Cambodian boy suckles from cow after parents leave

YAHOO NEWS:

A Cambodian man says his young grandson has lived partly on milk he suckles directly from a cow since the boy's parents left their rural village in search of work.

Um Oeung says 20-month-old Tha Sophat started suckling the cow in July after he saw a calf do the same.

Um Oeung told The Associated Press he pulled the boy away at first. He relented after his grandson protested loudly and the boy has suckled the cow's milk once or twice a day since then.

Tha Sophat has lived with his grandparents in Siem Reap province in northwest Cambodia since his parents moved to Thailand looking for work.

Um Oeung said Friday the cow doesn't mind the boy suckling but he is worried about his grandson's health if he continues.

CONTINUE READING FROM ORIGINAL [SOURCE] 
Information Courtesy of Yahoo News / AP

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Cambodian boy suckles from cow after parents leave

YAHOO NEWS:

A Cambodian man says his young grandson has lived partly on milk he suckles directly from a cow since the boy's parents left their rural village in search of work.

Um Oeung says 20-month-old Tha Sophat started suckling the cow in July after he saw a calf do the same.

Um Oeung told The Associated Press he pulled the boy away at first. He relented after his grandson protested loudly and the boy has suckled the cow's milk once or twice a day since then.

Tha Sophat has lived with his grandparents in Siem Reap province in northwest Cambodia since his parents moved to Thailand looking for work.

Um Oeung said Friday the cow doesn't mind the boy suckling but he is worried about his grandson's health if he continues.

CONTINUE READING FROM ORIGINAL [SOURCE] 
Information Courtesy of Yahoo News / AP

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Why Is Angry Birds So Damn Popular?‎

PHIL STAR:

If you still don’t know what Angry Birds is all about, then by all means do NOT install it on your phone, tablet and computer unless you’re ready to give up hours of your life to this purely addicting video game about birds perfecting their physics-based demolition job against the pigs that stole their precious eggs.

The game is really simple in many ways yet very engaging and could be tricky. The game’s current 200 million plus fans worldwide who have collectively downloaded Angry Birds 300 million times on their devices know exactly that collapsing one pigs’ fortress is not enough. They MUST all go down.

And so it goes that Angry Birds, created by Finnish gaming company Rovio Mobile, has been for sometime now holding the record for being the most downloaded iOS game ever and the number one paid app on iTunes in nearly 70 countries, including the Philippines. It is also the most popular game on Nokia’s Ovi Store and a phenomenon in the Android world, too.

As its fan base grows, so does the game. A little over a week ago, Rovio added a fresh serving of 33 more levels to Angry Birds Seasons, themed after the 3,000-year-old mid-Autumn Chinese Moon Festival. The new stages have the cocky pigs wearing straw hats and hiding behind paper fans against a nighttime Moon Festival background. Hidden in the 33 stages among pagodas, rabbits and lanterns are eight “mooncakes” that will unlock a bonus stage when found.

With the Mooncake Festival edition, fans now get to play seven different Angry Birds Seasons, which include Trick or Treat, Season’s Greedings, Hogs and Kisses, Go Green, Get Lucky, Easter Eggs, and Summer Pignic. Along with the Mooncake Festival release, Rovio also unleashed the game’s baddest bird, the Mighty Eagle, for all seven Seasons as a one-time in-app purchase for $0.99. With the Mighty Eagle, available to players once every hour, skipping a level, unlocking new ones and advancing in the game is as simple as tapping on the eagle’s icon. It’s like a cheat, really, but the Mighty Eagle brings new additional high scores and achievements also.

Industry watchers see the launch of the Moon Festival episode for Angry Birds Seasons as part of Rovio’s expansion plans in China. But the enterprising Chinese are way ahead when it comes to capitalizing on Angry Birds’ stardom. A quick search online reveals a Chinese amusement park already providing an Angry Birds attraction using plush Angry Birds toys, inflatable pig balloons and giant slings. And guess who were so quick to manufacture those Angry Birds plastic toys now being sold at local bazaars around the country?

Today one will find Angry Birds characters emblazoned on just about anything from shirts, hats, bags, shoes, school supplies, nail art, and food. Yes, food.

CONTINUE READING FROM ORIGINAL [SOURCE] 
Information Courtesy of Phil Star / Alma Buelva

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Why Is Angry Birds So Damn Popular?‎

PHIL STAR:

If you still don’t know what Angry Birds is all about, then by all means do NOT install it on your phone, tablet and computer unless you’re ready to give up hours of your life to this purely addicting video game about birds perfecting their physics-based demolition job against the pigs that stole their precious eggs.

The game is really simple in many ways yet very engaging and could be tricky. The game’s current 200 million plus fans worldwide who have collectively downloaded Angry Birds 300 million times on their devices know exactly that collapsing one pigs’ fortress is not enough. They MUST all go down.

And so it goes that Angry Birds, created by Finnish gaming company Rovio Mobile, has been for sometime now holding the record for being the most downloaded iOS game ever and the number one paid app on iTunes in nearly 70 countries, including the Philippines. It is also the most popular game on Nokia’s Ovi Store and a phenomenon in the Android world, too.

As its fan base grows, so does the game. A little over a week ago, Rovio added a fresh serving of 33 more levels to Angry Birds Seasons, themed after the 3,000-year-old mid-Autumn Chinese Moon Festival. The new stages have the cocky pigs wearing straw hats and hiding behind paper fans against a nighttime Moon Festival background. Hidden in the 33 stages among pagodas, rabbits and lanterns are eight “mooncakes” that will unlock a bonus stage when found.

With the Mooncake Festival edition, fans now get to play seven different Angry Birds Seasons, which include Trick or Treat, Season’s Greedings, Hogs and Kisses, Go Green, Get Lucky, Easter Eggs, and Summer Pignic. Along with the Mooncake Festival release, Rovio also unleashed the game’s baddest bird, the Mighty Eagle, for all seven Seasons as a one-time in-app purchase for $0.99. With the Mighty Eagle, available to players once every hour, skipping a level, unlocking new ones and advancing in the game is as simple as tapping on the eagle’s icon. It’s like a cheat, really, but the Mighty Eagle brings new additional high scores and achievements also.

