SACREDLY AGNEZIOUS - AGNES MONICA

Perhaps this is one of the most anticipated album after Peterpan's Hari Yang Cerah (2007) which was released in a gap of more than one year than previous album, plus they took almost a year hiatus during that time. Sacredly Agnezious is released nearly 3.5 years after Agnes' second album. The first single was introduced one year ago and the album name was announced several months after. This album also her remarks as a song composer, where she never did in before.

Background

I remembered Indo's VJ Daniel mentioned many times during June/July 2008 in MTV Ampuh that Agnes was working on two albums, one indonesian and one international, in which she would be the producer, first breakthrough for her. In August finally she officially announced title of her new album, and surprisingly, there was no updated information about the album, till March 2009.

First new song revealed is 'Matahariku', as soundtrack for her TV serial in early 2008. Being surprised that the song got so high popularity that reached ringbacktone number of around 1 million, the label company immediately produced an MV for the song, resulted in her simplest video so far. Second single is 'Godai Aku Lagi'. The main difference from 'Matahariku' is that GAL was released as the expected strongest song in the new album, not by chance. The MV was released in August'08 and together with 'Matahariku', both songs are released as a single titled 'NEZ'. This single also remarked that her album was postponed without any valid reasons.

Tracklist:

1. Godai Aku Lagi
Agnes' first own composed song. I listened to this song firstly around late July/early August '08 from radio. First impression was, 'what song is this?!#$%@ '. However later I found that the melody is so catchy and strong enough. I think the song might be better if the whole main background music was Pop-R&B instead of electro/disco/Hip-Hop, because this kind of music will not get into Indonesian music, at all, ever. I love the song more after the video was created. It's cool but the problem is, am I watching a few seconds of Rihanna here??

2. Janji Janji
Simply love it. The only song that reminds me of her previous album. The rests are new styles. I hope this will be the 4th single. Sadly this is rather disappointed that in this album there is no huge upbeat song like 'Bilang Saja' or 'Tak Ada Logika'.



3. Hanya Menunggu
Electro/HipHop genre which is now so popular in the US. Actually there are several genres in this song. I get bored in the middle. The ending gets interesting though. But, hey I hear 'baby boy' in the end, it's Beyonce's trademark, but okay whatever. Weakest upbeat song in this album, but not that bad.

4. Teruskanlah
3rd single. Its music video was released together with the album. I love the high pitch in the last reff. Nothing interesting actually.

5. Coz I Love You
Most beautiful , relaxing song in the album, in terms of music, lyric, and voice. She sang this so softly that the first verse reminds me of Sherina lol. I wish either this or 'Rapuh' will be the next ballad single. She composed the song together with Sandy, but I guess the main melody was done by Sandy.

6. A. G. N. E. Z
Interesting song. So much English used here. Although composed together with Yudis, I guess she wrote the whole lyric. I am wondering who a rapper featuring in this song is. Album Launching (April 1, 2009)

7. Berlebihan
Another Sandy's composition, but somehow I get bored for first one minute. The rest is so nice. Maybe because I do not like jazzy song lol. Nothing special for me in this song except her vocal performance. As the title says, it's a six-minutes length song!!

8. Matahariku
Absolutely the best ballad, personally I think her best ballad ever as well as her best performance for any ballads. I wonder how come the label could not predict this song to be a huge hit. They did the video so instant. Although she appears beautifully, this song reserved much better quality video than that. Her vocal here is very dynamic. Sometimes I think it's too much. I don't know it's a good sign or bad, but for me it's perfect. I think she recorded this song many times, and the result is perfect, but she herself cannot sing this song live that dynamic. Love the intro, verse, chorus, interlude, and perfect ending. Just perfect. Surprise!! The composer is a new comer in the industry...

9. Shake It Off
Bali!!!! Yeah I imagined Balinese culture everytime listening to this song, makes me want to go there one day T_T. Sang (no, lipsync actually) first time in October'08 Asia Song Festival in South Korea, she showed another self-composed song by her. Maybe a new innovation. She mentioned it's a mix of many genres. For me, Erwin Gutawa's arrangement affects it more pop than should be, although his arrangement is extremely great. The music sounds using many traditional instruments. First part of the lyric is Indonesian, followed by English in the rest. I wish this is the 4th single, but because of too many English used, I doubt it will. My only problem is, what is the meaning/message of this song???

10. Rapuh
As predicted. this song is so great. No one wondering if they know the composer is Badai 'Kerispatih'.

There are another 3 songs for intro-interlude-outro.

As conclusion, does the album worth 3 years ++ of anticipation?

BLACKBERRY STORM

Blackberry Storm: A great BlackBerry for work and play, and ideal if you don’t fancy the specced up Bold or the Storm



While today’s slew of touch phones are all striving to emulate the iPhone’s fluid multi-touch magic – the Android-powered T-Mobile G1 is the closet yet – BlackBerry creator RIM has approached the touchscreen concept from a completely different angle. The manufacturer’s debut smartphone, the Storm, is the first handset to feature fully clickable touchscreen technology.

