10. Danielle Mason

National Reality TV Awards, London

It was a tough choice for the worst outfit this week, but with the amount of skin and sequins British model/actress Danielle Mason is showing, we just had to put her in the bottom spot.

Big Brother plans sneaky trick with 'rival house' twist

THIS is the Big Brother house...no, the other one.

In one of the sneakiest twists in the format's history, host Sonia Kruger will trick the current crop of contestants into thinking they have to compete against a rival house of 14 other hopefuls next week.
The secret housemates, all paid actors, were filmed in a mock-up BB house on the Gold Coast, lazing about, flirting with the cameras and fiddling with their microphones in the same style of the real housemates locked inside the Dreamworld house.
The challenge will be introduced following tomorrow night's eviction on Channel 9, where Bradley, Ben and Ryan are all vying to stay in the competition.
Executive producer Alex Mavroidakis revealed the mind game had been in the planning since Christmas, with BB task producers "leaking'' details of the second house and fake contestants onto fan forums and spoiler websites.
"If we can pull it off, it will be the best week of television in the history of Big Brother,'' he said.
Only one contestant, Estelle, was given a hint of the possibility of a second house, with audio about the second house deliberately fed through her headphones as she waited to be sent on stage to meet Kruger then placed inside the real house for the first time.
Mavroidakis said housemates Michael and Ben, both with high IQs, posed the greatest risk to the trick unravelling, if their cynicism rubbed off on other housemates.
Meanwhile, intruders could be the next twist to this year's competition as producers try to keep up the drama and the ratings.

About to bust? What's with the mining boom?

Here's why everyone is saying the Mining Boom is over

THERE is talk that the great Australian mining boom - which has helped the country avoid recession for 21 years - is over.

Resource Minister Martin Ferguson said last week that "anyone with half a brain" knows the resources boom is over. Deutsche Bank warned of the end of the investment boom and even a recession in 2013.
On the flip side, a NAB report predicts the resources investment boom isn’t over and will continue until 2013-2014 and perhaps will not peak until 2015. And, last week Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens took the "glass half full" outlook and said he sees no sign the boom is over.

It’s over, it’s not over, it’s over….
Here's a breakdown of what's happening:
The Iron ore bubble
As far as bubbles go – this is one of the biggest and it looks like it’s about to burst.

The price of iron ore has increased tenfold over the past 10 years and it's Australia’s biggest export. But the price of the steel making ingredient has fallen 30 per cent in the past two months. Yesterday, iron ore prices hit a two-year low, nosediving $US4.50 to $US90.30 per tonne.

If the price doesn’t pick up the collapse threatens to put a big dent in Government revenues (to the tune of $10 billion) and mining incomes. Some analysts are saying the price won’t pick up any time soon. Others are optimistic however such as Fortescue Metals chief Neville Power who yesterday said he believes the price will go back up to $US120 a tonne – a mark for when Chinese production is profitable again.

So, we need China to step up spending on power, water, rail and road infrastructure programs.

It all hinges on China

We’ve heard it before, but it all really does hinge on China.

Twenty-five per cent of Australia’s exports go to China and 60 per cent of these shipments are iron ore. It’s shipped over to China’s steel makers for industrial expansion, the 90 million houses it has built over the past 15 years and other infrastructure.

If China’s demand for steel falls – which data seems to show it has – Australia is left massively exposed. As it stands in China there are more than two million unsold homes and an estimated 30 million under construction signalling China’s iron-ore imports are going to slow down dramatically.

According to this morning’s AFR, China’s biggest steel makers are also planning to shut unprofitable capacity permanently over the second half of 2012.

Investors are nervous…and shelving massive projects doesn’t help
Big alarm bells sounded last week when BHP scrapped $20 billion plans to expand the Olympic Dam, blaming soaring development costs, a high Australian dollar and falling commodity prices. Expansion of Woodside Petroleum's $15 billion Pluto project in Western Australia is also on hold.

Investors are getting nervous. They’re worried the drop in iron ore prices will stop the big miners such as Fortescue Metal being able to pay off its $6 billion debt.

