ergo september 26

8/14/2019 Ergo September 26

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Friday, September 26, 2008

GO BOLERO!The short jackets back

FREE CIRCULATION

VAARANAM AAYIRAM AUDIO LAUN

Gowtham Menon turns a compere

1812

A BYTE OF LIFE

Vol. 2 No. 187

ROOMMATE

Have you lived with one?Or are you one?

Enchanting KeralaVipin Goni of Ford BusinessService sent us his travelogueon his weekend trip to Kerala

FROM

HELL

PAGE 06


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ERGO Friday, September 26, 2008

Namma Chennai

02

If you missed DJ Nash and his

firefly trips across the nation,he played in namma Chennaiat OPM, Accord Metropolitan

on Wednesday for the clubs la-dies nights special.

The man specialises in house,but is more electro with strong

jungle sounds infused with Latinmelodies. Listening to it the firsttime, especially since the DJ start-ed playing house first and thenmoved on to hip hop, one has tostand still and swill the sound like

wine before acquiring a taste forit. At one point, there were trum-pets blaring while African beatstook over to create a fusion soundand a unique out-of-the-bodythumping experience you

know, that time you dance andthe feet move on their own.The crowd was a little reluctant

at first, especially when the DJplayed what came to him natural-ly starting with his signature set.Shifting to hip house within anhour, there was still no sign of lifeon the floor, and any dancing wasaround the bar. It was when theDJ shifted to commercial hip hop,playing Rihannas Umbrella andDaddy Yankees Gasolina that theclub suddenly seemed to have asurge of partygoers. Of course,some of the ladies in the houseare regulars at 10 Downing Street,and since OPM serves free alco-hol for women through the night

on Wednesdays, the place packed till the end.

Better still, the club stopen till 1.30 a.m., with thannouncing at half an hour tminute intervals towards thethat the party was coming tend. For those starved of

night shindigs, this night wasmother of all parties.

This house music deejay mixes Latinosounds with African beats

For those starved oflate night shindigs,this night was themother of all parties.

Nash and hisSTASH

Sing alongMadras Youth Choir is conducting a music workshop on songs onational integration, folk songs, etc and on voice culture, fromOctober 2 to 4; between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at YGPs School,Calibre, 21/6, Krishnaswamy Avenue, Mylapore. It is open to allabove 16 years. Participation fee is Rs.150 for all three days.Further details, contact 9841383421, 9840548073

In a nutshelDJ Nashs set is

called Untamed andaccording to hisMyspace site, hedescribes the soundas, Dirty housemeeting the electro/tech house sound buremaining consistentfunky and melodic.

DJ Nash at OPMPHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN

Top Ten Fiction1. Sea of Poppies Amitav Ghosh. Rs. 5992. Brida Paulo Coelho Rs. 2953. A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hos-

seini. Rs. 3954. The 3 Mistakes of My Life Chetan Bha-

gat. Rs. 955. Unaccustomed Earth Jhumpa Lahiri.

Rs. 4504. A Prisoner of Birth Jeffery Archer. Rs.

2706. The White Tiger Arvinda Adiga. Rs. 3957. Six Suspects Vikas Swarup. Rs. 4958. One Night at a Call Centre Chetan Bha-

gat. Rs. 959. You Are Here Meenakshi Reddy. Rs. 199

Top 10 Non-fiction1. The Secret Rhonda Byrne. Rs. 5502. The Last Lecture Randy Pausch. Rs. 2953. Hot Flat & Crowded Thomas Friedman.

Rs. 5954. Stay Hungry Stay Foolish Rashmi Ban-

sal. Rs. 1255. Go Kiss The World Subroto Bagchi. Rs.

3996. Execution Larry Bossidy and Ram Cha-

ran. Rs. 6957. Cold Steel: The Multi-Billion Dollar Battle

for a Global Industry Tim Bouquet and

Bryon Ousey. Rs. 6508. Men of Steel Vir Sanghvi. Rs. 959. What to Expect When You Are Expecting

Heidi Murkoff. Rs. 43010. Black Swan Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Rs.

395Courtesy: Crossword

Bookworms

Corner


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Dandiya niteCatch the fun and excitement ofDandiya Garba Raas happening at TajConnemara on Saturday at 7 p.m. Forpasses call 98410 14925/ 98844 80228.

MOBILEergo

909401 3535

Thursdays queryI am the best there is but my only fault is

I dont like people finding fault in my workeven though committing errors is a humannature.

Asareere, TCSI always sleep at my desk

MaranI forget my assignments, when I gossip withGIRLS.

Goutam Dey, Hexaware

To be the smartest in the teamVaidya, CSS

I tell lies very oftenRajagopalan S., CTS

My modestyRanjani, Infosys

I dont tolerate foolsThirumalaiselvi Nambivel

I dont know to judge anybody (includingmyself)

LAN, FSSI m flawless

Anurag GargI dont work for peanuts ... (I am too good formy CTC)

9884024133I am a consummate liar

R Suresh, CGSLI am flawless, lawless and priceless, isnt thisbest less

Carl allsecI lie most of the time...

Aditya, Satyam computer

Not comparing myself with others surroundingme

Nithyaalangaran S

Thinking that I am the best there Mohan, TCS

Being the bestRebecca, Allsec

I cant stand my boss. Obviously when he is notaround

9789090786I dont have a flaw! (isnt that amazing)

KrithikaI tell a lot of liesRadhika Santhanam

Living in this planet with you ... people!S.Kannan TCS

BeingI am the best there is but my only flaw is I lielike this often

Thiru

Ergo PickI seldom get to know Im best in doing what!!!

Padmavijayan S

Fridays queryIf the Superstar was a softwareengineer, what would be his punchdialogue?

Hand in hand

Two brothers take a stroll in PeramburHigh Road. PHOTO: V. GANESAN

Tomorrow (September 27) is WorldTourism Day and if you want tocatch up with some of the eventsand celebrations, then there is atwo-day extravaganza in the city.The travel and tourism expo is beingorganised by The Hindu in conjunc-tion with Tourism Department, Go-vernment of Tamil Nadu. Tourismboards from different states will bepart of the fair where a variety ofprogrammes depicting every state

will be highlight.Drop in at Rajah Muthiah Hall, Eg-

more on September 27 and 28.

CelebratingIncredibleIndia


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World Heart Day04

Angina or heart painis often due to blockin one or more coro-nary arteries. If grad-ual, it gives heart painor Angina, if sudden,it causes heart attack,

which can be fatal. Infact the tiny coronaryarteries have inner

lining replaced by de-posited Cholesterol,known as Atheroscle-rosis, covered with ablood clot in acute cases.

Sedentary life style, stress,smoking, obesity, diabetes, highblood pressure, high cholesterollevel, family history and geneticcauses are the well establishedrisk factors.

As far as IT professionals areconsidered, they are exposed tohighly competitive, stressful workenvironment, with long workinghours and target fixing jobs. Thebiggest enemies causing heart at-tack are stress and smoking to

which they are becoming more

friendly inviting trouble forthemselves. Depression, stress,anger with above factors speciallyif there is family history of heartattack, makes things worse. Ex-cessive deviation from healthydiet and normal sleep pattern,

with other mentionedfactors make them ex-posed to risk of sud-den death from heartattack as they have nocardiac reserve, Dr.Kapadia says and sug-gests 10 golden rulesto prevent heartattack.

Avoid or stopsmoking.

Drink plenty of wa-ter 2-3 litres per day.

Avoid Junk Food. Eat healthyMeals with less fat, more fruitsand vegetables.

Eat Omega-3 daily (Sources:Fish, Walnut, Almonds, andPistachio).

Walk or exercise for half-an-hour daily.

Use staircase instead of lift.Reduce stress by doing Yoga/

Meditation/ Prayers/ goingholidays

Control High Blood Pressure/High Cholesterol/Diabetes

Regular health check-up for

heart disease, ECG / Echo /TMT /Cholesterol/Blood Sugar check atleast once in six months.

Do not neglect any chest dis-comfort or chest pain. It can beheart attack and timely treatmentcan save life.

Ahandful of pistachio nuts a day can reduce

your chances of developing heart disease,

according to a team of American researchers.The scientists have found that pistachiosbring down levels of bad cholesterol in theblood, as they contain an antioxidant calledlutein, also found in fruit and leafy green veg,

which cuts the build-up of bad cholesterol inthe arteries.

Pistachios are very healthy in moderation. A handful a day is very easily incorporatedinto the diet and they are less calorific thanpeanuts as you have to take the shell off, theDaily Express quoted nutritionist AngelaDowden, as saying.

To reach the conclusion, scientists at Penn-sylvania State University and Oklahoma Med-ical Research Foundation chose 28 adults

whose average bad cholesterol level was bor-derline high.

The study has been published in The Amer-ican Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

ANI

Pistachios bring down levelsof bad cholesterol in theblood, as they contain an

antioxidant called lutein

Pistachios good for heart

My heartWhen attempting to locate their heart, mostpeople place their hand on their left chest.Actually, your heart is located in the center ofyour chest between your lungs. The bottom ofthe heart is tipped to the left, so you feel morof your heart on your left side of your chest.

