Stop fighting! By T ik Shir o Artist S unshine and the smell of nature are valuable things. We should all appreciate the beauty of nature. We should stop fighting, war can only destroy the human race. We’re already being hit by natural disasters, and man-made casualties will just bring about more misery. I wish the best for our country and hope there won’t be more bad news on TV. Thais have good hearts, and I’d like people from around the world to experi- ence and appreciate this charm of ours. GOOD MORNING BANGKOK! X PRESS DAILY I SWEAR... FREE Tuesday, December 30, 2008 VOL 1, NO 249 dailyxpress.net >PAGE 12 Ladies, want to make a statement? Choose a perfume that reflects your character and lifestyle... With the dire economic situation calling for belt-tightening, see what some personalities have resolved to do in the coming Year of the Ox >PAGE 2 Smell of success
Transcript
Stop fighting!By Tik ShiroArtist
Sunshine and thesmell of nature are
valuable things. Weshould all appreciate the beauty ofnature. We should stop fighting,war can only destroy the humanrace. We’re already being hit bynatural disasters, and man-madecasualties will just bring aboutmore misery. I wish the best for ourcountry and hope there won’t bemore bad news on TV. Thais havegood hearts, and I’d like peoplefrom around the world to experi-ence and appreciate this charm of ours.
GOOD MORNINGBANGKOK!
XPRESSDA
ILY
I SWEAR...
FREE Tuesday, December 30, 2008 VOL 1, NO 249 dailyxpress.net
>PAGE 12
Ladies, want to make a statement? Choose a perfumethat reflects yourcharacter andlifestyle...
With the dire economic situation calling for belt-tightening, see what some personalities have resolved to do in the coming Year of the Ox
>PAGE 2
Smell of success
By Wannapa Phetdee
Everyone from politicians toflower sellers, celebrities to
bus drivers are telling the DailyXpress of their plans to survivethe crunch of the economic crisisand other changes in 2009.
ACTRESSSAWIKA“PINKY”CHAIDET:
“Normally, I’mnot an extrava-gant person, but
I’ve changed my plans to buy acar and expensive jewellery nextyear, and I’m going to buy landinstead as an investment for thefuture. I intend to start my ownclothes business, though.
SUNANTAKHUMPALA, 31,A BUILDINGCONTRACTOR:“I’ll try to savemoney, as I wantto build a house in
Amnatcharoen province. I’vereduced my alcohol intake to onebeer per day, my cellphone billfrom Bt500 to Bt100, and givenup smoking. No New Year partywill be another saving.
BUS DRIVERTIPPAWANSONGKUL, 42:
Fewer passen-gers has reducedmy income sincethe economic cri-
sis, which means I’ll have to workharder and improve my service. Iwon’t buy anything expensive,especially clothes.
ANANTAYASENGPRAKHON,29, A COFFEESHOP OWNER:
I’ve justinvested in a newbranch but there
haven’t been many customers,so I’ve reduced my personalspending on food, clothes, cos-metics and eating out. I used topay Bt50 to Bt100 per meal, butthat’s down to Bt40, maximum.
NANNAPATRIENLAPCHAROEN,50, A FLOWERSELLER:
I’m cutting mybudget for clothesand food to savemoney for my children. Notmany people are buying myflowers these days, so I’veapplied for a part-time job tomake extra money.
DEMOCRAT PARTYSPOKESMANBURANAJSMUTHARAKS:
Since the partybecame leader ofthe governmentcoalition, I’ve had to work harder.But, I’ll still try to get qualitytime with my family and balanceeveryone’s needs.
CHAROONTHONGNUAL, ANATION GROUPPHOTOGRAPHER:
I have to be onstand-by during theNew Year holidays athome in Songkhla. I hope therewill be no violence then because Iwant to take part in my commu-nity’s tradition of visiting everyhome with good wishes, and then offer food to monks on New Year’s Day.
PHUE THAI MPJATUPORNPROMPHAN
I’ll fight alongsidethe red shirts untilthe governmentgives back power tothe people, though I’ll also haveto make time for my family.
2 TODAY Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS
THE CITY
FIGHTINGFOR
SURVIVAL>>DAILY XPRESS is edited by Tulsathit Taptim and published by NMG News Co Ltd, at 1854, Bang Na-Trat Road, Bangkok 10260, and printed by WPS (Thailand) Co Ltd, Tel (02) 338 3000, Fax (02) 338 3334. EDITORIAL: Tel (02) 338 3333. ON THE WEB: DAILYXPRESS.NET>>DAILY XPRESS is a supplement to subscriber copies of THE NATION with bonus distribution in selected areas of Bangkok and its environs every Monday to Saturday. The Sunday edition of DAILY XPRESSincorporates THE NATION. Subscription rates: one year Bt4,900 within regular delivery areas; please contact Customer Service on (02) 338 3000. For bulk copy subscription rates please call (02) 338 3532.
FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING, PLEASE CALL (02) 338 3000 # 1
1%ECONOMIC GROWTH is predicted
for 2009, while inflation is expected to come down to 1%.
XPRESSDA
ILY
People at every level of society are turning to face the changes that 2009 will bring
DAILY
XPR
ESS/
THAW
ECH
AI JA
OW
ATTA
NA
Editor: Tulsathit Taptim / Managing Editor: Thanong Khanthong / Deputy Managing Editors: Kumar Krishnan, Jintana Panyaarvudh / Design Editor: Leroy A SylkWeb Co-editors: Marisa Chimprabha, Paisal Chuenprasaeng / The City Editor: Chularat Saengpassa / The Fun Editor: Veena Thoopkrajae / Sport Editor: Preechachan Wiriyanupappong / Group Editor in Chief: Suthichai Yoon
brieflyOn a ventilator?Don’t smoke! A chronic smoker who has touse a ventilator to breathewas rushed to hospital yester-day after blowing himself upby having a cigarette whileusing his oxygen tank.
The explosion happened asthe 75-year-old man lit up inhis home while attached to anoxygen tank that had plastictubes running to his nosebecause of lung diseasecaused by smoking.
The man knew he shouldnot smoke while attached tohis ventilator but apparentlycraved for a cigarette so badlyhe took the risk. – DPA
Hiding in the atticA family did not realise theyhad an unexpected Christmasguest until a man who hadbeen in their attic for daysemerged wearing their clothes.
Stanley Carter surrenderedafter police took a dog tosearch the home north ofPhiladelphia.
“When he came down fromthe attic, he was wearing mydaughter’s pants and mysweat shirt and sneakers,”homeowner Stacy Ferrancesaid. “From what I gather, hewas helping himself to myhome, eating my food andstealing my clothes.”
Road under YangtzeChina has opened its first roadtunnel under the Yangtze River,a move expected to cut traveltime and ease traffic conges-tion in Wuhan.
Construction began inNovember 2004 on the yuan1.7-billion (Bt8.7-billion) tunnel,which stretches 3.5 kilometresunder China’s longest river.
The four-lane road con-nects government offices anduniversities to the businessdistrict of Hankou, and will cuttravel time between the twoareas from half hour to just afew minutes. – AP
4 GLOBETROT Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS
Bull-headed?
EPA
Laura: Saddamwould’ve executedshoe-throwerUS first lady Laura Bush said shewas “not amused” when an Iraqijournalist hurled his shoes atPresident George W Bush inBaghdad earlier this month.
“Of course I was not amused,”she told Fox News in an interviewon Sunday, when asked about theDecember 14 incident. “It is anassault, and I think it should betreated that way.”
Asked whether the footwearflinger, Muntazer al-Zaidi, shouldbe released, Laura Bush replied: “Idon’t know about that. And that’sgoing to be up to the Iraqis. Andthey’ll do whatever.
“But I know that if SaddamHussein had been there, the manwouldn’t have been released. Andhe probably would have been exe-cuted. So as bad as the incident is,in my view, it is a sign that Iraqisfeel a lot freer to express them-selves,” she said.
Al-Zaidi, 29, is to go on trialtomorrow on charges of “aggres-sion against a foreign head ofstate”, which carries between fiveand 15 years in prison. – A F P
Activists preventJapanese sailorsfrom harpooningwhales by engagingtheir ship after a
1,850-kmpursuit in rough seasoff AntarcticaTHE WORLD
A P , Irvine, California
Late at night, the neighbourssaw a little girl at the
kitchen sink of the house nextdoor.
They watched through theirwindow as the child rinsedplates under the open faucet.She wasn’t much taller thanthe counter and the soapy wa-ter swallowed her slenderarms. To put the dishes away,she climbed on a chair.
But she was not the daugh-ter of the couple next door.She was their maid.
Shyima was 10 when awealthy Egyptian couplebrought her from a poor vil-lage in northern Egypt to workin their California home. Sheawoke before dawn and often
worked past midnight to irontheir clothes, mop the marblefloors and dust the family’scrystal. She earned US$45(Bt1,500) a month working upto 20 hours a day. She had nobreaks during the day and nodays off.
