Workout music: give me the beat boys

NEW YORK - Rock, hip hop or R&B, if it has a pounding tempo music can really rock your cardio workout.

Fitness experts say boosted by that backbeat you might not even notice that you're working harder.

"Higher tempo certainly seems to drive the intensity of exercise performance," said Dr. Cedric Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

"The faster the beat, the higher the intensity," he explained. "Listening to smooth jazz would not do it."

Bryant said preliminary results of an ACE-commissioned study on how music affects exercise performance suggest that under the influence of a strong beat, exercisers will actually work harder than they think they do.

"Individuals listened to different types of music, even comedy routines," he said of the study, conducted by the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. "They found that upbeat music listeners rated the intensity of their exercise lower than it actually was."

He added that recognizing the music seems to have the most impact, and if people select their own music they would exercise even harder.

The study, which is due to be published this fall, notes that the subjects, who were college students, thought exercising to music was less stressful.

But not all cardio workouts get into the groove. Bryant said bicycling was the most beat-driven, followed by running. Walking was tone deaf.

"With walking, music didn't seem to make that much difference," he said. "That makes sense. If you walk its your own normal pace."

Bianca Kosoy, creative director for Equinox fitness centers, says her company uses computer models to select workout music.

"It has to be up tempo, which we define as 130 beats per minute," Kosoy explained. "Our selection is based on a music algorithm and streamlined centrally to our locations."

Kosoy said the computer tries to match songs that feel similar in tempo.

"Classics, hip hop, R&B have the lowest weighting. There are about 600 songs, and every month we take a percentage of them out."

Kosoy said another factor is client comments.

"We had music from the 60s but overall feedback was negative," she said.

A milder faux pas involved Sade in the women's locker room.

Philippines wrestles with 'Jejemon' cyber-dialect

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is wrestling with what authorities say is a language monster invading youth-speak in Internet social networks and mobile phone text messaging.

The phenomenon has triggered enormous social debate, with the government declaring an "all out war" against the cyber-dialect, called 'jejemon', but the Catholic church defending it as a form of free expression.

The word 'jejemon' is derived from 'jeje' as a substitute for 'hehe' -- the SMS term for laughter -- and then affixing it with 'mon' -- taken from the popular Japanese anime of cute trainable monsters called "Pokemon."

Education Secretary Mona Valisno believes it could blunt the Philippines' edge in English proficiency, which has long helped the impoverished country attract foreign investment and sustain its lucrative outsourcing industry.

"Texting or using wrong English and wrong spelling could be very bad," Valisno told reporters recently as she declared her war on jejemon, urging teachers and parents to encourage the nation's youth to use correct English.

"What I am concerned about is the right construction, grammar. This is for their own improvement, for them to be able to land good jobs in the future."

Jejemon emerged over the past year as young people tried to shorten text messages on mobile phones, language experts say.

It then morphed into a unique language that spawned new words and phrases by deliberately stringing together mis-spelled words without syntax and liberally sprinkling them with punctuation marks.

And the initial idea of tighter texting got lost as many "words" became longer than the originals.

Instead of spelling "hello" for example, jejemon users spell it as "HeLouWH" or "Eowwwh", while the expression "oh, please" becomes "eoowHh.. puhLeaZZ."

Or, throwing a bit of the local language Tagalog into the mix, you can tell your significant other "lAbqCkyOuHh" (I love you) or "iMiszqcKyuH" (I miss you), and convey that you're happy by texting "jAjaja" or "jeJejE."

There are however no hard and fast rules in the constantly evolving jejemon, which perhaps adds to its appeal for teens and the bewilderment of adults.

The jejemon craze quickly spread among the country's more than 50 million mobile phone subscribers, who send a world-leading average of up to 12 text messages each every day, according to industry and government figures.

It then found its way among Filipinos in social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

For Manila high school student Laudemer Pojas, jejemon is an important part of his lifestyle that allows him to talk with friends using coded messages beyond the grasp of his strict parents.

"I am a jejemon addict," said the portly 17-year-old Pojas. "I don't know what the big fuss is all about. It's orig (unique) to people my age, like street lingo but on the net and texting.

