The Genes Of Jeans

The denims look tattered and frayed, but shoppers in Europe and the United States are prepared to pay good money for "distressed" jeans and Sri Lanka is cashing in.

In the industrial town of Avissawella east of the capital Colombo, it takes workers around 13 minutes to cut and sew basic five-pocket denims.

They then spend another four days torturing the pants by dying, bleaching, and sandpapering them to get a "distressed" look.

"Each garment is dyed or dipped around 16 and sometimes as many as 30 times to achieve the proper torn, tattered look," explains Indrajith Kumarasiri, chief executive of Sri Lanka's Brandix Denim.

"We earn more money by making denims look dirty and torn, the classic clean look doesn't bring us much," Kumarasiri told AFP during a visit to the 10-million dollar plant, which can make over three million pairs of jeans a year.

Basic denim jeans cost around six dollars to make, but the shabbier "premium" ones cost twice as much.

"In many ways, premium denims are replacing the little black dress as the wear-anywhere fashion staple," he said.

Overseas buyers such as Levis, Gap and Pierre Cardin are now regular buyers of premium jeans from Sri Lanka where they can be made for as little as 12 dollars a pair, and often sell for over 100 dollars.

Buyers have been gradually shifting production out of Europe to low-cost countries such as Sri Lanka, explains Ajith Dias, chairman of the Sri Lanka Joint Apparel Association Forum.

"Retaining the business and growing the order book is tough with India and China competing with us on price and quicker lead times," Dias said.

Sri Lanka's three-billion dollar garment industry accounts for more than half its annual seven billion dollars of export earnings, and it provides jobs for nearly one million people. Nearly all the garments are shipped to the United States and the European Union.

But Dias said casual wear, including jeans, are they key to Sri Lanka's success in the price-sensitive global apparel market, and now account for 16 percent of total garment export earnings.

"We have invested millions to install high-tech plants, develop a sound raw material base and design garments, to ensure we remain competitive, by doing everything from fabric to retail hangers," Dias said.

Brandix, Sri Lanka's biggest exporter with annual sales in excess of 320 million dollars, and MAS Holdings, are also expanding overseas.

In an attempt to get an advantage over the competition, Sri Lanka is trying to position itself as an ethical manufacturer in the hope of getting greater access to the US and European markets at lower duty rates.

"We have high labour standards. We don't employ child labour, we provide rural employment and we empower women. There are no anti-dumping cases against us on trading practices," said Suresh Mirchandani, chief executive of Favourite Garments.

While eco-friendly and ethically-made clothes are becoming increasingly fashionable, their manufacture provides challenges for Sri Lanka.

Big-name brands are now adding organic-cotton clothes to their collection. "The joke is that one day we'll have a shirt we can eat," said Prasanna Hettiarachchi, general manager of MAS Holdings.

He said Levis recently launched eco-jeans using organic cotton, natural dyes, a coconut shell button on the waist band and a price tag made of recycled paper printed with environmentally friendly soy ink. The price tag is a cool 250 dollars.

"We are also working on an eco garment," said Brandix Denim's Kumarasiri.

And when asked what made a perfect pair of jeans, he had a quick answer.

"Same as always. It comes down to how your behind looks when you wear them," grins Kumarasiri.

"No matter how good the wash, the detail or the label, if it doesn't look good on your behind, it won't sell."

Harry With Virus Pots

A computer virus has claimed that 'Harry Potter is dead'.

Hackers have disguised the PC worm as a file called 'HarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.doc', the title of JK Rowling's up-coming book, out on July 21.

The virus - known as Hairy-A - works by infecting USB memory drives plugged into computers where users have unwittingly downloaded the worm. This allows it to hop between different computers each time the device is inserted.

Its other effects are creating a host of new users on the PC using character names from the books like Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. It also changes the computer's internet homepage to a spoof of book-seller Amazon.com displaying a novel called Harry Putter and the Chamber of Cheesecakes.

According to virus busters Sophos, eager fans desperate to find out the ending to the seven-book series are helping to feed the worm's spread.

A worm like this, which infects and tampers with users' computers without their permission, is committing a criminal act.

Bloody Truth

Meena discovered she had been sold by her boss while riding in an auto-rickshaw headed to New Delhi’s red-light district.

The 12-year-old was working as a domestic servant in Calcutta when the homeowner told her about a good-paying job at his sister’s house in India’s capital. But instead, she was sold to a brothel owner and forced into prostitution for little more than a place to sleep and the occasional meal.

Her ordeal lasted four years and Meena, now 21, says it left her “a very angry person.”

“The anger comes suddenly,” says Meena, who asked that her full name not be used because of the stigma associated with her past.

Beneath the surface of India’s rapid economic development lies a problem rooted in the persistent poverty of hundreds of millions of Indians. Rights activists say thousands of poor women and girls are forced into prostitution every year after being lured from villages to cities on false promises of jobs or marriages.

Much of the attention on human trafficking focuses on the estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people – about 80 percent of them women or girls – who are trafficked across international borders every year, and, in many cases, forced to work as prostitutes or virtual slaves who perform menial tasks.

But those numbers don’t include victims trafficked within their own countries – a problem that has long plagued India, a country large and diverse enough that traffickers can take victims from one place to another hundreds of miles away where a different language is spoken and there’s little chance of the women finding their way back home.

“This is a challenge to India’s contention that it is both democratic and modern,” said Ruchira Gupta, founder of the anti-trafficking group Apne Aap. “In this day and age, when democracy is supposed to exist in India . . . we have so many slaves.”

The secrecy of the underground business makes it difficult to track, and the estimates for the numbers of India’s victims each year vary widely.

But this much is known: the government estimates there are 3 million sex workers in India, at least 40 percent of them children. And thousands of them are believed to have been unwittingly lured into the work by traffickers, rights activists say.

Most of the girls come from India’s poorer states. A family member or friend approaches the girl’s parents about a well-paying job in the city or the chance for marriage with little or no need to pay a dowry.

In some cases, parents sell the girls directly. Prices range from several hundred to several thousand dollars.

Traffickers are rarely caught. The U.S. State Department said in an annual report on human trafficking last year that India’s law enforcement response to the problem was weak and prosecutions rare.

In Mumbai, which has the highest concentration of sex workers, only 13 traffickers were arrested in 2005, and none were convicted, according to the State Department. The situation was similar in other cities.

“One of the best ways to prevent trafficking is to increase convictions of trafficking – and this is not happening,” said Gupta. “Women are being rounded up for soliciting in a public place, but there are very few arrests of men who are running the whole trade – the buyers, the pimps, transporters.”

Deepa Jain Singh, secretary for India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development, said the government is “trying to do more” about the problem of sex trafficking, but he declined to specify what steps were being taken.

What becomes of the girls? There are many pitfalls. HIV infections among sex workers are widespread in a country with an estimated 5.7 million people infected with the disease.

And women who manage to escape are often rejected by their families, leaving them poor and alone in a society where family means almost everything.

Meena’s childhood before being sold into prostitution was filled with long days of domestic work in the rural eastern state of Jharkhand. She received little or no pay, she said, but “I was so poor, I could not leave.”

At the urging of her mother, she moved to Calcutta for what she was told would be a paid maid’s position. When her boss then sent her to New Delhi, Meena never found out the price she brought on the human trafficking market.

She was rescued from the brothel by STOP, an anti-trafficking group founded in 1998. She lives in the group’s shelter on the western edge of New Delhi, a large two-story white house with long hallways situated amid the farm fields that spread out from the city’s edge. There are vegetable gardens, and the women who live there embroider and cook for each other.

It’s run by Roma Debabrata, a 59-year-old academic who founded STOP. Two years ago, the group built the 22-room shelter where more than 40 women attempt to rebuild their lives.

Debabrata’s goal is to make the girls and women in the house function “like a normal family.”

“I don’t expect miracles from them. They’re very normal people and they’re being nurtured here in very natural surroundings,” she said. “We want them to go from victim to survivor to activist. It’s a long journey.”

The organization has built an information network, with tips called in to a hot line operated out of an unmarked office. The staffers work with local police to raid brothels and rescue endangered girls.

Some are resettled with their families or married, aided by STOP’s counseling services.

But for many, moving back to their villages is not an option.

“I love to be here because I’ve got my mother, my father, my siblings,” said Meena, referring to her house mates. “I never feel this is someone else’s home. It is my own.”