All for a good mealThe trafficking of children
for domestic labour in the USis an extension of an illegal butcommon practice in Africa.Families in remote villagessend their daughters to work incities for extra money and theopportunity to escape a dead-end life. Some girls work forfree on the understanding thatthey will at least be better fedin the home of their employer.
The custom has led to thespread of trafficking.
Tens of thousands of chil-dren in Africa, some as youngas 3, are recruited every yearto work as domestic servants.
On call 24-7They are on call 24 hours a
day and are often beaten ifthey make a mistake. Childrenare in demand because theyearn less than adults and areless likely to complain.
Around one-third of the es-timated 10,000 forced labour-ers in the US are servants, ac-cording to a study by theNational Human RightsCentre and Free the Slaves, anon-profit group.
No one can say how manyare children, especially sincetheir work can so easily bemasked as chores.
CHILD MAIDS BEINGEXPORTED TO THE USThousands as young as 3 are recruited every year as servants and often beaten for their mistakes
Spanish bullfighter Uceda Leal performs his first bull at the Canaveralejo Plaza in Cali, Colombia,as part of the 2008-2009 bullfightingseason. Some animal-rights campaign-ers have criticised the sport.
By Kenneth TuranL O S A N G E L E S T I M E S
Top 10 lists are often ranked,but I prefer to avoid that mis-ery if I can. It’s like rankingyour children: Even if youcould do it with a degree of ac-curacy, the very act spreadsmore unhappiness than joy.
But while slots two to 10 willbe listed alphabetically, I’m go-ing to depart from my usualpractice and name a clear No 1:Danny Boyle’s exhilarating“Slumdog Millionaire”.
I’m naming it No 1 because ofthe effect it had on me as wellas almost everyone I’ve talkedto. Watching it was like seeingan old friend long presumeddead suddenly walking aroundtown as healthy as you please.“Slumdog” is a modern versionof an old-fashionedHollywood-style audience pic-ture, an updated romanticmelodrama whose outlines theWarner brothers themselveswould have embraced. If youthink this kind of thing is easyto do, you haven’t been goingto the movies lately.
As for the rest, I have dou-bled-up on occasion to make iteasier to acknowledge deserv-ing work. As the playwrightsaid, attention must be paid.
French films� “A Christmas Tale” and
“The Class” – You could say2008 was an especially goodyear for French film, but thenevery year seems that way.These two were standouts atCannes, with “The Class” de-servedly winning the Palmed’Or. Also worth mentioningwere “I’ve Loved You for SoLong” and “A Girl Cut inTwo”.
� “Frost/Nixon” – Themost mature work Ron Howardhas done, a sterling example ofhow to transform a prime liter-ary property into somethingthat works onscreen.
� “Frozen River” and“Ballast” – This pair ofSundance winners show notonly that independent film isalive and well but also the vari-
ety of styles that keep themovement vital.
Breakthroughs� “Gomorrah” and
“Happy-Go-Lucky” – Joiningthese wildly differentEuropean films, the first ableak look at Italy’s Mafia-es-que Camorra, the other thehappiest film British director
Mike Leigh has ever made,qualifies as an act of criticalperversity. Only their qualityand overseas origins unitethem, and that might beenough.
� “Rachel Getting Married”– A return to top form for direc-tor Jonathan Demme and abreakthrough for star AnneHathaway, who’ve combinedwith a Jenny Lumet script and aresourceful ensemble to bringthe texture of edgy reality – real-ity intensified and captured onthe fly – to the proceedings.
Great documentaries� “Man on Wire”, “Roman
Polanski: Wanted andDesired”, “Stranded” and“Trouble the Water” – Thesefour exceptional documen-taries all appeared atSundance. A word should alsobe said for some other greatdocs: “Blindsight”, “Pray theDevil Back to Hell”,
“Standard OperatingProcedure” and the too-little-seen “A Walk to Beautiful”.What a group.
� “Tell No One” – A spaceall its own for the little Frenchthriller that could. The film noone wanted went on to become2008’s top-grossing foreign-language movie.
Amazing animation� “Wall-E” – The latest
wonder from Pixar is daringand traditional, groundbreak-ing and familiar, apocalypticand sentimental. How often doyou see that?
� “Waltz With Bashir” –Provocative, hallucinatory, in-cendiary, this animated person-al documentary about theIsraeli invasion of Lebanon isunlike any Israeli film you’veseen. Mention should also bemade of two other excellentworks from that country:“Jellyfish” and “Beaufort”.
2 0 0 8 IN MOVIE S
TOP 10, MORE OR LESS
KATE WINSLET, ON HER RELA-TIONSHIP WITH “TITANIC” CO-STARLEONARDO DICAPRIO.
“People say, ‘Oh my gosh, youguys are such good friends. Didyou ever fight?’ And we reallywould have to stop and think
about it and realise that we hadn’t.”
6 ENTERTAINMENT Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS
THE FUNWith so manygreat films, it’shard to limityourself
‘SlumdogMillionaire’,directed byDanny Boyle, isthe story of a for-mer street childin Mumbai, whowon richesbeyond anyone’sexpectationswhen heappeared onIndia’s version of‘Who Wants tobe a Millionaire?’
‘Wall-E’, the animated feature by Pixar, is a love story between tworobots, set in a future when humans have abandoned the trashedEarth and are living on cruise ships in space.
A S S O C I A T E D P R E S S
Two books by US president-elect Barack Obama and thefourth and final novel in the“Twilight” teenvampire serieswere at the top ofreading lists in2008. Here’s thehottest five:
� “BreakingDawn” byStephenie Meyer:The finale ofMeyer’s million-selling vampire se-ries, and the year’sfavourite teenscream.
� “The Story of EdgarSawtelle” by DavidWroblewski: A debut novel thatbecame a word-of-mouth hit inthe summer, then a mega-selling
smash in the fall, thanks to themegaphone power of OprahWinfrey.
� “Dreams from MyFather” by Barack Obama:First published in 1995, whenObama was best known as thefirst black president of ... the
Harvard LawReview.
� “The Auda-city of Hope” byBarack Obama:First published in2006, whenObama was bestknown as a sena-tor, speechmakerand potential pres-idential candidate... in the distant fu-ture.
� “The Shack” by William PYoung: A Christian novel origi-nally self-published with aprinting of 15 copies for friendsof the author. He now has atleast a million such “friends”.
A dancer in “TheLegend of AngkorWat: When HistoryComes to Life” putson her makeupbackstage atAngkor Wat in SiemReap. The sound-and-light showwith Khmer tradi-tional dance andmusic is being per-formed untilJanuary 31 at theancient Cambodiantemple. Tickets runfrom Bt2,100 toBt2,800 atThaiticketmajor.Call (02) 2623456.
Brook and Kob liked the gossipWow, a rumour came true! Actor-turned politician Danupon“Brook” Punnakan and actress Suvanarn “Kob” Kongying toldthe press on Sunday that they will marry atthe Centara Grand Hotel on January 9.
The couple will forego a fancy party infavour of a simple, traditional Thai wedding.Brook doesn’t want to put his 95-year-oldgrandfather through too much of a whirl.
This bit of gossip had ebbed and flowed,with Brook’s mum opening a denial shop onthe side.
Come the day, all eyes will be on her. Shenever liked the idea, so she’ll make headlines whether sheshows up or not – especially if not.
Three up, three downTV host Sorrayuth Suthassanajinda’s been goofing off duringhomework time again. He had Abhisit Vejjajiva on his “Jub KowKui” show and began by saying he’s the youngest premierThailand’s ever had.
Nope, said Abhisit. Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonkram andMR Seni Pramoj were younger.
“Well, perhaps you’re the most handsome,” Sorrayuth said.Abhisit merely smiled, or was that a grimace?
Whenever Thaksin Shinawatra was on his show, Sorrayuthalways addressed him as Than Na Yok (Mr Prime Minister), butnot Abhisit. He just got “Khun Abhisit”.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS ENTERTAINMENT 7
55YEARS AGO TODAY,the first colour TV setswent on sale in the US,though few people in 1953could afford the $1,000price of an Admiral, one ofthe brands.
MADE JUST FOR YOUAlbedo One gets in on thetrend of customisationwith its leather goods.> Page 8
Vampiresand ObamaReaders wrapped theirminds around two verydifferent things
8 FASHION Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS
By Lisnaree VichitsorasatraD A I L Y X P R E S S
Guests and reporters crowdedaround a laptop at last week’s
Albedo One launch picking theleather and colours for their newwallets. The trend in customisingaccessories hasn’t yet caught on inThailand but it’s already routineelsewhere.
