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.
The beautiful view that will make you feel comfortable and rest free.
Khamis, 12 Mei 2011
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
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.
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."
Writing a College Entrance Essay
Writing a College Entrance Essay is a Must in College Admission Process
Writing a college entrance essay is a must for students when applying for admission to a college. College entrance essay is a requirement in the college entrance application process. Students are required to write an essay on a topic given by the college or a topic selected by the student as an answer to a question asked by the college. The topics and the questions are designed so that the responses can help the selection committee members to evaluate the students’ character traits, choices, preferences and viewpoints.
Topics for Writing College Entrance Essay
Selection of a topic for the college entrance essay also called college admission essay can become a difficult task because of the diversity of topics and the essay questions given by the colleges. But the purpose of giving essay topics and writing the essays is the same. The students have to select topics that are helpful for them to show their suitability to be admitted to the college they are applying. Most of the topics are for the students to reflect on themselves. Students shall use this type of topics to write a personal narrative essay highlighting their good attributes relevant to the program they are applying for.
Examples of College Entrance Essay Questions
Before writing a college entrance essay students can learn about the type of essay questions and the topics given by the colleges. They can gain knowledge to select their admission essay topic by looking at the essay topics and the essay questions given by some of the colleges. Here are some essay questions used by some of the colleges you may be planning to apply for.
1. What have you undertaken or done on your own in the last year or two that has nothing to do with academic work? (Northwestern)
2. Tell us about the neighborhood that you grew up in and how it helped shape you into the kind of person you are today. (Yale and the University of Chicago)
3. Read Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Drawing upon personal experience, write a creative, reflective or provocative essay. (Notre Dame)
4. Evaluate a significant experience or achievement that has special meaning to you. (Harvard)
5. Tell us about the most embarrassing moment of your life. (Santa Clara University)
What Shouldn’t be Done when Writing the College Entrance Essay
The students should avoid writing the obvious and also repetitive words and contents. They shouldn’t write vague statements like helping the people, doing a service to the world etc. There should be specific examples and clarity of what student expect to communicate. When writing the entrance essay the students can avoid controversial topics. In the same way, judgemental ideas on religious, political and ethnic fervor should be avoided. Students shall show their best face, but it may be very disadvantageous to overplay it. The tone of the essay should not be arrogant and self centered.
Get Essay Help to Write a Winning College Entrance Essay
Though the college entrance essay has to be written by the students stating their personal experiences, opinions and the viewpoints students can get help from professional essay writing services in writing a college entrance essay. Students can enlist college essay writing help from a good writing service and even buy custom essays written as per their instructions and assignment requirements.
Top 15 Most Popular Blogs | May 2011
Here are the 15 Most Popular Blogs as derived from our eBizMBA Rank which is an average of each website's Alexa Global Traffic Rank, and U.S. Traffic Rank from both Compete and Quantcast."*#*" Denotes an estimated Quantcast rank for websites yet to be Quantified.
1. Huffington Post
67 - eBizMBA Rank | 35,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 53 - Compete Rank | 26 - Quantcast Rank | 122 - Alexa Rank.
2. TMZ
228 - eBizMBA Rank | 17,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 220 - Compete Rank | 57 - Quantcast Rank | 407 - Alexa Rank.
3. Engadget
479 - eBizMBA Rank | 11,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 808 - Compete Rank | *250* - Quantcast Rank | 378 - Alexa Rank
4. PerezHilton
570 - eBizMBA Rank | 9,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 882 - Compete Rank | 251 - Quantcast Rank | 577 - Alexa Rank.
5. Gizmodo
575 - eBizMBA Rank | 8,900,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,103 - Compete Rank | 150 - Quantcast Rank | 472 - Alexa Rank.
6. Mashable
579 - eBizMBA Rank | 7,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 803 - Compete Rank | 612 - Quantcast Rank | 323 - Alexa Rank
7. Tech Crunch
615 - eBizMBA Rank | 6,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 607 - Compete Rank | *860* - Quantcast Rank | 377 - Alexa Rank.
8. Gawker
776 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,005 - Compete Rank | 458 - Quantcast Rank | 866 - Alexa Rank.
