The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM) joins hands with The U.S. Embassy to present USA Fair 2009-Clean & Green, where top American brands will be displaying and selling their products and services. The annual event, under the theme “Clean & Green”, will be held on 19-22 November 2009 at Royal Paragon Hall on the 5th floor of Siam Paragon Shopping Complex. Well-known model Sirinya Bishop will also attend the event as the fair’s Ambassador for this year, accompanied by the event’s mascot, Mr. Clean & Green Fair Bear.
To celebrate the success of eco-friendly businesses, AMCHAM in association with Amway (Thailand) Limited, American International Assurance Company, Limited – Thailand (AIA Thailand), Coca-Cola (Thailand) Limited, Dow Chemical Thailand Limited, and Ford Sales & Service (Thailand) Co., Ltd. will hold the USA Fair 2009-Clean & Green. Participants will learn about climate control policy as introduced by US president Barack Obama, and many other interesting ‘Clean & Green’ ideas such as an organic farm practicing natural way to control pests and diseases, the process of clean and green chemistry, activities about science and education, green car with a class-leading fuel-efficient technologies, and other environmentally-friendly projects.
Mr. David Carden, AMCHAM President said “This year, we are excited to pursue under the Obama Administration, the U.S. policies energy and environment to advance energy and climate securities to promote economic recovery efforts, accelerate job creation, and drive clean energy manufacturing.”
Mr. Preecha Prakobkit, Managing Director of Amway (Thailand) Limited said “Amway has been an AMCHAM member for 22 years and has been supporting the USA Fair for 4 years in a row. Amway realizes that the fair always offers quality products and activities which benefits both people and society. This idea is really compatible with the policy of Amway, especially the theme of the fair this year ‘Clean and Green’ which helps promote the environmental friendly and corporate social responsibility projects to which Amway also commits. Amway would like to take this great opportunity to present our organic farm practicing natural way to control pests and diseases, no-animal tested products, recycle packages which are all environmental-friendly and consumer-oriented at the same time. Please come and visit us at our organic farm model where visitors could learn about sustainability and environmental friendly farming methods with a lot of souvenirs to giveaway and interesting activities for you to join at Amway booth.”
Mr. Michael Parker, Chief Marketing Officer of American International Assurance Company, Limited – Thailand (AIA Thailand) said, “AIA Thailand has been operating life insurance business in Thailand for more than 70 years. We think of ourselves as innovators but in line with sustainability and longevity. One of AIA Thailand’s core policies is to instill a “Think Green” concept to our people both at work and at home. At work, we engage our people in energy saving and reducing the environmental impact of our business operations, particularly through reduced electricity and paper usage. Our “Operation Green” concept centers on targeting new ways that high technology can result in smarter and more efficient process. The adoption of Imaging and Workflow technology and e-Worksheet are examples of Operation Green projects which save time, office materials and energy.
AIA Thailand also organizes Green Activities by bringing AIA Smile Volunteers, our employee volunteer program, to be Green Ambassadors in reforestation projects. We also invite AIA staff to initiate Green Projects that can better the environment and address climate change through our Be Green with AIA project.”
Mr. Jorge Garduno, General Manager of Coca-Cola (Thailand) Limited said "Coca-Cola is delighted to once again sponsor the USA Fair in support of strong ties between the Kingdom of Thailand and the USA. We're particularly pleased to support the 'Clean and Green' theme of this year's Fair given its fit with our sustainability focus at Coca-Cola. From community water projects to multi-year recycling initiatives, we are committed to making a positive difference in the world by making sustainability part of everything we do."
Dr. Molly Peifang Zhang, Country Manager of Dow Chemical Thailand Limited added "Our 2015 sustainability goals focus on Sustainable Chemistry, Breakthroughs to World Challenges, Energy Efficiency, Addressing Climate Change, Contributing to Community Success, Product Safety Leadership, and Local Protection of Human Health and the Environment. Connecting chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability supports Dow's vision to be to be the largest, most profitable, most respected chemical company in the world. In our booth, we will show how clean and green chemical processes can be and how chemical products are essential to human progress. We will also have a science and education zone with activities and games about science."
Mr. Saroj Kiatfuengfoo, Senior Vice President, Ford Thailand said "Ford is committed to our global vision of sustainable mobility. This is being supported, in part, by Ford's innovative fuel-efficient technologies like our Powershift transmission technology that the Ford Focus TDCi Powershift is equipped with. The six-speed Powershift transmission and commonrail Duratorque engine combine to deliver unmatched fuel economy in its class at 17.8km/l. Additionally, the Focus TDCi Powershift is B5-capable"
Thai-American supermodel Sirinya Bishop has been chosen as this year’s event ambassador with a well-known history of charity work. She has taken part in the Friends of Habitat Build by Habitat for Humanity Thailand by helping to build shelters for those in need. This year, Sirinya will act as the event’s ambassador along side Mr. Clean & Green Fair Bear.
Come and experience the total American lifestyle and take part in a vast number of activities. Shop and enjoy American brand products, have fun with Cartoon Network Live! On Stage – Power of the Omnitrix, taste American food and beverages, and have a blast with your family at USA Fair 2009, held from 19-22 November, at Royal Paragon Hall 3, Siam Paragon Shopping Complex. The official opening ceremony will take place on 19 November.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Siam Park case a matter of safety
Public must not be distracted by land sale when answers and compensation are due victims of lax standardsIf Siam Park's own history is anything to go by, the chances of another accident happening there soon - like the one in which 28 children were hurt last weekend - are greater than the possibility of the controversial amusement-park complex being sold to a new owner. The expressed wish of apparently depressed park president Chaiwat Leungamornphan to sell the 26-year-old facility for Bt5 billion has stirred up some sympathy for its heavily criticised management, but it has diverted attention from the real issue - accountability and the responsibilities of present and future investors in amusement parks. The usual public outrage in the wake of such an incident was limited this time, with reporters scurrying to interview potential buyers and park employees.
Chaiwat must have been disheartened by this latest accident, the collapse of a water slide that injured 28 kids on Children's Day. What we cannot get, though, is how that could have happened just three months after the tragic death of a female visitor to the same park. On another public holiday last October, Patchadaporn Kongkarian was on the "Indiana Log Ride" when a sudden drop in power caused the water-pumping mechanism to fail, sending her boat plunging at a higher speed and crashing into the "log" ahead of it.
Her death prompted similar responses, reactions and excuses, explicit or covert. Expressing their regret, park officials promised enhanced awareness and, while insisting standardised safety measures were already in place, they pledged to improve them. Little was said about another accident five years ago, when a Japanese tourist was injured on the same ride at the same park. It was unclear what caused Tomomitsu Kitagava, 32, to suffer back injuries to the extent that he could not move or get out of the ride by himself, but the Patchadaporn tragedy apparently had not served as a big alarm for the park management.
Should Chaiwat sell his park? The above record speaks for itself and it should provide the appropriate answer. The question is how serious he really is about selling it. Another question has to do with what motivated him to come out and make the announcement. Was it regret? Or was it a desperate man talking, who was staring at potentially staggering compensation suits or even legal action?
Other questions have been asked. Will he still sell the park for a profit, knowing that going on by himself might result in lives continuing to be endangered? How has the park, which values itself at Bt5 billion, compensated accident victims, past and present? Who has actually performed inspection and maintenance checks at the park? How often have they done it? Why were children allowed to play on the water slides in big groups? Wasn't that a violation of some basic safety rule?
Last but not least, what will he do if he can't sell the park? Will he continue to operate it the same old way - expressing sadness one day and adopting a business-as-usual approach the next? Has he come to accept that his financial situation and the way the park has been managed are the main factors behind these accidents?
Chaiwat is known to have been struggling financially while running the park. That is anything but a solid excuse. While his apparently unwavering intention to offer a source of fun to children and adults alike is laudable, he operates a facility where safety can't be compromised to suit financial circumstances. In other businesses, a person can say he has done his best and would only have to say sorry when his best isn't good enough. As for amusement parks, when one's best isn't good enough, it often ends in tragedy.
