Another NSW KA statement: "Every confidence in Melbourne Kashrut"

Just forwarded to us by a Sydney source:

The battle of the KAs

                                     

Post by Kosherman:

I wonder how Rabbi Moshe Gutnick and his KA will respond to the news that Melbourne KA is giving its Hashgacha to a Bondi Beach food manufacturer?

Could this be the start of a new trend? Both KA's spreading their wings to the other's hometown? Will this be "good for the Jews"?

The screenshot is from a recent post by the KCA - a Sydney-based Kosher consumers group.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

McDonald's Plays Gay Card

DLP Space Mountain 15th Anniversary Tribute

15 years ago, on May 31st 1995, Space Mountain was opening at Disneyland Paris. Tim Delaney and all the Imagineers who worked on the project did a fantastic job and the Grand Opening was memorable. I remember it well as i was there and guests stars from all over Europe and the U.S were invited. Buzz Aldrin was there, lot of french actors of course, but what DLP guests were awaiting the most was the arrival of David Copperfield and Claudia Shiffer. David and Claudia had a love affair at that time and i still remember their arrival on the red carpet, walking up Main Street to Discoveryland. Boy, DLP guests just became hysterical when they appeared!

The Grand Opening show was fantastic and lucky you, you're going to be able to discover it with this very rare video that DLP just put on line this morning! In addition, the beautiful Space Mountain picture above is in full high-res. Enjoy.



Picture and video: copyright Disney

Shanghai Disneyland's project is " ahead of schedule "

According to the Digital Journal, "Shanghai Disneyland's project is ahead of schedule". Happy to learn this, but i will be even more happy when Disney will introduce to the world the final design of the park, with artwork and all the details we're all waiting for. Anyway, in the meantime, here is the article from Digital Journal :

"Disneyland is coming to the booming Chinese city of Shanghai. The central government gave its approval in November, since when preparations have been gathering pace.
Disneyland Shanghai will be in the Pudong area of the city, and the Shanghai Daily reports the Pudong New Area government has almost completed the relocation of residents from the 3.9 square kilometre area, a month ahead of schedule. Construction of apartments to receive them has begun, and they are expected to be ready for occupancy by August 2012. More than 2,000 households and 297 enterprises will be relocated in total. The new residential site is in Pudong’s Chuansha Town, and will have more than 6,500 apartments.
The land for the theme park is due to be handed over at the end of June when construction will begin.
The first phase of the theme-park project has been estimated to cost about 25 billion yuan (US$3.66 billion). The Chinese have made a habit in recent years of building large infrastructure projects at breakneck speed, but Pudong New Area Director Jiang Liang told the Shanghai Daily it may take five or six years for the park to be opened to the public.
There is already a Disneyland theme park in Hong Kong, and there has been speculation about the effect a park in Shanghai would have on the park in Hong Kong. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Rita Lau told Chinese news agency Xinhua that the two parks should complement each other. The Chinese market was growing fast, and should be big enough to accommodate two theme parks".

From the Digital Journal

KA x 2, 3 or 4?

A reader forwarded a screen shot of the NSW KA's web page, where we learn that "NSW" has been dropped from their name and are now known as THE Kashrut Authority.

Presumably this was in response to Melbourne (nee Mizrachi) Kashrut namechange to Kosher Australia. It seems each organization wishes to give the impression that it represents the Australian Kashrut “industry”.

We have heard (not from anyone in an official position) that the board of Adass Vaad HaKashrus are considering a suggestion that they call themselves “Kosher Adass”. Add to that the Perth community’s KA WA and we may end up with 4 KA’s in Australia!

Which makes us a bit sorry for Rabbi Meir Rabi and his non-“KA” brand - “Kosher veYosher”.

