Thank you Avi!

GLASTONBURY, England, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A British 19-year-old has officially changed his name to "Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined."

The Glastonbury, England, teenager -- originally named George Garratt -- said his new name, which is thought to be the world's longest, has so outraged his grandmother that she is no longer speaking to him, The Telegraph reported Monday.

The teen said he used an online service to officially change his name for a $20 fee.

"I wanted to be unique," Captain Fantastic said of his name choice. "I decided upon a theme of superheroes."

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

KIDZANIA

Must we really encourage kids to grow up so fast?

http://www.kidzania.co.id/ver2/index.php?artid=70&catid=30&mnid=113

KIDZANIA is a unique place for children between 2 to 16 years old and their parents.
It is a kid-sized replica of a real city, with streets, buildings, retail and different vehicles going around the City.

Here, children play adult roles and they learn how to be a doctor, a pilot, a construction worker, a private detective, an archeologist, an F1 driver and over 100 other PROFESSIONS and OCCUPATIONS.

There is a replica of the most representative buildings in a city such as Hospital, Supermarket, Beauty Salon, Theatre, Industrial sites, and many more.

SEOUL - NORTH Korea released a photograph Sunday showing leader Kim Jong Il smiling and watching a football match - the latest apparent attempt to calm intense speculation over the health of the country's absolute ruler.

Mr Kim, 66, reportedly suffered a stroke and underwent brain surgery in August. North Korea has denied he is ill and has in recent weeks released news reports, photos and footage portraying the leader as active and able.

On Sunday afternoon, North Korean state television showed an undated still photo of what it said is Mr Kim watching a football match between two army-affiliated teams.

The photo shows Mr Kim sitting with other people and watching something from what appears to be a special viewing stand inside a building. Mr Kim is shown smiling, wearing his trademark sunglasses with a brown jacket and black pants, but scenes of any football match are not visible.

-Singapore Straits Times

Oh how I love dialog in old movies. I recently watched "On the Waterfront" by Elia Kazan, starring a young Marlon Brando. Below are some favorite quotes:

Brando in a tough guy voice,
"I always feel I'll live a bit longer without ambition"
"My philosophy on life, do it to him before he does it to you"
"You've lost the battle, but you've got the chance to win the war"
"Never is going to be too much for me shorty"

Weird phrases on Asian T Shirts

On this t-shirt..."donde estan mis pantalones?" click to enlarge

When in Tokyo I noticed a surplus of young women wearing disturbing profanities across their chests. Cute girls in pink baby t's wore shirts that in thick black lettering exclaimed "fuck me please" or "You are an asshole sir". These young woman were no more than 14 years old. The same odd profanities on tight t-shirts exists to some extent in Singapore as well. I suppose its the same concept as Brittney Spears adorning a tattoo of a Chinese character that she thought meant "mysterious" but instead meant "strange". Alas, it would be cruel to compare these girls to Brittney Spears. I can't possibly believe that these young women understand what they wear so boldly across their shirts, and yet they wear these symbols with pride and with confidence. Is the English language no matter what it says or represents that cool? To some, I suppose it is.

Dear friendlies,

This experience has been tough. I have carried 100's of pounds of equipment on a daily basis through the jungle, I have been potentially cursed by sculptures, I have thrown up while shooting in 100 degree weather, I have been celibate, I have been eaten up by weird South East Asian Bugs, I have smelled nasty smells that you never even knew existed (sweat, socks, farts and durian fruit?), I have missed home, I have been reprimanded for eating popcorn in a movie theater, and I have witnessed drunken brawls on a nightly basis. My question is...do I keep on going? Do I continue to build character with these experiences in Graduate school in a far off land, or do I take what I have learned and return home? What do you think? Its challenging going through it, but when I see these experiences written down, whoa.

Scenes from downstairs

Below my room... I think there is a Buddhist celebration happening downstairs. They bang on gongs for 9 hours every day. I am having difficulty working.