FUN AT ZOUK / TOP 10 FAVOURITE MONSTER

Friday. not feeling so well in the morning. tired!. don wish to get out of bed. Okay, meet Zhen Huang at Clementi 230pm. we had our lunch. Then we went to invest on a 8million project. Haha. yah. the 8million Jackpot Toto. Sorry Zhen Huang, i influence him to buy. We heading to Recreation Center for some billiard. Ohh. sorry to Zhen Huang again. Im on top form. Hat-Trick on him. 3-0. Billiard for free that day. Heading home after that.


Meet dexter around 730pm at Chinese garden. I knew that his words cant be trust. And how stupid am i to be on time. Learnt my lesson ONCE AGAIN. Anyway, the winner is Kim. She reached at 830pm. she the queen ar! .haha. We planning to have dinner in town. Dexter and me was treating kim for dinner. late celebration for her Birthday. Yah. in the end. Dec joined us as well..

After that, we headed to Zouk. Rachel, Joanne, Gordon and some of Dexter's campmates and friends joined us.. Yah. we party till the end.


Me and Dec.



Kim and Dexter.

Long Island Tea.

Gordon and Me.

Dexter and Dec

haha.

Me and Dexter.



Quite drunk that night.


That is Kim, Joanne and Rachel. and Dexter's hair.

Okay. Top 10 favourite monster. Cool and interesting. do giant squid exist???.
Yeah. the Season is starting soon. Hope Manchester United retain the title again. No Transfer for united so far. Hope united can see off Portsmouth and have a wonderful start.



TOP 10 FAVOURITE MONSTER


10. Ogopogo

Canada reputedly has more lake monsters than any other country, boasting no fewer than a dozen in its cold waters. It's no surprise, therefore, that Lake Okanagan, located in British Columbia, might be home to one of the world's top ten monsters. The lake monster, dubbed Ogopogo (from an old music hall song) is unique in that native Indians in the region used to make live sacrifices to a water spirit in the lake as they crossed in boats near the reputed home of Ogopogo, Monster Island. Though any connection between the Indian legend and a modern monster is pure speculation, many eyewitnesses continue to report odd things in the lake. According to John Kirk, Ogopogo expert and president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, there is far better evidence for the existence of a mysterious monster in Canada's Lake Okanagan than at Loch Ness. So if you happen to vacation on Okagangan's shores, bring your camera!



9. Dragons

Perhaps the oldest monster of folklore, there are many variations on dragons and giant serpents. The Bible's Book of Isaiah describes Leviathan, a monstrous sea serpent dragon. Some of the most developed dragons come from Chinese cultures; in fact for centuries some rural Chinese dug up (and made tea from) dinosaur bones, believing they were from dragons. The West is rich in dragon folklore as well; stories of a Christian martyr named George who slew a fearsome dragon later became known as Saint George the Dragon Slayer. While dragons are ancient, they are more popular now than at any other time in history, appearing in role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons and popular films such as "Lord of the Rings."



8. Giant Squid

The giant squid is the only Top Ten Monster that is known to be real, though for centuries its existence was often rumored. Ancient sea stories told of the fearsome Kraken, a huge many-tentacled beast, said to attack ships and sailors on the high seas. Biologists finally verified the existence of a true sea monster: the mysterious giant squid Architeuthis. Dead specimens periodically wash up on the world's beaches, most often on islands whose name begins with "New": Newfoundland and New Zealand. The largest giant squid specimen was estimated to be 65 feet long, but the monster remained elusive until 2004, when Japanese zoologists filmed a giant squid at depth for the first time. The creature was about 26 feet long, was found nearly 3,000 feet below the surface.


