Jumaat, 15 Julai 2011
Street Dance
In inner city London, a street dance crew is on the verge of breaking up after its leader, Jay (Ukweli Roach), leaves the group unexpectedly. The group loses the use of their rehearsal space, forcing them to try and raise money or practice in other locations. Eventually they secure a space in a ballet school, on the condition that they include five ballet dancers in their routine. At first, they struggle to get along, but they all become friends in the end.
One of the teachers at the ballet school, Helena (Charlotte Rampling), takes Carly (Nichola Burley) to a ballet where she starts getting ideas for their routine. When she arrives home, Carly finds Jay waiting for her and the two spend the night together. During a dance battle in a club the next night, the team learn that Jay has betrayed the team by joining The Surge, a rival crew. Jay brags about his sex with Carly and Tomas (Richard Winsor), a ballet dancer, punches Jay out of anger. Jay is furious and swears revenge. Carly, upset over the betrayal, leaves the club and is nearly hit by a car before Tomas pulls her out of the way. Tomas then takes Carly back to his apartment where they dance on the roof, eventually kissing. Carly then leaves him alone on the roof, while they both look at the sunrise and smile.
The next day at the school, Carly announces the new name of their dance crew: Breakin Point. Another teacher at the school, outraged that her students are being corrupted, deliberately plans a Royal Ballet audition for the same day as the street dance finals. The ballet dancers promise Carly they will make it, but the auditions were running overtime.
In an attempt to give Breakin Point more time to wait for the ballet dancers, Carly's friend Eddie (George Sampson) goes out onto the dance floor and starts dancing, surprising the crew and wowing the audience. The ballet team turn up at the final anyway, and their teacher Helena drives the judges to the final so they can see the dancers perform. The routine is a success, Carly and Tomas kiss after the performance, and the crowd is enthralled. Jay is furious that The Surge have been beaten and he's lost Carly.
Yoo-Hee The Witch
Ma Yoo Hee (Han Ga In) is the executive of an advertising company. She would never be caught dead wearing make-up and only dresses in black. Her hairstyle and glasses are very business like looks, her only enjoyment in life appears to be the times when she's criticising everything and anyone. All of her employees and co-workers fear her and she is constantly talked about when she's not around. Her stern and harsh nature has earned her the nickname 'witch' When it comes to romance she is hopeless. No matter how many blind dates she has, not one has ever led to a second. The reason for this is her negativity and her inability to loosen up and express herself. She is, however, completely oblivious of her faults and cannot comprehend why she is so bad when it comes to love.
Chae Mu-Ryong (Jae Hee) is an aspiring chef with a passion for French cuisine. He has an innate ability when it comes to taste and perfection. Every piece of food and every plate he prepares must be perfect. However this tends to get him into a lot of trouble because when working in a kitchen every moment counts and there is not possibly enough time to take so much care in preparation and decoration of meals. His criticism of a head chef's cooking causes him to lose his job. His parents have never really approved of his aspirations and dreams to be a famous chef and insist he return to medical school. He decides to enroll back into medical school but changes his mind at the last minute and decides not to.
Mu-Ryong discusses everything with his best friend and ends up going on a blind date to pretend to be someone else who backed out at the last minute. He declines at first since he already has a girlfriend, but his friend offers him money, and warns him however that the woman he will be meeting is rather different.
The woman he meets is Yoo Hee, and while under normal circumstances she would be rude, brash and boring, she tries to be nice and happy in an attempt to succeed on the date. However, her pretending is not very convincing and Mu-Ryong figures that it would be a matter of time before she loses it. The date ends when Mu-Ryong falls asleep for a moment, resulting in Yoo Hee throwing a glass of water at his face and calling him rude. He retorts back to her also, telling her to take care of her appearance the next time she goes on a blind date. The two then leave on bad terms.
While delivering food from his father's Chinese restaurant, Mu-Ryong becomes involved in a car accident, coincidentally with Yoo Hee. They exchange insurance information and Yoo Hee learns that he lied to her on their date, realizing that he is 1 year younger than her, and that he met her only as a favor to a friend.
Yoo Hee demands the money for the damage to her car to be paid within a week. However, Mu-Ryong doesn't have any money, and yet Yoo Hee is unwilling to compromise with him. He decides to use his school tuition, which was given to him by his parents, to pay for her car. However, he loses the money after being mugged on the way to pay her.
Mu-Ryong tells Yoo Hee he doesn't have the money but is willing to work it off, no matter how long it takes or what he must do for her to pay her back. Yoo Hee decides that Mu-Ryong could repay her by working as her house keeper, since she continuously loses her previous keepers.
Meanwhile, Mu-Ryongs girlfriend Seung Mi who works at her father's restaurant, is expecting a new head chef: Johnny Kruger (Dennis Oh), a world renowned chef who also happens to be Mu-Ryong's idol and an acquaintance of Yoo Hee as well. Also her first love (Yoo Joon Ha) comes back from studying abroad and is now a renowned doctor. She sees him at a college reunion but is completely embarrassed when her friend (Sae Ra) pulls down her skirt and Yoo Hee is wearing mini mouse boxers.
As Moo Ryung is working as housekeeper he realizes that Yoo Hee has not been on dates for a while and is continuously being reject on her blind dates. One night while drinking Moo Ryung doesn't understand why Yoo Hee get so upset when she's dumped when she shows up on dinner dates dressed like a spy. She then challenges him to fix her love life and if he is successful she will forget about the debt. He agrees. They agree to a contract.
He begins by changing her entire wardrobe then her cold manner. He repeats in his lessons, "smile", "be kind and gentle" and "be polite". She gradually changes but completely blows a good date when she flips him on his back for putting his hands on her hip in an effort to keep her from falling. She tries to be more feminine and gets much better response from men but she realizes finding love is easier said than done. She asks him if he can continue to be her pretend boyfriend unless he can find her a lover. He again agrees but thinks Johnny could be the possible candidate.
Yoo Hee continues to take the dating tips and Moo Ryung continues to be her pretend boyfriend, but since Moo Ryung already has a girlfriend(Seung Mi) there are a lot of misunderstandings. Seung Mi is uncomfortable with him living in Yoo Hee's house: part jealousy and pride and part insecurities. Yoo Hee also continues to fall in love with her first love, who is engaged. She keeps her distance until Sae Ra tells her he broke off the engagement. Joon Ha invites her to dinner where Yoo Hee's feelings for him grow. She invites him to a drink and she asks if they can date but he walks out on her because he has made a deal with her father, just like before. Yoo Hee's father made a deal with Joon Ha when Yoo Hee and him were both in college. If Joon Ha stop seeing his daughter he would fund Joon Ha's studies abroad.
Feeling for each other(Yoo Hee and Joon Ha) grow deeper, but soon she learns that Joon Ha only loves her because of her father and his financial gains from the relationship. She leaves him on the altar and runs away to the country, but they are found by Yoo Hee's manager. She returns to her father, but confesses her love for Moo Ryung. For some period they seem to have a good and honest relationship. It's romantic and sweet. Moo Ryung tells her often how much he loves her unlike Joon Ha who thinks saying "love you" is childish. He continuously interrupts the relationship by wanting to see Yoo Hee. He threatens Moo Ryung while Yoo Hee's father ruins his own daughter by destroying her advertising company and cancelling her credit cards.
Because of the constant phone calls and run ins, she ultimately meet with Joon Ha. He tells her that he loves her, but she's disgusted and leaves because she know its a lie. He ends up getting into an "accident" and can never use his hand again: meaning the end of his career as a surgeon. She then leaves Moo Ryung and goes to his bedside. The engagement and wedding is back on even though its clear that she doesn't love him nor does he. In celebration they(Joon Ha, Yoo Hee, and Yoo Hee's father) go to lunch. Joon Ha could not pick up his knife to cut because of his hand so Yoo Hee cuts for him. Then she gets a call from Johnny. She leaves the table to answer it. Johnny tells her that he's leaving for New York the next day and that Moo Ryung is going too. She hangs up but is devastated. She hears her father from behind the curtain telling Joon Ha to give up the hospital before Yoo Hee gets suspicious and to not mess up this time. Joon Ha has no objection but grabs the cup of water with his "broken hand".
Yoo Hee goes to the hospital the next day to confirm what she saw at the restaurant. She sees Joon Ha walking across the hall ready to go do a surgery. His cast is gone and his hand is fine. She catches him and her father both in a lie together. She walks away disgusted but her father has a heart attack and decides to stay.
Moo Ryung is at the airport with Johnny waiting, wishing that Yoo Hee comes to see him. When Yoo Hee's father wakes up he is embarrassed by what he's done and tells her to leave. Then Joon Ha waiting outside the door and tries to make one last attempt to make her stay with him but she tells that she has to see Moo Ryung and he offers her a ride. She meets Moo Ryung. He didn't get on the plane because of her and they embrace and kiss.
Yoo-Hee The Witch
Ma Yoo Hee (Han Ga In) is the executive of an advertising company. She would never be caught dead wearing make-up and only dresses in black. Her hairstyle and glasses are very business like looks, her only enjoyment in life appears to be the times when she's criticising everything and anyone. All of her employees and co-workers fear her and she is constantly talked about when she's not around. Her stern and harsh nature has earned her the nickname 'witch' When it comes to romance she is hopeless. No matter how many blind dates she has, not one has ever led to a second. The reason for this is her negativity and her inability to loosen up and express herself. She is, however, completely oblivious of her faults and cannot comprehend why she is so bad when it comes to love.
Chae Mu-Ryong (Jae Hee) is an aspiring chef with a passion for French cuisine. He has an innate ability when it comes to taste and perfection. Every piece of food and every plate he prepares must be perfect. However this tends to get him into a lot of trouble because when working in a kitchen every moment counts and there is not possibly enough time to take so much care in preparation and decoration of meals. His criticism of a head chef's cooking causes him to lose his job. His parents have never really approved of his aspirations and dreams to be a famous chef and insist he return to medical school. He decides to enroll back into medical school but changes his mind at the last minute and decides not to.
Mu-Ryong discusses everything with his best friend and ends up going on a blind date to pretend to be someone else who backed out at the last minute. He declines at first since he already has a girlfriend, but his friend offers him money, and warns him however that the woman he will be meeting is rather different.
The woman he meets is Yoo Hee, and while under normal circumstances she would be rude, brash and boring, she tries to be nice and happy in an attempt to succeed on the date. However, her pretending is not very convincing and Mu-Ryong figures that it would be a matter of time before she loses it. The date ends when Mu-Ryong falls asleep for a moment, resulting in Yoo Hee throwing a glass of water at his face and calling him rude. He retorts back to her also, telling her to take care of her appearance the next time she goes on a blind date. The two then leave on bad terms.
While delivering food from his father's Chinese restaurant, Mu-Ryong becomes involved in a car accident, coincidentally with Yoo Hee. They exchange insurance information and Yoo Hee learns that he lied to her on their date, realizing that he is 1 year younger than her, and that he met her only as a favor to a friend.
Yoo Hee demands the money for the damage to her car to be paid within a week. However, Mu-Ryong doesn't have any money, and yet Yoo Hee is unwilling to compromise with him. He decides to use his school tuition, which was given to him by his parents, to pay for her car. However, he loses the money after being mugged on the way to pay her.
