FEATURE SINGAPORE: With a jacket casually draped over a T-shirt and sporting stylishly cropped hair, 49-year-old Leslie Lung looks markedly different from his younger self.

"It's been a journey from that all the way to where I am today," the advertising creative consultant said with a slight smile as he pointed to two photographs taken when he was 20.

The pictures show Lung made up as a woman in a form-fitting black tube top, long wavy hair tumbling over his shoulder and a glittering choker adorning his neck.

They are among the illustrations in a hardcover book written by Lung titled "Freedom of Choice: Short Stories of Freedom from Sexual Bondage."

Describing himself as having spanned "the entire gamut" of relationships, Lung is now the executive director of Liberty League, a controversial support group which says it aims to help people who want to overcome "same-sex attractions".

"We think that it is something that can be managed, it can be something that can be overcome, and there are people who have successfully come out of it," said Lung, who considered sex-change surgery when he was younger.

Set up in 2004, Liberty League is staffed by 10 volunteers and financed by grants from the government and private donors.

Singapore gay rights activists object to Liberty League's activities.

Biological impossibility

"They present the idea that being gay is bad and therefore you should change to straight," said Alex Au, one of the founders of gay rights group People Like Us.

"But that already is creating stigma. Why do you even present the message?" Au said Liberty League's ideals were "suspiciously similar" to those of Exodus International, a US fundamentalist Christian ministry actively involved in reforming homosexuals.

Lung says Liberty League is secular and not against gays, bisexuals and transgender people, but he draws the line at men having sex with men.

"It is a biological impossibility. It is impossible for two people of the same gender to consummate physical relationship," he insisted.

Despite greater tolerance for gays in recent years Singapore has refused to rescind an old law making consensual sex between men a crime.

"Singapore is basically a conservative society. The family is the basic building block of this society. It has been so and by policy we have reinforced this and we want to keep it so," prime minister Lee Hsien Loong told Parliament in 2007.

"By 'family' in Singapore, we mean one man one woman, marrying, having children and bringing up children within that framework of a stable family unit."

Sexual preferences

Lung says Liberty League only caters to people who seek help.

"We're not here to go and convert people, we're not here to say 'oh you must not do this and do that,'" he said.

"Some people who want to continue with the lifestyle, that's fine with us. Some people who don't want to, I think that there should be opportunities for them to explore the other option."

Liberty League conducts weekly group sessions where participants speak about their sexual preferences and dilemmas, said Lung. It can also refer participants to professional counsellors.

Group members typically consist of people attracted to others of the same gender, but those grappling with other problems such as sex addiction are also allowed to take part, he said.

"We find that this has been very, very helpful in opening up people's minds," Lung said.

"So often when people come, they think, oh this is a male issue, this is a female issue, but when they hear different perspectives then they come to understand actually it's a very universal thing."

Lung refused to reveal client numbers, but said "there's more than enough to keep us occupied and busy."

- AFP

The Write Way by Tiberius Ker

(Book Review: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand) There are tens of thousands of novels being written and published every year. It is impossible to read even a fraction of them, and extremely difficult to digest all the good ones.

Appreciating novels is not an activity for the weak-hearted and the timid. What may be ground-breaking works for some, may just be fluff to others.

There are a number of books that have found favour with me, and a select few left such a deep impression over the years, I have re-read them in attempts to rekindle the smouldering embers of the writer’s thoughts or philosophy.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is one of the few precious books that have earned my everlasting respect and admiration.

It was published in 1943. I didn’t read it until I was well into my 20s but after digesting it, my priorities in life underwent a radical change.

Matters which I thought was important, were left by the wayside. Other seemingly insignificant trivia were accorded closer scrutiny. That was the effect Howard Roark, the lead character in the book, had on me.

The story is about a brilliant student who was kicked out of the Architectural School of the Stanton Institute of Technology. The expulsion would have crushed the hope and dreams of any ordinary person but not Roark. He celebrated his “freedom” because he believed that he had nothing more to learn from the establishment.

The gist of the plot was one man’s battle to hang on to his principles, even if professional destruction could be the ultimate trophy.

Mission in life

The fight against traditions and one’s personal vision of what should and must be is Howard Roark’s mission in life. Any reader of a reasonably young age will surely find The Fountainhead a fascinating read after the third chapter.

There are reflections of a young adult whose ideas do not jell with the rest of the middle-aged world. It is what most of us have probably experienced in life.

Roark personifies those rarely expressed values. Writer Ayn Rand breathed life into these cornerstones of her personal philosophy, and Roark was her vehicle.

To add colour and spice to the story, Rand introduced Dominique Francon, a beautiful, brilliant and wealthy journalist who has all the right connections.

Dominique and Roark are like sunrise and sunset, totally opposites and yet there’s an undeniable sexual tension between them. The poignancy of each encounter gives Fountainhead a lift that transcends pedestrian romantic novels.

The other central characters are Roark’s schoolmate Peter Keating, his nemesis Ellsworth Toohey, a prominent architect and socialist, and newspaper chief editor and owner Gail Wynand.

Wynand who covets and later marries Dominique will develop a grudging respect for the architectural genius of Roark.

The 680-page novel has large sections illustrating Roark’s relentless fight against attempts to destroy him, his career and his bulldog tenacity to hold on to his integrity.

It is a long-winded plot that tantalises, sizzles and seduces you to turn the page, and then the next and the next.

Obscure philosophy

When Rand offered her book to publishers, it was rejected 12 times. The original title of the manuscript was Second-hand Lives.

When it was finally published, public reception was lukewarm. Critics had mixed feelings about its contents and obscure philosophy.

Rand was the champion and founder of Objectivity which promotes the philosophy of “enlightened self-interest”. The Fountainhead began its slow run up the hill of bestsellers for several years.

Actually, readers of this book were the people who helped spread the word that this was a gem of a novel. Today, more than 6.5 million people have turned the pages of The Fountainhead.

Its philosophy had created a cult following. The Fountainhead was made into a Hollywood movie in 1949. Gary Cooper played Howard Roark and Rand wrote the screenplay.

Rand’s debut novel was We the Living, but The Fountainhead was the rocket that propelled the writer to stardom.

Admirers of the writer’s works defined the book’s main character Howard Roark as Rand’s personification of the indomitable human spirit.

Depending on where the reader is coming from or going towards in terms of intellectual development, this book can be appreciated at different levels.

For me, it was just the right medicine for a young mind craving for challenges and watching from a perspective where society needed to be challenged before it could be improved upon.

To say that The Fountainhead left an indelible impression on a young, impressionable mind would be an understatement.

The uncharted course of my destiny was modified after I had finished reading the book. In the decades that followed, circumstances have proven that Rand was right about society then, and she is still right today.

Soccer scandals 'shaping kids' view of marriage'

LONDON: Children are growing up thinking that marriages are not meant to last because so many football and pop stars have high-profile affairs and bust-ups, an expert warned. Alleged infidelities by England internationals like Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Ashley Cole all hit the headlines in 2010 and received acres of prominent coverage in newspapers.

'Science sense' list trashes celebrity health tips

LONDON: Science campaigners laid bare some of the most dubious celebrity-endorsed health tips yesterday, rubbishing ideas such as reabsorbing sperm and wearing silicone bracelets to boost energy. In an annual list of what it sees as the year's worst abuses against science, the Sense About

Science (SAS) campaign group debunked diet and exercise suggestions made by actors, pop stars and others in the public eye in an effort "to help the celebrities realise where they are going wrong and to help the public make sense of celebrity claims”.