Industry watchers see the launch of the Moon Festival episode for Angry Birds Seasons as part of Rovio’s expansion plans in China. But the enterprising Chinese are way ahead when it comes to capitalizing on Angry Birds’ stardom. A quick search online reveals a Chinese amusement park already providing an Angry Birds attraction using plush Angry Birds toys, inflatable pig balloons and giant slings. And guess who were so quick to manufacture those Angry Birds plastic toys now being sold at local bazaars around the country?

Today one will find Angry Birds characters emblazoned on just about anything from shirts, hats, bags, shoes, school supplies, nail art, and food. Yes, food.

CONTINUE READING FROM ORIGINAL [SOURCE] 
Information Courtesy of Phil Star / Alma Buelva

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Robert Downey Jr. and wife expecting first child

GMA NEWS:

Actor Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan announced that they are expecting their first child together, his spokesman on Wednesday.

The 46 year-old "Iron Man" actor and his second wife met on the set of "Gothika" in 2003, and married in New York in 2005.

"Robert and Susan could not be more excited over this news. They can't wait to welcome this new baby into their wonderful family," Downey's spokesman told People magazine.

The baby is due early 2012.

The actor has a 17 year-old son, Indio Falconer Downey, from his previous marriage to actress Deborah Falconer, to whom he was married for 11 years. They divorced in 2004.

Downey has previously received Oscar nominations for his roles in "Chaplin" and "Tropic Thunder" and is currently reprising his "Iron Man" role for the upcoming 2012 film "The Avengers." -- Reuters

CONTINUE READING FROM ORIGINAL [SOURCE] 
Information Courtesy of GMA News / Reuters

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Robert Downey Jr. and wife expecting first child

GMA NEWS:

Actor Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan announced that they are expecting their first child together, his spokesman on Wednesday.

The 46 year-old "Iron Man" actor and his second wife met on the set of "Gothika" in 2003, and married in New York in 2005.

"Robert and Susan could not be more excited over this news. They can't wait to welcome this new baby into their wonderful family," Downey's spokesman told People magazine.

The baby is due early 2012.

The actor has a 17 year-old son, Indio Falconer Downey, from his previous marriage to actress Deborah Falconer, to whom he was married for 11 years. They divorced in 2004.

Downey has previously received Oscar nominations for his roles in "Chaplin" and "Tropic Thunder" and is currently reprising his "Iron Man" role for the upcoming 2012 film "The Avengers." -- Reuters

CONTINUE READING FROM ORIGINAL [SOURCE] 
Information Courtesy of GMA News / Reuters

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2011 Macbook Air 11.6in review

GMA NEWS / YUGATECH:

Just to be sure, I also ran a couple of benchmarks comparing the old modela and this new one. Here’s what I got from NovaBench:

2010 Macbook Air 11.6in (1.4GHz Core 2 Duo, NVidia 320M)

RAM score: 98

CPU Tests: 112

Graphics Test: 53

Hardware Tests: 11

3D Frames Per Second: 121

Write Speed: 72 MB/s

RAM Speed: 2013 MB/s

NovaBench Score: 274

Here’s what I got from the review unit:

2011 Macbook Air 11.6in (1.6GHz Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 3000)

RAM score: 123

CPU Tests: 303

Graphics Test: 22

Hardware Tests: 28

3D Frames Per Second: 54

Write Speed: 227 MB/s

RAM Speed: 5767 MB/s

NovaBench Score: 446

Over-all score is almost twice with significant improvements in CPU, RAM and read+write speed on the SDD.

The GeekBench scores also validated the numbers from above:

2011 Macbook Air 11.6in: 4630

2010 Macbook Air 11.6in: 2202

The Thunderbolt port replaced the mini Display Port and though there’s not much real-world use for it now but once more devices support the technology, you can actually hook this port to up to 7 Thunderbolt devices in a single cable line (imagine what a 10Gbps speed can do over this line?). For now, all I can do with this is plug in a large external display into this port using the same old mini Display Port cable.

Apple has finally brought back the backlit keyboard in the Macbook Air (it’s been a huge drawback for me when I’m typing in the dark with the old model). The brightness controls are found in the F5 and F6 keys while the Facetime camera also serves as ambient light sensor. The brightness of the screen and the backlit keyboard reacts accordingly when light is projected into the camera.

The 2011 line of Macbook Airs also came with the new Mac OS X Lion and along with it, some OS improvements and UI changes. I specifically liked the LaunchPad which looks like how the apps are arranged and scrolls on the iPad. The most useful one is the ability of windows to take up the entire screen (I used to get annoyed with the old Mac OS because it can’t do this).

The trackpad gestures are also pretty cool though I’m finding it a bit awkward to use all four fingers at once. The biggest confusion I guess, and this is probably true with most Mac users who just upgraded to Lion, is that the trackpad scroll is reversed (drag down to scroll up, drag up to scroll down). Of course, you can switch it back the way you liked it in the System Preferences.

I kinda find it more intuitive though, and didn’t took much time to get used to it, since it follows how you scroll on the iPhone and the iPad.

Apple is also the first manufacturer to add Bluetooth 4.0 into laptops. It’s not much of a use right now (since very few other devices have it) but I guess there’s one more bragging rights for you.

Battery life on the Macbook Air has somewhat reduced compared to the old one. One normal use, I could get between 3.5 to 4 hours on a single full charge — and this is heavy browsing with WiFi on, some Adobe Photoshop and some ro two sessions on iMovie (where display is at 50% brightness). I think I could push it to 5 hours with light browsing or mostly reading or typing but I rarely do that.

Things it missed and are still missing:

i) No Ethernet or LAN port – you’d have to buy a LAN to USB port adapter.

ii) No optical disk drive – you can buy the external drive or use the Remote Disc software to use the drive of another PC over WiFi. But we already know that ultra-thin laptops carry this compromise, right?

iii) SD card slot – the 13-inch model has them but the 11-inch ones still don’t (sorry, no more space left) so I bring a card reader with me all the time.

iv) No installation CD, not even the USB flash recovery drive from last year (there’s a rumor you can get that Flash drive for an additional $69). What Apple did with the new Macbook Air is included the Lion restore into the drive (you do this by pressing Option while booting and it will prompt you to the Recovery mode or press Command+R).

