Oddly Enough…

Man Dies After 49 Hours of Computer Games
A 28-year-old South Korean man died of exhaustion in an Internet cafe after playing computer games non-stop for 49 hours, South Korean police said.
Lee, a resident in the southern city of Taegu who was identified only by his last name, collapsed Friday after having eaten minimally and not sleeping, refusing to leave his keyboard while he played the battle simulation game Starcraft.Lee was quickly moved to a hospital but died after a few hours, due to what doctors are presuming was a heart attack, police said.
Lee had been fired from his job last month because he kept missing work to play computer games, police said. Computer games are enormously popular in South Korea, home to professional gamers who earn big money through sponsorships and television stations devoted to broadcasting matches. [apnews.myway.com]

Woman leaves son at McDonald's for throwing a tantrum over a Happy Meal
According to authorities, Lori Marie Heine abandoned her seven-year-old son by the road and drove off. The boy threw a tantrum after she refused to buy two McDonald's Happy Meals that he wanted. Authorities disagreed with Heine's parenting tactic and charged her with child abuse and neglect.
According to Police, the boy wandered up to a stranger at a local park and requested help locating his mother. The boy informed the man that his mother had gotten angry because he had asked for a cheeseburger Happy Meal and a Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal. She allegedly ordered him out of the car, told him that she was never coming back to pick him up and then drove away. The stranger then contacted police who arrived at the park and took the boy into protective custody. [news.yahoo.com]

81-year-old man, awakened from a nap, starts shooting at helicopters that were trying to extinguish a forest fire
An 81-year-old Frenchman has been given a one-year jail sentence for firing a hunting rifle at helicopters dropping water on a forest blaze. David Thiel opened fire when the low-flying helicopters disturbed his afternoon nap. During his arrest the man swore at the policemen and hit them with saucepans.
Fifteen hunting rifles were confiscated from his home. The helicopters were beyond the range of the rifle he fired.
The judge said Mr Thiel should not have shot at water-bombing helicopters "as if they were wild ducks". He was convicted on weapons charges and for resisting arrest. The south of France, languishing in a prolonged heat wave, has been plagued by forest fires in recent weeks. [news.bbc.co.uk]

"Da Vinci Code" movie to omit references to religion. Will end up being "a great car chase movie"
'So, if they take out religion, the Magdalene, the sacred feminine, Opus Dei, the sex ritual, the Priory of Sion... then, I guess they'll be left with a great car chase movie..."
The film version of The Da Vinci Code is attempting to reduce the offence that the best-selling book caused to Roman Catholics. Sony Pictures, the studio behind the film starring Tom Hanks and Sir Ian McKellen, is reported to have been so concerned that it has consulted Catholic and other Christian specialists on how it might alter the plot of the novel to avoid offending the devout.
Film officials have held talks with Catholic groups and other organisations despite Dan Brown, the author, insisting that "it's only a novel and therefore a work of fiction". The Catholic League is calling for Ron Howard, the film's Oscar-winning director, to include a disclaimer acknowledging that the movie is fiction.
The Da Vinci Code, which is being filmed this summer, is based on a novel that has sold 25 million copies worldwide. Among its more controversial claims is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, a former prostitute, and that she bore him a child. This has been denounced as virulently anti-Catholic and a risible hoax.
The studio has been asked to consider whether the central premise that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene could be more ambiguous and whether the name of Opus Dei could be removed. [phenomenamagazine.com]

Compiled by Ahmed Ashiful Haque

What gender is your brain?

Count the number of A's that you answer.
Looking fashionable is important to you.
A: True
B: False
You are better at:
Explaining things you understand
Understanding what is being explained to you
Do you tend to remember your dreams?
A: Yes
B: No
If you have a problem, you tend to
A: Ask for input
B: Solve it yourself
In an argument or heated discussion, you find it most important to:
A: Come to an understanding
B: Drive your point home
Would you ever try an exciting new drug if it were illegal?
A: No - you prefer to obey the law
B:Depends on what it did
If someone you know is acting strange...
A: You try to read between the lines
B: You ask for an explanation
You tend to notice when someone has poor etiquette
A: True
B: False
If a friend who's gained weight asks you if she's gotten fat, you
A: Would consider sparing her feelings
B: Are completely honest
When talking with your friends, you're more likely to discuss
A: What's going on in your lives and people you know
B: Politics, sports, or news
Even if you aren't one yourself, you can understand how some people can be vegetarians
A: True
B: False
If a friend has a problem, it becomes your problem as well
A: True
B: False
If you were to pick up a book for some relaxing reading, it would be:
A: Fiction
B: Non fiction
You could marry for money... if the person was a billionaire.
A: True
B: False
When it comes to old friends
A: You're good at keeping in touch
B: You tend to lose touch with people fairly easily
Answer Key:
13-15 A's
You have the brain of a girly girl, which isn't a bad thing at all. You're empathetic, caring, and in tune with emotions. You're a good friend and give great advice.
10-12 A's
Your brain leans female. You think with your heart, not your head. Sweet and considerate, you are a giver, but you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!
7-9 A's
Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female. You are both sensitive and savvy. Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level-headed, but you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve.
4-6 A's
You have a total boy brain. Logical and detailed, you tend to look at the facts. And while your emotions do sway you sometimes...you never like to get feelings too involved.
1-3 A's
You've got the brain of a manly man. Feelings, schmeelings... tears aren't for you. You could break both legs and not get misty eyed. A great problem solver, nothing ever phases you.