"It's also easier to do and can't be read by my parents who check my cel (mobile phone) from time to time."

He said he met many new friends on Facebook after he joined a site defending jejemon from the "jejebusters" -- or those who hate the language.

Gary Mariano, a professor at Manila's De La Salle University and an expert in new media, said he had mixed feelings about jejemon.

"I'm torn between efficiency and formal correctness," Mariano said, pointing out jejemon was borne out of people simply adapting to a digital lifestyle.

"I require my students to use formal language in school papers, but when it comes to ordinary e-mails or text messages, I can be more tolerant.

"There should be no shame in using shortcuts in Internet language, but for the young ones who have not been exposed to proper English, then jejemon will not give them that foundation."

He noted that languages had always evolved, with many of the world's tongues constantly borrowing from one another.

"Even in modern English, there is still a debate on which is better, the one spoken by the British or the Americans," he said. "The history of language has been full of transitions."

Mariano said he used jejemon, albeit sparingly, and that he knew of many English grammar teachers who had taken to it.

English was first introduced to the archipelago more than a century ago when the United States brought in teachers to tutor the locals at the end of its war with Spain in 1898.

By the time full independence was gained in the mid-1940s, English was so widely spoken it subsequently became the medium of instruction in all schools and the unofficial second language next to Filipino.

But educators in recent years have lamented that spoken and written English appears to have deteriorated among the more than 90 million Filipinos.

One key indicator is that outsourcing firms that once relied on the pool of American-sounding Filipinos have recently reported a drop in recruitment.

This has forced the government to allocate more funds to upgrade English proficiency skills among teachers -- which education secretary Valisno warned would be imperiled if the jejemon phenomenon was not stopped.

However, jejemon advocates have found an unlikely ally in the influential Roman Catholic church, whose position on key social issues shapes public opinion.

It said jejemon was a form of free expression, comparing it to the language of hippies decades ago.

"Language is merely an expression of experience," said Joel Baylon, who heads the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines' commission on youth. What is more important are the values behind the language."

Why people are afraid of '666'

MANILA, Philippines - Last Sunday, a tourist bus lost control and fell off a cliff in Barangay Cansumuran in Balamban, Cebu.

The incident killed 20 Iranian medical students and a Filipino driver, and left 30 others injured.

The bus carried the ominous license plate number DWZ-666. Many could not help but relate it to 666, the dreaded "Number of the Beast" as referred to in the Bible.

The Beast, commonly referred to as the "anti-Christ," is a figure in the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.

Revelation 13:17-18 states: "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is 666."

Since its close association with the Beast, number 666 has been considered in modern popular culture as cursed or unlucky. The number was greatly feared by a number of people that a phobia for it eventually emerged.

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a term that refers to the fear of the number 666. People who suffer from this phobia are said to strongly avoid all things related to the number.

Interpretations

So, who is the "man" or "beast" behind number 666?

He or she has yet to be identified, but there have been a number of interpretations throughout history. Here are some of them:

- A Roman emperor. Generally, they were noted for their oppression of Jews and Christians. Both communities were known to use numerology, codes and symbols to avoid persecution.

- Nero. Some scholars believe that 666 refers to Roman Emperor Nero, who is said to be responsible for a number of attacks on Christians in Rome. His name, written in Aramaic, is said to be valued at 666 using gematria, a system of assigning numerical values to letters in the alphabet.

- Domitian. Ethelbert Stauffer, a German Protestant theologian, said number 666 may refer to Roman emperor Domitian since he reigned at the time of the Apocalypse, as proposed in the Book of Revelation. Domitian was also said to be called "The Beast" secretly by Romans, Greeks, Christians and Jews.

- A Pope. A number of Protestant Bible commentators have said that the letters of an alleged title of the Pope, Vicarius Filii Dei (Vicar of the Son of God), sum up to 666 in Roman numerals. Eventually, however, it was said that Vicarius Filii Dei was never an official title of the Pope.

- A Pope named Benedict. German priest and theology professor Martin Luther was quoted in history as saying that "Benediktos" added up to 666 in gematria, which led him to think that it might refer to a Pope named Benedict or to Benedictine monks.