The storage could still be an issue to some and although you can bump it to 256GB (SSDs are still very expensive these days — you can get 160GB Intel SSD at Php17k from PCX). However, the benefits of much faster disk read and write speeds could be a justification to some. In any case, you can always get a 500GB portable drive for like Php3.5k.

The battery life is also a bit disappointing but that’s what you get when you get more CPU muscle.

The very slim, 13-inch Samsung Series 9 has a very similar specs compared to our unit and it retails for Php79,990. The variant we reviewed has a Php59,990 price tag (the 13-inch is Php65,990). At least we get to see how this product category fares against other competitors in the market.

With this new upgrade on the Macbook Air series, these sexy little babies have somewhat gone mainstream especially the 13-inch variants thanks to the Core i5 ULV processors (and Core i7 options if you really want it). It could very well replace the original Macbook (notice the Apple Online Store doesn’t sell the Macbook anymore).

The Macbook Air 11.6in is now being sold in stores with a starting price of Php49,990 (for the 2GB RAM, 64GB SSD). You can also request for custom specs (like 256GB SSD and Core i7) but that will take about 3 weeks to deliver. — Yugatech.com

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of GMA News

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/228884/technology/2011-macbook-air-116in-review

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2011 Macbook Air 11.6in review

GMA NEWS / YUGATECH:

Just to be sure, I also ran a couple of benchmarks comparing the old modela and this new one. Here’s what I got from NovaBench:

2010 Macbook Air 11.6in (1.4GHz Core 2 Duo, NVidia 320M)

RAM score: 98

CPU Tests: 112

Graphics Test: 53

Hardware Tests: 11

3D Frames Per Second: 121

Write Speed: 72 MB/s

RAM Speed: 2013 MB/s

NovaBench Score: 274

Here’s what I got from the review unit:

2011 Macbook Air 11.6in (1.6GHz Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 3000)

RAM score: 123

CPU Tests: 303

Graphics Test: 22

Hardware Tests: 28

3D Frames Per Second: 54

Write Speed: 227 MB/s

RAM Speed: 5767 MB/s

NovaBench Score: 446

Over-all score is almost twice with significant improvements in CPU, RAM and read+write speed on the SDD.

The GeekBench scores also validated the numbers from above:

2011 Macbook Air 11.6in: 4630

2010 Macbook Air 11.6in: 2202

The Thunderbolt port replaced the mini Display Port and though there’s not much real-world use for it now but once more devices support the technology, you can actually hook this port to up to 7 Thunderbolt devices in a single cable line (imagine what a 10Gbps speed can do over this line?). For now, all I can do with this is plug in a large external display into this port using the same old mini Display Port cable.

Apple has finally brought back the backlit keyboard in the Macbook Air (it’s been a huge drawback for me when I’m typing in the dark with the old model). The brightness controls are found in the F5 and F6 keys while the Facetime camera also serves as ambient light sensor. The brightness of the screen and the backlit keyboard reacts accordingly when light is projected into the camera.

The 2011 line of Macbook Airs also came with the new Mac OS X Lion and along with it, some OS improvements and UI changes. I specifically liked the LaunchPad which looks like how the apps are arranged and scrolls on the iPad. The most useful one is the ability of windows to take up the entire screen (I used to get annoyed with the old Mac OS because it can’t do this).

The trackpad gestures are also pretty cool though I’m finding it a bit awkward to use all four fingers at once. The biggest confusion I guess, and this is probably true with most Mac users who just upgraded to Lion, is that the trackpad scroll is reversed (drag down to scroll up, drag up to scroll down). Of course, you can switch it back the way you liked it in the System Preferences.

I kinda find it more intuitive though, and didn’t took much time to get used to it, since it follows how you scroll on the iPhone and the iPad.

Apple is also the first manufacturer to add Bluetooth 4.0 into laptops. It’s not much of a use right now (since very few other devices have it) but I guess there’s one more bragging rights for you.

Battery life on the Macbook Air has somewhat reduced compared to the old one. One normal use, I could get between 3.5 to 4 hours on a single full charge — and this is heavy browsing with WiFi on, some Adobe Photoshop and some ro two sessions on iMovie (where display is at 50% brightness). I think I could push it to 5 hours with light browsing or mostly reading or typing but I rarely do that.

Things it missed and are still missing:

i) No Ethernet or LAN port – you’d have to buy a LAN to USB port adapter.

ii) No optical disk drive – you can buy the external drive or use the Remote Disc software to use the drive of another PC over WiFi. But we already know that ultra-thin laptops carry this compromise, right?

iii) SD card slot – the 13-inch model has them but the 11-inch ones still don’t (sorry, no more space left) so I bring a card reader with me all the time.

iv) No installation CD, not even the USB flash recovery drive from last year (there’s a rumor you can get that Flash drive for an additional $69). What Apple did with the new Macbook Air is included the Lion restore into the drive (you do this by pressing Option while booting and it will prompt you to the Recovery mode or press Command+R).

The storage could still be an issue to some and although you can bump it to 256GB (SSDs are still very expensive these days — you can get 160GB Intel SSD at Php17k from PCX). However, the benefits of much faster disk read and write speeds could be a justification to some. In any case, you can always get a 500GB portable drive for like Php3.5k.

The battery life is also a bit disappointing but that’s what you get when you get more CPU muscle.

The very slim, 13-inch Samsung Series 9 has a very similar specs compared to our unit and it retails for Php79,990. The variant we reviewed has a Php59,990 price tag (the 13-inch is Php65,990). At least we get to see how this product category fares against other competitors in the market.

With this new upgrade on the Macbook Air series, these sexy little babies have somewhat gone mainstream especially the 13-inch variants thanks to the Core i5 ULV processors (and Core i7 options if you really want it). It could very well replace the original Macbook (notice the Apple Online Store doesn’t sell the Macbook anymore).

