Most viewed of 2008 Part 2

On September 13 a worker inspects damage in front of the JPMorgan Chase Tower in downtown Houston, Texas, after powerful Hurricane Ike slammed into the Gulf Coast, damaging buildings, flooding streets, and knocking out power for millions of people.

With winds reaching 110 miles (177 kilometers) an hour, Ike came ashore above Galveston, Texas, as a strong Category 2 storm just after 3 a.m. ET.

Recreational fishers and biologist Zeb Hogan (wearing cap) hold a live, 14-foot-long (4.3-meter-long) giant freshwater stingray the fishers caught in Thailand's Bang Pakong River on March 31. The species can reportedly grow to 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms), which would make them the largest freshwater fish in the world, Hogan said.

After weeks of combing remote Southeast Asian rivers for giant freshwater stingrays, Hogan finally found the creature near the city of Chachoengsao. To his surprise, she gave birth soon after capture.
 

A mile and a half (two and a half kilometers) underwater, this alien-like, long-armed, and--strangest of all--"elbowed" Magnapinna squid is seen in a still from a video clip obtained by National Geographic News and published on November 24.

Credits -nationalgeographic

Advertising

Stefan Engeseth, the man that has recently sparked off a discussion on the point he made. The fall of Public Relations, The rise of Advertising. I’m not going to discuss on this point he made. Rather, I’m going to make a point about the rise of advertising.

Personally, from my perspective, I feel that today’s advertisements are completely missing the whole idea of accentuating the richness of the product. In layman terms, I cannot remember the name of the product and its esoteric strength apart of other products.

Typically, I see many lots of animations, a lot of words, a lot of descriptive, flowery language, fantastic cinematography, but what I don’t see is its distinguishing factor. There’s simply too much emphasis on the fact that the advertisement should be KAPOOW, a boom, a story that will espouse each and every one of the consumers out there. Well, I must say most of them captured my attention because the story is so strong and realistic and they capture every single details. But at the end of the day, it’s like a movie for me honestly, I watch it and I go back home and forget about it.

I believe that advertisements should be like trailers, they entice you, they tell you the important points which includes what the product is good at, what are the new innovations, how is it better than other products, and why is it applicable to me and most importantly what is the price like?



All these key factors are of paramount importance and yet I see them missing from the advertisements these days. That is precisely why people do not feel the adrenaline rush to get down to the shops and check these products out. It is simply because they do not even know what’s so good about the product and that they are actually the target audience.



Hence, my advice to the advertising industry is to make a succinct advertisement that encapsulates the essence of the product, one single or maybe two factors that is new from its past products and who are they targeting as their target market.

Credits -webdesignbooth, -moviesmedia, -hospice

Most viewed of 2008 Part 1

Shown in National Geographic News's tenth most viewed individual photo of 2008, members of an "uncontacted" Amazon tribe fire arrows at an airplane above the rain forest borderlands of Peru and Brazil in May. The natural dyes covering their bodies probably signal aggression, native-rights experts say.

The heavens smiled down on Earth on December 1 in a rare celestial trifecta of Venus, Jupiter, and the moon (shown here over Manila in the Philippines).

The carcass of a colossal squid floats in a tank at the Museum of New Zealand on April 30, giving scientists their first close look at the elusive deep-sea creature.

The squid was frozen for months after being caught by fishers off Antarctica in 2007. A dissection of the thawed beast yielded astonishing discoveries, including the animal kingdom's largest eyes and light-emitting organs that may serve as cloaking devices, scientists said.


Credits -nationalgeographic

Dow Jones

Since peaking at rally highs a week ago, the Dow has lost 2.3%, the S&P 500 has lost 3.4% and the Nasdaq has lost 3.4% through Tuesday's close.

Banks, techs and retailers are the main cause for the sudden plummet in stocks.


U.S's perpetual weakening currency is starting to damage the economy. Imports continue to drop and they are losing alot in terms of exports as well.


Consumer confidence index dropped to 47.7 from 53.3 which is in fact below 50. This means that they are not feeling optimistic about the economy at all and this translates to lower demands and decreased spending on products and services.


With a decline in demand, the share prices of many retailers and service-providers will follow suit (which is to decline) since the situation is rather gloomy at the moment when everyone is sitting on the fence right now, waiting to see what happens next.

The recent uproar about the tax credit for cars and houses seems to be having a great influence on the citizens' perception. It forces them to be skeptical. In that sense, they are compelled to capitulate to the increasing ambiguity by staying low.


Nonetheless, when everything is cleared up, I surmise that the consumer confidence index will rise. Particularly when the White House has just announced that they will extend the house credits to 2010. In addition, they will offer a new target market (2nd-time buyer who has lived in their first house for more than 5 years now) a total credit of $6,500. Definitely a good catch for people wanting to cast their old home aside.


Things to look out for in the technological sector : Windows 7, IBM's DNA processor, HP's printers


Things to look out for in the banking sector : Perpetual low interest rates without any signs of increase in the central banks.


Things to look out for in the energy sector : Rising oil prices but stablised at the moment.


Things to look out for in the aviation sector : China's airplanes, Boeing's new aircraft, Delta Air Lines

Credits -CNNMoney, -innercityelectric, -paulruffle

Project Runway Season 6 Episode 11

The best of the best

Carol Hannah

This looked really barbie-like, a chic small little dress.

Althea

She looks like a mother here, look old. However, her sweater is the killer, it totally rock.

Irina

Favourite piece of the day.She looked like a Billion-dollar Latino. Super hot.

Christopher

Super ugly and dreadful.

Not fitting at all and the skirt looks hideous. It was as if she just came from Star wars after beaten up by the light sabre.

Gordana

This is officially the grandmother of the year. Not the sweet and tender ones but the spicy and mean ones.

Photo credits -myLifetime

Futuristic Electronics

Check out what Japan has to offer at their

CEATEC - Cutting Edge IT and Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition



I am utmost impressed with Nissan's invention of anti-bumping cars. They use the theory of algorithm behind the behavior of a school of fish, they have designed a car that will not bump into other cars.

The unicycle robot is really cute as well. It can run 15cm/s, but the practical benefits are not clear for now.

Halloween

Finally, the annual Halloween Day is here once again.


31 October 2009. A Halloween of a Lifetime.

Let's hope that after this Halloween, the world will be peaceful once again, recovering from a series from malaise as a result of the financial crisis.


In the meantime, let's party all night and enjoy the day to the fullest !

Coraline Movie

Have no doubts! That is Christina Aguilera for you!

Credits -kayongblogger, -fanpop, -contentquake