Luxury firms step out cautiously into virtual world

PARIS - Buying diamond watches or designer labels on the Internet might seem anathema for those able to jet across the world for a shopping spree, yet luxury firms are slowly but surely investing in e-trade.

Two high-end French labels, Lacoste and Mauboussin, have just opened Internet boutiques while British luxury Internet site net-a-porter has been bought out by luxury Swiss group, Richemont, owners notably of Cartier and Chloe.

The luxury sector long thumbed its nose at the virtual world on grounds that "surfing on the Internet was far removed from the experience of a brush with luxury," said Joelle de Montgolfier, head of the Europe luxury sector for consultants Bain & Company.

A telling example is Louis Vuitton, part of leading luxury group LVMH. It opened a site as early as 1999 but launched sales only in 2005.

Paris luxury house Hermes this week estimated its Internet sales at five percent of its total.

In a sector where exclusivity touches as well on distribution and price control, the cultural revolution has been slow in coming.

In 2009, worldwide luxury sales on the Internet totalled 3.5 billion euros, a fraction of total sales amounting to 153 billion euros, Bain & Company said. But while the share of sales on the Internet remains tiny "it rises 35 percent each year, including in times of economic crisis," De Montgolfier told AFP.

Consultants Precepta believe Internet sales in the luxury sector could double to seven billion euros in 2011.

Luxury web boutiques offer identical packaging to boutiques and ensure shipments are controlled.

"Not being present on the Internet amounts to losing sales in real stores," said Eric Bascle, who heads strategy and development for Devanlay, the textile arm of Lacoste, which has just opened its first web-shop in France.

"In the sector of premium labels, one out of two customers who buys in a boutique has consulted the web beforehand for the same product," he told AFP.

Lacoste, which hopes by 2014 to generate 100 million euros in turnover via web sales, is also banking the move will rejuvenate its image.

French jewellers Mauboussin, who have just launched e-trade in France, expects to see Internet sales of six to eight million euros, "equivalent to a Paris boutique."

In the jewellery sector, Boucheron, part of the Gucci Group owned by PPR, were the first to open an Internet boutique in 2007. As for Italy's Gucci, its web turnover "increased 50 percent in 2009 worldwide," a spokeswoman said.

In the United States, where e-trade has taken on, "it allows us to serve customers in smaller towns where labels are not present," said Gucci Group.

Faced with the boom in e-trading and the change in customer habits, the luxury sector has had to give in and follow suit to avoid subsidiary sites grabbing a slice of the pie, such as multibrand stores like Neimann Marcus or specialized Internet boutiques such as net-a-porter.

But many high-end brands, such as Louis Vuitton or Hermes, only offer a selection of their goods.

Jewellery firms such as De Beers in the United States, a joint-venture of De Beers-LVMH, or Tiffany for example choose to offer engagement rings on the net rather than more expensive sets.

"There's no hurry", said Philippe Pascal, who heads LVMH's watch and jewellery division. "After sales service has to be perfect to ensure customers are entirely happy with a purchase."

Food critic who changed British habits dies

LONDON - Egon Ronay, the food critic credited with transforming eating habits in Britain with his ground-breaking restaurant guides, died Saturday aged 94, a close friend said.

The Hungarian emigree published his first guide in 1957 and over the next few decades became a British institution, dubbed the "godfather of gastronomy" by The Times newspaper, as well as one of the world's most famous reviewers.

His criticisms helped raise restaurant standards throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s -- and by transforming people's expectations, they were credited with causing a revolution in British eating habits.

Ronay had been ill for a number of weeks and died early Saturday at his home in Berkshire, southeast England, close friend and broadcaster Nick Ross said. His wife Barbara and daughters Edina and Esther were by his side.

"Right up until his death, even young chefs regarded him as the monarch," said Ross, who said he had known the critic for about 15 or 20 years.

"He was a tiny man but had no airs and graces about him and yet he was almost fawned upon by restaurateurs right up until his last illness."