Park employees expressed sympathy with Chaiwat and confirmed he had been fighting hard to keep the facility open. There have also reportedly been some phone calls to give him moral support and urge him not to sell. The media, meanwhile, have been rather lenient following the dramatic press conference after the latest accident. As expected, the emotional announcement has blurred the real issue - which is about safety at amusement parks, not about keeping a place where children can play for the price of admission.
Chaiwat may harbour good intentions. Yet somehow, his apparent determination to make people happy has led to a few ironic results. Good intentions are not enough when what one offers are thrilling rides that rely on every nut and screw to be in place or the opposite of happiness will be the result.
Chaiwat must have been disheartened by this latest accident, the collapse of a water slide that injured 28 kids on Children's Day. What we cannot get, though, is how that could have happened just three months after the tragic death of a female visitor to the same park. On another public holiday last October, Patchadaporn Kongkarian was on the "Indiana Log Ride" when a sudden drop in power caused the water-pumping mechanism to fail, sending her boat plunging at a higher speed and crashing into the "log" ahead of it.
Her death prompted similar responses, reactions and excuses, explicit or covert. Expressing their regret, park officials promised enhanced awareness and, while insisting standardised safety measures were already in place, they pledged to improve them. Little was said about another accident five years ago, when a Japanese tourist was injured on the same ride at the same park. It was unclear what caused Tomomitsu Kitagava, 32, to suffer back injuries to the extent that he could not move or get out of the ride by himself, but the Patchadaporn tragedy apparently had not served as a big alarm for the park management.
Should Chaiwat sell his park? The above record speaks for itself and it should provide the appropriate answer. The question is how serious he really is about selling it. Another question has to do with what motivated him to come out and make the announcement. Was it regret? Or was it a desperate man talking, who was staring at potentially staggering compensation suits or even legal action?
Other questions have been asked. Will he still sell the park for a profit, knowing that going on by himself might result in lives continuing to be endangered? How has the park, which values itself at Bt5 billion, compensated accident victims, past and present? Who has actually performed inspection and maintenance checks at the park? How often have they done it? Why were children allowed to play on the water slides in big groups? Wasn't that a violation of some basic safety rule?
Last but not least, what will he do if he can't sell the park? Will he continue to operate it the same old way - expressing sadness one day and adopting a business-as-usual approach the next? Has he come to accept that his financial situation and the way the park has been managed are the main factors behind these accidents?
Chaiwat is known to have been struggling financially while running the park. That is anything but a solid excuse. While his apparently unwavering intention to offer a source of fun to children and adults alike is laudable, he operates a facility where safety can't be compromised to suit financial circumstances. In other businesses, a person can say he has done his best and would only have to say sorry when his best isn't good enough. As for amusement parks, when one's best isn't good enough, it often ends in tragedy.
Park employees expressed sympathy with Chaiwat and confirmed he had been fighting hard to keep the facility open. There have also reportedly been some phone calls to give him moral support and urge him not to sell. The media, meanwhile, have been rather lenient following the dramatic press conference after the latest accident. As expected, the emotional announcement has blurred the real issue - which is about safety at amusement parks, not about keeping a place where children can play for the price of admission.
Chaiwat may harbour good intentions. Yet somehow, his apparent determination to make people happy has led to a few ironic results. Good intentions are not enough when what one offers are thrilling rides that rely on every nut and screw to be in place or the opposite of happiness will be the result.
Magnificent seven
In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Creatures of the Lost Ocean
Many of us have felt excited when watching adventure films or documentaries related to creatures of the ancient world. For these school holidays, Siam Ocean World is bringing you back to ancient times with "Creatures of the Lost Ocean". The festival will feature a live interactive show,"The Big World of The Sea Turtles",which is the story of the sea turtle and how it has fought for millions of years to survive till now. Through exhibition boards and fossil-digging activities,children can learn about sea turtles and other ancient mysterious creatures.
"Creatures of the Lost Ocean" will run until November 8 at Siam Ocean World,B1 and B2 floors, Siam Paragon. For more information, call 02-687-2000.
"Creatures of the Lost Ocean" will run until November 8 at Siam Ocean World,B1 and B2 floors, Siam Paragon. For more information, call 02-687-2000.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Panda cub's prints taken
Chiang Mai Zoo staff took prints of panda cub Lin Ping's front paw yesterday to create the world's first such record of the special thumblike pad that helps pandas grab bamboo shoots.
Staff wanted to get prints of both the 20weekold panda's paws but settled for the right paw only after the cub put up a struggle. Veterinarian Kannika Nimtrakul said the prints were made as a souvenir and education aid.
Besides the five clawed finฌgers on its paw, a panda has an extra bone that works like an opposable thumb.
Lin Ping now weighs 11 kiloฌgrams and is growing faster than the average cub, putting on 120130 grams per day. Zookeepers have installed a climbing frame in its cage to help the cub learn to use its hands and mouth to climb. They have also tried to coax Lin Ping to eat a snack enjoyed by many of its peers in China - chopped up bamboo shoots.
The cub turns five months old on October 27 and the zoo is marking the occasion with a nod to the Loy Krathong festiฌval that runs from November 13. From the end of this month visitors to the panda section will get to see Lin Ping sit on her very own giant krathong.
October 27 will also see five floating lanterns released. Inside each will be a panda doll and a ticket to the panda secฌtion, which will go to the lucky person who finds the lantern.
Staff wanted to get prints of both the 20weekold panda's paws but settled for the right paw only after the cub put up a struggle. Veterinarian Kannika Nimtrakul said the prints were made as a souvenir and education aid.
Besides the five clawed finฌgers on its paw, a panda has an extra bone that works like an opposable thumb.
Lin Ping now weighs 11 kiloฌgrams and is growing faster than the average cub, putting on 120130 grams per day. Zookeepers have installed a climbing frame in its cage to help the cub learn to use its hands and mouth to climb. They have also tried to coax Lin Ping to eat a snack enjoyed by many of its peers in China - chopped up bamboo shoots.
The cub turns five months old on October 27 and the zoo is marking the occasion with a nod to the Loy Krathong festiฌval that runs from November 13. From the end of this month visitors to the panda section will get to see Lin Ping sit on her very own giant krathong.
October 27 will also see five floating lanterns released. Inside each will be a panda doll and a ticket to the panda secฌtion, which will go to the lucky person who finds the lantern.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Mall's animal exhibit described as "torture"
Environmentalists have accused the organisers of the "King of the Jungle"wildlife exhibition at the Emporium shopping mall of animal torture.
"A white tiger is locked up in a confined cage, a young jumbo is forced to walk around under the scorching sun to promote the event, while the nocturnal barn owl has to endure flashlights from visitors' cameras," said Vanchai Tantivitayapitak, deputy secretarygeneral of the Green World Foundation.
The King of the Jungle Flora & Fauna Exotica runs from Oct 8 to 18 with free admission. It is co-organised by several state agencies, such as the Zoological Park Organisation (ZPO), the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry,the Chiang Mai Night Safari, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
Among the animals and plants displayed at the shopping complex are a lion, a meerkat, a rusa deer, a bateared fox, an ostrich and lemurs.
Mr Vanchai said the exhibition was a distasteful marketing strategy that abuses wildlife for business purposes.
"All of the animals on display are apparently stressed because they are kept in an unsuitable environment. They can even go into shock and die," he said.
The veteran environmentalist blasted the ZPO for cooperating with business people to exploit the animals.
Rangsarit Kanchanavanich, of the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation, said state and private agencies misunderstood that the display of animals in shopping malls would raise environmental awareness among the public.
"This kind of activity is torturing animals and will send a wrong signal to younger generations that humans can do anything with these creatures,"he said.
Amphan Patharakorn,the Emporium's operations general manager, said the event, held under the theme "Save the world. Save the wild",was aimed at promoting environmental awareness and educating children about wild animals.
The animals were being taken care of by a team of veterinarians from state agencies.
"The veterinarians are on standby to look after the animals and to ensure the safety of visitors," she said.
ZPO chief Sophon Damnui said the animals had been hired from zoos and farms so they were used to crowds."Moreover, they will only be [at the shopping mall] for 10 days, not forever,"he said.
