A BYTE OF LIFE Friday, October 31, 2008

12 19
RUFFLE TICKET Aamir as Guru Dutt?
Ruffles are the new Arun Dutt talks about films to be made
fashion fad based on his dad

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 207

Have you
ever detected
movement
in the
neighbours’
house when
no one was at
home? Ergo
checks out the
city’s urban
legends, the
locations with
story and
‘spirit’.
» PAGE 04
02 ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008

Namma Chennai
Food

Mexican fare
Chilli corn carne, chile
Event colorado, almond biscuits,
coconut custard... yes, it’s a
Mexican fare. Chef

To a Tea
Did you know tea tasting has its own distinct
Alejandro Estrada from
Mexico promises to treat
all you food lovers. Open
routines? Get to taste a range of organic fine tea only for dinner.
varieties as well as learn the art of tea tasting, When: From November 4
organised by Organic Darjeeling Teas in to 10
association with Tea Estate Avongrove from Where: The Raintree, St.
Darjeeling. Mary’s Road, Alwarpet
When: November 1; 4.30 p.m. For reservations call 4225
Where: Alliance Francaise, College Road 2525
Register before 6 p.m. on October 31 at the
reception. It’s free of cost and Alliance Francaise
members will be given priority. For further
information contact Chinmaya Arjun Raja at
9789059024. Television

Event
Meet Ash
Meet the vivacious
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
this week on ‘Bollywood
Biographies’ as she talks
about her life story.
Know more about her
days as Miss World,
acting career to her
marriage with Abhishek
Bachchan.
When: October 31; 8.30
p.m,
Where: Zoom at 8.30
p.m.

Men on mane
Okay. If you have been complaining why there has not been a day for men, then
Theatre
mark this date on your calendar. International Men’s Day will be celebrated today
by Schwarzkopf Professional and FitnessOne. Ankita Madan, technical advisor with
Schwarzkopf, will model free hair makeover for men.
When: October 31; 2.30 p.m.
Where: # 218, TTK Road, Alwarpet

Music

A chance with
Rahman
A.R. Rahman and Phat Phish have come together
to launch ‘The big band’ hunt. The reality show
for Doordarshan aims to give ethnic and
contemporary musicians a platform. Bands must
have between two and 10 members.
For details log on to www. bigbandindia.com.
November 15 is the last date for applying.
Stage show
Love to act, sing and dance, then here’s your chance.
Stagefright Productions is conducting auditions for those
keen on showing their skills in either of the arts.
Participants should be between 18 and 30 years.
When: November 1 and 2
Where: Studio Palazzo, 7, 1st Floor, Seethamma Road,
Alwarpet
For details call 98409 07755
 Friday, October 31, 2008
03

The big mix up

Chefs at the GRT
Grand on Thursday
took step 1 of baking
that Christmas cake Crystal clear
‘Bohemian’ is an exhibition-cum-sale of the
finest Bohemian crystal.
NANDHINI RAMKUMAR After a successful show in Bangalore,
Bohemian has brought its next exhibition

E
ighty bottles of cognac and bran- to Chennai.
dy, over 100 kilos of dry fruits and
nuts, mood lighting and a Span-
ish band; no we are not inviting
you to a party. This was what got the
mood going at the cake mixing event at
the GRT Grand on Thursday after-
noon.
Chefs from the different branches of
the Hotel, including Joseph A Chahine,
the Executive Mediterranean chef at
Azulia, put their hands together mixing
the liquor, nuts, powered cinnamon
and flour. “We wanted the event to be
something that would rise up the spir-
its well ahead of the festive season.
This is a newly constructed hall (the These hand crafted pieces are imported
Southern Crown Hall) and has the best directly from Czech Republic. The shape
lighting in the city including mood assortment is wide — wine glasses,
lights,” adds Shashi Kumar, the Gener- champagne flutes, goblets, decanters and jugs,
al Manager. tea cups, dishes, doses, vases, candlesticks,
So why do they start this early with bells, baskets, cosmetic bottles and cordial,
Christmas more than a month away? beer, juice and water tumblers, mocca and
“It takes time for the mixture to fer- bowl sets, lamps and chandeliers etc.
ment. When the cinnamon flavour set- Bohemian crystal items are decorated with
tles in and the texture smoothens, we various hand-cut decors; the typical Czech
start baking. Over 120 kgs of cake can decorative patterns include rich ‘lace’
be baked with this entire mixture and decorations which represent the Czech cutting
we have already started taking orders,” school. Some of the items are further
explains Joseph. decorated with high enamel combined with
Joseph is from UK and has served in 18K gold paint.
several European and Asian countries. Cognac, brandy, raisins and nuts ... Chefs at the GRT Grand mixed The exhibition is on till November 12 at The
His favourite Indian dish is dhal but up the goodies at the Christmas cake mixing ceremony on Thursday. Ambassador Pallava, 30 Montieth Road,
maybe he can bake a mean cake. ■ PHOTOS: S.S.KUMAR Egmore, Chennai 600 008.
04
Big Story
Here are some places that give some Chennaiites the heebie jeebies
MITHRA SURESH
mithra@goergo.in
D
ark forces of the night
lurk only when you’re
alone. Haunted houses,
murky waters, wailing
woods and more exist in namma
Chennai. Here are a few places
to visit for the strong-spirited
(pun not intended):
Theosophical Society, Adyar
This place is known for its
green surrounding, set against
Adyar River. But it is also a
spooky landmark for the mild-
hearted and a serene hideout
for the adventurous. The ba-
nyan trees that populate the
Theosophical Society are more
than 100 years old, and inhab-
ited by bats. For some, the thrill
is in resting under banyan trees
that sheltered at least 500 bats
at a time.
Broken Bridge, Adyar
This bridge was built over
Adyar River, north of Elliot’s
Beach in Besant Nagar. The area
is considered unsafe due to the
fishing hamlets and slums sur-
rounding the bridge. The assault
on the nose, due to the open
sewage that Adyar River is,
makes it even less favourable.
However, this is one of the many
places in Chennai that is called
spooky simply because it is de-
serted. What can be enjoyed
here are sunsets.
Blue Cross Road, Besant
Nagar
This road is a shortcut be-
tween Theosophical Society and
the Blue Cross Animal Hospital.
There are rumours that a person
had committed suicide on one of
the tall, willowy trees that bor-
der the lane. Since the area is
not commonly used, drug ped-
dling and prostitution became
common on Blue Cross Road.
Usually the non-functional
street lights, combined with the
thrill of no-escape, since the en-
tire stretch is either bordered by
high stone or wired walls,
makes this a regular haunt of
bikers.
ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008
Indian Institute of
Technology, Guindy
The banyan trees
that populate the
The institute is said to harbour
a romantic piece of debris from Theosophical
the past. Located behind the
Aerospace block, the remains of Society are more
a bi-plane have become a favou-
rite for treasure hunters. Urban than 100 years
legend has it that the plane
crash-landed on campus 30
old, and
years ago during an air show.
However, most IITians say that
inhabited by bats
the plane is only one part of the
spooky campus. Since only a
small percentage of the campus
is populated by humans, stu-
dents say that venturing into
any untouched territory is as
good as an adventure.
Haunted House, Valmiki
Nagar
According to a source, this
house is located off Thiruvanmi-
yur Beach, in 3rd Seaward Lane,
Valmiki Nagar. While driving
classes are regularly conducted
in this lane, at night, spectral
movement has been seen or/
and heard by many of the resi-
dents in the area. Often children
dared each other to climb over
the locked gates to spend one
night in the haunted house. Ru-
mour has it that the house has
never had permanent residents
since the ghost of the woman
who committed suicide contin-
ues to haunt there.
Friday, October 31, 2008
I From the yesteryears’ Evil Dead to Stephen King,
love watching horror and thrill-
er movies and own collection of
most in Tamil and English. In fact
it is my hobby to collect 5.1 DVDs
of horror films.
There are many instances of
watching horror movies with my
sisters, aunties and mom and got
scared and to mention one, we
were watching Evil Dead. By the
time, we finished watching 1.30 am
on a Sunday. All my relatives went
up to the terrace to get the clothes
that had been drying.
Actually there is a neem tree near
my grandmother’s house which
touches the terrace. The funniest
part here is that my uncle went be-
fore my aunt and everyone, climbed
the tree and deliberately hung him-
self upside down like a vethaal. He
covered his body with a white dhoti
which made the scene to reflect the
Evil Dead movie.
When my aunt and mom saw the
white body on the tree, they ran
like super-fast racers and started
crying. This created a lot of noise
which got to the neighbours. Finally
everything got settled. This was one
‘horrific’ instance which I really en-
joyed.
Ezhil, Cybernet-SlashSupport
My favourite scary movie is
Grudge. Though the story line of
the movie is normal, the lady ap-
pearing as the ghost in the movie is
very chilling, especially the fact she
is one-eyed with hair falling over
her face. The one-eyed ghost comes
to my memory whenever I am in
dark places, such as power cuts or
when driving on dark roads.
Santhosh M, Tata Consultancy
Services
The one character which twisted
my brain was Countess Elizabeth
Bathory (August 7, 1560 – August
21, 1614). She killed 650 virgin girls,
had a bath in and drank their blood
to retain her youth. Bram Stoker,
the author of Count Dracula was in-
spired by her who then wrote his
book. Her modern nicknames are
Blood Countess and Countess
Dracula.
Harish Danaraj
Stephen King is synonymous with
05
the king of horror, this week readers tell us the
scariest flick or fiction they have come across.
Sleepless nights or nostalgic memories, read on
to see what made their heart stop.
horror novels. I stopped bragging
about never leaving a book half-
read after I came across one of his
books, It. I had read other books by
him and had been disgusted and re-
volted, but never frightened.
Well, this book changed all
that, in just a few pag-
es! The gory details of
children being killed
bothered me a bit,
but what really
spooked me was
the description
of the shapeless
and formless
creature which
took on the shape
of each child’s
worst fear. A be-
ing which lives in
a drainage, which
cannot be seen or
heard, but can al-
ways be felt as an
impending danger, a
menacing evil just
around the corner - that
sent shivers down my spine.
I got so paranoid that every
time a door creaked or a gust of air
blew, my hair would stand on end
and I would check all the rooms, un-
der the beds and behind the cup-
boards. The very idea that an evil of
such great magnitude took on the
form of a clown, a symbol of fun for
most kids, was sinister. I believe
that I took a wise decision that day
by swallowing my pride and quit-
ting the book barely after I had
started it. But those four pages
were enough to make me feel cree-
py for a long time.
Parvathy Vijayaraghavan, Hexaware
Technologies
06 ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008