Ronay was the son of a prominent restauranteur in Budapest but the business collapsed in World War II and he fled communist Hungary for London, arriving here penniless in 1946. He never saw his father again and his mother only once.

Using his family connections, he found work managing restaurants and finally set up his own place in the upmarket London district of Knightsbridge.

Amid despair over the state of catering in post-war Britain -- in one interview he recalled the memory of a communal teaspoon attached to string in the tea-room of a London station -- he began his mission to change its ways.

Ronay was never afraid of holding back his views and enraged the French several years ago by suggesting that British "gastropubs" were now at least equal or even better than the finest French bistros.

"Obviously, French bistros and their staff could learn a very great deal from our gastropubs... your bill will be much smaller (and) the portions can be huge," he wrote in the foreword to his 2006 guide.

Sandra Bullock calls personal life an 'explosion'

LOS ANGELES – Sandra Bullock made her first public appearance since revelations of her husband's extramarital affairs, taking the stage at a Hollywood awards show on Saturday night and comparing her recent life to an "explosion."

Bullock, best actress Oscar winner for her role in the football film "The Blind Side," showed up at cable channel Spike TV's Guys Choice Awards to accept an entertainer of the year trophy.

"Let's be honest here, just for a moment. We're all going to be honest, right?" Bullock said onstage as she held the antler-shaped award.

"Did I win this for being entertainer of the year, or did I win this because of the spectacular I.E.D. (improvised explosive device) explosion that became my personal life?"

Bullock was wearing a close-fitting black dress and received a standing ovation, according to USA Today. She was surrounded by soldiers in uniform standing at attention, as she accepted the Troops Choice Award for Entertainer of the Year.

Bullock joked that she would sing for the troops but that they had "seen enough pain."

"I would like to do something I've always wanted to do in person, which is to thank you, to thank all the men and women that make it possible for me to wake up in the morning free," she said to the soldiers.

Bullock is expected to appear at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday night to accept the Generation Award, according to a report on the MTV website.

The actress has filed for divorce from motorcycle maker and reality television star Jesse James, after he admitted to cheating on their marriage.

The disclosures of extramarital affairs by Bullock's husband of five years surfaced in the media soon after she won her first Oscar in March. The couple had just adopted a baby boy, whom Bullock is now raising on her own.

Spike TV is a male-oriented cable network, and its Guys Choice Awards is scheduled to air on June 20.

Al Gore-Loren Legarda 'love team' emerges on Twitter

MANILA, Philippines - He's on the heels of his separation from his wife, and she had her marriage annulled years ago. Both of them suffered defeat after seeking electoral posts, and have a strong passion for climate change and the environment.

But will they make a good pair?

It's the current hot topic in Twitter town -- users are waiting for the so-called romance between former United States Vice President Al Gore and vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda as the former is set to arrive in the Philippines for a leadership conference.

They christened the two as "LeGoreda," and were likened to Hollywood couples and local celebrity love teams. A video was even put up in YouTube to pay tribute to the so-called couple.

Mixed reactions

Just like any other love team, the LeGoreda tandem got its share of fans and critics.

Users tried to play cupid on Twitter, saying that a romantic relationship between Gore and Legarda will be good not only for the people, but also for Mother Earth given their green advocacies.

"Dear God, I want Al Gore and Loren Legarda to fall in love. Will entertain millions with few negative consequences. Please make it happen," said Twitter user ageofbrillig.

Twitter user heyessa added: "I can almost imagine it: Al Gore meets Loren Legarda on stage during Manila talk. Audience will collectively go, 'Yihee." Seeds planted.

The newly created romantic tandem, however, didn't sit well with some Twitter users. User ninaterol, for one, said: "Gore and Legarda" OMG, heaven forbid. Please spare Al from Loren. Let's give the guy some peace."

"I wonder how Al Gore will react when he arrives in Manila tomorrow and discovers he's in a love team with Loren Legarda," added Twitter user overlordtrainee.

Loren reacts

If most Twitter users found the LeGoreda tandem interesting, Legarda herself said it's "funny and embarrassing."

Quoting Legarda, "Pinoys are really creative on the Internet. The whole thing is amusing. Gore will not even see me because I will only be in the audience."