OP3N mOUt|-|, In$3R+ |<Ey804Rd(Open mouth, insert Keyboard)

Read an excerpt from an e-mail from my best friend: "u wanna hear a funny thing- i just saw animal planet n dey were showing sum chikens acting dead as a vulture was kaming 2 eat dem. so da vultre kem saw dem dead n left. c how smart chikens can be??? heres another 1, a shial has kom to eat da eggs of a chiken, n da chiken goes off sumwhere n starts yelling, showing dat da eggs r were dat chiken is but it actually isnt n thus tricking da shial. okyzzz ill go now."
The net lingo that my friend uses is AOLese- it allows the user to save keystrokes hence words become extremely shortened (such as "b" for "be", or "u" for "you") and they are able to communicate more quickly and easily. AOL speak includes the all too familiar acronyms such as BRB (be right back) and BTW (by the way). You can find some of the less familiar ones at netlingo.com. Among the 684 acronyms listed are IIIO (intel inside, idiot outside) and GTGP (got to go pee).
The other chat lingo in use is leet or 1337. Leet, which was derived from the word elite, was originally used by hackers. Leet served the dual purpose of being a code language and being able to evade a chatroom's screening process. Unlike AOLspeak, leetspeak has the primary goal of confusing any reader who is not part of the 'elite'.
The word 'hacker' was a commonly banned word. So people started using 'h4acker' and 'hack0r'. When these words, too, were banned, they advanced to alternatives such as 'h4x0r' and '|-|^><()|z'. Eventually the chatroom operators realised that there was no way of banning words in a polymorphic language like leet.
Basic rules for leetspeak are substituting letters with numbers (A=4, B=8, E=3) and with symbols (a=@, i=!, S=$). The letter x is used as a substitute for k, ck and cks. A letter is sometimes broken up, for example, H=|-|, K=|<.
Leetspeak has long since been dropped as a superior code and is now thought of by hackers as showing immaturity. One reason is that leet has become very mainstream. It's been used in the name of a washer and dryer called 'HE4T', ESC4P3- an album by the band Journey, S1m0ne- a 2002 science fiction drama film and Se7en- a 1995 thriller. There is even a Leet Google: a version of Google aimed at the 1337 demographic. j00 C@n d0wNL04D @ lEET-5PE@K GeNEr@T0R 4+ ryanross.net/leet.
Source: The Internet GIVE THE NAME OF THE WEBSITE< IF ITS FROM THE NET THEN THE BY LINE SHOULD BE COmPILED BY

By Raya Mahbuba

Shout out

Hey people!
The focus this week is on the star sign Leo (July 23 to August 22)
The ruling planet for this sign is the sun and that might explain why Leo is the most dominant, spontaneous and extrovert of all zodiacal characters. They are ambitious, dominant, strong willed, independent and self-confident. Leonians think and act bigger than others would normally dare and make great leaders. An excessively negative Leonian, however, can be unpleasant, displaying extreme arrogance, autocratic pride and haughtiness, In his or her relations with others the Leo type is open, sincere, genuine and trusting. Famous Leo's include: Mussolini, Emily Bronte, Arnold Schwarzennegger, Neil Armstrong, Fidel Castro, Napoleon, Robert De Niro and Cocoa Chanel.

Here's wishing all Leonians of the world, a Happy Birthday! Send in your messages to [email protected]

Dearest Joti
just want to say these few words to you:
Hearts are like a crystal, preserve it. Love is like perfume, spread it. Feelings
are like flood, flow it. FRIENDSHIP is like an umbrella, come lets share it.
from
Jmsc

Dear deary Rafat,
You are the biggest looser I have ever seen and the biggest b*****d I have ever met. Just because your girlfriend looks like a pig, it doesn't give you the right to insult any of us.
Shamma

Dear Rubaiya (from Maple Leaf International),I have given a lot of thought to this, and I have come down to one decision. I want you to know how much I like you, and how crazy I go whenever I see you. If you have the same feeling for me please let me know in class.
From Saidul (the one and only one for you from Maple Leaf).

By the Hitch-hiker
[ATTENTION: This column is NOT responsible for negative (or otherwise) outcome of the messages printed in it. The thoughts and opinions printed in this column are entirely the sender's own and Shout Out does not endorse them in any way. Please do NOT abuse the column by using it to play pranks. Personal information will be printed at the sender's expense and we do NOT take ANY responsibility for any inconvenience to anyone.]

Brain teasers

If 3 cats can kill 3 rats in 3 minutes, how long does it take for 150 cats to kill 150 rats.
Ans. 3 minutes, it takes each cat to 3 minutes to kill each rat.
Is it legal for a man to marry his widow's sister?
Ans. Only dead men have widows
How many times can you subtract 1 from 100?
Ans. Only once
What word contains seven letters -- the first two letters referring to a man, the first three to a woman, the first four identifying a great man, and all seven identifying a great woman.
Ans. Heroine
A person heaps 22 piles of leaves in the front yard and 10 piles of leaves in the backyard, if he puts all together, how many piles will he have.
Ans. One big pile
Take two apples from three apples, and what have you got?
Ans. Two apples, Duh!
If three days ago was the day before Friday, what will the day after tomorrow be?
Ans. Tuesday.

Complied by Bushra Sameeha Anwa