On a sultry Monday morn-ing, Amit, a 25-year-oldsoftware professional wasrushing to office as usual

to meet his deadline. A chainsmoker who is constantly under

work stress, Amit was un-

aware that the day will be hislast day in this world. He felt a

sudden pain in his heart andbreathed his last on the way tohospital. The report citedheart attack as the reason for

death.Every 15 seconds some one isdying of heart attack inworld. And in India alone, 25lakhs of people (0.25% of

Population) died of Heart at-tack last year, says Dr N. Kapa-

dia, a Cardiologist.Dr Kapadia points out that

there are two types of heart dis-eases.

Congenital heart defect: De-fects in heart present since birth

like a hole or defective heartvalves making baby blue. About8-10 of 10,000 children are born

with congenital heart defects. Atherosclerosis: Heart gets its

nutrition and oxygen throughsmall arteries called Coronaries.

Is your heart safe?V.HARIPRIYA

[email protected]

Cardiologist Dr. N. Kapadialists simple tips to save

your heart aheadof the WorldHeart Day

Dr. N. Kapadia


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ducted by the Research Laborato-ries of the Catholic University inCampobasso, in collaboration withthe National Cancer Institute of Mi-lan.

The findings, published in thelast issue of the Journal of Nutri-tion, official journal of the Amer-ican So-ciety of Nutrition, comefrom one of the largest epidemio-

logical studies ever conducted inEurope, the Moli-sani Project, which has enrolled 20,000 inhabi-tants of the Molise region so far.

By studying the participantsrecruited, researchers focused onthe complex mechanism of inflam-mation. It is known how a chronicinflammatory state represents a riskfactor for the development of car-diovascular disease, from myocar-

dial infarction to stroke, just tomention the major diseases. Keeping the inflammation process undecontrol has become a major issuefor prevention programs and C reactive protein turned out to be oneof the most promising markers, detectable by a simple blood test.

The Italian team related the levelof this protein in the blood of exa

mined people with their usual choco-late intake.Out of 11,000, researchers identi

fied 4,849 subjects in good healthand free of risk factors (normal cholesterol, blood pressure and otheparameters). Among them, 1,31did not use to eat any chocolate

while 824 used to have chocolatregularly, but just the dark one.

AN

Chocoholics rejoice

ECGThe electrocardiograph (ECG) was inventedin 1902 by Dutch physiologist WillemEinthoven. This test is still used to evaluatethe hearts rate and rhythm.

Heart beatIn a 70-year lifetime, theaverage human heart beatsmore than 2.5 billion times .

Chocolate has already beenlinked to many health bene-fits, and now, a group of scien-tists has given chocoholics

another reason to savour their fa-vourite sweet by suggesting thatdark chocolate prevents heart dis-ease.

The Italian study, the first out-come of a large epidemiological in-

vestigation, has found newbeneficial effects of chocolate in theprevention of cardiovascular dis-ease.

According to the researchers, 6.7grams of chocolate per day repre-sent the ideal amount for a protec-tive effect against inflammationand subsequent cardiovascular dis-ease.

The population study was con-

SCIENTISTS SAY THAT DARK CHOCOLATE MAY KEEP HEART DISEASE AT BAY

Finding it hard to get over a break-up? Well, then all you need to do

is follow these simple tips, for they will help put the spring back into your step.

Following are the ten best curesfor a broken heart, reports the In-dependent.

Eat wellA diet high in complex cabs, ome-

ga-3 and vitamin C will boost yourlevels of serotonin, which helps fightfatigue and depression.

Go for a walk A good walk in the fresh air can

help clear the mind.Spa retreatIts a great way to relax your mind

and work away any pent-up tension.Plan a holidayPack your bag and take yourself

on the trip of a lifetime.ExerciseExercise can help release endor-

phins in the body. These are the verysame chemicals released in the body

at the point of orga-sm, which give thatfeeling of euphoria.

Clear the clutterGetting rid of those

old love-notes and cosyphotos is extremely ca-thartic.

Learn a languageLearning a new language

is a great way of meeting newpeople and broadening yourhorizons, as well as helping youout of a mental rut.

Write it down Writing down your thoughts on

paper is a great way of workingthrough emotions.

ChocolateChocolate is a true positive indul-

gence.New outfit

A new outfit can give you a newlease of life, at least in the shortterm.

ANI

10 best waysto cure abroken heart


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ways than you would like. Yourtoothpaste is his, so is your sham-poo, deodorant, towel, hair oil,etc.

You will step into your room tofind him sprawled across yourbed and he will not need yourpermission if he wants to raid

your biscuit jar. Fill up the buck-ets for unexpected water shortag-es and youll find this one doinghis laundry with it.

The animal loverThis one believes in peaceful

co-habitation and non-violence.So what if its those lice roamingfreely on her head. And she likes

you, too. The more you try to stayaway, the more will she try tocome close.

The Owl

She wakes up at midnight,when the world (including her

unfortunate roomies) is asleep.The lights go on, books that havebeen gathering dust all day comeout of the cupboard, and a dullbuzzing noise of someone mug-ging up text will form the back-ground music for those indreamland (and those jolted outof it).

The Untouchable

No one shall wander anywherenear her. Her bed shall be barri-caded with a dozen suitcases, theclothesline is hers only. If you re-ceive a phone call while Her Maj-esty is asleep, you shall step out,or remain inside at your own per-il. If youre about to cough pleaseproceed beyond earshot. Thisones the other extreme of theOwl. The lights shall be switchedoff at 10 p.m. Not my problem if

you work night shifts is the in-struction. Use a torch for light if

you have to.

The whats-yours-is-minebeliever

This one is your friend in more

The slob

The bedsheets are never washed, neither are the utensils.The clothes, too, never see deter-gent. What comes out of theshelves never goes back to itsproper place. You can never ex-pect him to lend a helping handeven if you offer to clean up.Shabbiness is thy second name.

The snorer Your rooms thief-proof, what

with the high-decibel snores of aroomie who could scare away themost strong-hearted of men.Nothing dulls out that sound;iPod on full volume or a fat pillowthat would snuff out the more or-dinary breathing sounds.

The whiner

Nothing keeps this one haIt could be boyfriend/girlfrtrouble, homesickness, bad mfood, scheming roommates,

weather, forgetful parents, hdeadlines, too little, too mueverything. Life becomes long agony aunt/uncle sesand theres no escape.

The show-offThe name says it. Someti

its the new watch that her ents sent from the US, sometits the chocolates some auntfrom Switzerland, sometimesome perfume another forgorelative sent from Paris, etc.,The Whiners opposite.

Roommate from Hell!


Big Story06

Are you one of those whose hostel or bachelor/spinster life COULD have been better were it notfor the annoying presence of that unforgettable someone? That roommate from hell who made

your stay miserable or unbearable. Remember the person who made coming back from collegeor workplace an unpleasant experience? A general classification of annoying roommates (notthat all fall under these categories):


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Hell Was Full, So I Am Back This was written on hist-shirt when he came to live with me. After a short

stint in Hyderabad he got a project in Chennai and as Iwas his only contact here, he moved in. I knew him frommy college days, when he was a hosteller and I a dayscholar. I did hear a few stories of him being a nasty fellowto live with, so I was in quite a fix before inviting him in.He came for three months as he was on a client assign-ment. My other flat-mates straightaway declared that I

was going to be his roommate as I was the one to invitehim. The moment he entered the flat he started cursingthe city and its intolerable heat. He was sweating andhanded me his entire luggage as soon as he entered. Thenstated a three-month-long story of grief and suffering. Ashe was here only for three months, it was out of the ques-tion that he should buy a mattress for himself. Hey, Idont need a mattress to sleep, chill he would say everytime I suggested that he buy one. But he follows the oppo-site of what he says. A 3x6 mattress, which was only wideenough to accommodate one, bore the weight of two.He used to talk to his girlfriend on the phone every nightat the top of his voice. Insomnia was a habit I developed inthose three months.It was next to impossible for him to get himself and hisclothes ready in the mornings. Then there were my neatlyironed and washed clothes which he would use. I wouldhave to find another set then.He never purchased soap, toothpaste, razor or any article

which he could take from me. Now I wonder if he even

purchased his own toothbrush.Two weeks after his arrival his white shocks had given uptheir colour. They stank so much that even he refused touse them.

We used to cook our own food after office and he nevergave a helping hand except for the finishing part, when weall sat and ate.Finally, the day arrived when he was supposed to leave.He was on leave and I had to go to office. I took half day ofso that he could get a final ride on my bike to the railwaystation. When I entered the flat at 3 Oclock he had alreadyleft, leaving our room as neat and clean as possible. It washard to believe that he did it by himself. There lay a giftbox with a note on it: You were the best roommate I everhad. Thanks for your support. Even after my misdeeds younever complained. I am leaving a few things for you which

you shared with me. Will always miss you It wasa kit carrying all necessary items like a razor,soap, toothpaste and a new TOOTHBRUSH!

