Thursday, July 28, 2011

GULIVER TRAVEL


Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput and Blefuscu

Mural depicting Gulliver surrounded by citizens of Lilliput.
4 May 1699 — 13 April 1702
The book begins with a very short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver, in the style of books of the time, gives a brief outline of his life and history prior to his voyages. He enjoys travelling, although it is that love of travel that is his downfall.
During his first voyage, Gulliver is washed ashore after a shipwreck and finds himself a prisoner of a race of people, less than 6 inches high, who are inhabitants of the neighbouring and rival countries of Lilliput. After giving assurances of his good behaviour, he is given a residence in Lilliput and becomes a favourite of the court. From there, the book follows Gulliver's observations on the Court of Lilliput. He is also given the permission to roam around the city on a condition he not harm their subjects. Gulliver assists the Lilliputians to subdue their neighbours the Blefuscudians by stealing their fleet. However, he refuses to reduce the country to a province of Lilliput, displeasing the King and the court. Gulliver is charged with treason and sentenced to be blinded. With the assistance of a kind friend, Gulliver escapes to Blefuscu, where he spots and retrieves an abandoned boat and sails out to be rescued by a passing ship which safely takes him back home.

[edit]Part II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag

Gulliver Exhibited to the Brobdingnag Farmer by Richard Redgrave
20 June 1702 — 3 June 1706
When the sailing ship Adventure is steered off course by storms and forced to go in to land for want of fresh water, Gulliver is abandoned by his companions and found by a farmer who is 72 feet (22 m) tall (the scale of Lilliput is approximately 1:12; of Brobdingnag 12:1, judging from Gulliver estimating a man's step being 10 yards (9.1 m)). He brings Gulliver home and his daughter cares for Gulliver. The farmer treats him as a curiosity and exhibits him for money. The word gets out and the Queen of Brobdingnag wants to see the show. She loves Gulliver and he is then bought by her and kept as a favourite at court.
Since Gulliver is too small to use their huge chairs, beds, knives and forks, the queen commissions a small house to be built for Gulliver so that he can be carried around in it. This is referred to as his "travelling box." In between small adventures such as fighting giant wasps and being carried to the roof by a monkey, he discusses the state of Europe with the King. The King is not impressed with Gulliver's accounts of Europe, especially upon learning of the usage of guns and cannons. On a trip to the seaside, his travelling box is seized by a giant eagle which drops Gulliver and his box right into the sea where he is picked up by some sailors, who return him to England.

[edit]Part III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan

Gulliver discovers Laputa, the flying island (illustration by J.J. Grandville.)
5 August 1706 — 16 April 1710
After Gulliver's ship is attacked by pirates, he is marooned close to a desolate rocky island, near India. Fortunately he is rescued by the flying island of Laputa, a kingdom devoted to the arts of music and mathematics but unable to use them for practical ends.
Laputa's method of throwing rocks at rebellious surface cities also seems the first time that aerial bombardment was conceived as a method of warfare. While there, he tours the country as the guest of a low-ranking courtier and sees the ruin brought about by blind pursuit of science without practical results, in a satire on bureaucracy and the Royal Society and its experiments. At The Grand Academy of Lagado great resources and manpower are employed on researching completely preposterous and unnecessary schemes such as extracting sunbeams from cucumbers, softening marble for use in pillows, learning how to mix paint by smell, and uncovering political conspiracies by examining the excrement of suspicious persons (see muckraking).
Gulliver is then taken to Balnibarbi to await a trader who can take him on to Japan. While waiting for passage, Gulliver takes a short side-trip to the island of Glubbdubdrib, where he visits a magician's dwelling and discusses history with the ghosts of historical figures, the most obvious restatement of the "ancients versus moderns" theme in the book. In Luggnagg he encounters the struldbrugs, unfortunates who are immortal, but not forever young, but rather forever old, complete with the infirmities of old age and considered legally dead at the age of eighty. After reaching Japan, Gulliver asks the Emperor "to excuse my performing the ceremony imposed upon my countrymen of trampling upon the crucifix", which the Emperor grants. Gulliver returns home, determined to stay there for the rest of his days.

[edit]Part IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms

Gulliver in discussion with Houyhnhnms (1856 lllustration by J.J. Grandville.)
7 September 1710 – 2 July 1715
Despite his earlier intention of remaining at home, Gulliver returns to the sea as the captain of a merchantman as he is bored with his employment as a surgeon. On this voyage he is forced to find new additions to his crew who he believes to have turned the rest of the crew against him. His crew then mutiny, and after keeping him contained for some time resolve to leave him on the first piece of land they come across and continue as pirates. He is abandoned in a landing boat and comes first upon a race of (apparently) hideous deformed and savage humanoid creatures to which he conceives a violent antipathy. Shortly thereafter he meets a horse and comes to understand that they call themselves Houyhnhms (which in their language means "the perfection of nature"), and that they are the rulers, while the deformed creatures called Yahoos are human beings in their base form.
Gulliver becomes a member of the horse's household, and comes to both admire and emulate the Houyhnhnms and their lifestyle, rejecting his fellow humans as merely Yahoos endowed with some semblance of reason which they only use to exacerbate and add to the vices Nature gave them. However, an Assembly of the Houyhnhnms rules that Gulliver, a Yahoo with some semblance of reason, is a danger to their civilization, and expels him.
He is then rescued, against his will, by a Portuguese ship, and is surprised to see that Captain Pedro de Mendez, a Yahoo, is a wise, courteous and generous person. He returns to his home in England, but he is unable to reconcile himself to living among Yahoos and becomes a recluse, remaining in his house, largely avoiding his family and his wife, and spending several hours a day speaking with the horses in his stables.