The Macbook Air 11.6in is now being sold in stores with a starting price of Php49,990 (for the 2GB RAM, 64GB SSD). You can also request for custom specs (like 256GB SSD and Core i7) but that will take about 3 weeks to deliver. — Yugatech.com

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of GMA News

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/228884/technology/2011-macbook-air-116in-review

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Stars who work out, stars who prefer a quick fix

MB:

I was chosen to be included in the exclusive 3S list of stars, socialites and servants (public) for the Philippines Yearbook 2012. Published by the Fookien Times, it will be on its 75th year next year. A stand alone book, “The Philippines Yearbook,” unsurpassed by any other yearly publication is dedicated to the commitment of projecting a positive and progressive image of the Philippines to the world.

Due to the requirements of the pictorial, I needed to enroll again in a good gym with excellent trainers. Platinum Fitness Gym just opened in Gilmore so it was the one which was most accessible to me since it was nearest to my place In New Manila.

On my first day, Platinum head fitness trainer Bok Santos told me, “Oh, you just missed Derek Ramsay. He’s prepping up for his new movie with Anne Curtis so he needs to be lean and well-toned. I will accompany him in his shoot tomorrow.”

Bok Santos is the trainer to the stars. He boasts an impressive list of stars that he trains either in their private homes or in the gym. His early bird client is Kris Aquino, who has her own private gym in her condominium unit. Zanjoe Marudo follows on the next hour, then Maricar de Mesa, Derek Ramsay and other popular basketball stars like James Yap.

Waiting for her turn to be trained was teleserye star Maricar de Mesa Allado so I decided to interview her while I was pumping iron. She told me that working out was part of her healthy lifestyle change.

“Choosing to be healthy makes me feel good inside and out. Plus my husband is a basketball cager for Bmeg Llamados so I have to be as fit as he is.”

Glancing at the body of Maricar, I figured it was a body to die for. Maricar told me I was lucky that I got Bok Santos as she showed off her fabulous body.

“This is a body made by Bok Santos.”

“You make your bodies. I’m just here to train you. But if you have no discipline for diet and exercise, all my training with you will be futile. I promise you three months, Giselle. Just give time for exercise and stick to your present diet, you will have Maricar’s body,” Bok Santos told me.

The quick fix

Alex Crisano and sports columnist Robbie Pangilinan would rather lie down and go under the knife rather than work their bodies for three months.

A couple of years back, after resting from his sports activities, sports columnist Robbie realized that he was missing his once lean body, particularly his chiseled abs. So, off he went to a cosmetic surgeon to undergo total body liposculpture procedure that gave him back his six-pack abs. Popular PBA cager Alex Crisano has also undergone this procedure.

Robbie was overjoyed with the boost of confidence the procedure gave him. So he examined himself closely and knew he wanted more. He was not very happy about his nose, so he decided to have a nose lift.

The result made him ecstatic. He has also tried the only completely safe and effective non-invasive treatment for body slimming on the market today that removes fat and contours the body without any pain, needles, or surgery. The results on Robbie were just as promised – dramatic.

Many of his colleagues and friends tease him about being “Mr. Retokado,” but Robbie does not mind. What matters is he feels good about himself and has gained the self-esteem he needs.

“I talk to a lot of people everyday, mostly showbiz personalities, politicians, athletes, businessmen. I have to look my best and also be fit to cope with the physical demands of my work. For me, it’s more than physical enhancements. The self-confidence it gives you is priceless. In turn, I have become happier with myself,” says the founder and owner of sportsmanila.net, a key player in the sports web industry today

Quick fix down there

Recently, Robbie took enhancement to the highest level when he decided to undergo penis enlargement with complete trust in the able hands of Dr. Manny Calayan.

“I think this is Doc Manny’s best procedure so I made a major decision to try it,” Robbie, who had slight fears at first, says.

All his hesitation vanished when he saw and felt the results of the procedure. In a graphic description, he says it’s like holding a flashlight.

Dr. Calayan explains, “The procedure is very safe, but it is important that patients follow all my instructions. It is for anybody who wants to add thickness to their ‘prized possession’ but only done after careful assessment. Since it is a surgical procedure, there are risks involved and no guarantee on the results.”

For Robbie, the positive outcome outweighed the risks. The procedure has changed his life. He says he feels like 25 years old all over and is proud to be wearing swimming trunks again. He likens himself to American porn star Randy West and local sexy actor of the ’80s Gino Antonio. He has no regrets with the decision he made and actually recommends it to his friends. He is proud and open to anyone about undergoing the procedure.

I asked trainer of the stars Bok Santos if he could do what Calayan did to Robbie and he answered, “Although that is still a muscle, I do not have and will never have any intention touching or training anything down there.”

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of MB / GISELLE SANCHEZ

http://mb.com.ph/articles/331874/stars-who-work-out-stars-who-prefer-a-quick-fix

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Stars who work out, stars who prefer a quick fix

MB:

I was chosen to be included in the exclusive 3S list of stars, socialites and servants (public) for the Philippines Yearbook 2012. Published by the Fookien Times, it will be on its 75th year next year. A stand alone book, “The Philippines Yearbook,” unsurpassed by any other yearly publication is dedicated to the commitment of projecting a positive and progressive image of the Philippines to the world.

Due to the requirements of the pictorial, I needed to enroll again in a good gym with excellent trainers. Platinum Fitness Gym just opened in Gilmore so it was the one which was most accessible to me since it was nearest to my place In New Manila.

On my first day, Platinum head fitness trainer Bok Santos told me, “Oh, you just missed Derek Ramsay. He’s prepping up for his new movie with Anne Curtis so he needs to be lean and well-toned. I will accompany him in his shoot tomorrow.”

Bok Santos is the trainer to the stars. He boasts an impressive list of stars that he trains either in their private homes or in the gym. His early bird client is Kris Aquino, who has her own private gym in her condominium unit. Zanjoe Marudo follows on the next hour, then Maricar de Mesa, Derek Ramsay and other popular basketball stars like James Yap.

Waiting for her turn to be trained was teleserye star Maricar de Mesa Allado so I decided to interview her while I was pumping iron. She told me that working out was part of her healthy lifestyle change.

“Choosing to be healthy makes me feel good inside and out. Plus my husband is a basketball cager for Bmeg Llamados so I have to be as fit as he is.”

Glancing at the body of Maricar, I figured it was a body to die for. Maricar told me I was lucky that I got Bok Santos as she showed off her fabulous body.