Sourabh Nirmal

It was during my training period in Bangalore. I stayedin a semi-furnished mens hostel consisting of around

60-70 IT guys from various IT companies, all under oneroof. All from different backgrounds, states and languag-es. It was a lot of fun. However, we had a roommate whohad a habit of chewing tobacco and drinking, which wasnot allowed inside the hostel. He was friendly with eve-ryone but the hostel guys avoided him due to this annoy-ing habit. He would be chewing and spitting all over theplace. And the most disgusting part was that he kept aplastic bag in the room and would keep spitting in it likean old grannys spittoon. It was really very, very annoy-ing. We couldnt stay in the room as the smell becameunbearable. Also, he used to wake up in the middle of thenight, go out and come back into the room late, leavingthe door open. The hostel warden had warned him manytimes but he wouldnt listen. After all the hostellers start-

ed complaining, he was asked to vacate immedi-ately, which he did.

Anonymous

On the first day of my college life I was toldthat a guy would be joining me as room-

mate. He came after two days.He bathed occasionally. I would buy perfume,toothpaste and talcum powder and he usedmine without hesitation. The hostel providedus a mosquito net for our window. He neverbought stationary, but that day he went to thedepartmental store and came back with a SuperMax blade and torn the net. Machi, we needpure and fresh air to inhale, he told me.

This was in the year 1999, when I was working

in Hyderabad. We were seven colleagues stay-ing in a 2 BHK house. We were in the night shiftin a reputed BPO. Every morning, when we

were back from work, my roommate wouldchange into his night suit and lie down next tome. We used to catch up on what happened at

work before sleeping. At least for a couple ofhours during this time, he would continuouslydig his nose till it turned red. I could not take itanymore and ultimately had to shift elsewherebecause of this. We named him The Excavator.

R. Dhiraj Mathur

Iwas in Canada for four years and during my sI shared a house with a Canadian. I had a tou

time with him, an avid pet lover. The list of pets included a brown cat called Grumpy whslept over the microwave all the time; and tmore black cats, one on the couch and anotherthe basement. Then there was an iguana, 3 ft lo

which lived in the basement and was not propeprotected. So, quite often, he visited the othrooms. Whenever the iguana was out, you cimagine the fight with the cats. Apart from th

was one cobra (4 feet long) and two other snagrown in separate fish tanks, again in the bament. The most horrible thing was having a paof frozen small white mice in the refrigerator be fed to the snake and iguana. The funny thingthis roommate would take the mice out, wa

them in the microwave, leave it out for a while and then feed his loving pets.

S.G.Umashankar

We had just moved into a new house when I wasgiven an onsite assignment. As happy as I was

about it, I was worried about leaving my roommateManjusha alone in a new and unfamiliar place.Dont worry, she said, I will find another roommateto stay here with me soon. But then, within a week,Manjusha was also given an onsite assignment. Shecalled me soon after the news came, The house own-er is a bit upset...he said he didnt want the house toremain locked. He feels it is not auspicious to keep itunoccupied. Manisha has asked to live here...we wontbe comfortable with her, I know, but we wont begetting another roommate in such a short time.

Oh, how bad can any roommate be? I thought as Itold her to inform Manisha that she can move in.One week. Thats all the time it took for us to realiseour mistake. Our house owner sent us mails saying,The current occupant is a very rude girl. I wouldprefer the house to remain locked rather than haveher stay there. Please arrange it among yourselves.Eventually, these mails changed in tone: Either youmove her out or you all move out. I will not be orderedabout and disrespected in my own house.There was nothing much we could do about it while

we were there, so we replied with apologies and prom-ises that we will rectify everything once we are back.Eventually, my return date came. The day I reachedhome, my dearest roommate was away for the wee-kend. I entered the house and realised what everyone

was complaining about. The whole house was in dis-array. There were clothes on the floor, unwashedplates in the sink with fungus on them, spilled food on

the bed, hair on the shelf, and the highlight...stagnantwater full of worms in the buckets in the bathroom. After my initial bout of throwing up, I called up afriend and asked to stay at her place for the weekend.Monday evening, I returned home, hoping that things

would be better, now that Manisha was back and hadenough time to clean up. High hopes!The girl was lying in the middle of all the mess, happilyreading a film magazine. Hi Manisha, glad to meet

you!"(glad, indeed!) Shall we clean up a bit and thensettle down? Clean up???!!! Why? Well, what do yousay to that!!!Well, things kind of look out of control here... Real-

ly???!!!Well, yes... come on, lets clean up. No, I am tired,

you go ahead.That was new to me!I went ahead and cleaned the whole place, thus re-ceiving the full sympathy of our daily maid the nextday. I have been telling her I wont come to work hereagain if she keeps the floor like this, she informed me,the only reason I keep coming is because I need themoney very badly and I havent received my salary forthe last two months.I later learnt that the rent was also in a similar state,due for the number of months we were not there.It was a miracle that the house-owner hadnt kickedus out already.

After clearing all the dues, I calculated each personsshare and sent a mail to Manisha and Manjusha withall the calculations. An irate Manisha called me up.The maid didnt do anything for me. She only swept

the house everyday. I am not paying for that, Man-isha told me.

As unreasonable as that sounded, I agreed so that Iwould get at least the rest of the money.She did give her share of the rent for the past fewmonths, but then, the next month was not far away.We need to pay this months rent. Could you give

your share now itself? I asked.Just now you made me give you such a huge amountof money, and now you are again asking for more?she retortedI reminded her that the money she gave as a bulkamount was actually the money she should have giv-

en each month. After I got tired of perpetually cleaning up after herand getting insulted in the bargain, I confronted her.Manisha, I said, there is a limit to how much I willbear with. I am not going to allow you to do this to meanymore.Immediately, the response came, Ok, I will move outthis week. I always knew you people are very selfishand insensitive. As for this months rent, I will pay it atthe end of the month once my salary comes.I was happy enough with that deal. She eventuallymoved out and went on a long-term assignment with-out informing any of us, so we never received the rentamount when salary day came. All the same, I dontregret it...my ecstasy was complete in itself at hermoving out, and I sent a mail to Manjusha who waspreparing to come back from onsite. Congrats Man-

ju, you will return to a clean house.Anonymous

Dear Ergo Readers,Thank you for the tremendous response to Roommate from HellObviously, many share the suffering. However, due to constraintof space, well be able to carry only a few responses on the page



8/24


Village08

Beer made from 45 million yearold yeastA tiny colony of yeast trapped inside a Lebanese weevilcovered in ancient Burmese amber for up to 45 millionyears, has been brought back to life in barrels of modernbeer. According to a report by ABC News, EmeritusProfessor Raul Cano of the California Polytechnic StateUniversity, originally extracted the yeast a decade ago,along with more than 2000 different kinds of microscopiccreatures. Today, Cano uses the reactivated yeast to brewbarrels of pale ale and German wheat beer.

ANI

Blind Muslims can take guidedogs into mosquesIn a move welcomed by many, the Muslim Law (Sharia)Council UK has issued a fatwa (edict) to allow blindMuslims to take their guide dogs into mosques.Mohammad Abraar Khatri, an 18-year-old blind Muslimstudent in Leicester, is the first to be allowed to take hispet into a UK mosque. Leicester has a large minority ofIndian origin. The announcement followed a series of

discussions between theGuide Dogs for the BlindAssociation and theMuslim Council ofBritain on Khatrisrequest. The associationsaid it was a massivestep forward for other

blind and partially-sighted Muslims. Dogsare still barred fromentering the prayer hallfor the sake of hygienebut are allowed toguide their owners tothe area where shoesare placed.

PTI

Beatlemania in Israel asMcCartney plays for peaceBeatlemania has takenhold in Israel as PaulMcCartney prepares toplay his first everconcert in the Jewishstate today, saying hehopes to spread amessage of peace inthe troubled region.Four decades after theFab Four were forcedto cancel a gig overofficial fears they

would pervert thecountrys youth, SirPaul will perform anoutdoor concert in TelAviv, defying death threats from an Islamist cleric and callsfrom pro-Palestinian groups who wanted him to boycottIsrael. Tight security will surround Hayarkon Park, wheretens of thousands of people, some paying as much as1,000 euros for the privilege, will watch the legendaryleft-handed guitarist belt out his tunes. You have torealise that any high-profile event brings with it someworries, the 66-year-old said in an interview.

AFP

Gorgeous, this is how Pa-kistan President Asif AliZardari described Repu-blican Vice Presidential

candidate Sarah Palin when shemet him at New York.

You look so gorgeous. Now, Iknow why the whole of Americais crazy about you, Zardari said,while receiving Palin, also the

Governor of Alaska, at the Mille-nium Hotel here.

You are so nice, 44-year-oldPalin, a former Miss Wasilla run-ner up in Alaska beauty pageant,told Zardari, husband of slain for-

mer Pakistani Premier BenazirBhutto.

An aide of Zardari then told thetwo to keep shaking hands for thecameras.

Im supposed to pose again,said Palin, who has energised theRepublican Presidential nomineeJohn McCains camp.