UK tourists will have to wait for wax royal Kate

LONDON: She may marry into Britain's royal family in April, but Prince William's fiancee Kate Middleton will not take her place alongside the royals at Madame Tussauds until later in 2011. The London wax sculpture museum said it will try to book a sitting with Middleton after her wedding on April 29 and it would then take sculptors up to four months to make the model, the BBC reported on its website.

The Saint Petersburg investigative committee of prosecutors said the Aruba-born Dutch singer was found dead in his bed by a staffer at the city's Ambassador hotel.

"There was no sign of violent death," a committee source said. "The investigation continues."

Farrell's agent in the Netherlands, John Seine, earlier broke news of the death in a telephone interview with AFP from the northern Dutch city of Heemstede.

"The cause of death is not known," Seine said.

Farrell had given a performance in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday, he added, but "they told me that he was not feeling well".

"This morning, he did not wake up."

Saint Petersburg news site Fontanka.ru reported that Farrell had come to the Russian city on Wednesday take part in a corporate event but reported feeling ill during his performance.

A security source told the news site that Farrell's body was found at 9am (0600 GMT). A post-mortem was being carried out.

Farrell was the sole male member of Boney M, which won global fame with catchy disco numbers like "Daddy Cool", "Belfast", "Ma Baker", "Sunny" and "Rasputin" – many of which won gold and platinum discs.

- AFP

The third of the series revolving around a male nurse and his domineering father-in-law, which has been coolly received by UK critics, took 3.03 million pounds, including 1.59 million from previews.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" stayed in second place, just above last week's chart-topper "Tron Legacy."

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" slipped a place to fourth while Bollywood comedy "Tees Maar Khan" came in at five.

Sixth was "Megamind”, with the supervillain finding life pointless after defeating his arch-enemy Metro Man.

Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in Venice for "The Tourist" were down three at seven while animated 3D movie "Animals United" slipped one to eight.

Making its debut at nine was "Arthur and the Great Adventure" with Freddie Highmore and Mia Farrow in the sequel to "Arthur and the Invisibles."

"Burlesque" was the biggest faller of the week, down from six to 10.

- Reuters

YEAR-END SPECIAL LONDON: An extravaganza of royal glamour should lift the austerity gloom in Britain next year with the wedding of Prince William while Prince Albert II of Monaco will tie the knot in the summer.

The second-in-line to the throne will marry his university sweetheart Kate Middleton on April 29 in what is likely to be the biggest British royal wedding since his late mother Diana married Prince Charles in 1981.

Prince Albert and his South African fiancee Charlene Wittstock, an Olympic swimming star, will celebrate their wedding over two days on July 2 and 3.

"There's a public infatuation (with royal weddings) that you wouldn't believe," French commentator Stephane Bern, who has covered dozens of royal nuptials, said.

"There is a real public desire for these sorts of events, a willingness to beat the gloomy times."

That chimes true in Britain, where Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government has unveiled deep cuts designed to rein in the kingdom's record high deficit.

Cameron appears to have spotted a chance to make the wedding day – a Friday – a release from the gloom, by declaring it a public holiday.

That brought some cheer to Britons, who were pleased at the announcement but not wildly enthusiastic about the ceremony itself, which will take place in London's Westminster Abbey.

In November, pollsters ComRes found that two thirds of Britons were "indifferent" to the big day, despite their general attachment to the monarchy.

"As we go towards it, people will get more interested," predicted historian Jean Seaton.

However, the marriage of William and his fiancee is likely to lack the fairytale glamour of the 1981 marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, William's parents.

He has given Middleton his mother's sapphire and diamond engagement ring, but the times are very different from the 80s "wedding of the century" and the couple are taking the austere times into account in their planning.

Ideal model

The Windsors seem to have recovered from the 1990s, when three marriage breakdowns, Diana's death and the Windsor Castle fire took their toll on the royals and their image.

Charles' relationship with his second wife Camilla is now widely accepted and the underlying popularity of Queen Elizabeth has not gone away.

Bern said the British royal family was the "ideal model".

"It is evolution without revolution: it evolves from generation to generation, but there are permanent values which remain," he said.

"We are in a period where people need to find their bearings and the monarchy offers a historical marker."

And there will be another British royal wedding next year, as William's cousin Zara Phillips got engaged on Dec 20.

Phillips, the queen's eldest granddaughter, is to wed England rugby union hero Mike Tindall in a marriage of world-beating sports stars.

Phillips, 29, is an eventing world champion and 12th in line to the throne. Tindall, 32, played in England's 2003 World Cup-winning team.

They met as he celebrated World Cup glory and have largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight in the years since.

They are yet to name a wedding date.

Cultural festival

Europe has already been given a taster of next year's royal wedding bonanza with the marriage of Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria and personal trainer Daniel Westling.

The June 19 wedding in Stockholm Cathedral was marked by a two-week cultural festival in Stockholm and attended by royals from around the continent.

In Monaco, commentators are convinced that the marriage of Prince Albert will be an even bigger event than his parents' 1956 wedding, which saw prince Rainier tie the knot with US film star Grace Kelly.

"Albert II is known all over the world," said one senior official.

And the glittering setting of Monte Carlo's millionaire's playground will be sure to catch the attention of royal-watchers.

The Monegasque sovereign, 52, met Zimbabwean-born Wittstock, 20 years his junior, in 2000 at a swimming meet in the principality.

They made their relationship public in 2006 and announced their engagement in June.

The prince hailed his future wife's "great sense of humour and insatiable curiosity" in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro.

"Charlene has a very strong personality and I have no doubt of her desire to get involved in things alongside me," he said.

- AFP

The weekly said the baby, named Zachary, was born on Dec 25 to a surrogate for John, 62, and his partner, David Furnish, 48.

"We are overwhelmed with happiness and joy at this very special moment," John and Furnish were quoted by the magazine as saying in a joint statement. "Zachary is healthy and doing really well, and we are very proud and happy parents."

John and Furnish married in 2005 after 12 years together.

The baby weighed 3.5 kilos (seven pounds, 15 ounces), according to the report, which said the the couple would not be discussing any details relating to the surrogacy arrangements.

- AFP

A small countryside bakery in western Japan has enjoyed a surprise hit with its "iPhone cookie", a handmade chocolate biscuit decorated with colourful, edible application icons.

Green Gables in Tokushima prefecture pioneered the tasty treat in 2008 as a special birthday gift for a customer's husband, said Kumiko Kudo, the 44-year-old owner of the store.

But the biscuit gained nationwide fame after a photo of it made the rounds via microblogging site Twitter, thanks to a posting by two popular tweeters, economic writer Kazuyo Katsuma and pop singer Komi Hirose.

Since then Kudo has sold hundreds of the cookies.

"It is totally surprising to have such a big reaction," she said. "At first, the cookie was made just to meet a friend's request and I had no intention of receiving additional orders."

In March, she presented one of her biscuits to the president of Softbank, the iPhone and iPad's exclusive cellular carrier in Japan, Masayoshi Son, who was quoted as saying: "I'm so happy. I cannot possibly eat this!"