Beauty & Hairrrrrrrrrr

A BURY hairdresser has helped hundreds of people realise the difference a good haircut and top beauty tips can make to self-confidence at a hair and beauty event in Rawtenstall.

David Anthony Hair Design hosted the beauty extravaganza at Horncliffe Mansions, Bury Road, where 200 ticketholders packed in for the Style Change For Life show.

Following a champagne and canapes reception, life coach and author Vera Waters opened the show with a talk on confidence, posture and colour.

Guests were then treated to a hair and beauty show with David Anthony and Caroline Wilkinson from Polished Beauty Clinic, based in Rawtenstall, explaining how to achieve the right look and carry it off with confidence.

David, who has a salon in Walmersley Road, said: "The aim of the evening was to show that a hair cut is not just a hair cut and a beauty treatment is not just a beauty treatment and that it can actually impact on everything from life, relationships and work.

"It was a really good event and we've had some positive feedback which is brilliant."

Oh No!!!!!!!!!!!

The California assembly voted this week to allow same-sex marriage -- for a second time.

But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he will veto the bill if it passes the full state legislature. Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill passed by the California Senate in 2005.

In 2003, California recognized domestic partners, creating a registry that gives same-sex couples many of the rights of married couples.

California's one-man-one-woman marriage law of 1977 continues to bring debate. It is likely to be decided this year, or early next year by the state's high court.

But bill supporters say lawmakers shouldn't wait for the California Supreme Court to decide.

Several states are now allowing same-sex civil unions. Massachusetts is the only state to allow gay marriage.

Mike Tyson In Bollywood

Boxing champion Mike Tyson is packing in punches for his Bollywood debut.

Tyson is now an item boy in the promotional video of Ahmed Khan's film Fool N Final.

Though Tyson was to shoot in India it was later shot it Las Vegas due to security reasons and date problems. So why Mike Tyson?

When asked why Ahmed chose Mike Tyson, the director said, “Somebody will get Shakira, somebody Tata Young. I said lets get somebody who is not a usual thing. We thought of Mike Tyson, and got him.”

Ahmed also said he was a little skeptical about shooting with Tyson, having heard stories about his mood swings. But it turned out to be a completely different experience.

“When I shot with him, he was more humble than I could be. So his level of thinking was changed in that last 10 years. He is no more that iron Mike Tyson. He is soft mike Tyson now,” said Ahmed.

When asked if casting him cost a bomb in the producer's pocket, Ahmed said, “Bomb. It cost a missile not a bomb.”

We hope the missile does doesn’t miss out the box office target.

Losing Weight?

While most diets focus on foods you shouldn't eat, those that emphasize adding low-calorie foods, like fruits and vegetables, can promote healthy weight loss, new research shows.

Some weight-loss plans shun carbohydrates while others ban fat, but in the new study, researchers found that overweight adults who were instructed to focus on lower-calorie foods lost more weight than their peers who were simply told to cut their overall calories. The key, according to the study authors, is that foods such as fruits and vegetables have low "energy density." Because they have a high water content, they are heavy by weight but low in calories; while such foods do not add many calories to the diet, they are still filling.

The study included generally healthy men and women with borderline-high blood pressure who were randomly assigned to one of three groups, to look at the effect on blood pressure. Of these 658 men and women, those who made the greatest reductions in the energy or calorie density of their diets lost an average of 13 pounds over 6 months. Those who made the smallest reduction in energy lost a meagre 5 pounds over the same period.

The findings of the study, carried out by Jenny H Ledikwe and her colleagues, of Pennsylvania State University, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The difference was that one group was told to follow the "DASH" diet, which emphasized getting 9 to 12 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, and 2 to 3 servings of low-fat dairy products. The other groups were told to reduce their calorie intake, but were not given goals for fruit, vegetable and dairy intake. Overall, Ledikwe's team found, the DASH group cut down the most on calorie density,despite started eating more food by weight -- a consequence of getting more fruits and vegetables. The group was also able to increase intake of fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Diets that emphasize low-calorie foods may be easier to stick to than diets that focus on foods to avoid, the investigators point out, as well as more healthful.

"Whereas a decrease in body weight is a primary goal of a weight-loss diet," Ledikwe and her colleagues write, "consideration of nutritional quality is equally important."

Comics R Not Only 4 Kids

Comics are not merely for kids any more. Some NGOs have joined hands to use this medium to tell young Indian men it is wrong to presume that "girlfriends must be meek and submissive and that a sexually aggressive woman is bad".

The Population Council and four other NGOS have brought out this set of comics, interwoven with messages on HIV/AIDS, in four languages - Bengali, English, Hindi and Telugu.

"The aim is to change social attitude and dispel the popular notion of masculinity that makes young men in urban slums indulge in violence against women and use condoms only when having a relationship with sex workers," Vijaya Nidadavolu, Population Council's communication head, told IANS.

The comics have been titled - "Josh Mein Hosh" (Passion with Sense), "Khoon Ka Katra" (Just a drop of blood), "Savdhan Senior" (On your guard, senior) and "Pyar Ka Packet" (A packet of love).

About 250,000 copies of these pocket-sized comics have been sent for distribution in urban slums of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. These comics were produced in partnership with Prerana-Delhi, Apnalaya-Mumbai, CINI Asha-Kolkata and Divya Disha-Hyderabad.

"There was an urgency to bring out these educational comic books because in 2006, about 30 percent of HIV infections were reported in the 15 to 20 age group," Nidadavolu said.

"Existing literature showed that young Indian men subscribe to norms of masculinity that lead to risky behaviour and to change this discussions were held with young men in four cities to understand their media habits, message retention from HIV campaigns, myths and misconceptions," she added.

Participants were encouraged to relate real life incidents so that these comics echoed true stories. The draft stories were pre-tested in discussions with young men in urban slums and their feedback was incorporated in the final version, Nidadavolu said.

Twenty-year-old Ramu, who was born and brought up on the Sealdah platform in Kolkata and is a school dropout, was involved in the creation of these comic books.

"We thought the stories were really nice. We suggested some changes because we find it difficult to read comics. We are not used to sequencing. We also wanted the comics to be small enough to carry in our pockets," Ramu told IANS.

"I am looking forward to seeing these books made with our stories. I learnt a lot about sketching, comic book-writing and want to make sure that these books go into the hands of young men like me."

Others like Ramu suggested that comic books should have an adult look but the covers should not be too bold. The books also had to be packaged in a manner so that they could not be identified as HIV-related and the information on HIV had to be woven into the story. Such information was considered important as India has over 5.1 million HIV/AIDS patients.

"The state and district AIDS control societies in Andhra Pradesh and Delhi have integrated elements of their campaign into the comic book series and have endorsed the products," Nidadavolu said.

"Several NGOs have also been approached to integrate this package within existing outreach activities and to distribute the comics," she added.

Sex Determination Test

"It is very difficult to see the purpose of a blood test kit which reveals the sex of the unborn child at six weeks, particularly at £189 a go. The marketing ploy of 'Consumer Genetics Inc', claiming that many parents want to know in advance whether they will have a boy or a girl so that they can decorate the nursery in the right colour, seems particularly frivolous when one thinks of the more sinister potential of this test.
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The problem is not the test itself, of course, so much as the potential for the knowledge obtained to be misused. With our casual attitudes to early abortion in the United Kingdom, we feel it is inevitable that abortion numbers will rise.

The test is very likely to be abused by those who have a preference for one sex or the other, and do not want to have a baby of the 'wrong' sex, and who will chose to abort the pregnancy if it is not the boy or girl they desire.

Social abortion on the grounds of wrong gender does not fall within the terms of the UK abortion law, and selection of embryos on the basis of sex for social reasons is not allowed in the UK either, but as we know abortion is virtually on demand in the first trimester so it will be very easy to do this early test, get rid of one baby and try again for the right sex. Social sex selection has wreaked demographic chaos in countries such as India and China, where boys are preferred almost exclusively over girls. We need an international agreement that social sex selection should never be permitted anywhere, and nationally we need to implement stringent controls over the provision of abortion."

What A Law

An attorney representing six gay and lesbian couples argued Friday that Iowa’s law preserving marriage for only a man and a woman is unconstitutional.

Des Moines attorney Dennis Johnson told District Court Judge Robert Hanson that Iowa has a long history of aggressively protecting civil rights in cases of race and gender. He said the Defense of Marriage Act, which the Legislature passed in 1998, contradicts previous court rulings regarding civil rights and should be struck down.

