Ferrucio Lamborghini: the Story of How a Tractor Maker 

Decided to Go Against Ferrari 

 (Ferrucio Lamborghini & Enzo Ferrari)

Lamborghini-Aventador with Ferrari-LaFerrari

Not many people know that the car-making company Lamborghini started out as a tractor-manufacturing company. The reason for the shift from farm vehicles to super cars would be because of a feud against Enzo Ferrari – who obviously owns the Italian high-end sports car manufacturing company Ferrari.

Ferrucio Lamborghini was a simple man born into a family who farmed grapes for a living. His mechanical knowledge and interest eventually lead him to enter the business of making tractors. During World War II, most of Italy’s industrial output would be related to war needs thus neglecting other needs like agricultural equipment. This is why after the war and due to post-war reform initiatives, his tractor manufacturing became very popular and lucrative. So business was doing well for Ferrucio, after some years he even started other companies that manufactured oil heaters and air conditioners. 

And so he buys a Ferrari, being that he loves tinkering with cars and Ferrari is a prestigious car brand affordable only to the successful and powerful. He travelled all the way to Maranello to purchase a Ferrari 250GT. After owning it for some time, he then noticed that it had an inferior clutch that would always break and would force him to bring the car all the way back to Maranello over and over. He brings up the complaint all the way to the owner, Enzo Ferrari, and argued to him that his tractors had better clutches than Ferrari cars. Pride-filled Enzo Ferrari shrugged off his complaint thinking that a mere farmer had nothing against the prestige and pedigree of his Ferrari cars. This is what pushed Ferrucio Lamborghini into the business of automobiles.
Being that Ferrucio Lamborghini was a clever entrepreneur, he knew exactly how he could sell and make profit out of his automobiles and be competitive against his already established opponent Enzo Ferrari. His mechanical know-how gave him the idea of exactly what Ferrari cars are lacking – ride quality, better interior, and high performance without compromising tractability. And the interesting part is, most of the components used in his Lamborghini cars would be the same as those used in his tractors. Today, Lamborghini is a very competitive car-making company that is just as popular as Ferrari. They are producing very stylish cars with very powerful performance. And so the lesson of the story is to never underestimate anyone. If only Enzo Ferrari lowered his pride, his company wouldn’t have to deal with what is now a very significant competition

Mussyazmeer Azizi Bin Mustaffa Azizi 

Saiful Akmal Bin Mohd. Ismail

Mohd. Fazli Bin Paiman

The Lost Continent of Kumari Kandam

Most people are familiar with the story of Atlantis, the legendary sunken city as described by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Till this day, opinion is still divided as to whether this story should be understood literally or taken merely as a morality tale. Further east in the subcontinent of India is a similar tale, though it probably is less well known compared to that of Atlantis. This is the ‘lost continent’ of Lemuria, frequently connected to the legend of Kumari Kandam by speakers of the Tamil language.

The term Lemuria has its origins in the latter part of the 19th century. The English geologist Philip Sclater was puzzled by the presence of lemur fossils in Madagascar and India but not in mainland Africa and the Middle East. Thus, in his 1864 article entitled ‘The Mammals of Madagascar’, Sclater proposed that Madagascar and India were once part of a larger continent, and named this missing landmass ‘Lemuria’. Sclater’s theory was accepted by the scientific community of that period as the explanation of the way lemurs could have migrated from Madagascar to India or vice versa in ancient times. With the emergence of the modern concepts of continental drift and plate tectonics, however, Sclater’s proposition of a submerged continent was no longer tenable. Yet, the idea of a lost continent refused to die, and some still believe that Lemuria was an actual continent that existed in the past.

One such group is the Tamil nationalists. The term Kumari Kandam first appeared in the 15th century Kanda Puranam, the Tamil version of the Skanda Puranam. Yet, stories about an ancient land submerged by the Indian Ocean have been recorded in many earlier Tamil literary works. According to the stories, there was a portion of land that was once ruled by the Pandiyan kings and was swallowed by the sea. When narratives about Lemuria arrived in colonial India, the country was going through a period when folklore was beginning to permeate historic knowledge as facts. As a result, Lemuria was quickly equated with Kumari Kandam.

                                                   

                                                     Bhagavata-Purana, 10th Skanda

The story of Kumari Kandam is not regarded as just a story, but seems to be laden with nationalistic sentiments. It has been claimed that the Pandiyan kings of Kumari Kandam were the rulers of the whole Indian continent, and that Tamil civilisation is the oldest civilisation in the world. When Kumari Kandam was submerged, its people spread across the world and founded various civilisations, hence the claim that the lost continent was also the cradle of human civilisation. 

