Thursday 15 August 2013

TV & Animals: Watch Shark Week 2013 Shows


Image from Discovery Channel
The Shark Week is over!!! And I have watched nothing on TV because I don't have the Discovery Channel! What should I do? What should I do?

Well, if you are Locky's English Playground fan, you'll know I wouldn't let that the TV programmes get away! I must always find out where I can watch these programmes!


The Great White Gauntlet
When you are eating your favourite abalone, have you ever thought about, where do they come from? How do they get from the bottom of the sea to your plate? For those who earns a living from catching abalone, what's the downside of earning money from abalone? Well, how about staying away from great white sharks? No pain, no gain! Don't blame it on the sharks, it's their home you're breaking into!




Shark After Dark 2013 Josh Wolf, Chris Hardwick, Tom Green
Sorry, this one is unavailable even for me.



Alien Shark
First live Megamouth Shark caught on camera!!
Image from Discovery Channel
Deep-sea shark researchers share their huge discoveries with everyone on the planet in this program. It's truly magnificent to have so many rare sharks caught alive on camera for the first time!

Do you know that a bluntnose sixgill shark can be bigger than a great white shark? Have you seen a live megamouth shark in action? No? Then you must watch the following video!



Sharkpocalypse
The apocalypse, originally meant a disclosure of knowledge while now known as the end of the world, may be a word used by those who witnesses a shark attack, but does it always have to end up this way? Are we actually making the sharks braver when facing humans? Can dead sharks repel living sharks?

Two men decided to investigate whether the sharks really want to attack humans and what has caused an increase in shark attacks through a series of awesome experiments. We're talking about many kinds of sharks, not just one. And these two guys are CRAAAAZY yet COOL!!! My kind of favourite shows!!!



Great White Serial Killer
A surfer wants to find out how and why 2 other surfers, Lucas Ransom and Francisco Solorio were killed by a great white shark at Surf Beach. Could they be killed by the same shark? See how forensic studies analyzes the cases.



Top Ten Sharkdown
A countdown of the Top 10 shark attacks from the 21st century.



I Escaped JAWS
It's real shark attack footage from eye-witnesses of the actual shark attacks together with the interviews of the survivors compiled into a horrific programme! It was shocking and bloody, be warned. It's not pleasant, but it's incredible to learn how much shark attack survivors want to return to the sea for more encounters with their biters. Respect, lots of respect for the sharks.


It's good to learn that October is also called "Sharktober". Maybe that's why I love sharks so much, because Sharktober is my birth-month.


Voodoo Shark
You think that sharks can only swim in seawaters? You are very wrong! The adaptive bull sharks swims up freshwater rivers for their hunt. Cajun fishermen attempts to research the existence of a monster shark while scientists and researchers wants data from the freshwater bulls outside New Orleans.



Return Of Jaws

Cape Cod, THE hot spot for great white sharks. We know they are there, we have them on cameras when we chum them, but what if they are not being chum? What if we want to chase a swimming sharks on the move without the shark knowing? What if we don't want to put a camera on a shark's fin? What if there is a camera that swims as fast as a great white? The programs has a storyline which does runs like the sequel of the movie JAWS.




Megalodon -- The Monster Shark
Yes, I know, it's a drama, it's fake, but how fake is this? In fact, it is better than most modern movies about sharks -- more scary, more real, better filming technique AND no laser on the shark's head. Not bad if you have extra time to spend.



After watching all of them, your English listening level will surely improve, together with your knowledge on sharks!


Vocabulary:
magnificent -- (adj) 
bluntnose sixgill shark -- (n)[C] see Resources below
megamouth shark -- (n)[C] see Resources below
gauntlet -- (n) [C] a long, thick glove (= hand covering), worn for protection
abalone -- (n)[C] see Food: Chinese Delicacy @ Locky's English Playground
apocalypse -- (n) [S or U] a very serious event resulting in great destruction and change:
repel -- (vb) [T] to force something or someone to move away or stop attacking you:
sequel -- (n) a book, film, or play that continues the
chum -- (vb) luring animals, usually fish or sharks, by throwing "chum" into the water.