The hand-made iCookie doesn't come cheap at 2,730 yen (US$33), and is only available by order and inside Japan, where the waiting time to snap up one of the biscuits has been as long as two months.

- AFP

FEATURE GAILLAC: Bernard Plageoles' eyes flash with anger as he describes a largely futile 30-year struggle to dissuade fellow vintners from ripping up the now rare grape varietals that once defined this historic wine region.

Four decades ago, the rolling vineyards of Gaillac, in southwestern France, were laden with distinctive grapes even ardent wine lovers have probably never heard of: mauzac noir, prunelard, l'ondenc, duras, loin-de-l'oeil.

The last of these translates as "far-from-sight”, and that's where these ancient varietals are today.

By the early 1990s, many had virtually disappeared, torn from their native soil and replaced with the handful of grapes made famous in the legendary vineyards of Bordeaux, Burgundy and the upper Rhone Valley.

"We were told that we would never be able to raise the quality of our wines with indigenous varietals," recalled Plageoles.

"Winemakers thought they were doing the right thing by switching. Today, we see that it was a mistake, because you find these other grapes everywhere."

The loss has been especially painful in Gaillac, where a once-illustrious wine past stretches back more than 1,000 years.

But the same trend toward standardisation has cropped up all over France.

The 10 most common grapes that today cover 70% of the country's vineyards only accounted, in 1960, for about 12% of the total surface planted in vines.

The conquest of these globalised varietals – mainly merlot, grenache, cabernet, syrah in red, along with chardonnay and sauvignon in white – has been even more complete in New World vineyards from Australia to South Africa to California.

Tremendous taste potential

At the same time, dozens upon dozens of lesser known grapes in France, some with tremendous taste potential, were allowed to wither on the vine.

"There are nearly 400 distinct varietals catalogued," said Pascal Bloy, who oversees living specimens of each at the French Institute for Vineyards and Wine, a national conservatory near Montpellier.

"Most of the secondary ones have progressively disappeared since World War II," he said during a tour of the institute, where vines are planted in sterile, seaside sand to protect against disease.

But Plageoles and a small band of like-minded advocates of what the French call "vieux cepages”, or old varietals, are leading a revival of these forgotten grapes in Gaillac, and winemakers in other regions are doing the same.

Different forces drive the trend, which is unfolding under the sceptical eye of France's more conservative vintners and powerful wine bureaucracy.

"The challenge of helping to restore grape varieties at risk of vanishing altogether is very motivating," said Patrice Lescarret, a self-described maverick whose intense, original wines at his Cause Marines winery score high praise from critics.

"There is a genuine heritage here – both cultural and biological – worth saving."

Gaillac's retro-rebels are also searching for tastes "beyond the standard palette of buttery Chardonnays and over-oaked cabernets," Lescarret said.

One varietal in particular, prunelard, has emerged as a star that could, one day, become Gaillac's signature wine.

Magnificent wines

Once the region's dominant red-wine grape, prunelard had become so rare by the time Bernard Plageoles's father Robert – the pioneer, by several accounts, of the old varietal movement – decided 20 years ago to plant it that none could be found.

Starting with cuttings from a single vine tracked down at a regional conservatory, the area under cultivation has today expanded to nearly 10 hectares spread across half-a-dozen properties.

"The gustatory qualities surpassed our wildest expectations," said Michel Issaly, whose first act upon taking over his family estate, Domaine de la Ramaye, in the early 1990s was to remove all the "foreign" vines.

"It produces magnificent wines – concentrated, balanced, velvety, with a tremendous ageing potential," he said.

Issaly, president of France's largest association of independent winemakers, said it is market potential that ultimately will sway other less adventurous winemakers.

"Working with the old varietals allows us to bring an added value to the market, to create a wine that you can't find anywhere else," he explained.

Confronted with a shrinking domestic demand and intense competition abroad, many producers from unheralded wine regions in France are barely getting by.

For Bernard Plageoles, the growing interest in France's neglected grapes vindicates years of difficult, sometimes acrimonious, struggle.

"They looked upon my dad as the village idiot," he said, recalling how his father, then head of the producers association, was eased aside by fellow wine growers uncomfortable with his cause.

"But 30 years later Gaillac is beginning to realise that we have to return to these local varietals. Better late than never," he said with a shrug and a smile.

- AFP

FEATURE HANOI: The 1,000 white pigeons which Pham Tai Thu trained for Hanoi's millennium celebrations were meant to be a lasting symbol of peace in a country that survived decades of war.

Yet two months after the ceremonies most of the birds have been captured, eaten or poisoned, Thu says, leaving his feathered legacy in doubt.

Asked how many of the original flock remain, Thu gives a muffled grunt and says: "One third."

He fears even they may not survive.

"I'm very sad," he says, before slowly inhaling on a cigarette.

Thu, a longtime bird hobbyist who raises orchids for a living, says the Hanoi government invited him and his birds to be part of the city's 10-day birthday party in October. They even gave him some funding, he says.

"I gathered birds from different parts of the country, and fed and raised them in Danang," the central-Vietnam city where he lives, adds Thu, who declines to reveal his age.

Then he drove them to Hanoi in a double-decker bus on a mission that he says came from his heart.

"I have a desire for peace, for Vietnam and for the world," explains Thu, who sometimes wears a cowboy hat over his crew cut, and keeps a traditional flute in his rented Hanoi room.

The pigeons were released during the millennium celebrations in Hanoi, which is dubbed "City of Peace".

Such a large flock had never before taken to the skies over Vietnam's capital, says Thu, who trained them all to return to the Botanical Gardens where he hoped they would remain as a message of peace.

White pigeons

A thick photo album which Thu keeps from that time shows many pictures of him surrounded by large flocks of white pigeons in the gardens. A walkway leading to a small island is shown crowded with birds.

These days little more than a dozen white pigeons can be seen on the small island in the park, where big blue bird houses seem almost deserted.

Thu pokes a toothpick into his mouth and reluctantly explains what happened to most of the birds.

"Some were caught... so they brought the birds back home to raise them, or even to kill them for the meat."

He says he witnessed some of the thefts himself, and police caught other birdnappers.

Local media reported that Hanoi police arrested six people who had allegedly stolen hundreds of the birds and sold them to restaurants.

City markets commonly sell dark-coloured pigeons for meat.

Thu says most of his remaining white pigeons are afraid to return to the bird houses and have sought refuge in surrounding trees.

He does not blame anybody for what happened, only his country's sad history of warfare.

"Vietnamese people suffered quite a lot so they didn't have the chance to behave properly," he says.

Polluted lake

Other birds became ill after they drank from the polluted lake in the Botanical Gardens, he says in an interview at the hostel room where he has stayed for four months.

"All the lakes in Hanoi are polluted," Thu says.

For visitors to the Botanical Gardens, a peaceful refuge from Hanoi's chaotic streets, Thu and his white birds were a welcome sight but they say he needed more help to protect them.

"The pigeons here were beautiful," says Tran Huy Hoang, 75, a war veteran who visits the park almost daily and has watched the flock deteriorate.

"Step by step, the number of birds just decreased, and the birds do not look good either," says Hoang.

"I think authorities must join hands to increase people's awareness about protecting the environment, the birds, the animals."