However, there has long been a rumor that the business name of “Kosher Australasia” has been reserved by someone not associated with “Kosher Australia”. Maybe that person would be kind enough to transfer this registration to Rabbi Rabi - so he too can sport a “KA” label…

My Blush Collection

I got some of these for a while. Nothing new purchased because I've only had 2 cheeks and God knows why I own that many blushers. I'm using them up like crazy, trying to get as much products onto my cheeks as possible. But man...! Do they take ages to even make a dent.

From top left, clockwise: Nars Orgasm, NYC Colour Wheel, NYC Cheek Glow, MAC Colour Forecast, ELF Blush and Bronzing Duo and Max Factor. 

D&M Exclusive report on " Inception ", most awaited movie of the summer !

As i often do on week-ends here is a non-Disney report. But don't go away as it is an exclusive report on one of the most awaited movie of this summer: Christopher Nolan's "Inception".

Chris Nolan is a brilliant film director and he's the one who did the excellent Batman's "The Dark Night" and also another one that i liked a lot "The Prestige", about a "fight" between two magicians in Victorian London. Inception, which will be released in July is for sure highly awaited but also one of the most secret movie of the year. For months, no informations came out of the shooting, and even now the only synopsis on IMDB is this one:

"Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved.

Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible: inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime."



Inception and his brilliant cast - picture above - had four days of shooting in Paris last August and as i was in town i've filmed the shooting. Note that at that time i knew nothing about the storyline so, as i did the editing seven months ago, part of my comments in the video may be not totally accurate. But you'll get rare shots of the filming, a really big one as around 400 people were on the sets!

You might want to see Inception's trailer first to understand a bit more about it, so here it is:



One last note: the music that i've put at the beginning and the end of the two-part video below is not the one from Inception. But i don't doubt that you will guess where the music is coming from!







Inception trailer: copyright Warner Bros

Video: copyright Disney and more

Pictures: copyright warner Bros

Community Unity? Sydney KA gives Melbourne's Shechita a serve!

Community Unity

Kosher consumers will have heard of the appearance of a new Kashrut Agency in NSW. Since 1990, Sydney has benefitted from a united kashrut under The Kashrut Authority. The Sydney Beth Din and the Yeshiva rabbinate came together under one banner, bringing an end to many difficult years of machloket within the community. Previously there had been friction and tension when events were hosted. Members of the community required dual supervision or risked alienating guests who would only trust one hechsher or the other. The joint KA, and Sydney’s Kashrut, quickly became the envy of many communities around the world, bringing communal unity and kashrut to the highest standards.

Now it seems this is about to change. Some argue that competition is always good for the community, but is it really good in this case?

At the outset, so that there is no misunderstanding, nothing that is about to be said is intended to reflect badly on any of the principal kashrut organizations in Melbourne. The KA holds each of them in high regard and works closely with them. We have always maintained that it is the duty of every local consumer to fully follow the halachic rulings and take guidance from their own local Rabbinate – and we will support that local rabbinate in full. However, at the same time, it is our duty to expose the truth in relation to what is taking place in our community, for the benefit of our community.

Why does this organisation say it wants a new kashrut agency here in Sydney? Not because it favours competition. Not because there is a problem with KA prices. Instead it has stated clearly that our standards are not up to par, and in particular Sydney chickens are not kosher enough for them. They don’t consider our food to be kosher. To be clear; this is not about using Melbourne caterers and providing a competitive service to the community. The very same caterer that is being used by them now has catered previously in Sydney, with chickens produced under the supervision of the KA.

This time there was more to it. This time there was the insistence that the caterer must use Melbourne chickens (under Melbourne Adass.) They contend that some of the guests simply would refuse to eat the Sydney chickens. Given that the KA cannot supervise a function unless the meat or poultry is under its supervision, as is the normative rabbinic practice; this new group has jumped in to “fill” the “desperate” need that it has itself manufactured.

Let us examine the contention that our chickens are not kosher or not kosher enough.

