Why am I going to take Kavipriya to court?

This girls is one of the most beautiful and talented girls on the block. She can dance, paint, has a husky voice,is driven with ambition, can write, and carries a lovely frame too. Why would anyone want to see her in a legal tangle? I have my reasons, the prime among them is if I want to become famous I better try to harass a celebrity…. anyway I will try that next, as of now I will sue her for she was responsible for charring my lovely pressure cooker.

It was a fantastic sunday morning, and I wanted to dish out some yummy biryani for my kids. Bought all the ingredients and requested my Mom to peel the onions. I kept the cooker on high flame poured the oil and went to get the onions as my mom was glued to the Television. I glimpsed at the TV and found this very same damsel on Kalaigar TV. The looks were familiar but her lovely voice nailed it. Then I sat and sat and watched while my cooker went up in flames… damaging a whole lot of things around it.

Why would I ever take this extreme step of a legal process if my friends on Facebook were to alert me on their achievements? I, like a cooker, would want to vent out my steam.

Sour episode turns sweet

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Interesting twist Shipa Shetty had a torrid time with Jane Goody on the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ in 2007show, one of the demeaning terms used by Goody was 'poppadoms'. Shilpa came out with tears and the crown in the show while Goody became a villain in India for racial abuse and lost lucrative deals and went on to apologizing to Shilpa.

Now the twist Shipa is planning the crispy appetiser to be on top of the menu to honour Goody’s memory. “Shilpa thinks Jade will have a little chuckle in heaven about the poppadoms. and she just thought, ‘Why don’t I just create my own range?”
Interesting twist to an episode that was sour and ready to tickle the taste buds.


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New advertising units

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RFID chips that connect print ads to more dynamic content on the web, ads that can shift from one screen to another, ads that are linked to what friends are chatting about online, and targeted advertising of all sorts.

Agencies are looking for new ways to integrate their clients’ brand experiences with more interactivity on the page, and these new units provide a way for them to accomplish this while capitalizing on the halo effect of the high-quality media brands.” A set of new principles and unique display advertising units are being introduced to foster innovation and leverage an environment that research has proven delivers better results for advertisers.

These new advertising units reflect the publishers’ desire to achieve four key objectives that will guide the evolution of online display advertising into its next phase:

* Inspire creativity and high-quality advertising: Develop display units that will inspire a creative renaissance in high-quality advertising by providing a larger canvas for creativity, content and functionality.
* Provide a greater share of voice for the advertiser: Increase the relative proportion of advertising space (in a single unit) to editorial content and, where possible, run fewer but more captivating ads on the page.
* Introduce a measurement to capture impact: Develop a metric that emphasizes the impact creative advertising can have on Web viewers while preserving the Internet’s well-established ability to engender response.
* Enhance interactivity to build user engagement with brands: Offer a broad range of interactivity built into units such as video players, lead capture and advertiser content that will be sharable and have permalinks to spotlight and encourage the best in creativity, while weaving the advertisements deeper into the social fabric of the Web.

The proposed new advertising units are:

* The Fixed Panel (recommended dimension is 336 wide x 860 tall), which looks naturally embedded into the page layout and scrolls to the top and bottom of the page as a user scrolls.
* The XXL Box (recommended dimension is 468 wide x 648 tall), which has page-turn functionality with video capability.
* The Pushdown (recommended dimension is 970 wide x 418 tall), which opens to display the advertisement and then rolls up to the top of the page.

source : nieman lab
: online publishers

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Electronic Cigarettes or E-Cigs for short is a completely non-flammable product that uses state of the art sophisticated micro-electronic technology to provide users a real smoking experience without the tobacco and tar found in traditional cigarettes. It looks, feels and tastes like a real cigarette, yet it isn’t, it is truly a healthier alternative.

Fit Brains

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Around the time we hit 30, our brains begin a slow, steady downward trajectory, or so popular wisdom would have it.



Surf the Net often

When you search the Internet, you engage key centres in your brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning.

And these few clicks may be more mentally stimulating than reading, say UCLA scientists. Their studies found that Internet searching uses neural circuitry that’s not activated during reading — but only in people with prior Internet experience. MRI results showed almost 3 times more brain activity in regular Internet searchers than in first-timers, suggesting that repeated Googling can be a great way to build cognitive strength over time.

Tip: Spend around 20 minutes a few days a week searching topics you’ve always wanted to learn more about regardless of how seemingly frivolous: Whether you’re researching a celebrity’s latest pratfalls or musical harmony, the benefits to your brain are the same.