7. Champ

Often referred to as "America's Loch Ness Monster," the mysterious creature in Lake Champlain (which borders Vermont, New York, and Canada) is called Champ. Descriptions of the beast vary widely, but is it said to be anywhere from ten to over one hundred feet long, have dark skin, and several humps. Its head supposedly resembles a snake or dog. A photograph claimed to be of the monster was published in The New York Times in 1981, giving the monster national notoriety, and was considered the best evidence for Champ--in fact for any lake monster. Ironically, the photograph that propelled Champ to stardom was later revealed in a 2003 investigation to be almost certainly an image of a floating log instead of a lake monster. While Champ sightings have waned in recent years, the legend is kept alive by the local minor league baseball team, the Vermont Lake Monsters



6. Chupacabra

Bigfoot is named after its big footprints, and the dreaded chupacabra is also known for what it leaves behind: dead animals. Though goats are said to be its favorite prey (chupacabra means goat sucker in Spanish), they have also been blamed for attacks on cats, sheep, rabbits, dogs, chickens, ducks, hogs, and other animals. (There is no record of a chupacabra attacking a Bigfoot, though I'd like to see that.) Descriptions of chupacabra vary widely, but many accounts suggest that the creature stands about four to five feet tall. It has short but powerful legs, long claws, and terrifying, glowing red eyes. Chupacabras first gained wide notoriety in 1995 in Puerto Rico. No one knows for certain why or how the chupacabra suddenly sprang into existence, but many Latin Americans believe it is the unholy result of secret U.S. government experiments in the jungles of Puerto Rico. It had a heyday of about five years, when it was widely reported in Mexico, Chile, Nicaragua, Spain, Argentina, and Florida--almost exclusively in Spanish-speaking areas. While widely regarded as a myth, occasional chupacabra sightings are reported in the United States, primarily in Texas and New Mexico.


5. Sirens

A distant cousin of the mermaid (in folkloric terms anyway), the sirens were beautiful, alluring women who dwelled near rocky cliffs and sung to passing sailors. According to legends, the hapless seamen would become enchanted by the sirens' song, following the mellifluous melody to their deaths as their boats crashed upon the rocky shore. It is an ancient morality tale about the evils of women, but not all sirens were so comely. Other accounts depict sirens as half-bird, half-women creatures who would lure travelers to their doom with harps instead of their voices. In Greek myth, Odysseus escaped the sirens by having his sailors plug their ears with beeswax, though in modern times doctors recommend soft foam earplugs for sailors who may encounter these dangerous monsters.


4. Loch Ness Monster

No list of monsters would be complete without the beastie said to inhabit Scotland's Loch Ness. While Nessie is the world's most famous lake monster, it is far from the only one. In fact, there are hundreds (by some counts thousands) of lakes across the globe said to harbor monsters. The earliest eyewitness account of the Loch Ness monster dates back only to May 1933. Since that time, the monster--real or not--has been a major tourism boon for Inverness and other towns along the lake. Loch Ness has been repeatedly searched for over seventy years, trying to verify the occasional sightings, photos, and videos. In 2003, a team from the BBC scoured the lake using 600 separate sonar beams and satellite navigation; they turned up no monsters. Still, the public's interest in Nessie remains high: a film about the monster opened Christmas day and earned $2.4 million.


3. Werewolves

The fearsome werewolf is a fascinating blend of man and beast. Some believe that a werewolf terrorized the French countryside in 1764, when a strange wolflike creature killed dozens of villagers; the fictionalized story was depicted in the film "Brotherhood of the Wolf." The werewolf is only one variation of lycanthropy, the ancient belief that certain people have the ability to change into animals, either at will, on certain dates, or on full moons. Witches and vampires, for example, are said to become cats, bats, and wolves on occasion. While the werewolf's origins are unclear, an unusual disease that causes excessive body hair (called hypertrichosis) may have contributed to belief in werewolves--in fact sideshow performers with the disease were once exhibited as werewolves or "wolfmen." The connection with the full moon likely came about because of wolves' and dogs' tendency to bark at the moon, but stories of silver bullets didn't arise until much later.


2. Vampires

A century after Bram Stoker modeled his Dracula character after Romanian national hero Vlad Tepes, interest in vampires has never been stronger. From Dracula to the "Blade" films, from Anne Rice novels to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," no single monster has captured the public's imagination the way vampires have. At once both sensual and scary, vampire lore has inspired a thriving goth subculture. Despite strong evidence that vampires are a fictional creation, some people even claim to be vampires, conducting arcane rituals and consuming blood from willing donors. Let's hope they show up for the blood drive!


