acne.

glamour hippie.

wide-brimmed hats. blazers.  beautiful draping. 

platform ankle boots.

fluorescent adolescent.

loving sienna's new haircut with her bangs...

definitely inspiring me to love my bangs more :)

summatime in the city.

BP is still unsure of the cause

BP PLC Chief Executive Tony Hayward told a congressional panel Thursday that it's still too early to determine the exact cause of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion on April 20 and subsequent oil leak, now in its 59th day.



Hayward repeatedly insisted that he "wasn't part of the decision-making" in the drilling of company's stricken well.

Waxman told BP's chief that he wasn't taking responsibility for the accident. "You're kicking the can down the road," he said.




To push aside responsibility is the worst possible thing to do in such circumstances. It's unconscionable.

You are now under much scrutiny from the public and the best thing to do is to take up all the blames and just deal with it. You are no longer hold the prerogative to circumvent on anything. It is now time to fully concentrate on what you did wrong and not try to run away from it.


It's flagrant that someone needs to step up and assure everything that everything is going to be okay. Amidst all these uncertainties, you should put the public at ease and not add up to their uneasiness.

On Wednesday, BP said it will establish the $20 billion escrow fund to compensate victims of the Gulf oil disaster and suspend $7.5 billion in dividend payments this year.


The $20 billion escrow fund does not even match up to BP's annual profit so I suppose it is nothing but a small price to pay. Definitely not a ground-shaking sum of money like what BP has mentioned.


Money can't solve all problems at the end of the day. They can't pay for the lives lost and the marine biodiversity sacrificed at the expense of the oil spill.


It is time to fortify the remaining of their wells before such things happen again.


Credits -marketwatch, -blogspot

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Compared to other games, combat shooters were drawing the most buzz by far at the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Fans are eagerly anticipating the debuts of titles like "Call of Duty: Black Ops," "Medal of Honor" and "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier" later this year. Other titles such as "Homefront" and "Bulletstorm" will hit the market early next year.

"The video game business tends to be on a two-year lag. Two years ago, publishers realized that 'Call of Duty' was this huge business that was bringing in a lot of revenue," said Jesse Divnich, analyst for Electronic Entertainment and Design Research, or EEDAR, a market research firm for the video game sector.

The above mentioned about the 2 year lag worries me. Look at the fashion industry, they usually introduce a collection prepared for 6 months later. For instance, they will showcase their winter collection around the period nearing May.


Consumers have to wait at least 6 months before they can get what they covet at the Fashion Show. By that time, all their passion and enthusiasm might have already been eroded.


Does it apply for the video game industry too? Perhaps you thought of buying it initially but as time pass, you lose your interest and you end up downloading the game or buying the pirated version of it. Or worst, you decide not to buy it altogether.


A precarious decision indeed. Perhaps, the video game industry will like look into this before everything goes haywire.

Torres of GameSpot said "Medal of Honor" and other shooters are unlikely to hurt "Call of Duty" sales. If the other games are good enough, gamers will still buy them even if they have bought "Call of Duty.'"



Credits -marketwatch

*Fashion: Summer Street Style

I'm sorry for the lack of posts but it's been very busy lately.

I promise to make it all good in the vacation with XL fashion and lifestyle posts.

I've been roaming lots of professional street blogs (main reason: Fashion Week) and I've found lots and lots of alarming new trends I wanted to share for this Spring. 

You see more and more variety on the street: people don't necessarily follow what's "in" but they often put together outfits that reflect their personality and mood.

As well as photographers have a brighter focus in the age, race and aesthetic in the pictures they choose to publish. This are the main reasons I wanted to I wanted to focus on a variety of looks and aggregate all the latest styles from the world's top fashion blogs.

*Enjoy, let them inspire you and tell me what's your Summer Musthave!*

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sources:

Jak Jill

Foto Valise

Google changing their approach in terms of the sales of Nexus One

Google announced that it would soon change the focus of its Nexus One store, moving from selling to showcasing.


Unlike Apple (AAPL), Google does not have a physical store to sell its products, so mail order was their only option. Apple currently sells iPhones and iPads at its many domestic retail stores.