Kasetsart University lecturerAnothai Cholachatpinyo, who has afashion-design PhD from London’sCentral Saint Martins College ofArt and Design, reckons that thetrend is being propelled by the 2.5per cent of the population who canbe considered “fashion innovators”.
“You always get people serving asproud ambassadors for luxurybrands, but now there’s a group ofpeople who want something differ-ent that they can mix and match bythemselves,” Assistant ProfessorAnothai said.
Customised products like thosein Albedo’s new Albedo One line ofbags and luggage lets customers dojust that. Buyers choose the tones
and textures, lending a distinctive,personalised touch.
The idea might appeal to hun-dreds of people rather than thou-sands, but Albedo managing direc-tor David Chui says the focus is ona specific target group, not themasses.
As president of the Thai Leather-goods Association, he knowsleather isn’t that popular amongThais. He’s mainly shooting for ca-
reer people, with business bags indifferent styles – like ClassicLuxury and Urban Metro – amongthe initial Albedo One models onoffer.
Anothai notes the growing boomin customised clothes as well. Themakers of imported brands oftenconsult him before bringing in anew product.
“Sometimes long skirts that arepopular abroad need to be short-ened to suit Thai buyers,” he says.
Brands like Prada use swipe
cards for customers to track theirprevious purchases, as well as theirmeasurements.
But even with Prada’s inroadsand Levis’ customised jeans,Anothai wishes more people wouldbe brave in expressing themselves.
“People who just wear brandnames aren’t confident in them-selves,” he says. “They buy thingsso they can say to other people, ‘Ihave good taste’, but with cus-tomised products, they have tohave real confidence.”
ags Show your style!Albedo One embraces the global trade in customising gear with its bags and wallets
WHAT’S ON/WHAT’S UPTuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS EVENTS 9
see it!Broadway in BangkokThe much-loved musical “Chicago” comesto Bangkok next year with 15 performanc-es running from February 12 to 22 atMuang Thai Ratchadalai Theatre. Ticketscosting from Bt1,000 to Bt4,000 areavailable at Thaiticketmajor. Call (02)262 3456 or visitwww.Rachadalai.com/chicago.
Seascapes and flowers Pam Sripian’s debut solo show “Flowersand Seascapes” kicks off at Rotunda andGarden Galleries on Friday. You can seeher small and medium-size oil paintingsof dreamlike flowers and seascapes until February 1.The Neilson Hays Library, open dailyexcept Saturday from 9.30 to 5.Call (02) 233 1731 or visitwww.NeilsonHaysLibrary.com.
Food for thoughtAsia Books joins the super sales seasonwith a special promotion that runsthrough January 15. For every purchaseof Bt1,000, Bt 1,500, and Bt2,000, youearn a Bt50 cash coupon and a chance tojoin a lucky draw to win a trip to Krabi.
Star WarsJoin the stars of reality TV on January 31at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani, asSupparuj “Ruj” Techatanon, winner of the2008 season of “The Star” and runner-up“Kam”, join with the winners and runners-up of the three earlier seasons for “TheStar War” concert.Tickets ranging from Bt500 to Bt2,500go on sale on Friday atThaiTicketMajor.com.Call (02) 262 3456.
Discover two centuries and the
imagined future of Bangkok in
“Krungthep 226” at Bangkok Art
and Culture Centre until February
15.Among the highlights are repro-
ductions of old graphics include a
map of Thon Buri drawn by an
18th-century Burmese spy and
another of Bangkok commis-
sioned by French priest Bishop
Pallegoix in 1854. Also on show is
Silpa Bhirasri’s high-relief murals
of the Democracy Monument
along with replicas of murals by
Khrua Inkhong, one of the first
Siamese artists to employ
Western perspective and shading.
The art centre at the Pathumwan
intersection is open Tuesday to
Sunday from 10 to 9. Call (02)
214 6630-1 or visit
www.BACC.or.th.
Lazy Sunday
brunchBanyan Tree Bangkok’s Romsai restaurant
offers a sensational Sunday brunch with buf-
fet choices that include river prawns, foie
gras, Peking duck, suckling pig, sushi and
sashimi. Children aged 12 or younger, can
become members of the Romsai’s “Very
Important Children Club”.
The brunch is open from 11.30am to 2.30pm
and costs Bt1,400 per person. Children are
charged at Bt1 per centimetre of their height.
Call (02) 679 1200.
The ultimate giftHead over to Loft at Siam
Discover Centre (BTS
Siam) or Chamchuri
Square (MRT Samyan)
and until January 7,
you can enjoy a
promotion
dubbed “World
of Ultimate
Gifts”. Spend
between Bt800
and Bt5,000R
and you’ll take
home a dis?count
coupon of up to
Bt1,000 off your next
purchase.
Fit & firm
for 2009Get into shape with hiphop,
yoga, boxing, aero box and
much more besides with a spe-
cial promotion being offered by
the Fitness Centre at the
Novotel Bangkok on Siam
Square. Sign up for membership
today or tomorrow and you pay
just Bt15,000 for the entire year
and get a special gift too!
For more information, call
(02) 208 9999.
Bangkok over time
WHAT’S ON/WHAT’S UP10 EVENTS Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS
The woven wordOn January 17 at 10.30, the Thai TextileSociety and the Siam Society hold alecture on “Textile Texts, or the WovenWord: Burmese Manuscript BindingTapes” by Ralph Isaacs.The lecture will be in English and willbe delivered in the Siam Society'sfourth floor lecture room.Isaacs will describe and celebrate acraft extinct in Burma since 1970 – thetablet weaving of text-woven tapes forwinding around bundles of palm-leafmanuscripts called sazigyo. He alsoinvites attendees to bring their sazigyofor display and discussion. Price isBt200 for non-members. [email protected].
Between the sheetsThe National Museum Volunteers willhold a lecture titled “UnexpectedEncounters: 20th Century ThaiLiterature and Europe” on January 29at 10am at its auditorium onNaphrathat Road.Michaela Zimmermann, senior lecturerin the Department of WesternLanguages at RamkhamhaengUniversity, will focus on two novels“Plae Kao” (“Old Wounds”) by KanPheungbun na Ayutthaya under thepseudonym Mai Muang Doem, and“Khwam Rak Khong Wanlaya”(“Wanlaya’s Love”) by SeineeSaovaphong.Members pay Bt100 and the public ischarged at Bt150. Contact AnettePollner at (084) 942 1012 or visitwww.MuseumVolunteersBKK.net.
A gift for the homelessThe first ambassador for Habitat forHumanity Thailand, teen starRathapoom “Film” Tokongsap , has cre-ated a New Year card to raise funds forthe foundation. The card depicts asmiling heart surrounding some happypeople living in their new homes. Youcan order the cards by calling (02)664 0644 or visitingwww.HabitatThailand.org.
Super savings with KTCUntil January 31, KTC credit card hold-ers can shop for less at Premium OutletCha-am, Outlet Village Khao Yai, andOutlet Village Pattaya. Additional dis-counts and free gifts come with pur-chases of Bt2,000 and more andForever Rewards points can beexchanged for coupons at Food Centresin both Cha-am and Khao Yai.Conditions apply. Call (02) 665 5000or visit www.KTC.co.th.
do it!
Sensational
shellfishIn January, enjoy lobster from
Canada at the Dusit Thani Pattaya’s
Bay restaurant. Sample the shellfish
in a salad of mixed greens with
orange and lemon dressing, filled
with ravioli tossed with sun-dried
tomato sauce or in a risotto with saf-
fron.The restaurant is on the hotel’s third
floor. For reservation, call (038) 425
611-7 extension 2270.
An unforgettable life
CharoonBoonsuan cele-
brates his 71st
birthday with a
solo show “The
Splendour of
Nature –Reflecting the
Unforgettable
Life” at the
Gallery from
January 21 to
February 15.
His paintings
depict the
peace and
quiet of rural
life, surrounded
by forest and
mountains. The
gallery is in the
basement of
Silom Galleria
Building and is
open Monday to Saturday from 10 to 7 and Sunday from 11 to 6.
Call (02) 630 3381 or visit www.TheGalleryThailand.com.
Love in the countryNitiphong “Dee” Hor-nag gets up close and
personal with nature on February 7 when
he’ll present the “Arom Dee” concert at
Chokchai Farm in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Among the guests are Sumeth & The Pang,
Lula, Maew Jirasak, Nicole, Nuvo, Boy Trai,
Acappella 7, Marsha, Am Saowalak, Mai,
Hydra, Ben Chalatit, Patcha Af2 and Aof
Pongsak. Tickets cost Bt2,200 from
www.ThaiTicketMajor.com. For details, visit
www.IAmYoungDee.com.