"A white tiger is locked up in a confined cage, a young jumbo is forced to walk around under the scorching sun to promote the event, while the nocturnal barn owl has to endure flashlights from visitors' cameras," said Vanchai Tantivitayapitak, deputy secretarygeneral of the Green World Foundation.
The King of the Jungle Flora & Fauna Exotica runs from Oct 8 to 18 with free admission. It is co-organised by several state agencies, such as the Zoological Park Organisation (ZPO), the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry,the Chiang Mai Night Safari, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
Among the animals and plants displayed at the shopping complex are a lion, a meerkat, a rusa deer, a bateared fox, an ostrich and lemurs.
Mr Vanchai said the exhibition was a distasteful marketing strategy that abuses wildlife for business purposes.
"All of the animals on display are apparently stressed because they are kept in an unsuitable environment. They can even go into shock and die," he said.
The veteran environmentalist blasted the ZPO for cooperating with business people to exploit the animals.
Rangsarit Kanchanavanich, of the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation, said state and private agencies misunderstood that the display of animals in shopping malls would raise environmental awareness among the public.
"This kind of activity is torturing animals and will send a wrong signal to younger generations that humans can do anything with these creatures,"he said.
Amphan Patharakorn,the Emporium's operations general manager, said the event, held under the theme "Save the world. Save the wild",was aimed at promoting environmental awareness and educating children about wild animals.
The animals were being taken care of by a team of veterinarians from state agencies.
"The veterinarians are on standby to look after the animals and to ensure the safety of visitors," she said.
ZPO chief Sophon Damnui said the animals had been hired from zoos and farms so they were used to crowds."Moreover, they will only be [at the shopping mall] for 10 days, not forever,"he said.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Busch theme parks sold for $2.3 billion
Anheuser-Busch InBev said on Wednesday it would sell its 10 theme parks across the US, including the three SeaWorlds and two Busch Gardens, to the private equity firm Blackstone Group for at least $2.3 billion.
The world's largest brewer, based in Belgium, has been shedding assets to help pay for the $52 billion takeover of St Louis-based Anheuser-Busch that formed the company last year.
The two sides confirmed the deal on Wednesday, saying Blackstone would pay $2.3 billion in cash for Busch Entertainment Corp and give Anheuser-Busch InBev the right to up to $400 million of Blackstone's initial returns.
New York-based Blackstone's other investments include Universal Studios Orlando and Madame Tussauds wax museums so the theme parks fit into its portfolio.
Some amusement park operators are showing signs of stress amid the recession. Six Flags Inc, saddled by debt,is in bankruptcy court protection. And the nation's top amusement park operator, The Walt Disney Co, is offering numerous discounts and specials to keep visitors coming - and spending money.
Blackstone sees opportunity investing in media and entertainment businesses,said Michael Chae, senior managing director at Blackstone.
"We are delighted to be investing in a company with such iconic brands,irreplaceable assets and strong growth prospects," he said.
The company declined to detail its plans."Blackstone probably will try to get visitors to spend more at the parks by starting to charge money for extras like taking pictures with characters,"said David Miller, an analyst with Caris & Co.
Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Carlos Brito said last year as InBev took over Anheuser-Busch that the company would sell $7 billion in non-essential assets to help pay for the deal. The company has sold its Irish and Scottish businesses,factories and some interests in Asia.
Brito said in a statement on Wednesday that the theme parks "perform well but are not a focus for the brewer."
Busch Entertainment's 10 parks include SeaWorlds in Florida, Texas and California; Busch Gardens in Florida and Virginia and others such as Sesame Place and Adventure Island.
Busch is considered the second-largest US entertainment park operator with about 25 million visitors a year and 25,000 employees.
The company benefits from a diverse geography, including parks in vacation destinations like San Diego and in regional hubs. That means people can make spur-of-the-moment decisions to visit them and don't have to plan a full vacation, which they're less likely to do during the recession, Caris & Co's Miller said.
"You don't need an airline reservation or a hotel reservation. You get in your car. You grab your kid and say let's go to Busch Gardens," he said.
It's not clear how much the business is worth. According to Anheuser-Busch InBev's annual report from 2008, the entertainment unit had pro-forma revenue of 932 million, or about $1.37 billion. The parent company has not included the unit's quarterly performance in its results this year.
The world's largest brewer, based in Belgium, has been shedding assets to help pay for the $52 billion takeover of St Louis-based Anheuser-Busch that formed the company last year.
The two sides confirmed the deal on Wednesday, saying Blackstone would pay $2.3 billion in cash for Busch Entertainment Corp and give Anheuser-Busch InBev the right to up to $400 million of Blackstone's initial returns.
New York-based Blackstone's other investments include Universal Studios Orlando and Madame Tussauds wax museums so the theme parks fit into its portfolio.
Some amusement park operators are showing signs of stress amid the recession. Six Flags Inc, saddled by debt,is in bankruptcy court protection. And the nation's top amusement park operator, The Walt Disney Co, is offering numerous discounts and specials to keep visitors coming - and spending money.
Blackstone sees opportunity investing in media and entertainment businesses,said Michael Chae, senior managing director at Blackstone.
"We are delighted to be investing in a company with such iconic brands,irreplaceable assets and strong growth prospects," he said.
The company declined to detail its plans."Blackstone probably will try to get visitors to spend more at the parks by starting to charge money for extras like taking pictures with characters,"said David Miller, an analyst with Caris & Co.
Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Carlos Brito said last year as InBev took over Anheuser-Busch that the company would sell $7 billion in non-essential assets to help pay for the deal. The company has sold its Irish and Scottish businesses,factories and some interests in Asia.
Brito said in a statement on Wednesday that the theme parks "perform well but are not a focus for the brewer."
Busch Entertainment's 10 parks include SeaWorlds in Florida, Texas and California; Busch Gardens in Florida and Virginia and others such as Sesame Place and Adventure Island.
Busch is considered the second-largest US entertainment park operator with about 25 million visitors a year and 25,000 employees.
The company benefits from a diverse geography, including parks in vacation destinations like San Diego and in regional hubs. That means people can make spur-of-the-moment decisions to visit them and don't have to plan a full vacation, which they're less likely to do during the recession, Caris & Co's Miller said.
"You don't need an airline reservation or a hotel reservation. You get in your car. You grab your kid and say let's go to Busch Gardens," he said.
It's not clear how much the business is worth. According to Anheuser-Busch InBev's annual report from 2008, the entertainment unit had pro-forma revenue of 932 million, or about $1.37 billion. The parent company has not included the unit's quarterly performance in its results this year.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Celebrating Rosh Hashana, circa 1919
Sholom aleichem!" said Shiva Shapiro in a heavy Yiddish accent to her visitors.As she deftly stuffed cabbage leaves with rice and stewed tomatoes, and displayed other dishes she has made on her 1900 Beauty Hub coal stove, Shapiro drew her guests into her life.
"This is 1919," she said."Last year was the end of the influenza epidemic and the end of the war to end all wars. We're a Jewish family and we're keeping kosher in our home. I don't read English, only Yiddish and Hebrew. My daughter Mollie learned about bananas at school. I think that bananas are mushy, but I take her to buy a hand of bananas for 25 cents."
Shapiro is actually Barbara Ann Paster, one of the actors here at the Strawbery Banke restoration, a living museum in which over 350 years of Portsmouth homes,stores, churches and history have been preserved. It is in Puddle Dock, which was a decrepit neighbourhood destined to be razed under urban renewal until a campaign in the 1950s and '60s led by the town librarian saved 42 houses on 10 acres to create the museum.
The area was first settled in 1695 by the English,who found a profusion of strawberries there. By the turn of the 20th century Italians, Irish, English, FrenchCanadians and East European Jews had come here to find work. Although most immigrants at that time settled in large cities, some settled directly in smaller towns like Portsmouth. By 1919, 152 Russian Jews made up about a quarter of the immigrant population of Puddle Dock and 18 of them were Shapiro relatives,according to the museum.
