Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century, and its projected continuation.

The average global air temperature near the Earth’s surface increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the hundred years ending in 2005.^[1] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes “most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas concentrations”^[1] via the greenhouse effect. Natural phenomena such as solar variation combined with volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward.^[2][3]

These basic conclusions have been endorsed by at least thirty scientific societies and academies of science,^[4] including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.^[5][6][7] While individual scientists have voiced disagreement with some findings of the IPCC,^[8] the overwhelming majority of scientists working on climate change agree with the IPCC’s main conclusions.^[9][10]

Climate model projections summarized by the IPCC indicate that average global surface temperature will likely rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century.^[1] The range of values results from the use of differing scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions as well as models with differing climate sensitivity. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a thousand years even if greenhouse gas levels are stabilized. The delay in reaching equilibrium is a result of the large heat capacity of the oceans.^[1]

Increasing global temperature will cause sea level to rise, and is expected to increase the intensity of extreme weather events and to change the amount and pattern of precipitation. Other effects of global warming include changes in agricultural yields, trade routes, glacier retreat, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors.

Remaining scientific uncertainties include the amount of warming expected in the future, and how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but there is ongoing political and public debate worldwide regarding what, if any, action should be taken to reduce or reverse future warming or to adapt to its expected consequences.

The Earth’s climate changes in response to external forcing, including variations in its orbit around the Sun (orbital forcing),^[14][15][16], changes in solar luminosity, volcanic eruptions,^[17] and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The detailed causes of the recent warming remain an active field of research, but the scientific consensus^[18][19] is that the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases due to human activity caused most of the warming observed since the start of the industrial era. This attribution is clearest for the most recent 50 years, for which the most detailed data are available. Some other hypotheses departing from the consensus view have been suggested to explain most of the temperature increase. One such hypothesis proposes that warming may be the result of variations in solar activity.

Causes

None of the effects of forcing are instantaneous. The thermal inertia of the Earth’s oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that the Earth’s current climate is not in equilibrium with the forcing imposed. Climate commitment studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels, a further warming of about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) would still occur.^[23

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896. It is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet's lower atmosphere and surface.

Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F), without which Earth would be uninhabitable.^[24][25] On Earth, the major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70% of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO₂), which causes 9–26%; methane (CH₄), which causes 4–9%; and ozone, which causes 3–7%.^[26][27] The issue is how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of some greenhouse gases.

Human activity since the industrial revolution has increased the concentration of various greenhouse gases, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO₂, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. Molecule for molecule, methane is a more effective greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but its concentration is much smaller so that its total radiative forcing is only about a fourth of that from carbon dioxide. Some other naturally occurring gases contribute very small fractions of the greenhouse effect; one of these, nitrous oxide (N₂O), is increasing in concentration owing to human activity such as agriculture. The atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ and CH₄ have increased by 31% and 149% respectively since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s. These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores.^[28] From less direct geological evidence it is believed that CO₂ values this high were last attained 20 million years ago.^[29] Fossil fuel burning has produced approximately three-quarters of the increase in CO₂ from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular deforestation.^[30]

The present atmospheric concentration of CO₂ is about 385 parts per million (ppm) by volume.^[31] Future CO₂ levels are expected to rise due to ongoing burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments, but may be ultimately limited by the availability of fossil fuels. The IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO₂ scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.^[32] Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach this level and continue emissions past 2100, if coal, tar sands or methane clathrates are extensively used.^[33] Research by NASA climate scientist James Hansen indicates the 0.75° rise in average global temperatures over the last 100 years has been driven mainly by greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide.^[34]

Feedbacks

The effects of forcing agents on the climate are complicated by various feedback processes.

One of the most pronounced feedback effects relates to the evaporation of water. Warming by the addition of long-lived greenhouse gases such as CO₂ will cause more water to evaporate into the atmosphere. Since water vapor itself acts as a greenhouse gas, the atmosphere warms further; this warming causes more water vapor to evaporate (a positive feedback), and so on until other processes stop the feedback loop. The result is a much larger greenhouse effect than that due to CO₂ alone. Although this feedback process causes an increase in the absolute moisture content of the air, the relative humidity stays nearly constant or even decreases slightly because the air is warmer.^[35] This feedback effect can only be reversed slowly as CO₂ has a long average atmospheric lifetime.