Nguyen Thi Mai, 54, a housewife walking in the Gardens, regretted the loss of the pigeons and said they had not been properly looked after.

"The park management board should really do their job better in ensuring a good environment here," she laments.

Thu says he made three reports to city authorities about the birds' need for a clean water supply and for a sign warning people not to harm them.

"I haven't received any reply," he adds. "I don't understand."

Attempts by AFP to reach the park director were unsuccessful. Her staff said the birds are now managed by city authorities, not the park. Officials at the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism could not say exactly who is in charge of the birds.

Thu says he has been returning daily to feed his remaining charges with rice and corn, and to fill pans of water for them.

Now he has to go back to his orchid farm in the southern city of Dalat and says he will arrange for somebody to continue looking after his flock – no matter how small it gets.

"Even if there's one or two birds, someone must still feed them," he says.

- AFP

FEATURE WASHINGTON: Farrah Daly is a doctor who helps people die. The 33-year-old neurologist spends most of her days on the road. Her car's GPS is filled with the addresses of people who may have only days to live.

On one frigid day in December, her day off, she heads to see a patient she has been treating for eight months, Alton Hlavin, 74.

As she drives cautiously along the jam-packed highway, allowing other cars to cut in front of her without complaint, she thinks about how much pain he may be in, and whether he will tell her the truth about it.

Hlavin suffers from an incurable disease called cortical basal degeneration. Similar to Parkinson's disease, it gradually attacks nerve cells, causing debilitating muscle pain and shrinking parts of the brain until the patient can no longer walk or talk.

"The disease is progressing, damn it," he told her on her last visit.

When Daly arrives at his home this time, the former State Department consultant who has written two books and travelled to more than 70 countries is seated in a recliner, his right arm twisted at an odd angle by his waist. He is quiet and pale.

She exchanges kisses and hugs with Hlavin's wife Martha, and their hospice nurse Linda before sitting down next to Hlavin.

"So um, how much are you hurting today?" Daly asks.

Hlavin answers slowly, haltingly. His wife answers for him whenever a pause goes on too long.

Real pain

As recently as a few weeks ago, Hlavin was going to church on Sundays and he even managed to vote in November's election. But lately he needs more pain medication. His steps are getting smaller. He swallows his pills with applesauce and he has a hard time releasing the bottle of water in his left hand after taking a drink, his wife explains.

"I have difficulty expressing myself sometimes," Hlavin says, then sighs. "It's a real pain. You want to say something and you're..." he stops.

"You can't find the word?" Martha asks.

"Yeah," he says.

Daly writes a new prescription and advises Martha and Linda of some slight changes to his drug regimen which includes morphine, methadone, and a steroid. After nearly an hour and half, she leaves.

Though there were no tears on this visit, it was clear to Daly that Hlavin's condition has declined since her last visit two months earlier. A single event – an infection, or a fall, or a pill that gets stuck in his airway – could take him at any time, she says.

"I think that to do this work well, you really have to be engaged with your patient," Daly says on the drive home. "The risk is, you get really engaged with your patient."

'They eased my fears of death'

Those who choose this line of work see it as a calling, even if they are not religious people. Like Daly, they see a need for helping people in the gap that exists between accepting that a condition is terminal and coping with the pain that follows. They are doctors whose mission is to care, not cure.

But they also face stress and depression, and some areas of the field including home care aides and social workers, can see high turnover rates.

"Burnout is a common problem because it is very, very stressful," said Andrew Putnam, a palliative care expert at Georgetown University.

Capital Hospice, a 15-bed inpatient facility outside Washington, hosts weekly bereavement sessions so that staff, clergy and volunteers can have a safe place to share their grief.

"It's not an easy job but it's one that has meaning," explains supervising nurse Stacey Ishag, who has worked at Capital Hospice for 11 years.

Ishag left work as a cancer nurse more than a decade ago, after she could no longer bear to see people suffer and waste away from the ravages of chemotherapy.

"I felt like I was causing them harm," Ishag says. "I had some counselling and people explained to me that is was their choice." But soon afterward she decided to do hospice work full time.

"I had to say goodbye to the chemo," she says.

But even in hospice, there were moments when she admits the exposure to dying became almost too much, including one year early in her career when she bore witness to 400 deaths.

"It really hit me then," says Ishag. She began keeping a journal which helped her realise she was learning something from her patients.

"They have actually eased my fears about death," she says.

"Number one, that we don't have to suffer. Our end of life can be dignified. We have medications. Our end of life can be managed for our own comfort.

"Also I think a big part for me is seeing what's important in life – it's not what's ahead, the unknown, but mending relationships here, trying to right some of the wrongs."

A recent study of palliative and hospice care professionals in Canada found that constant exposure to dying actually had a positive effect on their outlook.

"Although Western society has been described as a death-denying culture, the participants felt that their frequent exposure to death and dying was largely positive, fostering meaning in the present and curiosity about the continuity of life," writes Shane Sinclair of the University of Manitoba.

For her part, Daly admits that her toughest times have been when treating patients her own age. It can easily become too personal.

She says there have been times when she has had to "abruptly" take a day or two off, and that her employers have always been supportive of those requests.

She is grateful that her husband, a software engineer, does not work in the same profession. And she moonlights as a fitness instructor, teaching combat and kickboxing at a gym where no one knows her day job.

"Use your arms, they're not permanent!" she shouts to the class, half-wondering if they find her a bit odd. "Feel how your body feels right now!" she cries. "This is what it feels like to be alive!"

- AFP

(MOVIE REVIEW: The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader) You know you are in a tight spot when you watch a lion who talks, a rat who tattles and a minotaur who shouts.

That could only mean you are not familiar with CS Lewis’ bestselling books entitled The Chronicles of Narnia which have sold 100 million copies and translated into 47 languages.

This is the third instalment of a series of seven Narnia books written by Lewis. The cinema has already played host to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) and Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (2008).

With the latest Narnia tale which was written in 1952, the chronicles are almost midway through the entire seven series.

I readily admit I have not seen the first two Narnia movies. My only encounter with CS Lewis is The Screwtape Letters which I thought was magnificent.

In my mitigation, I realise a little too late that The Chronicles of Narnia was originally written for children. I had preferred the company of DC and Marvel Comics, or sometimes Beano and Dandy Comics, in my early years.

Nevertheless, Voyage of the Dawn Treader does not alter that fact that it is an immensely entertaining show, one which will thrill children of all ages, including those past the age of 40.

The story continues where the second show ended – Edmund and Lucy Pevensie unexpectedly fall into the path of Prince Caspian’s ship, The Dawn Treader. How does all this happen can only be explained by the waters that pour out of a painting on the wall.

Obnoxious cousin

In the confusion, their obnoxious cousin Eustace Clarence Scrubb got sucked into the stormy sea as well. Initially Eustace proved to be quite a pain in the neck but later he redeemed himself.

As this is a children’s classic born of Lewis’ fertile imagination, there will be a giant sea serpent, a dragon, warriors and ethereal spirits that will accompany you on this journey of fantasy.

The climax of the latest chronicle is when the swords of the seven lords come together on the Table of Aslan, thereby breaking the evil spell that grips the destiny of the Narnia people.

In this age of science, nothing is really impossible, so be prepared for your wildest imaginings coming true. But it is great fun.