Rio Tinto shares fell yesterday below $50 for the first time since 2009.

Atlas Iron plunged more than 5 per cent.

Drilling contractor Boart Longyear shares dived by more than a whopping 33 per cent yesterday after it slashed its full-year profit forecast, blaming an expected slowdown in global mining activity.

In response to pressure from shareholders worried about poor returns in the weak global markets, miners have put the brakes on capital spending.

On the bright side
Official figures out yesterday showed the capital expenditure, which is a big indicator of the strength of the mining boom, is still very strong.

Australian Bureau of Statistics said it expected $119 billion to be invested in mining capital expenditure this year, representing the bulk of an estimated $181.5 billion of investment across the economy.

But Deutsche Bank warns of over-confidence that the investment pipeline is “locked-in”.

The rise and fall of the Dollar
The resources boom has fuelled the two-speed economy pumping up the dollar and in turn hurting manufacturing and retail.

If the boom is over analysts say we’ll see a rebalancing in the economy with other sectors such as retail, manufacturing, tourism seeing a bit of recovery as the resources sector contributes less.

And if it is over…
As history shows after many booms comes a recession. Deutsche Bank analysts are the pessimists predicting a recession for Australia in 2015. But local bank NAB says it’s unlikely that the recent fall in commodity prices will continue and expects prices to level out about now and to rise gradually ahead. Another recent report from BIS Shrapnel says mining investment will not peak until 2014.

Furthermore, resources projects in the pipeline do not peak out potentially until 2015. Planned expenditure on these projects is immense and will drive the overall economy’s growth path ahead. NAB says “those calling the end of the resources boom are likely to be pleasantly disappointed.”

According to a report released by Variant Perception Australia: The Unlucky Country, Australia is a classic dutch disease example where the economy is totally bent out of shape distorted by one sector - similar to Ireland's "Celtic Tiger" with their construction boom.

The report states that Australia will face a run on its currency, a deeper collapse in housing prices and a bank funding crisis as it attempts to come to grips with life after the mining boom.

Tsunami alert after 7.6-quake hits Philippines save

QUAKE strikes east of the Philippines, triggering tsunami warnings across the region. There is no threat to Australia

A 7.6-MAGNITUDE quake struck off the eastern coast of the Philippines, killing at least one person, knocking out power in several towns and generating negligible tsunami surges.

The quake struck at a depth of 34 kilometres in the Pacific Ocean about 140 kilometres from the Philippines, leading to tsunami warnings across its east coast and as far away as Indonesia, Japan and Papua New Guinea.
A series of small waves ranging from 16-centimetres to 50 centimetres hit the eastern Philippines about two hours after the quake, according to local authorities, but there were no reports of major damage.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre shortly afterwards lifted its tsunami warnings for the Philippines and Indonesia. It had earlier cancelled similar warnings for Japan, Taiwan and several Pacific islands.
The warnings led to a burst of terror for residents along the east coast of the Philippines, many of whom were without electricity because power lines had been cut during the earthquake that hit at 8:47pm (10:47pm AEST).

Leticia Amos, 35, a government employee, said hundreds of families on Samar island rushed to a hillside area, carrying their belongings as soon as the alert was raised.
"It is very dark, there is no electricity and everyone is panicking," she said.
"Our place is on a hilly portion along the highway, and hundreds of people from low lying bayside areas rushed here."
The quake shook large areas of the east, and one person was confirmed killed when a landslide engulfed her home in Cagayan de Oro City.
"There's a 60-year-old woman who died and a five-year-old girl who was injured. There was a small landslide," civil defence chief Benito Ramos said on DZMM radio.
"The quake occurred amid strong rain, so the earth shook loose and there was a landslide."
Paula Daza, the governor of northern Samar province, one of the areas closest to where the quake struck, said there were reports of damage to infrastructure.
"Some cracks appeared on concrete roads, and at the base of at least one bridge," he said.
Sol Matugas, the governor of another eastern region, Surigao del Norte, said on DZMM radio that the quake had severely shaken homes.
"We were rather frightened. For the first time, we saw objects falling out of our cabinets," he said.
The USGS had initially reported the quake as having a magnitude of 7.9, but revised it to 7.6

Agfa TV commercial

nice music...