Google is changing the focus of the "store" to advertising and viewing as it does in Europe. They list the following changes:



More retail availability. As we make Nexus One available in more countries we'll follow the same model we've adopted in Europe, where we're working with partners to offer Nexus One to consumers through existing retail channels. We'll shift to a similar model globally.

From retail to viewing. Once we have increased the availability of Nexus One devices in stores, we'll stop selling handsets via the web store, and will instead use it as an online store window to showcase a variety of Android phones available globally.


Hmmm... This is interesting. What are the advantages of having your own store? Rather than selling your products through the stores of other retailers? To have your own brand, your own store. Just look at the Apple's epicenter, it's practically like a small mini white lab.


The only thing I have to complain about it is that it's not prestigious enough. It's not classy enough. It does not showcase the awesome products they own. The layout of the shops are good but not great.


Perhaps, Google will like to work on this?

 
Credits -apple, -pcadvisor

We got Married

Go watch this show on Youtube if you haven't already done so.


Go type We Got Married Episode 1 on youtube to start the ball rolling.

It's really addictive. You see various types of couples in there and you will be able to understand the many misunderstandings that are caused as a result of miscommunication.


They do care about each other but many a times, they do not know how to express it.

One of the mean guy said something rather meaningful.


He said that if a guy is too perfect, the girl will soon get bored and feel suffocated. Conversely, if the guy is bad, the girl will find a lot of satisfaction as she slowly tries to turn him into a better person.


Is that why girls like bad boys?



Credits -koala41, -sookyeong

Gold ATM, store them

The gold rally revved up again Friday, nearly hitting a record $1,250 an ounce, before slipping later in the day in volatile trade. Stock market jitters and Europe's debt troubles have sent investors flocking to the precious metal, but why?


Gold is experiencing strong demand from Europeans lately, as investors there worry the region's debt problems will persist and devalue the euro, said Adam Klopfenstein, senior market strategist at commodities brokerage firm Lind-Waldock.

"Gold is the market that Europeans want to own. Their money is going into gold because at some point, people who have already been burned by their own currency want to own something tangible," he said.


I'm sure that there is no surprises when we hear that individuals are backing off from the forex market for fear of its volatility and fluctuations. However, they are not alone.

Countries, unions are all backing off in the currency market as well. They are extremely timorous now. They fear that the stock markets will crash once again and then recession will start to hit everyone.


Therefore, many countries, including the super powerhouses like China and India, along with the United States of America are already storing up their gold reserves to strengthen their countries' reserves and also to reduce their vulnerability in today's volatile market.


It is de facto synonymous to bonds. They are very stable and a worthy buy.


Credits -cnn, -ibtimes, -solarnavigator

Presenting to you, Resort World Sentosa

Credits -asiaplate, -travelagentcentral, -worldarchitecturenews

Japan's Immunity Idol

Japan isn't completely immune to the debt concerns surrounding Europe but recent economic data may support the argument that the nation's a bit more resilient than others in Asia.

"It is correct that Japanese exports are quite well at the moment, mainly due to the fact that Japan's main export destination is China and China's economy is the strongest in the world," said Martin Hennecke, an associate director at Tyche Group Ltd. in Hong Kong.


Yes, this sounds like a sustainable result for Japan however the truth is far from that.

The key rebutting arguement is that Japan holds the largest amount of National Debt as a percentage of its GDP in the entire world.


For a country to be moving forward sustainably, it has to has not just the lowest debt but preferably the lowest debt as a percentage of its GDP. Then, it will be able to use the remaining of its GDP for investments and reserves. Countries with a huge load of reserves along with a gargantuan sum of Foreign Direct Investments will be recognised as a sustainable country that is extremely stable.


Also, the thing about exports is that it is not stable. It is de facto fluctuating and volatile. Once your currency's strength increases, the export market will be heavily impacted. You will almost see an immediate effect on the export surplus. It will plummet!

Well, of course, we should be more optimistic. Afterall, Japan has been through the various vissicitudes of life. They have been in debts for more than two decades. They have more than enough knowledge when it comes to dealing with debts. It is a matter of how you fine-tune your economy and its priorities. Whether to focus on exports or reserves or investments.


I'm pretty sure that the new government will be able to make a sagacious decision that is apposite for its economy.



Credits -marketwatch, -newpeopleworld, -artlex, -tectonic uplift