If hes (aide) insisting, I mighthug, 53-year-old Zardari replied,for which Palin smiled politely inresponse. The conversation wascaptured on a camera and tele-cast later.

PTI

Zardari says its because she is gorgeous

Why US is crazy about Palin?

Sir Donald Bradmans batfetches US$ 145,000Cricket legend Sir Donald Bradmans first testcricket bat fetched a whopping US$ 1,45,000 at anauction in Melbourne. Bradmans bat was snappedup by an Australian bidder at a record price whichwas US$ 25,000 more than the upper pre-saleestimate, a media report said. A spokeswoman forMelbournes Leski Auctions said bat would remainon home soil after being bought by a privatevendor.

PTI

Websites of the dayPlay pranks on your friends with this fake email generator:http://deadfake.comCheck online weather forecasts so youre not caught out bysummer showers: http://www.metcheck.com


9/24


You might be working harderand longer in a desperatebid to succeed, but if youare doing so at the cost of

your health, then you need to getrid of those workaholic habits.

Many people feel like theyhave to push themselves to un-

healthy levels in order to succeed.But high-pressure jobs and longhours take a real toll on your im-mediate and future health, saidGeorge Griffing, M.D., professorof internal medicine at SaintLouis University.

These are the seven worst hab-its of workaholics, according toGriffing.

1. Forgetting to relax: Whilesome stress can be good becauseit keeps you alert and motivated,too much stress or chronic stresswill take its toll on your body.

2. Eating on the go: Betweenmeetings, conference calls anddeadlines, workaholics forget totake out time to sit down for a

healthy lunch. But a good meal isexactly what a person needs tostay mentally sharp throughoutthe day.

3. Putting off sleep for work:

Even busy professionals nseven to nine hours of sleep enight. Missing out on sleep lead to irritability, difficulty centrating, memory proband poor judgment. It has been linked to obesity.

4. Not making time for exer

Getting at least 30 minutes oercise most days is very imtant to immediate and fuhealth.

5. Working even when Many people come to workspite being ill. But there are tcommon sense reasons to home - Nobody wants germs, youll be less produand you need your rest to getter.

6. Drinking (too much): Exsive drinking can lead to alclism, liver disease and sforms of cancer.

7. Skipping annual medcheckups: In order to deproblems early, prevent ot

from developing and get the treatment if you have a condi

you need to know whats gon in your body.

Seven worst habits of workaholics revealed

Do you have these habits?

An applicant in Bihar has beenasked to pay over Rs 70 lakh forsecuring the information hesought under the Right to Infor-mation Act.

Gupteshwar Singh, a socialworker from Agiyaw in Bihars

Bhojpur district, had on June fivefiled an application seeking date-wise information about the dis-tribution of foodgrains and kero-sene through the publicdistribution system (PDS) in Ud-vantnagar, Agiyaw, Tarai, Garha-ni, Sandesh and Saha panchayatsof the district between 2000 and2008.

Talking to PTI, Singh said thatBhojpur District Supply OfficerJawahar Prasad informed himthat the desired informationwould be made available onlywhen he would deposit Rs

78,21,252, estimated to be spenton photocopying of the docu-

ments.I have also been asked to de-posit money in the Bhojpur col-lectorate by July 25, Singh said.Otherwise it would be under-stood that you are no more in-terested for the information, hesaid quoting the letter of the offi-cial.

Under the RTI act, the appli-cants are required to pay Rs 2 foreach document being photoco-pied.

Charging the district supply of-ficer with being vindictive, Singhsaid he had never sought thephotocopies of all the PDS docu-ments for the last eight years. I

just sought information, he said.

PTI

Man asked topay Rs 78 lakhunder RTI Act

An artisan paints an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga ahead of the upcomingfestival of Navratri in Mumbai on Thursday. AFP PHOTO

Painting own life

Gipsy predicts lottery winA couple who run a snack bar in England won amulti-million dollar jackpot on the lottery - daysafter a gipsy predicted the win. Gary and AnnHenry say the mystery gipsy woman read Annsfortune after they gave her a free egg sandwich.

This day, that yearIt was in September 26, 1983 that sports longest winningstreak, lasting 132 years, was broken. It was held in theAmericas Cup race where the United States team, expectedto maintain the title they were defending for the 25th time,lost to challenger Australia II.


10/24


Technorama

10Oracles compSoftware giant Oracle announced itsentry into the computer hardwarebusiness with a brainier, brawniermachine crafted to manage theexplosion of digital data. It will bepartnering with HP.

Lasts long, really longThe new Dell Latitude sips energy drinksTheres nothing worse than a dying laptop

battery when you are away from powersockets and need to get some work

done.The Dell Latitude E6400 solves thatproblem with a whopping 19-hourbattery life. Seems as if it sips energy

drinks to stay alive that long, but this14.1inch notebook actually does that

using a combination of various featuressuch as a 9-cell battery and SSD storage.

Imagine being able to work unhindered overlong haul flights and get that presentation in

shape before you land. Part of the latestportfolio of Latitudes, the other new additions

in the range include the semi-rugged E6400 ATG,the 13.3inch E4300, and the 12.1inch E4200, the

latter being the lightest commercial notebook

from Dell at just 0.99kg. Rs 54,990,www.dell.co.in

Shoes 2.0Smarties as sole-partner

This Supercup High racingshoe has more tech

than most cars: ashock-absorbingheel thats oil-anfire-resistant, and

more padding thanan airbag. TheInternationalMotorsport

Federationapproved it, and

theres a casual streetversion for us non-professionals

too.TBC, www.porsche-design.com

Zoomed-out snapperNikon shrinks one of its classic SLRS

At 1.65 lakhs for the body alone, you need to be pretty serious aboutyour snaps to buy one of Nikons monster SLRs, but you get yourmoneys worth. The new D700 is a shrunk-down version of the proschoice, the Nikon D3, with the same 12-megapixel CMOS sensor, as wellas an anti-dust system that uses high frequency vibrations to shake theimage sensor clean - think of a dog shaking itself dry. Plus the shutterrelease time lag is just 40ms, so youll be able to capture drops of water

in mid-air. Possibly flying off a dog shaking itself dry.Rs 1,65,000* (bodyonly), imaging.nikon.com

Snippetssourced fromT3 magazineof InfomediaGroup

Bargain-bin camCheap clicks

Heres a way to get 1080p for cheap: the AiptekPocketDV AHD Z500 Plus. Itll give you full-HD flicks, andyou can film at 60 frames per second or 30 if you can putup with a mere 720ps worth of HD. Take it to the zoowith a 32GB SDHC card, and youll walk away with a cooleight hours of hi-def zebra action. Now thats something,

isnt it?Rs 20,000*, www.aiptek.com

Seven reasons to buy...This earthquake-proof Denon sound system

1/Vibration-resistant construction means that, even if yourecowering under a doorframe during an earthquake, Denonsuper audio CD receiver RCD-CX1 and speaker system SC-CX101 will make sure that your music wont skip a beat.

2/The power circuit maintains a stable current even during.sudden peaks, so cymbal crashes will always soundrealistically annoying3/It plays music in numerous formats, from iPods to SuperAudio CDs, to standard CDs, and MP3 and WMA CDs4/Control your docked iPod using the supplied remote.Physical effort is very overrated5/A power output of 150W means youll wake yourneighbours neighbours6/Switch input sources while a song is playing and itll fadeout gently7/A double-layer cone in the woofer reduces magneticdistortion, allowing for sound so spacious, it could fill an

average-sized department storeRs 1,00,000*, www.denon.co


11/24

Want to know where BarackObama and John McCainstand on abortion, health care,Iraq or any other hot button top-ic?

Internet search giant Googlehas developed an experimentalnew tool which allows Web surf-ers to compare quotations fromthe US presidential candidatesside by side.

Called Google In Quotes(labs.google.com/inquotes), theprogram displays statements bythe candidates on whatever sub-

ject the user enters into a searchbox. Enter Iraq, and up popsthe latest quote on Iraq from the

candidates. A box labelled

Spin allows users to scrollback through their previouscomments on the selected issue.

The quotes are drawn from sto-

ries which have appeared Google News.

For the moment, In Quotonly provides quotations frpoliticians but not all of thare American. Google has acreated Canadian, Indian aBritish editions of the progrfeaturing leading political fiures in those countries.

The site created by GooLabs is still under developmand carries a hefty disclaime

Quotes and their speakare determined automaticallya computer program and dont guarantee the compleness or accuracy of the inform

tion you may see, it says.A

Program "Google In Quotes", displays statements by theelectoral candidates on whatever subject the user entersinto a search box

Where do the candidatesstand? Ask Google


Vint Cerf, the father of the internet,has warned that the world is on theverge of running out of the internetaddresses that allow computers to

identify each other and communicate.

Cerf, one of the worlds leading com-puter scientists, has asserted that theresan immediate need for businesses andconsumers to switch to the next gener-ation of net addresses.

Every computer and online device is as-signed a unique IP address , but accordingto estimates, the pool of unallocatednumbers will soon run dry.