UNKNOWN 2011

This story is about martin harris (liam neeson) and his wife liz (January jones) that just arrive to the Berlin to attend biotechnology conference. But the story begin when they arrive  at the hotel at martin harris wife liz busy to check in at that time, martin forgot the brief case. Than martin harris try to find te cab where the cab driver was a acted by dieane kruger or known as gina, but suddenly when gina stay outside from her car, martin harris enter the cab without gina knowing that martin is inside tha cab, than there are a truck with the full speed crashed the cab of gina. While gina stay outside from her cab, she looks that martin harris had inside of her cab so then gina help martin and send martin in to the hospital. After being coma until four days martin harris wake up from his coma and feel stranger that he should be in the hotel on that moment with his wife; even though at the time he also reminded that he should be in the conference of the biotechnology. After knowing that situation, martin harris goes to find his wife liz at the hotel that they already check in with perceptions that his wife must be worried about his condition. Suddenly, when martin harris arrived at the hotel he was shocked when hear a stranger guy introduce itself as a martin harris. Besides that, he also seeing that his wife goes out with the guy that introduce itself as a martin harris. On that time, he feel really strager how could be two martin harris at the same time. Then he check up back into the hospital. During martin harris stay at the hospital and thinking how could be two martin harris, he suddenly remember of gina who she is the cab driver that help him during the accident. After martin harris found gina, he ask her to help martin harris to recognize him to his wife but sadly gina didn’t want to help him. Martin goes to see the private detective, Ernst Jurgen (Bruno Ganz), Jurgen believes Martin's story, and tells him to track down Gina again. He finds her and asks for a place to stay for the night, giving her a watch that Liz give him on their anniversary. When he takes a shower, the hit man bursts in. but Gina kills him with his own poison. As they escape in a borrowed cab, they are pursue by a second hit man.




Martin and Gina meet with Jurgen. He has a friend at the airport searching security camera footage for Martin, and has contacted Martin's colleague, Rodney Cole, who Martin is certain can help. Martin follows Liz to a photography exhibition. At first she pretends not to know him but pulls him aside to tell him that she is being forced to betray him and that she still loves him and will wait for him at the airport. When Martin B and the second hit man appear, Martin is barely able to escape with Gina. Rodney Cole (Frank Langella) arrives at Jurgen's office. Realizing who Cole really is, Jurgen takes cyanide rather than reveal what he knows. Martin and Gina retrieve the briefcase with the passports and thousands of euro in cash. Gina leaves Martin to wait at the airport. Cole arrives and takes Martin to a black van where he is tasered by the second hit man. Gina sees this and follows the black van in a stolen cab. Cole and the hit man take Martin to the top level of a deserted parking garage. Cole explains to Martin that he is really a government assassin using "Martin Harris" as a cover. When Martin woke up from the post-accident coma, he believed his cover story was the truth, so Martin B was called in to finish the mission. Before the second hit man can kill Martin, Gina crushes him between the van and cab; the impact sends the van, with Cole in it, crashing to the ground below. Martin now remembers everything. Several months earlier he and Liz had gone to the hotel to plant a bomb. It would be used to kill Bressler in a manner that could be blamed on Muslim extremists opposed to the liberalizing plans of Prince Shada (Miro Hamada), who is also sponsoring the biotechnology conference. He and Gina race to the hotel. There, at a reception for Bressler, Liz copies the files containing information about a new, easily grown form of corn, and arms the bomb. Martin arrives in time and persuades hotel security that a bomb is about to go off. When security evacuates the hotel, Liz goes to disarm the bomb while Martin B follows Bressler in order to kill him. Liz fails and is obliterated in the explosion. Martin and Martin B fight amidst the debris as Gina watches. Martin kills Martin B. The next day, Bressler and Prince Shada freely give their new corn to the world, in their mutual effort to end world hunger. Using additional fake passports found in his briefcase, Martin and Gina leave Berlin together, as Henry and Claudia Taylor


LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

The law abiding citizen is a film that directed by F. Gary Gray, the law of abiding citizen acting by the most famous starring where is consists of Jamie fox, Gerard Butler, Bruce McGill, and also viola Dalvis. The film of law abiding citizen screenplay is written by Kurt Wimmer. The law of abiding citizen story is about the thriller film that show a man find the killer of his and his daughter. Story of a man whose developed sociopathic tendencies that drove him into killing while targeting not only his family's killer but also the criminal justice system. Law Abiding Citizen was released theatrically in North America on October 16, 2009. Clyde Shelton was a married man and he has one little girl that he loves so much, his son also loves him and there are happy family until one their house was entered by two bad guys. The most bad guy name as a Clarence Darbie, he smacks Clyde Shelton with a baseball stick than he raped Clyde Shelton wife. At the time Darbie friends just look at what Darbie already doing with that family and Darbie friend also trying to stop Darbie but he did not listen to his friend. After Darbie already rape on Clyde Shelton wife he kill the daughter of Clyde Shelton. After ten years, the case still did not settle yet its continue by judge because the statement of Clyde Shelton seem like did not have any logically evidence to make Darbie seems likes guilty. The forensic also did not found any evidence that can make the statement of Clyde can be accept to make Darbie found guilty. The prosecutor nick ( Jamie Foxx ). Say that the evidence of Clyde is very weak and its make Darbie release from being a suspects of the murder of  his wife and his daughter. After the case already settle and Darbie is release because did not have enough evidence to make Darbie found guilty, and Darbie friends found guilty. Clyde feel very upset about the justice system that make Darbie release from the case on that time Clyde had learn more and more to get revenge to Darbie, buts he not only kill the murder of his wife but also kill the assistant of nick known as prosecutor Reynolds and judge Laura Burch. After Darbie friends dead, Shelton make a call to Darbie and say that the police






