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Money matters:
Graham Macdonald MBMG International Ltd.
Commodities
Commodities have continued to be positive despite the recent
turmoil in the world’s markets. The real question is how long can they continue
to do this?
Quite naturally, people are concerned about what is happening in the US,
especially as the American consumer continues to cut back on spending. However,
the general consensus is that commodities will stay strong due to continued
development in Asia and large infrastructure projects all over the world.
This is not just in the short term but also the long one. This is because of the
urbanization of Asian economies such as India and China. Also, over the last
thirty years there has been a distinct lack of investment in much needed
infrastructure due to the cynicism of politicians building for today to get
re-elected and not tomorrow so people can benefit. This shows that commodities
are going to be as much needed in the West as they will be in the East. Finally,
there is the need for new investment in alternative energy sources which will
mean further use for commodities.
Our old friend Supply and Demand will be critical in the pricing of commodities
with the price of a particular commodity going up when it is needed whilst
others go down.
What is beyond doubt though is that the value of commodities in general will
continue to increase and any times of surplus and lower prices are not going to
last long.
What is beyond doubt is that China has a massive thirst for commodities and this
is not going away any time soon. It is having a positive spin off for Africa, as
growth rates are stronger there because of Chinese investment. This, in turn,
offers some interesting investment opportunities, if one has the stomach for
risk. Anyone thinking of this should only be thinking of the very long term.
Many fund managers now agree that emerging markets are generally in great shape
and Asia can decouple from the west in the near future. I am not so sure about
this as a large percentage of the Asia population is still bordering on the
poverty line but, without doubt, the middle class in urban areas is increasing
by the day.
One fund manager working for Invesco thinks that inflation is down to cost push,
not demand pull, hence interest rates will not curb inflation. This doom and
gloom merchant (right up my street!) also reckons that global food stocks are
very low at the moment and doesn’t see that changing any time soon. He is also
predicting that interest rates are going to 1% in the US and hence the dollar
has further to fall.
As we have said before, unlike money, you can’t print gold. Even if sub-prime
were to be solved in the very short term, most people think this will effect the
price by USD100 - therefore, gold is going up because of inflation, not just
uncertainty. Also, gold bull markets usually last 10 years, the shortest before
that has been 7 years. We are still a couple of years short of that target.
Another bullish factor for gold is that South African mines are operating at 90%
capacity and will probably do so until 2012. The IMF is holding a lot of gold,
but the US is the largest voting member of the IMF and they have never agreed to
a gold sale. The gold producers are now closing their hedges. What is
interesting is that in terms of gold holdings, the Gold ETFs are now the 7th
largest central bank in the world.
So as to help those who are bullish on commodities, below is an analysis of how
we expect commodities to perform:
Base metals – In the short term the market will be flat due to a lesser demand
from the western world and a current large surplus. There may even be falling
prices. However, there continues to be a good, strong demand in the Middle East
and Asia for aluminium, copper, lead and tin so prices will rise before the end
of the year as the surplus is eroded and supply cannot cope with demand. The
aluminium market is currently very tight, but could get a lot tighter if the
Chinese start electricity rationing.
Steel and raw materials - General opinion is good for these as steel
manufacturing is predominantly in the control of the developing world. Also, the
de-stocking of steel in 2007 has left markets tight in North America and Europe.
In iron ore and coking coal, spot prices are up to 100% higher than current
contract prices, which are forecast to rise at least 50% for the year beginning
April 2008. Thermal coal prices have also gone up quickly as rail and port
traffic jams in Australia have disrupted supplies whilst demand for coal in
China remains particularly strong.
Energy - Prices now seem to have settled at high levels due to sustained high
demand. Supply, though, continues to disappoint, with non-OPEC countries failing
to deliver increases as forecast and OPEC itself reluctant to increase output
too rapidly.
Soft commodities - These have had an excellent run recently and look to get
stronger due to such things as biofuels and government regulation. As
agricultural land is in short supply due to the requirements of the energy
sector and so, crop rotation will be high and prices volatile. Brazil is a great
way to play the soft commodity theme, as the country is agriculturally rich.
