Thursday, November 4, 2010
Supermodel Adriana Lima at Miami Beach
10-year-old boy shoulders his family
10-year-old boy shoulders his family, sells fruits to support 70-year-old grandpa
6 o’clock in the morning, knocks on the door awake Zhu Honglei up. It is grandpa, the only one who lives with him in the old cottage. Mother went away years ago for sick of poverty, and father went to city to make money but never sends a penny home. Grandpa can’t work in the fields anymore, his rheumatism gets worse early this year, making him hardly get off bed, so Zhu Honglei becomes the man in the family, at only 10 years old.
Zhu Honglei rubs his eyes in the darkness. He pulls the lamp on, a squirrel swishes out of his empty window, but Zhu is used to it. He puts on clothes that he’s been wearing for a week. He only changes after shower to save the laundry, and he only showers once a week to save water. Every 4 days, Zhu will climb up to the mountain spring with neighbor, to fetch water and fill the tank at home.
Zhu Honglei rubs his eyes in the darkness. He pulls the lamp on, a squirrel swishes out of his empty window, but Zhu is used to it. He puts on clothes that he’s been wearing for a week. He only changes after shower to save the laundry, and he only showers once a week to save water. Every 4 days, Zhu will climb up to the mountain spring with neighbor, to fetch water and fill the tank at home.
Getting off the bed, Zhu comes to the kitchen on the other side of the wall to make fire for cooking breakfast, which is fried pickles and some pumpkin leftover from last night. Pumpkin is the main food in the house, there are always 5 or 6 of them in the corner to serve the table. Zhu can’t remember when is the last time he eats meat. He goes through his homework a bit in the glow of the hearth.
After breakfast with grandpa, it is half past seven. Zhu puts away the dishes and leaves for school. He has to be quick since there are about 5 km mountain roads to hike before he could reach school, which starts at 10. According to Liao Guoliu, principal of Cherry Elementary School, Zhu is never late for school. “There is a storm in July this year, resulting in a mudslide that blocks many mountain roads. We tolerate kids not coming to school whenever there is storm and mudslide. But Zhu climbed a whole other mountain to go around the mudslide for school. He arrived at 1 pm that day. Teachers were touched by his effort and made up his morning class for him before sending him home.”
After breakfast with grandpa, it is half past seven. Zhu puts away the dishes and leaves for school. He has to be quick since there are about 5 km mountain roads to hike before he could reach school, which starts at 10. According to Liao Guoliu, principal of Cherry Elementary School, Zhu is never late for school. “There is a storm in July this year, resulting in a mudslide that blocks many mountain roads. We tolerate kids not coming to school whenever there is storm and mudslide. But Zhu climbed a whole other mountain to go around the mudslide for school. He arrived at 1 pm that day. Teachers were touched by his effort and made up his morning class for him before sending him home.”
2 hours later, Zhu arrives at school. Class hasn’t begun yet so he goes play badminton with peers. Rackets belong to his desk mate, one of them is broken in handle. Zhu asked grandpa to replace the handle with wood, not very comfortable for hands though. He holds the racket with his right hand, and serve the shuttlecock up high. His pair gets it and returns a drop shot. Zhu rushes forward immediately but he fails to reach the ball in time. The ball touches ground, his peers laugh and so does Zhu, since he brags about his badminton skills before.
After a few rounds, Zhu is sweating with messy footwork. He sits on the ground and takes off his sandals that is thin as sheet and ruptured in fore sole. “I can’t play well today, because the shoes are too broken.” Zhu says the shoes are brought by his father when he is 7, it is meant to be oversized so that they can still fit as he grows up. Zhu’s best shoes are a pair of white mesh shoes. He takes very good care of them, wearing them only on Monday to flag-raising ceremony, other than that, he cleans them and put them away in the closet.
Class begins. Zhu sits at the 4th row. Due to his little body, he sits as straight as he can and tries his best to read out loud along with the rest of class.
