Final Fantasy XIV (ファイナルファンタジーXIV, Fainaru Fantajī Fōtīn?), also known as Final Fantasy XIV Online, is the fourteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series, due for release on September 30, 2010 for Microsoft Windows and March 2011 for PlayStation 3. The game is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game and is developed and published by Square Enix. The game takes place in a land called Hydaelyn, mainly in a region named Eorzea, which will have a contemporaneously aesthetic blend of science fiction and classic fantasy elements. The game will be released in Japanese, English, French, and German.
The first stage of alpha testing began on March 11, 2010. This was announced at VanaFest 2010, an event to commemorate the eighth year of Final Fantasy XI. The second stage of alpha testing began on June 10, 2010. The PlayStation 3 release of Final Fantasy XIII contained a key for a chance to access a beta, to be held later in the year. Beta testing officially started on July 13th, 2010.
The "Standard Edition" PC version is due to be released on September 30, 2010, while the "Collector's Edition" is set for release a week earlier, on September 22, 2010. The PS3 version is dated for March 2011.
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), alongside pointman Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are on an extraction mission within the mind of powerful businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe); a form of corporate espionage through dreams. Extractors enter their mark's dream, with architects constructing the world, all sleeping in close proximity connected by a sedative administering device. Cobb carries a spinning top which either spins unceasingly or topples to determine whether he is dreaming or awake, respectively. The mission is aborted when Saito reveals he is auditioning the team to perform the act of inception, which is using dreams to implant an idea.
The target is Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), son of Saito's terminally ill corporate rival, Maurice Fischer (Pete Postlethwaite). The objective is to convince Fischer to break up his father's empire. Cobb recruits Eames (Tom Hardy), a forger who can change appearance inside dreams, Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a sedative chemist, and Ariadne (Ellen Page), a student whom he and Arthur train as their new architect. Due to the plan involving multiple dreams within each other and stronger sedatives, death will not awaken the person but send them into limbo, where their mind will be stuck for an indeterminate amount of time. Cobb's mind is continually haunted by his deceased wife Mal (Marion Cotillard), who sabotages his missions, and he reveals to Ariadne that he spent years in limbo with her as they constructed a world together. After waking, Mal remained convinced that they were still dreaming and committed suicide, trying to persuade Cobb to join her by incriminating him in her death. Cobb refused and was forced to flee the U.S. and his children to avoid murder charges. In return for the mission, Saito promises to clear the charges and reunite Cobb with his children.
When the elder Fischer dies in Sydney, Saito and the team share the flight with Robert Fischer back to Los Angeles and drug him. They enter a dream, a rainy downtown area, and kidnap him. However, they come under attack by his trained mental projections, and Saito is badly injured. Eames changes into Peter Browning (Tom Berenger), Fischer's godfather, to extract information from him. They then enter a van and sleep into the second dream, a hotel, where the team makes Fischer believe that the kidnapping on the first level was orchestrated by Browning and that he must enter his godfather's mind to determine his motives. They in fact enter deeper into Fischer's subconscious, a snowy mountain fortress, which he must break into to reveal the planted idea. To wake and protect the team, a member stays behind at each level with timed kicks: Yusuf driving the van off a bridge, Arthur smashing an elevator containing the bodies upwards and Eames with explosives in the mountain fortress.
Fischer is killed by Mal and goes into limbo, so Ariadne and Cobb follow him down and confront her. There Mal attempts to convince Cobb to stay in limbo by making him question reality, referring to events that occurred while he was awake. Cobb reveals that he planted the idea in Mal's mind to wake, making him indirectly responsible for her suicide. She attacks him, but Ariadne shoots her. Cobb remains in limbo to locate a now dead Saito while Fischer and Ariadne return to the mountain fortress where Fischer comes to the conclusion that his father wanted him to be his own man. Cobb eventually locates an aged Saito and then wakes on the plane to find everyone up and well. Saito honors their arrangement; Cobb enters the United States and finally returns home to his children. Cobb spins his top to test reality, but is distracted by the reunion.
It's being reported that the face of Jesus has been revealed. For years and centuries we've seen His face adorning hundreds of prints and paintings - some of which might adorn the walls of your home or office, but now it's time to see His real face. Skeptical? Then read on.
So, how exactly did they do this? They took the controversial Shroud Of Turin and used the imprint on that and some computer imaging to come up with this: The face of Jesus.
Of course this has stirred controversy and mixed opinions from "I see love, I see compassion, I see my savior" to "He's hot!" (I kid you not on that last one.)So, what do you think? Is this the face of Jesus looking out at us?
Earth Hour @ Sunway. Copyright photo courtesy of Chong Mei Zhi. Public response is so-so.
Earth Hour @Genting Kelang, Setapak (Kuala Lumpur) Public response is so-so.
Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.
Earth Hour was conceived by WWF and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. Following Sydney's lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008. Earth Hour 2010 took place on March 27, 2010 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at the participant's respective local time.
Yasmin Ahmad passed away on the 25th of July 2009 at the age of 51.
Yasmin was an internationally renowned filmmaker. Her TV commercials won multiple awards throughout the world. Her feature films were screened or competed in international film festivals such as San Francisco, Berlin, Hong Kong, Singapore and Busan. In 2006, Tokyo International Film Festival honored her by featuring all her films in a special retrospective program. Her hitherto most popular feature film – ‘Sepet’ – became an instant classic of Malaysian cinema when it was released in 2004. Often based on recurring themes of youthful love in the face racial or religious intolerance, Yasmin’s films were occasionally controversial, often thought provoking, but always beautiful and humane. Deeply loved for her vivacious personality as much as her humanistic vision of Malaysia, an entire nation mourned when she died. Yasmin was the most important filmmaker in Malaysia for generations. She is missed by millions of Malaysians.