‘‘It’s just amazing if you look at the history what our Supreme Court has done and we have very good law in Iowa for equal rights, so I do think that Iowa is actually a stronger state than many in that respect,’’ Johnson said.

He said some of the case history in Iowa suggests that marriage is a fundamental right and as such, the state can’t choose who people can or cannot marry.

Johnson said the Defense of Marriage law is ‘‘mean spirited’’ and was designed only to prohibit gays from marrying. He said it violates the state constitution’s equal protection and due-process clauses.

Lambda Legal, the New York-based gay rights organization that spearheaded a same-sex marriage drive across the country, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the gay and lesbian couples in Polk County District Court on Dec. 13, 2005.

The lawsuit contends that the gay couples were treated unfairly when Polk County Recorder Tim Brien improperly denied them marriage licenses. It argues that Iowa’s marriage law is unconstitutional because it draws ‘‘impermissible distinctions based on sex and sexual orientation.’’

What An Indian

THERE IS THIS GOOD OLD BARBER IN LONDON

ONE DAY A FLORIST GOES TO HIM FOR A HAIRCUT. AFTER THE CUT, HE GOES
TO PAY THE BARBER AND THE BARBER REPLIES:

"I AM SORRY. I CANNOT ACCEPT MONEY FROM YOU. I AM DOING THE
COMMUNITY SERVICE."

THE FLORIST IS HAPPY AND LEAVES THE SHOP.

NEXT MORNING WHEN THE BARBER GOES TO OPEN HIS SHOP,
THERE IS A "THANK YOU" CARD AND A DOZEN ROSES WAITING AT HIS
DOOR.


POLICEMAN GOES FOR A HAIRCUT AND HE ALSO GOES TO PAY THE BARBER
AFTER THE CUT.

BUT THE BARBER REPLIES: "I AM SORRY. I CANNOT ACCEPT MONEY FROM
YOU. I AM DOING THE COMMUNITY SERVICE.

THE COP IS HAPPY AND LEAVES THE SHOP.

THE NEXT MORNING THE BARBER GOES TO OPEN HIS SHOP, THERE IS A
THANK YOU CARD AND A DOZEN DONUTS ARE WAITING AT HIS DOOR.

AN INDIAN SOFTWARE ENGINEER GOES FOR A HAIRCUT AND HE ALSO GOES
TO PAY THE BARBER AFTER THE CUT.

BUT THE BARBER REPLIES: "I AM SORRY. I CANNOT ACCEPT MONEY FROM
YOU. I AM DOING THE COMMUNITY SERVICE. "

THE INDIAN SOFTWARE ENGINEER IS HAPPY AND LEAVES.

THE NEXT MORNING WHEN THE BARBER GOES TO OPEN HIS SHOP,

GUESS WHAT HE FINDS THERE...

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.
TRY TO GUESS
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.
.

.
.

.

.

.
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COME ON, THINK LIKE AN INDIAN.................

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A DOZEN INDIANS WAITING FOR A HAIRCUT... --

Surprises In The Story

There were a few surprises for the University of Washington's Class of 1957 when they opened a time capsule sealed 50 years ago.
Among audiotapes and copies of the yearbook and school newspaper were 1980s-era porn, a condom and some dirty underwear.

Alumni opened the capsule earlier this week in preparation for a public unveiling Saturday during a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the university's communications program. The capsule had been placed in an interior wall of the then-new Communications Building in 1957.

The capsule is being replaced by another created by a student-faculty team.

"The good news is that all the things that were in there are still there," said Jerry Baldasty, chairman of the Department of Communication. "The interesting news is that some other things were added."

There aren't any suspects in the case. But it was located outside the offices of The Daily -- the campus newspaper -- and it's assumed someone from the paper was responsible for the revisionism, said communication alumni and development manager Victoria Sprang.

The new capsule will be filled with digital media with a focus on "communication from a global perspective," said Coma Te, a senior among six students who created the new capsule.

UMMM Iam Cummm.... & loosing

IT could be the answer to many women's prayers - not to mention men's.

A wonder pill has been developed which not only boosts a female's sex drive, but helps her lose weight at the same time.

So far it has been tested only on shrews and monkeys, but scientists believe humans could be taking it within a decade.

Professor Robert Millar discovered the double benefit while developing a hormone to treat loss of libido, a problem which affects millions of women.

During tests on animals, he found that as well as displaying a greater keenness for sex, they also seemed less interested in food.

Female musk shrews and marmosets were injected with the Type 2 Gonadotropin-releasing hormone and displayed classic mating behaviour towards their male counterparts.

In the shrews, this was shown by "rump presentation and tail wagging", while the monkeys began "tongue flicking and eyebrow raising", said the professor.

But the laboratory animals also ate significantly less than usual. In some cases their daily intake was cut by a third.

Professor Millar, director of the Human Reproductive Sciences Unit at the Medical Research Council in Edinburgh, said: "This hormone is distributed in the brain in areas that we suspect affect reproductive behaviour.

"The musk shrew is a very primitive ancestor of primates and when given to the females they displayed reproductive behaviour, and the males would mate with them."

The professor believes women given the hormone would see a similar boost to their sex drive and suppressing of appetite.

He is now working on reproducing it in the form of a pill, which could prove extremely profitable given the amount of interest pharmaceutical companies have shown in enhancing libido.

He said: "It is considered a major pharmaceutical endeavour to address the area of libido. So the next stage is to produce a drug that simulates the actions of this hormone.

"It is most likely that we will do it in partnership with a pharmaceutical firm. It could be available to women within ten years."

Although a number of drug treatments are already on the market aimed at treating obesity and sexual dysfunction, Professor Millar believes his discovery could lead to the first "lifestyle drug" that works on the sex drive and the appetite.

He suspects a pill which simulates the hormone could also work for men, but as yet he has not carried out any tests on male animals.

Dr Lesley Perman-Kerr, a chartered psychologist, said women would be more likely to take the pill to suppress their appetite than to increase their sex drive.

"Some women have problems specific to libido, but often if they go off sex, it's more to do with their relationship than with their level of libido," he said.

"In my experience, when couples come to me and they are not having sex, the last thing they want to do is examine their relationship. They want to believe that it's nothing to do with their relationship.

"So it may be that women would take the pill when they have a good sex life and they want to enhance it."

Angry Kya?

What is the reaction of an individual when extremely angry? Verbal abuse, curses, physical abuse to the self or another person, destruction of property etc.

Bad Anger leads to destruction of relationships.

A father verbally cursed his daughter when he was angry because she didn’t behave in a way that pleased him or treat him the way he wanted to be treated — as the king of the castle.

Guess what happened to their relationship?

The father’s curses, betrayal and emotional abuse didn't affect his daughter at all, but she instead detached herself completely from him forever.

Many of us let our tempers run out of control, turning others bitter over time.

So what should you do when you’re angry? Discuss the issue. Communication resolves misunderstandings.

Or take a walk. Step out for a few minutes to cool off. Cry your heart out, rather than physically abusing someone. Crying when angry and hurt is a great way to express yourself.

And always, always mind your tongue.

Make a conscious effort to stop using abusive words and demeaning sentences.

Learn to forgive. No human is perfect. Learn to adjust rather than constantly being angry and dissatisfied with others.

Who Is She????????????

Born in London, England in July 1967, and brought up in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Brought up in America by a mother who wanted to raise her children to be Indian, she learned about her Bengali heritage from an early age. Received her B.A. in English literature from Barnard College in 1989. She then received multiple degrees from Boston University: an M.A. in English, an M.A. in Creative Writing, an M.A. in Comparative Literature and a Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies. She took up a fellowship at Provincetown's Fine Arts Work Center, which lasted for the next two years (1997-1998).

In 2001, she married Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush, a journalist who was then Deputy Editor of Time Latin America. Lahiri currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children. She has been a Vice President of the PEN American Center since 2005.

Taught creative writing at Boston University and Rhode Island School of Design. Much of her short fiction concerns the lives of Indian-Americans, particularly Bengalis.