Mu-Ryong tells Yoo Hee he doesn't have the money but is willing to work it off, no matter how long it takes or what he must do for her to pay her back. Yoo Hee decides that Mu-Ryong could repay her by working as her house keeper, since she continuously loses her previous keepers.
Meanwhile, Mu-Ryongs girlfriend Seung Mi who works at her father's restaurant, is expecting a new head chef: Johnny Kruger (Dennis Oh), a world renowned chef who also happens to be Mu-Ryong's idol and an acquaintance of Yoo Hee as well. Also her first love (Yoo Joon Ha) comes back from studying abroad and is now a renowned doctor. She sees him at a college reunion but is completely embarrassed when her friend (Sae Ra) pulls down her skirt and Yoo Hee is wearing mini mouse boxers.
As Moo Ryung is working as housekeeper he realizes that Yoo Hee has not been on dates for a while and is continuously being reject on her blind dates. One night while drinking Moo Ryung doesn't understand why Yoo Hee get so upset when she's dumped when she shows up on dinner dates dressed like a spy. She then challenges him to fix her love life and if he is successful she will forget about the debt. He agrees. They agree to a contract.
He begins by changing her entire wardrobe then her cold manner. He repeats in his lessons, "smile", "be kind and gentle" and "be polite". She gradually changes but completely blows a good date when she flips him on his back for putting his hands on her hip in an effort to keep her from falling. She tries to be more feminine and gets much better response from men but she realizes finding love is easier said than done. She asks him if he can continue to be her pretend boyfriend unless he can find her a lover. He again agrees but thinks Johnny could be the possible candidate.
Yoo Hee continues to take the dating tips and Moo Ryung continues to be her pretend boyfriend, but since Moo Ryung already has a girlfriend(Seung Mi) there are a lot of misunderstandings. Seung Mi is uncomfortable with him living in Yoo Hee's house: part jealousy and pride and part insecurities. Yoo Hee also continues to fall in love with her first love, who is engaged. She keeps her distance until Sae Ra tells her he broke off the engagement. Joon Ha invites her to dinner where Yoo Hee's feelings for him grow. She invites him to a drink and she asks if they can date but he walks out on her because he has made a deal with her father, just like before. Yoo Hee's father made a deal with Joon Ha when Yoo Hee and him were both in college. If Joon Ha stop seeing his daughter he would fund Joon Ha's studies abroad.
Feeling for each other(Yoo Hee and Joon Ha) grow deeper, but soon she learns that Joon Ha only loves her because of her father and his financial gains from the relationship. She leaves him on the altar and runs away to the country, but they are found by Yoo Hee's manager. She returns to her father, but confesses her love for Moo Ryung. For some period they seem to have a good and honest relationship. It's romantic and sweet. Moo Ryung tells her often how much he loves her unlike Joon Ha who thinks saying "love you" is childish. He continuously interrupts the relationship by wanting to see Yoo Hee. He threatens Moo Ryung while Yoo Hee's father ruins his own daughter by destroying her advertising company and cancelling her credit cards.
Because of the constant phone calls and run ins, she ultimately meet with Joon Ha. He tells her that he loves her, but she's disgusted and leaves because she know its a lie. He ends up getting into an "accident" and can never use his hand again: meaning the end of his career as a surgeon. She then leaves Moo Ryung and goes to his bedside. The engagement and wedding is back on even though its clear that she doesn't love him nor does he. In celebration they(Joon Ha, Yoo Hee, and Yoo Hee's father) go to lunch. Joon Ha could not pick up his knife to cut because of his hand so Yoo Hee cuts for him. Then she gets a call from Johnny. She leaves the table to answer it. Johnny tells her that he's leaving for New York the next day and that Moo Ryung is going too. She hangs up but is devastated. She hears her father from behind the curtain telling Joon Ha to give up the hospital before Yoo Hee gets suspicious and to not mess up this time. Joon Ha has no objection but grabs the cup of water with his "broken hand".
Yoo Hee goes to the hospital the next day to confirm what she saw at the restaurant. She sees Joon Ha walking across the hall ready to go do a surgery. His cast is gone and his hand is fine. She catches him and her father both in a lie together. She walks away disgusted but her father has a heart attack and decides to stay.
Moo Ryung is at the airport with Johnny waiting, wishing that Yoo Hee comes to see him. When Yoo Hee's father wakes up he is embarrassed by what he's done and tells her to leave. Then Joon Ha waiting outside the door and tries to make one last attempt to make her stay with him but she tells that she has to see Moo Ryung and he offers her a ride. She meets Moo Ryung. He didn't get on the plane because of her and they embrace and kiss.
The Chronicles of Riddick by David Twohy
The film opens with a narrative, explaining the motives of the Necromongers, a race of conquerors traveling across space toward the Underverse, a dark mirror of the normal universe where death has no meaning. Their leader, the Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), commands his troops to overrun worlds and convert their inhabitants into Necromongers; those who oppose conversion are killed.
The story begins on the icy world of the planet U.V.6 where Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel) is evading bounty hunter Toombs (Nick Chinlund) and his crew. Toombs is trying to collect the 1.5 million bounty placed on Riddick's head. Riddick kills or disables all but Toombs and leaves the planet with their ship, setting a course for the planet Helion Prime, from which the bounty originated. In the Director's Cut, Riddick is plagued by visions from a character named Shirah (Kristin Lehman) during the flight, who tells Riddick he is the last of a warrior-race called the Furyans.
When Riddick lands on Helion Prime, he confronts Imam (Keith David) in the city of New Mecca, believing he is responsible for the bounty. Imam explains that he only gave information on Riddick's location to the one who placed the bounty. Imam also tells Riddick that Jack, the other survivor from Pitch Black, went looking for him five years earlier, missing his brother-like influence. She became a criminal and was sent to prison on the planet Crematoria. He introduces Aereon (Judi Dench), an envoy of the Elementals, who arranged for Riddick to be brought to Helion. She explains he is part of a prophecy that states that a lone Furyan will one day challenge an unstoppable evil and bring balance back to the universe, and says the Necromongers are the ones whose demise the prophecy foretells.
Following this revelation, the Necromonger army attacks Helion Prime, wiping out the planet's defenses in one night. Imam is killed in the attack while protecting his family. An enraged Riddick heads to the city forum, where the Helion Prime leaders are gathered before the Necromongers and the Lord Marshal. He challenges and dispatches Imam's killer easily. Suspicious of his abilities, the Lord Marshal has Riddick taken into his fortress to confirm his identity. Placed before the psychic Quasi-Deads, who claim Riddick is a Furyan, the Lord Marshal orders his death. Riddick escapes, only to run into Toombs again. Toombs has hired a new crew. Riddick allows himself to be captured, so he can be transported to Crematoria, a dead world where daytime surface temperatures scorch the face of the planet.
Riddick is reunited with Jack (Alexa Davalos), who now goes by the name of Kyra. She blames him for leaving her and Imam in New Mecca, but eventually they reconcile. Back on Helion Prime, the Lord Marshal commands Necromonger Commander Vaako (Karl Urban) to find Riddick and have him killed, so Vaako sets out with a small group of Necromongers and a Purifier (Linus Roache) to bring him down. Vaako is curious as to why the Lord Marshal is so afraid of Riddick. With encouragement from his rabidly ambitious wife, Dame Vaako (Thandie Newton), the two learn, before he achieved his current title, the Lord Marshal destroyed the Furyans' homeworld of Furya and its citizens. This occurred after a seer foretold that a male Furyan would cause his downfall. They deduce Riddick is the one in the prophecy.
When Toombs and his crew argue over Riddick's bounty with the prison warden and his guards, the warden reveals he has pictures of the incoming Necromongers, who have picked up the trail left behind by Toombs's ship. A gunfight erupts, with the staff emerging victorious. The warden and guards depart, running through man-made tunnels towards the ship hangar, locking the rest of prison down to prevent the inmates from escaping. Riddick, Kyra, and some of the inmates decide to reach the hangar first by traveling on the surface, surviving by keeping pace with the temperate zone created between the scorching heat and freezing cold of Crematoria's daily cycles. They reach the hangar, but Vaako and his contingent of soldiers have arrived on the planet, hastily taking out the warden and his guards. Riddick and company are forced to fight the Necromongers.
Amidst the numerous casualties, Vaako narrowly defeats Riddick. In the Director's Cut, Riddick suddenly manifests a powerful energy burst, which knocks out both himself and most of the Necromongers. Vaako leaves Riddick for dead as the rising sun burns Crematoria's surface. Vaako and the surviving Necromongers make their escape, taking Kyra, who believes Riddick has perished. Riddick nearly burns to death, but is suddenly saved by the Purifier. He states the Lord Marshal has offered to spare Riddick's life in exchange for assurance that Riddick will not attempt to kill him; however, the Purifier goes on to say Vaako will likely claim Riddick's death, in fear of failure, leaving the Lord Marshal vulnerable. Before walking into the sunlight and his death, the Purifier reveals himself to also be a Furyan.
Vaako returns to the Legion Vast, where the Lord Marshal promotes him. Riddick flies Toombs's ship back to Helion Prime, intending to rescue Kyra. Not quite convinced of Riddick's death, the Lord Marshal orders the "Final Protocol", which will ultimately destroy all life on Helion Prime. Dame Vaako spots Riddick, who has infiltrated the mother ship. She suggests to her husband that he be allowed to fight the Lord Marshal, hopefully injuring him and allowing Vaako to deal the final blow, so he may assume power, based on the Necromonger philosophy, "you keep what you kill." Riddick makes his way to the throne room, where he comes face to face with the Lord Marshal, who reveals Kyra has been converted to their faith. After lamenting to himself that the Necromonger has killed everyone he loved, Riddick does battle with the Lord Marshal, whose unique powers prove too great for Riddick to handle.
Before the Lord Marshal can deliver the final blow, Kyra stabs him in the back, but he backhands her into a spike on a column, mortally wounding her. Vaako, sensing an opportunity to vanquish his superior and claim leadership, strikes out at the Lord Marshal, who narrowly escapes the blow. Riddick, however, has positioned himself where the Lord Marshal has retreated to, and stabs the Lord Marshal in the head, killing him.
Riddick turns to the mortally wounded Kyra, and she dies in his arms after telling Riddick that she was "always" with him. As he collapses with grief on the Necromonger throne, the Legion Vast kneel before him, and Riddick remains silent while Aereon ruminates on the irony of the situation. In the theatrical cut, the film abruptly ends with Riddick repeating the Necromonger adage "you keep what you kill", realizing he is the new leader of their empire. In the Director's Cut, the Necromonger fleet abruptly departs, sparing Helion Prime. The epilogue of the novel adaptation goes even further with Riddick ordering the Necromonger fleet to the Threshold, gateway to the Underverse.