Feedback effects due to clouds are an area of ongoing research. Seen from below, clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface, and so exert a warming effect; seen from above, clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space, and so exert a cooling effect. Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud. These details are difficult to represent in climate models, in part because clouds are much smaller than the spacing between points on the computational grids of climate models. Nevertheless, cloud feedback is second only to water vapor feedback and is positive in all the models that were used in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.^[35]

A subtler feedback process relates to changes in the lapse rate as the atmosphere warms. The atmosphere’s temperature decreases with height in the troposphere. Since emission of infrared radiation varies with the fourth power of temperature, longwave radiation emitted from the upper atmosphere is less than that emitted from the lower atmosphere. Most of the radiation emitted from the upper atmosphere escapes to space, while most of the radiation emitted from the lower atmosphere is re-absorbed by the surface or the atmosphere. Thus, the strength of the greenhouse effect depends on the atmosphere’s rate of temperature decrease with height: if the rate of temperature decrease is greater the greenhouse effect will be stronger, and if the rate of temperature decrease is smaller then the greenhouse effect will be weaker. Both theory and climate models indicate that warming will reduce the decrease of temperature with height, producing a negative lapse rate feedback that weakens the greenhouse effect. Measurements of the rate of temperature change with height are very sensitive to small errors in observations, making it difficult to establish whether the models agree with observations.^[36]

Another important feedback process is ice-albedo feedback.^[37] When global temperatures increase, ice near the poles melts at an increasing rate. As the ice melts, land or open water takes its place. Both land and open water are on average less reflective than ice, and thus absorb more solar radiation. This causes more warming, which in turn causes more melting, and this cycle continues.

Positive feedback due to release of CO₂ and CH₄ from thawing permafrost, such as the frozen peat bogs in Siberia, is an additional mechanism that could contribute to warming.^[38] Similarly a massive release of CH₄ from methane clathrates in the ocean could cause rapid warming, according to the clathrate gun hypothesis.

The ocean’s ability to sequester carbon is expected to decline as it warms. This is because the resulting low nutrient levels of the mesopelagic zone (about 200 to 1000 m depth) limits the growth of diatoms in favor of smaller phytoplankton that are poorer biological pumps of carbon.^[39]

Solar variation

A few papers suggest that the Sun’s contribution may have been underestimated. Two researchers at Duke University, Bruce West and Nicola Scafetta, have estimated that the Sun may have contributed about 45–50% of the increase in the average global surface temperature over the period 1900–2000, and about 25–35% between 1980 and 2000.^[40] A paper by Peter Stott and other researchers suggests that climate models overestimate the relative effect of greenhouse gases compared to solar forcing; they also suggest that the cooling effects of volcanic dust and sulfate aerosols have been underestimated.^[41] They nevertheless conclude that even with an enhanced climate sensitivity to solar forcing, most of the warming since the mid-20th century is likely attributable to the increases in greenhouse gases.

A different hypothesis is that variations in solar output, possibly amplified by cloud seeding via galactic cosmic rays, may have contributed to recent warming.^[42] It suggests magnetic activity of the sun is a crucial factor which deflects cosmic rays that may influence the generation of cloud condensation nuclei and thereby affect the climate.^[43]

One predicted effect of an increase in solar activity would be a warming of most of the stratosphere, whereas greenhouse gas theory predicts cooling there.^[44] The observed trend since at least 1960 has been a cooling of the lower stratosphere.^[45] Reduction of stratospheric ozone also has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s.^[46] Solar variation combined with changes in volcanic activity probably did have a warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950, but a cooling effect since.^[1] In 2006, Peter Foukal and other researchers from the United States, Germany, and Switzerland found no net increase of solar brightness over the last thousand years. Solar cycles led to a small increase of 0.07% in brightness over the last thirty years. This effect is far too small to contribute significantly to global warming.^[47][48] A paper by Mike Lockwood and Claus Fröhlich found no relation between global warming and solar radiation since 1985, whether through variations in solar output or variations in cosmic rays.^[49] Henrik Svensmark and Eigil Friis-Christensen, the main proponents of cloud seeding by galactic cosmic rays, disputed this criticism of their hypothesis.^[50] A 2007 paper found that in the last 20 years there has been no significant link between changes in cosmic rays coming to Earth and cloudiness and temperature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

Bali is an Indonesian island located at 8°25′23″S, 115°14′55″ECoordinates: 8°25′23″S, 115°14′55″E, the western most of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country’s 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island.