As Shapiro, the wife of a pawnbroker with a 9-yearold daughter, Paster cooks dishes that follow the rhythm of the seasons, and the Jewish calendar.
She may make strawberry jam for her strudel in June, or pickle cucumbers with dill from her garden,or put up Reliance peaches with brandy in August.
For Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, she excitedly pinched rolled-out strips of pasta dough into bowtie noodles to use with leftover kasha stuffing from her roast chicken, and made traditional honey and poppy seed cakes.
Paster,61, has been portraying Shapiro since the Shapiro house opened in 1997."My entire life was made for this job," Paster said with a laugh."I married an Orthodox man. I'm Jewish from Russia, so I know the rules of kashrut and family purity. I am also a storyteller."
The real Mrs Shapiro immigrated from Anapol,Ukraine, in 1904 with other family members to meet her future husband, Abraham, also from Anapol, in Portsmouth, where he went to work in a shoe factory and later became the president of Portsmouth's synagogue, Temple of Israel.
At Strawbery Banke, visitors encounter Shiva Shapiro as a 34-year-old woman whose time is spent in her kosher kitchen with its coal stove and icebox."I get 50 pounds [23kg] of ice for 25 cents [8 baht] every other day and I can keep kosher meat for up to three days,"she said."There is hardly a time when I would need to keep it so long as there are two kosher butchers with delivery: Jacob Segal in a horse and buggy and Harry Liberson, who came here from an advertisement looking for a butcher in The Jewish Messenger out of New York and has stayed for 65 years."
Holidays were at the centre of the Shapiro family's life, and the museum staff took great pains to ensure the historical accuracy of the foods prepared and the items the family had available.
"To authenticate the Shapiro house," said Michelle Moon, director of education for the museum,"the curatorial staff interviewed 30 people from the neighbourhood and took pollen and seed analyses to determine what grew and was eaten in their home."
Shapiro's grandson, Burt Wolf,75, recalls picking seed pods for poppy seed cake or filling for his grandmother's holiday strudel.
In 1919 it was still too early for standard East European ingredients like kasha, poppy seeds and kale to be in mainstream cookbooks like "Fanny Farmer", which Mollie translated for her mother. Even Florence Greenbaum's International Jewish Cookbook (1918)had only one recipe for mohn (poppy seed) roly polys and none for kale or kasha.
But immigrants brought seeds of their traditional foods, like yellow Ukrainian carrots, kale and parsnips.Shapiro bought harder-to-save seeds like beets in Jackson's hardware store.
"Mr Wolf and many older immigrants told us that they ate yellow Ukrainian tomatoes, which we know Mrs Shapiro was growing in her garden," said John Forti, curator of culinary historic landscape for the museum. The red tomatoes were canned.
Forti found a Reliance peach tree growing out of the compost pile in the Shapiro's garden. Seed catalogues from that time included climbing Russian cucumbers and Zubrinski yellow potatoes, which are planted there now.
Stoneware crock shards found in the yard were a clue for the staff."Mrs Shapiro was putting up the food in the old style as well as using canning jars," he said."We found kale seeds in the walls of another immigrant's house."
Jewish truck farmers in the neighbouring town of Greenland grew buckwheat for kasha, an East European staple, used at that time in America only for buckwheat pancakes.
Recipes were handed down orally, at least in the East European immigrant communities, and they also travelled between neighbours."Whenever Camilla Pento comes to the house she points to the mandelbrot and says 'biscotti'," Shapiro said."She came to my house one day to show me how to make her biscotti. Nothing wrong with her recipe but in order for my family to eat it, we need to make it here so it's kosher. I made my mandelbrot and poppy seed cake and she her biscotti and pizzelles with a brand new pizzelle iron."
The Sabbath and holidays were the center of Shapiro's world and they also meant a lot of work for the Shapiro matriarch. Visiting just before Rosh Hashana, the first in the Jewish High Holy Days, I spoke with Elaine Kraskar, Shapiro's great-niece,82, who was a prominent Democratic state legislator for 16 years. Kraskar remembers going with her grandparents to farms to get chickens for holidays and the Sabbath.
"We would put them in a burlap sack and bring them to be ritually slaughtered by Mr Liberson," she said."My grandmother would singe the feathers, pluck and clean out the chickens. Everything was used. The intestines were cleaned and stuffed. We roasted chicken stuffed with kasha. Rosh Hashana was a special time,a time for families to be together."
Although Kraskar gave the museum her grandfather's safe, a Victrola with Yiddish records, and a nightie her grandmother made for her, she couldn't give up her rolling pin or scrub board.
"I put the scrub board up on the wall in my laundry room," she said,"to remind me how hard life was for her and how much easier it is today."NYT NEWS SERVICE
CRISPY KALE Time:
Adapted from the Strawbery Banke Museum 20 minutes / Serves 6 to 8 as a finger food, snack or side dish Ingredients: Preparation:
1bunch of kale,(about 450g), cored, leaves rinsed and thoroughly dried 3 to 4 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced Kosher salt, to taste 1. Preheat oven 260กC. Meanwhile, flatten kale leaves and use the point of a knife to remove tough center ribs. Stack leaves and roll them together, then slice crosswise into chiffonade strips 1in. to 1in. wide.2. Place kale in a medium bowl. Toss with olive oil, garlic and salt, making sure leaves are well coated with oil. Spread evenly across a large baking sheet.3. Bake, tossing once or twice, until leaves are crispy but not burned, about 5 minutes.Serve as is as a finger food or snack, or top with poached eggs as a breakfast or lunch dish.
KASHA-STUFFED ROAST CHICKEN Adapted from Elaine Kraskar Time:2 hours / Serves 6 to 8Ingredients: Preparation: 4 Tbsp chicken fat or vegetable oil, plus additional for greasing pan 3onions,1 diced and 2 coarsely chopped 1large egg 1cup dry kasha 2cups chicken broth or water 12cup diced celery 1cup sliced mushrooms, optional 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage 1roasting chicken,1.8kg to 2kg 3cloves garlic, minced 450g whole, unpeeled,small potatoes 3tart apples, quartered and cored 4carrots, peeled and cut into 3- to 4in.chunks 4parsnips, peeled and cut into 3- to 4in.chunks 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Preheat oven to 190กC. Grease a roasting pan and set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of chicken fat or oil,and saute diced onion until golden. Remove from heat and set aside.2. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg lightly and stir in kasha. Mix well to coat all grains.Place a dry heavy skillet over high heat.When it is hot, add egg-coated kasha and stir with a wooden spoon to flatten it and break up any lumps. Continue to stir until egg has dried and kernels are browned and mostly separated. Add broth or water, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.Add cooked onions, celery, mushrooms (if using), parsley and sage. Simmer, covered,stirring occasionally, until kasha is tender,about 15 minutes.3. Rub exterior of chicken with 1 tablespoon of remaining chicken fat or oil and garlic.Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff both cavities of chicken with kasha mixture.(Excess kasha may be baked in an ovenproof dish, during last 30 minutes of roasting time.)4. In bottom of roasting pan, combine potatoes,apples, carrots, parsnips and chopped onions.Add remaining 1 tablespoon chicken fat or oil, and rosemary, and toss well to coat.Gently place chicken on top of vegetables and bake until golden and cooked through,about 11
2hours. To serve, carve chicken as desired and serve each portion with some of vegetables and apples.
POPPY SEED CAKE Adapted from Strawbery Banke Museum
Time:90 minutes / Serves 12 Ingredients: Preparation:
1cup poppy seeds 1cup milk or soy milk 1cup (225g) unsalted butter or pareve margarine, plus more for greasing pan 2cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting pan 2cups sugar 3large eggs, separated 2 Tsp vanilla extract 12tsp salt 21
2tsp baking powder Confectioners sugar, for dusting 1. In a small saucepan, combine the poppy seeds and milk. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to rest until cool, about 20 minutes.2. Preheat oven to 176กC and prepare a large loaf or tube pan by greasing it with margarine and lightly flouring the inside of the pan.3. In bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter or margarine and sugar. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and poppy seed-milk mixture, and beat until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well; remove bowl from mixer and set aside.4. Place a clean bowl in mixer, with a whisk attachment, and whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into batter. Scrape into pan, and bake until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool on a rack. When cool, dust cake with confectioners sugar.