To conclude, commodity funds have evidently become popular again, with USD100
billion of new funds bought to the market in the last couple of months. Also,
one should not forget that there is a 95% correlation between the share prices
and the commodities themselves and it is worth remembering that if the Chinese
were to increase their gold holding it would take away three years of supply
from the market. So, should commodities be part of your portfolio – ABSOLUTELY!
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The above data and research was compiled from sources
believed to be reliable. However, neither MBMG International Ltd nor its
officers can accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the above
article nor bear any responsibility for any losses achieved as a result of any
actions taken or not taken as a consequence of reading the above article. For
more information please contact Graham Macdonald on
[email protected]@mbmg-international.com.com
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Snap Shots: by Harry Flashman
Looking after your investment
 When
something costs very little, we tend to look after it the same way. When
we are looking at 50 baht items, they are easily replaceable with loose
change. The same does not go for cameras.
In fact, some of today’s cameras, even in the consumer range, are no
longer cheap. It is difficult to find any half-decent camera less than
10,000 baht, and that is far too much money to be needlessly throwing
away. So here are some tips on how to look after your photographic
investments - investments that can be quite big ticket items too.
To show you the money that can be involved in photography, my favourite
lens was a 40 mm Hasselblad wide angle, with a huge bit of glass on the
front, that would cost in Thailand today over 200,000 baht. Worth
looking after?
However, even humble point and shooters will benefit from being looked
after. Any camera will give you better and more reliable service, and
not let you down when you are about to take the one shot that will make
you millions of baht in the international news market.
The first concept is to understand just what it is that will go towards
destroying your camera. Usually these are simply dust and grit, moisture
and condensation, battery acid and being dropped. Looking after your
investment is then a simple case of countering the above factors.
Moisture and condensation are the easiest ones to counter, but the
dampness comes from more than just being caught out in the rain.
Thailand has a hot and humid environment. How many times have you taken
your camera outside from your air-conditioned office and found you could
not see through the viewfinder because it had steamed up? That is
condensation. The way round this is to keep small sachets of silica gel
in your camera bag, or in the little “socks” you keep the lenses in.
When the silica gel changes colour you can pop them back in the
micro-wave and rejuvenate them very easily. Many bottles of tablets come
with perfect little sachets in the top of them.
There will also be times when you get caught in the rain, or you may
even want to get rain shots. The camera body is reasonably waterproof,
but you should carefully wipe the outside of the case dry afterwards,
and especially blow air around the lens barrel and the lens mount.
Dust and grit is the ever present danger in the environment. Ever had a
small piece of grit in your eye? Often, I will wager. Small particles
such as that can be very bad for the lens focusing and zooming mechanics
too. If the camera back is opened, while changing film for example, any
airborne grit can get into the shutter mechanism and damage it, or even
just get stuck on the spring loaded pressure plate that runs on the
film. This can leave a linear streak on the film, damaging every
negative in the series - and ruining your prized photographs. There is
really no secret here. Load and reload in the cleanest environment you
can, and carefully blow out the back of the camera every time you open
it up. Never brush bits away with your fingers - your sweat is
corrosive!
That leads us to the even more serious type of corrosion - leakage from
batteries. Just about every camera in the world these days has a
battery, even if it is just to drive the needle on the light meter. Acid
leakage (and even acid fumes) from a battery can totally ruin a modern
camera, getting into the electronics so that it never works properly
again. The answer here is to discard the batteries every twelve months,
even if they seem to be fine, and if you are not going to be using the
camera for an extended period, then take the batteries out altogether.
Finally, keep your camera in a soft case that can absorb some shocks.
Not the silly leather or plastic thing it came in. If you have not got
one - then go out and buy one today. They are very inexpensive,
especially when compared to the cost of the camera! Protect your
investment!