With a population recorded as 3,151,000 in 2005, the island is home to the vast majority of Indonesia’s small Hindu minority. 93.18% of Bali’s population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking and music.

History

Bali was inhabited by Austronesian peoples by about 2,000, who migrated originally from Taiwan through Maritime Southeast Asia.^[2] Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are thus closely related to the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago, the Philippines, and Oceania.^[3] Stone tools dating from this time have been found near the village of Cekik in the island’s west.^[4]

Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian, and particularly Sanskrit culture, in a process beginning around the 1st century AD. The name Balidwipa has been discovered from various inscriptions, including the Blanjong charter issued by Sri Kesari Warmadewa in 913 AD and mentioning Walidwipa. It was during this time that the complex irrigation system subak was developed to grow rice. Some religious and cultural traditions still in existence today can be traced back to this period. The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343. When the empire declined, there was an exodus of intellectuals, artists, priests and musicians from Java to Bali in the 15th century.

The First European contact with Bali is thought to have been when Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman arrived in 1597, though a Portuguese ship had foundered off the Bukit Peninsula as early as 1585.^{[citation needed]} Dutch rule over Bali came later, was more aggressively fought for, and was never as well established as in other parts of Indonesia such as Java and Maluku.

In the 1840s, a presence in Bali was established, first in the island’s north, by playing various distrustful Balinese realms against each other. The Dutch mounted large naval and ground assaults first against the Sanur region and then Denpasar. The Balinese were hopelessly overwhelmed in number and armament, but rather than face the humiliation of surrender, they mounted a final defensive but suicidal assault, or puputan. Despite Dutch demands for surrender, an estimated 4,000 Balinese marched to their death against the invaders. Afterwards the Dutch governors were able to exercise little influence over the island, and local control over religion and culture generally remained intact.

Japan occupied Bali during World War II during which time a Balinese military officer, Gusti Ngurah Rai, formed a Balinese ‘freedom army’. Following Japan’s Pacific surrender in August 1945, the Dutch promptly returned to Indonesia, including Bali, immediately to reinstate their pre-war colonial administration. This was resisted by the Balinese rebels now using Japanese weapons.

On 20 November 1946, the Battle of Marga was fought in Tabanan in central Bali. Colonel I Gusti Ngurah Rai, 29 years old, finally rallied his forces in east Bali at Marga Rana, where they made a suicide attack on the heavily armed Dutch. The Balinese battalion was entirely wiped out, breaking the last thread of Balinese military resistance. In 1946 the Dutch constituted Bali as one of the 13 administrative districts of the newly-proclaimed Republic of East Indonesia, a rival state to the Republic of Indonesia which was proclaimed and headed by Sukarno and Hatta. Bali was included in the “Republic of the United States of Indonesia” when the Netherlands recognised Indonesian independence on 29 December 1949.

The 1963 eruption of Mount Agung killed thousands, created economic havoc and forced many displaced Balinese to be transmigrated to other parts of Indonesia.

Mirroring the widening of social divisions across Indonesia in the 1950s and early 1960s, Bali saw conflict between supporters of the traditional caste system, and those rejecting these traditional values. Politically, this was represented by opposing supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI), with tensions and ill-feeling further increased by the PKI’s land reform programs.^[5] An attempted coup in Jakarta was put down by forces led by General Suharto. The army became the dominant power as it instigated a violent anti-communist purge, in which the PKI was blamed for the coup. Most estimates suggest that at least 500,000 people were killed across Indonesia, with as many as 100,000 killed in Bali, equivalent to 5 per cent of the island’s population.^[6] With no Islamic forces involved as in Java and Sumatra, upper-caste PNI landlords lead the extermination of PKI members.^[7] The elimination of the PKI as a political force removed President Sukarno’s largest power base, and enabled Suharto to manoeuvre Sukarno out of the presidency.

