased technology start-ups and their products.

By holding its exhibition next to the conference, Exploit hoped to interest companies in A*Star's prototypes and investors in commercialising them.

Radiana Soh, Exploit's assistant vice-president, said the prototypes were developed within a month earlier this year after A*Star scientists met private companies and investors.

The four researchers, led by Dr Shah Kwok Wei, a scientist from A*Star's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, behind the cooling materials are now working with a United States company to incorporate them into hospital beds.

Other possible applications include using the materials in firemen's uniforms, sports attire and hiding soldiers from snipers that track targets using heat signature.

Other prototypes that were exhibited included a pillow that uses optic fibre sensors to monitor sleep patterns.

Similar technology embedded in baby swaddles will also be able to monitor the vital signs of newborns. These products can warn caregivers if something is wrong.

A fashion show of outfits designed by Nanyang Technological University students from the School of Art, Design and Media, and which incorporated some of A*Star's technologies, including the cooling materials, was also held yesterday evening at Biopolis. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Islamic scholar dies at age 88

Posted: 09 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

ISLAMIC scholar and senior religious teacher Ustaz Ibrahim Kassim (pic), who played a key role in helping to rehabilitate terrorists, died yesterday. He was 88.

Ustaz Ibrahim was in the pioneer batch of volunteer Islamic scholars who formed the core of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), which was founded in 2003 to rehabilitate Muslim extremists in Singapore.

He also helped in a big way to develop Singapore's model of religious rehabilitation from scratch, after the 2001 arrest of Jemaah Islamiyah members here.

At the Whitley Detention Centre, he and other Islamic scholars would meet the detainees and address their misinterpretations of Islamic concepts, like jihad.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong paid tribute to the community leader in a condolence letter to his daughter Sakina.

Ustaz Ibrahim championed moderate Islam and worked closely with the government and the Muslim community to counter radical Islamic ideologies propagated by extremist terrorists, Lee wrote.

"He made a special effort to attend my dialogue with the Malay/Muslim leaders on the tudung issue in January, even though he was ill," Lee added.

"I was touched that he subsequently wrote to me to support what I had said about the tudung issue."

Lee also said he met Ustaz Ibrahim, who "was frail, but in good spirits", at the pioneer generation tribute party in February.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean said the religious teacher made many contributions, and that he was impressed by his knowledge and humility.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim, speaking yesterday at the Al-Khair Mosque in Choa Chu Kang where a prayer session was held before Ustaz Ibrahim was buried, said: "He recognised that the phenomenon (of Islamic extremism) has to be tackled, and if the religious elites do not step forward, then who else is able to?"

Ustaz Ibrahim is survived by four children, nine grandchildren and a great grandson. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Metro: South & East

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Sweat or shiver no more

Posted: 09 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

HOMEGROWN technology could make walking in sweltering outdoor temperatures and working in chilly offices a more comfortable experience.

It involves powder- and fibre-like materials which can be used in clothes.

They can be about as thick as a strand of hair or thinner. These can keep a person cool in warm weather by absorbing body heat and dispersing it.

When the person is in a cold environment, the materials, which are said to be thrice as good as existing products in conducting heat, are able to do the reverse.

The technology was one of several showcased by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) yesterday at its Next-to-the-Skin exhibition at Biopolis in Buona Vista.

Exploit Technologies – the technology commercialisation arm of A*Star – put up the exhibition to go alongside the two-day Startup Asia conference, which ended yesterday.

The conference organised by Tech In Asia, a tech news site, showcased technology start-ups and their products.

By holding its exhibition next to the conference, Exploit hoped to interest companies in A*Star's prototypes and investors in commercialising them.

Radiana Soh, Exploit's assistant vice-president, said the prototypes were developed within a month earlier this year after A*Star scientists met private companies and investors.

The four researchers, led by Dr Shah Kwok Wei, a scientist from A*Star's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, behind the cooling materials are now working with a United States company to incorporate them into hospital beds.

Other possible applications include using the materials in firemen's uniforms, sports attire and hiding soldiers from snipers that track targets using heat signature.

Other prototypes that were exhibited included a pillow that uses optic fibre sensors to monitor sleep patterns.

Similar technology embedded in baby swaddles will also be able to monitor the vital signs of newborns. These products can warn caregivers if something is wrong.

A fashion show of outfits designed by Nanyang Technological University students from the School of Art, Design and Media, and which incorporated some of A*Star's technologies, including the cooling materials, was also held yesterday evening at Biopolis. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Islamic scholar dies at age 88

Posted: 09 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

ISLAMIC scholar and senior religious teacher Ustaz Ibrahim Kassim (pic), who played a key role in helping to rehabilitate terrorists, died yesterday. He was 88.

Ustaz Ibrahim was in the pioneer batch of volunteer Islamic scholars who formed the core of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), which was founded in 2003 to rehabilitate Muslim extremists in Singapore.

He also helped in a big way to develop Singapore's model of religious rehabilitation from scratch, after the 2001 arrest of Jemaah Islamiyah members here.

At the Whitley Detention Centre, he and other Islamic scholars would meet the detainees and address their misinterpretations of Islamic concepts, like jihad.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong paid tribute to the community leader in a condolence letter to his daughter Sakina.