The Shechita

This year a very respected Rabbi from the United States, Rabbi Rotenberg , who works with the Nibator Rav - the supervisor of shechita for the Hisachdus HoRabbonim of Rabbonim of America (Satmar Shechita)- was brought from the US to inspect the shechita in Melbourne. His findings are not a secret and indeed are quite well known. He reported among other things:

Shechita and especially the checking of the knives (chalef) are difficult tasks, and the shochet must be at ease and not pressured. As such, guidelines have developed overseas as to maximum rates of shechita. The OU shechts at a maximum of 750 birds an hour per shochet, some require as low as 600 birds an hour. In Melbourne the Rabbi found the amount being shechted was 1000 per hour!

Furthermore in general, no pressure should be placed on the shochet to work faster than he feels he can. Rabbi Rotenberg had heard that this pressure unfortunately sometimes takes place in Melbourne.

In contrast, in Sydney, the rate of Shechita is at most 450 birds an hour. Furthermore, in order to reduce the chance of mishap and pressure on the Shochtim, links have been removed from the chain, so that chickens cannot be hung, to ensure forced regular breaks for the shochet.

The Kashering

Rabbi Rotenberg found that chickens in Melbourne are soaked before kashering at a temperature of 4C. Rabbi Rotenberg said that this is not the standard (lechatchila) and chickens processed this way were only acceptable after the fact (b’dieved). He said they must develop a system “similar to the system in Sydney”(!!).

In Sydney, from 1999, when the introduction of chilled water was first canvassed, our Rabbinic Administrator, Rabbi Moshe Gutnick, negotiated with the authorities and they agreed that as mandated in Shulchan Aruch the initial pre-soak would not be chilled. This has remained the standard in Sydney with full co-operation between the chicken manufacturer, The Kashrut Authority and the government. (Soaking in chilled water prior to salting prevents the free flow of blood from the meat during the salting).

Unfortunately in Melbourne this was missed and chilled water was introduced and this is still to be corrected.

Yet we are told by this new group that they cannot eat the Sydney chickens because the standards in Melbourne are so much higher. So let us look further.

Could it be the salting?

Rabbi Feigelstock , a highly regarded and leading posek from South America, who assists us with our Eruv, who is a shochet himself, and has been involved with shechita around the world, inspected our shechita. As well as praising our Shochtim, he said that our salting is of the highest standard and is as good as anywhere in the world.

The Shochtim

Is it perhaps the Shochtim? Everyone knows that Halacha says a shochet must be even more G-d fearing than a rabbi. Perhaps our shochtim are not good enough for these people?

The entire community knows rabbis Perlow and Niasoff. They are both G-d fearing men, loved and respected by their communities. Equally so, our stand-in shochet for fowl, Rabbi Groner. On numerous occasions their “chalafim” have been shown to visiting Rabbis who have praised their talents. At no stage have the local detractors asked to see the chalaf of these shochtim or to view the shechita or even the salting – yet our shechita has been condemned. How insulting that visiting rabbis have recently come from overseas and have told us that they were warned by local individuals that they should not eat our meat because our shochet is not good enough!

So are Melbourne chickens from a kashrut perspective better than Sydney chickens?

Clearly not. Independent review declares Melbourne chickens to be only “b’dieved” - not the way things should be. Consequently, to import Melbourne chickens to Sydney is to import a demonstrably lower standard. How then does one have the audacity to foment disunity in this city based on the falsehood that our standard is inferior?

The answer is that communities become driven by pseudo-elitism. They claim to be holy, and convince themselves and others of the justice of their cause. Factions and new players strive to make a mark by adding credence to their own religiosity through disparaging others. As the Torah teaches us, they are not doing the will of the Creator. By Divine Providence clear lessons can be drawn from the parshiot of the coming weeks , Bha’alotcha , Shlach and Korach. Our sages show that all the tragedy, disunity and rebellion throughout these parshiot comes from one single primary source – the motsi shem ra and lashon hara of just a few individuals The “evil tongue” so despised in Jewish law – defamation and tale bearing which is forbidden even if the words are true, how much more so when they are not true. This talk of inferior standards is simply lashon hara and motsi shem ra masquerading as piety.