"This is 1919," she said."Last year was the end of the influenza epidemic and the end of the war to end all wars. We're a Jewish family and we're keeping kosher in our home. I don't read English, only Yiddish and Hebrew. My daughter Mollie learned about bananas at school. I think that bananas are mushy, but I take her to buy a hand of bananas for 25 cents."
Shapiro is actually Barbara Ann Paster, one of the actors here at the Strawbery Banke restoration, a living museum in which over 350 years of Portsmouth homes,stores, churches and history have been preserved. It is in Puddle Dock, which was a decrepit neighbourhood destined to be razed under urban renewal until a campaign in the 1950s and '60s led by the town librarian saved 42 houses on 10 acres to create the museum.
The area was first settled in 1695 by the English,who found a profusion of strawberries there. By the turn of the 20th century Italians, Irish, English, FrenchCanadians and East European Jews had come here to find work. Although most immigrants at that time settled in large cities, some settled directly in smaller towns like Portsmouth. By 1919, 152 Russian Jews made up about a quarter of the immigrant population of Puddle Dock and 18 of them were Shapiro relatives,according to the museum.
As Shapiro, the wife of a pawnbroker with a 9-yearold daughter, Paster cooks dishes that follow the rhythm of the seasons, and the Jewish calendar.
She may make strawberry jam for her strudel in June, or pickle cucumbers with dill from her garden,or put up Reliance peaches with brandy in August.
For Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, she excitedly pinched rolled-out strips of pasta dough into bowtie noodles to use with leftover kasha stuffing from her roast chicken, and made traditional honey and poppy seed cakes.
Paster,61, has been portraying Shapiro since the Shapiro house opened in 1997."My entire life was made for this job," Paster said with a laugh."I married an Orthodox man. I'm Jewish from Russia, so I know the rules of kashrut and family purity. I am also a storyteller."
The real Mrs Shapiro immigrated from Anapol,Ukraine, in 1904 with other family members to meet her future husband, Abraham, also from Anapol, in Portsmouth, where he went to work in a shoe factory and later became the president of Portsmouth's synagogue, Temple of Israel.
At Strawbery Banke, visitors encounter Shiva Shapiro as a 34-year-old woman whose time is spent in her kosher kitchen with its coal stove and icebox."I get 50 pounds [23kg] of ice for 25 cents [8 baht] every other day and I can keep kosher meat for up to three days,"she said."There is hardly a time when I would need to keep it so long as there are two kosher butchers with delivery: Jacob Segal in a horse and buggy and Harry Liberson, who came here from an advertisement looking for a butcher in The Jewish Messenger out of New York and has stayed for 65 years."
Holidays were at the centre of the Shapiro family's life, and the museum staff took great pains to ensure the historical accuracy of the foods prepared and the items the family had available.
"To authenticate the Shapiro house," said Michelle Moon, director of education for the museum,"the curatorial staff interviewed 30 people from the neighbourhood and took pollen and seed analyses to determine what grew and was eaten in their home."
Shapiro's grandson, Burt Wolf,75, recalls picking seed pods for poppy seed cake or filling for his grandmother's holiday strudel.
In 1919 it was still too early for standard East European ingredients like kasha, poppy seeds and kale to be in mainstream cookbooks like "Fanny Farmer", which Mollie translated for her mother. Even Florence Greenbaum's International Jewish Cookbook (1918)had only one recipe for mohn (poppy seed) roly polys and none for kale or kasha.
But immigrants brought seeds of their traditional foods, like yellow Ukrainian carrots, kale and parsnips.Shapiro bought harder-to-save seeds like beets in Jackson's hardware store.
"Mr Wolf and many older immigrants told us that they ate yellow Ukrainian tomatoes, which we know Mrs Shapiro was growing in her garden," said John Forti, curator of culinary historic landscape for the museum. The red tomatoes were canned.
Forti found a Reliance peach tree growing out of the compost pile in the Shapiro's garden. Seed catalogues from that time included climbing Russian cucumbers and Zubrinski yellow potatoes, which are planted there now.
Stoneware crock shards found in the yard were a clue for the staff."Mrs Shapiro was putting up the food in the old style as well as using canning jars," he said."We found kale seeds in the walls of another immigrant's house."
Jewish truck farmers in the neighbouring town of Greenland grew buckwheat for kasha, an East European staple, used at that time in America only for buckwheat pancakes.
Recipes were handed down orally, at least in the East European immigrant communities, and they also travelled between neighbours."Whenever Camilla Pento comes to the house she points to the mandelbrot and says 'biscotti'," Shapiro said."She came to my house one day to show me how to make her biscotti. Nothing wrong with her recipe but in order for my family to eat it, we need to make it here so it's kosher. I made my mandelbrot and poppy seed cake and she her biscotti and pizzelles with a brand new pizzelle iron."
The Sabbath and holidays were the center of Shapiro's world and they also meant a lot of work for the Shapiro matriarch. Visiting just before Rosh Hashana, the first in the Jewish High Holy Days, I spoke with Elaine Kraskar, Shapiro's great-niece,82, who was a prominent Democratic state legislator for 16 years. Kraskar remembers going with her grandparents to farms to get chickens for holidays and the Sabbath.
"We would put them in a burlap sack and bring them to be ritually slaughtered by Mr Liberson," she said."My grandmother would singe the feathers, pluck and clean out the chickens. Everything was used. The intestines were cleaned and stuffed. We roasted chicken stuffed with kasha. Rosh Hashana was a special time,a time for families to be together."
Although Kraskar gave the museum her grandfather's safe, a Victrola with Yiddish records, and a nightie her grandmother made for her, she couldn't give up her rolling pin or scrub board.
"I put the scrub board up on the wall in my laundry room," she said,"to remind me how hard life was for her and how much easier it is today."NYT NEWS SERVICE
CRISPY KALE Time:
Adapted from the Strawbery Banke Museum 20 minutes / Serves 6 to 8 as a finger food, snack or side dish Ingredients: Preparation:
1bunch of kale,(about 450g), cored, leaves rinsed and thoroughly dried 3 to 4 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced Kosher salt, to taste 1. Preheat oven 260กC. Meanwhile, flatten kale leaves and use the point of a knife to remove tough center ribs. Stack leaves and roll them together, then slice crosswise into chiffonade strips 1in. to 1in. wide.2. Place kale in a medium bowl. Toss with olive oil, garlic and salt, making sure leaves are well coated with oil. Spread evenly across a large baking sheet.3. Bake, tossing once or twice, until leaves are crispy but not burned, about 5 minutes.Serve as is as a finger food or snack, or top with poached eggs as a breakfast or lunch dish.
KASHA-STUFFED ROAST CHICKEN Adapted from Elaine Kraskar Time:2 hours / Serves 6 to 8Ingredients: Preparation: 4 Tbsp chicken fat or vegetable oil, plus additional for greasing pan 3onions,1 diced and 2 coarsely chopped 1large egg 1cup dry kasha 2cups chicken broth or water 12cup diced celery 1cup sliced mushrooms, optional 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage 1roasting chicken,1.8kg to 2kg 3cloves garlic, minced 450g whole, unpeeled,small potatoes 3tart apples, quartered and cored 4carrots, peeled and cut into 3- to 4in.chunks 4parsnips, peeled and cut into 3- to 4in.chunks 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Preheat oven to 190กC. Grease a roasting pan and set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of chicken fat or oil,and saute diced onion until golden. Remove from heat and set aside.2. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg lightly and stir in kasha. Mix well to coat all grains.Place a dry heavy skillet over high heat.When it is hot, add egg-coated kasha and stir with a wooden spoon to flatten it and break up any lumps. Continue to stir until egg has dried and kernels are browned and mostly separated. Add broth or water, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.Add cooked onions, celery, mushrooms (if using), parsley and sage. Simmer, covered,stirring occasionally, until kasha is tender,about 15 minutes.3. Rub exterior of chicken with 1 tablespoon of remaining chicken fat or oil and garlic.Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff both cavities of chicken with kasha mixture.(Excess kasha may be baked in an ovenproof dish, during last 30 minutes of roasting time.)4. In bottom of roasting pan, combine potatoes,apples, carrots, parsnips and chopped onions.Add remaining 1 tablespoon chicken fat or oil, and rosemary, and toss well to coat.Gently place chicken on top of vegetables and bake until golden and cooked through,about 11
2hours. To serve, carve chicken as desired and serve each portion with some of vegetables and apples.