Though there are over 300 people in Cherry Elementary School, it is too poor to build a canteen. Teachers and schoolchildren don’t have lunch. Many schoolmates will buy some snacks as lunch with their allowances. At such time, Zhu is all alone in the classroom. He will takes his book out and read quietly as if the book can distract his hunger. Zhu says he eats twice a day, breakfast and supper, he is used to it. He does have allowances sometimes. When grandpa’s plum trees come to fruits, he will climb up the trees to pick plums and sell them on market. “I can sell over 10 yuan a day, and use the money to buy salt and bean oil.” says Zhu, “people won’t bargain with me.”
When asked why doesn’t he buy snacks when he has the money, Zhu says: “ Grandpa won’t have anything to eat at home, I can’t eat.” He says so with tears in his eyes. Walking hours between mountains and enduring hunger at noon, this is school life for the 10-year-old boy Zhu Honglei.
After a few rounds, Zhu is sweating with messy footwork. He sits on the ground and takes off his sandals that is thin as sheet and ruptured in fore sole. “I can’t play well today, because the shoes are too broken.” Zhu says the shoes are brought by his father when he is 7, it is meant to be oversized so that they can still fit as he grows up. Zhu’s best shoes are a pair of white mesh shoes. He takes very good care of them, wearing them only on Monday to flag-raising ceremony, other than that, he cleans them and put them away in the closet.
Class begins. Zhu sits at the 4th row. Due to his little body, he sits as straight as he can and tries his best to read out loud along with the rest of class.
Though there are over 300 people in Cherry Elementary School, it is too poor to build a canteen. Teachers and schoolchildren don’t have lunch. Many schoolmates will buy some snacks as lunch with their allowances. At such time, Zhu is all alone in the classroom. He will takes his book out and read quietly as if the book can distract his hunger. Zhu says he eats twice a day, breakfast and supper, he is used to it. He does have allowances sometimes. When grandpa’s plum trees come to fruits, he will climb up the trees to pick plums and sell them on market. “I can sell over 10 yuan a day, and use the money to buy salt and bean oil.” says Zhu, “people won’t bargain with me.”
When asked why doesn’t he buy snacks when he has the money, Zhu says: “ Grandpa won’t have anything to eat at home, I can’t eat.” He says so with tears in his eyes. Walking hours between mountains and enduring hunger at noon, this is school life for the 10-year-old boy Zhu Honglei.
Finishing homework, Zhu will stand at the doorway staring at the sunset. Rice reserve is about out, corn harvest gets only couples of kilograms, pumpkins in the field haven’t been ripe, eggplants and carrots are still small. But Zhu says: “I will guarantee grandpa’s fullness even if I eat less.” He is already shorter than his peers due to malnutrition.
The image of mother is fading in Zhu’s memory, though he remembers clearly the best food he eats is the cake mother brought on his 5 years old birthday. “There is cream, really sweat, and flowers and jujubes.”
As for father who abandoned the family, Zhu doesn’t hold disappointment and grudge as grandpa does. He still hopes that father will show up at the front door one day.
Zhu fumbles around his closet, and takes out a letter he wrote on an exercise book. He reads: “Dad, I miss you and mum. Can you come back and take me to mum? Grandpa is sick and needs to go to hospital. I can’t sell enough fruit to pay for that. I hope you can earn money and come back early. I will study hard, don’t worry about me. I will take good care of grandpa.”
American Idol Winners From Season 1-9
Season 1 – Kelly Clarkson
Born in April 1982, Kelly Clarkson was the first ever to win the American Idol award in the year 2002. Nearly 50 million people had tuned in to watch this girl take the Idol crown for the first time. The other runner up in that season was Justin Guarinin.
A person who has been to the American Idol and had even won the title, the first important thing that they get is publicity. Not only the winners, even those who never make it to the top rank, win some publicity and have a huge number of fans following them. Besides this, some might even get an opportunity to work in some good show or company or maybe with a good music director. More below are the list of American Idol Winners from season 1-9.
A person who has been to the American Idol and had even won the title, the first important thing that they get is publicity. Not only the winners, even those who never make it to the top rank, win some publicity and have a huge number of fans following them. Besides this, some might even get an opportunity to work in some good show or company or maybe with a good music director. More below are the list of American Idol Winners from season 1-9.