Ustaz Ibrahim championed moderate Islam and worked closely with the government and the Muslim community to counter radical Islamic ideologies propagated by extremist terrorists, Lee wrote.

"He made a special effort to attend my dialogue with the Malay/Muslim leaders on the tudung issue in January, even though he was ill," Lee added.

"I was touched that he subsequently wrote to me to support what I had said about the tudung issue."

Lee also said he met Ustaz Ibrahim, who "was frail, but in good spirits", at the pioneer generation tribute party in February.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean said the religious teacher made many contributions, and that he was impressed by his knowledge and humility.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim, speaking yesterday at the Al-Khair Mosque in Choa Chu Kang where a prayer session was held before Ustaz Ibrahim was buried, said: "He recognised that the phenomenon (of Islamic extremism) has to be tackled, and if the religious elites do not step forward, then who else is able to?"

Ustaz Ibrahim is survived by four children, nine grandchildren and a great grandson. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Chinese performer suffers for his art

Posted: 09 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

BEIJING: Having one of his own ribs cut out to turn into a necklace, enduring a slashing from neck to thigh – He Yunchang will do anything for art as long as it does not kill him.

The extreme performance artist's head is almost entirely shaved and his face flecked with faint scars from his shows.

His blood-drenched, often naked masochistic displays are intended to demonstrate that some things are worth making sacrifices for.

The 23cm rib he had voluntarily surgically removed as China celebrated the opening day of the Beijing Olympics – on the auspicious, once-in-a-century date of 8/8/08 – hangs around his neck on a gold loop, dragons' heads biting down on either end.

The operation was intended to demonstrate his own individual autonomy, he said, a decision he could take for himself "while many other things are out of my control".

"There are more powerful people in society who make decisions for others, and there are rules and social morality which restrict people," he said late one night in his studio on the outskirts of Beijing, in the raspy voice of a 120-cigarette-a-day smoker.

In one of his latest works, in March he painted the fingernails and toenails of 10 mannequins – with his own blood.

"I want to convey the message that I am ready to pay a high price to show my concern about the world," said the 48-year-old, a married father of one.

"My principle is that, if it's worth the pain, then my safety comes second. But I keep things under control. It is important that I do not let myself die."               

His still photos, paintings and sculptures have been exhibited and sold across Europe and America.

Their popularity derives from his drastic performances, often almost as excruciating for his audiences to watch as they are agonising for him.

In a 2010 performance titled "One Metre Democracy", He gathered 25 people for a poll on whether he should endure a knife gash – without anaesthetic – from his collarbone to his knee.

The idea was approved by 12 to 10, with three abstentions, and a doctor carried out the incision in a procedure that lasted several minutes, with voters posing for a group photo afterward while He lay naked and bloodied on a bed.

The artist has also stared at panels of 10,000 glaring watts of light bulbs to damage his eyesight, encased himself in a cube of quick-setting concrete for 24 hours, and burned his clothes while wearing them.

He once hung upside down from a crane for 90 minutes holding a knife in a rushing river, blood dripping from cuts in his arms made with the blade, in a symbolic mixing of the liquids.

Among his less extreme endeavours, he also carried a stone from a beach in England on a 112-day journey over 3,500km by foot – only to put the travel companion back where he found it.

"He Yunchang is an alchemist of pain," said Judith Neilson, founder of the White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney which specialises in contemporary Chinese art.

"He Yunchang evidently believes that pain and extreme discomfort, deliberately planned and willingly undergone, have a transcendent quality – and that it is this quality that raises mere action to the level of art," she said.

His performances "serve as silent rebukes to contemporary Chinese society, where people undergo all kinds of suffering for money precisely because they see money as the ultimate protection against suffering".

Although contemporary art has flourished in China over recent years, the ruling Communist Party maintains tight controls on freedom of expression and only a minority of artists convey political messages with their work.

He has avoided directly confronting the authorities and says: "I generally stay quiet and calm. I don't make waves".

But China's most renowned dissident artist Ai Weiwei, who has faced detention and strict surveillance for his more confrontational work, praises the approach of his friend and neighbour in Caochangdi, an avant-garde artists' community on the outskirts of the capital.

He's art "always has a mix of play, personal history, political message and poetic romance," said Ai.

"Everything that is happening in China today, with development, old structures and Communist doctrines, are all stuck together," Ai continued.

He's work "is trying to pull life out of the ruins".

His performances are not always easy to carry out, and he has run into trouble with officialdom – although in the United States, rather than in China.

In 2005 police thwarted his attempt to stand naked on a rock atop Niagara Falls for 24 hours.

Two years later officers in New York stopped him as he organised a game of mahjong – again naked – using bricks in place of the usual domino-sized tiles.

Several hospitals refused to carry out the rib removal without a medical justification, until he found a willing doctor in his home province of Yunnan, in the southwest.

"This has been my wish for many years," He recalled telling surgeons. "If you can help me realise it, then you're actually helping me, not harming me." — AFP

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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Awesome: Teenager plays two guitars at the same time

Posted: 09 May 2014 11:20 PM PDT

The boy, Jason Kertson, really knows how to work those guitars.