POPPY SEED CAKE Adapted from Strawbery Banke Museum
Time:90 minutes / Serves 12 Ingredients: Preparation:
1cup poppy seeds 1cup milk or soy milk 1cup (225g) unsalted butter or pareve margarine, plus more for greasing pan 2cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting pan 2cups sugar 3large eggs, separated 2 Tsp vanilla extract 12tsp salt 21
2tsp baking powder Confectioners sugar, for dusting 1. In a small saucepan, combine the poppy seeds and milk. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to rest until cool, about 20 minutes.2. Preheat oven to 176กC and prepare a large loaf or tube pan by greasing it with margarine and lightly flouring the inside of the pan.3. In bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter or margarine and sugar. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and poppy seed-milk mixture, and beat until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well; remove bowl from mixer and set aside.4. Place a clean bowl in mixer, with a whisk attachment, and whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into batter. Scrape into pan, and bake until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool on a rack. When cool, dust cake with confectioners sugar.
Monday, September 21, 2009
China to launch "chocolate wonderland"
China plans to cater to the country's rising number of chocoholics with the opening next year of a Willy Wonka-style theme park in Beijing, complete with a replica Great Wall.
"The 'world chocolate dream park',reminiscent of Roald Dahl's beloved book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , will feature a life-size edible Terracotta Army,Great Wall and versions of famous paintings," the China Daily said."Our 'chocolate wonderland' will be beyond the imagination," Tina Cheng,general manager of the company that will operate the park, was quoted as saying.
The park, due to open in January 2010, will be located in the Olympic Green, which also includes the iconic Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube aquatics centre used during the Beijing Summer Games last year.
"The site will include five pavilions and two outdoor sites where chocolatemade objects, such as the replica Great Wall, will be on display," the report said.
Chocolate is not as popular in China as it is in Western countries, but the sweet treat is increasingly popular with the nation's younger generation.
Cheng was quoted as saying that a number of prestigious chocolate makers from Europe, including Belgium and Switzerland, wanted to participate in the project, but she would not reveal their names.
"There is the potential for a huge market in China with regards to chocolate consumption," she said, according to the report."That's why many overseas chocolate producers are vying to join our project."
"The 'world chocolate dream park',reminiscent of Roald Dahl's beloved book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , will feature a life-size edible Terracotta Army,Great Wall and versions of famous paintings," the China Daily said."Our 'chocolate wonderland' will be beyond the imagination," Tina Cheng,general manager of the company that will operate the park, was quoted as saying.
The park, due to open in January 2010, will be located in the Olympic Green, which also includes the iconic Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube aquatics centre used during the Beijing Summer Games last year.
"The site will include five pavilions and two outdoor sites where chocolatemade objects, such as the replica Great Wall, will be on display," the report said.
Chocolate is not as popular in China as it is in Western countries, but the sweet treat is increasingly popular with the nation's younger generation.
Cheng was quoted as saying that a number of prestigious chocolate makers from Europe, including Belgium and Switzerland, wanted to participate in the project, but she would not reveal their names.
"There is the potential for a huge market in China with regards to chocolate consumption," she said, according to the report."That's why many overseas chocolate producers are vying to join our project."
Friday, September 18, 2009
Universal gives glimpse of new Harry Potter park
Creators of the highly anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando revealed some details of three major Potterthemed attractions on Tuesday, including a "Forbidden Journey" ride set in the iconic Hogwart's Castle.
"(It is) brand new, extremely exciting,never been done, never been seen before.I can't say big enough words. It's going to be absolutely mind-blowing," said Alan Gilmore, the project's supervising art director and art director on two Harry Potter films.Paul Daurio, show producer for the Wizarding World, said the attraction couldn't be further from a roller coaster.
The 20-acre "park within a park" is due to open next spring. In a Webcast,descriptions of the attractions were generalised, and questions submitted via the Internet about ticket price and the effect on park attendance were ignored.
The Webcast included a short animated video but no actual photography of the park.
Mark Woodbury, head of Universal Creative, said Wizarding World scenery,attractions and souvenirs were faithful to British author J.K. Rowlings' sevenbook Harry Potter series.
Woodbury said visitors would be able to sample butter beer and pumpkin juice at the Three Broomsticks Restaurant,relax in the Owlery and be fitted for a magical wand in Ollivander's Wand Shop,all of which are familiar to Potter fans.
Major attractions include the Dragon Challenge, a high-speed ride described as "definitely for the brave." It is based on the Triwizard Tournament, a fictional 13th century contest between students of the three most prestigious magical schools of Europe.
Another is Flight of the Hippogriff, a coaster based on Rowlings' magical creature with the head, wings and front legs of a giant eagle and body, hind legs and tail of a horse.
Actor Tom Felton, cast as Draco Malfoy in the film versions of the Harry Potter novels, participated in the Webcast and said of the park:"It's going to blow some serious minds."
Woodbury said the Wizarding World had been under development for five years. Park details have been tightly held since the project was announced in 2007.
Universal Orlando is co-owned by the Blackstone Group private equity firm and NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.
Universal's Webcast capped two-anda-half weeks of headline announcements by Orlando's two biggest theme parks.
On Aug 31, the Walt Disney Co agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc for $4 billion in the biggest media deal of the year.
And on Sept 12, Disney announced a major expansion of Fantasyland at Orlando's Disney World to break ground in 2010 and open in two stages in 2012 and 2013.
"(It is) brand new, extremely exciting,never been done, never been seen before.I can't say big enough words. It's going to be absolutely mind-blowing," said Alan Gilmore, the project's supervising art director and art director on two Harry Potter films.Paul Daurio, show producer for the Wizarding World, said the attraction couldn't be further from a roller coaster.
The 20-acre "park within a park" is due to open next spring. In a Webcast,descriptions of the attractions were generalised, and questions submitted via the Internet about ticket price and the effect on park attendance were ignored.
The Webcast included a short animated video but no actual photography of the park.
Mark Woodbury, head of Universal Creative, said Wizarding World scenery,attractions and souvenirs were faithful to British author J.K. Rowlings' sevenbook Harry Potter series.
Woodbury said visitors would be able to sample butter beer and pumpkin juice at the Three Broomsticks Restaurant,relax in the Owlery and be fitted for a magical wand in Ollivander's Wand Shop,all of which are familiar to Potter fans.
Major attractions include the Dragon Challenge, a high-speed ride described as "definitely for the brave." It is based on the Triwizard Tournament, a fictional 13th century contest between students of the three most prestigious magical schools of Europe.
Another is Flight of the Hippogriff, a coaster based on Rowlings' magical creature with the head, wings and front legs of a giant eagle and body, hind legs and tail of a horse.
Actor Tom Felton, cast as Draco Malfoy in the film versions of the Harry Potter novels, participated in the Webcast and said of the park:"It's going to blow some serious minds."
Woodbury said the Wizarding World had been under development for five years. Park details have been tightly held since the project was announced in 2007.
Universal Orlando is co-owned by the Blackstone Group private equity firm and NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.
Universal's Webcast capped two-anda-half weeks of headline announcements by Orlando's two biggest theme parks.
On Aug 31, the Walt Disney Co agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc for $4 billion in the biggest media deal of the year.
And on Sept 12, Disney announced a major expansion of Fantasyland at Orlando's Disney World to break ground in 2010 and open in two stages in 2012 and 2013.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Disney World embarks on Fantasyland facelift
Mickey Mouse's house and his Toon Town world would make way next year for a vastly larger Fantasyland, in the biggest-ever expansion of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, Walt Disney Co said on Saturday.