Picture that!Lensmen Chamni Thipmanee, Noppadol Khaosam-ang and Kornkrit Jianpinijnan portray the thoughtsand feelings of local people towards the First RoyalFactory in Chiang Mai’s Fang district in the exhibi-tion “Napakunkir”, which runs until January 25 atThailand Creative and Design Centre.Chamni draws his inspiration from the unaffectedsimplicity of the local people while Kornkrit cap-tures the impact that the Royal projects have hadon the physical landscape of the North. Meanwhile,Noppadol’s work is on the very real economic bene-fits that the Royal Factory has brought to the livesof local people.The centre is on the sixth floor of the Emporium andis open Tuesday to Sunday from 10.30am to 9pm.Call (02) 664 8448 or visit www.TCDC.or.th orwww.FirstRoyalFactory.org.
D A I L Y X P R E S S
Just like choosing an outfit forthe day, choosing a perfume is
a way of making a statementabout your character, yourlifestyle – and you mood. Pickthe wrong scent and you mightfind your self-confidence lack-ing.
The basic problem with per-fumes these days is that thereare thousands available. Weasked Siam Paragon andLancôme for some pointers.
Lancôme suggests character-ising yourself in different waysand wearing the scent tomatch. On any given day youmight be a Femme Fatale,Fresh and Bubbly, Romanticand Passionate or Bold andSexy.
The Femme Fatale is likeAngelina Jolie playing LaraCroft, sexy but ready tofight for what she believesin. A perfect scent for thisscrappy lady is Hypnôse,with its vanilla andwoody notes.
Remember ReeseWitherspoon in “LegallyBlonde”? She’s the bubbly char-acter who seems ditzy but is ac-tually quite smart.
The ideal perfume for her is“Miracle So Magic”, a fresh, flo-ral fragrance that’s delicate butwild as well.
Kate Winslet in “Titanic” ex-udes romance and passion. Sheprobably wears Trésor, withrose, lily-of-the-valley, iris andsandalwood tones.
For the Bold and Sexywoman, Anne Hathaway’s
12 BEAUTY Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS
XTRA
THE WORLD SMELLS GREAT
>> The World Fragrance Showcase continues inthe Beauty Hall on Siam Paragon’s M Floor untilJanuary 8, featuring the newest perfumes from NewYork City, Paris, London and Milan and scents creat-ed by local celebrities.
>> If you like Beyonce Knowles, try Diamonds byEmporio Armani, which smells like freesia and lily-of-the-valley.
>> Christina Aguilera’s Christina Inspire offers a“musky, provocative” aroma, and Jennifer Lopez’sLive Platinum has the sophisti-cated tang plumand ruby grapefruit.
Scents of a different womanChoose your perfume of the day based on what kind of role you feel like playing
Put on a festive face
For makeup lovers, the holidaysoffer a welcome excuse for experimen-tation.
Why stick with the usual brown eyeshadow and nude lipstick when festivefetes call for drama and dazzle? Hereare three options for spicing up yourholiday look:
■ Get glowing. Brighten up with adusting of golden highlighter on yourcheekbones and decolletage. One to try:Estee Lauder's Shimmering JewelPowder.
■ Master a party-perfect pout. Makea statement with a bold red lipstick ordeep berry stain. Pair it with understat-ed, classic makeup. Dramatic lips lookperfect when paired with just a swipe ofblack liquid eyeliner.
Try Clinique’s blue-based Angel Red,Mac’s yellow-based Brave Red or GiorgioArmani’s long-lasting Lip Wax in DeepChianti.
■ Colour it in. Instead of the usualgrey-and-black smoky eye, try swappingneutrals for colour. Create a smoky lookin shades of navy or eggplant withLaura Mercier’s Liquid Eyeliner inBordeaux and Duwop’s SmokeEyeshadow Duo or Smashbox’s Jet SetWaterproof Eye Liner in Navy Blue andStila’s Smoky Eye Talking Palette in TheSapphires.- The Washington Post
Agent 99 from “Get Smart” goes forwhat she wants, but she’s sensitivedeep down.
That kind of woman needsMagnifique, with the sweetness ofroses and jasmine.
And, if you’re the SpontaneousFree Spirit, the Classic Beauty orCool and Confident, there’s a fra-grance out there to match yourpersonality. Just spritz on a little andget into character!
Hypnose
Magnifique
Miracle
Trésor
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS IT / GAMES 13
In gearwith the GoGearA new portable digital-media player that won’t break the bank
By Smiley ByteD A I L Y X P R E S S
Released in Europe and theUS earlier this year, Philips
new portable digital mediaplayer, the GoGear SA5245, ar-rives here in time for the festiveseason and offers terrific soundquality for anyone looking totreat themselves to a New Yeargift.
The SA5245 uses Philips’FullSound technology, whichenhances the quality of com-pressed audio, giving a richersound.
And when that’s reproducedthrough Philips’ in-ear high-definition headphones, the mu-sic is fantastic.
Of course, the SA5245 doesn’tjust play digital music. You canalso watch video on its 2.8-inch,320x240 pixel resolutionscreen. It supports both WMVand MPEG4 video formats,both of which played smoothlyduring our test.
And the package comes with
KEY SPECS
Audio format support: MP3, WMA, AACVideo Playback: MPEG4, WMV9Frequency response: 20 - 18k Hz Signal to noise ratio: > 84 dB Channel separation: 45 dB Display: 2.8 inch; 7 Lines of text; 320 x 240 pixels, 65K colours Built-in memory: 4 GB Connectivity: High speed USB 2.0 Battery: 880mAh LI-Polymer; Up to 30 hours audio or 6 hours video playbackDimension (WxDxH): 106 x 9.9 x 58 mmWeight: 0.095 kg
ArcSoft MediaConverter soyou can convert your DVDmovie to an MPEG4 file andenjoy it on the go. A two-hourmovie uses about 580 megabytein MPEG4 format, so it will fiteasily fit on the SA5245’s 4 giga-byte memory.
The SA5245 is easy to usewith buttons for direction con-trol, reverse and options.
You can synchronise yourmusic files on your computerusing Windows Media Playerand the playlists on the
portable player will be auto-matically updated. You candrag and drop your music filesonto the player’s hard drivethough you’ll have to manuallybrowse to the folder to play themusic files.
And you can keep up-to-datewith the latest news courtesy ofthe FM tuner, which we foundgave satisfactory reception.
Last but not least, the SA5245while large is thin enough toslide into a shirt pocket. It’s onsale now for Bt5,990.
OF COURSE, THE SA5245 DOES-N’T JUST PLAY DIGITAL MUSIC.YOU CAN ALSO WATCH VIDEO ONITS 2.8-INCH, 320X240 PIXELRESOLUTION SCREEN.
Super HapA record company aimsto make big baht withpretty-boy mixed-racesinger Tom (FilmRattapoom). But Tom’shiding a secret: ghostsinger Tueng (KiatisakUdomnak) whose looksare not superstar quali-ty. With English subti-
tles at some cinemas.
Transporter 3Driver Frank Martin(Jason Statham) has anew assignment: deliverthe feisty daughter of aUkrainian official fromMarseilles to Odessa. Foradded excitement,Martin is fitted with abracelet that will
explode if he fails tomake his delivery ontime. ★★
Pride and GloryA family of New YorkCity Police officers arepitted against eachother in the investiga-tion of a drug bust thatwent horribly wrong.
TO SEE14 THE SCREEN Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS
on tv
Totally AwesomeAfter moving to a new town, aboy quickly becomes labelledas the most unpopular kidaround. A decathlon holds thekey to changing his status.HBO (TrueVisions), 8pm
Waking Up inRenoTwo couples travel to Reno tosee a monster truck show.Stars Billy Bob Thornton,Natasha Richardson, PatrickSwayze and Charlize Theron.True Movie Hits(TrueVisions), 7pm
What LiesBeneathThe wife of a scientist believesthat her lakeside home ishaunted by a ghost – or thatshe’s losing her mind. HarrisonFord and Michelle Pfeiffer star.Star Movies (TrueVisions),8pm
The Running ManArnold Schwarzenegger starsin this 1987 thriller, playing awrongly convicted man whomust try to survive a publicexecution gauntlet that isstaged as a TV game show.Cinemax (TrueVisions), 8pm
Australia Baz Luhrmann’s sweeping epic is set in theNorthern Territory prior to World War II, with NicoleKidman as an aristocratic English widow whoarrives to whip a struggling cattle ranch back intoshape with the help of the heroic Drover (HughJackman). ★★★
Fan Waan Aai Joop Chukiat Sakveerakul, Prachya Pinkaew, Bhandit Thongdee and RashaneLimtrakul each direct a short love story. With English subtitles at somecinemas.
Deep in TheJungleJesdaporn Pholdee starsin this Phranakorn fantasyas a former special-forcessoldier who falls in lovewith a woman (PloyJindachot) hiding a darksecret.
Bedtime StoriesA hotel handyman (AdamSandler) finds himself at the centre of the out-landish tales he tells his niece and nephew.