Awards Won By Her

• 1993 - TransAtlantic Award from the Henfield Foundation
• 1999 - O. Henry Award for short story "Interpreter of Maladies"
• 1999 - PEN/Hemingway Award (Best Fiction Debut of the Year) for "Interpreter of Maladies"
• 2000 - Addison Metcalf Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
• 2000 - The New Yorker's Best Debut of the Year for "Interpreter of Maladies"
• short story "Interpreter of Maladies" selected as one of Best American Short Stories
• 2000 - Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her debut Interpreter of Maladies
• 2000 - M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award from the James Beard Foundation
• 2002 - Guggenheim Fellowship

Gave up shen is none other then Jhumpa Lahiri

My Weekend

I double book my dates with women. It sounds all jerky and stuff, but when I make plans with a girl I don’t know very well, I almost always make plans with another girl on the same day and time. One of them invariably cancels, so I have a backup. What happens if neither of them cancels? Believe it or not, it has never happened.

This time, I was the cancellor, rather than the cancellee due to a series of crappy events that eventually got so ridiculous it made me laugh like a crazy person.

It all started at 8 am. I got up and decided to make my standard breakfast of scrambled eggs and a couple of strips of turkey bacon, or as I like to call it, “meat flavored paper”. In the course of making the eggs, I thought, “hey I should drop a little cheese on these guys and deep fry them, since just having eggs and bacon won’t destroy my heart as quickly as my ‘deep fried everything’ diet plan.”

I buy the shredded cheese in the re-sealable bags because I am either too lazy to shred it myself, or too poor to buy a cheese grater.

OPEN LETTER TO ALL PRODUCERS OF SHREDDED CHEESE IN RE-SEALABLE BAGS-

Please find a new vendor for the zip seal part of your bags. The zip seal bags you make can only be opened by destroying the zip seal part, thus rendering your cheese as un-resealable as every other crap cheese on the shelf.

Case in point- I tore the bag where they said to tear it, but the zip-up part of it was still hanging on with the tenacity of a fat chick who thinks she is in love. To solve this problem I used the man method, in which you overcome the offending object with brute force. The tensile strength of an 8 oz bag of sergento fancy shredded cheddar cheese is between 15 and 20 pounds, and results in catastrophic failure along the extrusion grain of the plastic (I know these fancy words because of several years spent as an industrial designer stress-testing products).

Shredded cheese showered down around my kitchen like a ticker tape parade. It was in my hair, in my shirt, all over the stove/counter/sink, and covering the floor. Nice. I got so involved in cleaning it up that I burned my bacon. Yes, it was the last two slices.

Grocery list-

Turkey bacon

Shredded cheese (non re-sealable)

I ate breakfast and checked my voice messages and e-mail to see which girl had canceled. Girl #1 had something else going on, so girl #2 was going to meet me at Willie’s on Piedmont at 12:30. Easy enough. I took a shower that was luckily uneventful and got I my car with plenty of time to spare. I had a flat tire, due to parking in the lot behind the building that is paved with glass shards and nails. I cannot put into words how much I can’t wait to get into my condo and away from this ghetto stinkhole building and the morons who live here. I always carry a can of “fix-a-flat”, so the tire problem was fixed in four minutes. By now I should have realized that today was going to be a tough one. I left and headed to Willies.

Not the willies on Piedmont, where the girl was supposed to be meeting me, but the Willies on Roswell because I am stupid. I think that after a couple of things go wrong in your day, you create the rest of your problems yourself. Having been preoccupied with the cheese dousing and the flat tire, I had a visual in my head of where I was going to meet this person, and that’s where I went, even though it made no sense. I pride myself in being on time or early, and arrived in the wrong place at exactly the right time.

By now I was pissed. Almost to the point of being unsalvageable. My own mistakes will irritate me more than anything else in the world, and once I reach a certain point of irritaedness, I’m canceling my plans because I’ll be in a foul mood and don’t want to be around anyone. So I had to call the girl and tell her that I was legally retarded and would be there in fifteen minutes. I said I’d call her when I got there and we’d meet up. Peoples’ agonizing driving habits are amplified when you are in a hurry.

When I finally got to the Piedmont Park area at 1 p.m. (we were going to stroll around the Dogwood Art Festival and make fun of stuff), I was turned away from three parking lots by rude cops whose job it was that day to make sure people didn’t use certain lots to park for the event. I didn’t get pissy with them, because after all, they are making $30k a year to get shot at and tell people where not to park. I was just having a bad day. I ended up driving around the surrounding neighborhoods looking for a spot to park, but was met at every turn by irate homeowners who didn’t want me parking in front of their house and more cops who said I couldn’t park anywhere.

Finally, I was parked in a spot about a mile from where I was going. I reminded myself why I hate big public events like this. I was going to walk a mile to go fight a crowd for a few hours so I can see a bunch of crap that I don’t care about and pretend to be charming for a girl who probably doesn’t think I’m as great as I am.

I flipped open my phone to call the girl, dialed her number, and was met with silence. My phone’s battery had died. It took every drop of my self-control not to spike my phone into the sidewalk and stomp on it until I felt better. Since I am a grown-up, I just put it in my pocket, got in my car, and headed home. I called her when I got home and apologized for being a massive flake. She was very understanding, and laughed at my account of the day’s events.

It really feels good to write about it. I am actually in a good mood again. Oh, I’m still a little nervous about the building falling down around me or something, but I’m all smiles. My chameleon is relaxing on the back porch eating bees and flies and stuff, the cat is doing a brilliant impression of a doorstop, and I’m about to resume work on the latest portrait.

Life is good.

Roving Eyes

Do you find your man/woman constantly staring at other women/men? Here’s what you can do to get him back on track
There is a difference between appreciating someone of the opposite sex and being disrespectful towards them. While admiration can make you feel nice, staring can make you feel really terrible. Just because you are in a relationship, it doesn't mean that you have lost all freedom to admire someone from the opposite sex. But one has to draw the line somewhere. Men have the right to check out other women, just as women also have the right. However, there is a vast difference—women are more subtle about doing it, and don't sit there obviously gawking with their tongues practically hanging out. Male eyeballs swivel as if hypnotised to view the cleavage of a woman passing by and may only briefly register the face of its owner. It is believed that most women can deal intellectually with the roving male eye, but find it emotionally very difficult. It will hurt even more if the staring party is the person you are emotionally involved with.
The annoying truth is that no matter how truly wonderful he might be in other ways, at some point you will have to confront the roving male eye. Most men do it and can't seem to help themselves. The question is, how do you deal with it?

Official Bacteria

Your office desk harbors far more bacteria than your workplace restroom, and if you're a woman, chances are your workspace has more germs than your male co-workers', a new research report shows.

Women have three to four times the number of bacteria in, on and around their desks, phones, computers, keyboards, drawers and personal items as men do, the study by University of Arizona professor Charles Gerba showed. Gerba, a professor of soil, water and environmental sciences, tested more than 100 offices on the UA campus and in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon and Washington, D.C. The $40,000 study was commissioned by the Clorox Co.
"I thought for sure men would be germier," Gerba said. "But women have more interactions with small children and keep food in their desks. The other problem is makeup."
Don't get Gerba wrong: Women's desks typically looked cleaner. But the knickknacks are more abundant, and cosmetics and hand lotions make prime germ-transfer agents, Gerba said. Makeup cases also make for fine germ homes, along with phones, purses and desk drawers.
Food in desk drawers also harbors lots of microorganisms, and it is more abundant among female office workers. Gerba found 75 percent of women had munchies in their desks.
"I was really surprised how much food there was in a woman's desk," he said. "If there's ever a famine, that's the first place I'll look for food."
The news isn't all negative for the fairer sex.
Gerba found the worst overall office germ offender is men's wallets.
"It's in your back pocket where it's nice and warm, it's a great incubator for bacteria," Gerba said.
Another hot spot for bacteria in men's offices: the personal digital assistant.
"Men tend to play with their Palm Pilots more," Gerba said. "I think they're playing video games or something."
The average office desktop has 400 times more bacteria than the average office toilet seat, Gerba said.
Gerba said using a hand sanitizer and using a disinfectant on office surfaces helps, with 25 percent fewer bacteria found on surfaces that were regularly disinfected. Once-a-day use should be sufficient.
"You don't have to go crazy with it, but with the key areas, desktops, phones and keyboards probably need to be disinfected once in a while," he said.

Milky Beer

A liquor shop owner in Japan's largest dairy farming region has stopped crying about local spilled milk and started making beer from it instead.

"We came up with the idea after hearing about surplus milk," said Chitoshi Nakahara, head of the Nakahara liquor shop on the northernmost island of Hokkaido.