IP addresses are as crucial to websitesas street addresses are for businesses butsome network engineers predict that we

will run out of them in two years.However, Cerf has said that its high

time that preparations are made now,otherwise some computers might not beable to go online and the connectivity ofthe internet might be damaged, unlesspreparations were made now. He also

said that particularly Internet service pro-viders are needed to prepare and thattime was running out for a smooth transi-tion.

This is like the internet running out oftelephone numbers and with no newnumbers, you cant have more subscrib-ers, Times Online quoted him, as saying.

Cerf and his colleagues devised the In-ternet system in 1977, and he set in placeinternet protocol version four (IPv4)

which provided 4.2 billion addresses.Each IPv4 address is a series of 32 binarydigits.

However, with the boost in the numberof internet-enabled devices, especiallymobile phones, less than 14 per cent ofthose addresses remain vacant.

According to current figures, the exiing IPv4 address will run out in 2010 anpossibly as early as next year.

But, scientists have already kept asidenew system, called IPv6, which has be

ready for implementation for more thandecade.Under IPv6, each address has 128 b

and so provides 340 trillion, trillion, trlion different addresses. And it is believthat this will meet humanitys needs fdecades to come.

Both the protocol systems will run multaneously and IPv4 addresses will st

work as normal.But if the IPv6 is not widely adopte

then those using it may find themselvunable to connect across the whole iternet.

The Organisation for Economic Co-oeration and Development has warnthat shifting to the new addressischeme was critical for the future of tinternet economy and was likely to affe

all businesses that require IP addressfor their growth. A

IP addresses are as crucial to websites as street addresses are for businesses,but some network engineers predict that we will run out of them in two years

But, scientists have already kept aside a new system,

called IPv6, which has been ready for implementation formore than a decade.

IP addresses running out warnsINTERNETS DADDY

Computer treatmentResearchers at the National Space BiomedicalResearch Institute (NSBRI) are developing aninteractive, multi-media program that will assistastronauts in recognising and effectively managingdepression and other psychosocial problems.

Google phone just okG1, the new Google phone is Nice try withthe new phone according to experts. Someanalysts noted its lack of some typicalsmartphone features such as corporate e-mail and companion desktop software.

Eye Candy

A model from Japans electronics giant Matsushita ElectricIndustrial displays a new lightweight notebook computercalled "Lets note F8", in Tokyo on Thursday. The newnote book PC, designed with and integrated handle forportability is equipped with Intels Core2Duo processorand a 14-inch LCD display, combined with long batterylife. AFP PHOTO


12/24


Portfolio

12

Prada

PPQ


13/24

This is Fashion Week time. As catwalks around the world,from New York to Madrid to London and Milan, got busy, a60s-inspired garment yelled out its presence the bolerojacket.

This short jacket (either waist-length or shorter, with sleeves orextended flaps) is being paired with everything from evening

gowns to skirts and jeans.At the London Fashion Week, feisty London label PPQ pairedthe bolero jacket with tees, high-waist trousers and dramat-

ic headgear, while at Duyos at the Spring/Summer 2009collection show at Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week in Ma-

drid, ruffled chiffon turned into a bolero.At Elio Berhanyer the structured look returned.The most noticeable appearance of the bolero

jacket, however, was at the Giorgio ArmaniSpring/ Summer 2009 collection show-

cased in Milan. The mini jacket waspaired with shimmering strapless andtube dresses in chiffons and silk, and

chic returned. At Just Cavalli, at Lon-dons Spring/Summer 2009 ready-to-

wear week, it was again about animalprints and the bolero jacket completed the

ensemble, paired with leopard-print shirtsand pants and sporting cuffs in the same print.

Prada and Blumarine, too, had their own ver-sions of the bolero, the former indulging in

crushed silk and the latter in beaded bling.At the time it originated in Spain in the60s, the bolero jacket was chiefly tai-

lored out of velvet or flannel. It hasobviously broken away from themould. While denim, woollen

and knitted cotton bolerojackets are ideal for casual

wear, ones in lace andcrochet look great ondresses.

Not only does a bol-ero jacket give you a

chance to make interest-ing an otherwise dull outfit,

it is also great practical wear;something you can pair with

spaghettis and tube tops whenyoure not sure about the occasion.

THE BOLERO JACKET RETURNS WITH A BANG


Snapshots from the Milan Fashion Week:

Gucci

Salvatore Ferragamo.AFP PHOTO

Did you know?The bolero is atype of slowdance andmusical form thatoriginated inSpain in the late18th century,

performed soloor by a couple.Its to this danceform that thebolero jacketowes its name asthe jackets weremostly worn, andconsequently

popularised, bythe femaleperformers.Eighteenth-century paintingsof bolero dancerswill feature thebolero jacket.

Dsquared2

MILAN MADNESS

Roberto Cavalli

Marni

Etro

Bottega Veneo Armani


14/24


15/24

M y mother went to Mo-cambo to listen to DorisDay covers. I went to Mo-cambo for Fish a la Dia-

na. Mocambo opened its doors in1956, a European oasis of glam-our and jazz on Park Street, Cal-cuttas famous cabaret row. Itssecond-generation owner, NitinKothari, called it independent In-dias first nightclub, which isplausible, even if impossible toverify.

There was a German architect,an Italian managerand, soon after itsopening, a 17-year-

old chanteusenamed Pam Crain,

who wore a Frenchevening gown andsang standards with

Anton Menezes six-piece band. Shehad a good voice,she was very good-looking, Kothari,61, recalled. Veryglamorous.

My father would,of course, wear onlyproper shoes, no matter theswampy Calcutta heat. I askedmy mother if she danced in a silksari. She denied dancing. Somany stripes of Europeans left

their mark on this city Dutch,Portuguese, Armenian, English that it seems somehow fittingthat in cuisine and cabaret vibe,Mocambo is still an odd jumbleof Europeanisms: a mural of fauxDegas ballerinas, red vinyl ban-quettes, red silk lampshades

hanging like upside-down tucigarette smoke rising fromtables. Fish a la Moutardgrilled bhetky, a Bay of Bedelicacy, drenched in a smustard sauce, whose virtuBengali can croon about. Anon Horseback is chicken wrapin bacon. Fish a la Diana isdulgence itself: bhetky, stu

with prawn and cooked in creThe most expensive di

range around Rs 200 and the choices on the cocktail menudian-made Old Monk rum Black Dog whiskey (splurge

the 12-year vintabout Rs 200 a dble shot).

The mstopped 20 yago. Kothari blaCommunists eleto power. They approved of bgeois indulgelike dancing cto cheek, he They raised thetertainment charge to 30 percOthers on Park S

blamed power oues. Despair and then globation hit the other clubs, onone. The Blue Fox becamMcDonalds and then closed a gas cylinder exploded. Ma

lias Sunday afternoon jam sions were abandoned.sprawling KFC opened acPark Street. The only restauto still have a live band is Trin

which began as a tea room.The government has s

dropped the entertainment charge. But Kothari is wary oturning to the past. With Ggrace, we are doing OK withmusic, he said. So why maround?

NYT News Se

SOMINI SENGUPTA

European

Mocambo

25-B Park Street, KolkataPhone: (033) 2229-0095 or2265-4300.

ASISThe musicstopped 20years ago.KothariblamedCommunistselected topower

A LOOK AT INDIAS FIRST NIGHTCLUB


The Chennai Trekking Club isorganising a trek to Coorg from

September 30 to October 5. Thegroup is trekking to Thadiyand-mol and Brahmagiri peaks, and

will be covering a total of 1,200kms.

The trek holds special as theclub members are exploring the

Western Ghats after a long time,where forests are deep and densewith plenty to explore.

They will be travelling by carfrom Chennai and will requireone person in each group to drivethe four-wheeler. Pick-up points

in Chennai, starting from 7 p.m.,include Tidel Park, Taramani,Madya Kailash, Guindy Circleand Ramachandra Hospital, Po-rur.

Log on to www.chennaitrek-kers.org to know more about thisnon-profit association, check-lists and the latest updates ontheir treks.

If you would like to be a part ofthe trek, email them [email protected]

People dropping out at the lastminute can call 99400 73713.

Ergo Correspondent

Hello BackpackersSend us pictures of your team or family outings with a small write-up on the place,mentioning why the trip was special, how you got there or any travel experiencefor that matter. E-mail: [email protected]

GO COORG


16/24


Sport16

Platini to take on

Euro 2012 hostsUEFA president Michel Platini is expected to takea break from criticising Arsene Wenger and

switch to Polands and Ukraineslack of progress in preparing tohost Euro 2012 at a meeting

starting on Thursday. Platini,who made headlines by sayingin a newspaper interview thisweek that Arsenal managerWenger cared more aboutbusiness than football, is likely

to make clear, however, that both countries willkeep the right to co-host the tournament.The executive committee of soccers governingbody should also endorse an expansion of theEuropean Championship finals to 24 teams from16 at its two-day meeting. The head of UEFAmay also get another chance to speak outagainst the introduction of video replays to helpreferees, a move asked for by many coachesincluding Wenger. Platini has visited Poland andUkraine twice this year and warned officials thatthey risked losing the right to stage the event ifstadiums and infrastructure were not ready.

