Ghosts

An article from BBC World
A scientist investigating one of the UK's "most haunted" locations has said "something quite odd" was going on.
Professor Richard Wiseman used 200 volunteers to carry out a study of Mary King's Close in Edinburgh.
It yielded reports of apparitions, phantom footsteps, unexplained cold spots and unseen hands.
But Prof Wiseman does not believe the experiences were paranormal. He said environmental and psychological factors were responsible for the hauntings.
Strong reputation
Mary King's Close is a warren of underground streets sealed off from the outside world more than two centuries ago.
It became entombed when Edinburgh's Royal Exchange - now the City Chambers - was built in 1753.
The top floors of the houses were demolished and the lower floors incorporated into its foundations.
The rooms of many houses still exist, and according to some reports, so do a number of their former residents.
Prof Wisemen sent groups of volunteers to four locations, without telling them that only two sites had a strong reputation for being haunted.
The aim was to compare reports from the different sites.

More than 200 people visited Mary King's Close for the study
About 70% of those visiting the "haunted" locations reported unusual phenomena.
In contrast, only 48% of people exploring the locations not reputed to be haunted had spooky experiences.
At the "most haunted" site, where a sinister figure in black has repeatedly been seen, more than 80% of the volunteers reported something strange happening.
"There was a massive difference between the locations," said the professor from the University of Hertfordshire.
"Sometimes people just felt very cold, but there were some quite extreme experiences - feelings of being watched, being touched and having clothing pulled, apparitions of people and animals, and footsteps. I was really surprised at the extent of the experiences."
Experiments by the researchers showed that the two "haunted" locations were significantly less humid than the other sites.
Haunted locations
This can generate a feeling of coldness, said Prof Wiseman.
There was also evidence of "infrasound" - low frequency sound waves which are too deep for the human ear to pick up, but are known to produce feelings of unease.
In the most haunted site there was a continuous infrasound rumble, which may have been due to traffic overhead.
A psychological test also found that people rated photos of the haunted locations as significantly more "ghostly" and sinister than the other sites, without knowing their reputation.
This suggested that subtle visual features, such as shape, lighting, or the presence of doorways, may be eliciting a sense of fear.
Prof Wiseman said: "It could be that the ghosts were down there, but I think the explanation is primarily psychological."

Road sense???---Nonsense!!!

i have always admired the road and traffic conditions ( of main roads) in Chennai to a gr8 extent. Broad roads and well regulated traffic keeps Chennai out of the traffic stagnations faced by cities like Kolkatta and Bangalore. What about the narain karthikeyans' driving two wheelers and autos? I have never seen a rider indicating that ge/she is gonna take a left/right turn. You should be happy with their heads turning into the direction they wish to turn their vehicle. You would be confused whether that clown is going to take a turn immediately or he is looking at the model posing in the giant hoarding, which you can see along the main roads in Chennai. Incidentally Chennai has been termed as the 'city of hoardings'!!!!

when u c a person showing his right hand indicating that he is turning right and if he looks into the rear mirror to check whether anybody is close to him then be sure that " he is not a native of Chennai or he is been brought up here"!!!!

riders in chennai don't have the "road sense",as they call, which riders in cities like hyderabad have. Iam going to mumbai this weekend and i don't know what kind traffic awaits me there!!!!

Posh

The language of the upper classes is known by language experts as URP, upper received pronunciation. According to Lord Onslow, the clipped phrases and lengthened vowels are perfectly natural, but he is less certain of why his speech is so different from the rest of society.

This slightly archaic type of speech can lead to cringingly embarrassing situations where the speaker is simply not understood.

Lynda Mugglestone explains that the movement away from distinctly regional forms of speech towards a national standard shifted the speech patterns of the British particularly the English aristocracy. A process which has continued to the present day.

In Georgian Britain of George lll, changes in pronunciation and greater social mobility lead to the publication of many pronunciation dictionaries. Even the leaders of society were not immune to mispronunciation.

Eton College
According to a manual from 1869, the 'best accent' was taught at Eton and Oxford. For some that still holds true, although now it's socially acceptable to choose whether to retain or even acquire this expensive veneer. But for many, how they sound to others is not how they sound to themselves.

What is it that makes the speech patterns of the upper classes distinct from other speakers of RP? Gertrude Lawrence and Noel Coward spoke fine UPR, every syllable is sounded but some letters are clipped, 'i', 'e' and 'a' coming in for some particularly rough treatment. Other URP speakers seem to start their sentences with a bang and trail away to a whimper.


In the 1920's, Lord Reith, director general of the BBC, believed that there was a right way to speak and insisted that his announcers should all speak properly and all sound the same. He saw it as his duty to ensure that the public knew the right way to speak. By the 1940's the public were not so impressed, indeed Nancy Mitford was lucky to escape with her life following her lectures delivered in the Mitford way.

The acme of aristocracy is the royal family, but even the Queen's English has changed over the years since her coronation in 1952. So much so that "The Mirror" famously declared, "Er Madge don't talk so posh any more

Plots

An entrepreneur in Hyderabad seems over the moon.
He has bought a five-acre lunar plot and has the legal deed to endorse the claim though how he plans to live there is still not clear.
"If it is not possible [to live on the moon] during my life time, may be in the next generation," says Rajeev V Bagdi, who bought the plot of land on the moon through an Internet transaction for $ 140.
The ownership of the property has been 'authorised by the Lunar Republic and registered with the International Lunar Lands Registry in New York and Paris," a moonstruck Bagdi told PTI.
He has a deed issued by the 'Lunar Republic Interactive' and signed by its legal public registrar on July 27, 2003, that reads, "Rajeev V Bagdi is recorded as the true and legal owner of the properties located at Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) 32.8 degree North latitude, 15.6 degree West longitude and track-30."
"I don't know whether the document is legal or not, but I am in the habit of taking risks ... if this venture brings me fortune, I will be very happy," he says.
He also probably does not know that people have been arrested in Europe and the US for online sale of plots on the moon, including the Sea of Tranquility, to unsuspecting customers.
Bagdi, a Masters of Business Administration, is in the cement business.
A bachelor, he lives with his two brothers in a joint family of 28 members and now spells his name as Rajzeev V Baagree for numerological reasons.