Season 2 – Ruben Studdard
Born in September 1978, Ruben Studdard was nicknamed ‘Velvet Teddy Bear’ by the judges. He was the second one to win the American Idol in the year 2003. He defeated Clay Aiken by 134,000 votes. Ruben went ahead to make 4 studio albums after winning this award.
Season 3 – Fantasia Barrino
Season 3 – Fantasia Barrino
Hers was the third name to be added to the American Idol winner list after she defeated Diana DeGarmo in the finals. One of the other well known finalists was Jennifer Hudson. ‘Fantasia’, as she was popularly known, went on to be nominated for 8 Grammy awards and has even acted in some movies. She really deserves to be a winner, not only because of her voice but also because of all the hardships that she had faced before coming to the show.
Season 4 – Carrie Underwood
Season 4 – Carrie Underwood
If anyone’s name deserves to be put after Kelly, then it’s Carrie. From Oklahoma, Carrie won the award in the year 2005. The person who she defeated was Bo Bice. After winning the award, she went ahead to win 5 Grammy awards.
Season 5 – Taylor Hicks
Season 5 – Taylor Hicks
Not once in the entire show was Hicks’s in the bottom three zone. Sometimes he wrote (and he still does) write his own songs. In this season he had defeated Katharine McPhee to win this award. Later on he also went ahead to release his two albums.
Season 6 – Jordin Sparks
Season 6 – Jordin Sparks
Born in December 1989, Jordin became the 6th American Idol winner in the year 2007. She won with a new record of 74 million votes. After winning the award, she even has been on tours with Alicia Keys and Jesse McCartney. On the final day, she had defeated Blake Lewis.
Season 7 – David Cook
Season 7 – David Cook
The next name to be added to the American Idol winners list was that of David Cook. He had defeated an equally worthy contestant, David Archuleta. After the award, Cook had also been on The Declaration tour. He had come to the show and had won it, despite several problems in his personal life.
Season 8 – Kris Allen
Season 8 – Kris Allen
After defeating Adam Lambert, Kris became the 8th winner of the American Idol. Not just singing, Kris is also interested in paying the viola.
Season 9 – Lee DeWyze
Season 9 – Lee DeWyze
The recent winner of this show is Lee DeWyze, who won it in 2010. He defeated Crystal Bowersox. After winning the Idol he never had to look back. He had sung the national anthem for the Games 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals in June.
The Girl who Cries Blood
Photo by BARCROFT MEDIA
This is the girl who has baffled top doctors because she spontaneously BLEEDS from her pores up to 50 TIMES a day.Twinkle Dwivedi, 14, has strange disorder which means she loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched. Terrified Twinkle has even undergone transfusions after pints of it seeped through her eyes, nose, hairline, neck and soles of her feet. More images and video after the break...
Photo by BARCROFT MEDIA
Spontaneously
Dr George Buchanan, a leading haematologist who has worked in Britain, travelled to India to look into the startling case. The teenager from Lucknar, Uttar Pradesh, has been suffering the frightening episodes up to 50 times a day for the last three years. She said: "I bleed from my eyes, my hands, my head, from everywhere. From my ears, nose and eyes as well. "It doesn't hurt when the bleeding starts. But it makes me tired and sometimes I have headaches." Dr Buchanan, an American paediatric blood specialist, visited Twinkle's family at the Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai where he observed her bleeding.
Photo - Link
He said: "I've never seen a case of someone who bleeds spontaneously from their scalp or their palms, or read about it in medical history.
"I was interested to see if I could help Twinkle."
The doctor was called to the family's hotel room to witness bleeding which began from her hair parting.
He was shocked to find no signs of cuts, bruising or redness.
Dr Buchanan said: "It doesn't seem physically possible for blood to seep through intact skin.
"But I saw no signs of cuts or bruising anywhere on her body."
Dr Buchanan and his team carried out a series of tests including cutting Twinkle's skin to time how quickly the bleeding stops.
Tests show she may have a mild form of a clotting disorder, which means her platelets do not stick together properly. But this is not enough to explain the spontaneous bleeding.
Dr Buchanan is also investigating whether Twinkle or her mum cause the bleeding themselves.