Milk consumption has been declining steadily in Japan, and Hokkaido disposed of nearly 900 tonnes of milk last March due to over-production, according to the Japan Dairy Association.

Mr Nakahara's new brew, "Bilk" - a combination of "milk" and "beer" - is about 30 per cent milk. It also contains hops, and the production process does not differ much from that of regular beer, he said.

His shop started selling Bilk, which apart from a slight milky scent looks and tastes like ordinary beer, on February 1 after spending about six months developing the product with a local brewer.

Oh What A Call

How To Handle Telemarketers

1. If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy and you could sure use some money. Ask, "How long can I keep it? Do I have to ever pay it back, or is it like the other money I borrowed before my bankruptcy?"

2. If they start out with, "How are you today?" say, "Why do you want to know?" Or you can say, "I'm so glad you asked, because no one seems to care these days and I have all these problems, my sciatica is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died...." When they try to get back to the sales process, just continue on with telling about your problems.

3. If the person says he's Joe Doe from the XYZ Company, ask him to spell his name, then ask him to spell the company name, then ask where it is located. Continue asking personal questions or questions about the company for as long as necessary.

4. This one works better if you are male: Telemarketer: "Hi, my name is Judy and I'm with Canter and Siegel services.... You: "Hang on a second." (few seconds pause) "Okay, (in a really husky voice) what are you wearing?"

5. Crying out, in well-simulated tones of pleasure and surprise, "Judy!! Is this really you? I can't believe it! Judy, how have you BEEN?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of terror as she tries to figure out where the heck she could know you from.

6. Say, "No," over and over. Be sure to vary the sound of each no, and keep an even tempo even as they're trying to speak. This is the most fun if you can keep going until they hang up.

7. If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up with their Family and Friends plan, reply, in as sinister a voice as you can muster, "I don't have any friends...would you be my friend?"

8. If they clean rugs: "Can you get blood out, you can? Well, how about goat blood or HUMAN blood - chicken blood too?"

9. Let the person go through their spiel, providing minimal but necessary feedback in the form of an occasional "Uh-huh, really, or, "That's fascinating." Finally, when they ask you to buy, ask them to marry you. They get all flustered, but just tell them you couldn't give your credit card number to someone who's a complete stranger.

10. Tell them you work for the same company they work for. Example: Telemarketer: "This is Bill from Watertronics." You: "Watertronics!! Hey I work for them too. Where are you calling from?" Telemarketer: "Uh, Dallas, Texas." You: "Great, they have a group there too? How's business/the weather? Too bad the company has a policy against selling to employees! Oh well, see ya." 11. Tell the Telemarketer you are busy and if they will give you their phone number you will call them back. If they say they are not allowed to give out their number, then ask them for their home number and tell them you will call them at home (this is usually the most effective method of getting rid of Telemarketers). If the person says, "Well, I don't really want to get a call at home," say, "Ya! Now you know how I feel." (smiling, of course...)

Good Credit Card Bad Debts

Most Americans and an increasing number of Indians are living beyond their means. While I am not against the use of a credit card, I do feel alarmed at the attitude people have towards debt. They use it to buy T-shirts, CDs, movie tickets, food and other sundry items. Consumables should ideally be paid-off from your current income, but we opt to use the card, without realising that means additional interest.

Today, we will take a look at what you can do if you have got into debt. More importantly, let's start with a negative list — how not to pare down your debt.(Six ways how you should not repay excess credit card debt)

6. Surrendering your insurance/pension plans: Don't ever touch your long-term investments or change your insurance plans to reduce debt.

5. Using an inheritance:Never touch your inheritance or nest egg. Use this money to buy a deferred annuity. If you lived so long without this annuity, you can learn to live a little longer without the gift.

4. Breaking earmarked investments: In case you have some investment earmarked for your child's education or marriage, do not break that investment to repay a loan caused by indulgence.

3. Stopping your SIP started long back: If you are doing an SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) and getting good results, do not tamper with it.

2. Creating a second mortgage on your house:It is very tempting to do this. But remember a credit card debt is a short-term unsecured borrowing. Don't put your house at risk to pay this.

1. Withdrawing from your Provident Fund: Do not touch this case except for a genuine emergency.

Having said that, it would be unfair if I did not talk about ways to pare down too much debt.

1. Change your habits: Break the habit that got you into debt. It could be spending beyond your means, or owning assets that you cannot afford.

2. Set small goals:If you are spending too much money on, say, alcohol, set yourself a cap — not more than 2 pegs in one sitting!

3. Set monetary limits: If you are spending too much on clothes, set yourself a limit.

4. Start small savings:Use a portion of the saving and do a systematic investment plan. The effect of compounding will soon take over.

5. Throw away extra credit cards: One or two cards is more than enough.

6. Pay more: Pay more than just the minimum on your card limits.7. Personal Loan:If possible, get a personal loan and repay all credit card debts. It's usually cheaper.

God Bless You

Many people have become accustomed to saying "bless you" or "gesundheit" when someone sneezes. No one says anything when someone coughs, blows their nose or burps, so why do sneezes get special treatment? What do those phrases actually mean, anyway?
Wishing someone well after they sneeze probably originated thousands of years ago. The Romans would say "Jupiter preserve you" or "Salve," which meant "good health to you," and the Greeks would wish each other "long life." The phrase "God bless you" is attributed to Pope Gregory the Great, who uttered it in the sixth century during a bubonic plague epidemic (sneezing is an obvious symptom of one form of the plague).
The exchangeable term "gesundheit" comes from Germany, and it literally means "health." The idea is that a sneeze typically precedes illness. It entered the English language in the early part of the 20th century, brought to the United States by German-speaking immigrants.
Virtually every country around the globe has its own way of wishing sneezers well. People in Arabic countries say, "Alhamdulillah," which means, "praise be to God." Hindus say, "Live!" or "Live well!" Some countries have special sneezing responses for children. In Russia, after children are given the traditional response, "bud zdorov" ("be healthy"), they are also told "rosti bolshoi" ("grow big"). When a child sneezes in China, he or she will hear "bai sui," which means, "may you live 100 years."
For the most part, the various sneeze responses originated from ancient superstitions. Some people believed that a sneeze causes the soul to escape the body through the nose. Saying "bless you" would stop the devil from claiming the person's freed soul. Others believed the opposite: that evil spirits use the sneeze as an opportunity to enter a person's body. There was also the misconception that the heart momentarily stops during a sneeze (it doesn't), and that saying "bless you" was a way of welcoming the person back to life.
We now know that sneezing is a reflex action and is most often the sign of something relatively benign, such as a cold or allergy. A sneeze also can be provoked by being outside in the sunlight or from smelling a strong odor. Still, we persist in the custom of saying "bless you" or "gesundheit," mainly out of habit and common courtesy.

S- exchange Offers

A Chinese policewoman has caused a raging row for running a popular web site that helped people swap spouses and go for onenight stands. These are among the several instances of an emerging permissiveness—at least in a section of the population—which has jolted the orthodox Chinese society trying to adjust to its new-found prosperity. A survey by the state-run Women’s Federation’s Psychology Consultation Office in Guangdong province showed that 52% of the women seeking psychological counseling were traumatised by their husbands’ infidelity.

“Extramarital affairs are common; Chinese couples have been influenced by Western concepts of sexual liberation and freedom outside the sphere of traditional ethical codes,” Shi Mengjuan, a doctor at the office, said. Another recent survey conducted in Beijing showed that 6.2% of high school students below the age of 16 have experienced sex. About half of the 2,300 students covered in the survey saw nothing wrong with one-night stands.

The policewoman, who goes by her surname of Su, told the local media in Shaanxi that her web club had attracted members seeking uninhibited sex from all over China. She lost her job at the police bureau in Liquan county in Shaanxi last November, within one month of boasting of her success to the local media. The media spotlight is once again on Su who recently told China Business View, a Shaanxi newspaper, that 60,000 people have signed up to her spouse-swapping club.