Websites of the day

Village
Get some ice cream inspiration with this
random flavour generator: http://
www.bloglander.com/ice-cream-flavors/Treat
yourself to a visit to a no-frills website:
http://www.cavaliers.org/john/boring.html

Teen boy abandoned at US hospital BBC suspends TV stars over

A 17-year-old boy was confirmed as the 23rd child
abandoned under the state’s unique safe-haven law, as ‘juvenile’ radio prank
the governor prepared to address changes in the law. The British
State officials said the boy’s parents took him to Broadcasting
BryanLGH Medical Centre West in Lincoln, on Wednesday. Corporation
Lincoln Police Capt Jim Thoms said the parents told suspended two of its
officers the boy wouldn’t follow their rules and that they most successful and
couldn’t afford some programs he needed. Nebraska’s highly paid presenters
safe-haven law is the only one in the country that lets on Wednesday after
caregivers leave children as old as 18 at a state-licensed they verbally abused a
hospital without fear of prosecution for abandonment. 78-year-old comedy
PTI actor in a radio stunt
that went wrong.
Russell Brand, a
motor-mouth
World’s oldest flamingo attacked comedian with a
Four Australian teenagers were charged on Thursday with burgeoning
attacking an almost blind greater flamingo that is believed Hollywood career, and
to be the oldest bird of its kind in the world, police and Jonathan Ross, one of
zoo officials said. The flamingo’s head and beak were the most highly paid
injured and it was bleeding from an eye after the attack at presenters on British television, were suspended for a
Adelaide Zoo that left it in a critical condition, zoo staff ‘gross lapse of taste’ during a radio appearance 10 days
said. “The bird arrived at the zoo in 1933 and was a ago. In the pre-recorded show, the pair left insulting
mature bird at that stage,” a spokeswoman for the zoo messages on the answerphone of Andrew Sachs, a comedy
told AFP. “So although we don’t know the exact age of actor best known for playing the hapless Spanish waiter
the bird, it is at least 75 Manuel in the well-known British comedy series ‘Fawlty
years old – much older Towers’ in the 1970s.
than they grow in the Reuters
wild.” The zoo’s website
describes the bird as
“undoubtedly the oldest
flamingo in the world,” Indonesia passes far-reaching
adding that despite its
great age its quality of anti-porn law
life was very good. Indonesian lawmakers rammed a far-reaching anti-
Police said four men pornography law through parliament on Thursday
aged between 17 and 19 despite howls of protest by artists and religious
were charged with minorities who say it threatens national unity.
aggravated ill-treatment Lawmakers voted by an overwhelming majority to
of an animal and back a modified version of the law, which
released on bail to criminalises all works and ‘bodily movements’
appear in court at a deemed obscene and capable of violating public
later date. morality.
AFP AFP

Wanna marry a comic character?

A Japanese man has enlisted hundreds of people in a campaign to allow marriages between humans
and cartoon characters