Twinkle, a Hindu, said: "I am not causing this. Why would I want to make myself bleed?
"I was interested to see if I could help Twinkle."
The doctor was called to the family's hotel room to witness bleeding which began from her hair parting.
He was shocked to find no signs of cuts, bruising or redness.
Dr Buchanan said: "It doesn't seem physically possible for blood to seep through intact skin.
"But I saw no signs of cuts or bruising anywhere on her body."
Dr Buchanan and his team carried out a series of tests including cutting Twinkle's skin to time how quickly the bleeding stops.
Tests show she may have a mild form of a clotting disorder, which means her platelets do not stick together properly. But this is not enough to explain the spontaneous bleeding.
Dr Buchanan is also investigating whether Twinkle or her mum cause the bleeding themselves.
Twinkle, a Hindu, said: "I am not causing this. Why would I want to make myself bleed?
Photo - Link
"I don't want to be like this. I want to go to school and have a normal life."The unlucky girl has missed at least two years of education after two schools banned her from classes because of the bleeding.
The mysterious case of Twinkle's bleeding is fully examined in a new BodyShock documentary next week.
It also shows Twinkle's family visiting a local mystic, being examined by a Christian bishop for stigmata, and bathing in the River Ganges.
Shruti Hassan at Lakme Fashion Week
Actress Shruti Haasan, daughter of actor Kamal Haasan, scorched the ramp of Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive September 2010 for a popular designer in an outfit from his tarot collection. Shruti Hassan was dressed in a blue-toned silk sari with a dazzling border and long sleeved black net choli. Check out 12 more images after the break...
Who's there on the Bridge
Who's there on the bridge ? Find the answer after the break...
Here is the perfect example of how a moonlight stroll can go horribly wrong.Two young goats that wandered onto the thin ledge of a 60ft railway bridge had to be rescued by a crane after two days high above a remote highway.The poor animals' plight was only discovered when a passing motorist contacted a local charity and alerted them to the situation.Rimrock Humane Society called the police, who then enlisted the help of a local coal mine to bring in a crane and pluck the animals to safety near Roundup, southern Montana.
The young female animals, weighing about 30lb each, mostly stayed on the angled ledge - even though there was a wider surface area on a pillar just a few feet away. Rimrock Humane Society president Sandy Church said: 'The whole time, we thought they were going to fall off. These guys are just babies.' Ms Church said it wasn't clear how the nimble-footed animals got into the predicament, but she speculated they wandered onto the ledge at night and then froze after the sun rose and they discovered where they were. She said that the goats sometimes stepped to the pillar but returned to the narrower ledge, where they tried to rest their tired legs by tucking them under their bodies for a few seconds at a time.
Authorities were called on Tuesday, when the goats were first spotted. But confusion about the location delayed the rescue until another caller alerted the humane society yesterday. The sheriff's office, Ms Church and Cory Freeman, a humane society volunteer who runs the Animal Edventures Sanctuary, enlisted the help of officials at Signal Peak Energy, which operates a nearby coal mine. Mine boss John DeMichiei volunteered a mining crane with an arm high enough to reach the stranded goats that eventually moved to the pillar. Both animals were thirsty and tired but have recovered well after their ordeal - and are undoubtedly giving late-night walks a miss for the time being.
Cow fights off Bear
An Oregon rancher captured on video a rare tussle between his cattle and a black bear. The video shows the animals fighting for their lives. A young black bear penetrated Bill Hoyt's herd and headed straight for one of his cows. At first glance, it appeared the large cow had the upper hand on the bear, but the tables quickly turned as the bear responded. That's when other members of the herd stepped in and joined forces against the dangerous intruder, using their heads to butt, smash and knock the bear down again and again. "You know the old western movies -- you see them circle the wagons. Cattle will do the same thing, and it's a natural instinct to protect themselves in a group from predators," Hoyt explained. "I've seen maybe a similar thing, but not with a bear. They're more likely to fight when they have calves at side. And so the mother, the instinct of a mother is a lot stronger than the flight response." The bear was able to escape the herd's attack. Wildlife experts speculate it may have run into the herd to escape the photographer or to go after a calf. More images after the break...
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