Billions In Scrap

China's richest billionaire is now a woman - 49-year-old Zhang Yin is worth a cool $3.4bn (£1.8bn). The tycoon is the world's richest self-made woman, having built China's largest paper recycling business, Nine Dragons Paper, which was floated on the Hong Kong stock market just six months ago. She seems an eloquent symbol of the new China; a capitalist whose success and wealth was unthinkable before Deng Xiaoping freed China from the embrace of Maoism in 1978. It is capitalists such as her who are proof that paradoxically it is communist China that is home to the globe's most vigorous capitalism. And she is a woman.
In China, though, beware. Nothing is quite what it seems. Zhang Yin owes her success both to pro-market Deng Xiaoping and ardent communist Mao. As the eldest daughter of a family with eight children, her expectation before the communist revolution would have been to grow up illiterate before becoming her husband's chattel. Mao's radical egalitarianism may have given China the murderous mayhem of the Cultural Revolution. But he also transformed the role, expectations and education of women.
In 1949 female illiteracy in rural China was 99 per cent. In 1976 when Mao died it was 45 per cent and today it is 13 per cent. One of Mao's first acts was to give women the same rights in divorce as men, and for all his other barbarism he consistently championed the equality of women.
China is still a sexist society, but compared with the rest of Asia it is light years ahead. Female illiteracy in rural India, for example, is still 55 per cent. The change has gone deep into the marrow of Chinese society. One survey recently revealed that Chinese girls between 16 and 19 name becoming president, chief executive or senior manager of a company as their top career choices; Japanese girls between 16 and 19 say they want to become housewives, flight attendants or child-care workers. One of China's most formidable economic and social resources has become its women.
As the daughter of an officer in the People's Liberation Army, Zhang Yin also understands the corrupt and controlling pathology of Chinese communism well - and has understood the imperative to keep ownership and direction of her company as distant as possible from Beijing. In China the party controls, or has the capacity to control, everything; the number of companies forced into decline or even bankruptcy because they were compelled to support party aims - bailing out an endemically loss-making company to protect jobs or buying a state-owned company at an astronomic price to feather the nest of a senior official - is beyond counting.

Indigenous Chinese capitalism is a form of hit-and-run guerrilla economic warfare in a constant battle with the world's greediest and most corrupt officialdom. Survival depends upon paying tribute. It is no accident that two thirds of China's six million private businesses are owned and run by ex-communist officials. Almost every private businessperson in China is either a party member or applying to join.
Zhang has avoided much of that - courtesy of Hong Kong, a Taiwanese husband and managing to get out of China in the months after Tiananmen Square when repression was at its height and the prospects for any kind of private enterprise seemed nil. Her cleverest moves were her first; incorporating her company in Hong Kong in 1985 and then marrying a Taiwanese with a non Chinese passport. In exile in Los Angeles in 1990 the pair founded America Chung Nam - a company specialising in scrap paper brokerage as she had been doing in Hong Kong.
Scrap paper is one of the few industries the party considers non-strategic and which it indulges - another smart choice for an ambitious woman. In December 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed, and in January 1992 the ageing Deng Xiaoping declared in a tour of Guangdong, China's most pro-capitalist province, that as international communism was dead the only way for Chinese communism to survive was to embrace pro-market reform. In particular it should welcome inward investment from foreign companies with know-how and technology. It was glorious, he said, to be rich.
There was an avalanche of inward investment, including America Chung Nam building a paper and board mill in the very same Guangdong- a foreign investor even if owned by a Chinese living abroad. After all, China's booming exports would need to be wrapped in paper and paperboard. Guangdong's exports have grown phenomenally; so have sales of paper and board.
And six months ago Zhang Yin and her husband cashed in - floating their shares not in one of China's stock markets on the mainland, but in Hong Kong. Here a private company can keep its distance from the party; if there is a dispute with the communists it gets settled in Hong Kong's still independent legal system - legacy of the British - and not in one of the mainland's rigged courts.
The extent of China's reform, and its subsequent growth, is stunning. It is also true that Ms Zhang could not have made her money if China had not opened to the world. But nobody should believe that somehow her fortune means that China has made the full transition to capitalism. Rather she has exploited the system's fault lines. This remains a one-party state, in which every institution - from the media to its companies - is constructed to sustain its monopoly of power.
Entrepreneurs such as Zhang Yin only succeed if they find ways around the system; they can only push the economy so far. One day the party will have to let go properly. The issues are only how and when.

What A Scanning

Now Scanning Can Tell You Whether You Are Selfish Or ...........

Altruism, one of the most difficult human behaviours to define, can be detected in brain scans, US researchers reported on Sunday. They found activity in a specific area of the brain could predict altruistic behaviour—and people’s own reports of how selfish or giving they are.

“Although understanding the function of this brain region may not necessarily identify what drives people like Mother Theresa, it may give clues to the origins of important social behaviours like altruism,” said Scott Huettel, a neuroscientist at Duke University who led the study. They set up an experiment in which they put 45 college students into a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner, which can take real-time images of brain activity. They gave the students various games to play, and told them that winning earned cash for either themselves or for a charity.

The students reacted differently depending on whether they won for themselves or for charity with the ones who described themselves as altruistic responding more strongly. “The game involved reacting as fast as one can to the appearance of a target; if one responds fast enough, then money was earned,” Huettel said. The task was simple, and the students did not give up any payments to themselves to give to the charities. But it cost enough effort that Huettel believes it did represent altruistic intent.

“It’s challenging and requires them to focus,” Huettel said in a telephone interview. “They are lying in a tube, and it is a little tiring for them. Even though it doesn’t cost them anything monetarily, it costs them their effort.” And the researchers were surprised by their findings. Some other studies had predicted that giving would activate the reward systems in the brain. In fact, another centre was activated when they either won money for charity, or watched the computer win money for charity.

“This area we saw was the posterior superior temporal cortex,” Huettel said. “It’s part of the parietal lobe. What this brain area seems to be involved in is extracting meaning from things you see.” “If you see a rock move because someone picked it up, you can recognise that they have a goal. That would activate this region. If you saw a leaf fluttering in the wind, there is no intention in that leaf.”

And this brain region would not activate. “We think altruism might help others understand the intentions of others,” Huettel said. His team asked the students how altruistic they were, and found the test strongly correlated with their own reports of unselfish activity, such as helping a stranger

Men Will Be Men

1. We keep our last name.

2. The garage is all ours.

3. Wedding plans take care of themselves.

4. Chocolate is just another snack.

5. We can be president.

6. We can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.

7. Car mechanics tell us the truth.

8. The world is our urinal.

9. We never have to drive to another gas station because this one's just too icky.

10. Same work, more pay.

11. Wrinkles add character.

12. Wedding dress - $5000; tux rental - $100.

13. People never stare at our chest when we're talking to them.

14. The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.

15. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle our feet.

16. One mood, ALL the time.

17. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.

18. We know stuff about tanks.

19. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.

20. We can open all our own jars.

21. We get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.

22. If someone forgets to invite us, he or she can still be our friend.

23. Our underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.

24. Everything on our face stays its original color.

25. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.

26. We don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.

27. We almost never have strap problems in public.

28. We are unable to see wrinkles in our clothes.

29. The same hair style lasts for years, maybe decades.

30. We don't have to shave below our neck.

31. Our belly usually hides our big hips.

32. One wallet and one pair of shoes, one color, all seasons.

33. We can "do" our nails with a pocket-knife.

34. We have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

35. We can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives, on December 24, in 45 minutes.

Where Is the Twelth????

SEVENTEEN:

U LOOK AT THEIR PROFILE/PICTURE CONSTANTLY

SIXTEEN:

WHEN YOUR ON THE PHONE WITH THEM LATE AT NIGHT AND THEY HANG UP, YOU STILL MISS THEM

EVEN WHEN IT WAS JUST TWO MINUTES AGO.

FIFTEEN:

YOU READ THEIR TEXTS or IMS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

FOURTEEN:

YOU WALK REALLY SLOW WHEN YOU'RE WITH THEM

THIRTEEN:

YOU FEEL SHY WHENEVER YOU'RE/THEY'RE AROUND.

ELEVEN:

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THEM, YOUR HEART BEATS FASTER AND SLOWER AT THE SAME TIME

TEN:

YOU SMILE WHEN YOU HEAR THEIR VOICE.

NINE:

WHEN YOU lOOK AT THEM, YOU CAN'T SEE THE OTHER PEOPLE AROUND YOU, All YOU SEE IS HIM//HER.

EIGHT:

YOU START LISTENING TO SLOW SONGS, WHILE THINKING OF THEM

SEVEN:

THEY'RE ALL YOU THINK ABOUT.

SIX:

YOU GET HIGH JUST FROM THEIR SCENT.

FIVE:

YOU REALlIZE THAT YOU'RE AlWAYS SMILING TO YOURSELF WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THEM.

