Transparent Phone

Here’s an official concept phone this time, one created by Aston Martin and Mobiado, the famous luxury gadget designer. What you can see below is a transparent phone running Android and these are all renders, right now. Dubbed the CTP002, this phone is a big sapphire glass surface with titanium edges.
The glass is in fact a capacitive touchscreen and Mobiado hopes to also implement a SIM card slot, a chipset and a battery on this gizmo. Mobiado CTP022 is supposed to connect to the car and its display, with the latter showing a map of local venues and friends from the Foursquare network. Turns out that the camera in your car can snap a photo and post it on Facebook letting everyone know you own an Aston Martin.

This is all daydreaming if you ask me, but the concept of the device will be shown at BaselWorld in Switzerland, so feel free to drop by, if interested.

Source: http://t-future.com/transparent-phone/

Ateneo to proclaim winners of Art Awards on Aug 11

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 08/09/2011 5:44 PM | Updated as of 08/09/2011 5:45 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Three artists will be honored for their contribution to contemporary art in the Philippines as the Ateneo Art Gallery announces the winners of its Art Awards on Thursday.
A ceremony will be held on August 11 at the Grand Atrium of the Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City.
The winners will receive an invitation to apply for international residency grants funded by the Ateneo Art Gallery and its partner institutions across the globe: Common Room Networks Foundation in Indonesia, La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre in Australia, Artesan Gallery in Singapore, Art Omi in New York and Liverpool Hope University in the United Kingdom.
The 12 finalists in the Ateneo Art Awards were artists below the age of 36. They are Renato Barja Jr., Frank Callaghan, Olivia D'aboville, Kawayan de Guia, Bembol dela Cruz, Nona Garcia, Sam Kiyoumarsi, Tatong Recheta Torres, Maria Taniguchi, Rodel Tapaya, MM Yu and Maria Jeona Zoleta.
Their works were displayed in exhibits which ran between May 2, 2010 and May 1, 2011.
The Ateneo Art Awards was established in 2004 in honor of founding benefactor Fernando Zobel de Ayala, an avid supporter of young Filipino visual artists.
This year's awards, themed "Anatomy of Autonomy," made participants dissect and survey artistic thought in the contemporary Philippine art scene.

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/08/09/11/ateneo-proclaim-winners-art-awards-aug-11

Family planning is a personal choice: survey

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 08/09/2011 6:41 PM | Updated as of 08/10/2011 11:39 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Majority of Filipinos believe that family planning is something that should not be interfered with, according to a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The nationwide poll, which was conducted from June 3 to 6 among 1,200 adults, showed that 82% of respondents agreed with the following statement: "The choice of a family planning method is a personal choice of couples and no one should intefere with it."
This is 21 points higher compared to November 1990, when only 61% concurred with the said statement, reported SWS media partner BusinessWorld, which published the survey results on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, only 9% of respondents were undecided and 8% disagreed, much lower compared to the 26% and 13%, respectively, found in the 1990 survey.
On government's role and the use of condoms
The survey also showed that 73% of respondents want the government to provide couples with information on "all legal methods" of family planning.
This is 18 points higher compared to the November 1990 poll.
Sixty-eight percent, on the other hand, believed that "the government should fund all means of family planning, may it be natural or artificial means."
A little over half of the respondents disagreed that the use of condoms (51%), pills (52%) and intra-uterine devices (51%) can also be considered as abortion.
Meanwhile, 46% of them said including family planning in the school curriculum will not make the youth sexually promiscuous.
The controversial Reproductive Health Bill, which is currently pending in Congress, promotes natural and artificial means of family planning and sex education in schools, among others.
Several groups and celebrities have voiced support for the bill amid strong opposition from the Catholic Church. The Philippines is a predominantly conservative Catholic country.


Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/08/09/11/family-planning-personal-choice-survey

National Artist rues closure of 'blasphemous' art show

by David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 08/09/2011 8:54 PM | Updated as of 08/10/2011 10:23 AM