Resources:
Watch Shark Week 2013 Alien Sharks Online @ Coke and PopCorn ~ TV Shows and Movie Replay
http://www.cokeandpopcorn.info/shark-week-2013-alien-sharks/

Bluntnose sixgill shark @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluntnose_sixgill_shark

Megamouth shark @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megamouth_shark

Food: Chinese Delicacy @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/02/food-chinese-delicacy.html

Animals and Environment: Do Sharks Deserve to Die for Their Fins? @  Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2009/05/animals-and-environment-do-sharks.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/gauntlet?q=gauntlet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/repel_1?q=repel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumming


Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground app v1.1.4 (Beta Pre-release Version)



v1.1.4 (Beta Pre-release version)
Image from Locky's English Playground

Hope you all had a happy typhooliday!

Sorry people, didn't have any update from Monday to Wednesday as I was too engaged in working on Locky's English Playground app v1.1.4, trying to add a Share button on every page for you to share your favourite article. After days of hard work, I have finally succeeded!


Download:
As usual, you can find the latest download links from our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/LockysEnglishPlayground


Bug Fixes and Update List:
Here's the list of bug fixes and updates:

App updated to v1.1.4 (Beta Pre-release version)

v1.1.4 Bug fixed:
Added Share button to every page
Added Menu button / action bar interactivity

v1.1.3 Bug fixed:
Changed Actionbar colours
Removed splash screen for low-res phones
Smaller size of app

v1.1.2 Bug fixed:
Added logo background screen

v1.1.1 Bug fixed:
Can now play YouTube videos

v1.1.0 Bug fixed:
Added Settings page on swipe-to-left
Removed right menu list
Enlarged logo
Replaced menu list with small fonts
Added hardware menu button functionality


Installation:
For first timer:
Do visit: Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground App (Alpha)


Interface:
Here's how the latest v1.1.4 looks like:
Loading on Slower Network
Image from Locky's English Playground
If your network is slower, you will see the app's background logo of the app and the logo at the top left corner.
Fully-loaded app
Image from Locky's English Playground
When the app is fully-loaded, you will see three most updated blog clickable pages. Click on them if you want to start reading immediately.

Settings Page
Image from Locky's English Playground
On swipe to left, the settings menu will be opened. The "My Bookmarks" function will still need some waiting, but the rest are working well. Do use the Contact / Report a Bug function if you encounter frequent problem when using the app.

Category / Tag Menu
Image from Locky's English Playground
On swipe to right, the Category / Tag menu will be opened, click on the list to find the posts related to the specific topics.

8 latest posts in the "Animals" Category
Image from Locky's English Playground
Once clicked, the 6-grids layout will show the 6 latest posts in the requested category. Click on anyone to read that page.
A blog post opened in web
Image from Locky's English Playground
When a grid is clicked, the page will be loaded.

Playground app will launch requested videos on your YouTube app or have it played in the webpage itself
Image from Locky's English Playground

YouTube videos can now be played in the app itself or by launching your YouTube app on the phone. This is done automatically by the app and you need not worry about it.

A blog post opened in web
Image from Locky's English Playground
If you like the post and would like to share it with your friends on your favourite app such as Facebook or LINE, hit the menu button on your phone and find the share button either at the bottom or on the right side of the top bar.
Sharing post on your favourite app
Image from Locky's English Playground
Then pick our favourite app to share the post. To remove the top bar and the share button, hit the menu button on your phone again.
To share the entire blog, use this share button
Image from Locky's English Playground
To share the entire blog, use the share button on the cover 3-grid page.

To share the entire category, use the share button on the 6-grid page.
Image from Locky's English Playground
To share the entire category, use the share button on the 6-grid page.

Horizontal view of the 3-grid cover page
Image from Locky's English Playground
Horizontal view of the 6-grid cover page
Image from Locky's English Playground
Locky's English Playground also supports the horizontal view. Looks cool, especially with BB Sharky, doesn't it?

Share button on the top-right corner
Image from Locky's English Playground
Share button is located at the top-right corner for the horizontal view.


Well, that's it for the updates on the features of the app, many thanks for your support and as always, "like" the Facebook page and leave me a comment!


Vocabulary:
"typhoo-liday" -- (n)[C] A word created by Locky, meaning a holiday brought about by the hoisting of a high level typhoon signals, in the case of Hong Kong it is number 8 or higher.


Resources:

Message: Nesat Brings First Typhooliday In 2 Years? @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2011/09/message-nesat-brings-first-typhooliday.html

Locky's English Playground Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/LockysEnglishPlayground

Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground App (Alpha) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/08/technology-message-lockys-english.html