I haven’t enjoyed watching a children’s movie for so long. There was a time when Jason and the Argonauts (1963) was the ultimate for my friends and I. Today, The Chronicles of Narnia movies make that look like school canteen stuff.

What powers this movie and its two predecessors is the scholarly eloquence of CS Lewis, an Oxford academician and a child of the late 19th century.

Like his contemporary JRR Tolkien of the Lord of the Rings fame,Lewis left an indelible mark on mankind with his remarkable contributions to the world of literature.

Younger audience

Without diminishing the acting talents of its young cast like Georgie Henley (Lucy Pevensie), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Will Poulter (Eustace Scrubb), the Voyage of the Dawn Treader is very much on the scale of the Pirates of the Caribbean except it is specifically aimed at a younger audience.

What else can you say about a Lion called Aslan that expounds wisdom on the edge of a roaring sea like Moses preaching from Mount Sinai.

But to understand where all this is leading to or what it came from, it is required of the interested viewer to plough into The Chronicles of Narnia books.

There is something about the Narnia adventures that touch the child in all of us. Perhaps it could be our unspoken and undying desire to venture beyond our front doors and plunge into the uncharted waters of our imagination, and then swimming relentlessly towards that alluring shining light.

This movie has loads of those qualities. These are the cinematic jewels that bring forth the gleeful looks and delightful smiles on children’s faces.

Maybe it is too late for some of us to return to those carefree childhood years, but Hollywood has at least made it possible for us to relive a couple of hours of those magical moments when the present is forgotten and everything wonderful is right before our eyes.

Only our hearts will know the unbridled joy that embraces every child when the beautiful merges with the joyful that runs hand in hand with the miraculous.

Give your children and yourself a treat. This is a movie specially scripted, directed and engineered for the family.

On the Food Trail with Tiberius Kerk

SHAH Alam is not exactly famous for its great cuisine but sometimes when the hunger pangs strike, satisfaction may emerge from just around the corner.

The roads are long, wide and not-so-winding in Shah Alam. Even with a GPS, one can get lost sometimes. One wrong turn, and the driver is four kilometres off his target destination.

A short exploration led me to I-City in Shah Alam where I had some business to attend to. I-City is a relatively new township. On a lonely night, you might get scared, especially if you are a single woman driving a Kancil.

But it was just me, semi-tough guy, in broad light looking for “makan” at about 2pm. Peeping out from a row of new shophouses was Restoran Penang, with a small word “Gulai” beneath it.

My Penang radar was switched on immediately. There’s nothing like a bit of the old hometown cuisine. Parking bays aplenty, after all it is a new township, at least to me.

The restaurant was relatively new. It was opened on Oct 11, last year. Even the tables and chairs look quite new. One quick glance at its interior indicated that its clientele were mainly office workers who probably had offices nearby.

On being shown the menu, I quickly jabbed my finger at the various items. Before I knew it, I had ordered a plate of La-La, Hokkien char and fried rice. My lunch partner was a small eater but I was just plain greedy.

Cosy décor

The La-La was an afterthought because it reminded me of home and the sea. Since there were only two of us, three dishes were more than adequate.

The décor was cosy and it had an ambience that shows good taste on the part of its owners.

When the Hokkien char (fat noodles) came, it was visually appetising. One mouthful later, I could tell it wasn’t the kind I was familiar with. A street hawker selling this stuff in Kimberly Street, Penang, would go bankrupt in no time.

In other words, the Nyonya touch was missing. The taste wasn’t that far off but it wasn’t on the bull’s eye. Penangites are quite fastidious when it comes to food.

We are inclined to remember our old aunties, our mothers and may be even an old uncle who is great in the kitchen.

Anyway, there was a small plate of belacan to jumpstart some memories of George Town. As for the fried rice, it wasn’t five-star material but it was good enough to earn a slow smile. May be I was a

bit too hungry.

The La-La dish was close to satisfactory. It looks nice and well done. Both of us really didn’t have any major complaints. The air-conditioned atmosphere was turning the hot work dishes cold with the passing minutes.

Friendly atmosphere

So we ate pretty fast. Growing up where I used to in the company of quick eaters, it was detrimental to one’s stomach if one’s chopsticks were slow to reach the desired dish.

I was impressed with Restoran Penang for its friendly atmosphere. The chef still has a lot to learn but Shah Alam is not exactly swarming with former residents of Penang, so it is in no immediate

danger of being closely scrutinised by hardcore Penangites.

Even if the Penang dishes were not exactly like those in the back alleys of Penang, they were sumptuous enough to elicit a look of satisfaction or two.

Out there in the sparse and lonely landscape where food is not top priority, coming across a restaurant with a familiar name is godsend.

Sometimes, a wandering motorist must lower his standards in order to eat and survive, so that there will be greater and more wonderful restaurants down that long and winding road.

FEATURE TOKYO: East Asia's booming economies have for years been the envy of the world, but a shortfall in one crucial area – babies – threatens to render yesterday's tigers toothless.

Some of the world's lowest birth rates look set to slash labour forces in Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, where fewer workers will support more retirees and their ballooning health care and pension costs.

Shuffling along in the vanguard of ageing Asia is Japan, whose population started slowly shrinking three years ago, and where almost a quarter of people are over 65 while children make up just 13%.

On current trends, Japan's population of 127 million will by 2055 shrivel to 90 million, its level when it kicked off its post-war boom in 1955, warns the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.

Asian population giant China may still be near its prime, with armies of young rural workers flocking to its factories. But, thanks to the 30-year-old one-child policy, its demographic timebomb is also ticking.

"Over the past 50 years, economic and social modernisation in Asia has been accompanied by a remarkable drop in birth rates," the Hawaii-based think-tank the East-West Centre says in a new research paper.

"Gains in education, employment and living standards, combined with dramatic breakthroughs in health and family-planning technology, have led to lower fertility in every country of the region."

Falling fertility rates are a common trend for societies as they grow richer, and many European nations are also below the level needed to keep a population stable – about 2.1 children per woman over her lifetime.

While in traditional rural societies children tend to take over the farm and care for their elderly parents, in modern, urban societies, many couples, with better access to birth control, see offspring as an unaffordable luxury.

China now has 1.6 births per woman, Singapore has 1.2 and South Korea has slightly fewer than 1.1. Taiwan has just 1.03 births per woman.

Brainy offspring

One way to counter declining populations is to allow more immigration – but governments from Singapore to Tokyo have been reluctant to do so.

At the same time Singaporeans, who have turned their city-state into an Asian hub of commerce and service industries, have long been famously disinclined to procreate.

The government has for years put on match-making events for university graduates on the assumption that Singapore's best and brightest could be coaxed into producing a generation of brainy offspring.

While that model in social engineering has failed to bring a baby boom, bureaucrats across the region have sought to tweak policies and tax codes to get more couples in the mood, but seldom with great success.

At the core of the problem, say analysts, have been gender attitudes steeped in Confucian traditions – with men still expecting their wives to handle the childcare and household chores that may not top a modern woman's wishlist.

Kim Hye-Young, researcher at the Korea Women's Development Institute, said: "The big problem is that South Korean women, compared to men, have too much to lose when getting married in this system.

"This reality makes marriage, let alone having a child, look like a very unattractive option in South Korea, perhaps far more so than in other countries," she said.

In Japan, where women remain woefully under-represented in corporate boardrooms, falling pregnant still all too often spells career death.