Elitism thrives on disunity, because unity implies mutual respect and tolerance – disunity is fertile ground for one to say I am superior to another. It appeals to the ego and to the religious sensibility of those who are invariably misled into following it. These followers are sincerely in search of what they believe is true Torah, and sadly, they are indeed misled into believing, that theirs is the way to come closer to the Creator. Their teachers have forgotten what our sages have taught, that we are in exile not because of the laws of kosher or the laws between man and G-d, but because of our failures in the laws between man and man!

The False Claim of Personal Higher Standards

The Shulchan Aruch (OC Siman 468 and elsewhere) rules that in interpersonal relations, one must even forego a personal stringency or custom rather than create division, or embarrass one’s fellow. The hypocrisy of these people pretending elevated piety is that they overlook or violate fundamental tenets of the very code they claim to uphold.

Competition may be good when it is based on truth and Torah principles, but not when based on lies and manufactured, unsubstantiated accusations of inferiority. If anyone wants to start a kashrut organization to make themselves some money, or they are under the illusion that it will make kashrut cheaper for us all, then let them do it and say so. If they want to open because it makes them feel empowered or worthwhile – gezunterheit , but say so. Please do not propagate the abhorrent falsehood that it is about standards of kashrut or superior levels of religiosity.

We recognize that no kashrut organization is perfect, and no human being is perfect, and where problems are identified we seek to correct them in a professional and transparent manner. We have been asked and we will assist the Melbourne authorities to overcome the cold water regulations issue. However what meets their local reality, including the necessary respected ruling of their Rabbinate, is for their community and cannot be marketed here as superior when it is demonstrably not.

In the meantime, the vast majority of our local Rabbinate, and the vast majority of our local kosher consumers, supports the ideal of communal unity that has developed under our model of one agreed high standard of kashrut, under the joint regulation of those with real experience and expertise in the field. They do not want to go back to the days of disunity and confusion over differing kashrut organizations. We can only hope that those others involved in this new organization, will quickly see the light before irreparable damage is done to kashrut in our city.

The Kashrut Authority
Mr Baron Revelman – President
Rabbi Moshe D Gutnick – Rabbinic Administrator
Rabbi P Feldman - Committee
Rabbi J Lawrence_- Committee
Rabbi D Rogut- Committee
Rabbi Y Ulman- Committee

Rabbi A Perlow – Shochet
Rabbi Y Niasoff – Shochet

Rabbi A Groner – Assistant Rabbinic Administrator
Rev A Amzalek – Senior Supervisor
Rev S Samra – Senior Supervisor

AJN Watch is no authority in Shechita and obviously cannot comment on procedural or halachic concerns. But this lengthy screed seems to indicate that the NSW KA is quite anxious about the likelihood of another Kashrut power in their region.
Issuing this statement is also a dicey move for KA as no doubt the 3 Melbourne Shechita authorities will respond vigorously.

Instead of, or in addition to, ORA lobbying the government on labeling matters, maybe they ought to emphasize to their membership on the hazards of bagging each other.

This notice by KA, by the way, proves the concern by many on granting powers of certifying Kashrut authorities to an organization like ORA where many members would have conflict of interest.

And talking of ORA lobbying, how on earth did they overlook the looming ban on Shechita in New Zealand? The question is especially pertinent to Rabbi Moshe Gutnick who states that he has been sending shochtim there for years. Let's hope ORA direct some of their energy towards ensuring that this disgraceful ban is overturned.

New Zealand bans shechita
By Dan Goldberg · May 28, 2010

SYDNEY (JTA) – New Zealand has banned shechita, the kosher slaughter of animals.

The country’s new animal welfare code, which took effect Friday, mandates that all animals for commercial consumption be stunned prior to slaughter to ensure they are treated “humanely and in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge.”