The Fantasyland expansion, whose price tag was not disclosed, will open in two stages in 2012 and 2013 and builds on the popularity of the Disney Princess and Fairies franchises, which have topped $4 billion in global retail sales.
Disney theme parks chairman Jay Rasulo said the Fantasyland project, which breaks ground next year, would be paid for from funds designated for the theme park division's annual capital expenditures.
Plans call for four Disney Princess characters - Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty,Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Ariel from The Little Mermaid - tobe featured in "fantasy lands" where park visitors engage in dancing, storytelling or a birthday party with costumed characters from the films.
The expansion includes two new dining spots - Gascon's Tavern and the 552-seat Beast's Castle. A new underwater ride based on The Little Mermaid , will be built both in the Florida Fantasyland and at the ongoing expansion of California Adventure in Disneyland.
The second phase of the Fantasyland expansion will be an oversized world based on the fairy world of Pixie Hollow from Peter Pan , but no other details were available because the attraction was still in early development stages,Rasulo said.
As part of the Fantasyland expansion,Disney plans to double the size of the popular Dumbo ride to add a covered "three-ring circus" waiting area with interactive games and a play area.
Disney Imagineers, who design rides and attractions, said the Toon Town attraction would be dismantled and its popular Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse houses relocated to another section of Walt Disney World.
Rasulo also announced an upgrade to the Star Tours rides at Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney's Hollywood Studio in Florida to open in 2011.
Star Tours simulates a ride through space aboard spacecraft like those in the original Star Wars film.The updated version "features new digital 3D effects and projectors that let ride operators vary 'destinations,' as well as upgrades to the Star Speeder cabins,"Rasulo said.
The Fantasyland expansion, whose price tag was not disclosed, will open in two stages in 2012 and 2013 and builds on the popularity of the Disney Princess and Fairies franchises, which have topped $4 billion in global retail sales.
Disney theme parks chairman Jay Rasulo said the Fantasyland project, which breaks ground next year, would be paid for from funds designated for the theme park division's annual capital expenditures.
Plans call for four Disney Princess characters - Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty,Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Ariel from The Little Mermaid - tobe featured in "fantasy lands" where park visitors engage in dancing, storytelling or a birthday party with costumed characters from the films.
The expansion includes two new dining spots - Gascon's Tavern and the 552-seat Beast's Castle. A new underwater ride based on The Little Mermaid , will be built both in the Florida Fantasyland and at the ongoing expansion of California Adventure in Disneyland.
The second phase of the Fantasyland expansion will be an oversized world based on the fairy world of Pixie Hollow from Peter Pan , but no other details were available because the attraction was still in early development stages,Rasulo said.
As part of the Fantasyland expansion,Disney plans to double the size of the popular Dumbo ride to add a covered "three-ring circus" waiting area with interactive games and a play area.
Disney Imagineers, who design rides and attractions, said the Toon Town attraction would be dismantled and its popular Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse houses relocated to another section of Walt Disney World.
Rasulo also announced an upgrade to the Star Tours rides at Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney's Hollywood Studio in Florida to open in 2011.
Star Tours simulates a ride through space aboard spacecraft like those in the original Star Wars film.The updated version "features new digital 3D effects and projectors that let ride operators vary 'destinations,' as well as upgrades to the Star Speeder cabins,"Rasulo said.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
CHARNCHAI BACKS JAPANESE REQUEST TO RAISE TWO JUMBOS AT OSAKA ZOO
Bangkok and Tokyo will hold talks over a plan to send a pair of Thai elephants to a state zoo in Osaka, Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungruang said yesterday.
The minister, who is in Japan to promote trade cooperation, said the jumbos would be a "present to mark close trade ties between the two countries".
Japan had expressed strong interest in raising a pair of Thai elephants at its zoo in Osaka, which already has one Thai jumbo, Mr Charnchai said ahead of a meeting with the Japanese environment minister.
"Japan has been asking for the past six years if it can look after a pair of jumbos, but the Thai government has yet to reply," the minister told the Bangkok Post via telephone from Japan.
"Giving the elephants to an important trading partner such as Japan will be a good way to strengthen economic cooperation," Mr Charnchai said, adding he would discuss the issue with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti upon his return.
Animal rights groups and environmentalists say sending the elephants to Japan would send a wrong signal that Thailand supports trade in endangered wildlife.
Soraida Salwala, founder of the Bangkok-based Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation, urged the minister to scrap the planned jumbo export.
"The government should keep the elephants here, while Tokyo should stop asking for the jumbos," said Ms Soraida.
Thailand had a bad image as one of the world's largest wildlife trade hubs.
Ms Soraida said many countries had asked Thailand to send Asian elephants to their zoos, including the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
Elephants are one of 51 wild animals listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which bans the export and import of listed animals except for educational and conservation purposes. However, some imports and exports of protected wild animals have been conducted under government-to-government animal exchange programmes.
Thailand has sent elephants to countries for educational purposes and to strengthen relations, such as the 2006 elephant-koala swap under which eight elephants were sent to zoos in Australia.
The minister, who is in Japan to promote trade cooperation, said the jumbos would be a "present to mark close trade ties between the two countries".
Japan had expressed strong interest in raising a pair of Thai elephants at its zoo in Osaka, which already has one Thai jumbo, Mr Charnchai said ahead of a meeting with the Japanese environment minister.
"Japan has been asking for the past six years if it can look after a pair of jumbos, but the Thai government has yet to reply," the minister told the Bangkok Post via telephone from Japan.
"Giving the elephants to an important trading partner such as Japan will be a good way to strengthen economic cooperation," Mr Charnchai said, adding he would discuss the issue with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti upon his return.
Animal rights groups and environmentalists say sending the elephants to Japan would send a wrong signal that Thailand supports trade in endangered wildlife.
Soraida Salwala, founder of the Bangkok-based Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation, urged the minister to scrap the planned jumbo export.
"The government should keep the elephants here, while Tokyo should stop asking for the jumbos," said Ms Soraida.
Thailand had a bad image as one of the world's largest wildlife trade hubs.
Ms Soraida said many countries had asked Thailand to send Asian elephants to their zoos, including the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
Elephants are one of 51 wild animals listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which bans the export and import of listed animals except for educational and conservation purposes. However, some imports and exports of protected wild animals have been conducted under government-to-government animal exchange programmes.
Thailand has sent elephants to countries for educational purposes and to strengthen relations, such as the 2006 elephant-koala swap under which eight elephants were sent to zoos in Australia.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Panda prize winner faces travel hurdle
A prize winner in the contest to name the Chiang Mai panda cub Lhinping says she is being denied permission to travel to China as part of her prize because she is not a Thai citizen.
Naruay Jaterng,14, who was a third place winner in the contest, said her parents were from a hill tribe in a remote village in Mae Ai district in Chiang Mai.
They were about 12km from the district administration office and had found it impossible to go there to register her when she was born, which meant she had been stateless since birth. A stateless person's identity card is the only documentation she has to prove her identity.
Naruay said her parents were descendents of tribal people granted Thai citizenship.
She was one of millions who entered the naming contest organised by Chiang Mai Zoo using postcards. Her name was drawn as the third prize winner which earned her 100,000 baht in cash and an air ticket to China's Chengdu city for four days and three nights from Nov 15-18.
Naruay's stateless plight echoes the difficulties faced by Mong Thongdee,the 12-year-old Shan boy who was initially denied permission to travel overseas. Mong's dream of going to Japan for a paper plane competition was finally realised when he was granted a 90-day visa on Wednesday.
An official letter of permission to travel outside Chiang Mai for seven days helped Naruay go to Bangkok to collect her prize on Monday. Although her birth could still be registered, it could take up to a year to get the birth certificate that is needed to apply for a passport, meaning she would miss out on the trip.
Zoological Park Organisation director Sophon Damnui said he was shocked by the news, but said she would receive cash equal to the value of the prize if she could not go to China.
Chiang Mai deputy governor Pairoj Saengpuwong said Article 23 of the Nationality Act held the answer to Naruay's problem. Under the act, overseas travel was no problem if those without Thai citizenship had the status of highlanders. Permission was possible if authentic identity documents were produced. Naruay's parents are acknowledged as highlanders in Thailand.