A
Japanese man has enlisted
hundreds of people in a
campaign to allow marriag-
es between humans and
cartoon characters, saying he
feels more at ease in the “two-
dimensional world.”
Comic books are immensely
popular in Japan, with some fic-
tional characters becoming ce-
lebrities or even sex symbols.
Marriage is meanwhile on the de-
cline as many young Japanese
find it difficult to find life part-
ners.
Taichi Takashita launched an
online petition aiming for one
million signatures to present to
the government to establish a law
on marriages with cartoon char-
acters.
Within a week he has gathered
more than 1,000 signatures
through the Internet.
“I am no longer interested in
three dimensions. I would even
like to become a resident of the
two-dimensional world,” he
wrote.
“However, that seems impossi-
ble with present-day technology.
Therefore, at the very least, would
it be possible to legally authorise
marriage with a two-dimensional
character?”
Befitting his desire to be two-
dimensional, he listed no contact
details, making it impossible to
reach him for comment to ex-
plain if his campaign is serious or
tongue-in-cheek.
But some people signing the
petition are true believers.
“For a long time I have only
been able to fall in love with two-
dimensional people and current-
ly I have someone I really love,”
one person wrote.
“Even if she is fictional, it is still
loving someone. I would like to
have legal approval for this sys-
tem at any cost,” the person
wrote. ■
AFP
 Friday, October 31, 2008
Thermometer
Dating back to the
1600s, thermometers
were filled with brandy
instead of mercury.
Obama growing grey hair as
presidential election draws near
T
he stress of campaigning
has apparently caused U.S.
Democratic presidential
hopeful Barack Obama to
gain grey hair, for he had a jet
black crop when he began the
race as a sprightly 45-year-old.
Some media reports suggest
that the pressure of election cam-
paign, and hundreds of sleepless
nights might be to blame for
patches of salt and pepper that
have sprouted all over Obama’s
head.
While the 47-year-old candi-
date was talking to supporters in
Colorado in July, he seemed to
have resigned to his more mature
look.
“The grey is coming quick. By
the time I’m sworn in, I’ll look the
part,” the Telegraph quoted him
as saying at the time.
His Chicago barber Zariff told
Politico.com that his client’s
amount of grey was “normal for
his age”.
As to whether Obama had ever
contemplated colouring his hair,
Zariff said: “No, most definitely
not. It will be quite some time be-
fore we go there.”
Air Deccan to pay family
Rs 4 lakh
A Delhi consumer court has
asked Air Deccan to pay com-
pensation of Rs 100,000 each to a
family of four for cancelling a
Pune-Delhi flight at the last min-
ute in January 2007.
The Delhi State Consumer Dis-
putes Redressal Commission
headed by Justice J.D. Kapoor
pulled up Air Deccan Aviation
Private Limited for not informing
the passengers about the cancel-
lation of the flight in advance and
for not providing alternative
arrangements.
“By no stretch of imagination, a
passenger can be left stranded
high and dry at the airport after
reaching there without being in-
formed of the cancellation of the
flight,” Kapoor said.
The complainant, Anil Bhan-
doola, a resident of Lodhi Colony
in the capital, had booked four
tickets from Pune to Delhi for Ja-
nuary 2, 2007. The flight was
scheduled to leave at 2.30 p.m. -
the airlines sent him a message
on his mobile when he had al-
ready left for the airport with his
wife and children.
Bhandoola found himself
stranded at the airport. He tried
to get on to a flight of another
airline but no seats were availa-
ble.
Left with no option, he trav-
elled to Mumbai by taxi to catch
the first available flight to Delhi.
Besides having to incur addition-
al expenditure on the taxi, he also
had to stay in Mumbai for two
days till January 4 when he got on
to a Spicejet flight.
Deccan Air officials said they
cancelled the flight because of
bad weather. ■
IANS
Compensation for
cancelling Pune-Delhi
flight
07
This day, that year
It was in October 31, 1984 that Indira
Gandhi was assassinated by three
Sikh members of her bodyguard
while she was walking in the garden
of her New Delhi home.
Media reports
suggest that the
pressure of
election campaign,
and hundreds of
sleepless nights
might be to blame
for patches of salt
and pepper that
have sprouted all
over Obama’s
head
Though there exists no conclu-
sive proof that stress causes grey-
ing, some studies suggest that it
may play a role.
Tyler Cymet of Sinai Hospital
in Baltimore found in a study that
patients under stress for two or
three years went grey sooner than
expected.
While Republican presidential
candidate John McCain is pres-
ently Obama’s main rival, the lat-
ter attributes the change in his
appearance to the efforts he
made to overcome Hillary Clin-
ton, his opponent for the Demo-
cratic candidacy in the party’s
dramatic primary race.
“She is the primary reason I
have all this grey in my hair now,”
he told guests at the Al Smith din-
ner earlier this month. ■
ANI
Protesting faces
쒀 Protesters display their faces painted with slogans during a press presentation by
the International Assembly of Migrants criticising the United Nations-backed Global
Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) taking place in Manila on Thursday.
AFP PHOTO
08
Technorama
Smallest SLR camera, almost
Panasonic’s DMC-G1 camera ($800 list price) is indeed small compared to popular SLRs like the Canon
Rebel or the Nikon D90
M
ost people – about 92
percent of us – buy little
pocket cameras that take
so-so photos. Only about
8 percent buy those big, black,
heavy SLR (single-lens reflex)
cameras that take magazine-wor-
thy photos.
It’s not that people don’t want
better pictures. It’s just that
they’re not willing to hang an an-
vil around their necks to get
them.
Next month, however, Pana-
sonic will offer the first camera in
a new format called Micro Four
Thirds. Its mission: to put the
photographic quality of an SLR
into a compact body. If it works,
then these cameras will surely
earn adjectives like “revolution-
ary,” “important” and “popular.”
Panasonic’s DMC-G1 camera
($800 list price) is indeed small
compared to popular SLRs like
the Canon Rebel or the Nikon
D90. Both the body and the lens
are smaller in every dimension.
As a result, the new G1 occupies
29 cubic inches, in contrast to 64
cubic inches on that Nikon; it
weighs 8 ounces, versus 22. It is,
in fact, the world’s smallest in-
terchangeable-lens camera.
Why not just say it’s the world’s
smallest SLR? Because technical-
ly, it’s not an SLR. Panasonic
achieved the space savings by
performing a radical boxectomy.
That is, it removed the box con-
taining the mirror and prism that
traditionally bend the lens’ light
up to your eye (the “reflex” sys-
Copy addresses to your Gmail
Start by looking
for an export
command in the
old mail program.
I s there a way to add the ad-
dresses from your old e-mail
account to a new Web-based
Gmail account? The answer is
yes.
One can indeed pull the ad-
dress book from the old program
into the Gmail contacts list. This
tem that gives an SLR its name).
Without that contraption, the
camera loses nearly an inch of
depth. The lens can now be
placed much closer to the light
sensor, and therefore the lens it-
self is much smaller.
And yet the sensor itself – a cru-
cial factor in picture quality – re-
mains full size. At 0.9 inches
diagonally, this 12-megapixel
sensor is not quite as big as the
Nikon’s (1.1 inches), but it’s still
SLR-worthy – and much bigger
than a typical compact camera’s
sensor (usually about 0.4 inches).
can be a fairly simple process if
you use Outlook, Outlook Ex-
press, Yahoo or any mail pro-
gram that can export your
address book as a comma-sep-
arated values file, which is what
Gmail likes to import.
Start by looking for an export
command in the old mail pro-
gram. In Outlook, for example,
go to the File menu and choose
“Import and Export.” Select “Ex-
port to a file,” click on the Next
button and select “Comma Sep-
arated Values (Windows).”
Click the Next button again,
Why not just say
it’s the world’s
smallest SLR?
Because
technically, it’s
not an SLR
So if this is such a simple idea,
how come nobody else has tried
it?
Two reasons. First, it means
junking the basic SLR design
that’s been in force for 50 years. It
means that generations of full-
select the Contacts folder and
click on Next. Pick a place to save
the exported file like the desktop
or a folder, name it contacts.csv
or something else recognizable,
click the Next button and then
click on Finish to save a copy of
your address book.
Log into the Gmail account
and click on the Contacts link. At
the top of the Contacts page,
click on the Import link. Click on
the Browse button and select the
recently exported comma-sepa-
rated values file. Click on the Im-
port button to pull the addresses
ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008
Go Disney!
The new Disney mobile phone,
which has original wallpaper and
animation contents on its stylish
waterproof body, produced by
Japanese electronics giant Sharp.
size lenses won’t fit without an
adapter.
Second, if the mirror and prism
are gone, how are you supposed
to compose your shot?
On the Panasonic, when you
put your eye up to the viewfinder,
you are not, in fact, seeing out the
lens. You’re looking at a tiny
screen.
Photographers generally hate
these electronic viewfinders.
They look coarse and jerky. But
Panasonic, recognizing the im-
portance of this issue, adapted a
higher-res technology from its
into Gmail.
Google has instructions for ex-
porting contacts from several
other programs at http://sni-
purl.com/4n2gs. Mac owners us-
ing Apple’s Mail program may
have to take an extra step or two
to wrestle the exported contacts
file from the Mac OS X Address
Book. Google suggests a free pro-
gram called “A to G” that con-
verts Mac OS X addresses from
the vCard format to comma-sep-
arated values; the software can
be found at www.bborofka.com
/A_to_G/A_to_G.html.■
commercial TV equipment. The
result: a tiny screen with 1.4 mil-
lion pixels, compared with the
paltry 200,000 on most electronic
viewfinders.
As a result, looking through the
viewfinder comes breathtakingly
close to peering through glass.
Not quite as clear or realistic, but
fine for most people.
Besides, you don’t have to look
through the eyepiece. You can al-
so use the huge back-panel
screen to frame your shots. It,
too, has much higher resolution
than most cameras; it also up-
dates itself 60 times a second,
twice as often as is typical, so
your preview is amazingly
smooth.
This screen also flips out and
swivels, so you can take pictures
over your head or down at your
knees without climbing or bend-
ing. You can even frame your
own self-portraits, which is im-
possible on most SLRs.
Without the mirror, Panasonic
also had to ditch the autofocus
system that most SLRs use. The
replacement system, called con-
trast detection, is not new – all
SLRs that have a “live view” fea-
ture (where you can frame the
shot using the screen) use this
system. Most of them, however,
do it horribly slowly; it can take as
long as three seconds to focus.
But the G1 can focus in about a
third of a second, about the same
speed as other non-live-view
SLRs in this price range.■
NYT News Service
 Friday, October 31, 2008
One look is all it takes
Scientists develop
software that can
enable people
duplicate keys
using images
clicked from even
200 feet away
U
C San Diego computer sci-
entists have written a piece
of software that can proc-
ess pictures of keys from
nearly all angles, and calculate
the number and depth of cuts on
them, which is all one requires to
make a duplicate key.
“We built our key duplication
software system to show people
that their keys are not inherently
secret,” said Stefan Savage, the
computer science professor from
UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of
Engineering who led the student-
run project.
“Perhaps this was once a rea-
sonable assumption, but advanc-
What a phone!
Gadget galore
A Star Wars inspired hover chair, a 125
mph electric motorbike and hi-fi
speakers that cost a fortune are among
the attractions at Britain’s biggest
gadget show Stuff Live 2008 in London
this weekend.
es in digital imaging and optics
have made it easy to duplicate so-
meone’s keys from a distance
without them even noticing,” he
added.
Professor Savage made a pre-
sentation on the new software
called ‘Sneakey’ at ACM’s Confe-
rence on Communications and
Computer Security (CCS) 2008,
one of the premier academic
computer security conferences.
In one demonstration of the
new software system, the com-
puter scientists took pictures of
common residential house keys
with a cell phone camera, and fed
the image into their software,
which then produced the infor-
mation needed to create identical
copies.
In another experiment, they
used a five-inch telephoto lens to
capture images from the roof of a
campus building, and duplicate
keys sitting on a cafe table more
than 200 feet away.
“This idea should come as little
surprise to locksmiths or lock
vendors. There are experts who
have been able to copy keys by
hand from high-resolution pho-
tographs for some time. Howev-
쑸
Japanese actress
Aya Ueto
displays
Japanese mobile
operator
Softbank’s
“Tiffany mobile
phone”, studded
with 537-piece,
a total of 18.34
carats
diamonds,
produced by US
jeweller Tiffany
and Japanese
electronics giant
Sharp. Tiffany
mobile phones,
of which only
10 pieces are
made, will go
on sale with a
price of 12.98
million yen
(130,000 USD).
AFP PHOTO
09
er, we argue that the threat has
turned a corner—cheap image
sensors have made digital cam-
eras pervasive and basic comput-
er vision techniques
automatically extract a key’s in-
can
formation without requiring any
expertise,” said Savage.
So far as the threat of key dupli-
cation is concerned, Savage says
that companies are actively de-
veloping and marketing new
locking systems that encode elec-
tromagnetic secrets as well as a
physical code.
“Many car keys, for example,
have RFID immobiliser chips that
prevent duplicated keys from
turning the car on.” he says.
He suggests that people treat
their keys like they treat their
credit cards. “Keep it in your
pocket unless you need to use it,”
he said. ■
ANI
Keep it (your key)
in your pocket
unless you need to
use it
Sync Flickr with
your iPod
E ver faced the problem where,
while trying to download and
print photos from a Flickr page,
the Photos tab to make sure the
player is set to pull in all pictures
from wherever the photos are
the photos appear in your Picasa kept on the computer, then click
files but don’t sync with the other on the Sync button. (Apple has
pictures on your my iPod? more information on synching
The Picasa free photo-manage- photos to the iPod at
ment software does not actually support.apple.com/kb/HT1678.)
store picture files but finds them If for some reason, the new
on the computer’s hard drive and photos aren’t showing up on the
displays them in organised fold- iPod, you might try saving new
ers within the program. Those versions of them.
photos downloaded from Flickr In Picasa 3, select the photos
are somewhere on the comput- you want to use and click the Ex-
er’s hard drive, possibly in the My port button at the bottom of the
Pictures folder. If they are on the screen. When the ‘Export to Fold-
desktop, move them to the My er’ window pops up, navigate to
Pictures folder or wherever you the folder where your other iPod-
keep the other photos that have friendly photos are kept. To make
already been copied onto the smaller files, you can also resize
iPod. these copies to 320 pixels wide,
Plug the iPod into the PC. Click which should be fine for iPod
on the iPod’s icon when it pops viewing. ■
up in iTunes and then click on NYT News Service
10
Travel advisor
BackPackers
Gone are the days of tireless research and careful planning when it comes to picking a
holiday destination of your choice. "Travel Decisions are made easy with Grasshoppersin-
dia.com" says the team behind the launch of Chennai’s first and best travel information site.
Courtallam
COME FALL IN LOVE
PRATHAP NAIR
I
f the deafening noise of the
roaring waterfalls did noth-
ing to scare me away from
poking my body underneath
the downpour, the fear of any
rocks rolling flippantly down
the falls did prove a matter of
concern for me. But not for too
long. I couldn’t help but get
used to the (meaningless) fear
of getting squashed in no time
and join the number of half-
naked men who took a bath
amidst loud screeches.
That almost sums up my en-
tire funny little trip to Courtal-
lam. Funny little trip as in the
trip only lasted for two nights.
The lushly peaks that border the
place, the dense tree-packed
landscape, lovely countryside,
and not to mention the chilly air
with no pollution – especially
without the maddening dust
that clouds the roads after each
vehicle passes by – makes the
place awfully beautiful. Courtal-
lam is blissfully devoid of the
usual jam-packed tourist crowd.
ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008
Get in touch at www.grasshoppersindia.com or call 044-28221930, 28230877
The place in itself seems to be
enjoying its own tranquillity
and exuding a sense of self-
pleasure, only if you care to read
the signs.
Waking down the numerous
meandering paths and listening
to the chirping of strange and
unfamiliar birds and the squeals
of monkeys trying to pilfer food
from the tourists makes it a
pleasant experience.
For once, I wished that I woke
up there everyday. A tiny piece
of nature’s work, Courtallam
has numerous waterfalls – small
and big – in its territory. All it
takes is just a day or two to visit
all the attractions. Season starts
from mid-June to mid-August.
During the monsoon season,
the entire region wears an al-
most deserted look.
However, there isn’t any
dearth of enthusiastic – and of-
ten noisy – visitors who take a
dip in the falls with profuse
merriment.
Options to stay are plenty, in
nominal charges. ■
The writer works for Polaris
 Friday, October 31, 2008
11