MANILA, Philippines - National Artist for Literature Bien Lumbera on Tuesday said he is disappointed that the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) decided to capitulate to the demands of Catholic groups to shut down the controversial "Kulo" art exhibit, which shows defaced religious images.
"I think that it's an unfortunate move on the part of CCP. That leaves CCP open to pressure anytime something, an art object being displayed, raises the ire of certain sectors," he told ABS-CBN News Channel.
"Once they give in to the pressure exerted on them by certain groups, then the CCP becomes open to every little whim by a certain sector in Philippine society," he added.
Lumbera, leader of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, said the controversy over the "Kulo" exhibit veered away from the discussion that an artist "should be allowed the freedom to create what he thinks is art."
He said, however, that he understood the CCP's decision to shut down the controversial exhibit particularly the art pieces of Mideo Cruz.
"I can see that there is very little ground on which the CCP and the Church can agree on," he said.
Asked if he will protest the CCP's decision, he said: "I don't think I will. I just express regret that the CCP did not put up an argument that would protect the artist and his creation."
CCP officials have come under fire for exhibiting Mideo Cruz's controversial art pieces. The works fanning controversy are images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary which were adorned with objects not related to Christianity -- from a crucifix with a wooden penis to a Christ the King figurine with rabbit ears.
Exhibit closed
On Tuesday, the CCP management decided to close down the exhibit after CCP Board members and the artist received threats.
"Due to numerous emails, text messages and other letters sent to various officers of the CCP, and to the artists themselves, with an increasing number of threats to persons and property,  the members of the Board of the Cultural Center of the Philippines have decided to close down the Main Gallery where the Kulo Exhibit is on display," the CCP said in a statement.
The CCP said security threats became more alarming after a couple vandalized the controversial art works of Mideo Cruz and attempted to set fire to the exhibit last week.
Catholic groups have condemned the exhibit for being "sacrilegious and blasphemous."
Lawyer Jo Imbong of the St. Thomas More Society of Lawyers said their group will still file charges against the CCP officials and Cruz despite the closure of the exhibit.
"The Christian groups will pursue the charges because a serious offense has been committed and the CCP and the artist are accountable under the law," Imbong said.
Imbong earlier said that the CCP and Cruz are liable for violating Revised Penal Code's (RPC) Article 201 on immoral doctrines, obscene publications, and indecent shows.
For his part, President Benigno Aquino III said he backed the CCP's decision to close the exhibit.
Social realism
Chris Millado, artistic director and head of the CCP Performing Arts Department, said the CCP tried to accommodate many points of view but Cruz's work elicited violent reactions.
He said the "Kulo" artists including Cruz focused on social realism and used their art to address social issues.
"It is not the intention of the artist to desecrate or be sacrilegious but he is using certain images that incited this kind of feeling," Millado told radio dzMM.
Asked why the artist decided to use the images of Jesus and Mary and not the prophet Mohammed, he said: "He made a specific choice. It was not just Christ but several other images. It is a learning thing. Hindi nagkaroon din ng timing o preparation to basically explain or warn the public about what to expect...to see how she or he could view the exhibit so there would be context."
Millado said other religious communities including Christians were not offended by the artwork and were willing to engage the artist in dialogue.
However, he said there are extreme sectors "who do not want to engage anymore but use other forms such as threats and harassment of artist."
Millado said he was also shocked when he first saw Cruz's art pieces but said the work could be used as a mirror to reveal something about society.
"We should appreciate what has happened because the artist is trying to say something, point out something. He is trying to mirror something. I saw it 4 days ago. I was shocked. And then I thought why I was shocked and it became revelatory for me, what things I still value and why I tried to go into the head of the artist and what the artist tried to come up with," he said.
He added that the controversy has become an opportunity for artists to see the limits of expression and to "examine our work as artists in terms of how far you can go to push our message across."


Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/08/09/11/national-artist-rues-closure-blasphemous-art-show

Kids' packed lunches too warm to be safe: study

By Frederik Joelving, Reuters

Posted at 08/10/2011 11:38 AM | Updated as of 08/10/2011 4:50 PM

NEW YORK - If you're packing lunch for your kid, chances are it will end up at unsafe temperatures before it's eaten.
That's according to a Texas study that tested more than 700 preschoolers' lunch packs and found less than 2% of the meats, vegetables and dairy products were in the safe temperature zone.
"It was a shock when we discovered that more than 90% of the perishable items in these packed lunches were kept at unsafe temperatures," said Fawaz Almansour, a doctoral student at the University of Texas in Austin.
His study, released on Monday in the journal Pediatrics, is the first to check how the food that kids' bring to school is doing about an hour and a half before lunchtime.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, perishable foods kept between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (4 to 60 degrees Celsius) for more than two hours are no longer safe to eat.
Although 45% of the packed lunches included an ice pack and 12% were kept in refrigerators, nearly all of the perishable foods were in the danger zone.
That means bacteria that cause food poisoning -- like E. coli and Salmonella -- could be multiplying quickly inside the sandwiches that kids eat, Almansour said.
According to the CDC, one in six Americans gets food poisoning every year, but it is unclear how many cases are caused by lukewarm sack lunches.
"This study is an eye-opener more than anything else," Almansour told Reuters Health. "It shows there is a problem."
His recommendation? Pack the lunch with lots of icepacks, and have your kid take it out of the container at school and put it in the fridge.