9.Lifehacker
860 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,400,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,298 - Compete Rank | 463 - Quantcast Rank | 819 - Alexa Rank
10. The Daily Beast
928 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,350,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 851 - Compete Rank | 299 - Quantcast Rank | 1,633 - Alexa Rank.
11. Smashing Magazine
967 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,325,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,142 - Compete Rank | *990* - Quantcast Rank | 768 - Alexa Rank.
12. Fail Blog
1,001 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,300,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,417 - Compete Rank | 549 - Quantcast Rank | 1,038 - Alexa Rank
13. Kotaku
1,217 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,200,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,875 - Compete Rank | 584 - Quantcast Rank | 1,192 - Alexa Rank
14. Business Insider
1,312 - eBizMBA Rank | 2,100,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,382 - Compete Rank | 1,127 - Quantcast Rank | 1,427 - Alexa Rank
15. Boing boing
,387 - eBizMBA Rank | 2,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,466 - Compete Rank | 911 - Quantcast Rank | 1,784 - Alexa Rank.
1. Huffington Post
67 - eBizMBA Rank | 35,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 53 - Compete Rank | 26 - Quantcast Rank | 122 - Alexa Rank.
228 - eBizMBA Rank | 17,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 220 - Compete Rank | 57 - Quantcast Rank | 407 - Alexa Rank.
479 - eBizMBA Rank | 11,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 808 - Compete Rank | *250* - Quantcast Rank | 378 - Alexa Rank
570 - eBizMBA Rank | 9,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 882 - Compete Rank | 251 - Quantcast Rank | 577 - Alexa Rank.
575 - eBizMBA Rank | 8,900,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,103 - Compete Rank | 150 - Quantcast Rank | 472 - Alexa Rank.
579 - eBizMBA Rank | 7,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 803 - Compete Rank | 612 - Quantcast Rank | 323 - Alexa Rank
615 - eBizMBA Rank | 6,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 607 - Compete Rank | *860* - Quantcast Rank | 377 - Alexa Rank.
776 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,005 - Compete Rank | 458 - Quantcast Rank | 866 - Alexa Rank.
860 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,400,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,298 - Compete Rank | 463 - Quantcast Rank | 819 - Alexa Rank
928 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,350,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 851 - Compete Rank | 299 - Quantcast Rank | 1,633 - Alexa Rank.
967 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,325,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,142 - Compete Rank | *990* - Quantcast Rank | 768 - Alexa Rank.
1,001 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,300,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,417 - Compete Rank | 549 - Quantcast Rank | 1,038 - Alexa Rank
1,217 - eBizMBA Rank | 4,200,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,875 - Compete Rank | 584 - Quantcast Rank | 1,192 - Alexa Rank
1,312 - eBizMBA Rank | 2,100,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,382 - Compete Rank | 1,127 - Quantcast Rank | 1,427 - Alexa Rank
,387 - eBizMBA Rank | 2,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,466 - Compete Rank | 911 - Quantcast Rank | 1,784 - Alexa Rank.
Amazing waterfront estate on Newport Beach, California
This beautiful residence sits on more than 10,000 sq-ft of land on the finest waterfront parcel on Newport Beach, California overlooking the widest expanse of the bay. A private motor court and sun-filled garden entry courtyard lead to this impressive, classically modern residence which has wonderful views of the harbor.
On the waterside, the house opens to big view terraces, tropical gardens and a broad lawn running to the water’s edge. The residence has a magnificent two story entry gallery, spacious living, dining and family areas, an entertaining bar, a covered loggia enclosed by retractable glass panels, a chic study with courtyard views, a gourmet kitchen and breakfast room, an stylish master suite with sitting room, sleeping room, dressing areas, a service bar and a private covered terrace overlooking the harbor and five more bedroom suites.
But that’s not all.. because this extraordinary estate also has a separate guesthouse with all the requisite amenities, proper service areas and a four car garage. The property also features the most outstanding private dock facilities on this bay. A single yacht of up to 156 feet in length can be accommodated in addition to multiple smaller boats and watercraft.
If that’s enough to make you want this dream home, all we can say is that it’s listed for sale for “just” $28,500,000
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