A night in the barn

W
aking up in a strange ho-
tel can be disorienting.
Now imagine staying
down the hall from 60
cows, two goats and a baby rab-
bit. Oh, and you’re sleeping on a
pile of hay.
Leave it to the Germans to
combine livestock with lodging.
In the last decade, hundreds of
farms throughout Germany have
transformed old barns and potato
warehouses into heuhotels, or
hay hotels, where guests spend
the night on a bed of dried grass.
The eco-friendly hotels (no
sheets to change) are cheap and
appeal to the country’s many cy-
clists, nature lovers and outdoor-
sy families. Sleeping
accommodations range from
open lofts filled with bales of hay,
to feed stalls furnished with
wooden platforms. And while a
few hotels have added more civi-
lized amenities like privacy cur-
tains and bottles of wine to take
to bed, most still require that
guests bring their own sleeping
bag and towels.
One of the quirkiest is Herren-
haus Salderatzen (www.salderat-
zen.de), a handsome barn in the
tiny village of Salderatzen, 70
miles southeast of Hamburg. The
big open hayloft, which can sleep
about 40, is decorated with two
ceramic chickens and a portrait
of a donkey. The rate is 14 Euros a
person a night, with breakfast.
It may not be a honeymoon
suite, but the hotel does host
about a dozen weddings a year.
In fact, newlywed couples often
spend their first night in the barn. stall. In the morning, you can en- ● Hay Hotels
“For lovers, there’s nothing more joy the freshest milk with your
A list of hay
exciting than a night on the hay,” muesli. Bavaria is home to one of
hotels throughout
said Heinz Laing, a former Green- the most extreme hay hotels. Bett Germany can be
peace activist who runs the hotel. im Kornfeld (www.bett-im-korn- found on
(For those who prefer to sleep feld.de) in the spa town of Bad www.heuhotels.de,
on a real mattress, the hotel also Kissingen has done away with a website created
offers a dozen regular rooms.) walls and barns entirely. For two by an association
Barnyard nuptials may be a weeks in August, guests can sleep for farm vacations
growing trend. At the Kleyhauers under the stars in the middle of a and hay hotels.
Heuhotel in Wangerland, near wheat field on 19 beds construct- Another site, in
the North Sea (www.kleyhauers- ed of hay for 15 Euros, including German only, like
ferienbauernhof.de), couples can breakfast. Amenities include a the others,
check into the “bridal suite”. For brass bed with a mattress of loose www.heuhotelferien.de,
23 euros each, the bride and hay.Toilets are housed in a con- specialises in
groom will find a small platform struction trailer, and there’s a Lower Saxony.
of hay for two, a bottle of sekt and rustic outdoor shower under an
Christmas lights strung in the apple tree. Don’t expect small
shape of a heart. bottles of shampoo and condi-
Never mind that there is a herd tioner, or even a bar of soap. ■
of smelly cows in the adjoining NYT News Service
12 ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008

Portfolio

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Manish Arora
 Friday, October 31, 2008
13
BULLETIN

Couture.
Kick. Soul
Beyonce Knowles
has teamed up
with her designer
mother Tina
Knowles (54) for
less
v e end nd the launch of
a A
ou h me. their latest
l y if y ow fra dn’t be
o n r
nar ss nee at the collection in their
them and a dre eck-
ro m ffles fashion range of
s e en f and legs entire few ru ffs or n ook House of Dereon.
r u l
as
es, er 2008 ions. you ed. A eves, c time) t in The duo’s latest
r u f fl t y e r s l e t a b e s
int ec la r, a
ulde ly one y look ilk, chif
-
i r with fall/w 009 coll ne was s h o e
season is inspired
f a h i s e r 2 s ’ l i m - ( o n T h k e s n g a by the singer’s
el s u a r line y, too. brics li le. Add i
mod a- both g/summ a’s ‘Circ are w khil t a l k o r latest film role,
Ch n r
spri ish Aro rs, too Rao, N lack
, i pret inine’ f and tu in blac is a
ated kirts, e i a
‘fem organz r belt dress and
playing Etta
s Man ed. Oth darshin d-and-b riya James in Cadillac
fled lines r u ffl . Priya a re d Pr -
e
fon, d leath ruffled e smart low
m
he med p ( i n i a n o n a a n l Records, which is set for release in
u
ing antanu a Geha he just igh
n - c br o to mbi k ye t
ram
nog mbined S h p i k a t t r e h b r o wn y to co u thin withou December, reports dailymail.co.uk.
&
), D e e
lin e s w e
op r a d w a f y o a d fl f-
u
o co chiffon line intan’s n week ka Ch ram
s goo . And i o ahe k like a sa- House of Dereon was launched by the
n g o l y g o l d Knowles family in 2006 as a prêt-a-porter
s i -defyin & Ch d fashi Priyan for Vik e. gir ou, f you lo m’s o e of
s y
y
avit ly as a
n e
clud ruffles. ramp hite tul y’re
l suit dering i P.S. Mo sourc fashion line.
( d
roba er.
b
on ed the ffled w , so the for won icken. a goo ■ Dereon was the maiden name of Beyonce’s
r m A r- a l k r u m e G o f y ch n be e r e .) grandmother Agnèz Deréon, whose married
fo gio ne w n
is i dd vol u a r. ca erial h
G i o r o a d n w e e e s t name Agnèz Beyincé inspired the singer’s
t’s was igh- Ph ffles a type r
s ma
nes h Ru body- dres first name.
Can carpet fled a l l -
The collection is sold with the tagline
uf no
s red ally r s as “Couture. Kick. Soul” as it represents the
n a
iago wn w who spirits of three generations of Knowles
go y
ed e lad
a s th ,
women.
ne r ners Tina is the ‘couture’ thanks to her design
n d esig af-
e talents, Beyonce brings the ‘kick’, while late
ndia lov
he I ues his Agnez had the ‘soul’.
i n
cont IANS

Tom Ford
in
, Hollywood
PAS HING The cast for

IN’ T
fashion designer
Tom Ford’s
movie entry has
been finalised.
Colin Firth,
Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode will
star in A Single Man, Ford’s adaptation of a
Christopher Isherwood novel.
Ford rose to the pinnacle of the fashion
world with a 10-year stint at Gucci. He
stepped down in 2004 and established his
own design line. Daniel Craig wears Tom
Ford outfits in the new Bond flick,
Quantum of Solace.
Agencies

Deepika Gehani Giambattista Valli

14 ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008

Old, new viruses spread by air travel

Wellness
Tourists traveling by plane and the growth of cities are
combining to help new and old infections spread around the
world. Viruses such as Chikungunya and dengue fever are
finding new homes or returning to places where they were
eradicated, researchers said.