find him about the dead of his friends. But actually police want to find Darbie because the police have something want to talk with him, at the same time Shelton manipulated the situation and say that the police want to arrested him. Then Shelton guided Darbie and make the situation where trying to  help Darbie but Shelton actually have another plan want to kill Darbie. After that Shelton act such as policeman then Darbie want to shoot Shelton but at the same time Shelton already put a chemical at the gun and make Darbie cannot move but Darbie can feel the pain of whatever Shelton doing to him. Then, Clyde shows Darby a picture of his wife and daughter and turns a video recorder before he avenges their murder by killing him while torturing him slowly to death by cutting every parts of his body, after nick and his assistant found the dead body of Darbie they suspects that the dead of Darbie has related to the case of his wife then nick and police arrested Clyde at his home. but is all already plan by Shelton because he want to make revenge o the justice system during the case of his wife and his daughter. After nick already arrested him, Clyde confess that he who already kill Darbie. At the same time he eventually make a recommendation where he want a new mattress in a cell after that nick get a  phone call from his wife that his son already see the video of the murder Darby. He next demands a meal consisting of pommes frites, asparagus and a porterhouse steak and also demands an iPod music player by exactly 01:00pm the next day in exchange for revealing the location of the persecutor Reynolds. But at the time they already late to bring up the demand of Clyde such as iPod and his meal then he tell the location unfortunately they already late to save prosecutor Reynolds. At the same time Shelton also kill his cellmate and Shelton already move into basement prison with full of attention. Nick and District Attorney Jonas Cantrell (Bruce McGil ) learn from a CIA contact ( Micheal Kelly ) that Clyde was an assassin, a brilliant strategist specializing in eliminating targets through unconventional means without being within the target's vicinity. After Judge Burch is killed by an exploding cellphone set up by Clyde, he eventually admits to Nick that the killings are not only about revenge but also for the failure of the justice system. He declares that unless he is cleared of all charges and released by the next morning at 06:00am, he will "kill everyone". When his demands are not met, several members of the legal staff






including Sarah are killed by bombs planted within their cars' gas tanks. After that attorney Jonas was died by Clyde Shelton and that make nick very upset then nick bring up Clyde out of the prison and nick beat Clyde on his face because he very upset on what happen to nick partner attorney Jonas. Then nick received a data of Shelton property from Sarah boyfriend name Chester, then after nick study of the Shelton property he founded that Clyde Shelton have another property that nick feel strange because its garage near to the prison only five feet from prison than its will reach the prison area. Nick and his new partner moving inside to find out what are the Shelton try to keep inside of the garage because its look strange and
inside of the garage have all the material to make a bomb even the equipment such as the guns and chemical equipment use to kill Darbie. Then after they see the car that use by Shelton its looks strange because there have other way to go inside, its look like a basement way than nick and his partner go through by the way a finally found out that it’s a way for Shelton to goes out from the prison and at the same time nick found out how are Shelton kill their friend while he still in the prison. But at the same time Shelton was not in his cell because Shelton want to make a bomb in the main hall of the all judge that want to meet with him on the next day but finally when he back into his cell nick was there and Clyde Shelton was shocked see nick there and nick said that  “you think you family will happy on what are already you do to this people, kill them is not will bring back you family Clyde” then after nick said something to Shelton he turn around and let Shelton alone inside of his cell. At that time Shelton did know that the bomb already move into his cell then he press the button to explode the bomb but sadly he was bomb himself. In the end nick and his wife watching their daughter performs with happy face after need through the hardest case of Clyde Shelton.




TRANSFORMERS : DARK OF THE MOON

During the final days of the war that devastated the planet Cybertron, a spacecraft known as The Ark attempted to escape. Piloted by the great Autobot leader named Sentinel Prime (leornad nimoy), the ship was said to contain special items that could help the Autobots win the war over the Decepticons. However, the ship was hit by enemy missiles, and the ship and its crew were lost into the far reaches of space.

In 1961, the crash of the Ark on the moon is detected by NASA. Fearing that the Russians may beat them to finding out what this unidentified object is, President John F Kennedy pushes for NASA to land men on the moon to investigate. 8 years later, in 1969, Apollo 11 lands on the moon, and astronauts Neil Armstrong (don jeanes) and Buzz Aldrin (cory tucker) secretly explore the craft. They return with samples and pictures, and future moon missions bring back more information, before the manned moon missions are cancelled.

In the present day, The Autobots are still working with the NEST Team to track down Decepticons loose on the planet, as well as anything unusual. While the Autobots Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Enzo, and Que attempt to take out an illegal Middle-Eastern nuclear plant, Major Lennox (josh duhhamel) is informed by a Ukranian about something strange going on around the Chernobyl disaster site. Lennox leads a team along with Optimus Prime (peter cullen) and Ratchet (robert foxworth) into the radioactive site. Inside the plant, Prime discovers a fuel cell from the Ark, and something even more shocking: the Decepticon Shockwave (frank walker) and a giant drilling robot at his command.

Eventually, Prime and the other Autobots return to NEST's headquarters. Once there, Optimus demands answers from Secretary of Defense Charlotte Mearing (frances mcdomand). Prime shows the recovered fuel cell, and Mearing admits the true intentions of the American rush to reach the moon in the 1960's. Wishing to investigate further, Optimus and Ratchet take a ship (that had been used by other Autobots who now make Earth their home as well) to the moon, and inspect the Ark. In a secret chamber, they find the weakened body of Sentinel Prime, as well as 5 metal 'pillars'.

Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky (shia lebeouf) has graduated from college. Even though he has been instrumental in helping the Autobots (which is classified information) and received a Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama, he is still unable to find a job. Sam currently resides in Washington D.C. with his new girlfriend Carly Spencer (rosie hungtingten-whiteley), and two smaller Autobots named Wheelie (tom kenny) and Brains (reno wilson). Eventually, Sam lands a job with a technology firm, run by an eccentric man named Bruce Bezos (john malkovich). Though Sam came highly recommended (by an unnamed person), Bezos explains that the only position they are hiring for is the company's mail room. Sam is about to turn down the position, but takes it after all.

He then goes to visit Carly at her place of work, where he runs into her accountant (and car-collecting) boss, Dylan Gould (patrick dempsey). Sam is easily jealous and ticked off by how close Dylan seems to be to Carly. As if to add insult to injury, Dylan gives Sam an aside that he was the one who recommended Sam to the company he applied for (at the insistence of Carly to help him out). Soon afterwards, Dylan invites Carly to a social function at his place, and even gives her a brand-new Mercedes (further ticking off Sam).