Exercise

Yes, exercise can stave off or delay dementia but did you know it can actually reverse brain aging too?

A team from the University of Illinois’ Beckman Institute recently reviewed dozens of past studies and found that aerobic exercise boosts not only speed and sharpness of thought but also the volume of brain tissue. As little as 50 minutes of brisk walking 3 times a week was found to have this brain-expanding effect.

Tip: For an added boost, walk in the park: University of Michigan researchers found that volunteers whose course took them through a tree-filled setting performed 20 per cent better on memory and attention tests than those who walked downtown.

Brush and floss

Oral health is clearly linked to brain health, according to a team of British psychiatrists and dentists.

After studying thousands of subjects ages 20 to 59, they found that gingivitis and periodontal disease were associated with worse cognitive function throughout adult life not just in later years.

Tip: Follow your dentist’s advice. Floss daily and brush your teeth for 2 minutes at least once a day.

Drink sparingly

Limiting cocktails is beneficial for cognitive function.

Keep your alcohol consumption within the safe and healthful limit: no more than one drink a day. The more alcohol a person drinks, the smaller his or her total brain volume becomes, according to a recent study. The link between drinking and reduced brain volume was stronger in women probably because smaller people are more susceptible to alcohol’s effects.

Tip: If you like a glass of white wine with dinner, make a spritzer by replacing some of the wine with sparkling water. You’ll cut your intake even more.

Eat blueberries

New research shows that the purple-hued fruits may help sharpen your thought processes.

After National Institute on Aging and Tufts University researchers injected male rats with kainic acid to simulate the oxidative stress that occurs with aging, rats that had been fed a diet containing 2 per cent blueberry extract did better navigating a maze than rats that didn’t get the compound. In another study, the same researchers found that rats that ate blueberries showed increased cell growth in the hippocampus region of the brain. The researchers theorise that anthocyan in the dark blue pigment found in blueberries is responsible for these cognitive changes; it contains chemicals that may cross the blood-brain barrier and lodge in regions that govern learning and memory.

Tip: Stock up on blueberries when they’re on sale, and sprinkle them over your cereal or yogurt or fold them into your smoothie. Off-season, buy them frozen; they’re every bit as nutritious as fresh.

Do puzzles

Amazingly, you’ll knock a decade off your cognitive age.

In a University of Alabama study of nearly 3,000 older men and women, those who participated in 10 60-to 75-minute sessions of brain-boosting exercise sharpened their mental abilities so much that their brains performed like those of people more than 10 years younger.

Tip: Start small whip out a booklet of basic puzzles when you’re riding to work on the train or waiting in a long checkout line. As your skills improve, graduate to more challenging brainteasers.

Meditate

More than just a great stress reliever, meditation can also enhance your brain’s grey matter.

Participants in a new study from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston appear to have experienced growth in the cortex, an area of the brain that controls memory, language, and sensory processing. In addition, meditators in a University of Kentucky study performed better than their non-meditating counterparts on a series of mental acuity tests.

Tip: Make the practise a regular habit. The participants in a recent study meditated an average of 40 minutes a day. But you can start with 15 on your lunch break or before you leave for work. Sit upright, close your eyes, and focus on whatever you’re experiencing in the present moment, whether it’s birds chirping in the distance or just the sound of your own breathing.

courtesy The Hindu Link

Images Bazaar

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The buoyancy in marketing and promotions for products and services spur demand for visuals that have an Indian flavour.
Interestingly, the demand for local visuals is strong, whether the promotion is for a local brand or an MNC brand as long as the marketing effort is targeted at domestic consumers. "The Indian market for images is estimated to be worth roughly $10 million, which is miniscule compared to the global images business industry worth $2 billion, but what is significant is that India is leapfrogging in this business," Sandeep Maheshwari, CEO of ImagesBazaar.
Surveys have revealed that in visual communication, a product or service meant for a particular population would be more successful if it carries a face that viewers can relate to, rather than a visual from a different part of the world. This, industry observers say, has led to a surge in demand for Indian visuals for the ever-growing business in the country in brochures, hoardings, packaging, presentations and even websites.

Courtesy Economic Times
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A writer in making

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Great words will come out of this girl

Zero Baggage for energy savings???

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Canadian entrepreneur Catharine MacIntosh is planning to launch the Zero Baggage concept simultaneously on the Gold Coast and her hometown, Toronto, late next year.
She claims that the new service will not only be more energy-efficient, but it will also save time wasted waiting in queues with bags and the worry about your bag being lost or stolen.