Fast Five
When Dominic "Dom" Toretto (Vin Diesel) is being transported to Lompoc prison by bus, his sister Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) and friend Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) lead an assault on the bus, causing it to crash, freeing Dom. While authorities search for them, the trio escape to Rio de Janeiro. Awaiting Dom's arrival, Mia and Brian join their friend Vince (Matt Schulze) and other participants on a job to steal three cars from a train. While aboard the train, Brian and Mia discover the train is carrying DEA agents and that the cars are seized property. When Dom arrives with the rest of the participants, he realizes that one of them, Zizi (Michael Irby), is only interested in stealing one car – a Ford GT40. Dom has Mia steal the car herself while Dom and Brian fight Zizi and his henchmen, with Zizi killing the DEA agents assigned to the vehicles. Dom and Brian are captured and brought to crime lord – and owner of the cars – Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), Zizi's boss where he orders the pair be interrogated to discover the location of the car. However they manage to escape and retreat to their safehouse.
While Brian, Dom, and Mia examine the car to discover its importance, Vince arrives and is caught trying to remove a computer chip from the car, admitting that he was planning to sell it to Reyes on his own. Dom forces Vince to leave and after investigating the chip, Brian discovers it contains details of Reyes' criminal empire including the locations of $100 million in cash. Following the murder of the DEA agents aboard the train, blamed on Dom and his team, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and his team arrive in Rio to capture Dom and Brian. They travel to Dom's safehouse with assistance from local officer Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky), but find it under assault by Reyes' men. Brian, Dom and Mia escape with Dom suggesting they split up and leave Rio, but Mia announces she is pregnant with Brian's child. Dom agrees to stick together and suggests they steal Reyes' money to start a new life. The trio organizes a team to perform the heist, recruiting Han Seoul-Oh (Sung Kang), Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Ludacris), Gisele Harabo (Gal Gadot), Tego Leo (Tego Calderón) and Rico Santos (Don Omar). Vince later joins the team after saving Mia from being captured by Reyes' men, earning Dom's trust once more.
Hobbs and his team eventually find and arrest Dom, Mia, Brian and Vince. While transporting them to the airport for extradition to the United States, the convoy is attacked by Reyes' men, killing Hobbs' team and Vince. Hobbs is saved by Dom, Brian and Mia as they fight back against Reyes' men and escape. Wanting revenge for his murdered team, Hobbs and Elena agree to help with the heist. The gang breaks into the police station where Reyes' money is kept and tear the vault from the building using their cars, dragging it through the city with police in pursuit. Believing they cannot outrun the police, Dom makes Brian continue without him while he attacks the police and the pursuing Reyes, using the vault attached to his car to smash their vehicles. Brian returns to kill Zizi, while Reyes is badly injured by Dom's assault. Hobbs arrives on the scene and executes Reyes. Hobbs refuses to let the pair go free, but unwilling to arrest them, agrees to give them a 24-hour head start to escape. The gang split Reyes' money, with Dom leaving Vince's share to his family, before the members go their separate ways.
In the South Pacific, Brian and Mia, now visibly pregnant, relax on a beach, where they are met by Dom and Elena. Brian challenges Dom to a final, no-stakes race to prove who is the better driver.
In a post-credits scene, Hobbs is given a file by FBI agent Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) concerning the hijack of a military convoy in Berlin. In the file, Hobbs discovers a recent photo of Leticia Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), Dom's presumed-deceased girlfriend, implying that she survived the events of Fast & Furious.
Dear John by Nicholas Spark
John Tyree (Channing Tatum), a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army is lying on the ground in combat gear with multiple gunshot wounds to his body. Coins begin to fall over him as, in a voiceover, he recalls a childhood trip to the U.S. Mint. He compares himself to a coin in the United States Military, and states that the last thing he thought about before he blacked out was "you".
In 2001, John is on leave when he meets Savannah Lynn Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), a college student on spring break. Over the course of two weeks, Savannah and John fall in love. John meets Savannah's family, her neighbor, Tim Wheddon (Henry Thomas), and Tim's son, Alan (Luke Benward) who has Autism.
Savannah meets John's father (Richard Jenkins), a reclusive man who is only interested in coins (specifically mules). John tells Savannah his father's obsession with coins interfered with their relationship, and they are not close. Savannah mentions to John that his father, like Alan, may have Autism. This upsets John, who gets into a fight with Savannah's neighbor, Randy (Scott Porter) and, in the process, accidentally punches Tim. John apologizes to Tim, leaves Savannah a note, and they spend one last day together. After his leave ends, John and Savannah begin a long-distance relationship through letters. Even though John planned on leaving the army, the September 11 attacks conflict him, and he ultimately chooses to re-enlist.
Over the next two years, John and Savannah correspond through letters. Ultimately, Savannah sends John a Dear John letter, informing him that she has become engaged to someone else. John, deeply depressed by the news, burns her letters.
Thereafter, John is shot several times by an enemy and, even though encouraged to return home, re-enlists. For the next four years, John takes part in many missions. While waiting to receive orders on his unit's next deployment, John is informed that his father had a stroke. When John arrives at the hospital, the doctor informs him that his father is in grave condition. John, feeling guilty that he was not there, asks the doctor if the outcome would have been different if John had been there with his father. The doctor does not think so, and John writes a letter to his father, which he reads to him at the hospital. It is then that the viewers learn that John's voiceover at the beginning of the film was from this letter, in which he told his father that the first thing to cross his mind after he was shot was coins, and the last thing to cross his mind before he lost consciousness was his dad, ultimately the most important thing in his life. Shortly thereafter, his father dies.
John then visits Savannah. He discovers that she married Tim, and that Tim has cancer. Savannah notes that Tim is confined to a hospital and in need of an experimental drug they cannot afford. John visits Tim in the hospital, where Tim apologizes to John for the situation, but indicates that he is happy his son will always have someone to care for him. Tim also notes that Savannah still loves John. John and Savannah have dinner together that evening, and John says goodbye to her.
John sells his father's coin collection, though he keeps the first mule coin they found together. He anonymously donates the money from the sale to finance Tim's drug. The next scene shows John back with his unit, using the mule coin in a coin toss with his soldiers. John then gets an unexpected letter from Savannah. She writes about how she received an anonymous donation to help Tim with his treatment, which gave him the opportunity to return home and say goodbye to friends and family before he died. She notes that she will always wonder where John is and how he is doing, but accepts that she lost the right to know a long time ago.
In the last scene of the film, John walks a bicycle down a block and, after stopping to chain it to a parking meter, locks eyes with Savannah through a cafe window. Savannah exits the cafe, and they share a long embrace.
Ending
The ending in the book differs from the movie. In the book, Tim gets better and John, after several more years in the war, comes back to confirm a qualm. John goes to Savannah's farm at night and waits on a hill, concealed from view as the full moon slowly rose. When all was quiet the night was still and nothing had happened in those past few hours, John almost rode away, disappointed with loss of all hope. But the door opened, and a slight figure emerged, glancing back to make sure no one was following. The figure walked away from the house so that the moon was fully visible. Now John could see that it was indeed Savannah, and she had come out to watch the moon and remember all the moments she had spent with him. John then raises his eyes to the moon as well, and he says "for the briefest instant, it almost feels like we're together again."
The Terminal
Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) arrives at JFK International Airport, but finds that he is not allowed to enter the United States. While he was en route to the US, a revolution was started in his home nation of Krakozhia. Due to the civil war, the United States no longer recognizes Krakozhia as a sovereign nation and denies Viktor's entrance to the US. Unable to leave the airport or return to Krakozhia, Viktor instead lives in the terminal, carrying his luggage and a mysterious Planters peanut can.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Head Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) wants Navorski removed from the airport. Navorski collects money for food by retrieving vacant baggage trolleys for the 25 cent reward from the machine, until Dixon prevents this. He then befriends a catering car driver named Enrique (Diego Luna) who gives him food in exchange for information about a female Customs and Border Protection officer (Zoë Saldana), who Enrique is infatuated with. With Viktor's help, Enrique and Dolores eventually marry each other. He meets flight attendant Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who asks him out to dinner, but he tries to earn money in order to ask Amelia out instead. He finally gets an off-the-books job as a construction worker at the airport earning $19 an hour.
Viktor is asked to interpret for a desperate Russian man with undocumented drugs for his sick father. Viktor claims it is "medicine for goat," barring the drug from confiscation and resolving the crisis. Under pressure and the watchful eye of the Airport Ratings committee, who is evaluating Dixon for an upcoming promotion, Dixon has a falling out with Viktor. Though Dixon is advised that sometimes rules must be ignored, he becomes obsessed with getting Viktor ejected from the airport. An Airport janitor Rajan Gupta (Kumar Pallana), exaggerates the "goat" incident to his fellow co-workers and as a result, Viktor earns the respect and admiration of all of the airport staff.
One day, Viktor explains to Amelia that the purpose of his visit to New York is to collect an autograph from the tenor saxophonist Benny Golson. It is revealed that the peanut can Viktor carries with him contains nothing more than an autographed copy of the "Great Day in Harlem" photograph. His late father was a jazz enthusiast who had discovered the famous portrait in a Hungarian newspaper in 1958, and vowed to get an autograph of all the 57 jazz musicians featured on the photograph. He succeeded in obtaining 56, but died before he could finish his collection.
A few months later, the war in Krakozhia ends, but Dixon will still not allow Viktor to enter the United States. Amelia reveals that she had asked her 'friend' — actually a married government official with whom she had been having an affair — to assist Viktor in obtaining permission to travel within the US, but Viktor is disappointed to learn she has renewed her relationship with the man during this process.
To make matters worse, Dixon needs to sign the form granting Viktor the right to remain in the United States, but refuses. He instead blackmails Viktor into returning to Krakozhia, or he will have Enrique fired for allowing Viktor into the restricted food preparation area and deport Gupta back to his native India, where he is wanted for assaulting a corrupt police officer. Upon hearing this, Gupta runs in front of Viktor's plane and asks Viktor to go anyway. The plane is delayed, giving Viktor enough time to go into the city and obtain the autograph. With the blessing of the entire airport staff, Viktor leaves the airport after receiving a uniform coat from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Port Director and hails a taxi. Dixon, watching Viktor leave the airport, decides not to pursue him. As Viktor prepares to take the taxi to a Ramada Inn where Benny Golson is performing, he observes Amelia exiting from a cab, where she gives him a wistful smile. He has a short conversation with the cab driver, telling him how to avoid traffic on the way to the hotel and that he is from Krakozhia. The driver tells Viktor that he is from Albania and arrived earlier that week. He attends the show and collects the autograph, finally completing the collection. Afterwards, Viktor leaves and hails a taxi, telling the driver that he was coming home!
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Head Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) wants Navorski removed from the airport. Navorski collects money for food by retrieving vacant baggage trolleys for the 25 cent reward from the machine, until Dixon prevents this. He then befriends a catering car driver named Enrique (Diego Luna) who gives him food in exchange for information about a female Customs and Border Protection officer (Zoë Saldana), who Enrique is infatuated with. With Viktor's help, Enrique and Dolores eventually marry each other. He meets flight attendant Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who asks him out to dinner, but he tries to earn money in order to ask Amelia out instead. He finally gets an off-the-books job as a construction worker at the airport earning $19 an hour.
Viktor is asked to interpret for a desperate Russian man with undocumented drugs for his sick father. Viktor claims it is "medicine for goat," barring the drug from confiscation and resolving the crisis. Under pressure and the watchful eye of the Airport Ratings committee, who is evaluating Dixon for an upcoming promotion, Dixon has a falling out with Viktor. Though Dixon is advised that sometimes rules must be ignored, he becomes obsessed with getting Viktor ejected from the airport. An Airport janitor Rajan Gupta (Kumar Pallana), exaggerates the "goat" incident to his fellow co-workers and as a result, Viktor earns the respect and admiration of all of the airport staff.
