Park Taehwan of South Korea wins Men's 100m Freestyle gold

Guangzhou, November 17 - Park Taehwan of South Korea won the Men's 100m Freestyle gold in Swimming for his third gold medal at the Guangzhou Asian Games here on Wednesday.

Park Taehwan touched home with a time of 48.70. The silver medal went to Lu Zhiwu of China in 48.98. Japanese Takuro Fujii finished with the bronze at 49.37.

It was the third gold medal for Park, who had won the 200m and 400m Freestyle titles earlier in the Guangzhou Asian Games.

Source: Xinhua

MANILA, Philippines – "Fighter of the Decade" Manny Pacquiao hammered a unanimous decision against "Tijuana Tornado" Antonio Margarito to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight title, his 8th world crown, on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

16th ASIAN GAMES Nov. 12 - 27, 2010

The 16th Asian Games opened in Guangzhou on Friday in a blaze of pyrotechnics as China staged the biggest sporting gala since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 
Source:gz2010http://www.gz2010.cn/10/1112/23/6LAV9C930078002U.html

Under Water Exhibit

Coral reefs are an integral part of oceanic wildlife. They make up less than 0.2 percent of the world’s oceans, but they are home to one-fourth of all marine life. They filter the water, feed the fish, buffer coastal areas from storms, and provide homes for oceanic life. And as the Los Angeles Times recently reported, a coral reef-like structure can also take the form of an impressive underwater art exhibit.

Artist Jason deCaires Taylor recently completed “The Silent Evolution,” an underwater museum and permanent sculpture exhibit set up in the waters near Cancun, Mexico. It is located in the National Marine Park of Isla Mujeres, Cancun, and Punta Nizuc.

Experts hope that the exhibit, easily accessible by snorkeling, will alleviate some of the tourist traffic on the nearby natural coral reefs. Cancun Marine Park is in close proximity and receives up to 750,000 tourists annually.

Called “awe-inspiring” and “surreal” by the L.A. Times, the exhibit is 400 sculptures of people standing silently on the ocean’s floor, eyes closed, heads tilted towards the surface. As deCaires Taylor shared with the Times, the exhibit has “taken 18 months, required 120 tons of cement, sand, and gravel; 3,800m of fiberglass; 400kg of silicone; 8,000 miles of red tape; 120 hours working underwater; and $250,000."

Coral reefs are under assault all over the globe. Sewage and agricultural run-off from coastal areas poison many reefs via toxic algae blooms that can cut off their much-need oxygen supply. Human visitors also cause extensive damage by literally knocking into the ecosystems, breaking off pieces of souvenir coral and dragging boats and anchors across its fragile surfaces.

Further, as ocean temperatures increase, reefs are succumbing to coral bleaching. This is the process in which coral expels some of its inhabitants due to heated waters, leaving them white and lifeless.

Fossil records date some of the oldest corals on Earth to be 500 million years old, and yet they are under grave assault from warming temperatures and humankind’s encroachment.

Made from environmentally friendly materials, deCaires Taylor’s sculpture promotes awareness of the plight of coral. The artist says his sculpture garden in Mexico is only in the first stages of development.

As he told the Los Angeles Times, “I would also like to point out that this installation is by no means over and the second phase is dependent on nature's artists of the sea, to nurture, evolve, and apply the patina of life.”

This story originally appeared on the Mother Nature Network.

Mukesh Ambani builds an aggressively opulent home...

Lovers/supporters/practitioners of sustainable architecture and design have been collectively groaning and rolling their eyes over recent news that the world’s first billion dollar single-family home — it was initially dubbed “The Greenest of All Buildings” according to an appalled writer over at Inhabitat — has been completed on tony Altamount Road in Mumbai, India.

Built for Asia’s wealthiest man, 53-year-old businessman Mukesh Ambani (the world’s fourth richest individual, according to Forbes), his wife, and the couple’s three children, the home — if you can even call it that — has 398,000 square feet of living space spread across 27 stories. (The 568-foot tall glass-and-steel tower can accommodate 60 stories, but the ceilings on each floor are rather, umm, high). All and all, this non-humble abode named Antilia boasts more square footage than Versailles.

Even though Inhabitat claims that Antilia “truly exemplifies the disease of excessive consumption, extreme wastefulness, and unsustainable living that is permeating today’s society,” of course we want to know what’s inside such a perversely large home. Well, here we go: at least one swimming pool (natch), a fitness center, a 50-seat movie theatre, nine elevators, a ballroom, and enough guest rooms to gag a horse (and provide accommodations for a small convention, I'm guessing). There are also three helipads and a garage large enough to fit 150 cars. To keep things running smoothly at chez Ambani, there’s a staff of 600. Good grief.