Spirituality is extraordinary greed

SADHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV nite. It’s like, you are riding a
bullock cart but your destina-

S
uppose you give up your
ambition for money and
take on an ambition for
God. That means earlier
you desired a piece of creation,
now you start desiring the Cre-
ator himself! Has your ambi-
tion come down? No, it’s grown
to an extraordinary greed!
The point always is this: as a
human being, wherever you
are, you want to be a little more
than what you are. When that
happens; then a little more,
then a little more… So funda-
mentally what you are seeking
is expansion, whatever your
currency may be. For one per-
son it may be money, for an-
other person it might be
knowledge, or love, or pleasure
or whatever. Everyone is con-
stantly seeking expansion
through the currency that he
knows best. So if expansion is
what you are seeking, how
much expansion do you think
you will settle for?
Generally, it will be bound-
less expansion. That means
your goal is infinite. But you are
seeking the infinite through the
physical.
Can the physical ever be-
come infinite? The physical is
finite, always within a finite
boundary, it can never be infi-
tion is the moon and somebody
says, ‘Buy yourself a new whip!’
If your destination is the moon,
you need an appropriate veh- As a human
icle. Isn’t it? So through the being, wherever
physical if you are seeking the
infinite, there will only be
you are, you
frustration. want to be a
If there is an unfulfilled de- little more than
sire, you will be unhappy, and
the very nature of desire you what you are.
have, is such that you will al- When that
ways have one desire unful-
filled: “I want to give up desire”
happens; then a
is also a desire, isn’t it? So you little more, then
are into a no-win situation. a little more...
There was a time when ev-
erybody thought a competitor
means kill him, now they are
saying let’s collaborate. That
means the mindset is changing.
What I am saying is that the
mindset is not just about the
outside, but also the business
of life.
Life is inter-dependence; it is
constant collaboration with
everything around you. So if
you collaborate willingly, you
will go through the process of
life joyfully. If you collaborate
unwillingly, you think life is be-
ing taken away from you. I
don’t intend to change the con-
tent of anybody’s life; we just
want to change the context of
their life. ■

Scientists grow eggs from Cold virus on home

five-year-old girls with cancer
Scientists from Hadassah Hebrew University
surfaces transferable
If a family member has a cold, it’s
Medical Centre in Jerusalem have successfully very likely that several surfaces in
grown eggs from tissue taken from five-year-old the home, including the
girls suffering from cancer. The breakthrough refrigerator door, TV remote, and
offers a ray of hope to childhood cancer sufferers faucet, are contaminated with the
who are often left infertile by the treatment, and cold virus (also called rhinovirus),
are compelled to rely on donated eggs and sperm which can then be transferred to
or adopting to have their own family. The fingertips following contact, new
problem is especially difficult for children who research shows. “Rhinovirus in
develop cancer before they reach puberty because mucus may contaminate surfaces
they cannot freeze their own eggs and sperm. in the home that are frequently
The scientists have managed to grow eggs in the touched, and infectious virus may
laboratory from samples of ovarian tissue taken be transferred to fingertips during
from girls as young as five. Immature eggs can be activities of daily life,” senior
removed from the tissue and grown to maturity in special culture. The researchers researcher Dr. J. Owen Hendley,
further plan to conduct studies if they can be fertilised to create viable embryos. from the University of Virginia
These could then be frozen and stored for future use or the unfertilised eggs Health System in Charlottesville,
could be frozen using the latest techniques, which have proven more effective. told Reuters health.
ANI Reuters
 Friday, October 31, 2008
15
Cancer fighting tomato developed Snoring good for aged
A study has suggested that the nocturnal
A purple tomato genetically engineered to contain
snorts, whistles and wheezes can give you
nutrients more commonly seen in dark berries helped
a long and healthy life, particularly if you
prevent cancer in mice, British researchers said on Sunday.
are elderly.

Women
LEND US YOUR EARS
10 THINGS MEN WOULD LIKE TO TELL WOMEN, IF ONLY THEY COULD!

ANUSHA PARTHASARATHY
Don’t keep asking us if we
love you
For starters, none of us will
stick on with you for more than a
day or two if we don’t love you.
Even if it’s not love… yet, we still
like you. Just because you ask us a
100 times a day, doesn’t mean it’s
going to increase. In fact, we only
tend to get more irritated.
We are not Superman or
Batman or Spiderman
I know women like to think
that their boyfriends are the best
but please do remember that we
are normal human beings. And
the word ‘normal’ is underlined
twice with a red marker! We do
not climb walls or kiss our wom-
en upside down nor do we own a
cool bat-mobile though we would
love to, if you would like to spon-
sor! And, we simply DO NOT
wear our underwear on top of our
pants! I mean, what’s with that
guy?
We do not find ‘his’ flirting
skills amusing
It’s bad enough watching that
guy from your workplace or some
random friend you made flirting
with you. But when you defend
him saying he’s just trying to be
friendly, the only friendly reac-
tion we imagine is one where his
face is black and blue.
Left means left and right
means right!
This message is for all those
women who think they can drive.
Let me say this again, Left means
left and not any other direction
that may pop up in your creative
little head. And likewise with
right. Do not confuse yourself
and everyone else following you,
ending up in a major traffic jam.
It is said that almost 90% of traffic
jams are due to women drivers.
We are sloppy and we don’t
care
Why should the clothes be in
order? And why can’t we use a
particular spoon for a particular
kind of food? Whoever made a
rule that cupboards must be
neatly segregated with various
columns and rows? I can find my
favourite t shirt even if it is hiding
beneath a stack of socks and
shoes. That’s all that matters.
When we say you are
beautiful, don’t push it.
We only tell selected women
that they are beautiful. And when
we do that, don’t ridicule it or
pass it off or laugh at it or even
worse; ask us again if we are sure.
Well, we wouldn’t say “You look
beautiful today” if we thought
you looked like a cow that sprout-
ed two tails, would we?
We do help around the
house in our own little ways
Most wives complain that their
husbands laze around the house,
ordering the women to do all the
work. That’s totally not true. We
do our bit too. We don’t ask you
to brush our teeth for us, or eat
for us or sleep for us. See how
much we handle by ourselves?
We still think Angelina Jolie
is hot
Just because we are committed
to you, it doesn’t mean we can’t
‘admire’ other women. Of course,
you are the most beautiful wom-
an on the earth but Angelina Jolie
is still hot and so is Eva Mandes.
But they all come after you!
We love to sleep on the
couch
Men have this innate ability to
sleep on couches. We simply
adore them and think they are
the best place to nap. But, we
promised you we’ll always be
there for you and if that means
giving up a cozy night’s sleep on
the couch, that’s ok!
Men do cry
Shh! This one is classified. Yes,
we do cry. But we don’t want you
to know that because you’ll think
we are not man enough. If it
helps, the first time a man cries
almost always happens when his
woman leaves him.■

Play in youth, pay in old age, healthwise

P laying tennis or badminton might be
an excellent way of keeping fit, but if
you’re not careful, you may end up pay-
ing in old age, healthwise, says a new
study headed by Navah Ratzon, director
of occupational therapy department at
Tel Aviv University (TAU).
“Increasing numbers of adults are
pursuing amateur athletics during their
leisure hours. But we’ve found worrying
indications that this activity – when not
done properly – may have negative ef-
fects on the musculoskeletal system,”
Ratzon warned.
Musculoskeletal complaints include
discomfort, pain or disease of the mus-
cles, joints or soft tissues connecting the
bones.
Focusing specifically on bowlers, Rat-
zon and her graduate student Nurit
Mizrachi found that 62 percent of the 98
athletes in their study reported muscu-
loskeletal problems – aches and pains in
the back, fingers, and wrist, for example.
The risks are particularly high in sports
where the body is held asymmetrically
and repetitive movements are made, ac-
cording to a TAU release.
“All ball sports should be played with
caution, Ratzon advised, including
sports like golf, basketball, tennis and
squash. Your body is meant to work in a
certain way,” she added.
“If you jump for the tennis ball while
twisting your back, you put too much
stress on your body because it’s an un-
natural movement.”
Stretching before games is an obvious
prevention method against long-term
damage. But people should take other
measures to keep their bodies fit. ■
IANS
16 ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008

Bad day for Indians

Sport
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi crashed out of the Euro 2,270,000 Paris Masters after suffering
straight-set defeats along with their respective partners in the second round encounter. The third seed
Indo-Czech pair of Paes and Dlouhy, who got a first round bye, lost to their Brazilian opponents Marcelo
Melo and Andre Spa 3-6, 2-6, while fourth seeded pair of Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark
Knowles lost their second round match 4-6, 2-6 to Juan Monaco of Brazil and Rafael Nadal of Spain.

G
rand Master Viswanathan Anand success-
fully defended his world title on Wednes-
day by defeating Russian Vladimir
Kramnik in a match-play series in Bonn,
Germany.
The 38-year-old former world number one

King Vishy
won by 6.5-4.5 after a draw in the penultimate round to take
an unassailable lead in the 12-match contest.
Former world champion Gary Kasparov of Russia on Thurs-
day hailed Anand’s triumph, saying it would not be easy for
the younger generation to push the Indian aside. “A great
result for Anand and for chess. Vishy deserved the win in
every way and I’m very happy for him. It will not be easy for
Former great the younger generation to push him aside,” Kasparov said.
The former great said while Anand played consistently,
hails Anand Kramnik showed decline in strength and had some work to
do. “It was a very well-played match by Vishy. Except for the
loss of concentration in the 10th game he played consistently
and managed to enforce his style. This result ends the illu-
sion that Kramnik is a great match player,” he said.
Analysing the performances of the two players, Kasparov,
who lost to Kramnik in 2000 in London, said Anand was well
prepared to counter his opponent who appeared “overly
defensive”.
“Anand out-prepared Kramnik completely. In this way it
reminded me of my match with Kramnik in London 2000. Like
I was then, Kramnik may have been very well prepared for
this match, but we never saw it. I didn’t expect the Berlin and
ended up fighting on Kramnik’s preferred terrain,” he said.
“(In this match) Kramnik did not expect tough, sharp chal-
lenges with white, and this was the key for Anand. He kicked
some sand in Kramnik’s face and hit his weakness, his conser-
vative approach to the game itself. Suddenly Kramnik had to
fight in these sharp positions and he wasn’t able to do it.
London was a unique occurrence and I still stand with Leonid
Yudasin as the only players Kramnik has ever beaten in a
match. Kramnik now has some work to do.”
Anand, currently world number five, regained the world
World champion Viswanathan Anand (left) receives the trophy from FIDE World Chess title he won in Mexico last year where he edged out defend-
Federation president Kirsan Iljumzhinov after winning the chess world championships in ing champion Kramnik by one point. Kramnik had a right to
Bonn. PHOTO: AFP challenge the Indian by virtue of being the 2006
champion. In Bonn, Anand and Kramnik started
out with draws before the Indian won three
games. Kramnik pulled off a magnificent win in
game 10 but Anand drew the next with white
pieces to retain his crown. ■
Agencies