One day, Viktor explains to Amelia that the purpose of his visit to New York is to collect an autograph from the tenor saxophonist Benny Golson. It is revealed that the peanut can Viktor carries with him contains nothing more than an autographed copy of the "Great Day in Harlem" photograph. His late father was a jazz enthusiast who had discovered the famous portrait in a Hungarian newspaper in 1958, and vowed to get an autograph of all the 57 jazz musicians featured on the photograph. He succeeded in obtaining 56, but died before he could finish his collection.
A few months later, the war in Krakozhia ends, but Dixon will still not allow Viktor to enter the United States. Amelia reveals that she had asked her 'friend' — actually a married government official with whom she had been having an affair — to assist Viktor in obtaining permission to travel within the US, but Viktor is disappointed to learn she has renewed her relationship with the man during this process.
To make matters worse, Dixon needs to sign the form granting Viktor the right to remain in the United States, but refuses. He instead blackmails Viktor into returning to Krakozhia, or he will have Enrique fired for allowing Viktor into the restricted food preparation area and deport Gupta back to his native India, where he is wanted for assaulting a corrupt police officer. Upon hearing this, Gupta runs in front of Viktor's plane and asks Viktor to go anyway. The plane is delayed, giving Viktor enough time to go into the city and obtain the autograph. With the blessing of the entire airport staff, Viktor leaves the airport after receiving a uniform coat from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Port Director and hails a taxi. Dixon, watching Viktor leave the airport, decides not to pursue him. As Viktor prepares to take the taxi to a Ramada Inn where Benny Golson is performing, he observes Amelia exiting from a cab, where she gives him a wistful smile. He has a short conversation with the cab driver, telling him how to avoid traffic on the way to the hotel and that he is from Krakozhia. The driver tells Viktor that he is from Albania and arrived earlier that week. He attends the show and collects the autograph, finally completing the collection. Afterwards, Viktor leaves and hails a taxi, telling the driver that he was coming home!
Khamis, 12 Mei 2011
Keningau
This sprawling timber and agricultural town, which is named after a Javanese cinnamon tree, is located in the Interior Division of Sabah. The Keningau district is situated in a valley surrounded by the Crocker Range to the west and the Trus Madi Range to the east and south sides.
For nature lovers and adventure seekers, Keningau is the place to be. Hike your way up Mount Trus Madi—the second highest peak in Malaysia after Mount Kinabalu—or get your camping gear ready and rough it at the Crocker Range Park.
Crocker Range Park
144 kilometers away from Kota Kinabalu is the Crocker Range National Park (CRNP), situated in the Crocker Range, Sabah. The Crocker Range Park is located 13 kilometers from Keningau town, approximately 25 minutes away by car.
The Crocker Range was designated to be a forest reserve in 1968. In 1984, Crocker Range Nature Park was then established in order to protect the water catchments area which was supplying clean drinking water to the West Coast and the interior of Sabah. It was renamed Taman Banjaran Crocker (Crocker Range Park) in 1996 and is managed by the Sabah Parks.
Located in the heart of Crocker Range Park, the newly developed Sabah Park’s facility which opened in February 2004 is ideal a place for meetings, camping, jungle trekking and outdoor educational activities. Among the attractions to found in the Crocker Range Park are the Rafflesia sites, trekking courses, and camping ground.
The rising concern for protecting its rich biodiversity and rare species of flora and fauna had been the prime propellant in the initiative to gazette it as a national park.
Tariffs
Upon entry, visitors are charged RM3 per person.
Those intending to rough it out on the camping ground are charged RM5 per person (adults) and RM1 for youth below 18 years of age.
The Crocker Range Park is open daily from 8a.m to 5p.m.
Getting There
The bus to Keningau can be taken at the long distance bus station near Merdeka Field (to reach Keningau bus station). Schedules for departure are at 7a.m, 8.am, 10p.m, 12p.m, 1p.m, 2p.m, and 5p.m; the bus fare to Keningau is RM16 per person.
Visitors can also take the taxi from Kota Kinabalu to the Keningau Taxi station for RM120 per taxi.
From the Keningau bus station/ Keningau Taxi station, visitors would have to take another taxi to reach the Crocker Range station. One way fare is RM40 per taxi. However, all prices are estimated and are subject to change.
Further Information:
Please contact the Crocker Range Park (Head Station Keningau) at 019-8620404 or fax to 087-330924.
Tamu Keningau
The district of Keningau is located 131km from Kota Kinabalu. Famous for its handwoven goods, the district of Keningau was once the main producer of cinnamon. There are two ‘tamu' or markets that take place in Keningau. The first tamu is held in Bingkor on Thursdays and the other tamu in ‘Pekan' Keningau (the town's centre) on Sundays. It is a great place to see traders displaying and selling their goods, from fresh produce to a variety of handicrafts. Look for their great range of handwoven baskets and trays, a product of the industrious Kadazandusun people.
Held on
Thursdays (Bingkor) and Sundays (Pekan Keningau)
Opening hours
Most ‘tamu' operate as early as 6am and close by 2pm
Getting there
Take a taxi from the station near Padang Merdeka (Merdeka Field) which will cost around RM120 one way. Buses depart from the same area for RM16.00 per passenger.
For nature lovers and adventure seekers, Keningau is the place to be. Hike your way up Mount Trus Madi—the second highest peak in Malaysia after Mount Kinabalu—or get your camping gear ready and rough it at the Crocker Range Park.
Crocker Range Park
144 kilometers away from Kota Kinabalu is the Crocker Range National Park (CRNP), situated in the Crocker Range, Sabah. The Crocker Range Park is located 13 kilometers from Keningau town, approximately 25 minutes away by car.
The Crocker Range was designated to be a forest reserve in 1968. In 1984, Crocker Range Nature Park was then established in order to protect the water catchments area which was supplying clean drinking water to the West Coast and the interior of Sabah. It was renamed Taman Banjaran Crocker (Crocker Range Park) in 1996 and is managed by the Sabah Parks.
Located in the heart of Crocker Range Park, the newly developed Sabah Park’s facility which opened in February 2004 is ideal a place for meetings, camping, jungle trekking and outdoor educational activities. Among the attractions to found in the Crocker Range Park are the Rafflesia sites, trekking courses, and camping ground.
The rising concern for protecting its rich biodiversity and rare species of flora and fauna had been the prime propellant in the initiative to gazette it as a national park.
Tariffs
Upon entry, visitors are charged RM3 per person.
Those intending to rough it out on the camping ground are charged RM5 per person (adults) and RM1 for youth below 18 years of age.
The Crocker Range Park is open daily from 8a.m to 5p.m.
Getting There
The bus to Keningau can be taken at the long distance bus station near Merdeka Field (to reach Keningau bus station). Schedules for departure are at 7a.m, 8.am, 10p.m, 12p.m, 1p.m, 2p.m, and 5p.m; the bus fare to Keningau is RM16 per person.
Visitors can also take the taxi from Kota Kinabalu to the Keningau Taxi station for RM120 per taxi.
From the Keningau bus station/ Keningau Taxi station, visitors would have to take another taxi to reach the Crocker Range station. One way fare is RM40 per taxi. However, all prices are estimated and are subject to change.
Further Information:
Please contact the Crocker Range Park (Head Station Keningau) at 019-8620404 or fax to 087-330924.
Tamu Keningau
The district of Keningau is located 131km from Kota Kinabalu. Famous for its handwoven goods, the district of Keningau was once the main producer of cinnamon. There are two ‘tamu' or markets that take place in Keningau. The first tamu is held in Bingkor on Thursdays and the other tamu in ‘Pekan' Keningau (the town's centre) on Sundays. It is a great place to see traders displaying and selling their goods, from fresh produce to a variety of handicrafts. Look for their great range of handwoven baskets and trays, a product of the industrious Kadazandusun people.
Held on
Thursdays (Bingkor) and Sundays (Pekan Keningau)
Opening hours
Most ‘tamu' operate as early as 6am and close by 2pm
Getting there
Take a taxi from the station near Padang Merdeka (Merdeka Field) which will cost around RM120 one way. Buses depart from the same area for RM16.00 per passenger.
Sipadan Island
The name of Sipadan is simply legendary in diving circles, conjuring images of patrolling hammerhead sharks, millions of technicolored reef fish and, above all, dozens of sea turtles swimming peacefully everywhere.
This description is not far from reality: it might even actually be down played a little as Sipadan is considered one of the five top diving destinations in the world. This small rainforest-covered tropical island rising from a 700 meter abyss in the Celebes Sea is a destination the committed diver cannot miss.
Pulau Sipadan Resort & Tours Sdn Bhd is one of the dive operators that are allowed to bring divers to Sipadan Island. Specialize in dive and nature tour packages to 3 notably top dive and nature resorts in Borneo; Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort, Lankayan Island Dive Resort and Sepilok Nature Resort as well as to other Sabah’s wildlife destinations, we provide an ideal combination of the perfect Borneo holiday for those who seek fun and adventures on a tranquil settings.
Rabu, 11 Mei 2011
Hotel Suites
World’s Most Expensive Hotel Suites
The most important element of a vacation, aside from the destination, is the hotel where you spend your downtime. If you’re going to take a true luxury vacation, of course, it won’t do to have anything less than one of the most expensive hotel suites in the world.
Grand Resort Lagonissi in Athens, Greece – The Royal Villa
$32,000/night
Another three-bedroom suite, the Royal Villa has two pools—an indoor pool and a heated outdoor pool. The nearby marina and beach cement the fact that this suite is a swimmer’s paradise. Visitors will also have access to a private chef to accompany the fully equipped kitchen, a butler and even a pianist.
Hotel Cala di Volpe in Costa Smeralda, Italy – Presidential Suite
$34,000/night
Costa Smeralda—the “Emerald Coast”—in northern Sardinia, is home to many draws for the obscenely wealthy, not the least of which is this fabulous suite. The duplex suite has three bedrooms and as many bathrooms, an outdoor saltwater pool and a private gazebo and solarium.
Four Seasons Hotel in New York, USA – Ty Warner Penthouse suite
$35,000/night
With a carpet that’s so expensive that anyone who walks across it must wear special booties provided by the hotel, ample views of the nation’s largest city, a 700 square foot library and even a waterfall in its Zen room, this suite—which covers the hotel’s entire 52nd floor—is truly a luxury location. It’s named after the founder of Ty Inc., manufacturer of the popular Beanie Babies stuffed toys.
The Hotel Martinez in Cannes, France – Penthouse Suite
$35,000/night
This luxurious suite is located on the seventh floor of the Hotel Martinez, already a ritzy location with its Michelin-starred restaurant and prime location on the Croisette in Cannes. The suite itself consists of four bedrooms and an impressive terrace—complete with Jacuzzi—which commands an equally impressive view of the Mediterranean Sea.
Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada – Hugh Hefner Sky Villa
$40,000/night
The City of Sin’s most expensive suite is appropriately named after the Playboy Mansion’s famed resident, and it shows in the 250-person capacity and the extravagant amenities. This suite houses a poker table, wet bar, full size gym with sauna and spa, and a balcony with a spectacular view of the Vegas strip as well as an equally spectacular infinity edge jacuzzi. All of this is centered around an 8-foot rotating round bed.