"Women are voting with their wombs, refraining from having children because the opportunity costs are so high and rigid employment policies make many of them choose between raising a family or pursuing a career," writes Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo.

Other factors also play a role, he writes in a new book on contemporary Japan: many young people – unlike their jobs-for-life fathers – now skip between temporary jobs and lack the financial security to start a family.

Greying society

Compounding the geriatric trend in Japan are long life expectancies – a world-record 86.44 years for women and 79.59 years for men.

This means the social welfare burden is growing for a government that already has a debt-to-GDP ration nearing 200%, the rich world's highest.

The centre-left government in power since last year has introduced family friendly policies, from child payments to free school tuition, to ease the burden on parents struggling to raise kids in their cramped apartments.

High-tech Japan has also built robots to help with elderly care, while electronics giants have tapped a huge market for elderly-friendly gadgets, such as mobile phones with extra-large displays and buttons.

In the long run, Japan needs to take fundamental steps to deal with the growing strain of a greying society, warns ratings agency Standard and Poor's.

"Barring structural changes in old-age related government spending, a rapidly greying society will lift expenditures," it warns. "This, in turn, threatens to weaken the sovereign ratings on Japan in the long term."

Polls in Asia indicate that most people are aware of the threat that silent playgrounds and empty classrooms spell for their greying societies, but remain unlikely to rush to their bedrooms to help avert societal doom.

In Taiwan, a survey of childless workers last month found that 87% thought the declining birth rate was a serious problem, and two thirds worried the result would be a society unable to look after its elderly.

Still, few said they would start making babies to save their island, according to the survey by human resources service 104 Job Bank. Almost two thirds said they did not intend to have any children in future.

The East-West Centre paper concluded that it "seems likely that fertility in East Asian societies will remain low – at least for the foreseeable future – as women make difficult choices between careers and motherhood."

- AFP

FEATURE HONG KONG: Hong Kong is an unlikely home for Santa Claus, with its sub-tropical climate and status as an autonomous region within communist China.

But the former British colony not only celebrates Christmas – its famous skyscrapers awash in festive lights – it is one of the few places in Asia where children who send letters to Santa get a response.

Every year, Hong Kong Post puts a rotating team of about 10 letter sorters on the task, penning personalised replies from Old Saint Nick to the 4,000-odd letters received in English and Chinese.

"Of course, we put mail processing as a priority, but after (letter sorters) are finished regular work, they try to find time to write letters to kids," spokeswoman Mary Chung said of the group who are hand-picked by superiors.

"It's sort of a like a special mission for the letter writers. Sometimes they feel an interaction with the children and they imagine how happy the kids will be when they get a response."

Most kids tell Santa about their toy wish list, which puts Hong Kong's postal agency in a key position to figure out what gifts are a big hit in any particular year, Chung said.

"So if dinosaurs are really popular, then our staff will draw a dinosaur on the card," she added.

Hong Kong's ties to Santa aren't just about decorations in retail stores, or shapely women in tight Santa skirts and black heels hawking gym memberships to commuters as the big day approaches.

Last year, Hong Konger Jimmy Chan beat rivals from around the globe to become the World's Best Santa in an annual competition in northern Sweden.

Cornucopia of toys

But Santa's ghost writers in the teeming city of seven million don't make any guarantees, especially since some wish lists call for a cornucopia of toys.

"We only write one or two lines. We say we hope your wish comes true, but we don't make any promises," Chung said.

Some letters ask about Santa's wife while others can be heart-wrenching, such as the one from a boy whose wish was to have one day with his deceased father.

"It was very touching," Chung said.

Hong Kong Post designs its own cards for the annual campaign, while letters addressed to Santa in other parts of the world are passed along to postal agencies in those countries.

Singapore Post re-directs all mail addressed to Santa Claus to a post office address in Finland.

"This year, we have about 340 letters from the kids" as of last Friday, a spokeswoman told AFP, adding that Santa replies to "about six percent" of his mail.

The letters are forwarded to "Santa Claus main post office" -- run by Finnish national post office Itella.

Britain's Royal Mail runs a letter-writing service for mail sent to Santa in "Reindeerland", while Canada Post said it receives letters from more than one million kids, with 11,000 current and retired employees helping to pen replies.

- AFP

FEATURE PARIS: Sink back into a leather armchair and let the grey plumes curl up to the ceiling: tobacco may be banned from bars and clubs across Western cities, but the gentleman's smoking lounge is making a comeback.

Even as Spain prepares to ring in the New Year with a smoking ban in bars, renegade nightspots in Paris and Berlin are bucking the European trend, opening designer smoking rooms, complete with pianos, pool tables and cigar lockers.

Since the French capital outlawed smoking in bars and clubs three years ago, sending hordes of punters onto the sidewalk to smoke and chat, the city has seen a surge in lawsuits pitting clubs and bars against their sleepless neighbours.

So it's hardly surprising that high-end Paris clubs are now spearheading the smoking lounge revival.

In the heart of the Latin Quarter on Paris' Left Bank, Castel – a private club founded in 1958 which has hosted the likes of Mick Jagger or Romy Schneider – just opened one as part of a top-to-bottom makeover.

Nestled just off the dance floor downstairs, Castel's smoking room boasts a grand piano that the chain-smoking chanteur Serge Gainsbourg used to play, under black-and-white shots of famous smokers – all still living of course.

Stylish as it may be, Xavier Brunet, the club's head of public relations, says the smoking room is not intended as an attraction.

"We're not here to encourage people to smoke," Brunet said. "It's just to do people a favour."

French law still allows indoor smoking spaces provided they have state-of-the-art ventilation and that no staff operate inside.

Elegant atmosphere

For Castel the room is simply a way to spare its members-only film, fashion and finance world clientele the indignity of huddling outdoors on the sidewalk – and to keep on good terms with the neighbours.

"We don't want people spending hours in here with their drinks. And we don't play music in here – although people are free to sit at the piano," Brunet said.

For that reason the atmosphere is designed to be elegant – but not too comfortable, with just two leather seats embedded in the wall that are clearly intended to perch on, not doze off in.

Over the River Seine at the Royal Monceau luxury hotel, the owners have no such qualms.

Top designer Philippe Starck has created an old-style cigar bar dubbed "La Fumee Rouge" (The Red Smoke), which opens in January as part of a revamp of the 80-year-old hotel off the Champs Elysees.

Patrons are invited to pick an after-dinner liqueur from a trolley at the entrance and curl up with a paper and a Havana – humble cigarettes not welcome here – which regulars can stow for safekeeping in a private locker on site.

The Royal Monceau describes the 12-seater, red-lit bar as "a radical act".

While the modern-day smoking lounge caters to both men and women, the creators clearly have a masculine universe in mind.

The Royal Monceau, for example, says Starck aimed to recreate "the private clubs where men liked to gather in small, intimate groups, to read the papers and exchange views on the world”.

Zesty decor

Other Paris smoker havens include the Cafe Germain, which has a smoking salon complete with pool table and a giant yellow sculpture of a woman – part of a zesty pop decor unveiled by Iranian designer India Mahdavi last year.

Trendy electro club Le Pompon has a neo-kitsch basement smoking room complete with Liberty-print wallpaper, while punters at the Cubana Cafe can carry their mojito through to a leather armchair in the smoking salon next door.