The SpiritFrank Miller (“Sin City”) camps up the 1940s comicseries about a masked superhero crimefighter.Gabriel Macht, Samuel L Jackson, ScarlettJohansson and Eva Mendes star.
Diary of The DeadZombie master George A Romero brings this tale ofa group of indie filmmakers who stumble on anoutbreak of corpses coming back to life.
Happy-Go-LuckyMike Leigh directs this British comedy about an irre-pressible woman (Sally Hawkins) who refuses tobe brought down. At House and Apex.
Mutant ChroniclesThomas Jane, Ron Perlman, John Malkovich andDevon Aoki star in this post-apocalyptic sci-fithriller, loosely based on a role-playing game.
in cinemastomorrow
Stars Edward Norton,Colin Farrell, NoahEmmerich and JonVoight. ★★★
Toi et MoiJulie Depardieu andMarion Cotillard star inthis romantic comedy. InFrench with English andThai subtitles at House.
Happy BirthdayA travel photographer(Ananda Everingham)and a tour guide(Chayanan Manomai-santiphap) fall in love.Then tragedy strikes.With English subtitlesat some cinemas.★★★★
The OrphanageThe past haunts a cou-ple after they adopt aboy and buy a spookyold orphanage. InSpanish with Englishand Thai subtitles atthe Siam. ★★★★
Ong Bak 2Phanom “Tony Jaa”Yeerum co-directs hismagnum opus, starringas a fierce young warriorwho has only a taste forvengeance. With Englishsubtitles at some cine-mas. ★★★★
Saw V Jigsaw might be dead,but his grisly traps liveon. Costas Mandylorstars as a detective try-ing to piece thingstogether. At SFCinemas. ★
Beverly HillsChihuahuaA pampered lap dogfinds herself accidentallylost in the mean streetsof Mexico. ★★
Tokyo SonataKiyoshi Kurosawa’s darkdrama is about a familythat disintegrates afterits patriarch loses his job.In Japanese with Thaiand English subtitles atHouse and the Lido.★★★★
TwilightA teenage girl (KristenStewart) risks everythingwhen she falls in lovewith a vampire (RobertPattinson). ★★★
KidsAsato (Teppei Koike) hasthe power to transferother people’s wounds tohis own body. His strangehealing powers lead to afriendship with the trou-bled Takeo. In Japanesewith Thai and Englishsubtitles at House.★★★★
The DuchessKeira Knightley plays ayoung woman whobecomes the toast ofhigh society when shemarries a duke. At theLido. ★★★
Burn AfterReadingThe secrets of a fired CIAagent (John Malkovich)end up in the hands oftwo bumbling gymemployees (Brad Pitt andFrances McDormand). Atthe Lido. ★★★★
TO SEETuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS THE SCREEN 15
Chuck Season 1Chuck Bartowski (ZacharyLevy) is a computer geekworking at an electronics chainstore who accidentallybecomes a secret agent whenhe unwittingly downloadsstolen government secrets intohis brain. All 12 episodes plusthe pilot are in this four-discpackage, which also includesspecial features along withmaking-of and gag reels.Audio languages are Englishand Portuguese with subtitlesadding Spanish, French,Portuguese, Chinese and Thai.Prices start at Bt650. – DailyXpress
‘Super Hap’ starsNaowarat Yuktanan.
The Day the EarthStood Still In this update of the 1951 sci-fi classic, KeanuReeves plays an alien who comes to warnEarthlings of their impending doom. Also atKrungsri IMAX. ★★★
IkigamiThe government hopes to awaken the populace by
issuing death messages, telling citizens they have
only 24 hours left to live. In Japanese with English
and Thai subtitles at Apex.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa The escaped New York zoo animals make their way to the African main-land where they encounter species of their own kind for the very firsttime. Voices include Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and JadaPinkett Smith. Also at Krungsri IMAX. ★★★
16L
EIS
UR
ET
uesday, Decem
ber30, 2008 D
AILY
XP
RE
SS
Close to HomeBy John McPherson
AdamBy Bryan Basset
Calvin and HobbesBy Bill Watterson
The BucketsBy Scott Stantis
Pooch CafeBy Paul Gilligan
Red and RoverBy Brian Basset
Co
mics&
Ga
mes
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS LEISURE 17
Games&YourStars
ASTROLOGYSUDOKU
DIFFICULTY RATING ★★
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
Complete the grid so that every row,column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.
The last word in
By Eugenia Last
Today’s Birthday: You’ll have a lot of options to choose fromin the coming year. Let your emotions get involved for a changeand you will be satisfied with your choices. Take nothing forgranted but expect the most from your efforts. You will be apowerhouse in your chosen field, among your friends and in yourfamily, surprising everyone with your timing and good memory.
ARIES **** March 21-April 19Focus on helping others and you will be less likelyto worry and stress over things you cannot change.Memories of the people you have lost will lead tothe wisdom needed to make the right choices.
TAURUS ** April 20-May 20Back your views with positive affirmation and youwill achieve your goals. Travel will pay off in gainsand talks regarding your ideas. Be open and forth-right and everything else will fall into place.
GEMINI ***** May 21-June 20All eyes will be on you so be fully prepared to takethe lead. Love and romance will be emotionallyexhilarating. Don’t let uncertainty stand in yourway when you are so close to getting what youwant.
CANCER *** June 21-July 22Don’t get drawn off course by someone who at-tracts you. You are up for a jolt if you give in totemptation. Focus on getting ahead by your ownmeans and stabilising your future.
LEO *** July 23-Aug. 22You will learn something very interesting that willhelp you make a decision about where to move. Apractical approach to business will impress thepeople you deal with, so keep your ideas simple.
VIRGO *** Aug. 23-Sept. 22Don’t get all bogged down in professional matters.Instead, focus on home, family and enjoying thepeople who make your life worthwhile. There ismuch to be learned from the ones you love.
LIBRA ***** Sept. 23-Oct. 22Enjoy the company of someone who makes yourheart beat fast. Love is in the stars and much canbe accomplished if you are direct about the wayyou feel. Don’t let anyone stand in your way.
SCORPIO ** Oct. 23-Nov. 21You can make some very important decisions aboutyour future today. Consider what needs to be donein order to live up to your own expectations. There isroom to move but you need to make it happen.
SAGITTARIUS **** Nov. 22-Dec. 21You must avoid making rash decisions. The pres-sure may be on to move one way or another and, ifyou choose not to do anything, you will probablyfind you’ve missed out.
CAPRICORN *** Dec. 22-Jan. 19Take advantage of the economic situation and youwill prosper. You can control your future by know-ing and challenging your competition. Moving at asteady pace will bring you the most.
AQUARIUS *** Jan. 20-Feb. 18A lot will depend on a partnership you are in orwant to be in. You must make your move and se-cure your position. Tie up loose ends and makepromises to ensure your future move down theright path.
PISCES *** Feb. 19-March 20Explosive and unpredictable events may surprisemany who know you. Think big. Your timing can beperfect if you draw in the right people from yourpast to reclaim an old goal.
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY
Singer Noel Paul Stookey(Peter, Paul & Mary) is 71.Singer Michael Nesmith (The Monkees is 66.Singer Davy Jones (The Monkees) is 63.Actress Tracey Ullman is 49.Musician Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) is 39.Actor Jason Behr is 35.Golfer Tiger Woods is 33.
Bangkok Bank,the career partner you can rely on to bring out your bestWith our 60-year track record of success, and our reputation as Thailandís leading bank,we offer a secure employment environment with great opportunities for career advancement.
To create your great future career, Bangkok Bank - opening the door to new opportunities.
Positions available:
If you recognize yourself in any of these profiles, please apply online viawww.bangkokbank.com/careers
Store Manager & Assistant Store ManagersResponsibilities:• Manages the store, performs to achieve sales target.• Maintains store's standard performance.• Develops services and ensures effectiveness.
Qualifications:• Bachelor's Degree in any related field with at least
10 years experience in retail operations.• Dynamic, team player, leadership skill and work hard.
Sales & Customer Service Responsibilities:• Advises customers and offers right products and
services solutions.• Maintains store's standard performance, performs to
achieve sales target.
Qualifications:• Bachelor's Degree in any related field with 2 years
experience in retail operations.• Dynamic, self-disciplined, high responsibility and
work hard.
Sales CoordinatorsResponsibilities:• Summarizes sales ordering documents, plans and
coordinates all logistics.• Coordinates all sales activities within the store to ensure
customer satisfaction.
Qualifications:• Bachelor's Degree in any related field with at least
2 years experience in coordinating sales activities or logistics.
Index Living Mall : Special Mall for Home Furnishings.Challenges... opportunities... come alive at Index Living Mall in Dubai Got potential and self drive? Take it now!
Attractive salary, great benefits await you!