No sooner does Sam start his job, then he is accosted by an excited co-worker named Jerry Wang (ken jeong). Jerry corners Sam and gives him a number of papers and news clippings, talking about the 'Dark Side of the Moon' and that the Autobots are in danger. Sam peruses through the clips, but before he can get more information, Jerry plunges to his death out his office window. A few moments later, the Decepticon Laserbeak transforms from a nearby copier, and attempts to kill Sam.

Sam manages to escape, and drives to the 'Department of Health and Human Services' where NEST is secretly stationed. The Autobots and Lennox allow Sam and Carly clearance into the facility, but Mearing is not at all happy. Sam attempts to tell Mearing about Jerry's death and the notes he passed to Sam, but Mearing refuses to listen to him.

Also at the base, Prime and Ratchet have returned with the body of Sentinel Prime. Using the Matrix of Leadership, Optimus manages to revive Sentinel. At first disoriented, Sentinel soon demands to know about the pillars. When the group tells that there were only 5, Sentinel claims there were more. He is further upset when Mearing tells him that the five they recovered are locked away from him for security reasons. When Sentinel explains they could be used to open a bridge through space and time, Mearing grows even more uncertain about returning them.

Bumblebee is allowed to escort Sam home for protection, but Sam feels that there's something going on that they should investigate. Having copies of Jerry's notes, Sam puts in a call to Seymour Simmons (john turttoro), who has since written a book about his exploits. Though claiming he has sworn off getting involved in the affairs of the Transformers, Sam's request and the promise of unknown Transformers information sends Simmons right to Sam's doorstep.

Perusing over the clippings, it soon becomes apparent that a number of people who had some involvement with the cover-up of the Ark on the moon are either missing or have died mysteriously. Carly soon finds out about Sam's investigations, and expresses her disdain for Sam possibly getting into harm's way. She has already lost her Brother to the war involving the Transformers, and this explains her distaste for what he is doing. Sam claims he is doing this because it is important, but Carly leaves for her meeting with Dylan at his mansion.

Shortly thereafter, the investigation reveals that there were several planned moon missions to be made by Russia, but they were mysteriously cancelled. Sam and Simmons track two of the defected Cosmonauts to a seedy bar. After some discussion, they explain that before the Americans landed on the moon, satellites that took photos of the moon revealed strange tracks and stacked objects. The classified photos reveal stacks of pillars like the five recovered with Sentinel Prime.

Sam soon realizes that Wang's conspiracy theory is true. The Decepticons needed Sentinel Prime to activate the pillars. They stole what they could, but left five (including the Master Pillar that controls them) with the weakened body of Sentinel, planting clues to lead the Autobots to him and revive him, most likely planning to bring an invasion force to Earth!

Sam and the other Autobots manage to find Sentinel and help escort him back to NEST for safety. However, the group is menaced by three black SUV's that turn out to be three beast-like Decepticons known as The Dreads. The group manages to destroy them, and return to the base. It is then that Sentinel shockingly reveals that long ago, he had made a deal with Megatron to end the war and rebuild Cybertron. He then shocks the others by killing Ironhide, as well as destroying NEST's base and making off with the five pillars. Optimus returns soon afterwards, with Mearing blaming him for what has happened.

Optimus and the others soon find Sentinel at the Lincoln Memorial in front of the Reflecting Pool, where Optimus pleads for his former mentor to stop what he's doing. With Megatron and Starscream watching nearby,Sentinel activates the spacebridge. One on the moon activates as well, and numerous Decepticons and aerial combat craft emerge, running about and even disguising themselves like nearby vehicles.

Fearing for Carly's life, Sam returns to their place, only to find her gone. Remembering that she was going to Dylan's mansion, Sam shows up there, but is shocked when Dylan tells that his Dad was a previous accountant that fixed the books at NASA, preventing further moon landings. Realizing that he's somehow connected to the Decepticons and their plans, Sam attempts to drive Carly away, only for her Mercedes to transform into Soundwave, who locks her inside him! Sam is menaced by Laserbeak and Dylan, who has a Decepticon in the form of a watch attach itself into Sam's wrist. Sam is given an ultimatum: find out for Dylan and the Decepticons how Optimus intends to fight back, or Carly will die.

Sam is soon after contacted by Mearing, who apologizes for doubting him previously. After they meet, the United Nations receives a voice-encoded message from Sentinel Prime, demanding that the humans exile the Autobots from Earth. The demands are met, and Optimus and the remaining Autobots are taken to Florida to be flown away. While there, Sam meets former Chief Epps (tyrese gibson), who has been working with the Autobots known as The Wreckers to prep the shuttle for their departure.

As the Autobots prepare to leave, Sam attempts to secretly warn Optimus, claiming that he knows Optimus has a plan, and that 'no human will ever know' if he tells him (Sam). Optimus claims they have no plans to fight back, and Bumblebee says his goodbyes to Sam as well.

The next day, the shuttle carrying the Autobots takes off as Sam looks on from nearby. However, Starscream has been lying in wait in the upper atmosphere, and shoots down the rocket. The destruction of the Autobots causes the Decepticon watch on Sam's arm to slither away. Sam soon receives a call from Dylan, who is pleased that the Autobots are now out of the way. After Dylan hangs up, Sam gets ahold of Simmons, and with Simmons' assistant named Dutch (Alan Tudyk), they pinpoint that Dylan has taken Carly to Trump Tower in Chicago, IL.

Sentinel Prime, Megatron, and Starscream also arrive in Chicago, and take control of the top of a building, where Sentinel plants the pillars with Dylan's help. Dylan reveals to Carly that the Decepticons intend to rebuild Cybertron, strip-mining the earth for resources and using humans as slave labor. In order to do this, the Decepticons have placed Pillars around the world to call Cybertron itself through the space bridge, with Sentinel planning to activate the control Pillar at a specific time.