Modern Medicine:
by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant
Men and the hewers of stone
With the current push for women’s health clinics and
practitioners, it is easy for men to feel left out. After all, you’ve no
uterus to become cancerous, and although you do have vestigial breasts and
it is possible to get breast cancer, I don’t suggest you go looking for
breast lumps every month after your non-existent periods.
However, there are some specific male areas, and these centralize around the
genito-urinary systems. In the medical business, Urologists are sometimes
called the hewers of stone and drawers of water, because much of their work
deals with kidney stones and assisting men to be able to pass water
adequately. We men do suffer at times, it’s not only the ladies who have
‘specific’ problems!
Your urinary system is a remarkable collection of organs, beginning with the
kidney, the “super filter”. The kidney filters the blood and allows the
important stuff like blood cells and nutrients to continue waltzing around
your circulation, but taking out the nasties, and at the same time helping
balance the acidity/alkalinity of the body. Clever little organs, the
kidneys!
To keep your kidneys in top shape does not require special kidney exercises,
you will be pleased to know. In fact, there is nothing you can do
‘physically’ to make the kidneys perform, but fortunately there are some
things you can do to keep them in top condition.
The first is to drink plenty of water every day. And by ‘water’, I mean the
plain and simple H2O style water, not the stuff that has been mixed with
hops, distilled with grain or left to age in oak casks. Making the kidneys
exercise, to filter and regulate the circulating blood volume, is simply
carried out by drinking several liters of water every day. Yes, it is that
easy. On your desk at work keep a glass of cold water beside you and empty
it every 30 minutes.
The advantages you get from this are enormous. First off, you have
immediately lowered the chances of forming kidney stones, a potentially
dangerous (and always painful) condition. Being a card carrying coward, I
have always preferred the drinking water option to the lying in bed groaning
with pain alternative. In fact, around 15 percent of people will experience
stones in their lifetime (especially in the hot climates) and men outnumber
women between two to three times. We also know that if you do not change
your lifestyle, you are very likely to develop another stone within two
years after the first episode. We men do suffer at times, it’s not only the
ladies who have ‘specific’ problems!
The kidneys drain to the bladder by two tubes called Ureters. These do not
do much, other than connect the kidney to the collecting vessel (bladder).
However, if a piece of stone gets stuck, you will soon know about it. Renal
colic sorts out the men from the boys! Ultimate pain!
From the bladder, the urine gets introduced to the outside world by another
tube called the Urethra. This is short in ladies and is the reason that
women get Cystitis (bladder infections). It is longer in the men folk,
allowing us to stand up to pee and become obsessed with how long or short it
really is. After the age of 40 give up the ‘Who can pee the highest’
competitions.
However, we chaps have another problem in that region, as far as getting the
urine from the bladder to the far wall of the urinal. This is called the
Prostate, and it encircles the Urethra and when enlarged, closes down the
internal diameter of the pee tube. This makes it difficult to pass water and
you dribble on your shoes. The prostate can also become cancerous, an even
less pleasant state of affairs. We men do suffer at times, it’s not only the
ladies who have ‘specific’ problems!
Yes, you can have a check-up for this area too. Just ask to see the hewers
of stone and drawers of water!
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
I never realized I was smart until I came to Thailand two years ago. Let me
explain why. I have always used my common senses back home and here in Thailand
and I never had any problems but to many farangs (foreigners), they just can’t
help themselves. Thailand receives the world’s biggest jackasses and fools and
every week I see or hear about some farangs who gets into some problems with bar
girls or Thais and complains and cries about everything and everybody here. I’m
tired of these fools and jackasses bad mouthing Thais and Thailand. If they
don’t like it GO HOME and stay there. Why do we get so many ugly, foolish,
ignorant, disgusting farangs who makes us all look bad in front of Thai people?
