Sunday, May 31, 2009

18 Fs - One point perspectives

Monday, May 11, 2009

Madonna Obama Prada

Madonna's fresh appeal to adopt Malawian orphan Mercy James a noted film buff, no doubt would have enjoyed a soiree full of actors. Celebrities rubbed shoulders and clinked Champagne glasses with designer Miuccia Prada and Prada’s chief executive Patrizio Bertelli.

The American singer's application includes denying tax deductions for firms with punitive damage claims was initially dismissed last month as it emerged she had raised $210 billion over a decade, to tighten rules related to overseas correct adoption procedure.

Other proposals she persuaded bid to successful include: the Transformer which can be lifted and rotated in an hour in order to create a different shape and interior. When the exhibition of skirts ends on May 24, the structure will be picked up and rotated to create a rectangle, which will show movies selected by the Mexican film director Alejandro González Iñárritu from June 26 to July 12. Art will then be shown when the structure is rotated again to create a floor plan in the form of a cross. Finally, the Transformer is picked up once again and rotated to form a circle for a fashion show. All shows are open to the public $3.5 million for an individual or $7 million for a couple.

Funds raised will go to beef up a health care reserve fund, a $634 billion pot of money President Barack Obama wants to use to revamp the health care system and expand insurance to tens of millions of Americans who lack it.

Miuccia Prada - News Article

House Party: Prada's Transformer Opens in Seoul

SEOUL — Perhaps the only Korean celebrity missing from Prada’s party Thursday night in Seoul to mark the launch of the Transformer project was Kim Jong-il. But the North Korean dictator, a noted film buff, no doubt would have enjoyed a soiree full of actors on the grounds of a 16th-century Korean palace. Celebrities rubbed shoulders and clinked Champagne glasses with designer Miuccia Prada and Prada’s chief executive Patrizio Bertelli.

The duo came to Seoul with Rem Koolhaas, whose Office for Metropolitan Architecture designed the tetrahedron-shaped structure. The Transformer will sit on the grounds of Seoul’s Gyeongui Palace until the fall. The juxtaposition of traditional Korean architecture with a 160-ton steel structure with a white polyvinyl chloride membrane, which when lit from the inside gives it a translucent quality, was striking. The Transformer can be lifted and rotated in an hour in order to create a different shape and interior.

Korean fashion designer Andre Kim and actors Kim Min-hee, Yoon Eun-hye, Song Hye-kyo and Oh Ji-ha and other guests seemed to revel in Prada making Seoul, for one night at least, the epicenter of a major Italian fashion house. Korea is Prada’s fourth-biggest market in Asia. The company is spending $10 million on the Transformer project.

“Activities like the Transformer will probably happen in other cities in Asia,’’ said Bertelli, who is also thinking of taking the Transformer back to Milan. “The culture is used to luxury and new things, much more than countries where we are already established.’’

Guests at the party wandered through the Transformer to view about 100 skirts on display on a hexagon floor plan, part of the house’s “Waist Down” exhibit. When the exhibition of skirts ends on May 24, the structure will be picked up and rotated to create a rectangle, which will show movies selected by the Mexican film director Alejandro González Iñárritu from June 26 to July 12. Art will then be shown when the structure is rotated again to create a floor plan in the form of a cross. Finally, the Transformer is picked up once again and rotated to form a circle for a fashion show. All shows are open to the public and free of charge.

Reference: http://www.wwd.com/lifestyle-news/house-party-prada-transformer-opens-in-seoul-2112335?justin=2112335

Madonna Louise Ciccone - News Article

Madonna Begs for Mercy

Madonna's fresh appeal to adopt Malawian orphan Mercy James has got underway today.

The American singer's application was initially dismissed last month as it emerged she had not followed the country’s correct adoption procedures.

But in an attempt to swing the verdict in her favour, the Queen of Pop and a top legal team will argue the country’s adoption rules are old-fashioned.

Although predictions say the Supreme Court’s Judge Lovemore Munlow is sure to dismiss the plea – Madge is believed to have a few tricks up her sleeve.

If the bid is successful, it would not be the first time the 50-year-old has managed to bend the rules.

She persuaded judges in the Malawi capital, Linlongwe, to rush through the approval when adopting son, David Banda, back in October 2006.

But the blonde bombshell has faced intense scrutiny over her approach to taking Mercy into her care – both here and on African shores.

The man claiming to be Mercy’s biological father has slammed Madge – whose real name is Madonna Louise Ciccone – for having a bad reputation.

James Kambewa, 24, speaks disapprovingly of the ‘Like a Virgin’ singer’s wild ways.

Still, the proceedings could yet go either way as locals in the orphan’s village have criticised the father for only meeting Mercy as the story received heightened publicity.

Reference: http://www.ok.co.uk/celebnews/view/9956/Madonna-begs-for-Mercy/

Barack Obama - News Article

Obama wants estate tax hike, corp loophole cuts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday will propose raising nearly $60 billion (39.7 billion pounds) over 10 years through changes to the estate tax law and closing certain domestic tax loopholes, an administration official said.

Funds raised will go to beef up a health care reserve fund, a $634 billion pot of money President Barack Obama wants to use to revamp the health care system and expand insurance to tens of millions of Americans who lack it.

The White House wants to raise $24 billion over 10 years by tightening rules related to the estate tax, a levy on an inherited part of an estate if the value exceeds an exclusion limit set by law.

Currently, the first $3.5 million for an individual, or $7 million for a couple, are exempted.

The changes to the estate tax are related to how assets are valued, said the official, who was not authorized to be quoted.

Other proposals include denying tax deductions for firms with punitive damage claims, the official said.

Later on Monday, the administration will provide details on a series of tax proposals unveiled last week, said to raise $210 billion over a decade, to tighten rules related to overseas investments.