WORLD ENTERTAINMENT

Yusuf Islam

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 13:28:00 +0000

Profile of Yusuf Islam

He was born Steven Demetre Georgiou, in London, 21st July 1948. His mother was Swedish and his father was a Greek Cypriot restaurant owner, they lived in the centre of London and Steven went to Roman Catholic Primary School.

Having left school at the age of 16 with an ‘A’ grade O-Level in Art, he entered Hammersmith Art Colleges and the following year, 1966, as ‘Cat Stevens’, he recorded his first single. From then right up to 1977 Cat Stevens composed and sang many hit records including ‘Mathew and Son’, ‘Here Comes My Baby’, ‘Wild World’, ‘Morning Has Broken and ‘Moonshadow’, selling approximately 40 million long playing records throughout the world.

Following a bout of TB during his career, Cat Stevens undertook an ongoing search for peace and ultimate spiritual truth. This yearning often expressed in his songs and reflected through his investigations into eastern faiths such as Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Astrology, resulted in this embracing the Islamic faith in December 1977. ‘Cat Stevens’ became Yusuf Islam.

Since embracing Islam, Yusuf Islam has married and now has five children.

He is a leading and active member of the Muslim community in Britain and is principally involved in three areas: Education of Muslim children, Da’wah to non-Muslim and Humanitarian Relief work. Among his well known projects can be listed the following :

ISLAMIA SCHOOLS Islamia Primary School was founded by Brother Yusuf in October 1983, with 13 boys and girls between the ages of 3 and 4.

The School grew in popularity, numbers increased very quickly and in the following year the waiting list exceeded one thousand.

In 1989 he set up the Islamia Girls’ Secondary School, teaching up to GCSE examination level. This soon became top in local examination results and set a new standard for Muslim Schools in the UK. Today Islamia School’s Centre teaches over 430 pupils has recently expanded its activities to include A-Level courses for girls: Islamia 6th Form college.

OTHER EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Brother Yusuf is also Chairman of the United Kingdom Islamic Education Waqf (UKIEW) which offers financial help to Muslim schools. He is also Chairman of the Association of Muslim Schools which gives advice on educational matters and representation to over 40 schools in Britain.

WAQF AL-BIRR EDUCATIONAL TRUST Waqf al-Birr Education Trust a registered UK Charity, was founded by Brother Yusuf Islam in 1992 specifically to cater for Da’wah as well as educational research and development.

It is instrumental in providing expert advise and assistance to both new and well established Muslim schools in matter relating to staff recruitment, curriculum development and teacher training. This is done through its involvement with the International Board of Educational Research and Resources (IBERR).

In September 1996 Waqf al-Birr opened its Brondesbury College for Boys in London. The college was founded by Brother Yusuf in recognition of the need for the provision of a board system of educational excellence, one that would meet the demands of parents who want their sons to have the necessary skills and moral qualities for tomorrow’s world. The school holds 125 boys of the secondary age.

MOUNTAIN OF LIGHT - Mountain of Light was set up as a Company by Brother Yusuf Islam in December 1994, and its activities were fully operational by July 1995, its principle aim was to provide high quality Da’wah material, primarily in audio-visual form. Brother Yusuf turned his attention to studio work and this has resulted in an audio recording of his highly popular CD and cassette release of ‘Life of the Last Prophet’.

This spoken- word production, which is designed for both Muslim and a non-Muslims listening public, is Brother Yusuf’s first official record since departing from the music business nearly twenty years ago. This latest production is a Book and CD / Cassette recording of ‘A is for Allah’, which teaches Islam.

RELIEF WORK Muslim Aid, an international aid agency, was established by Brother Yusuf Islam in 1985 in co-operation with other Muslim organisations, he being the founding Chairman.

Its aim was to alleviate poverty and provide relief for the victims of wars and natural disasters. In 1994 / 1995 the organisation helped some 400,000 people in need around the world, distributing around £2 million in aid.

Last year Brother Yusuf resigned his role as Chairman and left Muslim Aid, but is still very actively involved in Relief with his new charity Small Kindness which concentrate on orphans and families. He currently supports 2,500 orphans and children in Kosova and is supporting ‘100 – Homes’ building project in Turkey.

KAER AF2

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 08:39:00 +0000

Kaer...What a voice come from him. Really love to hear he sing for his latest single "Izinku Pergi". For so long he is disappeared from the world of music. R&B and POP voice make his very talented. He start his popularity since he is involve in AF2 (Akademi Fantasia) organized by ASTRO Asia.

He is so humble and make people happy when interview of face him. His trademark is "PEACE" sign. Why I say this. This because he always show the sign when people take his photo. See above, he show it right :)

Here i provide the latest single from Kaer ~Izinku Pergi (Let Me Go)~

Enjoy!!