“This is a body made by Bok Santos.”

“You make your bodies. I’m just here to train you. But if you have no discipline for diet and exercise, all my training with you will be futile. I promise you three months, Giselle. Just give time for exercise and stick to your present diet, you will have Maricar’s body,” Bok Santos told me.

The quick fix

Alex Crisano and sports columnist Robbie Pangilinan would rather lie down and go under the knife rather than work their bodies for three months.

A couple of years back, after resting from his sports activities, sports columnist Robbie realized that he was missing his once lean body, particularly his chiseled abs. So, off he went to a cosmetic surgeon to undergo total body liposculpture procedure that gave him back his six-pack abs. Popular PBA cager Alex Crisano has also undergone this procedure.

Robbie was overjoyed with the boost of confidence the procedure gave him. So he examined himself closely and knew he wanted more. He was not very happy about his nose, so he decided to have a nose lift.

The result made him ecstatic. He has also tried the only completely safe and effective non-invasive treatment for body slimming on the market today that removes fat and contours the body without any pain, needles, or surgery. The results on Robbie were just as promised – dramatic.

Many of his colleagues and friends tease him about being “Mr. Retokado,” but Robbie does not mind. What matters is he feels good about himself and has gained the self-esteem he needs.

“I talk to a lot of people everyday, mostly showbiz personalities, politicians, athletes, businessmen. I have to look my best and also be fit to cope with the physical demands of my work. For me, it’s more than physical enhancements. The self-confidence it gives you is priceless. In turn, I have become happier with myself,” says the founder and owner of sportsmanila.net, a key player in the sports web industry today

Quick fix down there

Recently, Robbie took enhancement to the highest level when he decided to undergo penis enlargement with complete trust in the able hands of Dr. Manny Calayan.

“I think this is Doc Manny’s best procedure so I made a major decision to try it,” Robbie, who had slight fears at first, says.

All his hesitation vanished when he saw and felt the results of the procedure. In a graphic description, he says it’s like holding a flashlight.

Dr. Calayan explains, “The procedure is very safe, but it is important that patients follow all my instructions. It is for anybody who wants to add thickness to their ‘prized possession’ but only done after careful assessment. Since it is a surgical procedure, there are risks involved and no guarantee on the results.”

For Robbie, the positive outcome outweighed the risks. The procedure has changed his life. He says he feels like 25 years old all over and is proud to be wearing swimming trunks again. He likens himself to American porn star Randy West and local sexy actor of the ’80s Gino Antonio. He has no regrets with the decision he made and actually recommends it to his friends. He is proud and open to anyone about undergoing the procedure.

I asked trainer of the stars Bok Santos if he could do what Calayan did to Robbie and he answered, “Although that is still a muscle, I do not have and will never have any intention touching or training anything down there.”

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of MB / GISELLE SANCHEZ

http://mb.com.ph/articles/331874/stars-who-work-out-stars-who-prefer-a-quick-fix

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Jake Gyllenhaal: I care about my work

YAHOO NEWS:

Jake Gyllenhaal loves having the chance to "tell stories that [he] cares about".

The 30-year-old Hollywood actor has enjoyed a varied and successful film career, appearing in pictures such as cult hit Donnie Darko and romantic drama Brokeback Mountain.

Jake thinks the best thing about his job is having the opportunity to explore unique and complex characters.

"I'm in the business of playing characters. That's what I'm in," he told OK! magazine.

"That's what I want to try and do. The ability to tell stories that you care about, it does give you a great opportunity to do that."

Jake and his actress sister Maggie grew up in an artistic household. Their father Stephen is a successful moviemaker and mom Naomi Foner a top screenwriter. Naomi and Stephen enjoyed 32 years of marriage before divorcing in 2009, with the latter recently embarking on his second nuptials. Despite the glamorous sounding upbringing, Jake insists that wasn't the case.

"I didn't grow up in a Hollywood way. I grew up in a family of people who made movies - and continue to do so to this day," he added.

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of Yahoo News

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/jake-gyllenhaal-care-063000268.html

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Jake Gyllenhaal: I care about my work

YAHOO NEWS:

Jake Gyllenhaal loves having the chance to "tell stories that [he] cares about".

The 30-year-old Hollywood actor has enjoyed a varied and successful film career, appearing in pictures such as cult hit Donnie Darko and romantic drama Brokeback Mountain.

Jake thinks the best thing about his job is having the opportunity to explore unique and complex characters.

"I'm in the business of playing characters. That's what I'm in," he told OK! magazine.

"That's what I want to try and do. The ability to tell stories that you care about, it does give you a great opportunity to do that."

Jake and his actress sister Maggie grew up in an artistic household. Their father Stephen is a successful moviemaker and mom Naomi Foner a top screenwriter. Naomi and Stephen enjoyed 32 years of marriage before divorcing in 2009, with the latter recently embarking on his second nuptials. Despite the glamorous sounding upbringing, Jake insists that wasn't the case.

"I didn't grow up in a Hollywood way. I grew up in a family of people who made movies - and continue to do so to this day," he added.

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of Yahoo News

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/jake-gyllenhaal-care-063000268.html

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Twitter quietly adds new reply feature

GMANEWS:

Micro-blogging site Twitter has silently added a new feature that allows users to tweet someone from the latter's own Twitter page.

Twitter co-founder and executive chairman Jack Dorsey confirmed the feature when a user tweeted him about it Friday.

"As ot today!" he said, when asked by "Jeevan Gill" (@jSammy17) since when someone can "go to someone's page and tweet them from there."

"That's an insignifciant addition, but still welcome," Gill said of the feature.

A separate article on tech site ReadWriteWeb said the feature takes the form of a prompt to post a public reply to any user whose profile page one visits.

"It's a small but logical step to take and one that makes the interface all the more supportive of social interaction," it said.

It added this was the latest added feature to Twitter in one week.

Earlier additions had included activity streams, photo uploaders and media galleries. — TJD, GMA News

VIA TWITTER HELP

What are @Replies and Mentions?

What is an @Reply?