Happy Camper
Dear Happy Camper,
You don’t sound all that happy to me, Petal, your letter is full of grumps and
grouches. I agree that there are many foreigners who don’t seem to use much
common sense (why is it called ‘common’ when there’s so little of it around?),
but I think you are overstepping the mark when you start painting your jackasses
and fools as being “ugly” and “disgusting”. I also agree that there is nothing
to be gained by foreigners when they start bad mouthing Thais and Thailand, and
you do have to wonder why they left their own countries in the first place.
There can be many reasons I believe, and not all of them are lawful! Of course
it is not too difficult to see why some of these people become cannon fodder for
the sharp-shooters in the bars. It must be difficult to survive the “Buy me
cola, darling” when all they are used to in their home countries are women who
want to put them down all the time. “What are you looking at,” being a standard
western woman’s response to a bright appreciative smile. Perhaps you should be
producing a lapel button which says “Don’t complain to me - I like it here!”
Finally, don’t let the idiots spoil it for you. You don’t have to drink in beer
bars, and if you take the effort to learn the language, then you don’t have to
talk to the foreigners either, as there are 60 million Thai people out there who
would like to know about you and your country of origin.
Dear Hillary,
After getting to know one of the bar girls quite well in my local beer bar, she
asked me for some money to send to her mother as her daughter was sick and stays
with her mother. It wasn’t much, only 5,000 baht and I really didn’t care if she
repaid me or not. The only problem is she’s come back to me twice more since
then and it’s starting to add up. It’s now 25,000 baht and that’s getting up a
bit, even if she doesn’t charge me anything any more for short-times and stuff.
How do I tactfully tell her that there’s no more loans and I’d like her to start
paying back the money I gave her? And please no sermons, my buddies are good at
doing that, but they’ve got no answers for me.
Sam
Dear Sam (the sucker),
The whole situation revolves around the phrase “the money I gave her”. She looks
upon it as a gift, which you did originally, but now you want to change it into
a “loan”. It’s a little late for that, my Petal. No matter how many short-times,
as you quaintly put it, you are never going to see the 25,000 baht again. How do
you tell her tactfully that the well has run dry? Quite easily, next time she
asks, just say no. She won’t fall apart, she’ll just move on to the next
customer. That is the occupation that these girls have chosen. They live by
their wits and the guilty consciences of the suckers they fleece. Kiss it good
bye, literally and metaphorically.
Dear Hillary,
I met a woman at the party last night and I can’t get her out of my mind. I
didn’t get her name as we only briefly saw each other across the room, before
she flitted away, so I haven’t even spoken to her, but there was that spark of
magic there in her eyes promising just so much. Can you help me find her again?
I think I am going mad with desire. She was wearing a yellow dress, and with her
dark hair and dark eyes, the effect was fantastic. I must find her again.
James
Dear James,
What sort of a love struck calf are you, my myopic Petal? How would Hillary know
where to find your lady with the bedroom eyes? I wasn’t even at your party. Or
perhaps I was and enjoyed it too much? Oh my goodness! Perhaps the woman was me?
Was I wearing yellow last night? Did she leave a glass slipper by any chance?
Back to reality. Have you had your hormone levels checked recently? You are not
going mad with desire young man, you are just mad. But to show that Hillary has
a heart, I have published your letter. If any woman answering to your
description calls, I will let you know. Promise.
Learn to Live to Learn: with Andrew Watson
Sharing Humanity
The next edition of IB World magazine focuses on the
subject of “Sharing Humanity”, a subject which critics of the
left of centre ideologically based organisation might very well
scoff at; “another meaningless platitude!” I hear you cry. Of
course, I very much hope that critics of the IBO are few and far
between and at the very least, diminishing in number. Enough of
the oafish, “it’s such an expensive programme.” Ignorance is
much more expensive. Nonetheless, if we are to be true to our
word, then we must encourage an atmosphere of healthy
scepticism, being careful to ensure that it does not become
unhealthy cynicism. The ideology of the IBO, as expressed in
their mission statement, perhaps can be summed up in two simple
phrases; the celebration of diversity and the pursuit of
academic excellence. The celebration of diversity is clearly
synonymous with sharing humanity and invites some reflection.