Naruay Jaterng,14, who was a third place winner in the contest, said her parents were from a hill tribe in a remote village in Mae Ai district in Chiang Mai.
They were about 12km from the district administration office and had found it impossible to go there to register her when she was born, which meant she had been stateless since birth. A stateless person's identity card is the only documentation she has to prove her identity.
Naruay said her parents were descendents of tribal people granted Thai citizenship.
She was one of millions who entered the naming contest organised by Chiang Mai Zoo using postcards. Her name was drawn as the third prize winner which earned her 100,000 baht in cash and an air ticket to China's Chengdu city for four days and three nights from Nov 15-18.
Naruay's stateless plight echoes the difficulties faced by Mong Thongdee,the 12-year-old Shan boy who was initially denied permission to travel overseas. Mong's dream of going to Japan for a paper plane competition was finally realised when he was granted a 90-day visa on Wednesday.
An official letter of permission to travel outside Chiang Mai for seven days helped Naruay go to Bangkok to collect her prize on Monday. Although her birth could still be registered, it could take up to a year to get the birth certificate that is needed to apply for a passport, meaning she would miss out on the trip.
Zoological Park Organisation director Sophon Damnui said he was shocked by the news, but said she would receive cash equal to the value of the prize if she could not go to China.
Chiang Mai deputy governor Pairoj Saengpuwong said Article 23 of the Nationality Act held the answer to Naruay's problem. Under the act, overseas travel was no problem if those without Thai citizenship had the status of highlanders. Permission was possible if authentic identity documents were produced. Naruay's parents are acknowledged as highlanders in Thailand.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Cougar seized in Seattle park after 2 weeks
A cougar that apparently had lived in Seattle for more than two weeks and forced the city's largest park to close was captured on Sunday and returned to the wild, state officials said.
The cougar was immobilised with a tranquiliser in Discovery Park after hunting dogs treed it, Department of Fish and Wildlife Captain Bill Hebner said.
An enforcement officer and the dogs tracked the animal after it was spotted in or near the 216 hectare preserve.
The cougar is a healthy two-year-old male, weighing 63.5kg, he added.
After examining the animal, wildlife agents drove it to the foothills of the Cascade mountains,72km from Seattle.
"It's a very good prospect for relocation," Capt Hebner said."It wasn't aggressive or stalking people."
The animal likely preyed on house cats during its time in the park, he said.
Capt Hebner said the heavily forested park had been a perfect place for the cougar because there's plenty of food in the form of rabbits and other small animals, along with neighbourhood pets.Agents attached a global positioning system collar on the cougar that will transmit updates on its location twice a day.
The cougar was immobilised with a tranquiliser in Discovery Park after hunting dogs treed it, Department of Fish and Wildlife Captain Bill Hebner said.
An enforcement officer and the dogs tracked the animal after it was spotted in or near the 216 hectare preserve.
The cougar is a healthy two-year-old male, weighing 63.5kg, he added.
After examining the animal, wildlife agents drove it to the foothills of the Cascade mountains,72km from Seattle.
"It's a very good prospect for relocation," Capt Hebner said."It wasn't aggressive or stalking people."
The animal likely preyed on house cats during its time in the park, he said.
Capt Hebner said the heavily forested park had been a perfect place for the cougar because there's plenty of food in the form of rabbits and other small animals, along with neighbourhood pets.Agents attached a global positioning system collar on the cougar that will transmit updates on its location twice a day.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Visit Dusit Zoo for "7 amazing things"
Like to see as rare an animal as a beautiful langur baby? Heas to Bangkok's Dusit Zoo.
The colourful douc langurcub was delivered on June 18, but its gender is yet to be identified.
Douc langurs are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Animals. They have five colours- grey, dark grey, white, yellow and reddish brown.
The zoo is home to 32 douc langurs, including the newborn. Each is worth more than Bt10 million.
Douc langurs are one of the zoo's seven amazing things, so if you visit the langurs, it's recommended that you take a look at other highlights as well.
The last herd of Thai browantlered deer is found only at the zoo now. And the only Albino common barking deer in the world also dwells there.
If you don't have enough money or time to visit the most-popular giant panda family in Chiang Mai, you can get up close with other kinds of pandas-the only pair of red pandas in Thailand can be seen at the Dusit Zoo.
A historical teak tree has also been grown in the zoo. It was presented by King Rama V to Prince Valdimar of Denmark to boost bilateral relations. A stone inscription was also presented to the prince to mark his visit.
Another historical learning area is the "World War II Air Raid Shelter". And any visitor to the zoo should not miss the magnificent Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall.
The colourful douc langurcub was delivered on June 18, but its gender is yet to be identified.
Douc langurs are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Animals. They have five colours- grey, dark grey, white, yellow and reddish brown.
The zoo is home to 32 douc langurs, including the newborn. Each is worth more than Bt10 million.
Douc langurs are one of the zoo's seven amazing things, so if you visit the langurs, it's recommended that you take a look at other highlights as well.
The last herd of Thai browantlered deer is found only at the zoo now. And the only Albino common barking deer in the world also dwells there.
If you don't have enough money or time to visit the most-popular giant panda family in Chiang Mai, you can get up close with other kinds of pandas-the only pair of red pandas in Thailand can be seen at the Dusit Zoo.
A historical teak tree has also been grown in the zoo. It was presented by King Rama V to Prince Valdimar of Denmark to boost bilateral relations. A stone inscription was also presented to the prince to mark his visit.
Another historical learning area is the "World War II Air Raid Shelter". And any visitor to the zoo should not miss the magnificent Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall.
ROYAL SPEND TIME WITH PANDA CUB
HRH Princess Srirasmi and her son HRH Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti visited panda cub Lin Ping and other animals at Chiang Mai Zoo yesterday.
This was the third visit by the Prince to see the zoo's pandas.
Accompanied by 10 families of the Prince's friends, the two went to the panda clinic and the Prince jumpted with joy when he apotted the cuddly cub inside a basket.
The Princess gently held the 6,035-gram cub in her arms, while the curious Prince lightly patted by the princess. The Princess commented that the cub was very cute and and it was a good opportunity for her to hold the cub.
The Prince brought a panda doll to Lin Ping and played with it for a while. After zoo staff took Lin Ping back to its mother, Lin Hui, they also observed the two pandas for five minutes.
The Prince, who next wanted to visit the zoo's aquarium, also hugged panda researcher Ratchaneewan Khejarawong and said "thank you". The Princess and her son also visited Chuang Chuang in the panda display section for 15 minutes and gave it a bunch of fruits before they proceeded to see the Snow Dome, the aquarium and the koala section.
Zoological Park Organisation director Sopon Damnui also presented the Prince with a souvenir basket, which included a koala-shaped backpack, panda dolls, a shark doll and a shirt as well as nine-pound panda-shaped cake. The Prince's friends also got a Nemo doll and a koala doll as souvenir.
This was the third visit by the Prince to see the zoo's pandas.
Accompanied by 10 families of the Prince's friends, the two went to the panda clinic and the Prince jumpted with joy when he apotted the cuddly cub inside a basket.
The Princess gently held the 6,035-gram cub in her arms, while the curious Prince lightly patted by the princess. The Princess commented that the cub was very cute and and it was a good opportunity for her to hold the cub.
The Prince brought a panda doll to Lin Ping and played with it for a while. After zoo staff took Lin Ping back to its mother, Lin Hui, they also observed the two pandas for five minutes.
The Prince, who next wanted to visit the zoo's aquarium, also hugged panda researcher Ratchaneewan Khejarawong and said "thank you". The Princess and her son also visited Chuang Chuang in the panda display section for 15 minutes and gave it a bunch of fruits before they proceeded to see the Snow Dome, the aquarium and the koala section.
Zoological Park Organisation director Sopon Damnui also presented the Prince with a souvenir basket, which included a koala-shaped backpack, panda dolls, a shark doll and a shirt as well as nine-pound panda-shaped cake. The Prince's friends also got a Nemo doll and a koala doll as souvenir.
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