Fantastic 4: Rise of the silver surfer

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 08:33:00 +0000

The enigmatic, intergalactic herald, the Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As he races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost.

Wow..Again there will be Fantastic 4 Movie. Cant wait to watch it...

Transformers

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 08:15:00 +0000

The Earth is caught in the middle of an intergalactic war between two races of robots, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, which are able to change into a variety of objects, including cars, trucks, planes and other technological creations.

This July 4, 2007 there will be a protector and also team of destroyer in the earth. What will happen to the WORLD?? We need help..All citizens all around the world need to be together in defend the world from been conquered by the evil forces..Thats why we need transformers. Autobots and his teams will help us defend the world. Peace and harmony will be ours..

Haha..what kind of imagination that I have inside me. Actually our favorite forces will be in cinema in this July 4. Can't wait to watch it. It must be great. previously, there are only in cartoons but now it will be in real film. Transformers is my favorite cartoon since I'm young. I should not missed the showcase of the show.

"Autobots Transform!!" ~Like this quotation..~

Mawi FOREVER

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 04:03:00 +0000

Asmawi bin Ani, better known as Mawi, is a Malaysian singer and a Third Season winner of Malaysia's popular reality show, Akademi Fantasia. Mawi has created a new phenomenon in the Malaysian music industry by becoming one of the best-selling and influential singers of the last few years. His debut album sold more than 200,000 copies in Malaysia and he has won numerous industry awards since winning the competition.

ABP (Anugerah Bintang Popular 2006)
Popular Artist
HITS 1 (RTM/MALAYSIA)
The Best Song 2006 - Lagu Jiwa Lagu Cinta
Muzik-Muzik (TV3/Malaysia)
The best performance - Aduh Saliha
The best song - Ethnic Creative Category - Aduh Saliha
ABP(Anugerah Bintang Popular 2005)
Most Popular Artist
Best New Artist
Anugerah Era (2006)
Best Artist
Best Song (Kian)
Best Ethnic Song (Aduh Saliha)
Artist SMS Digi
Best Video Clip (Lagu Jiwa Lagu Cinta - directed by Mamat Khalid)
MTV ASIA AWARDS 2005
Most Popular Artist
ANUGERAH PLANET MUZIK (MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE/INDONESIA)
Aduh Saliha

Yang Tercinta (2005)
Best of Mawi World (2005)
Doa, Berzanji & Qasidah Berlagu (2006)
Yang Tercinta MTV Karaoke (2006)
Selingkar Kisah (The Story Life of Mawi at AF) (2006)
Satu Dalam Seribu (2007)

Karen Kong~Profile

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 03:58:00 +0000

Karen Kong (or Karen K to her fans) is a Malaysian singer of Chinese ethnicity. Karen's debut single was launched in January 2007. She immediately garnered attention due to her entire album being written in Malay, which is quite unusual for a Chinese artist. Her debut EP also includes her singles Cinta Hello Kitty and Ku Tak Upaya, both penned by fellow Malaysian songwriter Asmin Mudin (writer of Malaysian Idol Jaclyn Victor's Gemilang). Both were featured on several radio station top charts including ERA, Xfresh and others. Participating musicians in this production also included Shazzy (rapper), Johan Farid Khairuddin aka JFK (Xfresh FM Radio DJ), Lee Nai Kong (Project Superstar MD), Sham (Kamikaze), Jamie Wilson, Lee Chee Cheng, Roger Wang, 3-Flow, Omar K, Fajrul Norman and Fred Chong. She was a student of S.M.K Labuan during her secondary education years. She has stated that she is a fan of Celine Dion, who is one of her major influences in her musical career.
Karen Kong was a participant in Malaysian Idol in 2004, but she was eliminated in the first round.

Mulakan (2007)
"Prelude(Mulakan)"
"Mulakan"
"Oh Kekasih!"
"Cinta Hello Kitty"
"Juli Dorimi"
"Ku Tak Upaya"
"Na Na Na Nada Cinta"
"Bintang"
"Dalam Bahasa Sayu"
"Sama-sama Menjulang"
"Na Na Na Nada Cinta - piano version"
"Cinta Hello Kitty - Karaoke ver."
"Ku Tak Upaya - Karaoke ver."

Taufik Batisah

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 03:53:00 +0000

You need not conduct a thorough police investigation to know more about Taufik. We have an indepth profile of him right here. Read on to learn what makes Taufik, well... Taufik.