FOUR:

YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR THEM, OR ANYTHING TO SEE THEM.

THREE:

WHILE READING THIS, THERE WAS ONE PERSON ON YOUR MIND THE WHOLE TIME...

TWO:

YOU WERE SO BUSY THINKING ABOUT THAT PERSON, YOU DIDN'T NOTICE NUMBER TWELVE.

ONE:

YOU JUST SCROLLED UP TO CHECK & ARE NOW SILENTLY LAUGHING AT YOURSELF.

IF YOU DIDN'T NOTICE NUMBER 12, POST THIS AS: "17 signs of falling in LOVE."

Internet Or Sexnet

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This Really Needs An Award

Bloody Truth

At least This Guy Is Not Camouflaging His Acts Like Mr George W Bush

2 Stupid News

1) Can A Priest Marry
A priest in Virginia who is suspected of stealing more than $ 600,000 from two churches has denied accusations in court documents that he was living a double life as a family man in a neighbouring county. A newspaper report said that that Reverend Rodney Rodis acknowledged there’s a woman and three girls living at the home, but denies he was married and declined comment on whether the children were his. Rodis was indicted on a felony embezzlement charge. An investigation began in November after church officials found that a donation to the parishes had not been recorded. Rodis is accused of setting up a separate church bank account and funneling donation money into it over a five year period. Rodis has already been suspended from performing priestly duties. A lawyer for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond says the church was surprised to hear about Rodis’ living arrangements.
2) After He Received It
A retired police chief who made a career out of solving crimes is puzzled by his latest case — a postcard dated nearly 60 years ago that recently showed up in his mailbox. Ned Hethington said a plain white envelope containing a faded postcard of an old water wheel from the mountains of North Carolina arrived at his home. The card, dated June 28, 1949, reads, “Dear Granny, it is very hot up here. I thought this picture would cool you off by looking at it. Please write. Miss you. Aunt Olie Orr is going to take me around to see all the mountain. How is everyone. Margie.”

Before "Parties" Now "Nude Parties"

Naked parties are becoming a part of campus culture and Ivy League colleges are among the many institutions where students dare to bare in the name of fun. When Yale University student Molly Clark-Barol got the invitation, she was reluctant to go. A naked party? Where people stand around in their birthday outfit? It sounded awkward. But she quite enjoyed the experience, calling it “liberating’’. She said, “It was really low key, kind of just like any other party. Except you’re naked.’’

Yale is one of several Ivy League schools at which naked parties are popular. Ask the partygoers why they attend and they may tell you something about releasing academic pressure, selfexpression or experimentation. But push them a bit more and you’ll find that when you put 30 or so naked college kids together in a room, the pulse of youthful rebellion runs strong. Held late in the evening, the parties are usually a last stop after an evening of social revelry.

Full of liquid courage, the naked partygoers abandon their coats—and their clothes—at the door. The guest lists for the smaller parties are usually limited to around 30 or 40 people, and the conversations tend to be more intellectual, partygoers claim. And there are strict rules about touching and gawking. If guests start getting too friendly with each other, they’re asked to leave. “It’s more about breaking taboos,’’ says Clark-Barol. “You feel more like running around in circles than hooking up with someone.’’

The tradition of naked parties at Yale is not new. In the 1990s, a naked party held in a small campus dining area called the Buttery was dubbed, ‘Nude Night at the Butt.’ Also in the late 1990s, a secret society called ‘Porn ‘n Chicken,’ met together to watch pornographic movies while eating fried chicken in the nude, sources tell ABCNEWS.com.

The club gained national attention after its leaders threatened to make their own pornographic movie starring Yale students. Though the film was never released, in 2002, Comedy Central produced a fictionalised TV movie depicting the club’s activities. The prevalence of naked parties on college campuses is not only a Yale phenomenon—the university shares a certain national notoriety for the tradition with its fellow Ivy, Brown University, according to Luke Skurman, CEO of College Prowler, Inc, a company that produces ‘insider’ guides written by students for over 230 colleges.

At Harvard, public nudity is a form of stress relief. Baring it all at a naked party can have its consequences, however. Many students refuse to attend these parties fearing that their professional or political careers may be jeopardised

Same Old Stale News

For the sixth consecutive year, the Mumbai police have topped the city’s annual corruption index. At the second place is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, with 16 of its employees caught red-handed for allegedly demanding and accepting bribes.
According to the list prepared by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB), 29 policemen were charged in 16 cases related to graft, resulting in the department topping the list for 2006. The 29 black sheep include a woman constable, who was arrested for demanding a bribe of Rs 1,000 for returning the cellphone of a complainant, and a sub-inspector and a constable who went to the extent of withdrawing money from an accused’s savings bank account using his ATM card in return for shielding him in court.
Asked to comment, former IPS officer Y P Singh said, “Senior police officers themselves don’t have impeccable integrity. There is an informal ban on holding frank discussions on corruption in official meetings and conferences. Sensitivity to moral values is also declining very fast.’’ But in what may come as a relief for the department, no senior policeman came under the ACB’s scanner last year. The highest ranking cop to be arrested in 2006 was suspended inspector Baban Kadam, who involved in a case of disproportionate assets. In 2005, the ACB had arrested senior inspector Sahebrao Survade of RAK Marg police station along with a constable for accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000.
Also, if the ACB’s lists are anything to go by, corruption is actually declining in the police department. In 2003, 60 cops were arrested for demanding bribes, while in 2006 the figure plummeted by half.

All I Kow About New Zealand

New Zealand is ideal for travelling in the backpacking style. And more and more people are now choosing this kind of holiday thanks to not just the stunning landscapes but also the huge variety of excellent accommodation and activities available: from basic to luxurious and sedate to exhilarating.

New Zealand is a dream place in which to travel in the backpacking style. This is a compact country with sweepingly different scenery between the main towns and cities. Getting around is simple, and better still, your choice of routes, activities and accommodation is as wide as the Pacific Ocean horizon.

Roads in New Zealand are well maintained, it's hard to get lost, traffic is minimal and there are plenty of places to picnic or stop for a break. So travelling by campervan or rental car is a hugely popular choice.

Campervans are great fun – and a cost-effective option for groups of people travelling together. So many people want to pick up a hire vehicle in the North Island and drop it off in the South Island, or vice versa, that rental companies offer excellent ‘relocation rates,’ generally from south to north.

If you want to skip around the country quickly, hop on a plane - New Zealand has a comprehensive domestic flight service. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how affordable domestic air travel is and booking online makes it even cheaper, and simpler too. Air travel is now the new, affordable way to experience New Zealand.

But let’s not forget the traditional backpacker mode of transport: buses. You can use Flexi Passes to buy travel by the hour on the nationwide network of Intercity buses. Or try the convenience of a Travelpass to go directly from A to B but get on and off as you like.

Magic Travellers Network and Kiwi Experience buses take you off the main routes and also allow you to get on and off as you choose (even taking you to the door of local hostels). With Magic Bus you can even tag on a train journey such as the spectacular TranzAlpine or TranzCoastal. Then there are the smaller bus operators like Bottom Bus in the lower South Island that let you get into some of the wildest scenery in the country.

The New Sutra

The fulfilment of women is at the heart of the experience of sex and the lines between sex and sensuality, as between social mores and individual desire, are indeed fine and must be understood deeply. That is the basic message author-diplomat Pavan K Verma tries to send across in his brave new book, Kama Sutra: The Art of Making Love to a Woman.

Verma’s tribute to the 300 AD immortal treatise on sex by Vatsyayana comes at a time when, in Verma’s own words, “there is an avalanche of flesh in cinema, TV and magazines”. “The subject is such that it is more than capable of nurturing more than one interpretation,” Verma said, speaking at the launch function. Varma is also the director-general of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), a former ambassador to Cyprus and a former spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs. But why do we need another interpretation of this world famous treatise on sex? “We need to resurrect the Kama Sutra from its various misinterpretations,” he said. He emphasised that Vatsyayana was clear about one thing: men and women are equal partners in sex and that it is important for the man to ensure that the woman gets her full share of fulfilment. “This book is not about technique but about attitude and right approach,” Verma said, while describing how Vatsyayana laid great importance on the environment in which a man and a woman make love. Talking about society’s prudish approach to sex today, he said, “There was a time in our history I am sure when desire was taken out of the dark and put out in the sun as an essential aspect of our life.”He said that the rise of Islam and the Victorian morality that came in with British rule changed Indians’ attitude towards sex forever. “Why, there was this Englishman who sued Lord Krishna in court for lechery!” Verma stated. Asked what the book has for the younger generation, Verma lamented that he was sure the young would look at illustrations rather than read the text. “But please go through the text, it is important to understand why a great sage —a mahamuni—like Vatsyayana wrote a book on such a subject so long ago.” However, Verma seemed to be at a loss for words when a member of the audience asked, “What does the book offer to senior citizens?” “A good lover has to be sensitive to a woman’s needs.”