On October 12, 2002, a car bomb attack in the tourist resort of Kuta killed 202 people, largely foreign tourists and injured a further 209. Further bombings occurred three years later in Kuta and nearby Jimbaran Bay.

Religion

Unlike most of Muslim-majority Indonesia, about 93.18% of Bali’s population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, formed as a combination of existing local beliefs and Hindu influences from mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. Minority religions include Islam (4.79%), Christianity (1.38%), and Buddhism (0.64%). These figures do not include immigrants from other parts of Indonesia.

Bali consists of about three million people, nearly all of whom practice the Balinese Hindu religion, a heterogeneous amalgam in which gods and demigods are worshipped together with Buddhist heroes, with the spirits of ancestors and with indigenous deities associated with agriculture and with places considered sacred. Religion as it is practiced in Bali is a composite belief system that embraces not only theology, philosophy, and mythology, but ancestor worship, animism and magic. It is supposed to pervade every aspect of traditional life.

Bali Hinduism, which has roots in Indian Hinduism and in Buddhism, adopted the animistic traditions of the indigenes, which inhabited the island around the first millennium BCE. This influence strengthened the belief that the gods and goddesses are present in all things. Every element of nature, therefore, possesses its own power, which reflects the power of the gods. A rock, tree, dagger, or woven cloth is a potential home for spirits whose energy can be directed for good or evil. Balinese Hinduism is deeply interwoven with art and ritual, and is less closely preoccupied with scripture, law, and belief than Islam in Indonesia. Ritualizing states of self-control are a notable feature of religious expression among the people, who for this reason have become famous for their graceful and decorous behavior.

Slattum, J. (2003). Balinese Masks: Spirits of an Ancient Drama. Indonesia, Asia Pacific, Japan, North America, Latin America and Europe: Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

Economy

Three decades ago, the Balinese economy was largely agriculture-based in terms of both output and employment. Tourism is now the largest single industry; and as a result, Bali is one of Indonesia’s wealthiest regions. The economy, however, has suffered significantly as a result of the terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005.

Although in terms of output, tourism is the economy’s largest industry, agriculture is still the island’s biggest employer^{[citation needed]}, most notably rice cultivation. Crops grown in smaller amounts include fruit, vegetables and other cash and subsistence crops.^{[citation needed]} A significant number of Balinese are also fishermen. Bali is also famous for its artisans who produce batik and ikat cloth and clothing, wooden carvings, stone carvings and silverware.

Although significant tourism exists in the north, centre and east of the island, the tourist industry is overwhelmingly focused in the south. The main tourist locations are the town of Kuta (with its beach), and its outer suburbs (which were once independent townships) of Legian and Seminyak, Sanur, Jimbaran, Ubud, and the newer development of Nusa Dua. The Ngurah Rai International Airport is located near Jimbaran, on the isthmus joining the southernmost part of the island to the main part of the island. Another increasingly important source of income for Bali is what is called “Congress Tourism” from the frequent international conferences held on the island, especially after the terrorist bombings of 2002; ostensibly to resurrect Bali’s damaged tourism industry as well as its tarnished image.

Bali’s tourism brand is Bali Shanti Shanti Shanti.^[8] Where Shanti derived from Sanskrit “Çantih” meaning peace.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Geisha (芸者 “person of the arts”) are traditional Japanese artist-entertainers. The word Geiko is also used to describe such persons. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and are still in existence today, although their numbers are dwindling. “Geisha,” pronounced /ˈgeɪ ʃa/ (“gay-sha”) is the most familiar term to English speakers, and the most commonly used within Japan as well, but in the Kansai region the terms geigi and, for apprentice geisha, “Maiko” have also been used since the Meiji Restoration. The term maiko is only used in Kyoto districts. The English pronunciation ˈgi ʃa (“gee-sha”) or the phrase “geisha girl,” common during the American occupation of Japan, carry connotations of prostitution, as some young women, desperate for money and calling themselves “geisha,” sold themselves to American troops.

The geisha tradition evolved from the taikomochi or hōkan, similar to court jesters. The first geisha were all male; as women began to take the role they were known as onna geisha (女芸者), or “woman artist (female form).” Geisha today are exclusively female, aside from the Taikomochi. Taikomochi are exceedingly rare. Only three are currently registered in Japan. They tend to be far more bawdy than geisha. Other public figures who contributed to the creation of the modern geisha were Oiran, or courtesans, and Odoriko, dancing girls. The Odoriko in particular influenced geisha to include dance as part of their artistic repertoire.