An artist’s depiction of Kumari Kandam

 So, how much truth is there in the story of Kumari Kandam? According to researchers at India’s National Institute of Oceanography, the sea level was lower by 100 m about 14,500 years ago and by 60 m about 10,000 years ago. Hence, it is entirely possible that there was once a land bridge connecting the island of Sri Lanka to mainland India. As the rate of global warming increased between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, the rising sea levels resulted in periodic flooding. This would have submerged prehistoric settlements that were located around the low-lying coastal areas of India and Sri Lanka. Stories of these catastrophic events may have been transmitted orally from one generation to another and finally written down as the story of Kumari Kandam. One piece of evidence used to support the existence of Kumari Kandam is Adam’s Bridge (also called Rama’s Bridge), a chain of limestone shoals made up of sand, silt and small pebbles located in the Palk Strait extending 18 miles from mainland India to Sri Lanka.  This strip of land was once believed to be a natural formation, however, others argue that images taken by a NASA satellite depict this land formation to be a long broken bridge under the ocean's surface. 

The location of Adam's Bridge between India and Sri Lanka

 The existence of a bridge in this location is also supported by another ancient legend.  The Ramayana tells the tale of Sita, Rama’s wife, being held captive on the island of Lanka. Rama commissions a massive building project to construct a bridge to transport his army of Vanara (ape men) across the ocean to Lanka.  As with most so-called myths, it seems likely that there is at least some truth to the ancient Tamil legends of Kumari Kandam, but just how much, is yet to be determined. 

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CERITA LAWAK

Kisah Si Jojo & Jin.

Sewaktu berjalan-jalan di Pulau Pangkor, Jojo terjumpa sebuah teko berwarna perak terdampar di tepi pantai. Jojo pergi ke arah teko tersebut dan terus menggosok-gosok
teko tersebut lalu...PLING! Maka keluarlah seekor jin berperut buncit. Jin itu ketawa kahkahkah, sambil berkata "Wahai manusia, oleh kerana engkau telah menyelamatkan aku dari
dalam teko ini, aku benarkan kau membuat satu permintaan! Nescaya akan aku tunaikan!"
"Yakah?" jawab Jojo seolah tidak percaya kata-kata jin perut buncit tersebut.
"Adakah engkau tidak percaya kata-kataku wahai manusia?" tanya jin dengan nada marah.
"Bukan tak percaya. Sedangkan tadi aku yang selamatkan kau dari dalam teko, inikan pula kau nak tunaikan permintaan aku! jawab Jojo terus belalu pergi.


- Saiful Akmal
- Fazli Paiman
- Musyazmeer Azizi

World's Most Expensive Car (2014)

1.)Lamborghini Veneno Roadster

    Country of Origin: Italy

    Engine: 750-hp, 6.5-liter, 12-cylinder

    0-62 mph: 2.9 seconds

    Starting price: $4.5 million

    Lamborghini says it plans to build only nine copies of the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster in 2014.      Among many other innovations its lightweight body design makes extensive use of carbon fiber-        reinforced polymer. Top speed is 221 mph.

2.) Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse
Country of Origin: France
Engine: 1,200 hp, 8-liter, 16-cylinder
0-62 mph: 2.6 seconds
Starting price: $2.5 million
Bugatti says its current model is the “fastest production roadster in the world,” having been driven 255.5 mph in April 2013. Bugatti announced earlier this month, December 2013, it sold its 400th Veyron worldwide since its introduction in 2005. Only 50 are available out of a total planned production of 450.

3.)Koenigsegg Agera S
Country of Origin: Sweden
Engine: 1,030 hp, twin-turbo, 5.0-liter V-8
0-62 mph (that is, 100 km per hour): 2.9 seconds
Starting price: $1,520,000
Koenigsegg said it expects to ship its first Agera S to the United States this month, December 2013. The Agera S belongs to the exclusive 1,000-hp-plus club, with a twin-turbo V-8 that generates 1,030 hp. That flings the car from zero to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, or zero to around 188 mph in 22.7 seconds – that is, if you’re on a racetrack or if you own your own highway. If that’s not enough Koenigsegg has a new model called the One:1 in the prototype stage. According to press reports, it’s said to produce 1,400 hp and weigh around 1,400 kg. The name refers to the “1-to-1” power-to-weight ratio. It’s expected to sell for around $2,850,000.