Stupid Stories Of The Day

1) Mayor vexed by salesmen on ‘bat phone

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg complained to a US Senate committee that he’s vexed by pesky dinnertime phone calls from salesmen — ringing him on his secure line. Much like the Gotham police commissioner’s secure line to the ‘bat phone’ in the 1960s Batman television show, the kitchen of Bloomberg’s Upper East Side townhouse has been outfitted for emergency top-secret communications. Testifying at a Senate hearing on protecting America after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Bloomberg was asked about New York City’s updated communications equipment that allows police, fire, health and other officials to talk to each other in a crisis. Bloomberg mentioned his secure phone and the insurance salesmen that regularly call him on it. Following the hearing, Bloomberg stood before reporters who asked about as many questions about the ‘Bat phone’ as they did about New York’s quest for more anti-terrorism funds. “It’s never been used other than to answer an occasional call for ‘Do I want to subscribe to a particular magazine, buy an insurance policy’ or some other such ridiculous thing,” Bloomberg said. Asked what thoughts race through his mind when it rings, Bloomberg deadpanned, “It’s somebody trying to sell insurance. That’s what I think.” For the record, the phone, which the mayor said has a secure device “that encodes on either end,” is not red. As for how salesmen tap into the super-secret line, Bloomberg said, “You can dial a number at random and eventually get to everyone in the world.

2) Rabid raccoon attacks woman on porch

An woman in the US is undergoing rabies treatment after she was attacked on her porch by a rabid raccoon. Beverly Lanouette said the animal came up from behind and latched onto her leg. “It was a huge raccoon who meant business,” she told news stations. “It was very angry and growling and wouldn’t let go of my leg.” She said she beat the animal with a chair to get it off of her. The animal was killed and tested positive for the rabies. Police said it was the third raccoon attack in town but the first involving a human. Two dogs were attacked in the town. Two attacks on dogs were also reported in Manchester, prompting health officials to remind owners to keep their pets’ vaccinations up to date. Three of the dogs attacked had to be euthanized because they weren't up to date on their vaccinations. Health officials say there isn’t a pandemic of rabies. Instead, the warm weather has caused wild and domesticated animals to interact more. The first strain of rabies in raccoons in Connecticut was discovered in Ridgefield in 1991, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Curves Ahead

An hourglass figure is more than just a fancy of fashion. Scientists believe the waspish waist has “universal and timeless appeal” that crosses a variety of generations and cultures. Now they have the figures to prove it. And it will also help explain the popularity of glamorous women ranging from Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe to Kylie Minogue. The research is based on analysis of almost 350,000 works of fiction from Britain and the US. The scientists studied the various works to see how often, and in what manner, writers referred to the female waist. As a comparison they also picked out references to other parts of the body including the breasts, hips, legs, thighs and buttocks. They then repeated the experiment with Mahabharata and Ramayana between the 1st and 3rd century and Chinese dynastic Palace poetry between the 4th and 6th century. They found breasts received the most mentions, cropping up 219 times. However, on only 16 occasions was the shape or size referred to as well. There were however 66 references to waists — with every single one specifying a slim waist. This was important because it showed waists were considered attractive, regardless of culture and before the influence of mass media. Lead researcher Devendra Singh of the University of Texas said: “The common historical assumption in the social sciences has been that the standards of beauty are arbitrary, solely culturally determined and in the eye of the beholder.” “The finding that the writers describe a small waist as beautiful suggests instead that this body part — a known marker of health and fertility — is a core feature of feminine beauty that transcends ethnic differences and cultures.” The Indian and Chinese literature in the study featured very different depictions of women. Indian artists showed naked bodies sometimes in sexual acts, while the Chinese tradition did not sanction this

Innovation!!!!

An Australian zoo has put a group of humans on display to raise awareness about primate conservation — with the proviso that they don’t get up to any monkey business. Over a month, the humans will be locked in an unused orangutan cage at Adelaide zoo, braving the searing heat and snacking on bananas. They will be monitored by a psychologist who hopes to use the findings to improve conditions for real apes in captivity. Audiences can vote for their favourite ‘ape’ via mobile phone text messages, in the style of reality television shows, and at the end of the month, a ‘super human’ will be selected to represent the zoo. One of the human apes, Josh Penley, said the experiment was a chance to “get myself out of my comfort zone and to get a week off work.” Participants wear microphones in front of web cams to allow watchers to hear the action in what has been billed as ‘Big Brother behind bars.’ Zoo vets haven’t ruled out using tranquilizer darts if the humans misbehave.

A Letter To The Terrorists

Dear Terrorist,

Even if you are not reading this we don't care. Time and again you tried to disturb us and disrupt our life - killing innocent civilians by planting bombs in trains, buses and cars. You have tried hard to bring death and destruction, cause panic and fear and create communal disharmony but everytime you were disgustingly unsuccessful.

Do you know how we pass our life in Mumbai? How much it takes for us to earn that single rupee? If you wanted to give us a shock then we are sorry to say that you failed miserably in your ulterior motives. Better look elsewere, not here. We are not Hindus and Muslims or Gujaratis and Marathis or Punjabis and Bengaliies. Nor do we distinguish ourselves as owners or workers, govt. employees or private employees.

WE ARE BOMBAY-ITES (MUMBAIKERS, if you like). We will not allow you to disrupt our life like this. On the last few occassions when you struck (including the 7 deadly blasts in a single day killing over 250 people and injuring 500+ in 1993), we went to work next day in full strength.

This time we cleared everything within a few hours and were back to normal - the vendors placing their next order, businessmen finalizing the next deals and the office workers rushing to catch the next train. (Yes the same train you targetted) Fathom this: Within 3 hours of the blasts, long queues of blood donating volunteers were seen outside various hospital, where most of the injured were admitted.

By 12 midnight , the hospital had to issue a notification that blood banks were full and they didn't require any more blood. The next day, attendance at schools and office was close to 100%, trains & buses were packed to the brim, the crowds were back. The city has simply dusted itself off and moved one - perhaps with greater vigour.We are Mumbaikers and we live like brothers in times like this. So, do not dare to threaten us with your crackers. The spirit of Mumbai is very strong and can not be harmed.

Innocent Answers

A first-grade teacher, Ms Brooks was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Johnny what is your problem?"

Johnny answered, "I'm too smart for the first Grade. My sister is in the third grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the third-grade too!

"Ms Brooks had enough. She took Johnny to the Principal's office. While Johnny waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was.

The principal told Ms Brooks he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the first grade and behave.She agreed.

Johnny was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: "What is 3x 3?"

Johnny: "9".

Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"

Johnny: "36".

And so it went with every question the principal thought a third- grade should know. The principal looks at Ms Brooks and tells her, "I think Johnny can go to the third-grade.

"Ms Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions?" The principal and Johnny both agree.

Ms Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?

Johnny, after a moment "Legs."

Ms Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"

Johnny: "Pockets."

Ms Brooks: What starts with a C and ends with a T is hairy, oval, and delicious and contains thin whitish liquid?Johnny: Coconut

Ms Brooks: What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?

The Principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer, But Johnny was taking charge.

Johnny: Bubblegum

Ms Brooks: What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?

The Principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer...

Johnny: Shake hands.

Ms Brooks: Now I will ask some "Who am I" sort of questions, okay?

Ms Brooks: You stick your poles inside me. You tie me down to get me up.I get wet before you do.

Johnny: Tent.

Ms Brooks: A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first.

The Principal was looking restless and a bit tense.

Johnny: Wedding Ring.

Ms Brooks: I come in many sizes. When I'm not well, I drip. When you blow me, you feel good.

Johnny: Nose.

Ms Brooks: I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver.

Johnny: Arrow.

Ms Brooks: What word starts with 'F' and ends in 'K' that means a lot of heat and excitement?

Johnny: Fire truck.

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and said to the teacher,"Send Johnny to University, I got the last ten questions wrong myself !"