Hotel President Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland – Royal Penthouse suite
$65,000/night
If you’d prefer a secure suite to an extravagant one, look no further than Switzerland. The Royal Penthouse suite, renamed and repriced from the $35,000 Imperial Suite, boasts a private elevator, bulletproof windows, armored doors, surveillance cameras and even bedside panic buttons. Of course, it’s not all about security; the suite also features a number of period pieces and stunning views of Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva.
Taj Boston $6 million Hotel Suite in Boston, USA
$6 million/two nights
Less than 5 miles from Logan Airport and overlooking Boston’s majestic Public Gardens, Taj Boston will be king of the crop for a very limited time. On the weekend of October 15-17, 2010, the hotel’s presidential suite became the most expensive hotel suite in the world to comemmorate the new theatre complex at the Boston Conservatory.
Along with two nights in the 1,540 square foot presidential suite, the $6 million price tag included transportation to Boston on a private jet, limo service, a Jaguar XJ, an engraved Chistofle sterling silver platter, etched Tiffany Champagne flutes and a magnum of Cristal Rose Champagne. The guest also received two lifetime services–valet parking at the hotel and tickets to performances at the Boston Conservatory.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this expensive package is that the guest’s name will be engraved on the Conservatory’s new theatre.
The most important element of a vacation, aside from the destination, is the hotel where you spend your downtime. If you’re going to take a true luxury vacation, of course, it won’t do to have anything less than one of the most expensive hotel suites in the world.
Grand Resort Lagonissi in Athens, Greece – The Royal Villa
$32,000/night
Another three-bedroom suite, the Royal Villa has two pools—an indoor pool and a heated outdoor pool. The nearby marina and beach cement the fact that this suite is a swimmer’s paradise. Visitors will also have access to a private chef to accompany the fully equipped kitchen, a butler and even a pianist.
Hotel Cala di Volpe in Costa Smeralda, Italy – Presidential Suite
$34,000/night
Costa Smeralda—the “Emerald Coast”—in northern Sardinia, is home to many draws for the obscenely wealthy, not the least of which is this fabulous suite. The duplex suite has three bedrooms and as many bathrooms, an outdoor saltwater pool and a private gazebo and solarium.
Four Seasons Hotel in New York, USA – Ty Warner Penthouse suite
$35,000/night
With a carpet that’s so expensive that anyone who walks across it must wear special booties provided by the hotel, ample views of the nation’s largest city, a 700 square foot library and even a waterfall in its Zen room, this suite—which covers the hotel’s entire 52nd floor—is truly a luxury location. It’s named after the founder of Ty Inc., manufacturer of the popular Beanie Babies stuffed toys.
The Hotel Martinez in Cannes, France – Penthouse Suite
$35,000/night
This luxurious suite is located on the seventh floor of the Hotel Martinez, already a ritzy location with its Michelin-starred restaurant and prime location on the Croisette in Cannes. The suite itself consists of four bedrooms and an impressive terrace—complete with Jacuzzi—which commands an equally impressive view of the Mediterranean Sea.
Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada – Hugh Hefner Sky Villa
$40,000/night
The City of Sin’s most expensive suite is appropriately named after the Playboy Mansion’s famed resident, and it shows in the 250-person capacity and the extravagant amenities. This suite houses a poker table, wet bar, full size gym with sauna and spa, and a balcony with a spectacular view of the Vegas strip as well as an equally spectacular infinity edge jacuzzi. All of this is centered around an 8-foot rotating round bed.
Hotel President Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland – Royal Penthouse suite
$65,000/night
If you’d prefer a secure suite to an extravagant one, look no further than Switzerland. The Royal Penthouse suite, renamed and repriced from the $35,000 Imperial Suite, boasts a private elevator, bulletproof windows, armored doors, surveillance cameras and even bedside panic buttons. Of course, it’s not all about security; the suite also features a number of period pieces and stunning views of Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva.
Taj Boston $6 million Hotel Suite in Boston, USA
$6 million/two nights
Less than 5 miles from Logan Airport and overlooking Boston’s majestic Public Gardens, Taj Boston will be king of the crop for a very limited time. On the weekend of October 15-17, 2010, the hotel’s presidential suite became the most expensive hotel suite in the world to comemmorate the new theatre complex at the Boston Conservatory.
Along with two nights in the 1,540 square foot presidential suite, the $6 million price tag included transportation to Boston on a private jet, limo service, a Jaguar XJ, an engraved Chistofle sterling silver platter, etched Tiffany Champagne flutes and a magnum of Cristal Rose Champagne. The guest also received two lifetime services–valet parking at the hotel and tickets to performances at the Boston Conservatory.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this expensive package is that the guest’s name will be engraved on the Conservatory’s new theatre.
Party
Most Expensive Party
Luxury resort Atlantis, The Palm was the first resort to open on one of Dubai’s infamous artificial islands, The Palm Jumeirah. Of course, no grand opening would be complete without a party and, since it’s in Dubai, it just had to be the most expensive party in the world.
The luxurious beach party was set to have over 2,000 guests and featured an extravagant $6.58 million fireworks display. The highlight of the evening, though, was the 60 minute performance by Kylie Minogue. For her first ever performance in the Middle East, the pop queen banked over $4 million.
While the 1,539 room hotel opened on September 24th 2008, the world’s most expensive party was scheduled nearly two months later on November 20th. Reportedly, the extravagant beach party cost its hosts over $35 million.
Luxury resort Atlantis The Palm, Dubai
View more presentations from Tony DeLiso
Luxury resort Atlantis, The Palm was the first resort to open on one of Dubai’s infamous artificial islands, The Palm Jumeirah. Of course, no grand opening would be complete without a party and, since it’s in Dubai, it just had to be the most expensive party in the world.
The luxurious beach party was set to have over 2,000 guests and featured an extravagant $6.58 million fireworks display. The highlight of the evening, though, was the 60 minute performance by Kylie Minogue. For her first ever performance in the Middle East, the pop queen banked over $4 million.
While the 1,539 room hotel opened on September 24th 2008, the world’s most expensive party was scheduled nearly two months later on November 20th. Reportedly, the extravagant beach party cost its hosts over $35 million.
Jeans
The popular worker’s denim trousers have become modern day fashion and status symbols. Designer jeans come in and out of popularity but in the early 2000s, expensive jeans started coming back into fashion with brands such as APO Jeans, Chip and Pepper, Paper Denim & Cloth, Seven for All Mankind, True Religion and many other brands costing $200 or more per pair.
The Guinness Book of Records listed a pair of Gucci Genius jeans featuring elaborate feathers, beads, rips and buttons as most expensive jeans off-the-rack at a cost of $3,134 and Forbes once showcased Escada’s Swarovski crystal-encrusted jeans that sold for US $10,000.
Levi Strauss Company bid $46,532 to buy a pair of their own brand of denim pants back on the popular auction site eBay. However, the most expensive old jeans were an average pair of 501 jeans manufactured in the 1880s and purchased by a Japanese collector in 2005 for $60,000
Antique Levi’s jeans
None of those prices, however, can even hold a candle to that commanded by Dussault Apparel’s Trashed Denim line of luxury jeans. These men’s jeans are handmade using a special process where they are washed thirteen times, with dying and painting performed between each washing to add depth to the jeans. That’s not all, though, as each pair of Trashed Denim jeans is adorned with sixteen 1-carat rubies, twenty-six .05-carat rubies, eight .05-carat diamonds and 1080 grams of 18k white or rose gold.
So how much are the most expensive jeans in the world? Try a quarter-million dollars. That’s right; Dussault Apparel’s Trashed Denim jeans are priced at $250,000. They can be purchased at the Dussault store in Los Angeles or Kustom in New York City.
Trashed Denim
The Guinness Book of Records listed a pair of Gucci Genius jeans featuring elaborate feathers, beads, rips and buttons as most expensive jeans off-the-rack at a cost of $3,134 and Forbes once showcased Escada’s Swarovski crystal-encrusted jeans that sold for US $10,000.
Levi Strauss Company bid $46,532 to buy a pair of their own brand of denim pants back on the popular auction site eBay. However, the most expensive old jeans were an average pair of 501 jeans manufactured in the 1880s and purchased by a Japanese collector in 2005 for $60,000
Antique Levi’s jeans
None of those prices, however, can even hold a candle to that commanded by Dussault Apparel’s Trashed Denim line of luxury jeans. These men’s jeans are handmade using a special process where they are washed thirteen times, with dying and painting performed between each washing to add depth to the jeans. That’s not all, though, as each pair of Trashed Denim jeans is adorned with sixteen 1-carat rubies, twenty-six .05-carat rubies, eight .05-carat diamonds and 1080 grams of 18k white or rose gold.
So how much are the most expensive jeans in the world? Try a quarter-million dollars. That’s right; Dussault Apparel’s Trashed Denim jeans are priced at $250,000. They can be purchased at the Dussault store in Los Angeles or Kustom in New York City.
Trashed Denim
Most Expensive Chocolate
Fritz Knipschildt is the architect behind the most expensive chocolate in the world and is sometimes called the Willy Wonka of Connecticut. He founded Knipschildt Chocolatier in South Norwalk, Connecticut in 1999 and brought his Danish culinary training with him. All of his chocolates are handmade artisan products using only the freshest natural ingredients, with no additives or preservatives. He sells a chocolate called the Madeleine that must be ordered in advance. The Madeleine contains a creamy truffle ganache made from French Valrhona chocolate blended with fresh cream infused with vanilla pods and pure Italian truffle oil.
This extravagant yet simple ganache then has a French Perigold truffle rolled inside of it and the whole thing is dusted with cocoa powder. The ingredients alone don’t explain why this truffle chocolate is the world’s most expensive chocolate ever sold. Mr. Knipschildt’s explanation for the price tag is the tremendous amount of work that goes into producing these chocolates. The ganache is whipped and folded by hand for a long time to make it as silky as humanly possible, and he even has to perform the hand rolling of the Perigold truffle inside of the ganache within a refrigerated room so that the ganache hardens ever so slightly enough to be workable. Each one of these luscious truffle chocolates has a price tag of $250, making the confection cost approximately $2,600 per pound in quantity.
The Madeleine must be ordered in advance, and each chocolate comes with a personally signed card explaining how it was made and a unique serial number. Mr. Knipshildt has certainly created the world’s most expensive chocolate confection, and it’s probably worth every penny.
This extravagant yet simple ganache then has a French Perigold truffle rolled inside of it and the whole thing is dusted with cocoa powder. The ingredients alone don’t explain why this truffle chocolate is the world’s most expensive chocolate ever sold. Mr. Knipschildt’s explanation for the price tag is the tremendous amount of work that goes into producing these chocolates. The ganache is whipped and folded by hand for a long time to make it as silky as humanly possible, and he even has to perform the hand rolling of the Perigold truffle inside of the ganache within a refrigerated room so that the ganache hardens ever so slightly enough to be workable. Each one of these luscious truffle chocolates has a price tag of $250, making the confection cost approximately $2,600 per pound in quantity.