A reply is any update posted by clicking the "Reply" button on another Tweet

People say lots of things on Twitter, and sometimes you want to say something back. Your reply will always begin with @username (insert username of the person you are replying to). Anyone Tweet that is a reply to you will show up in your @Mentions tab on your homepage.

To post a reply on Twitter:

Find the Tweet you want to react to on Twitter.

Hover your mouse over their message and click the "reply" icon.

Complete your Tweet in the box that pops up, and click "Tweet" to send it

What is an @Mention?

A mention is any Twitter update that contains @username anywhere in the body of the Tweet. (Yes, this means that replies are also considered mentions.)

We noticed people frequently searching for their user name (@username) to find the Tweets that mention their username anywhere in the message. We collect these messages, as well as all your replies, in the @Mentions tab on your homepage. If you include more than one person's name in your update and you use the @username format, those people will all see the update in their personal mentions tab.

To post a mention on Twitter:

Type your message normally, but replace any names you include with @username (including the person's Twitter username). Our system will recognize and highlight the username that way, as shown below for this mention of @FreelanceWhales (a super cool band that we mentioned).

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of GMA News

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/229285/technology/twitter-quietly-adds-new-reply-feature

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Twitter quietly adds new reply feature

GMANEWS:

Micro-blogging site Twitter has silently added a new feature that allows users to tweet someone from the latter's own Twitter page.

Twitter co-founder and executive chairman Jack Dorsey confirmed the feature when a user tweeted him about it Friday.

"As ot today!" he said, when asked by "Jeevan Gill" (@jSammy17) since when someone can "go to someone's page and tweet them from there."

"That's an insignifciant addition, but still welcome," Gill said of the feature.

A separate article on tech site ReadWriteWeb said the feature takes the form of a prompt to post a public reply to any user whose profile page one visits.

"It's a small but logical step to take and one that makes the interface all the more supportive of social interaction," it said.

It added this was the latest added feature to Twitter in one week.

Earlier additions had included activity streams, photo uploaders and media galleries. — TJD, GMA News

VIA TWITTER HELP

What are @Replies and Mentions?

What is an @Reply?

A reply is any update posted by clicking the "Reply" button on another Tweet

People say lots of things on Twitter, and sometimes you want to say something back. Your reply will always begin with @username (insert username of the person you are replying to). Anyone Tweet that is a reply to you will show up in your @Mentions tab on your homepage.

To post a reply on Twitter:

Find the Tweet you want to react to on Twitter.

Hover your mouse over their message and click the "reply" icon.

Complete your Tweet in the box that pops up, and click "Tweet" to send it

What is an @Mention?

A mention is any Twitter update that contains @username anywhere in the body of the Tweet. (Yes, this means that replies are also considered mentions.)

We noticed people frequently searching for their user name (@username) to find the Tweets that mention their username anywhere in the message. We collect these messages, as well as all your replies, in the @Mentions tab on your homepage. If you include more than one person's name in your update and you use the @username format, those people will all see the update in their personal mentions tab.

To post a mention on Twitter:

Type your message normally, but replace any names you include with @username (including the person's Twitter username). Our system will recognize and highlight the username that way, as shown below for this mention of @FreelanceWhales (a super cool band that we mentioned).

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of GMA News

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/229285/technology/twitter-quietly-adds-new-reply-feature

 If You Like This Kapuso Post, Click Here To Subscribe Via Email

What is Planking?

BY INQUIRER:

I think Wikipedia put it best when they put “(fad)” beside their entry on planking.

I first encountered planking under a different name—the lying down game. I was following Ellen Page’s Facebook feed when she posted some photos of her stiffly lying face down on things like a low flight of stairs, a shopping cart, and a pile of garbage.

I thought this is incredibly stupid, whimsical, and funny. I looked it up on the Internet and discovered that it’s a sort of international web craze. I did what any person of my generation would do: join in.

Monkey see, monkey do.

A month or two later, I tried it at a Christmas office party. My locations were a bit tame: a hallway, the top of a cooling vent on the roof of the compound, and on top of a divider of cubicles on the third floor.

Mild insanity

I planked every month in an effort to sustain a healthy amount of mild insanity, zaniness, and weirdness in the humdrum of the daily postgraduate life.

It wasn’t just the act of planking that really got you, but those precious moments when you and your friends are laughing your heads off at how funny the pictures are and, strangely enough, the expectation that these photos will get you hundreds of comments and likes on Facebook. Chances are, you will get them.

Most of these comments will probably tell you how cool and “rad” these photos are, a few might say “This is art!”––In which case, unfriend them––while some would say it’s dirty and ridiculous. And the latter are right, because it is, and that’s the charm of it.

And like every popular thing, it’s when everybody seems to be doing it that the novelty wears off, so I stopped. I figured the human body in action is more fun captured in photographs.

Planking (not to be confused with the exercise that involves holding a difficult position for extended periods of time) is the act of lying face down for a photograph.

The term “planking” is originally from Australia, and is just another name for “the lying down game.” Its origins can be traced to a number of claims, none of which have been confirmed.

The mechanics of the game? Lie face down on weird, difficult places (the weirder and more difficult, the better), take a photo, post it on Facebook, and pray that it gets a lot of hits, because planking alone is not planking at all.

There’s a website devoted to the stuff (lyingdowngame.net) and an official Planking Facebook page with 643,481 fans, and counting. Here in the Philippines, I’ve encountered a Facebook page for students of the De La Salle University– Health Sciences Institute called De La Salle-HSI Planking.

Protest

Planking here at home was featured in “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” and was used as a form of protest by student activists, a few days before the State of the Nation Address, against President Aquino. It was to demand for a higher budget for education.

It has now become a game of who gets to plank on the weirdest and even most dangerous locations as a test of a planker’s “skill,” “creativity,” and “bravery.” Just last May, an Australian man fell seven stories to his death after planking on an apartment balcony in Brisbane, Australia, jolting the planking community to think how far one should go for “harmless fun.”

A new craze hit the web in response to planking. It’s called “Owling,” which is basically just squatting, but with mechanics similar to planking. Just squat on any “inventive” place, like Batman or Spiderman would on top of buildings, take a photo, post it on Facebook.