The regulation has shocked the Jewish community.
“This decision by the New Zealand government, one which has a Jewish prime minister, is outrageous,” said Rabbi Moshe Gutnick, acting president of the Organization of Rabbis of Australasia. “We will be doing everything possible to get this decision reversed.”
Gutnick, who travels frequently to New Zealand to oversee shechita, added, “One of the last countries I would have expected to bring in this blatantly discriminatory action would have been New Zealand.”

David Zwartz, the chairman of the Wellington Jewish Council, agreed. “I am sure there will objections made that this action is an infringement of the right of Jews to observe their religion,” he said.

Agriculture Minister David Carter rejected a recommendation that shechita be exempt from the new code.

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee did recommend a dispensation for kosher slaughter in 2001, but the new code does not allow any exemptions.

AJN's free publicity to treif German-style restaurant

Received from a reader who (most unusual for him) requested anonymity:

"If you ever wanted the ultimate non-kosher experience, check out page 4 of the motoring supplement in the Jewish News this week."

We have no idea who Jason Stevens is. The name, at least, doesn't sound Jewish, in which case we can't blame him for singing the praises of that chazir-treif German-style restaurant. And after all, his employers are constantly advertising nevelot utreifot establishments.

Despite this, it seems that the Jewish News has sunken to a new low here. There isn't even the non-excuse that they were being paid for this - and for money, as we know, they are prepared to sell their souls. 

All they achieved was to upset their religious and traditional readers by giving free publicity to this place.

And it sure exposes the incredible hypocrisy of the AJN's lecturing and editorialising on the best ways to advance Kashrut in Australia.

Hello, Why Are These 18SX Flyers Here??

I'm so totally promoting this by posting these stuff on my blog. I don't feel "Ewww...." but rather "What The  __!??" and explore it further by reading the prices and stuff. And look, behind the pamphlet, you get to apply for the job too (both guys and gals) and you get a decent amount of salary (which is more than what I'm getting paid now!)

 

I'm so going to get shouted/critisized/ostrisized/condemned by this post. But don't care lah.. Its something that I'd never seen before in the UK and don't-even-think-about-it in Islamic country, Malaysia

MISSING: Have You Seen Baby Marwin Tallud?

MISSING

Name : Marwin Tallud
Age : 2 years old, male
Address : 648 Quezon Boulevard, Quiapo, Manila
Birthday : 23 December 2007

Marwin was last seen on the sidewalk along Quezon Boulevard, Quiapo, Manila
According to his father, Edwin Tallud, Marwin was allegedly taken by a woman.

Have you seen this beautiful child?
Do you have any information regarding his whereabouts?

If you do, please contact
Maricel Tallud (Marwin's mother) @ 0922 341 4311 / 734 0091
Cecil Martinez (Marwin's aunt) @ 0922 340 2266 / 749 6411

Please help reunite Marwin with his loved ones, dear readers.
Please help spread the word.

My special thanks to TJ for his concern, and taking the time and effort to write me an e-mail about this unfortunate incident.

***

Your Name: TJ
Your Email Address: ************.com
Subject: Brian, regarding a lost child baby Marwin
Message: hi there Brian, i am actually desperate for your help thats why i am writing you this letter. I would not even try to contact you in the first place if i dont believe and trust your advocacy. I am one of the quiet ones backing you up eversince this big scandal regarding the gucci gand exploded.

I write this letter in the hopes that maybe you would be able to help this child's family reunite with baby Marwin. You have a strong following so i know this can help finding the lost child. A lot of people read your blog. And i know you love kids... i hope to hear from you again. If it is ok with you Brian, i have the picture and the info of the missing child. it was said that he was abducted by some syndicate. So most probably he's now a begging for alms in the streets of manila. Hes only 2 Brian. he needs to be home. Thank you so much for the time... May God continue to bless you and your health.