Reuters

Big break for Pak cricketersThe deal signed between Pakistan Cricket Boardand Dubai Sports City (DSC) is not only going toreap rich dividends for the PCB, but also forPakistani cricketers as they will be earningaround USD 100,000 each for playing in theoffshore matches. According to informationreceived from well placed sources, under thethree-year deal signed between both the parties,the PCB stands to get paid around USD 3 millionfor each event they play in the DSC. For each

event to be played in the offshore venue, theDSC will pay the PCB USD 1.5 million and USD100,000 to each of 15 Pakistani players selectedfor the tournament. The Dubai Sports Citymanagement will hold the broadcasting,sponsorship and advertising rights of theseevents planned in the next three years, onesource said.

PTI

Kubica can win thechampionshipBMW Sauber chief Mario Theissen is confidenthis driver Robert Kubica still has a great chanceof overtaking Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa

and winning the worldchampionship. The Pole iscurrently 14 points behindleader Hamilton, in aMcLaren, and 13 behindFerraris Massa with fourraces to go, starting with thefirst-ever night race inSingapore this week. Kubica

came in third at the last Grand Prix in Italy,picking up valuable points on his main rivalswho finished seventh and sixth respectively.Its a situation still offering Robert the chanceof making it to the very top in the worldchampionships, Theissen said. The fact thatFerraris Kimi Raikkonen closed a 17-point gapon Hamilton with two races left to win thechampionship last year is not lost on Kubicaand BMW.

AFP

Indiamighthave swallowed a crushing

1-4 defeat against Romania in theDavis Cup play-off tie but coachNandan Bal asserts that the team didnot come back empty handed as ithas found a future star in SomdevDevvarman.

Somdev, who is currently playingan ATP Challenger tournament inRomania, had squandered a winna-ble position in his second singlesagainst Victor Crivoi but did troublethe higher-ranked player and im-pressed with his game. In Somdev

we have found a player who is hardworking and keen learner. He is very

good. Let him play 2-3 more DavisCup ties and you will see him pro-ducing results, Bal said. He justlacked experience (in the dead rub-ber) to put away a tie. But he is readyto learn and I am sure he will winmany ties for India in future, headded.

Speaking about the second reversesingles, which Somdev lost afterleading 5-4 in the second set, Balsaid Crivoi curbed his unforced er-rors amazingly and clinched victoryfrom the jaws of defeat. Apart froma double fault, Somdev also commit-ted a foot fault. This is something hehas to learn. He suddenly held back.Crivoi on the other hand played anaggressive game. The guy did not

make any mistake. Somdev startedplaying safe, ultra-defensive in hopethat Crivoi will make some mistakesbut the Romania player did not giveSomdev any such chance. He raised

his ga-me,he said.

Clay featThe former Davis Cup player

strongly emphasised that Indiansneed to improve their game on claycourts as Indian players more oftenstruggle on red clay. We have to putthem (Indian players) on clay. Andthere are two ways to that. One is tosend them to Europe for two-threemonths in a year. Let them play andlearn there. Secondly, if we can im-port synthetic courts, we can importclay courts also. Put down 5-6 courtshere and let our players practice bet-ter, he said.

Bal heaped praise on Romaniannumber one player Victor Hanescu,

who pummelled both Somdev andPrakash in the tie. Hanescu was outof reach. There was no doubt about

hissuperior-

ity. The numbetwo player (Crivoi) wa

okay and to target him was thkey. Prakash played well in the second set against him but then he gotired. He (Prakash) is a player whoprefers grass and he lacked experience on clay.

Like Teams non-playing captain

SP Misra, Bal also dismissed reportthat it was due to the acrimonamong the players he and formeskipper Leander Paes missed Prakashs match.

There was a plan. I was therwhen Prakash warmed up and it wamy duty to accompany Somde

when he warmed up with Leander. I was my job to be with him. And asoon as we finished the practice wcame back to see how Prakashmatch has progressed.

We could not get noticed as wactually sat near the practice courstands. There was no problem at all,he insisted.

PT

Moin slaps defamation notice on PCBFormer skipper Moin Khan has slapped a defamation notice on the Pakistancricket Board, seeking an apology for defaming him in connection with theIndian Cricket League (ICL) issue. Moins lawyer, Imran Qureshi said that for along time Moin had been tolerating statements from the Board officialsregarding his involvement in the ICL.

Hopesres

ton

Somd

ev

AFP

Indian Davis Cup

coach praises Somdev,

rubbishes claim of

factionalism within

the team


17/24


A Test series on Indian soil is considered tough. Its the toughest series, but itgives you immense satisfaction if you are able to win it. The big strength we

have is the Indians might think we are inexperienced and perhaps in Test cricket in thiscountry we are, but the guys that have come in have played a lot of first-class cricket.

Mike Hussey

S

even-time Tour de Francechampion Lance Armstrongwill make his cycling comebackwith the Astana team. The 37-

year-old Armstrong said yesterdayhe will reunite with Astana team di-rector Johan Bruyneel, who was theteam leader for Armstrongs recordtally of Tour wins.

While we looked at other teamsand talked to other teams, as afriend and as a long time partnerand as somebody that really trustsJohan on every little decision in theprogram, I could not ever imagineracing against him or racing withouthim, Armstrong said. The only major race before the Tour that heknows he will definitely compete inis the Tour Down Under in Adelaide,Australia, in January.

Kazakh Cycling Federation deputychief Nikolai Proskurin told The As-

sociated Press that Armstrongagreed to ride for the Kazakhstan-based team for free the first yearand has signed up to take part in fiveraces, including the Tour de France.Armstrong said he has committedonly for next year, but he wouldntrule out competing beyond 2009. Hehas dedicated his comeback to rais-ing global awareness for the fightagainst cancer.

Establishing authenticityAlso, to try to prove that he is

clean to sceptics who doubted thathe could have achieved his featswithout using performance-enhanc-ing drugs, he is adding a new mem-ber to his team: Anti-doping expert

Don Catlin, who will run a programto regularly test Armstrong. I thinkits the first time an athlete can ac-tually be totally validated on thechance hes successful, he said. Inmy opinion, Don Catlin is beyond re-proach. When I began to think aboutcoming back, I knew there had beenquestions in the past, many of whichwe considered to be unfounded. Inthe off chance that I do performwell, I didnt want to leave anydoubt, Armstrong said.

So I reached out to Don andasked him to oversee this programto be completely independent, to becompletely removed from me. Cat-lin will post the results of Arm-

strongs tests on the Web.Armstrong said he had given Catlinpermission to test him anytime,anywhere. Catlin will be paid by As-tana, but Armstrong insisted it

wasnt a case of buying his approval,because Catlin wouldnt risk hiscredibility by telling anything butthe truth. I think this will be themost advanced anti-doping programin the world, Armstrong said.

Question mark over teamamtesWhat Armstrongs Astana team

will look like is unclear. Alberto Con-tador, the 2007 Tour de Francechamp, might already be looking fora new team. I think Ive earned theright to be the leader of a team with-out having to fight for my place,the Spanish rider said on Tuesday inAS newspaper. And with Arm-strong some difficult situationscould arise in which the team would

put him first and that would hurtme.Contador, signed with Astana

through 2010, won the SpanishVuelta on Sunday. Combined withhis 2008 Giro dItalia title, he becamejust the fifth cyclist to win the threehighest-regarded tours. I thinktheres room for all of us on thatteam, Armstrong said. He calledContador the best rider on the plan-et right now, and questionedwhether hell be able to keep up. Iwould encourage him to give the sit-uation an opportunity, Armstrongsaid, and Im looking forward toracing with him.

PTI

TO HAVE ANTI-

DOPING EXPERT

ON BOARD TO

PROVE HIS

CREDENTIALS

Armstrongto ride with Astana

AFP


18/24

The audio release function ofGautham Menons Vaaranam

Aayiram, which was held at Sa-tyam Cinemas on Wednesday,

was a gala function with many artistsfrom the Tamil and Telugu film in-dustry present to grace the occasion.The album was released by the en-tire unit including the technical staffand all the other celebrities whocame. Gautham Menon himselfplayed host throughout, making it a

very personal one. This is the secondtime Surya has teamed up withGautham Menon and Harris Jayaraj.The first was Kakka Kakka, whichturned out to be a runaway success.

My first experience with Gauth-am Menon was with Kakka Kakka. It

was an amazing hit and took to me adifferent level in acting. The same

way, I thinkVaaranam Aayiramwilltake me up another level. Besidesthis, Harris sirs music in all my mo-vies has been a hit. This time too, hehas really outdone himself, said Ac-tor Suriya, who has kept his ownname in the movie. The function wasattended by notable names such asDipika Pallikal, Major GeneralBakshi, Ameer, Sasikumar, Sivaku-mar, who were all called upon to in-

dividually release the sevensongs. Other Kollywoodbigwigs namely Nazzar, Sa-tyaraj, Meena, Naresh Iyer,Devan, Benny Dayal andlyricist Thamarai were alsopresent.