Full Name: Muhammad Taufik Bin Batisah
Nickname: Taufik,
FiqueDOB: 10 December 1981
Star Sign: Sagittarius
Height: 1.8m
Weight: 74kg

Family Members: 2 brothers & mother
3 Most Treasured Possessions: Guitar, Trucker cap, Shades
School Attended: Boon Lay Primary, Jurong Sec, Singapore Poly
Previous Jobs: Pizza Hut delivery boy, Mascot boy, Clown, Packer
Worst Habit: Eating chocolate
Fave Sport: Skateboarding
Fave Food: Fast foodFave Drink: Mineral water
Fave Singer/Band: Usher, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder
Fave Colours: Green, brown, baby blue, red, white
Fave Movie: Kill Bill, Gladiator, Fight Club, Troy, Wizard of Oz
Fave TV Show: Boston Public, Friends, MTV Jams, Wade Robson Project
I'd Like Most To Meet... Usher, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder
Top 3 Songs I Love:1) Lately - Stevie Wonder2) All songs by Usher3) She’s Out Of My Life - Michael Jackson

Perception of Life: "Any dream can be realized, if you put in your mind, body & soul into achieving it."
Perception of Love: "Love is a feeling of being complete, when the person you love is around."

Karen Kong

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 03:52:00 +0000

Cinta Hello Kitty

SINGAPORE IDOL~Taufik Batisah

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 03:51:00 +0000

All is Because You

MALAYSIAN POPULAR ARTIST-Mawi

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 02:43:00 +0000

Mungkin Langitmu Lebih Biru

Angan Dan Sedar

SumoLah

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 01:41:00 +0000

The Sushi Restaurant Association of Kuala Lumpur is organizing their annual underground Sumo tournament. Boleh Sushi, a small sushi joint and last year’s runners-up, are short one fighter after losing their cook, Hassan. They have to find a replacement soon. They accidentally find Ramlee.

What would happen if a hotheaded and unambitious Malay man (Ramlee) was forced to enter the rigourous and challenging world of sumo? Would he give up on the trials and tribulations he finds himself committed to? Or will his relationship with the father-figure he never had create a purpose for him to rise above the challenges and endeavour to do his best?

Story synopsis

(Afdlin Shauki) is a down and out Malay boy who can’t seem to hold down a job, much to his mother’s (Kartina Aziz) disappointment। Out of a job and out of money, he stumbles across a challenge by sushi restaurant owner Honda (Patrick Teoh) to “eat all you can for free food – within a time limit”।

Hungry and desperate, Ramlee attempts the challenge, and fails। In compensation, Honda lets Ramlee take a job at the restaurant to pay off his due। Ramlee becomes a member of the Boleh Sushi shop staff, along with Haris (Awie) and Andy (Radhi Khalid)। Ramlee is immediately attracted to Honda’s beautiful daughter, Siti (Inthira Charoenpura), who is half-Japanese and half-Malay। He begins to learn the meaning of having good work, good friends and family.

One day he learns that part of his obligation is to take part in the Malaysian Sushi Association Amateur Sumo Wrestling Championships held by the local Japanese owners of sushi restaurants.

Whilst taking part in the initial friendly bout, Akira (Gurmit Singh), Siti’s ex-boyfriend, humiliates him in public. It is only after that that Ramlee finds out that he had been tricked into working for Boleh Sushi because Honda was desperate for a third member for their team.

Ramlee has to make a choice – whether to stay on and fight for Boleh Sushi in the upcoming Championships, or to give up on his new-found family. He decides to step up to the challenge and begins training with the boys for the big fight. He learns the meaning of the word “nokotta” – never give up, the fight is not yet won. He learns that no matter what the result, the honour is in fighting the good fight. Ultimately, Ramlee’s challenge is to let go of the excuses he has made for himself, and to fight till the end, no matter what.

Spider-Man 3

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 01:40:00 +0000

If ever a movie had a case of the blues and the blahs, it’s “Spider-Man 3,” the third and what feels like the end of Sam Raimi’s big-screen comic-book adaptations. (Ready or not, the studio is talking about a fourth.) Aesthetically and conceptually wrung out, fizzled rather than fizzy, this latest installment in the spider-bites-boy adventure story shoots high, swings low and every so often hits the sweet spot, but mostly just plods and plods along, as if its heart were pumping tired radioactive blood. Success may not have spoiled Mr. Raimi as it has Peter Parker, but it seems as if it has zapped his gracious good humor, which was so critical to the first two films. The story this time unfolds as a series of increasingly dreary and teary melodramatic encounters regularly interrupted by special-effects-laden fights. As it happens, the over-all shape does recall a Busby Berkeley musical — snappy story, lavish number, snappy story, lavish number — but without the snap or fun. — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Shrek the Third

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 01:39:00 +0000

For all I know, there may be an endless supply of “Shrek” sequels in the pipeline. That DreamWorks ogre’s skin is the color of money after all. But there is nonetheless a feeling of finality about “Shrek the Third,” a sense that the tale has at last reached a state of completion.