There’s another one called leisure diving, just in time for the western summer. Just dive in a pool in a most leisurely way and get a photo of it snapped while airborne. There’s the drinking coffee dive, the reading a newspaper dive, the sipping some wine while wearing a suit dive, watering the plants on a summer’s day dive, etc. It’s hilarious. (Check out www.leisuredive.com.)

I trust that within the next few years, we would see a lot of different social media trends in the photography department come and go, increasingly getting weirder (and perhaps more idiotic) as time goes by. So why not try sitting and standing? They never go out of style.

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of Inquirer / Paul Amiel Salonga

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/9273/after-the-jumping-shots-there%E2%80%99s-planking

 If You Like This Kapuso Post, Click Here To Subscribe Via Email

What is Planking?

BY INQUIRER:

I think Wikipedia put it best when they put “(fad)” beside their entry on planking.

I first encountered planking under a different name—the lying down game. I was following Ellen Page’s Facebook feed when she posted some photos of her stiffly lying face down on things like a low flight of stairs, a shopping cart, and a pile of garbage.

I thought this is incredibly stupid, whimsical, and funny. I looked it up on the Internet and discovered that it’s a sort of international web craze. I did what any person of my generation would do: join in.

Monkey see, monkey do.

A month or two later, I tried it at a Christmas office party. My locations were a bit tame: a hallway, the top of a cooling vent on the roof of the compound, and on top of a divider of cubicles on the third floor.

Mild insanity

I planked every month in an effort to sustain a healthy amount of mild insanity, zaniness, and weirdness in the humdrum of the daily postgraduate life.

It wasn’t just the act of planking that really got you, but those precious moments when you and your friends are laughing your heads off at how funny the pictures are and, strangely enough, the expectation that these photos will get you hundreds of comments and likes on Facebook. Chances are, you will get them.

Most of these comments will probably tell you how cool and “rad” these photos are, a few might say “This is art!”––In which case, unfriend them––while some would say it’s dirty and ridiculous. And the latter are right, because it is, and that’s the charm of it.

And like every popular thing, it’s when everybody seems to be doing it that the novelty wears off, so I stopped. I figured the human body in action is more fun captured in photographs.

Planking (not to be confused with the exercise that involves holding a difficult position for extended periods of time) is the act of lying face down for a photograph.

The term “planking” is originally from Australia, and is just another name for “the lying down game.” Its origins can be traced to a number of claims, none of which have been confirmed.

The mechanics of the game? Lie face down on weird, difficult places (the weirder and more difficult, the better), take a photo, post it on Facebook, and pray that it gets a lot of hits, because planking alone is not planking at all.

There’s a website devoted to the stuff (lyingdowngame.net) and an official Planking Facebook page with 643,481 fans, and counting. Here in the Philippines, I’ve encountered a Facebook page for students of the De La Salle University– Health Sciences Institute called De La Salle-HSI Planking.

Protest

Planking here at home was featured in “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” and was used as a form of protest by student activists, a few days before the State of the Nation Address, against President Aquino. It was to demand for a higher budget for education.

It has now become a game of who gets to plank on the weirdest and even most dangerous locations as a test of a planker’s “skill,” “creativity,” and “bravery.” Just last May, an Australian man fell seven stories to his death after planking on an apartment balcony in Brisbane, Australia, jolting the planking community to think how far one should go for “harmless fun.”

A new craze hit the web in response to planking. It’s called “Owling,” which is basically just squatting, but with mechanics similar to planking. Just squat on any “inventive” place, like Batman or Spiderman would on top of buildings, take a photo, post it on Facebook.

There’s another one called leisure diving, just in time for the western summer. Just dive in a pool in a most leisurely way and get a photo of it snapped while airborne. There’s the drinking coffee dive, the reading a newspaper dive, the sipping some wine while wearing a suit dive, watering the plants on a summer’s day dive, etc. It’s hilarious. (Check out www.leisuredive.com.)

I trust that within the next few years, we would see a lot of different social media trends in the photography department come and go, increasingly getting weirder (and perhaps more idiotic) as time goes by. So why not try sitting and standing? They never go out of style.

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of Inquirer / Paul Amiel Salonga

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/9273/after-the-jumping-shots-there%E2%80%99s-planking

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Casey Anthony is most hated person in America; VIEW LIST

BY NEWS GATHER:

Casey Anthony is officially the most hated person in America. This comes as the result of a poll by E-Poll Market Research. Some other notable people made the list that Anthony tops.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Reuters reports that of the 53% of the people polled who knew Anthony, 93% of them hated her. Alas, there is an entire list of these hated people—and you're likely familiar with most of them, too.

Following Casey Anthony, in the #2 most hated person in America spot is Spencer Pratt—husband of the famed (for what, no one is quite sure, besides multiple cosmetic surgeries) Heidi Montag. Following Spencer in spot #3 is the Octomom, Nadya Suleman.

The infamous O.J. Simpson comes in at #4, but maybe if he gives in and agrees to an interview confession with Oprah Winfrey, he won't be hated quite so much. He'll probably still make the most hated person in America list, however.

Jon Gosselin comes in at #5, and believe it or not, that probably strikes a lot of people as rather strange—not so much that the former Jon and Kate Plus 8 star is on the list, but rather because his ex-wife Kate Gosselin isn't. It would seem that far more people dislike her (hate just feels like such a harsh word, doesn't it?) than Jon Gosselin.

Who might you have expected to see on this most hated person list? Would your #1 choice have been Casey Anthony?

Here's a few more who made the list. See if you think they belong on there as well. Levi Johnston. Well, Sarah Palin is likely gloating over that one. Paris Hilton. She's too stupid to hate. Heidi Fleiss. Does anyone even remember who she is any more? Probably the men in that little black book were counted in this poll. And last but not least, there's Howard Stern. Does anyone at all even like him a little bit?

How do you think it must feel to be one of the people on this list? You can't very well ask Casey Anthony, because no one seems to know where she is. Do you think she'll remain the most hated person in America or will the public soon forget their hatred for her, and choose yet another victim to top their list?

Here is the complete Top 10 list of the Most Hated People in America:

1. Casey Anthony – the Florida woman who was found not guilty recently of murdering her two year-old daughter.

2. Spencer Spratt – former “The Hills” star.

3. Nadya Suleman – the unemployed single California woman who gave birth to octuplets in 2009 despite already having six children.