Veteran actor Sivakumar was called upon to releasethe first song, Mundhi-nam. The proud father wasall praise for his son, whohad gone on a stringent dietfor 16 months for the movie.

In the movie, there is a partwhere Suriya is a 17-year-old. To getthat look, Suriya lived on a strict dietof greens and salads for sixteenmonths and I could see him suffer infront of my eyes.

I have had 40 years of experiencein this industry and though Sivajiand MGR are legends, I have notseen even them attempt such a feat,he said. The last song of the movie,Yethi Yethi was released by the chil-dren of the various crew members.

The musical score by Harris Jaya-raj has seven songs. Mundhinamby Naresh Iyer and Prashanthinistarts off with a dialogue from a mo-vie and progresses into a light num-ber. Adiyae Kolluthey, also the titletrack, by Krish, Benny Dayal and

Shruthi Hassan is peppy and fastand is a good dance number. Nen- jukkul Peidhidum has a lilting toneand is a song that stays for a whileeven after it is over. Oh! ShanthiShanthi is a faster version of Nen-

jukkul Peidhidum, Yethi Yethi; another peppy one, that may take a fewtimes to like, Annul Maelae, by Sud-ha Ragunathan; melancholic butnice and Ava Enna by Karthik andPrasanna, which will premiere as thefirst Ghana song in a GauthamMovie.

The soundtrack is by Sony BMG,which has released its second Tamilsound track after Dasavatharam.

Three theatrical trailers and videosof two songs were also shown at thefunction.

ANUSHA PARTHASARATHY

Gautham

keeps it personalDipika Pallikal

Meena


Flick

18

Brangelina and clan move to GermanyBrad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have moved house from France Germany for a three-month stay. The Hollywood couple andtheir six children left the French chateau they called home fomonths and have arrived at the German villa Palais Parkschloon Wannsee Lake.

Actor Sivakumar releasing the audio CD of the movie Vaaranam

Aayiram at Satyam Cinemas in Chennai on Wednesday. (fromleft)actors Ramya, Surya, Director Gautham, Babloo, and MusicDirector Harris Jayaraj. PHOTOS: S.S.KUMAR


19/24

Britney Spears comeback single Wom-anizer, which was to hit the shelveson September 22, has been held back ina bid to put final touches to the song.

The singers label has decided to post-pone the release of her new single aftera part of it was leaked online, along witha secret recording of the singer practis-ing her new dance routine in a studio.The bit was picked up by a local US radiostation and evoked a disappointing re-sponse.

The label held the song back to makeit as good as possible, the Sun quoted asource as saying.

The pop icons Womanizer is nowscheduled to release on November 24,while her comeback album Circus will

be launched on 2nd December - her 27thbirthday.Britney, who recently gleamed at the

MTV Video Music awards winning 3 tro-phies, may soon be performing at theBritish reality show, The X-Factor.

ANI

BritneysWomanizerdelayed forspruce up


Sakkarakatti to release todaySakkarakatti, starring Santhanu and Ishita, will hitthe screens today. The film has been cleared by theRegional Central Board of Censors with a Ucertificate. Sakkarakattiis directed by Kala Prabhu,son of producer Kalaipuli Dhanu. The music iscomposed by A.R. Rahman and the audio of thefilm has already made record sales.

www.cinesnacks.com

Aniston plans to adoptJennifer Aniston, whos soon going to be 40, isconsidering adoption in her bid to become aparent. The stunner is looking for ways to have achild without having to rely on a man.

ANI

Hollywoods hottest dadBrad Pitt is Hollywoods Hottest Dad,according to a new magazine poll. The starhas beaten the likes of Tom Cruise and BenAffleck to land the honour.

ANI

Cine City

Endhiran team to

fly back to IndiaThe Endhiran team, which has beenbusy shooting for nearly a month inthe US and Peru, will fly back to Indiaon September 27. Endhiran isproduced by Ayngaran Films on amega budget crossing over Rs.100crore. The songs are choreographedby Raju Sundaram.


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Scan

20

PICK OF THE DAY - Saturday

PICK OF THE DAY - Friday

Star Movies

War of the Worlds 9 p.m.An unthinkable and ultimatelyunexpected, murderous machine

decides to take on Earth and its upto dock worker Ray to save himself,his children and the world from thismalformed monster.

Star World

Friends 7 p.m.Rachel dreams about a romanticencounter with Joey after a visit to

the set of Days of Our Lives.Chandler buys a non-refundableweekend getaway for himself andMonica.

Discovery Travel and Living

A matter of taste with VirSanghvi 8-30 p.m.Based on the writings of Vir

Sanghvi, one of Indias mostcharismatic journalists, the seriesshowcases his opinion of the foodtrends and styles of India andcontemporary Indians.

Zoom

Lets talk 7-30 p.m.Lets Talk hosted by Omar Qureshisets out to have a heart-to-heart

chat with celebrities. Tune in tocatch them speak about themselves,their forthcoming projects and thehobbies they indulge in.

Angry in-lawsAccording to TV.com, Liz Hurleys Indian father-in-law revealin April 2007 that he had cut ties with his son, Arun, amidanger over their lavish wedding. Vinod Nayer told the mediathat he and his wife Joanne felt "publicly humiliated" andtreated "like social outcasts" at the event.

Animal Planet

In search of the giantAnaconda 6 p.m.In Search Of The Giant Anaconda.South African photographer andadventurer Austin Stevens istravelling to the Amazon to catch awild anaconda in the water, andattempt to bring it to land.

Star World

Ghost Whisperer 7 p.m.Melinda finds that she isinvestigating the intricate world ofgossip and romance within the highschool before she uncovers thereasons for the hauntings.

Zee Caf

Pain behind the fame 11p.m.Watch as the deepest darkestsecrets of celebrities are uncoveredbehing all the glitz and glamour.

National Geographic

Strange days on planetearth 4 p.m.Troubled Waters. Series 1, episode4. This series examines evidence thattoxins are being spread throughoutthe worlds water systems and seeswhat people can do to remedy theproblem.

Zoom

The Rakhi Sawant Show 7-30 p.m.Watch all the spicy gossip about ourcolourful film industry via the bold,brutally honest and much talkedabout host, Rakhi Sawant!

Discovery

Man vs. Wild 6 p.m.European Alps. Bear Grylls shows ushow to survive the Alps, Europesgreatest mountain range. Millionsvisit every year, thousands becomingstranded. Bear Grylls parachutes in& demonstrates survival techniques.

Animal Planet

Ghost of the Ganges 2 p.m.In one of the worlds most sacredrivers there exists an almostmythical creature. Seldom seen theGanges River Dolphin is a creaturefrom another age, and a creatureout of time.

Sony Pix

The Man in the Iron Mask 10-30 p.m.The three musketeers reunite to putthe real Louis the XIV back in powerafter he is shamelessly bound andhidden by his twin brother. StaringLeonardo DiCaprio and JohnMalkovich.

PICK OF THE DAY - Sunday


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Tasara presents an exhibition and sale of exclusive handlooblock printed cotton saris at Fabindia. Tasara is a design studbased in Chennai that works with handloom weavers and printein Tharamangalam near Salem. Simple lines and geometric paterns combined with traditional prints on handloom cotton sain colours that range from earthy tones to vibrant hues comprithis collection from Tasara.

Where: Fabindia, No 3 Woods road, ILFORD House,Off Mount roadWhen: Sept 27- Sept 28

Tasaras exhibition

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. has launched Cinthol Deo Spraysspecial compact 75 ml. bottle, unleashing 24-hours confidence. Fougere aromatic fragrance of Cinthols Classic Deo spray andfresh spring aroma of Cinthols Cologne Deo spray makes for unfragrances well-known for their long lasting nature and are availabhandy compact sized bottles.

Where: All major retail outletsPrice:Rs. 80

Cinthol Deo spray

Council bans clownsClowns in the U.K. have been silenced by a council which has banned them fromplaying their trumpets at Zippos Circus. The circus said it was told by councilofficials that the show could not go on unless the clowns dropped the musical partof their act. The circus, which is currently performing in Birmingham, fell foul of theLicensing Act 2003 which forbids the playing of live music without a licence.

GreetingsDear Saranya,U might have received cards, Emails,flowers and gifts as a birthday greeting,but this special greeting comes fromspecial lovable hearts wishing u a veryHappy Birthday.

Ever loving friends, Preethi, Rajaprabhu and

specially suresh & team members, American

MegaTrends India Pvt LTD.

Dear Aarthi,On your birthday, special one, We wishthat all your dreams come true. May yourday be filled with joy, Wonderful giftsand goodies, too. On your day we wishfor you Favourite people to embrace,

Loving smiles and caring looks Thatearthly gifts cannot replace. HappyBirthday!

Best Regards GTM Team, Scope International

Hi Karthigeyan (HCL-cisco),Wishing you Many more happy returns ofthe day. Let all your dreams come true.