When the last phrase of the mission statement is read; “people
with their differences can also be right,” it could be argued
that the IBO has created a potential minefield of
misunderstanding. The phrase, to some, reeks of cultural
relativism, whereas the IBO is in reality more aligned with
concepts of “ethical absolutism” (Hazell, 2005) as articulated
by IB Guru George Walker (2003); “Some argue that you cannot
have two contradictory statements, each of which is right,
unless you support cultural relativism which is not a wise
position for the IBO to adopt. It is more interesting to ask if
you can have two contradictory opinions, each of which is right.
But in any case the sentence does not force upon us either of
these positions; it is careful to state that other people can
also be right rather than other people are also right.”
Or indeed, wrong. When two opposite points of view are expressed
with equal force, the truth does not (as Richard Dawkins
correctly observes) necessarily lie midway between them. It is
possible for one side to be simply wrong. And that justifies
passion on the other side, especially when evidence can (and
must) be brought to bear to substantiate opinion.
For instance, according to news reports (an important caveat) I
am led to believe that in some parts of the world, women can be
stoned to death as “punishment” for being raped. Well, I’m
sorry, but I cannot conceive of a time when I could ever be
convinced that that’s ok. I might regard the very notion of this
as repugnant and evil. Indeed, I might even regard it as a moral
responsibility to argue that it is not ever ok. And all that is
necessary for evil to triumph, we are told, is that good people
do nothing.
I was fortunate enough the other week to watch AC Milan vs
Arsenal in the Champions league at a packed San Siro. It was a
great occasion. To my consternation and dismay, supporting as I
do anybody playing against Arsenal (my one concession to
prejudice), Milan were remarkably and comprehensively outplayed.
But at the end (you may have read this elsewhere but it is true)
the home supporters who had not already left, rose to their feet
and applauded the victors. It was a wonderful moment, a
celebration indeed of shared humanity. There wasn’t an ounce of
nastiness. A day later, I read a newspaper article in which
Arsene Wenger was critical of his former adversary Jose
Mourinho, who had spoken of returning to Chelsea one day with
another team and “killing them”. Wenger’s response, as ever so
articulate and intelligent, illustrated the deep, moral crevasse
which can exist between people who on one side, recognise what
“shared humanity” can and does mean, and those on the other who
choose to ignore their human responsibilities to others;
“Why should you always have to kill other people to exist
yourself? If you do that, then somewhere, you feel you are not
good enough,” Wenger said. “If you have to come out all the time
to destroy people, what is life about? Winning and destroying
people can never be everything.” He’s a great man, Wenger. You
can see by the way his team plays that his personal, human
philosophy is central to everything that happens. I wish George
Graham were still in charge of the Gunners.
The philosophy, the ideology, has to be central to the
organisation. Some, such as Marshall (2002) and Codrington
(2004) agree that ‘best practice’ in schools is reliant on
leaders using the underlying principles of clarity and standards
to guide and facilitate teacher performance, professionalism and
development. However, if reasons given orally by teachers at any
number of international schools around the world for wanting to
teach in international schools are to be believed, then it
appears that their major motivation is rarely idealistic. The
uncomfortable reality is that many teachers arrive with a sense
of liberation from what are regarded as over bureaucratised
national systems, combined with a sense of “being on holiday” in
a popular “holiday” destination. These feelings are manifested
in “2.30 culture” (where teachers rarely stay beyond the end of
a formal school day), transplanted “coffee and beer culture”
(where teachers prefer to stay in the staffroom rather than the
classroom) and where working with “like minded people” has more
to do with social life than vocation. In mitigation, when the
majority of subliminal and overt advertising in some countries
celebrates “beer culture”, who can be surprised that behaviours
related to this infiltrate and permeate a relatively low paid
and historically demotivated profession such as teaching? It is
with some irony that I read this week that the British
Government is concerned about “binge drinking”, the very culture
that it has effectively been promoting for the last thirty
years.