***

Your Name: TJ
Your Email Address: ************.com
Subject: Lost child.
Message: Hello there Brian,

This is actually the second time iam sending you an email. First was when your blog suddenly disappeared ( that was around 3 yrs ago i think )... now i am asking a very huge favor from you. I know how much you love kids...so am I. I feel sorry for the parents of this child so i am humbly asking a request that maybe you can feature him in your blog. he's only 2 years old and he's been missing. You have a very large following and i am certain that it can help find baby Marwin. He deserves to be home. The parents did everything, they even went to abs cbn but they were just shooed away. One of the reason why i emailed you is because i know you have a good heart. thank you so much! I do pray that your blog will be God's instrument to save baby Marwin from harm. he's jus a baby.

here's the link of the picture

and here are the important infos:

Name: Marwin Tallud
age : 2 years old / Male
Address: 648 Quezon Blvd.Quiapo Manila
bday : Dec.23,2007
Place where he was abducted: Quezon Blvd, Quiapo Manila

Father: Edwin Tallud
Mother: Maricel Tallud : 0922 341 4311 / 734 0091
Auntie: Cecil Martinez : 0922 3402266 / 7496411

Record Heat in Toronto

I LOVE this photo and feel lucky to have it!

Record breaking heat today in Toronto with a high of 38 degrees!

I LOVE summer!

Umm, Yeah, Those Are My Lipsticks

I am officially a collector of lipsticks, and guess what, I don't really use them as much as lipgloss, but freaking weirdly, I have more lipsticks than those glossy things. I just love love my collection. I don't have a disliking for any of them except the bright red lipsticks from NYX due to my incompetence of choosing the right shade for my lips.

So, the low down for the brands are: Loreal, NYX, Barry M, MAC, PURE and Mentholeum (I hope that's how you spell it). My next goal?? NARS and Shu Uemura and more MAC of course.

Prince of Persia Review

Jerry Bruckheimer's Prince of Persia is released today in France - french poster above - and Friday in the U.S. I saw it at Paris press screening one week ago. It's a typical Bruckheimer summer movie and as usual the production is pretty good. Beautiful decors - even if most of the gorgeous oriental cities are digitally created - and those of you who like Adventureland theming should like them a lot. The movie photography and original music score are very good too.





As we know the movie is inspired by Prince of Persia's video game and should delight the fans. And what about the actors? Ben Kingsley is once again playing the bad guy and he is generally good playing villains. But for me the problem is Jake Gyllenhaal. He is generally a good actor - remember him in Oscar winner's Brokeback Mountain? - and he is obviously trying to do his best in Prince of Persia, but sorry, he didn't convinced me and I even think he's a casting mistake. Now, may be it's not totally his fault as the story line remains extremely primary. Really. The movie is well directed by Mike Newell and SFX are as good as we can expect but it's a pity that the movie didn't had a better script.





It supposed to be a "A" movie and for Jerry Bruckheimer it's may be his "Lawrence of Arabia" but not anyone can be David Lean and in fact it's a deluxe "B" movie, that's what it is. You won't have a bad time watching it but you'll probably forget it as fast as you saw it except may be the beautiful decors and costumes that will remain in your mind. I don't expect the movie box-office to be huge - not bad either but just a medium success - and i'm not even sure there will be a sequel, but who knows, I may be wrong!

Anyway, you understood that i'm not extremely enthusiastic about Prince of Persia but if you want to know more about it here is some video interviews - with french subtitles for my french readers! - beginning by actor Jake Gyllenhaal playing Dastan...





...Gemma Arterton playing the beautiful Princesse Tamina...





...Sir Ben Kingsley, playing the "traitor" Nizam...





...And director Mike Newell & producer Jerry Bruckheimer.





Picture and videos: copyright Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer

Epcot Living Seas Pavilion : The Nautilus Exhibit

Editor's Note: This article is part of my new (and great!) Tom Scherman web site. Tom was the worldwide Nautilus specialist and worked as a WDI Imagineer on many 20K attractions. His master-piece being the full size Disneyland Paris Nautilus that you can discover in a brand new video filmed by me last month at DLP's Discoveryland.