Like Paris, Berlin has banned smoking in larger bars that serve food since 2008, but still allows patrons to puff away in separate rooms that often cater to a well-heeled crowd.

On the Ku'damm, for instance, Berlin's answer to the Champs Elysees, the Times Bar at the Savoy Hotel has a smokers' lounge complete with wood-panelled walls and deep leather chairs.

Upscale eateries also have smoking lounges, like the Grill Royal, where big business honchos and the likes of Oliver Stone dine when in town, featuring a picture of a young, topless Jane Birkin.

The Newton Bar, an upmarket cocktail joint on Berlin's elegant Gendarmenmarkt square with black-and-white Helmut Newton signature nudes on the walls, has had one since opening in 1998.

Responding to "strong demand", the bar opened a new room, the "Havana Smokers' Lounge", in February this year, and also has a walk-in humidor where visitors can buy and store cigars.

"It doesn't scare anyone off. If you don't smoke you can stay downstairs in the normal Newton bar," a spokeswoman said.

"There are still lots of cigar lovers around and I think that if you want to combine that with a nice drink, they will seek out places where they can celebrate that."

- AFP

The filmmaker – known for martial arts blockbuster "Hero" and for directing the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics – made the announcement at a press conference here yesterday.

"I was impressed with Bale's versatility and professionalism," Zhang said, according to the China Daily.

"I believe, by his performance, the film will reach a global audience who will learn more about what happened that year in China."

In late 1937, Nanjing – then the country's capital – fell to the Japanese army. China says 300,000 people were killed in an orgy of murder, rape and destruction, and the incident has haunted Sino-Japanese relations.

Some conservative historians in Japan dispute the number killed.

Bale, the 36-year-old Welsh-born star of "The Dark Knight" and "Batman Begins", first earned international attention at the age of 13 for his role in Steven Spielberg's World War II epic "Empire of the Sun", set in Shanghai.

In Zhang's film, tentatively titled "Nanjing Heroes" and based on a novel by Yan Geling, Bale will play an American priest who shelters 13 prostitutes and female students at a Nanjing church as Japanese troops pillage the city.

The plot echoes the real-life story of John Magee, a Christian missionary who helped rescue thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians, and recorded some of the atrocities on film.

Producer Zhang Weiping would not reveal how much Bale was being paid to star in the film, which has a production budget of 600 million yuan (US$90 million).

Zhang also did not reveal the name of Bale's female co-star, but said she spoke fluent English and would appear with Bale in several scenes.

The Chinese movie industry is protected by a system that only allows around 20 foreign films to be screened a year, allowing homegrown directors to create Hollywood-style blockbusters without the threat of major overseas competition.

So far, the highest-grossing domestic production is "Aftershock", about survivors of the Tangshan earthquake which killed at least 240,000 people in 1976. The film raked in 600 million yuan this year, according to state media.

Officials predict box office receipts in China will reach 10 billion yuan for all of 2010, compared to less than one billion yuan in 2003.

- AFP

FEATURE BEIT SHABAB: Bechara was only 19 when, fighting for one of Lebanon's many militias during the 1975-1990 civil war, he was wounded in battle as a bullet lodged itself in his spine.

Thirty-four years later, from his wheelchair, he is crafting Christmas gifts for children across his native Lebanon, a still-divided country that risks sliding back into chaos at any moment.

"My biggest hope is that Lebanon will no longer know war," said the 53-year-old from his work station at the Lebanese Institute for the Disabled, where he paints mistletoes and pictures of Saint Nicholas onto tablecloths.

The institute, located in the charming mountain village of Beit Shabab some 24km (15 miles) east of Beirut, has given Bechara and dozens others the chance to rebuild their lives after the bloody 15-year civil war, which left more than 150,000 dead and thousands missing and maimed.

The war, which initially pitted leftist and Palestinian factions against rightwing Christians, quickly escalated into a free-for-all sectarian bloodbath.

But two decades after the end of the conflict, tensions again grip the tiny Mediterranean country as the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), tasked with investigating the 2005 murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, is reportedly ready to implicate the powerful Hezbollah in the assassination.

The STL has been at the centre of a political face-off between Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of Rafiq, and pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which has launched an increasingly heated campaign to fend off any such accusations.

Little happiness

And while tensions grip Lebanon this holiday season, Bechara, who asked that his family name not be used, for his part is hoping that his craftsmanship will bring a little happiness to the Lebanese.

"Art has given me the strength to continue living, to fight in another way," Bechara, who learned to paint in his hospital bed, said.

Bechara and 14 other disabled persons working at the Beit Shabab centre live in a hostel next to the institute.

One, who gave his name only as Jihad, also received a bullet wound to his spine in 1985 while fighting what he says were his "Muslim enemies."

From his wheelchair, he is carving candles shaped like doves to adorn dinner tables around the country this Christmas.

"Crafts have become my weapon," said the gaunt 40-year-old. "Being a craftsman has given me a role to replace the one that I played in combat.

"I do not believe in violence, and I have been trying to compensate through my work those things that I missed out on in life."

Sentimental work

The veterans of Beit Shabab are having a good season this year, and sometimes craft up to 100 pieces each a day, which sell for between US$20 and US$100 dollars per item.

Their work is on display at Christmas exhibitions across Lebanon and has also featured in fairs in Toronto, as demand for the sentimental work continues to rise.

And in turbulent Lebanon, demand for the little dove-shaped candles, a message of peace, is highest, says Jihad.

'Violence leads to nothing'

Abdo, who has also been bound to his wheelchair since 1983, for his part makes and paints porcelain coffee cups and plates.

"I thought I would die in the four or five months after I was wounded," the 46-year-old said, also requesting that his family name not be used.

"But here, I discovered that life was still worth living."

Marie Khoury, another former combatant who was in charge of a communication centre, looks much older than her 44 years.

And while the paraplegic can barely move her hands, she nonetheless manages to display her paintings of landscapes and gardens with pride.

"It has taught me to dream, taken my mind away from politics and war," she said.

"Violence leads to nothing."

- AFP

FOCUS MUMBAI: India's animators are hoping that a film starring two of Bollywood's biggest stars will revive the sector's fortunes, after earlier efforts to popularise the cartoon genre fell flat.

Ajay Devgn and his wife Kajol appear in "Toonpur Ka Superrhero" (Toontown Superhero), whose combination of real-life actors and cartoon characters recalls the Oscar-winning film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" from 1988.

Box office success for the film, which is released tomorrow, Christmas Eve, could spur more studios to finance home-grown animation projects, analysts say.

"The coming of mainstream actors in Bollywood is a big boost to the industry," said Andrew Gonsalves, from Animation Reporter magazine. "This will help the industry a big way as more projects will now take off."

Indian-made animation feature films were touted as the next big thing in 2005, as studios looked to utilise a vast pool of technical talent in animation and gaming that was increasingly being used by foreign filmmakers.

The success of the small budget film "Hanuman", based on the mischievous Hindu monkey god of the same name, showed the possibilities for the sector and a follow-up was announced.

"Hanuman 2" was released in late 2008 around the same time as US studio giant Disney made its first full-length animation feature using Bollywood stars, "Roadside Romeo".

But both did badly and the following months saw major projects put on ice as the global economic downturn took hold and Indian studios wary of financing further flops shied away from investing.