It seems reasonable to accept that it is in the classroom, the
interface between teaching and learning, that the manifestation
of the celebration of diversity and shared humanity should be
visible, but what would we expect to see? Sylvester (1998)
maintains that in the classroom, questions of diversity should
be characterized by a principled approach, reflecting teachers’
understanding and “overt” appreciation for the cultural groups
of the school. Envisaging this kind of reality in the classroom
requires a strong ideological commitment, recognition of what
Connell (in Skilbeck, 1988) calls “the unity of mankind in a
commonly shared world.”
Next week: ‘International-mindedness’
DOC ENGLISH Teaching your kids how to learn English:
Many theories on the subject of ‘Language Acquisition’
A few parents have asked me ‘What is the
best time for my child to start learning English’? This is an
interesting and perplexing question. Obviously we want our children to
start learning English early enough for them to become proficient, but
if they are learning two or more languages at the same time, won’t they
become confused? I’ll discuss the various theories on the subject of
‘Language Acquisition’ as best I can, so that you can make your own mind
up.
Language Acquisition is the process by which we learn a first (or
second) language. Normally most of us learn our first language when we
are babies and our second language when we are older, perhaps at Primary
school or even later when we are adults. Some people seem to be better
at learning a second language than others (I place myself in the
‘others’ category).
Most theorists on the subject of language acquisition are generally
divided between two ‘camps’. The first camp believes that children are
born with an innate ability to learn new languages (the ‘Nativist’, or
‘native’ theorists). The other ‘camp’ of theorists believes that we are
not born with the skills to speak a language. This second camp believes
that languages are something we learn from our peers and language skills
are passed on from generation to generation (the ‘Nurture’ theory).
There are also a substantial number of theorists who believe that both
camps are right and both theories on language acquisition are true. In
addition, there exist a great number of theorists who probably don’t
give a hoot and wish everyone else would stop arguing and get on with
solving the problem.
If you go with the ‘Nature’ theory, then it seems everyone has an
ability to learn a language from birth, no different from birds learning
to sing, or dogs learning to bark, even if they are born and left in
isolation from birth. However, some case studies have proved that
children who have been denied opportunities to talk at a very early age
(perhaps through neglect or isolation) often never reach full fluency in
their first language, let alone their second.
Many theorists believe that there is a ‘Critical Period’ for learning a
new language and that this period ends at age 12. It does seem to me
that although I think it’s possible to learn a second language at a
later age, younger children have more success learning languages than
adults. Children who learn a second language at an early age seem to be
better at speaking without a trace of an accent! Despite the theories,
however, there is no excuse for not trying to learn a second language
well into adulthood.
So why are kids better than learning languages than us adults? There are
several reasons for this. The first is that they are less inhibited.
Younger children are generally pretty confident and they don’t get
embarrassed when they make little mistakes speaking. Generally we find
this ‘cute’ and we provide them with lots of encouragement and
opportunities to use their language skills, such as playing games with
them, singing songs, asking and answering questions, etc.
As our children grow older, they become more aware of the world around
them, more self-conscious and shy about making mistakes and sadly we are
perhaps less forgiving of their mistakes too. Their little language
errors are no longer considered ‘cute’ and may be so swiftly and
brutally corrected by the teacher that it’s not uncommon for older
children entering a second language situation to enter a ‘silent world’
and cease talking altogether, rather than put up with criticism from
their teachers and peers.
As children grow up, the school curriculum changes too. Whilst younger
children have plenty of opportunities to play and talk in the classroom,
older children must spend long periods reading, writing and listening to
the teacher. Speaking opportunities and opportunities for discussion may
be less common (except in an ESL or EFL classroom of course) and
children may choose to make friends only with children who share their
native language.