The Madeleine must be ordered in advance, and each chocolate comes with a personally signed card explaining how it was made and a unique serial number. Mr. Knipshildt has certainly created the world’s most expensive chocolate confection, and it’s probably worth every penny.
Most Expensive Champagne in the World
Champagne, a sparkling wine named after the Champagne region of France is the costliest wine to produce. To produce champagne there must be two fermentation processes, with the second step trapping carbon dioxide and making the bubbles. In most of Europe, the name “champagne” is legally protected meaning only the most expensive sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France can be marketed as champagne. In the United States and other areas, $3 bottles of wine are often labeled champagne.
People often drink Champagne as part of a celebration and when celebrating success many feel the need to show off. The most expensive champagnes are more about image than what is in the bottle.
Cristal Brut 1990 “Methuselah”
US $17,625
This six-liter, gold-labeled bottle of Cristal Brut 1990, dubbed the Methuselah, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York to an undisclosed buyer in 2005. At the time, Cristal was a favorite of the hip-hop crowd.
Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam
$40,000
During the same year, a limited edition bottle of Dom Perignon became the most expensive champagne in the world. Sold in three-liter bottles, the Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam was sold to commemorate the New Year. Much of its price, however, is surely due to the white gold bottle from which the expensive wine takes its name.
Pernod-Ricard Perrier-Jouet
$50,000
Each of the 100 sets contains twelve bottles of fine, expensive champagne. Marketed only to the ultra-rich, buyers will have the chance personalize their drinking experience by choosing the liqueur used in the champagne—and they’ll have to fly to Eastern France to do so. The sets are being sold to consumers in the United States, Britain, Japan, China, Russia, Switzerland and France. The price even includes a storage nest where the champagne may be allowed to age for up to eight months!
Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck
$275,000
These hundred year old bottles of Champagne from the Heidsieck vineyard in Champagne took over eighty years to reach their destination. Shipped to the Russian Imperial family in 1916, a shipwreck off the coast of Finland caused this champagne to be lost at sea until divers discovered over 200 bottles in 1997. Now they’re finally being sold—to wealthy guests at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow, at least. Of course, the wine’s extraordinary tale and incredible age are what makes it the world’s most expensive champagne.
People often drink Champagne as part of a celebration and when celebrating success many feel the need to show off. The most expensive champagnes are more about image than what is in the bottle.
Cristal Brut 1990 “Methuselah”
US $17,625
This six-liter, gold-labeled bottle of Cristal Brut 1990, dubbed the Methuselah, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York to an undisclosed buyer in 2005. At the time, Cristal was a favorite of the hip-hop crowd.
Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam
$40,000
During the same year, a limited edition bottle of Dom Perignon became the most expensive champagne in the world. Sold in three-liter bottles, the Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam was sold to commemorate the New Year. Much of its price, however, is surely due to the white gold bottle from which the expensive wine takes its name.
Pernod-Ricard Perrier-Jouet
$50,000
Each of the 100 sets contains twelve bottles of fine, expensive champagne. Marketed only to the ultra-rich, buyers will have the chance personalize their drinking experience by choosing the liqueur used in the champagne—and they’ll have to fly to Eastern France to do so. The sets are being sold to consumers in the United States, Britain, Japan, China, Russia, Switzerland and France. The price even includes a storage nest where the champagne may be allowed to age for up to eight months!
Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck
$275,000
These hundred year old bottles of Champagne from the Heidsieck vineyard in Champagne took over eighty years to reach their destination. Shipped to the Russian Imperial family in 1916, a shipwreck off the coast of Finland caused this champagne to be lost at sea until divers discovered over 200 bottles in 1997. Now they’re finally being sold—to wealthy guests at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow, at least. Of course, the wine’s extraordinary tale and incredible age are what makes it the world’s most expensive champagne.
World’s Top Ten Most Expensive Foods
Most Expensive Mushroom
The matsutake, or mattake, mushroom is expensive because of its rarity. While its historical prevalence meant it was nearly synonymous with autumn in Japan, the introduction of an insect that kills the trees under which the mushroom grows has caused a dramatic decrease in the number of matsutake mushrooms. A method for farming the matsutake has yet to be developed, which means the lack of trees from which to harvest these mushrooms naturally is a serious problem for the species.
The world’s most expensive mushroom can be purchased for around $1,000 per pound, though prices for specific mushrooms may reach up to $2,000 per pound. It is known more for its spiced, fruity aroma than its flavor and is a cherished gift in the Japanese corporate world
Most Expensive Bagel in the World
The most expensive bagel in the world is topped with white truffle cream cheese and goji berry infused Riesling jelly with golden leaves. The bagel’s price is justified when you consider that white truffles happen to be the second most expensive food by weight, eclipsed only by caviar. The underground fungus grows only under specific oak trees in Alba, Italy. Their pheromone-like odor is considered to be an aphrodisiac and is the reason dogs and female pigs are used to hunt the precious truffle.
The goji berries are not to be passed over, either. The richest known source of beta-carotene in the world, the goji berry has a demonstrated ability to jump-start the healing process.
A portion of the proceeds from the world’s most expensive bagel will be donated to the Les Amis d’Escoffier Scholarship in order to benefit current and future culinary students. The bagel’s $1,000 price tag includes tax. It will be available through December 14th.
Most Expensive Omelette
The restaurant at Le Parker Meridien put itself on the map by offering the world’s most expensive omelette, or as they call it, “The Zillion Dollar Frittata”. This absurdly expensive breakfast item consists of a mixture of eggs, lobster and 10 ounces of sevruga caviar (which costs the restaurant $65 per ounce)…and a charge of $1000 on your bill.
For those who want a taste of the expensive omelette but prefer to not eat their money, there is scaled down version available for $100.
On the menu next to the expensive omelet there is a challenge that reads, “Norma dares you to expense this”. The general manager of Norma’s was quoted saying about the most expensive omelette, “Since we knew it was going to be a very expensive dish, we decided to have some fun with it. It’s not just a gimmick, though. It tastes good.”
Most Expensive Steaks
While Wagyu cattle are raised both in and outside Japan, the Kobe varietal which is raised specifically in the Hyogo prefecture is the most elite. Employing the most traditional production methods, Kobe beef comes from cows that are allegedly fed only beer and massaged by hand to ensure a tenderness and marbling beyond compare. These dishes can be out of range for the average restaurateur, carrying an unhealthy load of fat and a price tag to match. An eight ounce cut of Wagyu steak at Wolfgang Puck’s Beverly Hills restaurant will cost you a whopping $160.
Most Expensive Curry
Bombay Brassiere’s head chef, Prahlad Hegde, expects to sell the dish despite the recession that makes the £2,000—over US $3,200—price tag seem ludicrous to some. Regardless of its success as a standalone dish, the hype surrounding the world’s most expensive curry will undoubtedly bring some new faces to the Brassiere.
Most Expensive Pizza
The 12 inch pizza pie is densely packed with an assortment of some of the world’s most expensive food ingredients, such as lobster marinated in cognac, caviar soaked in champagne, sunblush tomato sauce, Scottish smoked salmon, venison medallions, prosciutto, and vintage balsamic vinegar. In addition to all these fine ingredients, it’s topped with a significant amount of edible 24-carat gold flakes.
Most Expensive Watermelon
Densuke watermelons, a type of black watermelon grown only on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, are usually given as gifts due to their extraordinary rarity. There were only sixty-five of the fruits among the first harvest this season. They are harder and crisper than the watermelons we Americans are used to and, according to Tohma Agricultural Cooperative’s spokesman, they “have a different level of sweetness.”
The largest of the sixty-five Densuke, a twenty-four pound melon, sold for $5,945. It was a seventeen pound melon, however, that was judged the best of the crop and sold at auction for $6,100. As the most expensive watermelon ever sold in Japan, it is likely also the world’s most expensive watermelon.
Most Expensive Cantaloupe
The world’s most expensive cantaloupes are a pair of Yubari melons and were the first auction of the 2008 season. They had previously been judged the best pair and were purchased by the owner of a nearby seafood lunchbox and souvenir business. It had some competition—100 melons grown by farmers from Yubari were also judged.
Yubari, while famous for its sweet and high-quality melons, used to be a coal-mining town. Unfortunately for the 12,500 inhabitants, it went bankrupt last year.
The ¥2.5 million (US $22,872.5) fetched by the most expensive cantaloupes in the world will surely be a help in Yubari’s rehabilitation.
Most Expensive Caviar in the World
The word ‘Almas’ means diamond, a fitting name for the world’s most expensive caviar. This Beluga caviar is white in appearance. The most expensive caviar comes from the Beluga Sturgeon, native to the Caspian Sea. Generally, the lighter the color of Beluga caviar the older the fish is. The word caviar comes from the Persian word “Khag-avar,” meaning “the roe-generator.” In Medieval Russia, caviar was a peasant food, but by the time Shakespeare wrote the famous, “twas caviary to the general,” caviar had gained its association with connoisseurship and luxury. An important fact about caviar is that the older the fish, the more elegant and exquisite is the flavor.
Almas caviar comes from Iran making it extremely rare and extremely expensive. The only known outlet is the Caviar House & Prunier in London England’s Picadilly that sells a kilo of the expensive Almas caviar in a 24-karat gold tin for £16,000, or about $25,000. Coincidentally, it is also where you can find the most expensive meal in Britain. The Caviar House also sells a £800 tin for those on a smaller budget.
Beluga caviar is composed of pea-sized, gray eggs. In general, the lighter the color, the more expensive it is. The grades are: 0 (darkest color), 00 (medium toned), and 000 (lightest color). The 000 grade is the most expensive and is sometimes referred to as “royal caviar”. In terms of texture, royal caviar is often described as rich and silky.
World’s Most Expensive Truffles
Expensive truffles are notoriously pricey because they are difficult to cultivate. This makes them a true delicacy that some have called the king of all fungi.
The Associate Press reported in 2006 that Hong Kong real estate investor Sir Gordon Wu and his wife paid €125,000 (US $160,787) at an annual truffle auction in Grizane, Italy, for a gigantic Italian White Alba truffle, reportedly the most expensive ever. This pricey truffle weighed in at 1.51 kilograms (3.3 lbs).
The matsutake, or mattake, mushroom is expensive because of its rarity. While its historical prevalence meant it was nearly synonymous with autumn in Japan, the introduction of an insect that kills the trees under which the mushroom grows has caused a dramatic decrease in the number of matsutake mushrooms. A method for farming the matsutake has yet to be developed, which means the lack of trees from which to harvest these mushrooms naturally is a serious problem for the species.
The world’s most expensive mushroom can be purchased for around $1,000 per pound, though prices for specific mushrooms may reach up to $2,000 per pound. It is known more for its spiced, fruity aroma than its flavor and is a cherished gift in the Japanese corporate world
Most Expensive Bagel in the World
The most expensive bagel in the world is topped with white truffle cream cheese and goji berry infused Riesling jelly with golden leaves. The bagel’s price is justified when you consider that white truffles happen to be the second most expensive food by weight, eclipsed only by caviar. The underground fungus grows only under specific oak trees in Alba, Italy. Their pheromone-like odor is considered to be an aphrodisiac and is the reason dogs and female pigs are used to hunt the precious truffle.