4. O.J. Simpson — who was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife and a friend in 1994.

5. Jon Gosselin – a reality-TV star famous for his eight kids and a public divorce from his ex-wife Kate Gosselin.

6. Levi Johnston — the former fiance of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol.

7. Jesse James – a TV personality and and CEO of West Coast Choppers. He was the host of the reality TV series Jesse James is a Dead Man on Spike TV.

8. Paris Hilton – Hotel chain heiress, socialite and actress. Star of the reality show “The World According to Paris.”

9. Heidi Fleiss – Former Hollywood madam, and also a columnist and television personality.

10. Howard Stern – Radio shock jock.


BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of News Gather

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979875808

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Casey Anthony is most hated person in America; VIEW LIST

BY NEWS GATHER:

Casey Anthony is officially the most hated person in America. This comes as the result of a poll by E-Poll Market Research. Some other notable people made the list that Anthony tops.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Reuters reports that of the 53% of the people polled who knew Anthony, 93% of them hated her. Alas, there is an entire list of these hated people—and you're likely familiar with most of them, too.

Following Casey Anthony, in the #2 most hated person in America spot is Spencer Pratt—husband of the famed (for what, no one is quite sure, besides multiple cosmetic surgeries) Heidi Montag. Following Spencer in spot #3 is the Octomom, Nadya Suleman.

The infamous O.J. Simpson comes in at #4, but maybe if he gives in and agrees to an interview confession with Oprah Winfrey, he won't be hated quite so much. He'll probably still make the most hated person in America list, however.

Jon Gosselin comes in at #5, and believe it or not, that probably strikes a lot of people as rather strange—not so much that the former Jon and Kate Plus 8 star is on the list, but rather because his ex-wife Kate Gosselin isn't. It would seem that far more people dislike her (hate just feels like such a harsh word, doesn't it?) than Jon Gosselin.

Who might you have expected to see on this most hated person list? Would your #1 choice have been Casey Anthony?

Here's a few more who made the list. See if you think they belong on there as well. Levi Johnston. Well, Sarah Palin is likely gloating over that one. Paris Hilton. She's too stupid to hate. Heidi Fleiss. Does anyone even remember who she is any more? Probably the men in that little black book were counted in this poll. And last but not least, there's Howard Stern. Does anyone at all even like him a little bit?

How do you think it must feel to be one of the people on this list? You can't very well ask Casey Anthony, because no one seems to know where she is. Do you think she'll remain the most hated person in America or will the public soon forget their hatred for her, and choose yet another victim to top their list?

Here is the complete Top 10 list of the Most Hated People in America:

1. Casey Anthony – the Florida woman who was found not guilty recently of murdering her two year-old daughter.

2. Spencer Spratt – former “The Hills” star.

3. Nadya Suleman – the unemployed single California woman who gave birth to octuplets in 2009 despite already having six children.

4. O.J. Simpson — who was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife and a friend in 1994.

5. Jon Gosselin – a reality-TV star famous for his eight kids and a public divorce from his ex-wife Kate Gosselin.

6. Levi Johnston — the former fiance of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol.

7. Jesse James – a TV personality and and CEO of West Coast Choppers. He was the host of the reality TV series Jesse James is a Dead Man on Spike TV.

8. Paris Hilton – Hotel chain heiress, socialite and actress. Star of the reality show “The World According to Paris.”

9. Heidi Fleiss – Former Hollywood madam, and also a columnist and television personality.

10. Howard Stern – Radio shock jock.


BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of News Gather

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979875808

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Sun unleashes the largest solar flare in years

An extremely powerful solar flare, the largest in more than four years, rocked the sun early Tuesday, but is unlikely to wreak any serious havoc here on Earth, scientists say.

"It was a big flare," said Joe Kunches, a space scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center. "We lucked out because the site of the eruption at the sun was not facing the Earth, so we will probably feel no ill effects."

Tuesday's solar flare began at 3:48 a.m. ET, and was rated a class X6.9 on the three-class scale scientists use to measure the strength of solar flares. The strongest type of solar eruption is class X, while class C represents the weakest and class M flares are medium-strength events.

The flare is the largest one yet in the sun's current cycle, which began in 2008 and is expected to last until around 2020. Solar activity waxes and wanes over an 11-year sun weather cycle, with the star currently heading toward a solar maximum in 2013.

"This flare had a GOES X-ray magnitude of X6.9, meaning it was more than 3 times larger than the previous largest flare of this solar cycle — the X2.2 that occurred on Feb 15, 2011," scientists with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, a space observatory that monitors the sun, wrote in an update.

Before the Feb. 15 storm, the largest recent solar flare occurred in December 2006, when an X9-class solar storm erupted from the sun.

Solar flares occur when magnetic field lines on the sun get tangled up into knots, building potential energy until they reach a tipping point. Then, that energy is converted into heat, light and the motion of charged particles.

While all X-class solar eruptions are major events, they pose the greatest threat to Earth when they are aimed directly at the planet. During those events, the sun often releases a cloud of plasma called a coronal mass ejection into space. This ejection hurls charged particles that can damage satellites, endanger astronauts in orbit and interfere with power systems, communications and other infrastructure on the planet.

Tuesday's solar flare and the resulting coronal mass ejection were not aimed at us.

"Because of its position the CME is going to shoot out into space and not be Earth-directed, and we don’t expect any big geomagnetic storm with this," Kunches told Space.com.

However, some VLF and HF radio communications blackouts have been reported, according to SpaceWeather.com, a website that monitors space weather events.

Whatever particles do head our way should reach us in a few days.

"The cloud will probably miss Earth," SpaceWeather.com wrote. "At this time, however, we cannot rule out a glancing blow from the flank of the CME on or about Aug. 11th."

The plus side of such a collision is often unusually spectacular auroras, or northern and southern lights, which occur when charged particles interact with Earth's magnetic field.

BACK TO KAPUSO ONLINE HOMEPAGE and THE KAPUSO ONLINE AWARDS - A Viewer's Choice Special: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Information Courtesy of MSNBC / Clara Moskowitz

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44076593/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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