In the first movie Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) met and wooed his lady love, Fiona (Cameron Diaz); in the second he got to know the in-laws. The current installment finds him faced with impending fatherhood and something of a career crisis. Will he take over his father-in-law’s business or remain true to his vocation of bellowing and smashing things? Unless the Shrek team wants to follow its hero into the dangerous swamps of mid-life, thus shifting his literary pedigree away from William Steig and in the direction of John Updike or Philip Roth, it may want to leave him in a condition of more-or-less happily ever after.

Which is only to say that “Shrek the Third,” directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui from a script with a half-dozen credited begetters, already feels less like a children’s movie than either of its predecessors. (This may be why I liked it better than the others. But then again, so did my kids.) — A. O. Scott, The New York Times

Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 01:36:00 +0000

REVIEW SUMMARY
In the third and perhaps final episode in the swishy, swashbuckling "Pirates of the Caribbean" saga, the cannibals, coconuts and landlocked locations have been replaced by the high-seas high jinks that made the first film so enjoyable. And the palpable relief as the myriad plotlines rush toward some semblance of resolution has made everyone quite giddy; even our passion-deferred lovers, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann (Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley), appear marginally less bored with each other. Or at least less bored than we are with them.

Forever above the fray and beside the point, Johnny Depp’s devilish buccaneer is the lightfooted device that holds the franchise together. Because of the abundance of unpleasant human characters, all of whom lie, cheat and betray one another at the drop of a flounder, the burden of creating an emotional connection with the audience must be borne, ironically, by characters whose humanity has long since evaporated.

From the pathos of Davy to the tragic yearning in the barnacle-encrusted face of Bootstrap Bill Turner (Stellan Skarsgard), the film reminds us that great acting can transcend even the most elaborate makeup., The New York Times

‘Pirates’ Haul So Far Estimated at $401 Million

noreply@blogger.com (Helmi Suhaimi) — Thu, 31 May 2007 01:23:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES, May 28 — The Memorial Day weekend affirmed the muscle of the international movie market as “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” the third installment of Disney’s blockbuster series, set new industry benchmarks with an aggressive release in more than 10,000 theaters in 104 countries.

Walt Disney executives said that they had broken out in high fives on Monday morning in their Burbank offices as they learned that “Pirates 3” would surpass $400 million in ticket sales around the world in its first six days of release.

The film’s big success comes on the heels of the blockbuster triumph of Sony’s “Spider-Man 3,” which was also released on a global scale earlier this month.

“It’s truly what I’d call the modern-day Disney franchise,” Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios marketing and distribution, said of “Pirates.” “We had such an international cast, we had a story that wasn’t landlocked to North America, so this was the absolute perfect movie to open on global basis. That was the strategy.”

More than ever Hollywood has learned to tweak its blockbuster formula to favor the rising influence of the international market, which is now responsible for more than half of annual box office revenues, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

In addition to Johnny Depp and the returning British actors Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, “Pirates 3” also features the Asian star Chow Yun-Fat. Disney took care to open the film on Wednesday in France, when children are out of school, and on Thursday in Germany, when films traditionally open in that country.

As a result, “Pirates 3” — with a 2-hour-47-minute running time and a reported $300 million budget — took in $245 million outside of North America, far surpassing the $156 million that the film took in domestically since opening on Thursday.

The studio said the total — $401 million — was the biggest opening in Hollywood history, but most openings are tallied as weekends rather than six-day periods, and the domestic box office figure did not break the record set by “Spider-Man 3” earlier this month, with an opening weekend record of $151 million over three days.

“Pirates 3” took in $142 million over the four-day weekend, and another $14 million in Thursday previews.

For the industry the box office revenues domestically over all set a new Memorial Day weekend record, with “Shrek the Third” taking in another $69 million for DreamWorks over four days, while “Spider-Man 3” brought in another $18 million. That film is expected eventually to take in close to $900 million, which would make it the most successful in Sony’s history.

The downside of releasing a global blockbuster is the high risk in making such films. “Spider-Man 3” also reportedly cost around $300 million to produce. A film executive close to “Pirates 3” said that the long running time significantly added to the budget, making the cost of the effects for the production about $1 million a minute.

But both films have also demonstrated the rewards that can come with such risks. And with the official start of summer, Hollywood could well have a record-breaking season. This year over all, ticket sales are up 6.3 percent over last year, for a total of $3.6 billion, according to Media by Numbers, which tallies box office revenues.

“This May has been incredible,” Paul Dergarabedian, the company’s president, said. “Two years ago it would have been unfathomable to be in such a strong position. Usually there’s more of a mix of blockbusters in May. This marketplace is so clearly dominated by sequels that this strategy may be one they try to repeat again.”

For Disney, anyway, that’s certainly the case. Mr. Zoradi said the studio was taking a similar global approach with its coming sequel to “The Chronicles of Narnia” next year, and for the next installment of “National Treasure,” now in production.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” has British stars and is set in a mythical land, while the plot of “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” takes the hunt to London and France.