The goji berries are not to be passed over, either. The richest known source of beta-carotene in the world, the goji berry has a demonstrated ability to jump-start the healing process.
A portion of the proceeds from the world’s most expensive bagel will be donated to the Les Amis d’Escoffier Scholarship in order to benefit current and future culinary students. The bagel’s $1,000 price tag includes tax. It will be available through December 14th.
Most Expensive Omelette
The restaurant at Le Parker Meridien put itself on the map by offering the world’s most expensive omelette, or as they call it, “The Zillion Dollar Frittata”. This absurdly expensive breakfast item consists of a mixture of eggs, lobster and 10 ounces of sevruga caviar (which costs the restaurant $65 per ounce)…and a charge of $1000 on your bill.
For those who want a taste of the expensive omelette but prefer to not eat their money, there is scaled down version available for $100.
On the menu next to the expensive omelet there is a challenge that reads, “Norma dares you to expense this”. The general manager of Norma’s was quoted saying about the most expensive omelette, “Since we knew it was going to be a very expensive dish, we decided to have some fun with it. It’s not just a gimmick, though. It tastes good.”
Most Expensive Steaks
While Wagyu cattle are raised both in and outside Japan, the Kobe varietal which is raised specifically in the Hyogo prefecture is the most elite. Employing the most traditional production methods, Kobe beef comes from cows that are allegedly fed only beer and massaged by hand to ensure a tenderness and marbling beyond compare. These dishes can be out of range for the average restaurateur, carrying an unhealthy load of fat and a price tag to match. An eight ounce cut of Wagyu steak at Wolfgang Puck’s Beverly Hills restaurant will cost you a whopping $160.
Most Expensive Curry
Bombay Brassiere’s head chef, Prahlad Hegde, expects to sell the dish despite the recession that makes the £2,000—over US $3,200—price tag seem ludicrous to some. Regardless of its success as a standalone dish, the hype surrounding the world’s most expensive curry will undoubtedly bring some new faces to the Brassiere.
Most Expensive Pizza
The 12 inch pizza pie is densely packed with an assortment of some of the world’s most expensive food ingredients, such as lobster marinated in cognac, caviar soaked in champagne, sunblush tomato sauce, Scottish smoked salmon, venison medallions, prosciutto, and vintage balsamic vinegar. In addition to all these fine ingredients, it’s topped with a significant amount of edible 24-carat gold flakes.
Most Expensive Watermelon
Densuke watermelons, a type of black watermelon grown only on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, are usually given as gifts due to their extraordinary rarity. There were only sixty-five of the fruits among the first harvest this season. They are harder and crisper than the watermelons we Americans are used to and, according to Tohma Agricultural Cooperative’s spokesman, they “have a different level of sweetness.”
The largest of the sixty-five Densuke, a twenty-four pound melon, sold for $5,945. It was a seventeen pound melon, however, that was judged the best of the crop and sold at auction for $6,100. As the most expensive watermelon ever sold in Japan, it is likely also the world’s most expensive watermelon.
Most Expensive Cantaloupe
The world’s most expensive cantaloupes are a pair of Yubari melons and were the first auction of the 2008 season. They had previously been judged the best pair and were purchased by the owner of a nearby seafood lunchbox and souvenir business. It had some competition—100 melons grown by farmers from Yubari were also judged.
Yubari, while famous for its sweet and high-quality melons, used to be a coal-mining town. Unfortunately for the 12,500 inhabitants, it went bankrupt last year.
The ¥2.5 million (US $22,872.5) fetched by the most expensive cantaloupes in the world will surely be a help in Yubari’s rehabilitation.
Most Expensive Caviar in the World
The word ‘Almas’ means diamond, a fitting name for the world’s most expensive caviar. This Beluga caviar is white in appearance. The most expensive caviar comes from the Beluga Sturgeon, native to the Caspian Sea. Generally, the lighter the color of Beluga caviar the older the fish is. The word caviar comes from the Persian word “Khag-avar,” meaning “the roe-generator.” In Medieval Russia, caviar was a peasant food, but by the time Shakespeare wrote the famous, “twas caviary to the general,” caviar had gained its association with connoisseurship and luxury. An important fact about caviar is that the older the fish, the more elegant and exquisite is the flavor.
Almas caviar comes from Iran making it extremely rare and extremely expensive. The only known outlet is the Caviar House & Prunier in London England’s Picadilly that sells a kilo of the expensive Almas caviar in a 24-karat gold tin for £16,000, or about $25,000. Coincidentally, it is also where you can find the most expensive meal in Britain. The Caviar House also sells a £800 tin for those on a smaller budget.
Beluga caviar is composed of pea-sized, gray eggs. In general, the lighter the color, the more expensive it is. The grades are: 0 (darkest color), 00 (medium toned), and 000 (lightest color). The 000 grade is the most expensive and is sometimes referred to as “royal caviar”. In terms of texture, royal caviar is often described as rich and silky.
World’s Most Expensive Truffles
Expensive truffles are notoriously pricey because they are difficult to cultivate. This makes them a true delicacy that some have called the king of all fungi.
The Associate Press reported in 2006 that Hong Kong real estate investor Sir Gordon Wu and his wife paid €125,000 (US $160,787) at an annual truffle auction in Grizane, Italy, for a gigantic Italian White Alba truffle, reportedly the most expensive ever. This pricey truffle weighed in at 1.51 kilograms (3.3 lbs).
World Record Foods
The world's hottest pepper, the Bhut Jolokia "ghost" chili, can pack up to 10 times more heat than a traditional habañero. Get me a glass of milk!
White truffles are among the world's rarest -- and most expensive -- foods. This 2.6-pound (1.2 kilograms) beauty cost a whopping $111,000 (95,000 euros). All that for a mushroom?!
The world's largest cupcake was made for a good cause -- the 2009 Think Pink Rocks breast cancer benefit concert in Boca Raton, Fla.
You probably can't tell by looking at this photo -- thank goodness -- but researchers at the U.K.'s Cranfield University recently deemed the Vieux Boulogne the world's most pungent cheese.
Why is saffron so expensive? Two words: labor intensity. It takes up to 75,000 crocus flowers to make one pound of the spice. Suddenly, paying $30 for an ounce of the stuff doesn't seem unreasonable, does it?
Sumatra's Kopi Luwak coffee is the world's rarest and most expensive: Only 500 pounds (227 kilograms) are produced each year; it's made from undigested coffee beans swallowed and excreted by a rare cat (the civet) that prowls the area's coffee plantations.
The world's hottest pepper, the Bhut Jolokia "ghost" chili, can pack up to 10 times more heat than a traditional habañero. Get me a glass of milk!
White truffles are among the world's rarest -- and most expensive -- foods. This 2.6-pound (1.2 kilograms) beauty cost a whopping $111,000 (95,000 euros). All that for a mushroom?!
The world's largest cupcake was made for a good cause -- the 2009 Think Pink Rocks breast cancer benefit concert in Boca Raton, Fla.
You probably can't tell by looking at this photo -- thank goodness -- but researchers at the U.K.'s Cranfield University recently deemed the Vieux Boulogne the world's most pungent cheese.
Why is saffron so expensive? Two words: labor intensity. It takes up to 75,000 crocus flowers to make one pound of the spice. Suddenly, paying $30 for an ounce of the stuff doesn't seem unreasonable, does it?
Sumatra's Kopi Luwak coffee is the world's rarest and most expensive: Only 500 pounds (227 kilograms) are produced each year; it's made from undigested coffee beans swallowed and excreted by a rare cat (the civet) that prowls the area's coffee plantations.
Student attitude and building a positive learning culture
Mr Kevin Mackay
Dandenong North Primary School
Dandenong, Victoria, Australia
The Afghani refugee girls who attend my primary school, near Melbourne, in Victoria, have a view of student voice that is quite different to that of their Aussie classmates. For them, being able to say ' Good morning ' at the start of every school day, as they are welcomed into a warm room by a qualified and understanding teacher, is the exercise of real power. In a sense, they now have the ' student voice ' they only dreamed about in Afghanistan.
One eleven year old Afghani boy, now living in Australia, wrote: ' Life compared to here is way different, the lifestyle and everything else. Here you go to school to get educated and become a better person, but in Afghanistan you don ' t have the opportunity to go to school ' .
How do Primary Students Understand ' Student Voice ' ?
A random sample of 11 to 12-year-old girls were asked the following question: ' What if young people thought schools were about them? ' Their replies suggested a belief that they could tell if schools ' were about them ' , because schools ' have teachers ' and ' they ' re teaching ' . ' They are educating me. ' These children believed that the teachers they knew had an ability to know what, and how, they were feeling as individuals. Generally, they felt that their teachers had a sense of what the children wanted to do while they were at school. Importantly, the children in the sample were sure that if schools were indeed about them, the teachers would empathise. In ' childspeak ' , ' they would be worried about you ' .
This perception represents an interesting insight into the manifestation of a ' student voice ' . It is easy to think that this term refers to some democratic arrangement whereby students formally propose ideas and suggestions and then, perhaps, exercise a vote to determine a course of action. However, the concept of a ' student voice ' being the sum of student voices is only part-way to describing this manifestation. It is much more complicated than that. It has been postulated that, overall, ' communication ' comprises only 7% of spoken language, 38% of body language, and a massive 55% by attitude.
The attitudes of students - or even more powerfully, the collective attitude of a student body - has a critical influence on the culture of a school. School improvement is critically dependent upon the student culture.
Do They Really Want to Learn?
When teachers are surveyed on their morale and the organisational health of their school, they are often asked whether or not they think the students ' want to learn ' . The ' wanting to learn ' attitude of students is related to their degree of self-management and their ability to make responsible decisions (both necessary elements of social competence). ' Socially competent ' learning environments depend upon the development of attitudes linked to fairness and inclusiveness between students and students, and students and teachers.
This is the notion of social capital. Social capital for students includes the critical characteristics of social organisations, such as trust, behavioural expectations and relationships that can improve the effectiveness of schools by facilitating shared improvement goals.
The Centrality of Student Attitude
The single most powerful student influence for the improvement of schools is the attitude of the students. In order to bring about school improvement, it is the attitudes of the participants in relation to the need, importance and urgency for change that will be the critical determinant. How, then, can schools undertake to improve social capital by aligning attitudes more closely with the goals and values of a school? This can be done by:
•Creating a ' school ethos ' ;
•Modelling desirable traits;
•Reinforcing and shaping behaviours; and,
•Selecting students.
Creating an ethos . When leaders are being selected to lead schools, one of the most likely interview questions relates to an applicant ' s ' vision ' for the school. The ' vision ' that is enunciated will inevitably refer to the characteristics, spirit or attitudes of the people who are, or will be, part of the school community. What if students were actually represented as part of the selection process for school leaders?
Modelling. The teachers of a school will be emulated by their students in terms of their behaviour. This will include how they relate to each other, how they relate to students, how they align with the stated values of the school, and what their attitudes are in relation to the issues that are important to children. Improve the alignment of teachers ' goals and values with those of the school, and there will be an improvement in the attitude of children towards their learning, and towards each other. What if students were allowed to choose from a short-list of teachers who would teach them?