She says that travelers will be able to choose between new and pre-worn clothes. Catharine has vowed to keep costs

The idea is to enable people to book the clothes they want online before beginning a trip. The items will be waiting in their hotel room when they arrive.

According to Catherine " You remove almost half the weight from a plane when you get rid of passenger luggage iuts quite a sustainable action in terms of energy."
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Flames that stroke the courage

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This was quite a rare scene, smoke billowing from a Petrol station. No noise, no scenes of panic, on the outset I thought it was fire drill to get the employees trained on preparedness. No it was'nt, it was real, so with my camera I ran to scene to see a Kinetic Honda burning.
Fire in a Petrol bunk sure is risky, but guess what all of them were trying their best to put it off risking their lives. Fortunately the fire did not spread beyond the scooter. Quite a miracle of sorts.

Major tragedy averted.

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Beefy

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Found this to be very interesting. The Jain run the Times Publications. Times of India has sponsored a Beef Stall ...And the beef stalls is called the Bruce Lee Beef Stall.... :)

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Seminar on Urban Transport Infrastructure, incl Elevated Highway

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If things go as per Government plans, Chennai will see a massive infusion of investment on a number of road building projects, broadly grouped under Circular Transport Corridor, and Elevated Expressway (Nochikuppam to Kottivakkam).

Many of us are familiar with the latter, but still do not understand where it fits within the rationale of the state Government or within the larger context of urban decongestion. Many of us also believe that the current situation with traffic snarls and bottlenecks are not desirable, and that something has to be done. But none of us are very clear about the details of these various projects, and how they come together as a larger transport/traffic plan for the city. We know urgent steps have to be taken!!

But what? Will the proposed projects address the problem at hand? Are these the best options? What are the other options? What about the long-term? Will even these roads become clogged up? What do progressive transport management principles say about the best way forward? What do the projects mean for public transport users, cyclists, car owners? Who stands to gain most? Who stands to lose?

To understand these issues, and add some real content to our basis for seeking out alternatives to schemes such as the Elevated Expressway, we're proposing to organise a half-day seminar addressing an audience of lay residents from the areas along the alignment of the Expressway. The seminar's contents will cover the transport/traffic management plans for all of Chennai, with a specific focus on the Elevated Highway. Details of the proposed seminar are below, and this is merely a proposal. The final design of the seminar will incorporate suggestions from you all.

SUGGESTED TITLE: "Chennai's Road Building Plans: A problem or a solution" or (if we want bureaucrats to participate) "Chennai's Urban Transport Projects: Understanding the costs and benefits"

SUGGESTED SCOPE OF SEMINAR CONTENT: Major transport infrastructure in all of Chennai Metropolitan Area

SUGGESTED FOCUS: Elevated Expressway; Adyar River Transport Corridor

AUDIENCE: South Chennai Residents (Nocchikuppam to Kottivakkam) -- BILINGUAL -- English with translation to Tamil

SUGGESTED DATE: 23 August, 2009 (SUNDAY)

CONTENT:
1. Chennai's Transport Schemes: Understanding the various projects, and their compliance (or lack thereof) with National Urban Transport Policy and Masterplans --- SUGGESTED SPEAKER: Mr. MG Devasahayam
2. South Chennai Schemes -- Adyar River Corridor and Elevated Expressway. SUGGESTED SPEAKERS: Srivatsan
3. Impacts of South Chennai schemes on People. SUGGESTED SPEAKER: Louis Menezes
4. Impacts of South Chennai schemes on Environment and Space. SUGGESTED SPEAKER: Leela Samson
5. Alternatives: The way forward: SUGGESTED SPEAKER: Tara Murali
6. Discussion

Total time: 3 hours
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A man's Self is the sum total of all that he can call his. William James 1890

The Times of India, true to its banality, gave these crude statistics of the Ramalinga Raju's material possesions.
Roosevelt loved hunting the way that Imelda loves shopping. He loved the kick of the gun and the smell of the powder. He loved the antlers. The same sportive hormones may be active in Imelda. Nature is filled with wild waste, unthinkable redundancies. Why does nature toss off a billion sperm when only one of them is necessary to fertilize a human egg? Imelda's shoes, ecologically baffling, are part of the mystery of life.