Shortly thereafter, the Decepticons and an army of ships and weaponry descend upon Chicago, destroying much of the city, and creating a heavily fortified perimeter keeping any armed forces from getting inside. Sam still intends to rescue Carly, and Epps along with several disbanded NEST team members accompany them to the outskirts of Chicago. They are almost vaporized by an attack drone, until the Autobots appear and take it down. The group reveals that they secretly hid in one of the booster rockets that detached from the space shuttle and fell into the ocean before Starscream blew up the main craft. They laid low to make the Decepticons think they had left.

Bumblebee pilots the downed drone, while the Autobots drive into the city. Sam manages to rescue Carly from Dylan's penthouse, but the group is then faced with the task of taking stopping Sentinel Prime. It doesn't help that Dylan has also alerted the Decepticons to the fact that the Autobots are still alive, and are now being pursued by the Decepticons. Optimus and the other Autobots attempt to create a diversion, while Sam, Carly, Epps, and the NEST agents attempt to use a rocket launcher to take out one of Sentinel's pillars. Que also provides Sam and the NEST agents with some special devices he's been working on.

They take aim in a heavily-damaged office building, but are unable to finish their plan as Decepticon drones and their pilots attempt to bring down the building, along with Shockwaves' 'pet' drilling robot. The group is saved when Prime (outfitted with accoutrements from his trailer) flies in and destroys the giant drill-bot.

Meanwhile, using a drone, Lennox is able to communicate with the group, and he and several of his men fly into the danger zone with 'squirrel-suits,' allowing them to jump out of transport carriers and glide through the city. The group manages to catch up to the others as Sam ends up destroying Starscream with several of Que's gadgets.

They then regroup near an area where several Decepticons (including Soundwave) have captured Bumblebee, Ratchet, Que, and Dino. Dylan is also nearby, claming that taking hostages was not part of their deal. Soundwave then decides to execute the hostages. He first destroys Que, and then takes aim at Bumblebee. However, the group is distracted when drone ships begin raining down from the sky. Wheelie and Brains have managed to get into one of the main ships, jettisoning its cargo as it crashes into the Chicago River.

The Autobots and the NEST agents are soon joined by some Navy Seals, and begin to take down several Decepticons near the pillars. As they watch Sentinel activates the Master Pillar, activating the other spacebridges placed throughout the Earth. As everyone watches, Cybertron begins to materialize in Earth's upper atmosphere. Soon after, Optimus swoops in, destroying the ground troops, and blowing up one of the pillars, causing the spacebridge to disengage. Sentinel drops to the ground, and begins to battle Prime, before calling for reinforcements.

Meanwhile, Carly has found Megatron in a side alley. Megatron claims he is the one in power, but Carly convinces Megatron that he will answer to Sentinel Prime once Cybertron is restored, instead of leading the Cybertronians himself.

Sam has managed to reach the downed Pillar, but is confronted by Dylan, who reactivates it, causing Cybertron to continue reforming in the atmosphere. Eventually, Sam knocks Dylan out, causing him to get electrocuted by the pillar before Bumblebee takes it out. This causes the partially-formed planet above to be sucked into a vortex, pulling the numerous Cybertron ships and drones into it.

Optimus and Sentinel have continued their battle, with Sentinel cutting off Prime's right arm. Sentinel is about to finish the job, when he is attacked from behind by Megatron, who believed Carly's words. Megatron then intends to defeat Optimus, but the battle between them is quickly finished as Optimus rips Megatron's head and spine from his body.

In the aftermath, a weakened Sentinel claims that he was only thinking about saving their race, and did not mean to betray them. Prime claims that Sentinel betrayed himself, and executes him as the old Prime pleads for mercy.

As the NEST agents and the Autobots gather, Sam embraces Carly, and with all chances of ever reviving or returning to Cybertron gone, Optimus realizes that the Autobots' only home from now on will be Earth.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

maliau basin ( the lost world )

Maliau Basin
...Sabah Lost World ...

Revealing the lost world of Borneo
In 1947, a British pilot flew from the west coast of  Sabah to Tawau experienced a shock when he narrowly avoided colliding with a wall of steep cliffs emerging from the misty jungle. This incident is the first recorded mention of the Maliau Basin. The "Lost World" was recorded in the Borneo Bulletin and then quietly slipped back into obscurity..........
Then in 1988, the first expedition into the basin was made and today only about 20% has been explored......... http://prinsengineering.com


In Sabah  lies one of Malaysia's finest remaining wilderness areas, the mystical Maliau Basin. Bounded by a formidable escarpment reaching over 1,675 m a.s.l.., the almost circular Basin encompasses 390 km2 of pristine forest, a virtually self-contained ecosystem, never permanently inhabited and with large areas still remaining to be explored and documented. Remarkably, the whole basin is a single huge water catchments, drained by one river only, the Maliau River, which flows through a gorge in the southeast of the Basin, joining the Kuamut River and eventually the Kinabatangan River.
Maliau Basin conservation area is not commonly know by all Malaysian people. If you like nature and trekking in the jungle, Maliau Basin, can provide you a nice place and nice experience in the jungle. The scenery of maliau falls is very beautiful and nature. Here you will have a chance to see a sun bear, banting, deer and others.
The Maliau Basin is one of the most spectacular and pristine natural features in Malaysia. The Basin is almost unvisited and completely uninhabited by man. It is located in south-central Sabah, about 40 km. north of the Indonesian border at between 116° 40' - 117° 2' and 4° 40' 4° 50' N. While all of this region is rugged, remote and forested, the Maliau Basin is distinguished by its steep slope up to 1,500m. in height, making it insurmountable on foot from most directions. The size of the enclosed Basin is 390 sq. km. with a maximum diameter of 25 km. The highest point is Mt. Lotung, on the north rim which is about 1,900 m elevation.
It is drained by a set of radiating tributaries of the Maliau River, one of which descends a series of waterfalls, known as the Maliau Falls.
The river drains through a gorge into the Kuamut River which in turn feeds into the Kinabatangan River, the longest river in Sabah.