Reinforcing and shaping. Attitudinal change can be slow and difficult to discern. One of the indirect ways in which attitudes can be discerned is by behaviours exhibited in particular situations or contexts. Inferences can be made, that the observable behaviours are the result of certain ways or habits of thinking. By a positive and conscious process of reinforcing observed behaviours/attitudes that are conducive to the achievement of school goals, the behaviours/attitudes of students can be incrementally ' shaped ' to achieve both an individual and a collective shift.
Selecting students. What if schools selected students who aspired to, or exhibited, behaviours already consistent with the values and goals of the school? The collective attitude of the student cohort could be artificially manipulated to more quickly bring about school improvement change. The more refined and discriminatory the selection process, the more rapid the progress towards the desired school improvement.
Ultimately, good ' schools are those where children are connected and feel that they are part of the school. They belong and feel important. Synergies result when there is a sense of ' team ' , a common purpose or a shared endeavour. This is a situation where the achievement of the team can be greater than could have been expected by aggregating the achievements of the individuals. This group culture building is one of the most important means of achieving school improvement. Any coach of a high-performing team will confirm that aligning the attitudes of team members is key to their motivation, and therefore key to the improvement of their performance.
About the author
Mr Kevin Mackay is Principal of Dandenong North Primary School, in Victoria, Australia. He has been a teacher and principal for more than 40 years. In that time, Mr Mackay has taught in specialist and regular schools, tutored adults enrolled in teacher-education units at Deakin University and published a number of articles in educational periodicals and journals. Dandenong North Primary School won a curriculum innovation award for a student self-esteem development program in 1993. The school caters for a multicultural mix of students, with many ' new arrival ' children who are refugees from Afghanistan and other war-torn countries.
Dandenong North Primary School
Dandenong, Victoria, Australia
The Afghani refugee girls who attend my primary school, near Melbourne, in Victoria, have a view of student voice that is quite different to that of their Aussie classmates. For them, being able to say ' Good morning ' at the start of every school day, as they are welcomed into a warm room by a qualified and understanding teacher, is the exercise of real power. In a sense, they now have the ' student voice ' they only dreamed about in Afghanistan.
One eleven year old Afghani boy, now living in Australia, wrote: ' Life compared to here is way different, the lifestyle and everything else. Here you go to school to get educated and become a better person, but in Afghanistan you don ' t have the opportunity to go to school ' .
How do Primary Students Understand ' Student Voice ' ?
A random sample of 11 to 12-year-old girls were asked the following question: ' What if young people thought schools were about them? ' Their replies suggested a belief that they could tell if schools ' were about them ' , because schools ' have teachers ' and ' they ' re teaching ' . ' They are educating me. ' These children believed that the teachers they knew had an ability to know what, and how, they were feeling as individuals. Generally, they felt that their teachers had a sense of what the children wanted to do while they were at school. Importantly, the children in the sample were sure that if schools were indeed about them, the teachers would empathise. In ' childspeak ' , ' they would be worried about you ' .
This perception represents an interesting insight into the manifestation of a ' student voice ' . It is easy to think that this term refers to some democratic arrangement whereby students formally propose ideas and suggestions and then, perhaps, exercise a vote to determine a course of action. However, the concept of a ' student voice ' being the sum of student voices is only part-way to describing this manifestation. It is much more complicated than that. It has been postulated that, overall, ' communication ' comprises only 7% of spoken language, 38% of body language, and a massive 55% by attitude.
The attitudes of students - or even more powerfully, the collective attitude of a student body - has a critical influence on the culture of a school. School improvement is critically dependent upon the student culture.
Do They Really Want to Learn?
When teachers are surveyed on their morale and the organisational health of their school, they are often asked whether or not they think the students ' want to learn ' . The ' wanting to learn ' attitude of students is related to their degree of self-management and their ability to make responsible decisions (both necessary elements of social competence). ' Socially competent ' learning environments depend upon the development of attitudes linked to fairness and inclusiveness between students and students, and students and teachers.
This is the notion of social capital. Social capital for students includes the critical characteristics of social organisations, such as trust, behavioural expectations and relationships that can improve the effectiveness of schools by facilitating shared improvement goals.
The Centrality of Student Attitude
The single most powerful student influence for the improvement of schools is the attitude of the students. In order to bring about school improvement, it is the attitudes of the participants in relation to the need, importance and urgency for change that will be the critical determinant. How, then, can schools undertake to improve social capital by aligning attitudes more closely with the goals and values of a school? This can be done by:
•Creating a ' school ethos ' ;
•Modelling desirable traits;
•Reinforcing and shaping behaviours; and,
•Selecting students.
Creating an ethos . When leaders are being selected to lead schools, one of the most likely interview questions relates to an applicant ' s ' vision ' for the school. The ' vision ' that is enunciated will inevitably refer to the characteristics, spirit or attitudes of the people who are, or will be, part of the school community. What if students were actually represented as part of the selection process for school leaders?
Modelling. The teachers of a school will be emulated by their students in terms of their behaviour. This will include how they relate to each other, how they relate to students, how they align with the stated values of the school, and what their attitudes are in relation to the issues that are important to children. Improve the alignment of teachers ' goals and values with those of the school, and there will be an improvement in the attitude of children towards their learning, and towards each other. What if students were allowed to choose from a short-list of teachers who would teach them?
Reinforcing and shaping. Attitudinal change can be slow and difficult to discern. One of the indirect ways in which attitudes can be discerned is by behaviours exhibited in particular situations or contexts. Inferences can be made, that the observable behaviours are the result of certain ways or habits of thinking. By a positive and conscious process of reinforcing observed behaviours/attitudes that are conducive to the achievement of school goals, the behaviours/attitudes of students can be incrementally ' shaped ' to achieve both an individual and a collective shift.
Selecting students. What if schools selected students who aspired to, or exhibited, behaviours already consistent with the values and goals of the school? The collective attitude of the student cohort could be artificially manipulated to more quickly bring about school improvement change. The more refined and discriminatory the selection process, the more rapid the progress towards the desired school improvement.
Ultimately, good ' schools are those where children are connected and feel that they are part of the school. They belong and feel important. Synergies result when there is a sense of ' team ' , a common purpose or a shared endeavour. This is a situation where the achievement of the team can be greater than could have been expected by aggregating the achievements of the individuals. This group culture building is one of the most important means of achieving school improvement. Any coach of a high-performing team will confirm that aligning the attitudes of team members is key to their motivation, and therefore key to the improvement of their performance.
About the author
Mr Kevin Mackay is Principal of Dandenong North Primary School, in Victoria, Australia. He has been a teacher and principal for more than 40 years. In that time, Mr Mackay has taught in specialist and regular schools, tutored adults enrolled in teacher-education units at Deakin University and published a number of articles in educational periodicals and journals. Dandenong North Primary School won a curriculum innovation award for a student self-esteem development program in 1993. The school caters for a multicultural mix of students, with many ' new arrival ' children who are refugees from Afghanistan and other war-torn countries.
WHAT INFLUENCES STUDENT ATTITUDES TOWARD A COURSE?
From: Curran, J. M. and Rosen, D. E. (2006). Student attitudes toward college courses: An examination of influences and intentions. Journal of Marketing Education, 28 (2), 135-148.
The first and most obvious answer is the instructor. Much previous research establishes the powerful ways instructors influence how students respond to and in a course. But two researchers wondered if the instructor was the only factor influencing student attitudes. Drawing from work in their discipline, services marketing and management, they extrapolated seven factors that might be significant determinants of student attitudes. Using a complex statistical model, they tested the seven factors and found that four of them explained 77 percent of the variations in attitude toward the course: instructor, course topic, course execution, and the room (physical environment).
They write of these findings: "An important result is that there are significant factors, in addition to the instructor, at work shaping a student's attitude toward a class that he or she may take. The model shows that course topic has just as strong an influence on attitudes as does the instructor." (p. 144) Only required courses were included in the study. They covered topics about which students had a range of interests, from not being interested at all to the course topic being introductory to a major. The researchers point out that if the subject matter of a course influences how students relate to a course, then their level of interest ought to be acknowledged as a contributing factor on course evaluations. At this time most course evaluations focus exclusively on instructor-related variables.
Equally interesting in this work are those other factors not found to influence student attitudes toward courses. For example, the student him- or herself was not found to significantly contribute toward attitude about the course. The researchers explain why they were surprised by this finding. "Given the emphasis some educators place on encouraging students to take ownership of their education, it was surprising to find that, overall, this group of students did not see themselves as being instrumental in shaping their own education experience." (p. 146) What the findings confirm is that students (at least those in this cohort) do not understand that they are at least partially responsible for what happens to them in courses. It seems to reconfirm the extremely passive orientation many students take toward knowledge acquisition.
Also surprising was that fact that other students were not seen as a factor influencing student attitudes. This means that "educators cannot assume that students will automatically appreciate the value of the diverse student population that takes a given college course together."
Finally, in a follow-up analysis that explored some of the factors related to course execution (which these researchers defined as overall design and conduct of the course), there was confirmation for some facts about participation many of us have observed in our individual classrooms. "Students in classes where participation was expected and graded were significantly more likely to prepare for class, attend class, and commit to excellence. Students in those classes where participation was emphasized were also significantly more likely to value the contributions that other students make to their learning experiences."
The first and most obvious answer is the instructor. Much previous research establishes the powerful ways instructors influence how students respond to and in a course. But two researchers wondered if the instructor was the only factor influencing student attitudes. Drawing from work in their discipline, services marketing and management, they extrapolated seven factors that might be significant determinants of student attitudes. Using a complex statistical model, they tested the seven factors and found that four of them explained 77 percent of the variations in attitude toward the course: instructor, course topic, course execution, and the room (physical environment).
They write of these findings: "An important result is that there are significant factors, in addition to the instructor, at work shaping a student's attitude toward a class that he or she may take. The model shows that course topic has just as strong an influence on attitudes as does the instructor." (p. 144) Only required courses were included in the study. They covered topics about which students had a range of interests, from not being interested at all to the course topic being introductory to a major. The researchers point out that if the subject matter of a course influences how students relate to a course, then their level of interest ought to be acknowledged as a contributing factor on course evaluations. At this time most course evaluations focus exclusively on instructor-related variables.
Equally interesting in this work are those other factors not found to influence student attitudes toward courses. For example, the student him- or herself was not found to significantly contribute toward attitude about the course. The researchers explain why they were surprised by this finding. "Given the emphasis some educators place on encouraging students to take ownership of their education, it was surprising to find that, overall, this group of students did not see themselves as being instrumental in shaping their own education experience." (p. 146) What the findings confirm is that students (at least those in this cohort) do not understand that they are at least partially responsible for what happens to them in courses. It seems to reconfirm the extremely passive orientation many students take toward knowledge acquisition.
Also surprising was that fact that other students were not seen as a factor influencing student attitudes. This means that "educators cannot assume that students will automatically appreciate the value of the diverse student population that takes a given college course together."
Finally, in a follow-up analysis that explored some of the factors related to course execution (which these researchers defined as overall design and conduct of the course), there was confirmation for some facts about participation many of us have observed in our individual classrooms. "Students in classes where participation was expected and graded were significantly more likely to prepare for class, attend class, and commit to excellence. Students in those classes where participation was emphasized were also significantly more likely to value the contributions that other students make to their learning experiences."
Langgan:
Catatan (Atom)