Ronaldo, Casillas and Torres top FIFA award nominees Nanao shines brightly
Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas and Fernando Torres head a 23-strong list of candidates for
Thokchom Nanao Singh (48kg) assured himself a medal
the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year title, the sport’s world governing body has said.
after advancing to the semi-finals but it was curtains for
Manchester United’s Ronaldo, Real Madrid keeper Casillas and Liverpool striker Torres are
Balwinder Beniwal (69kg), who
also top candidates for this year’s European Footballer of the Year award, or Ballon d’Or,
bowed out with a quarterfinal loss
organised by France Football magazine.
at the inaugural AIBA Youth World
The winner, voted by national captains and coaches, will be unveiled on January 12 at
Boxing Championship in
Zurich’s opera theatre. FIFA also unveiled the names of the 10 nominees for the women’s
Guadalajara, Mexico. Nanao Singh,
version of the award yesterday.
who won a gold medal at the just-
concluded Commonwealth Youth
Men’s FIFA World Player of the Year nominees
Games in Pune, blanked Uzbek
Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Sergio Aguero (Argentina), Andrei Arshavin (Russia), Michael
Jasurbek Latipov 6-0 in the last-eight
Ballack (Germany), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Deco (Portugal), Didier
stage to enter the medal rounds that
Drogba (Ivory Coast), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Steven Gerrard
start on Friday after a rest day on Thursday. He will now
(England), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Kaka (Brazil), Frank Lampard
be up against Frenchman Jeremy Beccu.
(England), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Franck Ribery (France), Cristiano
However, it was all over for Balwinder, also a CYG gold
Ronaldo (Portugal), John Terry (England), Fernando Torres (Spain), Ruud
medallist and cousin of Olympic bronze medallist
van Nistelrooy (The Netherlands), David Villa (Spain) and Xavi (Spain)
Vijender Singh. The Haryana-boxer lost to German
Satula Abdulai 5-16. India, which had sent a seven-
Women’s FIFA World Player of the Year nominees
member squad for the event, currently stands 11th in
Nadine Angerer (Germany), Shannon Boxx (USA), Cristiane (Brazil),
the team rankings for the event with 10 points. The
Daniela (Brazil), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany), Christine Sinclair
points-per-boxer average for the Indians is 1.4. Russia
(Canada), Kelly Smith (England), Hope Solo (USA) and Ingvild Stensland
leads the rankings with 21 points with their points-per-
(Norway).
boxer average at 1.9.
AFP
PTI
 Friday, October 31, 2008
First win
After six fruitless years playing international soccer, the world’s worst team are beginning to see the romance of the
beautiful game. When the rag-tag national side of East Timor drew 2-2 with fellow strugglers Cambodia last week,
they clinched the first point they had ever won to stem a seemingly endless run of defeats. FIFA’s lowest-ranked
nation finally had something to celebrate.
Prince
in waiting
With a win in Brazil, Hamilton can silence his critics once and for all
L
ewis Hamilton has always
been supremely confident, a
young man so unshakeable
in his self-belief that some
have accused him of arrogance.
The 23-year-old McLaren driv-
er assured an appeal court hear-
ing last month he was the best in
the business and in Sunday’s Bra-
zilian Grand Prix he can hand
over the proof by becoming For-
mula One’s youngest champion.
There have been doubters
since the he made a sensational
debut last year, reeling off nine
successive podiums only to blow
his chance of becoming the first
rookie champion in the final two
races.
After Hamilton flopped from
pole position in Japan this month
in a moment of first-corner mad-
ness, there were those who saw
history repeating itself and de-
tected an inner fragility behind
the polished facade.
A question were raised about
whether he could see the bigger
picture, was susceptible to pres-
sure and mentally equipped to
race strategically.
Attacked on all sides by rivals
criticising his driving, and with
former world champions urging
him to calm down, Hamilton
showed at the Chinese Grand Prix
he was determined to become
Britain’s first champion since Da-
mon Hill in 1996.
He took pole position, set the
fastest lap and won with ease to
head for Brazil with a seven-point
cushion over Ferrari’s Felipe
Massa.
Sao Paulo, the birth and final
resting place of his hero and tri-
ple champion Ayrton Senna,
would be a fitting backdrop to
17
Hamilton’s coronation.
He showed last year he was in
awe of no reputation, with Spa-
niard Alonso discovering his roo-
kie team mate was not one for
playing supporting roles.
By the end of 2007, Alonso was
heading back to Renault and Ha-
milton was being hailed as a fu-
ture great. This season Hamilton,
tipped to become Britain’s high-
est-earning sportsman, has pre-
sented himself as better
prepared, fitter, hungrier and
wiser.
It has not all been plain sailing.
In a championship where the
leading contenders have seemed
intent on throwing away their ad-
vantage, he has made errors on
and off the track but come out
mentally stronger.
Hamilton’s move to Switzer-
land drew criticism before the
season started when he said it
was to protect his privacy rather
than the tax reasons connected
with a contract tying him to
McLaren until 2012.
Newspapers derided him as a
“Crash Dummy” at the Canadian
Grand Prix in June when he
rammed into the back of Raikko-
nen’s stationary Ferrari, waiting
for a red light to change at the
pit-lane exit.
There have also been unforget-
table moments, such as the victo-
ry at Silverstone in the wet which
was hailed as one of the sport’s
great performances after he
lapped all but the second and
third placed finishers and won by
more than a minute.
He was also supreme in Austra-
lia, Monaco, Germany and China,
making it a memorable season. ■
Reuters
18 ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008

Flick

Nandita Das’s debut directorial feature, Firaaq, on

post-Godhra Gujarat premiered at the recent 33rd
Toronto Film Festival. It has also been selected for
showing in a number of film festivals including Dubai,
Pusan and London. An interview:

RANJITA BISWAS

F
iraaq is your directorial debut. Is the subject a reflection of
your social activism?
Making the film was actually a journey. I was not looking for a script. During
my touring through Gujarat with friends as a socially aware citizen, I was
astounded by the violence that was unleashed in the state and how it
affected the people. I wanted to tell their story. My thoughts were already

People
shaping up into a script. Film is a powerful medium; it reaches to a
larger population. So I thought of telling this story through celluloid.

Why is it so important to tell the story when people apparently

want to move on?
People say they have learnt from history. They don’t. Yes, this is not

say they
the first time a community has been targeted specifically. It happened
in Delhi in 1984 (after Indira Gandhi’s assassination). I couldn’t react
to it that time; I was too young. Gujarat was happening in my time. I
am reacting to it in my own way.

Firaaq means both separation and quest. What quest do you

refer to? Peace?
It is a search for harmony in our fragmented life. It’s located in
Gujarat but I’m not pointing fingers. I am giving a human face to
what violence does to people, and the aftermath. And it can be
anywhere. That’s why I don’t show the acts of violence itself, but
have
learnt
the people; how Muneera tries to revive her charred life, literally,
in her burnt house with her devastated husband Hanif and a baby;
how her friendship with a Hindu girl, Jyoti, from her locality goes
through a subtle change; she can’t trust her old friend despite
herself, suspecting if she was one of the perpetrators though she
is the one who is trying to help her now.

When are you releasing the film in India?

As of now, the plan is to release it coming December.

Do you see your film facing trouble here for obvious

reasons – that some people would see it as one-sided?
from
history.
Why should it be so? It’s a universal theme. As of being
one-sided, what happened in Gujarat during that shameful
period was a carnage of helpless people. It was not a riot, I say.
Besides, in general, Indians are secular and, hopefully, they’ll
see what I am trying to say.

Now that you have stepped into direction, what about

your acting career?
I enjoy both. But even in my choice of roles, I pick up only
those that appeal to my sensibilities, my beliefs. Besides, I
am involved in many things besides acting and they keep
They
don’t’
me occupied and satisfied as a creative person. However, at
the moment, I am reading quite a few scripts. Let’s see. ■
Trans World Features
 Friday, October 31, 2008
19
Kannan’s next Nominations from Kollywood
Kannan who commenced his Priyadarshan’s Kanchivaram,Vishnuvardhan’s Billa,
directorial venture with Jayam Balaji Sakthivel’s Kalloori and Krishnan Seshadri
Kondan would be directing the Jab Komadam’s Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai’ are the
We Met remake. Bharath and films making its way to Goa International Film Festival
Tammanah will play the lead. to be held this year.