The pictures on this page are courtesy of Gabriel Chong, the Chin Family, Stefan Kolb and Lau Nai Kwong. More information can be found on the websites of Gabriel

Imagine a self-contained forest where rare and endemic flora and fauna have thrived for million of years in a saucer-shaped basin hemmed in by sheer cliffs.   Step into the pristine Maliau Basin Conservation Area (Maliau Basin Conservation Area), aptly dubbed the Lost World.  
In the heart of Sabah, 190km from Tawau, Maliau was a well-kept secret among the local Murut people. The rest of the world only learned of this mysterious place when a pilot nearly crashed into its mist-shrouded cliffs in 1947.  
A recent team to Maliau in 1982 discovered an untouched world with bearded pigs, leaf monkeys and eight-meter long pythons.  
The first Maliau scientific expedition began in 1988, followed by a few research trips over the years. Scientists encountered the elusive clouded leopard, endangered sun bear and endemic species like the tufted grand squirrel and male Bulwer’s pheasant. 
More than 30 species of mammals, 270 bird species and over 80 species of orchids, rare and endemic, were recorded. The recent June 2006 scientific expedition led by the Academy Sciences of Malaysia and two local universities yielded 10 possible new species of flora and fauna, according to Maliau Basin Conservation Area’s Dr Waidi Sinun, Yayasan Sabah’s group manager of conservation and environmental management.  
Originally part of the 10,000sq km timber concession held by the Yayasan Sabah Group (Sabah Foundation), Maliau Basin escaped the chainsaws in the early 90s and mining exploration attempts in early 2000, despite it being gazetted as a Class I (Protection) Forest Reserve in 1997 (banning all logging and mining activities).  
The journey 
Guests of Sabah-based outdoor operator Borneo Nature Tours (BNT), our party of five – including journalist Liz Price, photographer Calvin Ng and guides Calixtus and Isnadil – opted for a five-day/four-night trek on the Agathis loop which would take us through the Agathis, Lobah and Camel Trophy camps. 
With over 70km of marked trails, only about one third of Maliau is open to visitors and less than half the Basin has been explored by researchers so far.  
A six-hour trundle on a four-wheel drive from Tawau, over logging roads and oil palm estates took us to the Maliau Basin Conservation Area security outpost.  
Maliau Basin Conservation Area covers an area of 590sq km, including a “buffer” zone made up of secondary forests. It is in the buffer zones that the rare Sumatran rhinoceros and Bornean pygmy elephants have been spotted.  
Our first sighting was the footprints of the Banteng, or what the locals call tembadau (wild ox), extinct in Peninsular Malaysia for half a century now. About 15 to 20 tembadau have been recorded in Maliau.  
An hour’s drive from the outpost, the Agathis camp is nestled in the mixed dipterocarp forest with tree canopies reaching 25m to 45m, and species like the meranti sarang punai (Shorea parvifolia) and seraya (Shorea curtisii). The camp, a wooden building on stilts, comes with comfy camp beds, shower facilities and lounging areas with stacks of reading material.  
After the first of many scrumptious dinners, we took off for a night ramble on the Agathis Nature trail. Sightings of a Kingfisher, mouse deer, barking deer, frogs, millipede and calls of the Argus Pheasant wrapped up a fruitful evening.  
Exploring the basin 
  

Pristine rainforest covers the Basin from 300m to 1,800m high – with lowland dipterocarp forest making way for highland heath forest and Casuarina-conifer forests as the altitude increases. 
The rugged terrains and precipitous hills also meant our knees took a serious pounding as we trekked an average of four to seven hours a day from one campsite to another.  
But we feasted our senses on the forest’s smells, sounds and sights.  
We stumbled upon a kaleidoscope of mushrooms scattered on the forest floor and tree trunks like cup fungi (Cookeina specie) and bracket fungi (Stereum lobatum). 
Soothing hoots of the Bornean gibbons (Hylobates muelleri) kept us company each morning as we trudged on the sheer slopes. One of the rangers, Harbin, pointed out some unusual forest herbs, a tree bark ripped off by the sun bear and a gaping hole on a gaharu tree (Aquilaria malaccensis) left by poachers.  
  
Maliau’s entire basin is a single water catchment, drained by numerous streams that converge to form Maliau River that flows out into Kuamut River which, in turn, feeds the Kinabatangan River.  

Garden of Eden 
On the third day, we plodded on to the Camel Trophy camp, 1,005m high. After a arduous climb of about 300m up a 70° incline, we stepped into the magical heath forest.  
Bright pink rhododendrons and red ixoras peeked out from trees and bushes. Pitcher plants like the Nepenthes stenophylla dangled prettily like Christmas tinsel, while the Nepenthes veitchii with their flared lips (peristomes) wrapped their roots around trunks. 
At least six pitcher plant species and one natural hybrid (N. veitchii-stenophylla) have been spotted in Maliau. In one day, I took snapshots of at least five types of pitcher plants including the N. tentaculata, N. hirsuta and N. reinwardtiana.  
The winding trail flanked by pitcher plants and colorful fungi made a pretty sight. Assortments of epiphytes like orchids were in abundance although they were not in bloom then.  
The Camel Trophy camp was almost “luxurious” with beds and pillows, solar-powered lights and running water pumped from the river below.  
We stayed put for two days and explored the nearby Giluk Falls and Takob-Akob Falls. Both evenings, a “resident” bearded pig (Sus barbatus) was spotted foraging outside our camp.  
My all-time favourite place in Maliau would be the 33m observation platform built on an Agathis borneensis tree behind the Camel trophy shelter. Towering Agathis trees have distinct pock-marked, grey/reddish barks with pearls of yellow-white resin. At the break of dawn, I clambered up the platform, taking in the sweeping view of the lush, mist-wreathed forest and enjoying the cool, fresh air.  
As the pink, glowing sun broke through the clouds, I heard a sudden rustling of leaves. On my left, about 10m away at eye level, two Bornean gibbons were cavorting on a nearby tree. Seconds after they spotted me, they took a big leap and like trapeze artists, swung their long arms and vanished into the thick foliage.  