Tell me how im supposed to breathe with no air (air)
Oooh….

(Verse 1)
[ Jordin S.]
If i
should die
before
I wake
Its cause
you took
my breath
away
losing you is like living in a world
with no air
Ohhh…

[ Chris B.]
Im here
alone
didnt want
to leave
My heart won’t move
its incomplete
wish there
was a way
that i can get you to understand

(Pre-Chorus)
But How
Do you expect me
To live alone with just me
Cause my world revolves around you
its so hard for me to breathe

(Chorus)
Tell Me How im supposed to breathe with no air
Can’t live can’t breathe with no air
thats how i feel whenever you ain’t there
Its No Air No Air
Got me out here and the water so deep
Tell me how you gon be without me
if you ain’t here i just can’t breathe
Its No Air No Air

No air air (ohhhh)
No air air (noooo)
No air air (ohhhh)
No air air

( Verse 2 )
[ Chris B.]
I Walked
I Ran
I Jumped
I Flew
Right off the ground
To float to you
Theres no gravity
To hold me down
Foreal

[Jordin S.]
But Somehow
Im still alive inside
You took my breath
But i survived
I don’t know how
But i don’t even care

(Pre-Chorus)
So How (How)

Do you expect me (Me)
To live alone with just me (Ohh)
Cause my world revolves around you
its so hard for me to breathe

( Chorus)
Tell Me How im supposed to breathe with no air (ohhhh)
Can’t live can’t breathe with no air (ohhh)
thats how i feel whenever you ain’t there
Its No Air No Air
Got me out here and the water so deep (So deep)
Tell me how you gon be without me (Without Me Yeahhh)
if you ain’t here i just can’t breathe
Its No Air No Air

No air air (ohhhh)
No air air (ohhhh)
No air air (ohhhh)
No air air (No More)

uhh uhh uhh
No Air (ohhh)
uhh uhh uhh (Baby)
No Air (ohhh)
uhh uhh uhh
No Air

Its No Air No Air
Heyyy..
Oooooo..
No Aiiiiiir
Oooooo..

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
(Chorus)
Tell Me How im supposed to breathe with no air (ohhhh)
Can’t live can’t breathe with no air
thats how i feel whenever you ain’t there
Its No Air No Air
Got me out here and the water so deep (So deep)
Tell me how you gon be without me (Without Me Yeahhh)
if you ain’t here i just can’t breathe
Its No Air No Air

Do you expect me
To live alone with just me
Cause my world revolves around you
its so hard for me to breathe

(Chorus)
Tell Me How im supposed to breathe with no air (ohhhh)
Can’t live can’t breathe with no air
thats how i feel whenever you ain’t there
Its No Air No Air
[ Jordin S.]
Got me out here and the water so deep
[ Chris B.]
Tell me how you gon be without me
[ Jordin S.]
if you ain’t here i just can’t breathe
[Both]
Its No Air No Air

No air air (ohh)
No air air (ohh)
No air air (No air)

[Both]

Forget about all the fantastic action. Dismiss the disarmingly smart, wry screenplay, and ignore the phenomenal supporting cast. Feel free to overlook the dozen components that make Jon Favreau’s Iron Man the most uniquely entertaining superhero movie in a long time … I’ve got the one main reason that this flick is worthy of your two hours and ten bucks right here, and that reason is named Robert Downey Jr. Like many movie fans of my generation, I consider Downey to be sort of an old friend. We all wept when Jami Gertz noticed his odd demise in Less Than Zero, we loved watching his evolution in films like True Believer and Chaplin, and we all felt pretty great when the guy finally kicked his well-publicized drug addiction.

Downey is a survivor, no doubt, and he’s also a refreshingly engaging actor to watch — and boy was I thrilled when Marvel announced that this would be the guy to portray Tony Stark. To those who don’t know the Stark character from the comic books, let me just make it clear: Downey is the perfect guy to play a smug yet charming, sarcastic yet likable, and perpetually womanizing multi-billionaire mega-genius with a bum ticker. We all know the guy can play sly, snarky, smart characters, so much of Iron Man’s early stuff is light lifting for the actor — but when he starts getting angry? Noble? Heroic? The guy is aces across the board. Bottom Line: Downey has paid his dues, he’s been through a lot of hell, and now he’s a freakin’ superhero who delivers the best popcorn flick performance since Johnny Depp first played pirate. Sometimes Hollywood actually works.

