Topic Reading-Vol.1390-1/31/2016

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

India celebrates Republic Day in style

Beautiful and peaceful parade. Unlike the victory parade China showed off on the 70^th V-J Day, India’s Republic Day celebrations look so colorful and cheerful.

76 years ago on the 26^th day in January 1950, India adopted its constitution and became an independent republic. Though 76^th isn’t that a significant year for commemoration, the celebrations were no less remarkable than the previous events. Not only typical marching troops, bands and tanks but also police force, children took part in the event.

French president and troops were also seen in the parade, probably not so much to celebrate the event but more likely to close new businesses, including several nuclear power plants.

Enjoy seeing these beautiful and colorful photos of the costumes and decorations in the parade.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2016/01/pictures-india-celebrates-republic-day-style-160126082147029.html

Topic Reading-Vol.1389-1/30/2016

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Wedding haka moves New Zealand Maori bride to tears

Emotion awakens. But not by the lightsaber of Jedi but by Hakka performance by the groomsmen at the wedding reception.

You might expect to see Haka, traditional Maori war cry and dance, be shown by All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team, before their international matches. The unique war cry, shouting, body-slapping and furious facial expressions is a way to scare or intimidate the enemy. It is also performed to welcome special guests and at celebration.

These pals of the bridegroom did it so well at the wedding reception, of course not to intimidate but to show their respect to the groom, that the bride was moved to cry and even joined them.

Enjoy reading and seeing how sensational a haka could be.

http://www.maxim.com/entertainment/epic-wedding-haka-2016-1

Topic Reading-Vol.1388-1/29/2016

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

West-wary Iran deepens China ties as sanctions end

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran. China’s Xi made another historical and strategical visit to these key nations in the region.

The former two had been undoubtedly close allies of the U.S. until recently. Their military forces are well equipped with US weapons and trained by US military personnel.

In the meantime, Iran has been hostile toward the US since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, especially after 1995 when economic sanctions were tightened.

Now, China, a non-western superpower, is approaching these three key players to exercise further influence in the region while the U.S. is somehow less concerned or involved in the situations those countries are facing.

The U.S. established and maintained its influence mainly by its force. China is trying to build new relationships by economy.

Enjoy reading and thinking if China, a non-western, non-Christian, non-democratic Asian giant, looks more comfortable to those Islamic leaders than westerns.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/01/west-wary-iran-warms-china-sanctions-160124054336143.html

Topic Reading-Vol.1387-1/28/2016

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Beyond fun, when being a gamer turns into a lucrative career

Like playing games? It’s surely fun but making money by playing games seems more rewarding than anything else for enthusiasts. A professional gamer. For those who spend most of their time, energy and passion on pursuing higher scores, it probably is a dream job.

While online gaming offers gamers to compete each other over the Internet, there are onsite competitions where professional gamers compete and show their skills. A crowd of enthusiastic fans gather and cheer such extreme gamers.

These professional gamers can make money by winning such competitions. They can also earn money by sponsors and game production companies for their shows, skills and valuable inputs. But in order to reach such status, you need to be very good at playing and fast to move your fingers, a couple of times faster than average gamers.

Intriguing?

Enjoy reading and learning what kind of world those professional gamers live in.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160119-beyond-fun-when-being-a-gamer-turns-into-a-lucrative-career

Topic Reading-Vol.1386-1/27/2016

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The crazy way Americans elect their presidents

The road to the White House. Unlike the way to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice and practice, the road to the house in Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. demands more than any other show in the world. There are numbers of events and challenges those runners have to undergo; the Iowa caucus; the New Hampshire primary; Super Tuesday; the conventions; the presidential debates, not to mention the continuous exposures and criticisms in both public and social media. Even this author-journalist admits that it is a guilty pleasure to play an influencing role to the public during the campaign which could start as early as two years before the election.

Despite such big exposures in all sorts of media and costly campaigns, the voter turnout has been quite, below 60%, at presidential elections since 1968. For a TV show, a viewer rate of over 50% is more than a dream but for an election to decide the leader of the nation, what do you think?

Enjoy reading and thinking of the burden and cost to take part in this extravaganza.

http://www.bbc.com/news/the-reporters-35365848

Topic Reading-Vol.1385-1/26/2016

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

'Star Trek' show made by fans is a hit

The power of passion. That seems to create more sensation in today’s Internet space and age. Look at this Elvis impersonator who has dedicated himself to recreate this series of “Star Trek” episodes. http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/

The very original bridge of the Starship USS Enterprise was precisely recreated by him and his grandfather in an old retail store in upstate New York. Volunteers have come and given their time, money and passion to create and produce their own episodes, which are all viewable online free.

How come this half-century old science fiction TV show still draws so much attention and passion not only from the fans in the States but also in other countries?

Passion awakens. May the passion be with you.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/21/entertainment/star-trek-new-voyages-online-series/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.1384-1/25/2016

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Ninth planet may have been discovered, researchers say

The ninth planet? 10 years after having lost a planet in our solar system, a new planet seems to emerge.  

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology, or CalTech, reported to have found theoretical evidence of a new planet in the outer solar system. Nicknamed Planet Nine is believed to be ten times heavier than Earth and orbits the Sun in 10,000 to 20,000 years.

One of the researchers of this new discovery played a role to downgrade the former ninth planet, Pluto, to a dwarf planet in 2006, which disappointed many. Now he’s encouraging science and research community to find factual evidence of this far-away planet.

Enjoy reading and learning about this new hope of adding a new family member to our solar system.

Just in case, the other eight brothers and sisters in our solar family are, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/20/us/possible-ninth-planet/index.html