Have a great year ahead. Happy Birthdayfrom your beloved friends, HCL Technologies Ltd

Dear Vasanth Elango,Faithful, kind and always true, reassuringthrough and through, insightful in yourwise advice, enthusiastic, sweet and nice,noted for your smiling face. Dear friend,no one could take your place A veryHappy Birthday.

With Love, Hearty wishes from Kaeshiker &Friends, Kumaran Systems.

Dear Banu,

Wish you many more happy returns ofthe day . Happy Birthday Dear. Let thisBirthday bring all sorts of joy &Happiness in your life... Enjoy..

With Love, PriyaManiDevi, Cognizant.

Dear Bond,Wish u many more happy returns of theday. I am always with u to care of u.

Mrs.King, TCS

Hi Lavanya,Wish you many more happy returns ofthe day. May god bless you withhappiness and success in your life.

Wishes from Giriprasath

Hi Revathi,A Birthday is A million moments, eachholding a promise of fulfillment of URDREAMS, & accomplishments of somespecial plans... Advance birthday wishes.Best wishes from Shobana, Indra, Arul, Udhaya,

and Aparna, HCL

Dear Prasoon,Happy Birthday to you! Hope you have arocking year!

Cheers! ASD & TYCO Team, Infosys

Dear Alapati,Advance birthday wishes. Wishing you afun filled birthday!! God Bless you...!

Regards, Rajendraprasad Medepalle, TATA

Consultancy Servicves Ltd

Dear Vidya,Wishing you a very Happy birthday Letthis birthday bring all sort of joy nhappiness in your life.

With best wishes & Prayers, OMFC & OFFC

team, HCL Technologies Limited

Dear KOKILA,Advance birthday wishes. Wishing you allsuccess in future. Keep smiling always!!!!!God bless you.

Cheers Sreepriya, Sandhiya and friends, Perot

systems

Dear Siddharth,The secret of staying young is to livehonestly, eat slowly, and lie about yourage. Ha ha ha. Wish you many manyhappy returns of the day and lots ofsuccess in CITI (AGS).Enjoy the day... :)

Wishes from Nalini, Deepthi, Saroj, Pardhu,Sonam, Tamil, Sankar n Krishna, Hexaware

Technologies

Hi Jinju,

Advanced birthday wishes. May thisbirthday be filled with all joy andhappiness and all your dreams come true.Take care with lots of love and affection.

Anitha, CSS Corp

Dear Jasmine Devi,Hearty wishes for our buddy. May this yeargive you all the goodness you pray for.Ourbest wishes for you to go high in life, getmarried this year and have child(ren) nextyear...!

From Murugan S, Ragavendran P, Lavanya G,

Sasi G, & Vijayalakshimi, (Annamalai University),

Hexaware Technologies.

Hi Da Logesh,Many more happy returns of the day da...Hope you enjoy this birthday in the wayyou wish.

Cheers Shri, TCS

Hi Thatha (alias) Nambi, We dont sendbirthday wishes to all nuts we know, onlyto special nuts like you :-) Happy Bdaydude...wish you get your DREAM girlsoon

Luv, GBOSS buddies, TCS

Dear Sabari,Advance happy Bday da. May all yourwish come true.With the word Yesssssssss, Gnana Sekaran S, Tata

Consultancy Services Limited

Dear Buji,I wish you many more happy returns ofthe day. My love and wishes surround youalways. This day is something special for Uand also for me to celebrate the day withU. This message is special and memorablegift for U.

Ur Honey, PerotSystems.SEP 27Dear Ezhil,Wishing you many more happy returns ofthe day! May all your wishes come true!

Regards, Selva,Deepa and Haarish.

Dear Muthulakshmi,May this day be the beginning of anotherspecial year. May God will shower all hisblessings on you. Many more happyreturns of the day dear.Regards, Sathyaselvam, Tata Consultancy Services

SEP 28Dear Ikrah..Sending You A Little Angel..To Sparkle your way with Joy, Laughter &Fun !..Wishing you a Wonderful Birthday!..

With Loads of Love,

Wasim M (Wipro Tech) & Sara S (Lifeline

Hospitals)

If you have anything interesting or informative that can befeatured in these columns, mail us at [email protected] send the release mentioning where and when theevent is happening, along with the contact details.

What, when, where


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Traffic Jam

22

TEAMEditor: Karthik [email protected]

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Printed and Published by S. Karthik on behalf ofKASTURI & SONS LTD., at Plot B-6 & B-7,CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar,Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin:603209 & at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860,Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Editor: S. Karthik(Editor responsible for selection of news underthe PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553

sudoku

KAKURO

Escaped bird capturedA giant five-foot tall emu-like bird which escaped from house in Cheshire, England has been recaptured. The 5ffemale adult rhea, which has white feathers and largeclaws is described by its owner as not aggressive. Policepreviously urged local residents to be vigilant in case thcame across the creature.

So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never really had theplatform? Mail us your best work and well publish it in this space, with credit.E-mail: [email protected]

This is themiserable tale of apregnant maleand we haveAshwani Guptasending us proof ofit.Yes, thats what hehas captioned thispicture which heshot on their recenttrip to the YelagiriHills.

Ashwani works

with Citigroup.Hobbies: Art ofLiving, music,movies, reading!


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B.C

BORN LOSER

FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT

PREVIOUS

ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20

VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20

LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20

SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20

SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20

CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20

AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20

PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20

Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pa

Due to impetuosity you may spoil your relationswith superiors. You are advised to proceed withyour work slowly and steadily. This is the best dto propose someone. If already in relationship, yare likely to enjoy good time with the loved one

If you are handling administrative part of job, dafavourable. Your leadership qualities may help yoto handle others. Beware of technical problems your computers. In relationship matters, you maysensitive and may need attention of your partne

Ganesha finds you communicating with many hig

authorities today. Dont be too authoritative whitalking to those working under you. You mayexpress your sentiments in front of beloved in a different way but you will get encouraging respo

Ganesha advises you to resist yourself frommeddling with others affairs. In short, it is day tomind your own business. Your personal life mayrequire some refreshing experiences. Try to pleasyour partner by going for a long drive or walk.

Your self-esteem may help you handle everythingvery efficiently. It is right day for negotiations. Yomay be able to impress the person you like or loIt is favourable most day for exchanging gifts toinstil good feelings in beloved ones heart.

You may be calculative in your work today. This the best day to plan strategies. You may have g

going on the career front in general. You may wto analyse your life partners emotions but Ganeadvises you not to get into any such things.

This is best day to arrange meetings. Your acadeinterests may also develop today. Your family lifemay remain smooth. You may wish to take yourfamily members out for dinner or someentertainment programme.

You are advised to be very attentive. There arechances of goof up if you are not careful. Doublcross check all the work done. You may feel thayour beloved ones emotions are drying out for ybut this is a temporary phenomenon.

You may remain highly creative. It is best day tocarry out new projects. If you present a presentain a meeting, it will be appreciated. In short, its

favourable day at work. If you are already in arelationship, you will enjoy company of beloved.

Today you may need to control aggression andover-excitement. Your actions and reactions needbe restrained while you are in a meeting. You caexpect full moral support from your life partner obeloved one. On the whole, it is an average day

You may be highly concentrated on other peopleand to help out others, you may also keep yourown work aside. But make sure that your workdoesnt suffer. In personal life, you may let partndecide everything. Your mate will surely like this

Today, you may face some hindrance in your rouwork due to some petty technical problem. On tother hand, you may be trying very hard to finishoff pending tasks. At home, you may need to betolerant and adjusting, to avoid conflicts.

Words worth"Weesle" (wee-zul) a very rare, underservedlyobsolete word meaning toooze.

Woman sues police after gaffAn angry woman driver is seeking compensation after British police said shelooked like a man. Short-haired Pauline Synnott, 59, was caught speeding andadmitted it in a letter to police. She expected a fine and three penalty pointsfor doing 52mph in a 40mph zone. But officers who looked at the speed cameraphoto were convinced the driver was a man - and wrote to her father instead.


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!

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Hugh Hefner and No. 1girlfriend to split?Hugh Hefner and his No. 1 girlfriend HollyMadison have indicated that their relationshipwont last forever.Holly, who was recently snapped getting cosywith illusionist Criss Angel, has claimed thatshe wants to get married and have a family,and thus Hefner may not be the man for her.I want to be with somebody who I can bemarried to, and have kids, Fox News quotedMadison, as telling Usmagazine.com.Also, Hefner (82) who is still legally married toKimberley Conrad (45), mother of two of hisfour children, has admitted that he does notwant to marry her.He said, I love her very much, but she wantsvery much to get married and have children.That isnt very much in the cards for me. Sothere has to be a certain reality there. And Imsure the time will come when shell be datingothers. Thats part of the transition.

Pig holds woman hostageA pig in Australia turned on a woman and effectivelyheld her hostage - after she tried to help it. Thecreature in New South Wales held 63-year-old CarolineHayes captive, refusing to let her leave the house withits aggressive behaviour.

ergo september 26

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