1. Bigfoot

Bigfoot is of course the world's marquee monster, having had pizzas and monster trucks named after it. Bigfoot is known not for what it is (since no one knows for certain what it is, or if it even exists), but what it supposedly leaves behind: large footprints. Bigfoot's high profile is largely due to a short film taken in 1967 in Bluff Creek, California. This is the classic footage of Bigfoot, showing a furry, man-sized creature walking across a clearing. The film has never been proven authentic, and many suspect a hoax. It is also odd that the film remains the best evidence for Bigfoot 40 years later, despite the fact that video cameras are better, cheaper, and in more hands than ever before; surely if it was not a hoax someone would have recorded a film as good or better since then. Perhaps Bigfoot's most amazing quality is its ability to leave no hard evidence of its existence. No teeth, bones, live or dead ones have been found. By one estimate, there should be hundreds of thousands of Bigfoot in North America, yet not one of them has been hit by a car, shot by a hunter, or found dead by a hiker.


MANCHESTER UNITED NEWS



NEXT MATCH

MANCHESTER UNITED VS PORTSMOUTH

SUN 10 AUG


Ronaldo's here for years to come

Having ensured that Cristiano Ronaldo will remain a United player this season, Sir Alex Ferguson feels the Portuguese winger will find it harder and harder to leave the club the longer he remains a Red.

“We’re happy,” the Reds boss said at a press conference on Friday. “His interview was very good. From my perspective, he explained himself perfectly. As I said on Wednesday, the matter is now closed. He’s a Manchester United player and he’s happy to be here. He’s always been happy here. It’s just the unfortunate participation of Real Madrid in his life that has made it difficult for him.”

The United manager was equally bullish when presented with the notion that a repeat episode of Real Madrid's forthright pursuit of the player could take place next summer.

“The important thing is that we have ended all the stuff about Real Madrid,” he said defiantly. “As he gets older, I think Cristiano will appreciate being here more and more. That happens with players the longer they stay here. They don’t want to leave.



Carrick on his way to Wembley

Sir Alex Ferguson's injury concerns are beginning to ease as United prepare to kick off 2008/09 on Sunday in the Community Shield clash with Portsmouth.

The squad for Wembley will be bolstered by the return of Michael Carrick - the midfielder trained on Thursday after recovering from the virus that also waylaid Wayne Rooney.

"Carrick trained yesterday for the first time and I'm taking him to Wembley," said Sir Alex.

"Hopefully I'll give him some minutes on the pitch. If he is feeling good then we have to get some minutes on the clock for him ahead of next week against Newcastle."

Wayne Rooney is now also clear of the virus but he returned to training only today (Friday) after missing every session since the Reds returned from Africa on 28 July.

"We have a big job to get him ready for Newcastle," said Sir Alex, "but with seven or eight days training, we may just make it now. He's much better and the medical reports are good.

"Gary Neville and Nani are fit and they will travel. Nani will probably start on Sunday because he is suspended for the first two league games of the season.

"Owen Hargreaves is not ready. He should be OK for Portsmouth away (on Monday 25 August), that's the time frame we've put on it.

"Ben Foster had a bit of swelling in his knee which you can sometimes get after a cruciate knee injury. We're trying to manage that but he's not ready yet to play in games. It's unfortunate for the lad because he was looking forward to an uninterrupted run."


Pilgrims snap up Cathcart

Young Reds centre-back Craig Cathcart has joined Plymouth Argyle on a six-month loan deal.

The Northern Ireland U21 international will look to gain first-team experience with the Championship club under the supervision of manager Paul Sturrock.

Cathcart goes straight into the Plymouth squad to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday in the opening league fixture of the season.

The 19-year-old, who won the 2007 Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award at United, is highly rated at Old Trafford. He emerged through the youth ranks as captain of the U18s, before excelling in the Reds reserves

End~ 1.53pm.