‘Aamir is a perfectionist and

should be apt for the role’
LIFFY THOMAS sembles my dad but he is a per- the life and experiences of the ac-
Arun Dutt talks about the ongoing work on liffythomas@goergo.in fectionist and everybody thinks tor.
the two scripts based on his father, Guru Dutt he can do a good job with the

T
all and suave, his Bengali
features are quite evident.
But Arun Dutt in no way
commands the name or
fame that his late father and yes-
teryear actor Guru Dutt enjoyed
during ‘Bollywood’s Golden Age’.
Perhaps, Indian cinema would
have seen one more star son ris-
ing if the actor was alive.
But, these days it is the tribute
paid to the late icon in different
cities, through the screening of
Guru Dutt’s films or fans recalling
some of his masterpiece works,
which make him a happier man.
After all, Arun was eight years of
age when his father died.
Pyaasa remake?
In Chennai for ‘Retrospective
of Guru Dutt Films’, organised by
the Indo Cine Appreciation
Foundation, the director of Guru
Dutt Films Private Limited spoke
to ERGO about the making of
films based on his father.
“There are two scripts under
consideration by Aamir Khan,
who has been approached to play
the role of Guru Dutt,” he says.
Why Aamir? “Well, he no way re-
role.”
Of the two scripts, one is by
script writer Nasreen Munni Ka-
bir, based in England. “She was
the first person who made a doc-
umentary on my father and also a
biography,” he explains. “The
script is based on the making of
Pyaasa (1956 -57). Also, we are
trying to compare the original
hand version of Pyaasa to the fi-
nal one.” The bio-pic is impor-
tant as it was during this period
that he made a transition from
commercial to art cinema, says
Arun. It will be directed by Ra-
kesh Mehra.
The second script by Anurag
Kashyap, to be directed by Shi-
vindra Dungarpur, is more about
Arun Dutt & a still from
Pyaasa
Black and White
So, while Aamir Khan has to
give the final nod on which of the
two scripts he prefers, Arun will
also have to approve them.
This apart, Arun keeps himself
busy with his animation projects.
“I am also into restoring colour of
films, for which I come regularly
to Orcher Studios,” says Arun
about his visits to Chennai.
Work is currently on for Sahib
Bibi Aur Gulam. That’s making
more youngsters keeping them-
selves tuned to the actor, direc-
tor, producer and
choreographer’s works. ■

Roger Moore
Sean Connery 1973: Live and Let Die
1962: Dr. No. 1974: The Man with the Golden
1963: From Russia with Love Gun
George Lazenby 1977: The Spy Who Loved Me
1964: Goldfinger
1965: Thunderball 1979: Moonraker
1969: On Her Majesty’s 1981: For Your Eyes Only
1967: You Only Live Twice Secret Service
1971: Diamonds Are Forever 1983: Octopussy
1985: A View to a Kill

Here is a list
of James Bond
movies over
the years,
along with the
actors who
Timothy Dalton Pierce Brosnan have played
1995: GoldenEye Daniel Craig
1987: The Living Daylights
1989: Licence to Kill
1997: Tomorrow Never Dies 2006: Casino Royale the iconic
1999: The World Is Not Enough 2008: Quantum of Solace.
2002: Die Another Day British spy.
AFP
20 ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008

Thursday’s Question:
If you had the chance to CGSL

call back the spirit of a ■ I would call Marilyn Monroe. To solve

her mysterious death.
famous personality whom Evangelin Jerome,
CGSL
would you call and why? ■ I would call back the spirit of Mahatma
■ I would call Thiruvalluvar, to write Gandhi to fight against terrorism as people
Thirukural for current period. have lost the freedom which he got for us.
N. Vijayaraj, Sundar Shri Ganesh,
Perot Systems CGSL
Prayaga Purushotham of Mphasis has nominated his team
■ I wish to call Lord Krishna, from him I ■ I’ll call back Father of our Nation, members as Partners in Crime.
can know how he made so many Gopis. Mahatma Gandhi... I just want to fall on
Sundeep, his feet.
HCL Tech Satish,
Ramco Systems
■ I would like to call back Hitler, because
only such kind of people can handle my ■ The King Maker - Kamaraj. To get a
boss who is another Hitler. clarity on how public has to react to the
Hema current political situation in India.
Girija,
■ I will call back Silk Sumitha to act a lead Ford
role opposite to Namitha.
Vimalraj ■ I would call back Karl Marx to suggest
and implement better economic strategy
■ My choice is for acting Legend Sivaji and plans to rescue the world from today’s Janani of Infosys Technologies has nominated her team
Ganesan, to teach what is acting to Aegan economic crisis. members for Partners in Crime. This photo was clicked at
and Kuruvi guys. Yaani, Kodaikanal.
Chakkravarthy P, CTS
TCS, Siruseri
■ I would like to call Mother Terasa, to
■ I would call Kamaraj to change the learn how to be kind to all.
political condition of Tamilnadu. Preethi,
Ashwin, TCS
Ford
■ I would call Bharathiyar because of his
■ I like to call the spirit of Bharathiar and courage and dedication to serve and
ask him to write a poem for us (I.T Guys). create awareness to the society at large.
Only he can write Beautiful & Thilak,
Revolutionary poems for Struggling Hearts. TCS
Rajasekar,
TCS, Siruseri ■ I would call Kamarajar for his simple life Magesh Koteeswa-
despite holding the big position (CM of ran, of Verizon
■ Charlie Chaplin. To ask him about the Tamilnadu). doodled this.
steps he would had take to sort out the Mahmood,
sorrows in his personal life. TCS
Poniface Dinesh,
CGSL ■ I would call writer Sujata. To guide and
teach the present day so called writers on
■ Major Dhyan Chand Singh, Asking him what is interesting narration, humour
to bring the golden period of hockey. etc…
Senthil Kumaran Sankaran, Shiva,
CGSL EDS