4.)Hennessey Venom GT
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Engine: 1,244 hp, 7.0-liter, twin-turbo V-80-60 
mph: 2.7 seconds
Price: $1.2 million
Hennessey Performance, based in Sealy, Texas, says its Hennessey Venom GT set a Guinness World Book-record time of 13.63 seconds from zero to 300 kph, or 186 mph, in January 2013. The company said this month, December 2013, it had sold only 11 Venom GTs to clients around the world, including only five in the United States. The company plans to build a total of only 29 all told. The Hennessey Venom GT design is based on the Lotus Elise roadster and Exige coupe model. The Venom GT is created from a base Lotus Elise/Exige and utilizes components including but not limited to the roof, doors, side glass, windscreen, dash, cockpit, floorpan, HVAC system, wiper and head lamps. Hennessey Performance and the Venom GT are not associated with Lotus Cars.

5.)Porsche 918 Spyder

Country of Origin: Germany

Engine: 887 hp (total output), 4.6-liter V-8 with two electric motors

0-62 mph: 2.5 seconds

Starting price: $845,000

Besides the hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain, other innovations include rear-wheel steering, where the rear wheels adjust slightly in turns. It can go up to 19 miles on battery power alone. By itself, the V-8 gasoline engine produces 608 hp. Like many race cars, the Porsche 918 Spyder is largely built of lightweight but strong carbon fiber-reinforced polymer. The lightweight, even more racing-oriented Weissach Package of options boosts the sticker price to $929,000.

6.)Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Engine: 453-hp, 6.75-liter V-12

0-60 mph: 5.8 seconds

Starting price: $298,900 
The Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase model is about nine inches longer than the standard-wheelbase. That extra room is most noticeable in the back seat, where the owner presumably will spend a lot of his or her time being driven around. The brand image is old-fashioned but Rolls-Royce’s current cars have high-tech features like cameras at five locations to watch out for obstacles when parking, and to project the predicted path on a screen when reversing

7.)Ferrari F12berlinetta

Country of Origin: Italy

Engine: 740-hp, 6.3-liter, V-12

0-62 mph: 3.1 seconds

Starting price: $315,888 

The Ferrari F12berlinetta (that’s how Ferrari writes it, all one word) has a top speed of “over 211 mph,” the company said. Not only that, it reaches 125 mph in only 8.5 seconds. Ferrari says it has the fastest acceleration of any road-going Ferrari – as opposed to Ferrari race cars, which are confined to the track.

8.)Bentley Mulsanne
Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Engine: 505-hp, 6.75-liter, twin-turbo V-8
0-60 mph: 5.1 seconds
Starting price: $298,900 
Bentley calls the Bentley Mulsanne “the grandest of grand tourers.” The interior has features like wood veneers and leather upholstery made from “blemish-free” hides, from herds raised in cooler climates where there are fewer insects. Having said that, performance is pretty amazing, considering it weighs close to 6,000 pounds.

9.)Aston Martin Vanquish

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Engine: 565-hp, 6.0-liter V-12
0-62 mph (that is, 100 km per hour): 4.1 seconds
Starting price: $279,995
The Aston Martin Vanquish is a two-door hardtop coupe, which also comes as a convertible, called the Volante. It’s the first Aston Martin with lightweight but strong carbon-fiber body panels. Top speed is 183 mph. Aston Martin also offers a long list of personalized options like matching a favorite color to paint the exterior, or custom leather. Aston Martin calls the customized collection of options “Q by Aston Martin.” Aston Martin’s brand image is caught up with classic James Bond movies.

10.)Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG Coupe 

Country of Origin: Germany

Engine: 621-hp, 6.0-liter, bi-turbo V-12
0-60 mph: 4.2 seconds
Starting price: $215,500
The Mercedes-Benz AMG division used to be a separate company that souped up stock Mercedes-Benz models. Bigger, more powerful engines continue to be the heart and soul of the AMG treatment, even though the company became a wholly owned subsidiary years ago. The engine in the Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG Coupe is a handcrafted V-12. The AMG tradition is that the individual master craftsman who builds each engine puts his signature on it when he’s finished. That’s not to say the end product is some quaint relic. Top speed is 186 mph, not bad for a car that could be used as a family car, unlike a two-seat racecar.

source: www.forbes.com

prepared by: kosh & darylk17

 