Surely, a clickable touchscreen is a paradox of sorts, but it works exactly how you’d imagine it. Your finger can happily graze the display and the new BlackBerry Bold-styled menu system without inadvertently setting it off. Once you’ve highlighted a selection, you press down on the screen and wait for the mechanised click.

Right click
Oddly, it works brilliantly, its success down to the reassurance that brushing the display won’t result in volley of expletives while those of us weaned on a mechanised world can still find the comfort in a resounding click from a touch phone.

The phone itself is populates the heavyweight end of the touch-phone family, roughly a little shorter than the pocket-denting HTC Touch HD. It’s a price to pay for an expansive 3.25in but while not as stunning as the Touch HD’s gigantic WVGA eye-popper, it’s still perfectly geared for a seamless internet surfing experience.
The web browser lets you toggle between page fit and full-fat web view, using your fingers to deftly scroll through and around pages. A quick double-click will zoom in while pressing the escape key pans outs again.

What, no Wi-Fi?
With HSPDA download speeds on tap, web pages load pretty quickly, although the absence of Wi-Fi is frankly bewildering. The more cynical will see this as a ploy by the networks to rack in the data charges but whatever the reason a phone of this stature should have the latest wireless technology onboard.

The Storm also features some of the best virtual keyboards we’ve thumbed. Of course, the clickable screen helps but its responsive accelerometers let you easily switch between SureType and standard phone layouts in portrait view or full spacious QWERTY in landscape mode. The keypads are so slick, typos were almost non-existent.

App store open for business
Elsewhere, RIM has opened its doors to its Application Center, so Storm owners can download apps and software. Right now, it’s light on content, with usual suspects like Facebook, Google Maps, leading IM clients, YouTube and Flickr apps filling up the shelves. But with its SDK kit available to third-party developers, expect some weird and wonderful apps to appear soon.

With the exception of its efficient built-in GPS receiver and support for A-GPS, the rest of the Storm’s feature list is a little underwhelming. The autofocus-led 3.2MP snapper is decent enough but we expect a 5MP at the very least.

Similarly, the integrated 3.5mm headphone jack is nice touch but the music player, although festooned with bass audio boosters, still sounds a little muddy, even with your quality earphones plugged in. And we’ve gone the whole review without mentioning its peerless push email set-up. But then you already know the score there.

The Storm’s canny clickable touchscreen makes it one of the less irksome touch phones to paw and it no doubt represents the BlackBerry Holy Grail for hardcore fans. But for the rest of us, had RIM fitted Wi-Fi and spent closer attention to its other features we would have fallen for the BlackBerry Storm, rather than just admiring it.



credits: www.stuff.tv

THE SOLOIST

Genres: Drama Musical
Running time: 1hr 57min
Release: April 24th 2009
Starting: Jamie Fox, Nelsan Illis, etc

Description:

Journalist Steve Lopez discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers , a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives.

MANAGEMENT

Genres: Comedy and Drama
Running: 1hr 33min
Release: may 15th 2009
Starting: Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, etc

Description:

Mike Cranshaw and Sue Claussen have a chance encounter when Sue checks into the roadside motel owned by Mike's parents in Arizona. What starts with a bottle of wine "compliments of management" soon evolves into a multi-layered, cross-country journey of two people looking for a sense of purpose. Mike, an aimless dreamer, bets it all on a trip to Sue's workplace in Maryland – only to find that she has no place for him in her carefully ordered life. Buttoned down and obsessed with making a difference in the world, Sue goes back to her yogurt mogul ex-boyfriend Jango, who promises her a chance to head his charity operations. But, having found something worth fighting for, Mike pits his hopes against Sue's practicality, and the two embark on a twisted, bumpy, freeing journey to discover that their place in the world just might be together.


credits: www.yahoo.com

GENITAL HERPES

What is genital herpes?

Genital herpes is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The disease can be bothersome. But if you are a healthy adult, you do not need to worry that it will cause serious problems.

Most people never have symptoms, or the symptoms are so mild that people do not know that they are infected. But in some people, the disease causes occasional outbreaks of itchy and painful sores in the genital area.

After the first outbreak, the herpes virus stays in the nerve cells below the skin and becomes inactive. It usually becomes active again from time to time, traveling back up to the skin and causing more sores. Things like stress, illness, a new sex partner, or menstruation may trigger a new outbreak. As time goes on, the outbreaks happen less often, heal faster, and don't hurt as much.
What causes genital herpes?

Genital herpes is caused by a virus—either the herpes simplex virus type 1 or the herpes simplex virus type 2. Either virus can cause sores on the lips (cold sores) and sores on the genitals. Type 1 more often causes cold sores, while type 2 more often causes genital sores.

You are more likely to get genital herpes if you:
Have more than one sex partner.
Have a high-risk partner (someone who has more than one sex partner or someone who has genital herpes).
Have unprotected sex (without condoms).
Have sex before age 18.
Have an impaired immune system.
Are a woman. Women are more likely than men to get infected.
What are the symptoms?

