Carnival Splendor Fire at Sea

A Carnival cruise ship carrying nearly 4,500 guests and crew members is out of power off in Pacific just off shore from Baja California. Carnival Splendor was headed for Mexico Monday when a fire broke out in the engine room. The fire was extinguished but the 952-foot ship will have to be towed to port in Mexico. Engineers on the Carnival Splendor have been unable to restore power to the vessel in the wake of Monday's fire, leaving passengers facing a second day without air conditioning, hot food or working toilets.

The 113,000-ton vessel, one of the largest in the Carnival fleet, remains dead in the water off the west coast of Mexico.

"We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience," Carnival president and CEO Gerry Cahill says in a statement. "Conditions on board the ship are very challenging and we sincerely apologize for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring."

The firm has now said that all guests on the current cruise will be receiving full refunds. They will also receive reimbursement of transportation costs and a complimentary cruise in the future.

Apple iPad Update, Adds Bing, Fixes WiFi

Apple launched an update for the iPad. Version 3.2.1 in addition to IOS 4.01 for iPhone and iPod touch for a few bug fixes including the Wifi connection.

The update also adds Microsoft's Bing as an option for Safari's search field, although Google Search remains the default choice. According to the Apple Support site, iOS 3.2.1 also fixes:

· A glitch that could prevent a copy/paste of single-page PDF attachments in Mail

· A bug that could cause video playback to freeze

· Reliability of video-out when using the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter

The iPad iOS 3.2.1 update is available via iTunes.

Demi Lovato Enters Rehab

Actress and singer Demi Lovato left her tour with the Jonas Brothers early this weekend in order to seek medical treatment for emotional and physical issues she has dealt with for some time. The Disney star, 18, was due to wrap up her slot supporting the singing siblings in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 13 November, but she left the trek at the weekend to seek professional help at a treatment centre. The name of the facility and the nature of Lovato's "issues" were not disclosed.

"Demi has decided to take personal responsibility for her actions and seek help," the representative told People.com. "She is doing just that. Demi and her family ask that the media please respect their privacy during this difficult time. She regrets not being able to finish her tour, but is looking forward to getting back to work in the near future."

Trick or Treating Halloween 2010

Trick or treating Halloween 2010 -- The custom of 'trick or treat' probably has several origins. Again mostly Irish. An old Irish peasant practice called for going door to door to collect money, bread cake, cheese, eggs, butter, nuts, apples, etc., in preparation for the festival of St. Columbus Kill. Yet another custom was the begging for soul cakes, or offerings for one's self - particularly in exchange for promises of prosperity or protection against bad luck. It is with this custom the concept of the fairies came to be incorporated as people used to go door to door begging for treats. Failure to supply the treats would usually result in practical jokes being visited on the owner of the house.

Today, Halloween is celebrated many different ways, including wearing costumes, children trick or treating, carving pumpkins, and going to haunted houses and parties.

Trick or Treat!

36 million - The estimated number of potential trick-or-treaters in 2009 — children 5 to 13 — across the United States. This number is up about 190,000 from a year earlier. Of course, many other children — older than 13, and younger than 5 — also go trick-or-treating.

111.3 million - Number of occupied housing units across the nation in 2009 — all potential stops for trick-or-treaters.

92% - Percentage of households with residents who consider their neighborhood safe. In addition, 78 percent said there was no place within a mile of their homes where they would be afraid to walk alone at night.

Happy Halloween everyone! Wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy October 31!

Lisa Blount, An Officer and a Gentleman Actress has Passed Away

Lisa Blount Dies

Lisa Blount an Oscar-winning producer and actress who acted as Debra Winger's friend Lynette Pomeroy in An Officer and a Gentleman has passed away. She was 53.Blount and her widower, Ray McKinnon, who was not in town, together won the best live-action short film Academy Award in 2002 for their film, The Accountant.

In addition to An Officer and a Gentleman, Blount appeared in films like Great Balls of Fire! and Chrystal, and shows such as Moonlighting and Picket Fences.

Lisa had battled a rare and painful blood disorder, called Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), for 17 years. ITP keeps blood from clotting and leads to bleeding and bruising.

"I think that might have been part of the problem when she passed away because when I found her she had a purple look on her neck that looked like blood on the surface. We think she died very sudden. She had her phone in her hand and her bed was not dist" said Louise Blount, who found her daughter in the bedroom of her Little Rock

Next Batman Movie called "The Dark Knight Rises", New Villain, No Riddler

Batman Logo

Many rumors are circulating about the next Batman movie. Many people say the next villain will be the Riddler and the film will be made in 3D. You also think like that? Oops ... you are wrong....
The next Batman film will be titled The Dark Knight Rises. In this film the villain is not the Riddler and not 3D formatted but high-definition and IMAX.That statement made by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins & The Dark Knight Director) in a new interview over at Hero Complex. 

"It won't be the Riddler. We'll use many of the same characters as we have all along, and Some We'll be introducing new ones, " Nolan said, without revealing any names.

The Riddler

The Dark Knight Rises will go into production next year and is slated to hit Theaters in the summer of 2012. You wonder who the next enemy in The Dark Knight Rising? We'll see ...

Indonesia: Mount Merapi Erupted, Tsunami hit Sumatra

mt.Merapi erupted

Mount Merapi Erupts-- Merapi volcano finally erupted. Mountain located in Yogyakarta, erupted yesterday, Tuesday, October 26 at 5.02pm Indonesian Time (GMT +7). Dozens of victims were reportedly killed and dozens of people suffered injuries caused by hot clouds from the eruption of Mount Merapi. Evacuation is still being conducted till now. 

Tsunami hit Mentawai

Tsunami Hit Sumatra-- Meanwhile another disaster struck Sumatra. An earthquake measuring 7.2 magnitude struck the Mentawai region at 9.40pm, Monday (25/10). The earthquake caused the tsunami in the Mentawai region. 3-meter-high waves swept the region on the coastline. Until now recorded 113 people killed and hundreds were reportedly missing. Evacuation of victims is still ongoing to this day.

Update: Indonesia Tsunami Death Toll Climbs to 394, 267 people were seriously injured, slightly injured 142 people and 312 people reported missing (October 29).