Mark Henderson is an award-winning composer, internationally recognized for his musical compositions for acclaimed recording artists, theater, film, television, CD-Roms, Book Apps and corporate patrons. For close to 30 years, Mark has delivered memorable melodies to serve the needs of his clients, such as: DreamWorks, Universal Studios, Motorola, Sea World, NBC, CNN, Reebok, Honda, the Smithsonian Institution, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, international theme parks and others.

 He has worked with such noted artist as Kenny Loggins, Mellisa Manchester and Tiffany. He was the resident composer for the nationally acclaimed, award-winning Santa Barbara Access Theatre for over a decade, and has composed eleven musical productions, which have been staged at such prestigious venues as Los Angeles’ James A. Doolittle Theatre and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as toured internationally.
His music for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has been an annual hit from 2003 through 2007. In 2011 he completed a score to the animated film The Improbable Journey Of Berta Benz. In 2012 he started to write music for Children’s Book Apps and his clients come from around the world. If one thing can be said about Mark’s music, it is that upon hearing it, people are left with a positive state of mind. His music, whether understated or expansive, is engagingly memorable.
His work has been lauded with awards and recognitions for independent and collaborative projects with the Telly Award, ADDY Award, Princess Grace Award, Media Access Award, American Media Award, Drama Logue Award, Freddie Award, and those of several film festivals. When asked what he is most proud of, Mark’s response was as follows: “That I am prolific. Life is an endless stream of inspiration, and I am grateful to be blessed with an inventive nature, which gives me the ability to channel my inspiration into music.”

Music by Mark Henderson and Greg Kuhn.
All copyrights apply.
www.markhendersonmusic.com

Agfa TV Commercial

Agfa Film TV commercial

A nice twist to the hidden camera videos. You don't need body spray to get girls to strip. A comfort to all geeks out there!...

Films that you don't see much any more...

AGFA was the abbreviation for Aktien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation, given in 1873 to a company that had been founded in Berlin in 1867. It produced chemicals for photography. Most famous is the film developer Rodinal, introduced in 1892 and continued for 115 years. When Agfa obtained the Rietzschel camera works in Munich from Bayer in 1925, it badged all Rietzschel products with its Agfa rhombus. In 1926 it introduced the first real Agfa camera, the Standard. In 1927 the name Rietzschel disappeared from the products. In that year the successful Billy camera series was introduced, and Agfa licensed Ansco to manufacture its products for the American market.
In 1930 the first Agfa Box camera for 6×9 cm exposures on roll film was produced. In the following year it popularized photography in Germany by dumping the Box 44 for 4 Reichsmark, easily recouping its losses afterwards by selling Agfa 120 roll films. In 1937 it brought out its first camera for 35mm film.
After WWII Agfa improved its prewar models and introduced the new 35mm Solinette. In 1954 it modernized its camera design with the Silette series; 1956 saw the introduction of the medium format Automatic 66. In 1959 a 35mm viewfinder camera with autoexposure button followed, the Optima. In 1964 Agfa introduced the Rapid system as an answer to Kodak's 126 film. The company debuted cameras accepting 126 film in 1967.
In 1968 Agfa introduced its red sensor point, a round membrane made of red foil and framed with a metal ring. Depending on the camera type, either a mechanical or an electromechanical shutter release button was hidden under the flexible membrane. Since then this touchpad-like shutter button was used on most of the company's models and became a familiar feature.
In Germany Agfa had a huge success with its popular "Ritsch-Ratsch" pocket cameras, which accepted 110 cartridge film. A whole series of these Agfamatic cameras was launched twice, the first series using magicubes and the second, flipflash. Of course these cameras had the red sensor point as shutter release button.
In the early 1980s Agfa produced its last film cameras. The new models of the Selectronic series were manufactured by Chinon. Agfa gave up camera production in 1983. All later Agfa film cameras were OEM products.