At the height of her fame, the deposed Filipino dictator’s wife Imelda Marcos had more than a thousand pairs of shoes, 888 handbags and 508 gowns. As it turns out, had ex-Satyam Computer boss B Ramalinga Raju not been locked up and his fraud exposed, he may have given Imelda a run for her money in the next few fashion seasons.
Raju’s penchant for high fashion had led him to collect more than a thousand designer suits, if sources in the Enforcement Directorate are to be believed. According to documents prepared by Andhra Pradesh police and given to ED, the disgraced IT czar had 321 pairs of shoes and 310 belts.
Apart from leading a lavish lifestyle, Ramalinga Raju visited various big temples in Andhra Pradesh regularly and donated huge amounts of gold, which collated would approximate about two tonnes. His stargazing pursuits led him to buy a telescope, which valued at more than Rs 1 crore would be the most expensive in any Indian home.
Like many other multi-billionaires, Raju too liked to collect trophy properties around the world. Sources said he had “palatial mansions and villas” in 63 countries.
source: The Times of India

Forthright written straight on the face

When the common man is losing faith in private enterprise and looking for a clutch of straw to hold on. When the capitalists and the greedy business man have thrown corporate governance out of the window leaving thousands scampering around with despair. With perfect timing as a man of high stature and responsibility you, Mr Gopalaswami, decided to wash dirty linen with just 3 months to go before retirement and elections. Now see the plight of the millions in a democracy for whom elections are a festival and you the chief priests. Mr Chawla, you may not be a saint, but stay still. Hold your peace. And you Mr Gopalaswami, with a forthrightness written straight on your face, bow down to institutional values. Learn to work with the challenges and the pressures though they me like a mountain. Nay its time you apologize like gentleman, and step aside. Well who knows you may land up as a governor if India shines(???) once again. If Chawla were to become the CEC, well we know the good old 'hand' is behind him. So what. Arn't we are all birthed in sin and  in our folly we do good by default? Democracy will roll on. Its crazy but it will roll on. You will be soon be  forgotten, and buried amongst the ballots (real and rigged).  So chill.

Face it you love yourself !!!

We all should know by now not to put stuff on our Facebook profiles that might someday come back to bite us on the behind: no pictures of ourselves doing drugs, skipping work, or dancing naked on the table.

But a new study suggests that, even if we're careful what we post, our Facebook pages might reveal more about ourselves than we realize.

Researchers at the University of Georgia set out to discover whether people who were narcissists in real life could be identified as such simply by the way they crafted their Facebook profiles. Lead author Laura Buffardi, a doctoral student in psychology who co-wrote the study with associate professor W. Keith Campbell, did personality assessments of 129 Facebook users (all students at the university) to determine whether they qualified as narcissists -- self-promoting, self-aggrandizing people who often seem charming and easily attract other people but don't typically form warm or lasting relationships. (One could argue that the very act of establishing a presence on Facebook, as I have done, is an act of narcissism, but that's a topic for another study.)


The researchers have analyzed the participants' Facebook profiles and had untrained strangers do the same. They found that the number of "Friends" on a person's Facebook and the number of "wallposts" they have there correlated with their narcissism. That figures, Buffardi suggests, as narcissists tend to have lots of shallow relationships rather than a few solid ones. Narcissists on Facebook also tended to post more glamorous photos of themselves in their profiles. (Thank goodness my photo's so frumpy so is my friend who has a photogenic gene!)

It's interesting to see how narcissism plays out on the on-line social networking scene, in which millions of teens, young adults, and even full-grown folks like me take part. But the really fascinating, and perhaps scary, thing is to think about the implications beyond this study. If researchers can look at my Facebook page and make an educated guess that I'm a narcissist, what else might they be able to discern?

What do you make of this Facebook/personality trait connection? Interesting party game? Mountain out of a molehill? Or is it a serious concern?

source: Washington Post
original paper : Narcissism and Social Networking Web Sites

Hari Puttar - The Ghost

Ranbaxy tried hard on original drug compounds through proprietary research route- they failed. Indians are still incapable of being thought leaders after all they been encouraged to do what is being told, to knock off or copy. I personally feel that most Indian firms could be potential take over targets since their growth formula depends on incremental volumes and cost arbitrage unlike global leaders who are innovative and thinkers and have proprietary research in their portfolios.