Anyway, for the reasons I have mentioned (and more besides), generally I
would say that the earlier your child can start learning a second
language, the better. Generally your child won’t become confused between
the two languages, as long as you provide equal practice in each
language and you don’t over-do it! Most theorists agree that parents
play an important part in children’s language acquisition. Children need
an extraordinary amount of language ‘input’ when they are young. They
also need a great deal of practice using the language in a nurturing
environment where they are not criticised, but allowed to experiment
with the language (perhaps using ‘Tinglish’ (Thai/English) to start off
with and then gradually evolving two distinct, parallel languages).
If you are thinking of enrolling your child at a bilingual or
international school or kindergarten, ask about the opportunities your
child will have to speak, listen to, read and write the language. Look
around the school, talk to the staff and students and observe a lesson
or two. Will the school provide the ‘nurturing’ environment your child
will need? What special provisions and support does the school provide
for new students? Whatever age you decide to start your child learning a
second language, you want your child to be supported and to see the
process of learning a language as an enjoyable one and a positive
experience.
That’s all for this week mums and dads. As always, if you have any
questions, suggestions or complaints, you can mail me at: docen
[email protected]. Enjoy spending time with your kids.
Let’s go to the movies:
by Mark Gernpy
Now playing in Pattaya
The Water Horse: US/UK Adventure/Fantasy/Family – I loved
this film about the mythical “water horse” of Scottish legend. It’s not
just for kids – in fact, if I were I child I would be terrified by some
parts of it. Excellent portrayals by the large cast, and especially the
young boy. The monster is exquisite, and finely realized. Breathtaking
scenery of Scotland (and New Zealand, pretending to be Scotland), and
magnificently photographed. The boy’s rides on the back of “Nessie” are
ecstatic and mind-blowing. Has solid drama to it, fine
characterizations, excellent British movie-making, with a lot of heart.
See it! Generally favorable reviews.
Doomsday: UK Action/Sci-Fi – Authorities brutally quarantine a
country as it succumbs to fear and chaos when a virus strikes. Seems the
consensus is it’s a pale imitation of previous futuristic thrillers,
minus the cohesive narrative and charismatic leads. Rated R in the US
for strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content/nudity.
Mixed or average reviews.
Shutter: US Horror – This is an American remake of the wildly
successful Thai chiller which starred heartthrob Ananda Everingham – the
top Thai film in 2004. I just saw it, and this Shutter is a near replica
in all respects, but with an American cast, a Japanese director, and
filmed in Japan. Its story is simplicity itself: a couple accidentally
hit a woman while driving; thereafter they see a supernatural presence
in the photos they take. But with its many twists and shocks, the film
subverts audience expectations, revealing itself to be much more than a
simple ghost story. It is without doubt a classic spook story, with some
real chills. I enjoyed it, but I think the Thai version is superior.
Hormones / Pidtermyai Huajai Wawoon: Thai Comedy/Romance – An
endearing Teen-oriented Thai romance directed by Songyos Sugmakanan, who
made 2006’s quite excellent ghost/coming-of-age story, Dorm, which I
liked very much indeed. Songyos was one of the six directors making
their debut with the smash-hit 2003 childhood romance, Fan Chan,
everyone’s favorite Thai movie. In Hormones, Songyos uses actors from
both those films. Charlie Trairat and Michael Sirachuch Chienthaworn,
both from Dorm, play a pair of schoolboys who are vying for the heart of
the same girl. And Focus Jirakul, who co-starred with Charlie in Fan
Chan, plays a teenybopper who is obsessed with a Taiwanese pop singer.
And, the time has come to reveal a secret about the movie: not in any of
the advertising and publicity, but very much in evidence in the film, is
one of Japan’s best known porn stars, Sora Aoi. Well, former porn star,
now that she is appearing in mainstream films. She definitely has curves
in all of the right places, and is quite a – how should I put it –
vibrant personality. She attempts to drive one boy’s affections away
from his true love, in a passionate encounter on the beach. Does he stay
true to his love? See it to find out. You know what you’re in for with a
teen romance movie: tiny problems and minor heartbreaks magnified to
earth-shattering proportions, signifying nothing. If you like that sort
of thing, you will enjoy this very much, with all its pleasant
adolescent fun and angst. It’s painfully sweet, and mostly squeaky
clean.