Global consultancy firm Deloitte said last month that India's animation and gaming sector was worth US$750 million last year and could be worth US$2.5 billion by 2013.

In Hollywood, animated films can cost US$80-US$120 million but "Toonpur" director Kireet Khurana said his film – India's first 3D "animation combination" feature – was made for a 10th of the cost.

"It's tough to get someone to finance an animation project in India. People are still wary of box office results," Khurana told the Indian Express newspaper.

Past failures

Devgn, who starred in the 1970s underworld thriller "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" earlier this year, said he was not deterred by past failures.

In "Toonpur", he and Kajol, who was in the Shah Rukh Khan blockbuster "My Name Is Khan", appear alongside a cast of animated characters and cartoon extras.

Devgn plays a Bollywood action hero who wants to be a real-life hero to his children, whom he rarely sees because of work commitments.

He somehow ends up in Toonpur, where his children's favourite cartoon characters live, and finds himself in the middle of a battle between good characters and bad ones.

"I only did the film because I loved the script," he told reporters recently. "It was difficult to act when there were no real actors around me. It was a challenge.

"Initially, I too wondered what I was doing but I was very satisfied when I saw the final product."

Disney, whose Pixar Animation Studio arm has produced hits like "WALL-E", "Ratatouille", "The Incredibles" and Finding Nemo", began operations in India in 2004.

It has since secured a foothold in the cable television sector, mainly through its children's outlets like the Disney Channel, Hungama TV and Jetix, and is moving into producing indigenous content in India's south.

But Animation Reporter's Gonsalves said Indian audiences had yet to see the genre as entertainment for all ages.

"I think that perception will change in India, too, after these big Bollywood stars start doing animation films and 'Toonpur' is the first film that will make an effect for change," he added.

- AFP

She said: “My kids have never seen me in anything.

"I mean, they know I work but they think I do singing, which is hilarious. They probably saw me for a year practising my guitar and singing and they think that's my job.”

Paltrow also admitted she had never heard of musical TV drama “Glee” until she was offered a guest role as substitute teacher Holly Holiday – which she is due to reprise next year – but quickly got “obsessed” with the show.

She admitted in an interview with The Sun newspaper: "I was like, 'What is ‘Glee’?' I live in a cave, and my brother was like, 'You have to do it. It's this amazing show.'

"So then I started watching it and I got totally obsessed with it, to the point where I got on set and I was kind of star-struck."

Paltrow – who lives with her family in London – has also credited her down-to-earth children with keeping her grounded.

She explained: “Real life is when your kid is at the table making a joke about their butt and you're laughing – that's the best thing about life, that human interaction and connection.”

Meester turns away from drugs

LEIGHTON Meester, the 24-year-old actress who plays a beauty queen-turned-musician alongside a recovering addict singer portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow in “Country Strong”, believes the support of her family and her strong commitment to her career will help her stay on the right path.

She explained: “I think the main problem with somebody who would have so many issues is that they don’t have love in their life, and I feel like working to me is important. I want to make my family proud and I love my family. That’s what gives me the strength to do it.

“I think that part of not having love, you kind of fulfil that with drugs or alcohol or any kind of addictive or abusive substance or relationship, and it will ruin you. I guess that the lesson is just ‘Don’t do drugs, just say no.’ ”

Meester – who is best known for portraying Blair Waldorf in US TV drama series “Gossip Girl” – would love to have someone to share her days with and doesn’t think she would ever have to sacrifice her career for the sake of her personal life.

She added to website JustJared.com: “In my eyes I don’t think you need to choose between love and success. I haven’t had to question that. I’ve just been working and not bothering with wondering if I need to choose. I love love and I think eventually I would like to have some, I welcome it.”

Moss moving from her 'jinxed' London house

MODEL Kate Moss has spent 7.5 million pounbds on a seven-bedroom new house in the Highgate area in London after a run of bad luck at her old home in nearby St John’s Wood.

A source said: “Kate spent big money giving her old place a makeover after it was burgled, then flooded.

"But she still never quite felt at home there and called it her 'jinxed house'.”

Moss – who lives with her partner Jamie Hince and her eight-year-old daughter Lila – was encouraged to move to the area by Jude Law and Sienna Miller, who moved there from north London’s Primrose Hill, which was previously infamous as one of the favourite haunts of the supermodel and her friends.

The source added to The Sun newspaper: “Jude and Sienna have been talking up Highgate and encouraged her to move to the area.

"They have described it as the new Primrose Hill."

Moss’ old house is currently on the market for 10 million pounds, which would be a 2 million pound profit on what she paid for it in 2007.

It has also been reported she and Jamie have been looking at buying a seaside property in Britain with a view to turning it into a luxury guesthouse for their friends, and have checked out places in Cornwall and Devon on the country’s South West Coast.

Moss also owns a rural home in the Cotswolds, which is in England’s midlands.

Hudgens on good terms with ex-boyfriend

VANESSA Hudgen, the 22-year-old actress whose four-year relationship with her “High School Musical” co-star recently came to an end, insists things are amicable between her and Zac Efron and insists 2010 has been a "good year" for her.

The pretty brunette – who has two films, “Beastly” and “Sucker Punch”, coming out next year, said: "We're good. [It was a] good year.

"I worked a lot in 2009. I did two movies back to back, so this year I just hung out, took it easy, did a play which was a lot of fun, did a movie and now the year is coming to an end before I know it."

However, in 2011 Hudgen – who will also be starring in “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” next year – will be working harder than ever.

Speaking as she celebrated her 22nd birthday on Dec 18 at Las Vegas' Pure Nightclub with friends Ashley Tisdale and Brittany Snow, she added to People: "It's going to be a very, very busy year. I have three movies coming out in the next year, so I'm excited to see what the future is going to hold."

Beckham has got a new tattoo

SOCCER ace David Beckham, 35, who already has around 20 etchings, got the inking on his chest before flying to the UK to receive a Lifetime Achievement honour at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards on Dec 19.

The hunky sportsman posted a photo on his Facebook page of himself bare-chested and getting the tattoo in Los Angeles, and explained the intricate body art took six hours to complete by tattooist to the stars Mark Mahoney.

Beckham wrote: "I want to let you all in on something. Just had a new tattoo done by the legendary Mark Mahoney. Took six hours!"

The Los Angeles Galaxy player – who attended the sports ceremony in Birmingham with his wife Victoria and their three sons, Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, eight, and five-year-old Cruz – was presented with his award by Manchester United soccer legend Sir Bobby Charlton, 73.

After receiving a three-minute-long standing ovation, Beckham – who captained England, and won soccer championships with Manchester United and Real Madrid – dedicated his prize to his wife and children, saying: “Not only has she given me three amazing boys but she’s truly an inspiration for me every day. So Victoria, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, thank you.”

Victoria – who cried in the audience as her husband accepted his statuette – described the reception as "breathtaking" and spoke of her pride for Beckham and their sons.

Writing on twitter, she said: "Words can't express how proud I am of David. A truly wonderful and very emotional evening. I'm so proud of my little men too!!!

"Thank u all so much for your kind words to David! The reception tonight was breath taking and I am so, so proud of him!!

"I couldn't sleep!!!!! so excited, happy and proud of David!!!! (sic)"

- BANG Media International