On the green front, The Guardian reports that Antilia was built with local materials and features a four-story, sunlight-absorbing hanging garden that was inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This living wall helps to keep the interior of Antilia warm in the winter and cool during the summer months. Interesting enough, Antilla was designed by high-profile, sustainability minded American architecture firm Perkins + Will(the firm behind Victoria B.C.'s Dockside Green) while Atlanta-based Hirsch Bender Associates oversaw the home’s interior design scheme.

While it's easy to conclude that any sustainability that played a part of Antilia’s design is negated by the home’s egregious size, at least something went into it. I’ll give it that much. But not much more.

An associate of Ambani defends him and downplays the home’s lavish size, telling The Guardian:

He can't just walk into a cinema and watch a film like you or me. So he has built a house to his requirements like anyone else would. It's a question of convenience and requirements. It's only a family home, just a big one. It's just another home that someone is living in. It's no big event."

What do you think of Antilia? Does the fact that sustainability played a part, no matter how small, in the world's most expensive private home validate it in any way? Or is Antilia simply a flat-out monstrosity?

Via The Guardian, Inhabitat

This story originally appeared on the Mother Nature Network.

Aling Dionisia on Pacquiao vs Margarito Big Fight!

Handa na nga ba si Pacman para kalabanin si Margarito sa big fight nila na gaganapin sa Sabado (Linggo-Phil. time)? Madami ang alingasngas na hindi gaanung preparado ang pamabato ng mga Pinoy na kung saan ay nakataya ang "Super Welterweight Championship"! Naging magandang balita naman ito para sa opponent nyang si Margarito subalit sinabi nito na kahit preparado sya (Pacquiao) o hindi ay tuloy ang laban.
Matagumpayan kaya ng pambansang kamao ang laban lalu na't ang mahal n'yang ina ay manunuod nito? Maging "lucky charm" kaya ang nag-iisang Aling Dionisia ng Pinas para sa bakbakan ng anak nyang si Pacman? Anu sa palagay n'yu?

St. Martin of Tours: A Commemoration-November 11,2010

The tomb of St. Martin was rediscovered on December 14, 1860, which aided in the nineteenth century revival of the popular devotion to St. Martin. Martin’s renewed popularity was in large part due to his promotion as a military saint during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. During the military and political crisis of the Franco-Prussian war, the Napoleon III’s second empire collapsed. After the surrender of Napoleon to the Prussians after the Battle of Sedan in September 1870, a provisional government of national defense was established and France’s Third Republic was proclaimed. Paris was evacuated due to the advancing enemy and for a brief time, Tours (September-December 1870) became the effective capital of France. St Martin was promoted by the clerical right as the protector of the nation against the German threat. Conservatives associated the dramatic collapse of Napoleon III’s regime as a sign of divine retribution on the irreligious emperor. Priests interpreted it as punishment for a nation led astray due to years of anti-clericalism. They preached repentance and a return to religion for political stability. The ruined towers of the royal basilica of St. Martin at Tours came to symbolize the decline of traditional Catholic France.^[19]
With the government's move to Tours during the Franco-Prussian War, 1870, a great number of pilgrims were attracted to St. Martin’s tomb, which was covered by a temporary chapel that Monsignor Guibert (archbishop of Tours, 1857-1871) built. The popular devotion to St. Martin was also associated with the nationalistic devotion to the Sacred Heart. The Flag of Sacre-Coeur, borne by UltramontaneCatholic Pontifical Zouaves who fought at Patay, had been first placed overnight in St. Martin’s Tomb before being taken into battle on October 9, 1870. The banner read "Heart of Jesus Save France" and on the reverse side Carmelite Nuns of Tours embroidered "Saint Martin Protect France".^[20] The French army was victorious in Patay, which led many among the faithful to believe that the victory was due to divine favor. Popular hymns of the 1870s developed the theme of national protection under the cover of Martin's cloak, the "first flag of France". ^[19]
The popularity of devotion to St Martin among men is significant because historical evidence shows that "feminization" had affected French Catholicism in the nineteenth century. During the nineteenth century Frenchmen influenced by secularism, agnosticism, and anti-clericalism deserted the church in great numbers. Martin was a man's saint and the devotion to him was an exception to this trend. For men serving in the military, Martin of Tours was presented by the Catholic Right as the masculine model of principled behavior. He was a brave fighter, knew his obligation to the poor, shared his goods, performed his required military service, followed legitimate orders, and respected secular authority.^[21]