■ I would call back Stephen Robert Irwin, ■ I would call back Rajiv Gandhi - he
the crocodile hunter, for he might would be a great leader under current
continue to enthral the world with his scenario
exploits under water. Sridhar R, STG
Karthikeyan,
TCS Today’s Query:
■ Actress Divya Bharati, if she would If you could possess a 1. Medical shopla kidaikkadha marundhu edhu??? Vedi
comeback, she will be more famous than
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Yes. Aish’s place super power what would marundhu............
2. What is the difference between writer & Doctor??? Writer
will be the second or may be last, when
Divya enters again. it be? writes the story. Doctor closes the story.....
Devendiran and Muthu
Suhasni,
Caliber Point Business Solutions Ltd
 Friday, October 31, 2008
■ Dear Sangu,
Here is the weather forecast for today, there
shall be showers of blessings all over u & a heavy
downpour of god’s love all around u. Belated
Happy Birthday :)
With Luv,
Revathy,Janani,Akila,Anbu,Kalps,
Krupa,Koushik, Infosys Tech. Ltd.
■ Dear Sindhu,
Wishing you belated Happy Birthday. May all
your desires be fulfilled .Be Happy and Keep
Smiling.
From Ur Buddies,Viji,Sasi,Kiran,Gaayu,Madhu,SP,Sudha,
Raghav and Govind, Hexaware Technologies
, Yappy yappy burthday! Merry merry burthday!
■ Hey Rishabh,
On this special occasion we all are delighted to
wish you a very happy birthday.May all your
wishes come true. Enjoy the day with lots of
fun.Dont forget to include us.And a special
advice for you on your birthday, please be
talkative from now onwards as it suits you
better. Keep smiling.
With lots of care, Balamurugan, Debanjana, Mangai,
Parthiban, Rakhi, Ranjoy, Ruban, Sathya.P, Siva
Excelacom Technologies Private Ltd.
■ Dear Vishnuram,
Some people give the gift of peace and
tranquillity to every life they touch. They are
always who they really are. They are blessedly
reliable, dependably good, predictably pleasant,
loved and treasured by all who know them. You
are one of those people. You are a gift of peace
and tranquillity in our life. Happy Birthday
With love, Anitha,Kriti,Karti,Kriba,Bala & Avi. Wipro
■ Dear Shama,
Wish You Many Many Happy Returns of the day.
Have a wonderful birthday.
With love, Rekha S P , Tata Consultancy Services
■ Dear Bhooo
Advance B’day Wishes dear.... :-) So 2maro TREAT
ku enga p00rum ?? :-D
With loads of Luv,
Aanish, Aishu, Anitha , Freeda, Nalini,Karpagam, Selva.
TCS
■ Dear Bhoooooo (a) Bhuvaneswari
Advance birthday wishes(1st Nov).We are wishing
you another year of joy,love and happiness on
this Special day. On this day,may God shower his
blessings on you to lead a happier,healthier abd
peaceful life forever....A Warm Birthday wishes
from All of us....
Cheers,CITI-IBS Statements,TCS.
■ Dear Sumathi,
The more you praise and celebrate your life, the
more there is in life to celebrate. We wish you a
very Happy Birthday! It is your last day with us
and we will miss you a lot, but… "We will meet
again, When we’re least expecting it one day in
some far off place, We will recognize your face,
We won’t say goodbye our friend. For you and
We will meet again.
Lots of love, Sandy,Johncy,Sri,Jamuna,Loge,Supi. HCL
■ Hey Siva,
We wish u a safe and happy journey. We wish
that you will get sucess in all your actions. Hope
to see you with lots and lots of chocolates for us.
Dont you dare to forget otherwise you know the
consequences. All the best, keep in touch
With lots of care and affection,
Bala, Debanjana, Mangai, Parthiban, Rakhi, Ranjoy,
Rishabh, Sathya.P Excelacom Technologies Private Ltd.
■ Dear JEGAN (AEGAN)
Wish U Many More Happy Retuns Of TheDay.Lets
this birthday brings u all sort of happyness of
your life.
With Warm Wishes from 3B "BACK SEAT BOYS", Wipro
■ Drummer Stanley
Belated b’day wishes to you man. Keep rocking n
drumming……
From your loving 603 friends, Hexaware Technologies
■ Dearest Dexter,
Have the BEST bday ever! Cuz ma SM is alwayz
on TOP!!! :) Dexter, you’re the best! :)
Luv u tons, Chido :) HCL
■ The BOSS!! ;)
Yappy yappy burthday to you :) Wish you a
wunnerful day & a splendid year ahead cuz you
deserve better than the BEST!!! :) Atleast this
year reduce your "Chari" count! ;) Lol! Have a
blast pal! :) We Love you! Keep smiling (you look
bearable only then! lol!)
Sooper 8s! :)HCL
■ Dear Sak Muttai Alias Sandeep Kumar Raju,
Vilambrae priyar Sandeep as you wished and
cried for this, your name came on the paper.
"Belated Happy Piranthanal Vazthukal ".
May the years ahead bring you all success and
happiness"
Best Wishes, Ca7 Team, FORD - Satyam Team.
■ Dear Sandali mami,
Today is a lovely and extra-special day,
with all my heart i pray that every dream of urs
come true! Be happy and smile always. Wishing
you very very happy birthday!!!
From urs lovingly, Sandalan mams. Wipro
■ Dear Senthilnathan,
Wish you Many More Happy returns of the
Day!We Wish you a wonderful life filled with
Love and Happiness always.
With Lots of Luv, Ur Friends. Wipro
■ Hi Mutharam,
Dear, Birthday Wishes to You. You get sweeter
as you get older. May you have all the joy your
heart can hold, All the smiles a day can bring, All
the blessings a life can unfold, May you have
Gods best in everything. Wishing u a Happy
Birthday!!!!!
With Luv n lots of Luv, Selvalakshmi, Polaris
■ Dear Mottai(Vinoth) and Divi,
"Wish You Many More Happy Returns Of The
Day! May your special day be filled with
memories , friendship and happy hours...May
every dream of yours come true... A Warm
Birthday Wish from all of us.... ’
Your GMACI frens,
Krithiga R, Svettha T, Sowmeya S, Suganya R, Neeraja
S,Imran B, Allan Austin, Wipro Technologies
■ Dear Selvarani Ajitkumar,
We Wish you a very Happy Birthday dear ... Have
a gr8 & prosperous year ahead :-)
With loads of Luv, Aanish, Aishu, Bhuvana, Freeda,
Nalini,Karpagam (TCS)
■ Dear Thiru Arul (FSS),
Wish You Happy Birthday. We wishing you all
success in your life, may all your desires come
true… Have a great year ahead…
With lot of love, Ganapathi, Hanumantha Reddy,
Karthick, Mansoorsirajmi, Navasingam, Rajeshkhanna,
Shivakumar, Suresh Financial Software & Systems (P) Ltd
■ Dear Scorpian,
Its not just your birthday that I celebrate...But
also for those bright shades that you’ve brought
21
into my life...Thanks for making my life so
colourful...Wishing you a Happy Birthday...
Hearty Birthday wishes from: Taurean.
■ Deerest Superman!
Yu meen a GR8 lot 2 me! Want yu 2 b @ d
zenith of yappiness ALL thro! Wish yu d BEST
burthday u’ve eva had Sooperman! & wishin yu
many many many many more golden yers of
yappiness 2 come J { allredy have 220 yers,
remember? ;) }
Loads n tons a luv, CG! ;) HCL
■ Hi Suthagar,
Many More Happy returns of the day. May the
coming year be best in your life. Have an
enjoyable day.
yours friendly, Savitha, TCS
■ Hi Gayathri,
It has not been too long a journey since I have
known you, but then it certainly has been a
memorable one...a journey, I would cherish
throughout my life. I thank the ALMIGHTY for
rewarding me with such a sweet, caring and
understanding friend in disguise of you. HAPPY
BIRTHDAY DEAR...
Warm wishes, Mohit. Wipro
■ Hi Shanmugavel(our dear TL),
Advance Birthday Wishes to you. May all your
desires come true.Thanks for being there for us.
Wishing you a year full of fun,joy,success,love
and happiness.
With Love, Team Members,Siebel Team
Infosys Technologies Limited(Mcity)
■ Hi Viji (Aricent),
Wish you a Happy Birthday. I wish u all success in
life and may all ur dreams will come true. with
love n care , R.Deivendran (InterGlobe Technologies)
■ Dear Gopi,
I send to you warm wishes,that your happiness
will be as wonderful as the happiness, you have
always given me. Am so glad to have a friend
like u happy birthday
Regards, Harini, HCL Technologies
■ Dear Prade (Kuttima),
Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the
gift of ’YOU’ to the world. Wish u a very "Happy
Birthday". We hope this year brings you all the
happiness, peace, joy, contentment and love that
you so deserve!. Wish you an awesome birthday
as you are.. God bless you, dear friend!!.
With Lots of Care and Affection,
Geetha, Sathya, Srimathi. Excelacom Technologies
■ Dear Salu,
Many more Happy Returns of the day. May each
hour and minute be filled with delight and your
birthday be perfect for you!!! May you live long
and lead a happy and successful life.
FROM: MAG CORP CMR, Satyam computers
■ Hi Shilpa K. R.
Have loads of fun on your birthday.
Wishes from Gopalan.J & Krishnamurthy.S Infosys
■ Dear Meyyappan,
Happiness and Joy come your way on this special
day and all the days of your life!! Wishing you a
joyous birthday Meyyappan!!
From, Friends, New Age Software and Solutions.
■ Dear Divya,
Best wishes for a happy married life !! Have a
blissful life ahead, Don’t forget to give us the
treat. God bless you always.
Regards,
Santo… HCL
22 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008

Traffic Jam
Granny turns gangster
A teenager coaxed his senile
grandmother into holding a gun and
threatening to shoot ’all the pigs’ in a
homemade ’gangsta rap’ video.

sudoku

Roshind Raghavan
of Sutherland
Global Services
spotted this snail
near
Guduvancherry
Railway Station.
Hobbies: Snooker,
photography and
travelling

What strikes you

the most when we
talk about
‘poverty’? Tell us
through one of
your best
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has moved you,
with details of the
place, person, etc.
Theme ‘Poverty’
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So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never really had the the Click Pick
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E-mail: clickpick@goergo.in November 15.

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(Editor responsible for selection of news under
the PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553
 Friday, October 31, 2008
Wife for sale
A Romanian man has put his 25-year-
old wife up for sale on a website
specialising in used cars.
23
Word’s worth
"Ratomorphic" (rat-oh-mor-fick) a rare word
meaning ’someone who refuses to believe that
people have any mental processes that can’t be
shown to exist in lower animals.’ From rat, on the
model of anthropomorphic.

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

You may not feel like doing very important work at
office, instead you may be in slightly leisurely mood.
On the personal front, pressure may mount if you
get into conflicts with the beloved one. You may be
in a mood to spend time with your beloved.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

You may be feeling low energy and at work, people
may be crosschecking your work. You may be quite
demanding in case of relationship matters.
Remember always that ‘Expectation reduces joy’!
Ganesha suggests you to be cool and calm.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

It’s a busy day for you. You may start the day little
BORN LOSER early and may work till late. Your personal life may
take backseat for the day and career or professional
front may be the driving force. You may be in a
mood to deal with pending activities today.
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
Love is in the air today. Irrespective of your gender
and marital status, you are likely to feel the need of
‘true love’. At office, you may wish to perform well
in order to prove yourself. If you are research
oriented by nature, it is the best day for you.
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
Today, domestic matters may demand your attention
and if it clashes with your routine work, you may
feel stressed. Control temper today. In love life, if
you are not flexible, there can be conflicts. In short,
it is an average day requiring careful handling.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
Your mind will be quite active today. You may learn
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT about many trade secrets today. Office work may be
done smoothly. You may be quite practical in love
and related matters. Your communication skills may
benefit you. On the whole, it’s a good day.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
Your ‘vindictive language’ may hurt some hearts.
Your approach towards others needs to be balanced
using basic trait of your Sun sign. Love life seems to
go smoothprovided you don’t intend to find faults.
You may expect precision and speed from others.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
You may be cautious about your appearance. You
may wish to spend private time with your beloved
one. Those willing to woo someone have all the
cards in favour. At work, you will be able to
convince others for your viewpoints.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
You may be slightly secretive today. You may work
hard to balance your emotional conflicts but your
partner may not be supportive. You should avoid
taking up important activities on hand. The day is
hassle-free if you are dealing with mundane tasks.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
You can expect some gains today. At work, it is day
to arrange important group meetings. You may
depend on other’s views and ideas. . You are likely
to be a little tired mentally but your nerves may find
some peace in the company of your beloved.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS Your complete focus may be on career. This may be
good for progress on the professional front.
ISSUE’S Domestic front may become demanding if not
handled properly. Your loved one may demand more
SOLUTIONS time from you which may add stress.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
You may be in a mood to speculate or try your
luck. Your personal life seems to go smooth. You
may be sentimental about your partner or beloved.
Your superiors may appreciate you for good work. It
is time to build good terms at office.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
24 ERGO Friday, October 31, 2008

The White House: Inside, Out

A graphic guide to the White House, from the Oval Office to China Room to Rose Garden.
After four days, George W. Bush’s eight-year reign will come to an end and the name
of the White House’s new occupant will be known.