What a spectacle 
Five days were barely enough to unearth the many natural riches of Maliau. But given a chance, I would come back again, especially when the haze comes around . . . 
o Sources: Maliau Basin – Sabah’s Lost World 
  • Secrets of the Lost World – Sabah’s Maliau Basin  ENQUIRIES For information on the Maliau Basin Conservation Area, call (088) 326 300/422 211, fax: (088) 432 192, e-mail: maliau@icsb-sabah.com.my or visit www.ysnet.org.my/maliau 
    Travel info 
    STAY A 5D/4N-trip for a group of four averages RM1,100 per person (including conservation fees, transport to and from Tawau, administration fees, two park rangers, VHF radio rental, food and camp beds). Visitors have to write to Yayasan Sabah and get an approval before being allowed into Maliau Basin Conservation Area. Tariffs for Maliau Basin Conservation Area have not been updated on the website.  
    Or sign up for a trekking package with Borneo Nature Tours, tel: (088) 267 637, fax: (088) 251 636, e-mail: info@borneonaturetours.com or visit www.borneonaturetours.com
    For a 5D/4N package, price ranges from RM2,800 to RM 3,800 per/person (including nature guides). Park Rangers are not guides and their job is to ensure visitors follow the trails and don’t violate park guidelines. 
    Managing Maliau 
    Since it was designated a Protected Class I Forest in 1997, Maliau’s visitors (including government officer, researchers and voluntary organizations) total 2,574. As of Nov 2006, there were only 684 visitors.  
    Some of the steps taken to preserve the area include: 

  • limiting the number of visitors at any one camp to 20 

  • visitors must stay at designated camps, like Agathis, Camel Trophy, Ginseng or Lobah 

  • regular trail maintenance  

  • biodegradable wastes are disposed of onsite, while recyclable materials are sent to a recycling centre in Tawau. Visitors are advised not to bring Styrofoam food containers and canned foods  

  • scheduled to open in June 2007, the new Maliau Basin Studies Centre (MBSC), next to Belian Camp, will have a hostel and camping ground, exhibition hall, mini theatre, conference room and library.   Visitors can check out the new “sky bridge” (spanning eight trees, it is 400m-long and suspended 22m above ground), a natural pool, interpretative nature trail and treetop lounge. The centre will hold environmental education activities and have a Nature Gallery.  
    A 45-minute drive from the security post, the centre is open to the public. 

  • Currently, there are 12 tour operators taking tourists into Maliau. But when the Study Centre opens, Yayasan will appoint a few operators to be on Maliau Basin Conservation Area’s tour panel.   Two of the biggest threats to the Maliau area are poaching and the nicking of forest products, according to Dr Waidi Sinun, the group manager of conservation and environmental management under Yayasan Sabah Group.  
    Maliau’s management has increased the frequency of patrols in the area by park rangers. Some of the rangers double up as wildlife wardens and also work with the Wildlife department to deal with poachers.  
    “It’s also a challenge to educate the public, especially the communities living near Maliau, to ensure they help conserve the area for the future generation,” says Waidi.  
    Traditionally, local communities have always ventured into the fringes of the basin to collect forest products.  
    “We’re now looking into alternative economic opportunities for these communities.”  
    Most of the park rangers are sourced from nearby villages.  
    Balancing nature conservation and protecting locals’ livelihood is a real challenge, but at this juncture, Maliau Basin Conservation Area is off to a good start.



  • Management

    Maliau Basin was originally part of a timber concession of Yayasan Sabah (Sabah Foundation), an organization formed in 1966 through an Enactment of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly, with the mission of improving the standard of living and education of Sabah people. Recognizing the uniqueness of the area, in 1981 Yayasan Sabah voluntarily designated Maliau Basin as a Conservation Area, for the purposes of research, education and training, along with Danum Valley Conservation Area further to the east.

    In 1997, Maliau Basin Conservation Area was upgraded by the Sabah state government to a Class 1 Protection Forest Reserve, providing legal status as a protected area, and extended to its present size of 588.4 km2 by incorporating forested land to the east and north of the Basin. Maliau received further protection in 1999 when it was gazette as a cultural heritage site under the state Cultural Heritage (Conservation) Enactment. Buffer zones surrounding the whole Conservation Area also  add to its protection.
    Day to day management of the Conservation Area is carried out by Yayasan Sabah on behalf of an inter-agency Maliau Basin Management Committee, which also includes Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, University Malaysia Sabah and representatives from other government agencies, academic institutions. District Offices and NGOs.

    Collaboration

    In 1999, a 4-year project was initiated between Yayasan Sabah and DANIDA (Danish International Development Assistance), resulting in the preparation of a Strategic Management Plan for Maliau Basin Conservation Area/and the establishment of Maliau Basin Studies Centre at the southeast edge of the Basin, for research, conservation, education and ecotourism purposes.

    Generous sponsorship has come from Swedish company IKEA who funded a vehicle, satellite camps, trail and bridge construction, observation towers and the Maliau 'Sky Bridge', while Sabah Shell Petroleum Limited sponsored the construction of Shell Maliau Basin Reception and Information Building.
    Maliau Basin Conservation Area is a remote location and safety procedures must be followed. These include having insurance which covers emergency helicopter evacuation for those trekking into the forest, being accompanied by Maliau rangers while on the trails and rental of VHF radios. Hunting is absolutely forbidden, and rules concerning the conservation of the area such as no collection of specimens without written permission, must also be strictly adhered to.

    Activities
    In addition to being an ideal place for research and environmental education, Maliau Basin Conservation Area is perfect for adventure jungle trekking, bird watching, nature photography, night drives to spot nocturnal wildlife, waterfall swimming and recreation and simply experiencing the thrill of being in a truly uncoil wilderness.