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/08/10/11/kids-packed-lunches-too-warm-be-safe-study

Sleep apnea linked to memory decline, dementia

By Genevra Pittman, Reuters

Posted at 08/10/2011 11:43 AM | Updated as of 08/10/2011 11:45 AM

NEW YORK - Older women who have sleep apnea may be more likely to develop memory problems and dementia, according to a new study.
It's not clear yet whether treating the sleep apnea can help prevent that memory decline -- but researchers say future studies should address that question.
"It makes sense that good sleep is going to be protective to the brain," said Dr. Robert Thomas, who studies sleep at Harvard Medical School in Boston and was not involved in the new study.
But, he added, clear answers have been lacking on the link between problem sleeping and memory. "We simply don't have data to answer many of the simple questions people may have in the sleep clinic," he told Reuters Health.
To try to shrink that gap, Dr. Kristine Yaffe of the University of California, San Francisco and colleagues gave an overnight sleep apnea test to 298 women without dementia, who were an average of 82 years old. The test looks for changes in breathing and oxygen flow during the night, as well as for the short, frequent breaks in sleep that are signs of sleep apnea.
Just over a third of the women had sleep apnea -- which is especially common in older, overweight people.
About five years later, the researchers brought those same women in for a set of thinking and memory tests, and doctors evaluated any of the women who showed signs of memory decline.
In total, a little over a third (36%) of the women were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
Among women who had shown signs of sleep apnea on their overnight tests five years earlier, 45% had developed thinking and memory problems, compared to 31% of women who didn't have sleep problems.
When Yaffe and her colleagues took factors such as race, weight, and other diseases and medications into consideration, women with sleep apnea were almost twice as likely to test positive for cognitive impairment or dementia, according to findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Sleep apnea has also been linked to a host of other health problems, including high blood pressure and cholesterol. Researchers pointed to lower blood flow to the brain during sleep as a possible culprit in cognitive problems down the line.
Indeed, when the authors looked at the specific factors that went into a diagnosis of sleep apnea, they found that the lack of steady oxygen overnight was related to thinking and memory problems, not how much total sleep women got or how many times they woke up during the night.
Thomas said that not everyone with sleep apnea has symptoms, which include fatigue and snoring, and that people who are overweight or have heart and blood pressure diseases should also consider getting tested.
But researchers still don't know to what extent treatment -- which involves wearing a mask that delivers pressurized air from a "CPAP" machine to ease breathing at night -- can prevent the complications of sleep apnea, including cognitive decline.
"The single biggest hole in sleep apnea (research) is: what are the outcomes of treatment?" Thomas said.
Yaffe agreed. "That's obviously a next step and important question," she told Reuters Health.
Seva Polotsky, a sleep apnea researcher from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said it's important nonetheless that people with sleep apnea follow whatever treatment regimen their doctor recommends. Still, "there's only one cure for apnea so far we've found, and this is weight loss," he told Reuters Health.
People with sleep apnea should also try to be tested occasionally for signs of cognitive decline, Yaffe concluded.


Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/08/10/11/sleep-apnea-linked-memory-decline-dementia

Bongbong denies agreement reached on father’s burial

KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA News

08/09/2011 | 06:04 PM 

Senator Bongbong Marcos has denied that he had already agreed to Vice President Jejomar Binay's recommendation for the remains of his father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, to be buried in his home province of Ilocos Norte.

"Nakakapagtaka na merong mga balitang mga ganyan sa amin di pa kami kinakausap(It's surprising that there are reports like that because he hasn't even talked to us about it yet)," Marcos told reporters on Tuesday.

Marcos was reacting to Binay’s claim that the Marcos family has agreed to his recommendation for the remains of former President Marcos to be buried in Ilocos Norte.

“The Marcos family has accepted the proposal for the former President to be laid to rest in Ilocos. However, we are still trying to iron out details if he will be entitled to receiving military honors. The decision will be out soon," Binay said at a press conference in Laoag.

But Marcos said that their family has not received any formal or official announcement from Malacañang regarding the burial issue since Binay was tasked by President Benigno Aquino III to make a recommendation.

"Nag-aantay nga kami napakatagal na. Inaantay nga namin ano ba talaga ang posisyon ng palasyo tungkol sa isyu ng paglibing ng aking ama sa Libingan ng mga Bayani (We have been waiting for the position of the Palace about the issue for the longest time)," he said.

"Pag-uusapan ng pamilya yan at titingnan namin (Only after that will our family talk about it and decide)," he added.

Marcos noted, however, that he is "open" to having his father buried in Ilocos Norte, as long as he is given full military honors.

"I am sure the other members of the family will also feel the same way. Yun lamang ang aming pinaninindigan dito. Ang kanyang (That has always been our stand, that he be afforded) honors as a president and as a soldier," he said. - KBK, GMA News

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/228899/nation/bongbong-denies-agreement-reached-on-fathers-burial