So there’s two full paragraphs on the lead actor. As far as Iron Man as a whole … I’ll put it in terms that the superhero movie geeks will understand: It’s almost as good as Spider-Man 2, X-Men 2 and Batman Begins. Yeah, it’s that kind of quality. Only Iron Man is a pretty unique entry in its own right. It’s got some violence, some edge, and some seriously snarky attitude. But then it also has a little something to say about the nature of a society that allows itself to be governed by its own high-tech weaponry — which means that not only is Iron Man a very fun, very slick, and very consistently clever movie; it also has some sort of a social conscience. The flick says “Hey, if the best X-Men flicks can tackle some real-life issues, then why can’t Iron Man make a comment or two on a world that sometimes seems to value money and guns above all else?”

OK, now I’m making Iron Man sound like a preachy affair, which it most certainly is not. As is often the case in “first” flicks (and trust me, there will be more), Iron Man is an origin story. It tells the tale of how a brilliant multi-billionaire industrialist named Tony Stark is abducted by terrorists after showing off his latest (mega-deadly) rocket to the U.S. military, how the guy manages to escape (in rather dazzling fashion), and how he returns home to create his technological masterpiece: A stunningly flashy suit of armor that’s got jet-packs on the feet, rockets in the arms, pulse laser thingies in the hands, and the world’s smartest computer in the helmet. Frankly you could make nine movies and not get into all the awesome things that Stark’s suit can do — but for now we’ll just deal with Part 1.

Tony Stark is an affably sardonic tycoon from the first time we meet him: He’s in Afghanistan to demonstrate the overwhelmingly destructive power of his latest creation, the “Jericho” missle. But of course there’s a large band of horrible terrorists who attack Stark’s convoy, abduct the weapons magnate, and toss him into a cave so he can build a giant weapon for them. Obviously that’s not going to happen. With the help of a handy prisoner named Yinsen (an excellent Shaun Toub), Stark begins work on a massive suit of armor, which he then uses to kick some serious ass and escape his way back to the States. (This escape is not only one of the best sequences in the movie, it’s one of the best sequences in any superhero movie.)

Upon arriving back in America, Tony proposes (publicly!) that his company should stop making weapons and perhaps focus on something a bit more user-friendly — but now I’m just rambling about a fairly simple story, and obviously you’ll want to discover all this stuff for yourself. Suffice to say that Iron Man capably blends a fairly typical origin story with a satisfyingly kinetic action story — and boy is it a whole lot of fun. Lots of times when you’re dealing with movies like this, the “talky stuff” is the material you struggle through just to get to the “fun stuff,” but thanks to Downey (and a stellar supporting cast that includes Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Clark Gregg, and Leslie Bibb) the “in-between” material is actually quite compelling! Like the best superhero movies, Iron Man boasts a screenplay that takes a whole bunch of wild spectacle and (somehow) infuses it with a lot of wit, humanity, warmth, and intelligence.

Truth be told, I could devote extra paragraphs to the flick’s excellent musical score, its quick yet unrushed pace, its special effects and action bits … but really, you already know by now if you’re going to see Iron Man. I’ll just simply say that I think it’s easily one of the most entertaining superhero movies ever constructed, and that it kicks off the 2008 summer movie season in very classy and crowd-pleasing style. Everyone on board deserves a pat on the back for their work on this flick, but it’s especially cool for both Downey and Favreau. This inevitable blockbuster represents a big leap forward for both filmmakers, and I’m thrilled to see them cook up something so darn cool together.

Bring on the sequel please.

