Locky's English Playground: 10 Nov 2011

I was actually planning to write this entry last week and so I collected a number of news articles but I was occupied with my own assignments and so I couldn't find time to write it.

I still hope to maintain this blog as tri-weekly but when time gets scarce before mid-December, then I can only try to keep it bi-weekly.

Okay, let's begin!

Fans outside the Los Angeles Superior Court, cheering the verdict

First article, Michael Jackson's former doctor Conrad Murray "was found guilty of the involuntary manslaughter" and will face imprisonment. MJ's family members admitted that they are satisfied with the judgement and seems like this is case closed for many MJ fans. What did catch my attention was MJ's final words, "Let Me Have Some Milk", and "milk" refers to the medicine, Propofol, that eventually took his life. If the word "milk" came out from another person's mouth, I will think this is some kind of urban slang, but from MJ's, I can see that his mind does stay forever young. Even the last of his last words stuns the world!

Image from Reuters

The second news has quickly become olds, and that is because on the 10th Nov, the market was still plunging deeply due to the instability of Greece 's referendum and Italy's heavy debt, and already in two days what has dropped like a 1000 points in Hang Seng Index has been regained by this morning. Hong Kong's market is the best place for quick gain and loss. Looks like any 1000 points drop is a chance for buying.

Image from thinkdigit

The third news really shocked me! Olympus makes state-of-the-arts cameras and its PEN-EP3 is one of the best micro-four-third in the world!!! But because of the "wrongdoings" which dates back to 1990s, the president's sacking, fraud and other allegations surrounding the company, the company's stock price has dropped 80% in value this year and is still plummeting. The company may also face delisting by the Tokyo Stock Exchange! No wonder they are updating their cameras models so quickly!

Image from The Wall Street Journal

The fourth news doesn't get much attention in Hong Kong I suppose, but it is one big piece! Adobe Systems Inc. has announced that they have "capitulated to" Apple Inc. and very soon we will not be seeing "nothing" when surfing a Flash website using Apple's iPhone or iPad any more -- because these websites will be changing to HTML5. This is a mega victory for Apple! Steve Jobs really owns Adobe and he still does! Quoting from the article,

"My primary insight when we were screwed by Adobe in 1999 was that we shouldn't get into any business where we didn't control both the hardware and the software, otherwise we'd get our heads handed to us," Mr. Jobs said, according to the book.

Well, easy to say, but who will actually have the cash power to create both the software and the hardware? Who can raise and reproduce cattle and sell the beef and milk? Surely some can, but it is a really tough business!

2005 YU55
Image from NASA

A star rises and a star falls, the fifth news is about an asteroid that came very close to Earth, entering the moon's gravitation region. It was nothing to fear and so no one in Hong Kong really talked about it but it was a major event for astronomy lovers as it did help scientists to understand more about asteroids, its compositions, its shape, how it is formed, where has it been, or even answer some questions about our own planets! Then of course, it also tells us that our planets are not without threats from space, and plans are needed in order to defend our planets against these asteroids if they do try to come "kissing" earth.

Vocabulary:
scarce -- (adj) not easy to find or get
guilty -- (adj) responsible for breaking a law
involuntary manslaugter -- (n) LEGAL the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought. It is distinguished from voluntary manslaughter by the absence of intention. It is normally divided into two categories; constructive manslaughter and criminally negligent manslaughter.
referendum -- (n) [C] (plural referendums or formalreferenda) (formal plebiscite) formal a vote in which all the people in a country or an area are asked to give their opinion about or decide an important political or social question
plunge --(vb) [I or T usually + adverb or preposition] to (cause someone or something to) move or fall suddenly and often a long way forward, down or into something
plummet -- (vb) [I] to fall very quickly and suddenly
delist -- (vb) [I or T] to stop a company's shares being traded on a stock market:
asteroid -- (n) [C] one of many rocky objects, with widths from over 900 kilometres to less than one kilometre, which circle the sun
astronomy -- (n) [U] the scientific study of the universe and of objects which exist naturally in space, such as the moon, the sun, planets and stars
composition -- [U] the parts, substances, etc. that something is made of

Resource:
Michael Jackson's Final Words: "Let Me Have Some Milk" @ MTV.com
http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/michael-jackson/336958-michael-jackson-conrad-murray-final-words-propofol

Asian stocks dive as bond yields push Italy to the brink @ Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/10/us-markets-global-idUSTRE79N45620111110

Olympus’s Possible Delisting Means ‘Japan Way’ No Excuse @ Bloomberg
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-09/olympus-s-possible-delisting-means-japan-way-no-excuse.html

Adobe Bows in Apple Feud @ The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204358004577027923205009352.html

Asteroid 2005 YU55 Makes Closest Pass to Earth Today @ ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/asteroid-2005-yu55-makes-closest-approach-earth-closer/story?id=14904397#.Trt7MfQ2vdc

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/scarce?q=scarce+

Thursday, 10 November 2011

News & Opinions: News Digest (10th & 11th Nov)