- Service minded with good personality., Good command of English, preferably writing skills.- Can work in Dubai, UAE for a minimum of 2 years.
All positions require:
Management Trainee - DistrictManager / GM Store
Qualifications:• Age 35-45 years old• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Business
Administration or related field• Prior experience in sales team management, sales
target management, customer management, inventory management or overall knowledge of retail operationbusiness / department store will be an advantage
• Good English communication skill, good personality and good leadership, Able to work upcountry
Management Trainee - Sale /Administration / Customer Service
Qualifications:• Age 28-35 years• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in any field• Minimum 3 years experience in logistics
management, sales team management, productdelivery management areas or customer services
• Willing to work on rotating shift schedules• Experience in retails business or department stores
will be an advantage• Able to work upcountry
Advertising Division Manager (Head Office)
Qualifications:• Age 28-35 years old • Bachelor's Degree in Marketing
or Communication Arts• At least 4 years experience in marketing and
advertising management • Good English communication skill,
good personality and good leadership, Good computer skill
Buyer Division Manager / Buyer (Head Office)
Qualifications:• Age 22-35 years old (for the division manager
over 27 years old)• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration,
Marketing, Management, Economics, Statistics or related field
• 3-5 experience in retails business or departmentstores at least 2 years will be an advantage
• Good personality, confident, and good negotiation skill
• Good computer skill especially in MS Excel
Data Analyst (Head Office)
Qualifications:• Age 22-35 years old• Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Marketing,
Business Administration, Economics or related field
• At least 2 years experience in sales analysis, inventory, gross profit analysis
• Good analytical skill and expertise in MS Excel (such as Pivot table, Macro)
• Experience in retail business is a preferable
To join our team, please send your resume and recent photograph to:
Home Product Center Public Co., Ltd.Head Office 96/27 M. 9 Bangkhen,
Muang, Nonthaburi 11000 (Beside of The Mall Ngamwongwan)
Home Product Center Public Company Limitedwas founded on June 27, 1995 with the initial registered capital of Baht150 million. The Company is a joint venture between Land and HousesGroup, American International Assurance Co., Ltd. and the Sarasinfamily. The Company was listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand onOctober 30, 2001.
The Company was established with an objective to operate a retail business by selling goods and providing complete services relating to construction, improvement, decoration and renovation of buildings, houses and residence places under the trade name "HomePro".
Ronaldo practiseswith ball againAn overweight Ronaldo prac-ticed with a ball for the first timeon Sunday since joining Brazil’sCorinthians, hoping to be fitenough to make his debut earlyin the new year.Ronaldo’s main goal remainslosing the “five or six” kilogramshe gained during the nearly 10months of inactivity promptedby his latest knee injury, but onSunday he was allowed to takepart in his first ball drills withCorinthians. He still hasn’t beenable to join his team-mates onthe practice field, but was ableto kick the ball around inside theclub’s gym. – AFP
Federer, Nadal start earlyRoger Federer faces an earlystart to the 2009 season as hebegins his campaign to reclaimthe world No 1 spot from RafaelNadal.The Swiss star was deposedfrom the top ranking by Nadal in2008 with the Spaniard alsotaking his Wimbledon crownafter a five-year reign. Federerwill begin his new year in theunlikely surroundings of theZayed Sports City at the AbuDhabi International TennisComplex where Nadal, as well asfour other top 10 players, willbattle for the US$250,000 topprize. “Never before have I start-ed a tennis year as early as the
one ahead. I will be back inaction on January 1st,” saidFederer ahead of the January 1-3exhibition tournament in AbuDhabi. – AFP
Jewell quits as Derby managerDerby manager Paul Jewell hasresigned after his 50th leaguegame in charge ended in defeat.The 1-0 home loss to Ipswich onSunday left Derby 18th in the 24-team League Championship, fur-ther hampering their bid for aquick return tothe PremierLeague.“Derby Countycan confirmthat the clubhas partedcompany withmanager PaulJewell withimmediateeffect,” the club said. – AP
Gasquet looks to new coachFrenchman Richard Gasquet hasturned to a new coach to helphim launch a successfulAustralian campaign and areturn to the world’s top 10 rank-ings next year.Gasquet, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, has turned tocoach Guillaume Peyre, whohelped Cypriot Marcos Baghdatisto the Australian Open final in2006. – AFP
brieflyCavs rally to beatHeat,improve to 16-0LeBron James got the best of fellow-superstarDwyane Wade, and the Cleveland Cavaliers kepttheir house in perfect order.James tossed in 33 points – four more thanWade – and the Cavaliers moved to 16-0 athome with a 93-86 come-from-behind victoryover the Miami Heat yesterday. “Any good orgreat team tries to take care of home court first
and then tries to play well on the road,” said James. – DPA
22 THE SPORT Tuesday December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKSvs MINNESOTA WILD
4-1Dustin Byfuglien led Chicago to afranchise-record ninth straight victory,scoring two goals and adding an assist inthe Blackhawks’ 4-1 decision over theMinnesota Wild.THE SPORT
A G E N C I E S , Liverpool
Liverpool captain StevenGerrard was arrested early
yesterday in connection withan alleged assault at a bar thatleft a man hospitalised with fa-cial injuries.
The England midfielder wasdetained by police at 0230GMT (9.30am Bangkok time) inSouthport along with five othermen after the brawl and re-mained in police custody forquestioning, a person close tothe investigation said on condi-tion of anonymity. British po-lice do not publicly name sus-pects unless charges arebrought.
A 34-year-old man was takento hospital with facial injuriesthat are not believed to be life
threatening, police said. The disturbance happened
outside the Lounge Inn – amodern restaurant that be-comes a nightclub later in theevening – in the seaside townless than 10 miles north ofGerrard’s home in Formby inMerseyside.
Gerrard was celebratingLiverpool extending their leadto three points atop thePremier League standings afterhe scored twice and set up an-other goal in a 5-1 victory atNewcastle, while second-placeChelsea was held 2-2 byFulham.
“Merseyside Police is investi-gating an assault that took placein the early hours of Monday ...on Bold Street in Southport,”
police said in a statement, with-out naming Gerrard. “Six menwere arrested on suspicion ofsection 20 assault on LordStreet.”
The other men held are notbelieved to be footballers, butare from the Huyton area ofLiverpool, where Gerrard wasbrought up and spotted byLiverpool scouts at the age ofeight playing for WhistonJuniors.
A police spokesman added:“The men, four aged 33, 31, 29and 19, who all come from theHuyton area, a 28-year-old manfrom Formby and an 18-year-old man from Litherland re-main in police custody.”
Liverpool, who next facePreston on Saturday in the FACup, were making no comment.
Gerrard branded the currentLiverpool side “the best” he’dplayed in after the
Liverpool captain in assault probe afterbrawl at a night-spot yesterday
Jewell
Wade
GI
Tuesday December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS THE SPORT 23
AFP, Paris
Ricardo Fuller’s shockingassault on Stoke City
team-mate Andy Griffin onSunday cost him a red cardand his team an EnglishPremier League defeat.
It also gave him a place insport’s hall of shame – flyingfists department.
“He walked up to ‘Griff ’and clipped him on the chin,”said Stoke manager TonyPulis after Sunday’s domestictiff at Upton Park whereWest Ham won 2-1.
“There are always inci-dents on the pitch and intraining. It’s nothing I haven’tseen before.”
The Premier League isquite used to seeing team-mates become sparring part-ners. Newcastle’s JoeyBarton has rarely been out ofthe headlines for his actions,both on and off the field.
The 26-year-old served a74-day jail sentence this yearfollowing an assault on a 16-year-old boy. In May 2007, heattacked former ManchesterCity team-mate OusmaneDabo during a training ses-sion. Dabo had describedBarton as a coward.
“The fact that I look likethe Elephant Man is badenough, but what I find mostshocking is that he struck mefirst from behind and thenrepeatedly when I was downon the ground. His actionsare despicable,” said Dabo.
Barton scored forNewcastle on his return inOctober this year havingserved a six-match ban im-posed by the FootballAssociation (FA) and insist-ed he was a changed charac-ter. “I have messed up onmore than one occasion butnothing sobers you up likegoing to prison,” he said.
“It was not a nice experi-ence and I know this is thelast-chance saloon.”
Just weeks later, however,he faced allegations that hehad racially abused AstonVilla’s Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Newcastle are no strangersto internal strife.
In April 2005, Lee Bowyerand Kieron Dyer squared-upto each other as their teamslumped to a dispiriting 3-0home defeat to Villa. Bothplayers were sent-off.
“We are team-mates andwe have disagreements, butwe should not be fighting infront of 50,000 people,” ad-mitted Dyer.
Bowyer was later fined bya court and his club alsobanned him.
Punch-ups between team-mates have also featured inthe United States.