Two years ago, Jason Kertson posted a video of himself playing a cover of Andy McKee's Drifting. He was only 15 then.

Drifting is a nice, chill-out instrumental track but what made Kertson's video interesting was the fact that he played the song with two guitars. McKee, an awesome finger-style guitar player, did the song with one (his 2006 video has close to 50 million views, BTW).

Kertson is now a singer/musician and was a contestant on last season's The Voice, which explains why his two-year-old video is now starting to get a lot of hits. — Melody L. Goh

A younger Jason Kertson showing off his excellent guitar-playing chops.


Keepers of the groove: Post-rock band Tortoise is coming to Malaysia

Posted: 08 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

With two drummers, Midi vibes, guitars and synths, Tortoise is hardly slowing down on the musical front.

Nine years is a long time for a return visit to this region. But the buzz surrounding American post rock stalwarts Tortoise, which last played nearby at the Mosaic Music Festival in Singapore in 2005, is as strong as ever as the five-piece outfit readies up an Asian tour next week. The trek includes shows in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Taiwan.

Tortoise has also included a first Malaysian concert stop with a much-anticipated night at Bentley Music Auditorium in Petaling Jaya, Selangor on May 14.

For certain, the demographic for Tortoise's fanbase has shifted a fair bit, considering it has a career and catalogue spanning 20 years. Despite the lack of a new album in five years, the band's various side projects – like Exploding Star Orchestra, Brokeback and Powerhouse Sound – have kept its fans satiated.

In 2012, younger fans got the opportunity catch up with the band's music when Tortoise's US label Thrill Jockey reissued on vinyl the band's self-titled LP, as well as releases like Standards, It's All Around You, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, TNT, and Beacons Of Ancestorship.

Unlike some of their peers in the post rock community, the Chicago, Illinois-based group has largely distanced itself from the four-chord soft-loud brigade. What you heard on jazz rock-based albums like Millions Now Living Will Never Die and TNT have had little to do with the more free-flowing releases like It's All Around You and Beacons Of Ancestorship.

Tortoise's diverse creative range has been its main draw, with fans kept guessing about its instrumental, composition-based rock/free jazz/electronic amalgamation of music.

"Obviously we have developed a lexicon of our own, but it's always interesting to see how we can push that in different directions," said John McEntire, the band's multi-instrumentalist/drummer, in an email interview.

"I agree, there is a 'core' sound (to Tortoise) somehow," he added. "I think we are very lucky in that all of us can bring a lot of different ideas to the table, and feel they can all be relevant."

The 44-year-old McEntire also revealed that this upcoming tour will set the stage for the introduction of new material. The band, as reported on its Facebook page last month, has done some recording work at its Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago.

"We are doing a lot of writing in the studio, especially with regard to the newer things. We are focusing more on keys and synth sounds, rather than (Midi) mallet percussion."

The new recordings are also linked to Tortoise's jazz-based adventures. In 2010, there was a concert series called Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz Presents Tortoise 2.0, which featured the band alongside jazz musicians like Ed Wilkerson, Greg Ward, Nicole Mitchell, Jim Baker and Fred Lonberg-Holm in a concert-length commission.

"We started by working on a bunch of material we had written a few years ago, which was a commission for a live show here in Chicago," shared McEntire, who also vastly enjoyed this series of shows driven by intellectual curiosity and contradictory sound worlds.

"This collaboration with the Jazz Institute of Chicago was a little open-ended in the sense that it allowed for a fair amount of improvisation."

McEntire said that the band – after this Asian tour – will be tweaking material from those sessions last month into a Tortoise record. "Now we are working on new ideas that everyone is bringing in, and seeing where that takes us, and how it relates to what we'd done earlier."

The band, completed by percussionist Dan Bitney, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Doug McCombs and drummer John Herndon, is definitely revved up for its yet-untitled seventh record.

When comes to genres, McEntire believes that even basic rock formats have not quite exhausted their possibilities.

"There is plenty of stuff going on now that is totally mind blowing," said McEntire, who also lists New York band The Psychic Paramount, Finnish band Circle of Ouroborus and Australian act The Necks as some bands that have caught his attention recently.

Talking about the tour setlist ahead, McEntire assured the fans of a solid representation of its whole discography, but they should also expect some surprises.

"The shows will have material from almost, if not all, of the LPs we've done," he promised.

> Soundscape Records presents Tortoise at Bentley Music Auditorium, 4th Floor, Wisma Bentley Music, 3, Jalan PJU 7/2, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor on May 14. Showtime is 8pm. Pre-sale tickets cost RM118 (inclusive of handling fee). Tickets are available at participating Rock Corner outlets in the Klang Valley. For more info, visit www.soundscape-records.com.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: TV Tracks

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Terry Crews is the new host of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'

Posted: 09 May 2014 07:42 AM PDT

The actor, who currently stars in 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine', is making his way to the long-running game show.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

'The Mindy Project' loses its optimistic receptionist

Posted: 02 May 2014 05:02 AM PDT

Show regular Zoe Jarman is leaving the series but may return as guest star.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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