When Epcot Living Seas Pavilion opened to the public in 1986 it was the largest man-made underwater environment in the world at its completion. WDI Imagineer Tim Delaney was the show-designer and you can see lot of great artwork that Tim did in one of my previous Disney and more article HERE. The concept of the attraction was to take visitors under the ocean to "Sea Base Alpha". Guests then would ride the Caribbean Coral Reef Ride in a "seacab" along an underwater tunnel through the aquarium. From there guests would ride around 'Sea Base Alpha' getting an up-close view of the marine life. They would then disembark into the main exhibit area where they could interact with various multimedia displays.



But before guests take an elevator ride to the ocean floor thanks to the "Hydrolator" they would enter a pre-show area and part of it was a 20000 Leagues under the Sea exhibit created with the precious help of Tom Sherman who provided a perfect replica of the Crew Diver suit.

When i was at Epcot fifteen years ago i had the good idea to shoot plenty of pictures of the crew diver suit and here they are in high-res. Click on each picture to see them in larger scale.









On this rare picture kindly provided by Richard Allsmiller, Tom is carrying outside of his apartment a diving tank he made up for the mock-up diving suit with a fiberglass helmet. This might have been the one he sold years later to Walt Disney Imagineering for the Living Seas pavilion.



On the right of the crew diver suit guests could see a great Nautilus model. The model shown there is the studio's 11-foot "hero" miniature used for filming the underwater shots of the Nautilus in the movie.





In December of 2003, Disney started re-theming The Living Seas pavilion with a new ride based on Pixar's film Finding Nemo. Most of the transformation started in exterior elements, but in January of 2004, the interior began to see change as well. On November 16, 2004, Turtle Talk with Crush opened in what was once Module 1C, or the Earth Systems exhibit. Turtle Talk with Crush was just the beginning of changes to The Living Seas. On August 21, 2005, The Living Seas closed for its transformation into a new pavilion called The Seas with Nemo & Friends. Throughout 2006, construction walls hid away the undergoing-reconstruction pre-show area. The Seas with Nemo & Friends was rededicated on January 24, 2007 and the 20K exhibit with Tom crew diver suit was gone forever. But Andrew, a kind reader of the Tom scherman's web site found back Tom's crew diver suit, now in storage in Florida and sent me these pictures shot in 2007.









While we are at Walt Disney World, let's go to the Disney MGM Studios where, in another exhibit, guests could watch a diver helmet replica as well as a replica of the underwater rifle!







Vulcania Volunteers is doing a great replica of the Captain Nemo's underwater rifle and you can find it HERE.

Discover more articles about Tom Scherman and 20000 Leagues under the Sea with lot of gorgeous pictures on my new web site HERE.

All pictures: copyright Alain Littaye, except Tom Scherman picture: copyright Tom Scherman Family Collection from Rich Allsmiller

I Really Like Those Shrines Part 2

Hello again... So here's the 2nd part of the Shrine trip.

That's a little shrine for the God Of King Of Cow, I think. Well, at least that's what written on top.

Holy Cow -__-''' (pun intended)

And those are real tortoise (can't believe that I actually have to look up for the spelling, my English ,**sigh...**)

And look at the Chow family there... Oh wait, and there's the Lim family beside it... Hi, Yang family... (sorry, no offence there, just that these surnames pops into my head, and what's more, it meant that you guys are long-lived ^__^)

When there's like a mourning for the deceased session going on, this thingy would be hanged in front of the house.

A very artisitc picture of me using my digital cam. And yes, my makeups melting at that time.

This is my favourtie picture. Look at all those mini statues of God. There are so cute at the same time powerful, I can't decide which.

So this concludes my trip to Tennoji. If you wanna have a look, just Google "Tennoji Osaka" and you will get to see where it's located and stuff. But if you want more personal info, just email me or leave me a comment, I'll get back to you.