In August, NFL star SteveSmith apologised to hisCarolina Panthers team andfans after punching team-mate Ken Lucas in training,leaving the starting corner-back with a broken nose.
Roy HodgsonFULHAM MANAGER
“It’s been a marvellous 12months, one of the better, if notone of very best, years of mylong career. All I can wish for inmy New Year’s wish list is thatthings will continue in the samevein in 2009.”
Lebron JamesCLEVELAND PLAYER ON DWYANE WADE
“We’re the ultimate competitors.Every time we go out there we tryto lead our team to victory.Dwyane is an unbelievable player,and he brings out the best in meand hopefully I do the same tohim. It was great performances bythe both of us.”
Merseysiders ended 2008 asPremier League leaders.
Liverpool haven’t beencrowned champions of England
since 1990 – an interminablewait for a club that has won thedomestic title a record 18 times.
Reds captain Gerrard knowsbetter than most people atAnfield the dangers of raisinghopes which end in painful fail-ure. However, such was his self-belief following Sunday’s awaywin, where he scored twicehimself, the England midfielderfelt able to joyfully talk up hisside’s prospects. “This is thebest team I have played with,”said Gerrard, a one-club man.
“You look around the dress-ing room and from the keeperto the forwards we have somefantastic players and there is aconfidence there,” added the28-year-old, who made hisLiverpool debut in 1998.
“We have given ourselves agreat chance [of winning theleague]. We have to remainconsistent and that is the key.”
THIS IS THE BESTTEAM I HAVE PLAYEDWITH. YOU LOOKAROUND THEDRESSING ROOM,THERE IS CONFIDENCETHERE.Steven Gerrard
AFP, Liverpool, England
Australian internationalTim Cahill believes his
new role as a lone striker atEnglish Premier League sideEverton is improving him as aplayer.
Everton, without injured at-tackers Yakubu, JamesVaughan, Victor Anichebeand Louis Saha, have seenCahill respond to his new po-sition in style by scoring in re-cent wins over ManchesterCity and Middlesbrough.
“There is a lot of pressure.If we don’t score or don’t win,then people are going to startcalling on the striker andwant someone else to playthere,” Cahill told www.ever-tonfc.com.
“I’m not in a win-win situa-tion. I have to work very hardto keep my place and putpressure on defences, be-cause I feel that I need towork hard for the team.
“All players are playing indifferent positions because ofthe lack of numbers but we’reall in there for the cause. Yousee where we’re sat in thetable.
“It’s a lot harder work [as alone striker],” added Cahill.
“I just think that for themanager to have the faith inme to play up there on myown means I’m going to takethat chance and do it for theteam.”
I need towork hard,says Cahill
Everton’s Tim Cahill revels inhis role as a striker
Stoke’s Ricardo Fuller is sent off by referee Michael Jones forviolent conduct against his team-mate Andy Griffin.
Stoke’s Fuller entersthe Hall of Shame
AP
AFP
EPA
Liverpool captain StevenGerrard had to spend anight in jail after the matchagainst Newcastle in whichhe scored twice.
,,
GERRARDIN JAIL
AFP, Blackburn, England
Manchester City managerMark Hughes vowed to
secure the long-term servicesof Daniel Sturridge after theteenage substitute inspired alate fightback to seal a 2-2draw at Blackburn Rovers.
Hughes, back at Ewood Parkfor the first time since leavingRovers for City in June, sawhis team staring at an eleventhdefeat in 20 league games asgoals from South Africa strik-er Benni McCarthy and JasonRoberts gave Sam Allardyce’steam a 2-0 lead here Sunday.
But Sturridge – a 71st minutesubstitute – almost single-handedly salvaged a point forCity by scoring with an 88thminute volley before setting-
up an equaliser for Brazil starRobinho in the fourth minuteof stoppage-time.
The 19-year-old forward isout of contract at the end ofthe season but, despite high-profile stars such as MichaelOwen, Jermain Defoe andRoque Santa Cruz beinglinked with City in the Januarytransfer window, Hughes in-sisted youth-team graduateSturridge has a big future atEastlands.
“I was delighted withDaniel. I had hoped he wouldmake a positive impact. Weasked him to make things hap-pen and he certainly did that,”said Hughes. “We want tobring good players into theclub, but we can create the
sort of environment where hecan thrive. We have tried to introduce him bit-by-bit, butwe want to keep him at thisclub.
“I think we’re very close toagreeing a new deal with him.He has been allowed to get in-to the last year of his contract,but that was allowed to hap-pen before I came here.
“That puts the player in aposition of power, not theclub.”
Allardyce, who took chargethree games ago after Roverssacked Paul Ince, said his teamhad suffered for a lack of as-surance late on.
“It feels like a defeat be-
cause you expect to win agame if you play so well for 90minutes. When you are 2-0 upwith minutes to go, you shouldbe able to see the game out,but we paid a heavy price.
“We had nine men behindthe ball, yet didn’t have a soulnear Robinho when the ballwas played to him. It was agood finish, but the ball justdropped to him and we shouldhave defended it better.
“All that was missing todaywas a bit of composure in thefinal minutes, but you makemore mistakes when you aretired. We didn’t get what wedeserved but that sometimeshappens,” Allardyce said.
24 THE SPORT Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS
FOOTBALL
SHAKENANDSTURREDManager Hughes hails super-subSturridge after young Manchester Cityforward makes point against Rovers
I WAS DELIGHTEDWITH DANIEL. WEASKED HIM TO MAKETHINGS HAPPEN ANDHE CERTAINLY DIDTHAT.Mark Hughes
Manchester City forward Robinho scores the equaliser past Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Paul Robinsonat Ewood Park, Blackburn.,,
We are still the best team, says WorawiChelsea can catch Reds:ScolariLuiz Felipe Scolari insistedthe English Premier Leaguetitle race was still open as hisChelsea side went into 2009three points behind leadersLiverpool.
Only once in the last fourseasons has a team that ledthe Premier League atChristmas failed to win thetitle, but Scolari is adamantthe battle is far from over.
“The championship is notfinished,” he said. “It will befinished in the last two orthree games. It is normal inEngland. The PremierLeague is difficult.
“We are in a good posi-tion. We need to win ourgames,” said Scolari, whoseteam topped the table inNovember. - A F P
DAILY XPRESS
Despite suffering a heart-breaking ending to
the Asean Championship cam-paign, Worawi Makudi, theFootball Association ofThailand president, said theKingdom are the top footballnation in the region.
On Sunday, Vietnam’s starstriker Le Cong Vinh’s last-ditch header made sure thatThailand has to wait for awhile to prove it is top of theAsean pile. The effort earnedVietnam a 1-1 draw in the sec-ond-leg of the final in Hanoi,which helped them secure a 3-2aggregate victory to win theevent for the first time.
Despite the fact that three-time champions Thailand havefailed to reclaim the trophythey last won in 2002, Worawi
marked the defeated players’return by saying their perform-ance earned them respect andthey are still the region’s best.
“We would like to apologiseto the fans for failing to deliverthe title. The players felt miser-
able for letting in a goal at thedeath. But I still feel that weare the No 1 team in Asean.Manager Peter Reid has my fullbacking and he must continuehis good job,” Worawi said.Reid admitted that the defeat
was a blow but pledged hiscommitment to the nationaljob. “Losing was a setback butI’ve no intention to go any-where just yet. The playershave been brilliant, the peopleare great, everything’s goingwell,” said Reid, who signed alucrative four-year contract inSeptember.
The Englishman urged histroops to put the disappoint-ment behind them quickly, giv-en the task lying ahead nextmonth when they start theAsian Cup qualifying cam-paign. “I think this side has alot of potential and we have tobuild on what we’ve done.There’s plenty of work to doand improvements to be madebut they’re all young lads andthey’re a committed bunch,”said Reid.
Thailand captain Datsakorn Thonglao returns from Vietnam.
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS THE SPORT 25
CRICKET
STARING AT DEFEAT
A G E N C I E S , Melbourne
South Africa look poised toseal a historic Test series
victory in Australia after bowl-ing out the hosts for 247 on dayfour in Melbourne.
It left Graeme Smith’s sideneeding just 183 to clinch a re-markable win and at the closethey were 30 without loss.
Australia were left staring ata first home series defeat in 16years after pace bowler DaleSteyn took 5-67.
Ricky Ponting was dismissedone run short of his secondcentury of the game when hewas the eighth wicket to fall.
Ponting looked set to be-come the first man to score acentury in each innings of aTest on four occasions.
But his departure all but end-ed Australia’s hopes of postinga difficult total for SouthAfrica, who won the first Testin Perth by six wickets after
chasing down a target of 414. The Australia captain again
carried his team’s hopes virtu-ally single-handedly after hisleading batsmen failed whenthe world champions resumed
on 4-0, 61 runs behind. Ponting admitted his side
were up against it, but re-mained optimistic that theycould still snatch victory fromthe jaws of defeat.