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/04/29/review-iron-man/

The second everyone heard about the release of this extraordinary phone, millions wanted to get there hands on one. When released, hundreds of people were willing to pay thousands to have the phone the second it hit the market. Even now, months after it’s official release, the iPhone is still hard to find. Although many online stores have it in stock, many others do not. This phone has sleek features that make this one unique device. Starting with the 3.5 inch widescreen display, which also happens to be a touchscreen. This interface gives you touch controls and easier maneuverability. Simply dial a phone number with a few finger strokes, and text message with ease. The phone operates on a Mac OS X, just for all those Mac lovers. This specific device has an installed memory of 16 GB, although it is also available in 8GB also. This gives you enough space to put all your favorite songs, movies and games in to this phone. A phone which holds this amount of multimedia is unconceivable, even to the most up to date gadgeteer.

The PDa has special features include Vibration Notification, Vertical And Horizontal Display, Sound Notification, Security Password, MPEG-4 Video Player and Speakerphone. It also has versatile cell phone bands including GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 and GSM 1900. Your cell phone will have a talk time of 8 hours and also features SMS and Hands Free Options. There is even a built in digital camera which has a resolution of 2 Megapixels. Your wireless capabilities will include WLAN 802.11b, WLAN 802.11a, WLAN 802.11g and Bluetooth. A 1 year warranty is also included with the iPhone. From a Gadget Addicts perspective, this device has a versatile interface, allowing you to perform different types of multimedia activities from one compact device. Just make sure to treat it carefully, you paid a lot for it, so it will surely cost a lot to repair.

http://www.gadgetaddict.com/

The Palm TX allows you to perform a variety of wireless uses. It has built-in Wi-Fi to allow to surf the internet from cafes, airports, office or campus. It also allows you to check your email and run other cool applications. It runs on Palm OS operating system and has a 312 MHz Arm processor. It also has 128 MB of built in memory. The bright 16-bit Transflective Color TFT display has an output of 64k colors. The interface operates via Touch Screen or 5-Way Navigator. If your looking to expand your memory, there is a SDIO Slot, Secure Digital SD Card Slot and MultiMediaCard Slot.

Listen to music from the built-in MP3 Player through a speaker or a 3.5 mm Stereo jack. Wireless capabilities include Built-in Wireless, WLAN 802.11b, Bluetooth and Infrared FIR. Accessories included with your purchase are a USB Synchronization Cable, Flip cover and AC adapter. From a Gadget Addicts perspective, this slim and easy to use device will come in handy in your everyday life. It also has very cool features and great battery life. If your really in to the high end technology of hand held palms, then you should really consider this device.

http://www.gadgetaddict.com/

Yes, that’s right, a single slice of Pizza Hut’s new Double Deep Meat Lover’s Pizza has 580 calories! 330 of those calories are from fat.

Touted by Pizza Hut as an “innovation,” the Double Deep “features so many toppings that Pizza Hut needed to use a specially folded crust to hold them in. “Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut CMO admits, “Double Deep Pizza is abundantly topped for big appetites.”

Here’s the rest of the nutritional stats for a single slice of Pizza Hut’s Double Deep Meat Lover’s Pizza: 580 calories, 330 calories from fat, 36 grams total fat, 14 grams saturated fat, 1.5 grams trans fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 1990 mg sodium, 31 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 3 grams sugars, 31 grams protein.

http://www.foodfacts.info/blog/

Jakarta – Electronic Arts (EA) mengungkap detil game The Sims generasi berikutnya, The Sims 3. Game komputer simulasi strategik yang mengadopsi aktivitas kehidupan sehari-hari ini akan segera meluncur di 2009.

Pembuatan game The Sims 3 sendiri memakan waktu hampir tiga tahun. Di game versi terbaru nanti, The Sims 3 akan menampilkan engine game baru dengan beragam fitur yang lebih gres, misalnya jumlah kota dan lingkungan yang lebih banyak untuk dieksplorasi.

Di game terbaru nanti, para pemain juga bisa bergaul dan berinteraksi bebas dengan tetangga bahkan mengunjungi teman atau musuh di seluruh lingkungan yang Anda masuki. Akan ada juga beragam personaliti seperti ciuman, perfeksionis, paranoid, jenius, orang yang culas, kleptomania.

Ben Bell, eksekutif produser The Sims 3, mengatakan bahwa di game The Sims 3 nanti, para pemain bisa berimajinasi seluas-luasnya dengan personaliti yang jelas dan realistis serta lingkungan yang lebih banyak untuk dimasuki.

http://www.detikinet.com

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