The Spiderwick Chronicles: US Adventure/Fantasy – I enjoyed the
richly detailed world of this fantasy, and I recommend it to those of
you who like fantasies. Freddie Highmore plays rebellious Jared, who
discovers the chronicles, and also his twin Simon. He is a favorite
actor of mine, with a great capacity for bringing real heart to any film
he is in. It’s an excellent family film, with some horrific moments.
Generally favorable reviews.
John Rambo: US Action/Drama – The movie starts with some truly
ghastly images of the warfare engaged in by the Burmese junta against
their own peoples. These are news images, and they set a violent
political framework to the movie that can’t be ignored. This is stuff
that is happening now, and in our own backyard. Rated R in the US for
strong graphic bloody violence, sexual assaults, grisly images, and
language. Mixed or average reviews.
Step Up 2 the Streets: US Drama/Dance-Musical – You’ll see
several vibrant dance sequences and some hilariously bad acting. Full of
the most offensive stereotypes, what we basically have here is a race
war played out as a dance movie. But if you enjoy watching the art of
break dancing for hours, and are conversant with the infinite variety of
its styles, then this movie is for you. Mixed or average reviews.
Scheduled to open Thu. Apr. 3
Vantage Point: US Drama/Thriller – Eight strangers with eight
different points of view try to unlock the truth behind an assassination
attempt on the president of the United States. Critics say it’s exciting
and has an interesting premise, but fractured storytelling. Mixed or
average reviews.
We love our computer, let’s keep it clean
Let’s be honest, we are the laziest when it comes to
computer maintenance. We know how to copy, download, transfer and
install files and programs on our computer so much that it half turns
into a box of junk. When the computer is overloaded with unwanted or
never-used files, the question is, “Who’s going to clean that up?” Of
course not the computer!
Keeping your computer clean is the first step to making it run faster. A
computer can only run smoothly if we maintain and do clean-ups
regularly. There are a big bunch of files sitting in your computer that
were temporarily generated, copied or downloaded onto your computer,
especially when you surf online. These files help in loading visited web
pages or opened program files faster. After a few days, most of them do
not have much use and can be removed from your computer safely to
re-gain free space.
Here’s the simplest way to get rid of that old junk on your computer.
Trust me; it’s really quick and easy. Many of you may already know this,
but let’s face it, when was the last time you did a disk cleanup?
Let’s go…
1) Go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools and open the
Disk Cleanup utility program.
2) You will be prompted to “Select Drive” for clean up. Being the most
crucial one, let’s start our clean up with C Drive. Select the drive
from the list and click OK.
3) The program will scan and analyze “junk” files which can be removed
from your computer to clean up space. This can take awhile depending on
the temporary files on your computer.
4) Once the scanning is done, you will get a list of file types that can
be deleted. By default, some of them will already be selected. Apart
from those, you might want to select “Recycle Bin” as well, if you
decide to clean up that too. Another one you should choose to clean up
is “Temporary Files”. Click OK and when you are asked to confirm the
clean up, click “Yes”.
5) The cleanup utility will take awhile to do the work for you.
6) Repeat the steps if you want to clean up other drives as well.
Told you it was easy! Make this a regular practice, at least once a week
and you will stop thinking about buying a new computer.
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Just for Geeks
According to InternetWorldStats.com, about 20% of
the world’s population is using the internet today. While the world’s
population is 6,606,971,659*, there are currently 1,319,872,109*
internet users around the world.
* Estimated values |
The answer to last week’s Just For Geeks – Answer
and Win! question “What does “http”, “www” and “com” stand for in
a web address?” is:
http stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol.
www stands for World Wide Web (of course!)
com stands for commercial.
Wasn’t that easy? Once again we had a lot of entries coming in. The
lucky winners to take away Apacer 1GB USB Flash Drive each are
Pete Eades and Russ Blohn. Congratulations!
Till next week … Tata ;-)
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