Symptoms can vary greatly from person to person. Most people never have any symptoms, or the symptoms are so mild that they may not notice them.

Some people have outbreaks of itchy and painful blisters on the penis or around the opening of the vagina. The blisters rupture and turn into oozing shallow sores that take up to 3 weeks to heal. Sometimes people, especially women, also have flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, and muscle aches. They may also notice an abnormal discharge and pain when they urinate.

Once you have been exposed to genital herpes, it takes 2 to 14 days to have your first outbreak.

Genital herpes infections can be severe in people with impaired immune systems, such as people with HIV.
How is genital herpes diagnosed?

Your doctor may diagnose genital herpes by examining you. He or she may ask you questions about your symptoms and your risk factors, which are things that make you more likely to get a disease.

If this is your first outbreak, your doctor may take a sample of tissue from the sore for testing. Testing can help the doctor be sure that you have herpes. You may also have a blood test.
How is it treated?

Although there is no cure, medicine can relieve pain and itching and help sores heal faster. If you have a lot of outbreaks, you may take medicine every day to keep the number of outbreaks down.

After the first outbreak, some people have just a few more outbreaks over their lifetime, while others may have 4 to 6 outbreaks a year. Usually the number of outbreaks decreases after a few years.

Treatment works best if it is started as soon as possible after the start of an outbreak. This is especially true for outbreaks that come back again and again.

Finding out that you have herpes may cause you to feel bad about yourself or about sex. Counseling or a support group may help you feel better.
Can genital herpes be prevented?

The only sure way to keep from getting genital herpes—or any other sexually transmitted disease (STD)—is to not have sex. If you do have sex, practice safe sex.
Before you start a sexual relationship, talk with your partner about STDs. Find out whether he or she is at risk for them. Remember that a person can be infected without knowing it.
If you have symptoms of an STD, don't have sex.
Don't have sex with anyone who has symptoms or who may have been exposed to an STD.
Don't have more than one sexual relationship at a time. Having several sex partners increases your risk for disease.
Use condoms. Condom use lowers the risk of spreading or becoming infected with an STD.
Don't receive oral sex from partners who have cold sores.

Taking medicine for herpes may lower the number of outbreaks you have and lower the chances that you will infect your partner.

If you are pregnant, you should take extra care to avoid getting infected. You could pass the infection to your baby during delivery, which can cause serious problems for your newborn. If you have an outbreak near your due date, you probably will need to have your baby by cesarean section. If your genital herpes outbreaks return again and again, your doctor may talk to you about medicines that can help prevent an outbreak during pregnancy.

Vaccines that can prevent a genital herpes infection are not available yet, but several are being studied.



credits: www.yahoo.com

SWINE FLU

BEIJING (AFP) - China ramped up efforts to contain swine flu and awaited confirmation Wednesday of a second suspected case on the mainland, as the number of infections worldwide soared past the 5,000 mark.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Tuesday more than 5,250 cases had been reported in 30 nations, around half of them -- including three deaths -- in the United States.

More than 2,000 other cases are in Mexico, the origin of the outbreak where the WHO has confirmed 56 fatalities and national authorities reported a further two.

Cuba, Finland and Thailand reported their first cases Tuesday while Canada said the virus, officially known as influenza A(H1N1), had reached the Yukon Territory in its far north, which traverses the Arctic Circle.

China has ordered heightened nationwide flu vigilance and urged anyone who travelled on the train or plane with the second suspected case to report in.

The 19-year-old student boarded the train to Jinan despite having a strong fever, the health ministry said, and alerted local authorities who picked him up on arrival.

Earlier, an official with the Beijing municipal health authority told AFP 78 foreigners were among those quarantined at a hotel in the capital for seven days.

"We are faced with even more serious challenges now," Vice Health Minister Ma Xiaowei was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Mexico began pumping one billion dollars of emergency cash into its economy as officials there revealed tourist cancellations had forced 25 hotels in and around the resort of Cancun to close.

Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said the epidemic in Mexico appeared to be waning. "Tourist destinations are safe in Mexico, people can return calmly, we are carrying out intensive checks," he added.

However, a report by a WHO pandemic assessment team estimates 23,000 people were infected in Mexico, while US officials said their numbers were also just the tip of the iceberg.

Most of the cases have been treatable with antiviral drugs, and Swiss drugs giant Roche said it was donating 5.65 million treatment courses of Tamiflu -- although a WHO expert said the virus was developing resistance.

Meanwhile, four countries -- Ecuador, Honduras, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates -- lifted restrictions on Mexican pork imports applied after the outbreak of A(H1N1), Mexico's economy ministry said Tuesday.

China and Russia are among others to have suspended pork imports from some swine flu-affected nations, although the WHO and others say there is no evidence the meat is a source of infection.

The Japanese women's football team cancelled three friendly matches in the United States and Canada because of swine flu fears.

On a brighter note, a 25-year-old Spanish woman recovering from flu -- it was not immediately clear what strain she contracted -- emerged from her sick bed to claim a record 126 million euros (172 million dollars) in a lottery.

credit: www.yahoo.com