She admitted, however, that Gore is a "great man with a great passion for the environment and humanity."

Will the LeGoreda tandem continue to sizzle upon Gore's arrival in the Philippines? We'll soon find out.

Michelle Obama in new anti-obesity drive

WASHINGTON - US First Lady Michelle Obama on Friday challenged the maxim that too many cooks spoil the broth -- inviting 500 chefs to the White House to serve up a new initiative in her anti-obesity campaign.

It was a case of out of the kitchen and into the heat, as Obama gathered her guests in the blazing sunshine of the White House Rose Garden to launch a mentoring program which will see chefs adopt local schools.

Chefs will help parents and teachers educate kids about good nutrition and develop healthy menus that meet tight budgets for use in school kitchens.

"Chefs have tremendous power as leaders on this issue because of their deep knowledge of food and nutrition and their ability to deliver these messages in a fun and delicious way," Obama said.

"We can change the future for our children and for this nation," Obama said. "We want you all in every school in the nation."

Obama's program is designed to encourage US schools to improve the quality of school meals, offer more kids more physical activity and education on good nutrition and healthy eating.

"You all know the statistics when it comes to the health of our kids, and they're staggering," Obama said.

"Nearly one third of children in this country are now overweight or obese."

Obama said that parents, teachers and food manufacturers must accept their responsibility to help kids be more healthy -- and head off ailments later in life like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

"Let me tell you something, my mother didn't know how to cook broccoli, it was watery and mushy... and we thought you could eat it with a spoon," Obama said.

"I know a lot of parents out there are cooking broccoli like that --- it makes it hard to like broccoli if that is how you are cooking it."

A study by leading US health care provider Kaiser Permanente in March showed that more US children are becoming extremely obese at a younger age, putting them at risk of dying decades younger than normal-weight children.

Two retired generals warned the following month that increasing rates of obesity among young Americans could undermine the future of the military, with many potential recruits increasingly too fat to serve.

Earlier this month, Michelle Obama praised US food manufacturers for agreeing to cut 1.5 trillion calories from their products, in a boost for her campaign.

Her initiative aims to rally families, communities, schools, urban planners, politicians and the media to solve the scourge of childhood obesity in a generation.

She points to the urgency of taking action today, at a time when there are already three times more obese children in the United States than 30 years ago.

Pacquiao named Fighter of the Year

NEW YORK - Manny Pacquiao, boxing's pound-for-pound king and a newly elected legislator in the Philippines, accepted his third Fighter of the Year award Friday from the Boxing Writers Association of America.

"Tonight I overflow with joy and gratitude," Pacquiao said. "I am thankful that, just like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and other boxers, I decided to get into boxing."

After a 2009 that included a spectacular second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton and a punishing 12th-round stoppage of Miguel Cotto that gave Pacquiao titles in a record seven divisions, Pacquiao was the overwhelming winner in voting by the organization's members.

He was also named Fighter of the Decade.

"I confronted poverty by trusting God and dreaming big," Pacquiao said. "I was convinced I could succeed in boxing. The boxing ring could be the breeding ground for my dreams."

Pacquiao, who was accompanied by his wife, Jinkee, planned to stay in New York to see Cotto challenge junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman on Saturday night in the first fight at the new Yankee Stadium - more than 30 years after the last fight at the original Yankee Stadium.

After that he will travel to Washington to meet with US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, promoter Bob Arum said.

He'll take on his own new duties as a legislator when the Philippine Congress convenes in July.

Arum said that he would continue to try to put together a fight between Pacquiao and unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Negotiations on a bout last year broke down over Mayweather's demand for stringent blood-test doping controls.

Pacquiao instead beat Joshua Clottey in front of 51,000 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, while Mayweather beat Shane Mosley in Las Vegas.

Pacquaio's trainer, Freddie Roach, accepted his fourth Trainer of the Year award - and said he wouldn't discuss a possible Pacquiao-Mayweather bout.

"I'm just going to stay out of this one," he said. "I'm tired of whining, guessing, hoping. Obviously we all hope to get the big fight, but if we don't, we'll fight somebody else."

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