And now "Hari Puttar" will probably provide the magic ingredient to the world to understanding the typical Indian Psyche. This will be haunt the Indian confidence and deal blows after blows to our image, and the worse is yet to come. There will be more companies and individuals who will be inspired by Hari Puttariqe style and like how USA (Ullasnagar Sindhi Association) mocked us for years, Hari Puttar will do to our current gen.
Its really sad that our Legal experts overlooked this perspective and went by the letter ignoring the spirit.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

This is appalling

It was a bad day at ATM, my balance slip showed low funds out of frustration I crushed that little paper and chucked it on the floor, an youngster of 20 yrs maybe, drew my attention to the paper on the floor and gently asked me to chuck in the bin. I was embarrassed and proud. My sons friend who is considered to be an insensitive ruffian gently carried a man who fell from the train and rushed him to the hospital.Look at this scene a woman bleeding to death and a bunch of young girls chatting. How do we sensitize our young children to societie's needs?



Pic courtesy Times of India - read full story

Steet Culture - India

I hate traffic, the noise, the smoke and being a writer of sorts I have the power to choose my trips. Lucky me. , I prefer public transport, a combination of walk, taxi and auto suits me fine. The fact that urban life is getting so clogged is countered by the increase of oil prizes so it may some day even out and people will start cycling and walking. Only wish that our urban planners understand that Walking and Cycling is the key to urbanity and plan our streets accordingly.

I remember trying the Corporation of Chennai to permit us to use public loo's to carry the AIDS awareness message funded by Bill Gates Foundation. They refused. I had also discussed with the Aavin ( milk producer ) to lease out the space to form - morning kapi groups, and they refused. Then I spent nearly 8 months getting the Corporation permission to sponsor the parking tickets. I realized that our bureaucrats are paid to refuse.

The Railways were much better, they permitted me to paint the entire suburban train and then do a personalized mailer activity in Shatabdi trains.

The opportunities available on the OOH front is enormous, now that the hoardings have disappeared in most cities and with the street spams like posters and banners also being banned, planned aesthetically executed ideas can add tremendous value to city scape.

Its a quite a media arc for Mr Pradeep Guha, 28 years in the Newspaper then with ZEE TV for three years and now in OOH on his own, you can expect him to ignite the media landscape with Street Culture.

It will do a load of good if he can get some culture on the streets, that will be a bonus.

Survival of an Analog Store

The other day I was at the local kirana store and an middle aged lady walked in and asked for a head cleaner. The shop keeper did not understand and I thought that she was asking for a shampoo. Guess what! she wanted a head cleaner for her cassette player. I guess there are a lot of people out there still living a simple life winding up the gramaphone.

"RadioShack" should have been out of business nearly 10 years ago but it has nearly 6000 retail outlets in the United States. RadioShack? some kind of World War II terminology, looks like the ham radio operators are still around, even in this digital age? Intriguing to understand this moribund company's apparent allure.

Every location is full of bizarre adapters, random chargers, and old boom boxes, and some sales guy is constantly hovering over you. It's like walking into your grandpa's basement. You always expect to see something cool, and you will be disappointed.

Doomsday Man- Street Evangelist

Open-air preacher "Brother Sam" Hilson going hammer and tongs at sinners in the park.

All of you will burn in hellfire, so sayeth the Lord," Hilson said to a stroller-bound toddler and her picnicking parents.

After telling a novel-reading Berkeley student that there was "no book but the Good Book," Hilson bore witness to a woman strolling by in a sundress.

"Harlot, dare ye bare your shoulders when the Rapture is nigh?" Hilson said.

At one point, Hilson ministered to a family of Indian-Americans, whom he mistakenly identified as "Muslim demon-worshippers."

His photo-collage display of aborted fetuses, Hitler, Oui magazine centerfolds from the 1980s, and the rock band KISS spared at least 10 others the temptation of the fresh April breeze.

"Someday our jealous and vengeful God will make you regret watching your aerobics sex tapes!" Hilson told a group of kite flyers, who rapidly walked away from him as he strayed momentarily in their direction. "Your kites may reach the sky, but they cannot get you into Heaven! Only Jesus can! Jesus is the One True Kite!"


Read the original story at THE ONION

The graveyard slot informercial - Awards

Early Morning Emmys ( Grave Yard Slot ) the annual award ceremony honoring television's finest programming between the hours of 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

A 15-minute juicer infomercial won every category in which it was nominated, taking home the gold-colored plastic trophies for Best Program, Best Infomercial, Best Writing, Best Casting For An Infomercial Or Televangelism Program, Most Economical Sound Editing, Most Kitchen Appliances Replaced By One Product, Most Special Offer, Most Convincing Testimonials, and Most Enthusiastic Announcer, as well as a Best Endorser win for LaLanne, his fifth.