“Whenever we’ve got wick-ets against them we’ve gotthem in pretty quick succes-sion,” he said.
“We have to make sure wejust execute perfectly which isone area we probably haven’tdone as well as the SouthAfricans in the first two games.
“That’s the only optionwe’ve got. We’ve got to get outthere and give it our best shotfor as long as it takes tomor-row and hopefully hand ussome chances and have someluck and we’ll see what hap-pens.
“We’ve all got to dig as deepas we can tomorrow to dis-lodge a few of their batsmenand get a few nerves throughtheir changing room.”
The captain was confidenthe would be able to call on hispremier fast bowler Lee, who issuffering from a serious footinjury.
“It has flared up really quick-ly and we hope it will plateaunow a little bit, just enough togive us the chance to get a fewmore overs out of him.”
Ponting the loneranger as Aussiesface the inevitable
AP
AFP
Honda F1team worthone dollar?
AGENCIES, Mexico City
The son of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim
dismissed a report that hisfather was interested in buy-ing the Honda Formula Oneteam for the symbolic priceof one dollar, the daily news-paper Reforma reported.
Reforma said it had re-ceived a statement dismiss-ing the story from CarlosSlim Domit, son of the bil-lionaire and second richestman in the world.
The Italian newspaper LaStampa reported that Slimwould have to invest US$421million to finance the teamnext season
The Telmex team said in astatement that Slim “has notbought, nor is negotiating tobuy, the Honda Formula 1team, and thus all reports inthat sense are baseless andcompletely false.”
Telmex races in Formula 3and other series. The web-site said it participates inthose categories “as one ofthe best ways to enter thetop category, Formula 1.”
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, out one run short of his 38th century.
Jermain Defoe played for onlythree minutes on Sunday.
Defoe going nowhere, says AdamsA F P , London
Portsmouth manager TonyAdams has denied England
striker Jermain Defoe is aboutto leave the club.
Speaking following his side’s1-0 defeat away to Arsenal onSunday, former Gunners cap-tain Adams insisted reportsthat a “massive offer” for the26-year-old had been made
were inaccurate. “Speculate allyou want but we have had nooffers from Jermain Defoe –not one,” he said.
The claim had been made byTottenham manager HarryRedknapp, who had signedDefoe from Spurs 11 monthsago when he was in charge ofPortsmouth.
Defoe was relegated to the
bench at the Emirates Stadiumand played only the final threeminutes of a game decided byWilliam Gallas’s 81st-minuteheader.
Adams insisted the decisionhad been purely tactical, theex-England centre-half ’s at-tempting to frustrate his for-mer employers with a five-manmidfield and just Peter Crouch
up front. “We played the kindof system we played atLiverpooland were 12 minutesaway from getting somethingon that occasion.
“Jermain was really annoyedat me for leaving him out andhe’s still angry with me now. Ididn’t want that any other wayto be honest. It was tactical, ex-actly like Liverpool,”
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 DAILY XPRESS THE SPORT 27
AFP, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Five teams punched theirNational Football League
play-off tickets in styles rangingfrom last-gasp efforts to thor-ough thrashings yesterday asthe regular season came to ahectic close.
The Miami Dolphins com-pleted a dramatic turnaroundfrom last season’s dismal cam-paign to earn a play-off berth asAFC East division champions.
Minnesota, Philadelphia,Baltimore and San Diego alsoadvanced on a day that saw 11teams battling for the five re-maining spots in the 12-teamplay-offs.
Philadelphia took the fieldagainst Dallas with a chance toadvance only after defeats earli-er in the day for Tampa Bay andChicago.
Oakland spoiled Tampa Bay’shopes with a 31-24 victory, whileChicago fell 31-24 to theHouston Texans.
The Eagles made the most oftheir opportunity with a crush-ing 44-6 victory over theCowboys.
Quarterback DonovanMcNabb ran for one touchdownand threw for two more as theEagles humbled one of theirmost hated foes.
“I’m very proud of our guys,”Eagles coach Andy Reid said.“They very easily could havelost the faith and not preparedthemselves right for today.”
The Cowboys would have
claimed the final NFC berthwith a victory. Instead theycompleted another late-seasoncollapse, failing to post a win-ning record in December forthe 12th season in a row.
In the third quarter,Philadelphia’s Chris Clemonsand Joselio Hanson returnedfumbles 73 and 96 yards fortouchdowns. “It was a disasterfrom the opening kickoff,”Dallas coach Wade Phillips said.
Minnesota needed only towin to clinch the NFC North di-vision title and rallied from afourth-quarter deficit to beatthe New York Giants 20-19.
Ryan Longwell booted a 51-yard field goal as time expired
to lift the Vikings to the tri-umph over the Giants, alreadythe top seeds in the National
C o n f e r e n c e . M i n n e s o t a ’ s Adrian Peterson, who turned ina 67-yard touchdown run,rushed for a total of 103 yardsand became the first Viking toclaim an NFL rushing title.
“Celebrate tonight, have a lit-tle fun, and come back to workon Tuesday,” Peterson said ofthe Vikings’ preparations fornext weekend’s first-roundclash with Philadelphia.
The Dolphins captured thehotly contested AFC Eastcrown with a 24-17 triumphover division foes the New YorkJets.
Miami finished the seasonwith an 11-5 record after win-ning just one game last season.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
BIG TURNAROUNDDolphins amongfive teams to punchplay-off tickets infrantic NFL finish
CELEBRATE TONIGHT,HAVE A LITTLE FUN,AND COME BACK TOWORK ON TUESDAY.Adrian PetersonMinnesota Vikings
Phillip Merling of the Miami Dolphins rumbles in for a touchdown after intercepting a throw by BrettFavre of the New York Jets. ,,
Manningnotches4,000 ydsIndianapolis quarterbackPeyton Manning extendedhis National FootballLeague record for most4,000-yard passing sea-sons as he surpassed themark for the ninth time.Manning played just oneseries of downs for theColts in yesterday’s regu-lar-season finale againstTennessee, completingseven of seven passes for95 yards and a touch-down.
The future Hall ofFamer went over 4,000yards with a 55-yard scor-ing strike to Joseph Addai,his last pass of the game.He entered the contestneeding 93 yards to reachthe mark.
In his 11 NFL seasons,Manning has failed topass for 4,000 yards onlytwice: in his rookie year in1998 and again in 2005,when he sat out the finaltwo games and finishedwith 3,747 yards.
Dan Marino, nowretired, is second with six4,000-yard campaigns.Yesterday’s results:Atlanta 31, St. Louis 27;Houston 31, Chicago 24;Green Bay 31, Detroit 21;Minnesota 20, NY Giants19; Carolina 33, NewOrleans 31; Pittsburgh 31,Cleveland 0; New England13, Buffalo 0; Oakland 31,Tampa Bay 24;Indianapolis 23,Tennessee 0; Cincinnati 16,Kansas City 6; Miami 24,NY Jets 17; Philadelphia44, Dallas 6; Baltimore 27,Jacksonville 7; Arizona 34,Seattle 21; San Francisco27, Washington 24; SanDiego 52, Denver 21.– A G E N C I E S
AP, Green Bay, Wisconsin
The Detroit Lions earned thedubious distinction of the
worst team in NFL history afterlosing their final game 31-21 tothe Green Bay Packers yester-day to end a winless season 0-16.
The 1976 expansion TampaBay Buccaneers (0-14) were thelast NFL team to complete aseason without a victory.
“I’ve got to live with this,”centre Dominic Raiola said.
“I’ve been here eight years. Thisis on my resume.”
It’s also on the resume ofLions coach Rod Marinelli, whofaces an uncertain future.
“No competitor wants to gothrough something like this,”Marinelli said. “This is not funto go through, obviously. Butthere’s people going through alot worse than this.”
Asked what the next stepmight be if he does keep his job,Marinelli said, “Let me get
through step one first.” The Lions’ last loss didn’t
come without a fight. Afterfalling behind 24-14 midwaythrough the fourth quarter,Kevin Smith’s 9-yard touch-down run put Detroit backwithin a field goal.
But Packers quarterbackAaron Rodgers responded witha 71-yard touchdown pass toDonald Driver and the Lions’Dan Orlovsky threw an inter-ception on fourth-and-27 with 3
minutes left, dooming Detroitto futility of historic proportion.
“It’s just kind of numb,” veter-an kicker Jason Hanson said.“It’s here. It’s been coming,though, a train rolling down thetracks for a while. We tried tostop it. We couldn’t.”
The Lions were building to-wards this for years and nowhave lost 23 of their last 24games. The 0-16 record will be alasting testimony to presidentMatt Millen era.
Lions finish season with worst NFL record
AFP
Kevin Smith of the DetroitLions sits on the bench duringthe final seconds of the game.