EMINEM

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem and by his alter egoSlim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and actor. In addition to his solo career, Eminem is a member of the group D12, as well as one half of the hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil, alongside Royce da 5'9". Eminem is the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 82nd on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[3] The same magazine declared him The King of Hip Hop.^[4] Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has achieved ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200. Eminem has sold more than 155 million albums and singles, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. As of June 2014, he is the second best selling male artist of the Nielsen Soundscan era, the sixth best overall selling artist in the United States, and the best-selling hip-hop artist having sold 45,160,000 albums and 31 million digital singles

 After his debut album Infinite (1996), Eminem rose to mainstream popularity in 1999 with his second album The Slim Shady LP. The Slim Shady LP was a commercial success and earned the rapper his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. His next two releases, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002), were worldwide successes, each earning US Diamond certification in sales. Both albums also won the Best Rap Album Grammy Award, making Eminem the first artist to win such an award for three consecutive LPs. This was followed by Encore in 2004, another critical and commercial successful album. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He releasedRelapse in 2009 and Recovery in 2010, which was named the best-selling album of 2010 worldwide, becoming the rapper's second album, after The Eminem Show, to become the internationally best-selling album of its year. Eminem won Grammy Awards for both Relapse and Recovery, giving him a total of 13 Grammys in his career.^[8] His eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, was released in November 2013.

Eminem has opened other ventures, including his own record label Shady Records with his manager Paul Rosenberg. He also has his own radio channel, Shade 45 on Sirius XM Radio. In November 2002, Eminem starred in the hip hopdrama film 8 Mile. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the film's iconic song "Lose Yourself"

Although he typically collaborates with various rappers under Aftermath Entertainment and Shady Records, such as Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, D12, Obie Trice and also, Yelawolf, Eminem has collaborated with many other artists, including Redman, Kid Rock, DMX, Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Drake, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Xzibit,Method Man, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Sticky Fingaz, T.I., and Young Jeezy among others. Eminem rapped a verse in a live performance of Busta Rhymes' "Touch It" remix at the 2006 BET Music Awards on June 27, 2006. Eminem was featured on Akon's single "Smack That" which appeared on his album Konvicted. He was featured on Lil Wayne's hit song "Drop the World". He is featured on the lead single off 50 Cent's fifth studio album Street King Immortal titled "My Life".

Eminem is also an active rap producer. Besides being the executive producer of D12's first two albums, Devil's Night and D12 World, he has executive produced Obie Trice's Cheers and Second Round's on Me as well as 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre.^[182] In addition, Eminem has produced songs by other famous rappers, such as Jadakiss' "Welcome To D-Block", Jay-Z's "Renegade" and "Moment of Clarity" Lloyd Banks' "On Fire", "Warrior Part 2", and "Hands Up", Tony Yayo's "Drama Setter", Trick-Trick's "Welcome 2 Detroit", and Xzibit's "My Name" and "Don't Approach Me".^[183] Most of The Eminem Show was produced by Eminem himself, with co-production from longtime collaborator Jeff Bass. He split the production with Dr. Dre on Encore. In 2004, Eminem was the Executive Producer of 2Pac's posthumous album Loyal to the Game with 2Pac's mother Afeni Shakur.^[185] He produced the UK number one single "Ghetto Gospel" which featured Elton John He has produced "The Cross" off Nas's album God's Son. On August 15, 2006, Obie Trice released Second Round's on Me. Eminem produced 8 tracks on the album. He was featured in the song "There They Go" Eminem produced some tracks on Trick-Trick's album, The Villain. He is also featured in "Who Want It".Eminem also produced four songs on Cashis's 2013 album The County Hound 2.

With regard to the productions on his own records, Eminem is seen as having an unusual style in that rather than write to beats he typically starts with an idea of how he wants his song to be structured based on the lyrics and then creates music according to that.^[190] A notable exception to this was the song "Stan", which came from an idea and scratch track produced by Mark the 45 King.^[190] After not significantly contributing production for his own records on Relapse and Recovery, on 2013's The Marshall Mathers LP 2 Eminem produced a significant amount of the album. He spoke on producing his own songs saying, "Sometimes, I may get something in my head, like an idea or the mood of something that I would want, and I'm not always gonna get that by going through different tracks that other people have made. They don't know what's in my head. I think maybe it helps, a little bit, with diversity, the sound of it, but also, I would get something in my head and want to be able to lay down that idea from scratch."

After a long hiatus from recording, Eminem returned in 2009, releasing Relapse in May and Relapse 2 in August. Neither album sold as well as the rapper's career-defining earlier efforts, but both went platinum and re-established him as a force with the pop universe.

Portions of this biography appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001). Evan Serpick contributed to this article.

Group #bilabilabongbong : Tiviyan & Sathiswaran