    Waterfalls & Lakes
    Maliau’s Murut name for the basin means “Land of the Giant Staircase” derived from its step-like landscape and countless waterfalls – 19 falls and still counting.
    A trip to the Maliau Basin takes several days, you will stay overnight in a number of camps and must be prepared for long jungle treks under sometimes difficult conditions.
    For detailed information, download this Maliau trip report, prepared by Gabriel Chong.

    Maliau Basin contains many outstanding natural features, including probably the greatest number of waterfalls anywhere in Malaysia. The most famed of these is the spectacular 7-tiered Maliau Falls on the Maliau River, the highest fall of which is a magnificent 28m. Maliau is also the home of the fabled Lake Linumunsut, Sabah's only non-oxbow lake, situated below the? outer banks of the northern escarpment.
    Maliau Falls, with its seven tiers of cascading waters was breathtaking. The way to savour its magnificence is to see it from a hovering helicopter.

    Flora

    The isolated and mysterious Maliau Basin, also known as Sabah's Lost World, has only recently begun to be investigated by researchers. Major expeditions in 1988,1996, 2001, 2005 and 2006, and baseline studies during the joint Yayasan Sabah/DANIDA project, discovered a distinct and diverse flora of over 1,800 species, including at least 6 types of pitcher plant and more than 80 species of orchid, several of which are new records for Sabah. The rare Rafflesia tengku-adlinii has also been found in Maliau Basin, one of only two known localities in Sabah, and two species completely new to science, a tree and a moss, have so far been discovered. Main forest types comprise lower montane forest dominated by majestic Agathis trees, rare montane heath forest and precious lowland and hill dipterocarp forest.

    Fauna
    The basin is a faunal haven for lowland animals such as wild pigs, barking deer, probocis monkey, clouded leopard, pythons and many species of birds including the rare Bulwer's Pheasant, the Crimsonheaded Partridge and the Peregine Falcon.
    Although much of the terrain remains to be explored and studied, Maliau has already revealed itself to be the home of some of Sabah's most rare and endangered wildlife species, including the Sumatran Rhinoceros, Banteng, Orang Utan and Proboscis Monkey. Others among the over 80 mammal species so far confirmed include Bornean Pygmy Elephant, Clouded Leopard and Malayan Sunbear.

    An impressive bird list comprising nearly 300 species has been recorded to date, including the spectacular Bulwer's Pheasant and Bornean Bristlehead. In fact Maliau has become a global hot spot for bird biodiversity with no less than one quarter of the bird species present listed as threatened or near threatened by IUCN (the World Conservation Union).
    More than 35 species of amphibian have so far been found, including a frog which makes its home in pitcher plants! Maliau has also yielded new species of fish, crab and water beetle, with no doubt many more species still to be discovered amongst its rich biodiversity.

    Satellite Camp Accommodation

    In addition to the chalet, rest house and hostel accommodation facilities available at Maliau Basin Studies Centre, Maliau offers a range of satellite camps linked by well-maintained trails.

    Belian Camp

    Belian Camp is about 25km drive from the Security Gate and within walking distance of Maliau Basin Studies Centre. It comprises a camping ground with space for 20 double tents, a large kitchen, toilets cum showers, and an attractive pavilion. Located in logged lowland dipterocarp forest near the banks of Maliau River, Belian Camp is close to an educational nature trail and an impressive canopy walkway, also known as Maliau 'Sky Bridge7.

    AgathisCamp

    Set on the banks of a 15m wide stream in hill mixed dipterocarp forest, Agathis Camp is located at the southernmost edge of Maliau Basin Conservation Area, about 20km to the north of the Security Gate. A 1km self-guided nature trail at the camp provides visitors with a fascinating introduction to the forest and its wildlife. The camp is well-equipped and comfortable, with hammock-style accommodation for up to 30 visitors, electricity and toilets and showers.

    Camel Trophy Camp

    Camel Trophy Camp is a two-storey building complete with bunk beds, showers and solar electricity, which can accommodate up to 15 visitors. Constructed by the participants of Camel Trophy in 1993, it was the first permanent camp within the Basin and is located strategically at the meeting point of lower montane forest and the rare and unusual montane heath forest on Maliau's southern plateau. A 33m high observation platform near the top of a large Agathis borneensis tree provides an opportunity to observe birds at close range and allows breathtaking views of the surrounding forest canopy.


    Ginseng Camp

    Constructed in 2005 near to the impressive 27m high Ginseng Falls and about 5-6 hours walk form Agathis Camp, this substantial camp can accommodate up to 20 visitors, and has hammock-style beds and toilets cum showers.


    SerayaCamp

    Four to six hours walk from Belian Camp, Seraya Camp is located on what is expected to be the most important trail in Maliau Basin Conservation Area in the future, as most visitors to Maliau Falls will spend the night here. Trails around Seraya Camp also pass a rare Rafflesia tengku-adlinii site.

    Lobah Camp

    Located near the top of a hill with a 230 degrees panoramic view of the Basin's rim, Lobah Camp is approximately 2km from the well-known Maliau Falls, and serves as a much-needed stopping point for visitors from Ginseng and Camel Trophy Camps, before arriving at the Falls. Other satellite camps in remote locations such as Rafflesia, Strike Ridge and Eucalyptus Camps are accessible to visitors only by helicopter.

    Maliau Basin Conservation Area is located in south central Sabah, about 40 km north of the Kalimantan border, and adjacent to Yayasan Sabah Forest Management Area. It is accessible via the towns of Tawau or Keningau, both 4 to 5 hour drives away. Four- wheel drive is recommended as part of the journey is on unpaved roads.

    At Maliau Basin Security Gate, where the Shell Maliau Basin Reception and Information Building is located, an access road leads to Agathis Camp and Maliau Basin Studies Centre. There are no roads inside the Conservation Area.