Why The English Language Is Hard To Learn

1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4. We must polish the Polish furniture.
5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10. I did not object to the object.
11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13. They were too close to the door to close it.
14. The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18. After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

After Tsunami

India 'moved east' after tsunami
A seismologist in India says that the country has moved closer to Indonesia due to the massive earthquake which triggered the tsunami in December.
Dr Vineet Gahlaut said that India had shifted a few centimetres eastwards.
He said the earthquake had increased stress on the fault system separating India and Indonesia and heightened the threat of another big earthquake.

Dr Gahlaut made his comments after a one-month survey of the Earth's surface in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Satellite technology
The expedition reveals the geographical distance between India and Indonesia - the epicentre of the deadly earthquake - has been reduced by between five metres and 15mm.
The amount of movement depended on the closeness of different areas to the epicentre of the quake, Dr Gahlaut explained.

The team is not clear when another earthquake will happenHe said that all of the Indian mainland, but not the Andaman and Nicobar Islands - which are on a different tectonic plate - had moved eastwards.
Dr Gahlaut led a four member team of the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as part of his research, and used satellite technology to make the measurements.
He told the BBC that the 26 December quake had resulted in the eastward movement of the Indian coastal region by a few millimetres.
At the same time, it had caused the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to move westwards by between one metre and 20m.
In the Indonesian island of Sumatra, he said the movement was as much as 20m.
He said that the distance between Hyderabad, Bangalore and Sumatra had been shortened from 10 to 15mm.
Dr Gahlaut's team conducted its study at eight different places in the Andaman and Nicobar islands throughout January.
The BBC's Omer Farooq reports that a worrying part of the conclusions is the revelation that stress on the Sumatra fault system has increased since the 26 December event.
Our correspondent said this indicated that another big earthquake was possible in the region.
But Dr Gahlaut explained that no one could say how big this earthquake would be and when exactly it would come.
Around 10,000 people were killed by the tsunami waves that hit the Indian mainland after the 26 December quake. Thousands more died in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

How safe are Indian cities?

When it comes to quality of life and personal safety, Indian cities don't figure in the top hundred in the world, a recent survey has said.
The survey, conducted by London-based human resources consultancy firm Mercer, said Bangalore, one of the most high-profile cities of India, is ranked 112, along with Chennai, on the indices of personal safety and quality of life.
New Delhi and Mumbai are ranked 126 and 139, respectively.
According to the survey, Luxembourg is the safest city with the best quality of life. And the least safe is Baghdad.
In general, Western European countries have done well in the survey, with 25 of the 50 'best to live in' cities being in Europe. The cities include Geneva, Zurich and Venice.
The top-ranking cities in terms of personal safety and security are in politically stable countries, said Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer.
"Most of the low-scoring cities are in countries with civil unrest, little law enforcement and high levels of crime."
London and Rome are ranked 29 because of high levels of petty crimes.
The report describes Baghdad, Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Lagos (Nigeria) as the world's least attractive cities for expatriates.
Baghdad's low score is obviously due to the recurrent threat of attacks against people, multinational organisations and government institutions

SOPHIA STEWART TAKES ON HOLLYWOOD TYCOONS:

Neo, Morpheous, Trinity, Agent Smith Merovengian, Rhineheart, Zion, Oracle. Seem familiar names ? Needless to say these have already made a history. They are making one more in the courtrooms of California. The producers & directors of the movie are held guilty for stealing the script of 'The Matrix' from one women writer called 'Sohpia Stewart'. Read on...

On Monday September 27, 2004 attorney's representing screenplay writer Sophia Stewart of Salt Lake City, Utah, appeared in The United States District Court of Los Angeles, California in a lawsuit against defendants Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, Andy and Larry Wachowski. This case has been defined as one of the largest suits for damages, in the history of the film industry. The defendants are being sued for the recreation, redevelopment, promotion, reproduction,proliferation, distribution, and disbursement throughout the United States of America and abroad to third world countries, for the movie the “Matix”.

Allegedly the defendants cut, removed and, or destroyed from the original production of the movie motion picture, more than thirty (30) minutes of the movie, and the introduction. In an attempt to avoid both civil and criminal penalties for Copyright Infringement from Stewart's 45 page Epic Science Fiction Manuscript entitled “The Third Eye” which copyrights date back as far as 1981, as noticed and acknowledged by an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

During the F.B.I investigation, credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski brothers. The witnesses also added that the
original work of Stewart had been seen, and often used during preparation of the motion pictures.

During Monday's Court proceedings, United States District Judge Margaret Morrow ruled on
several motions made by defendants Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, Andy and LarryWachowski in their attempt to get the suits against them dismissed. But based on the evidence presented during the hearing by Ms. Stewart's and her attorney's Jonathan W. Lubell, Gary S. Brown and Dean Browning Web they successfully defended against, Motions to Dismiss of her copyright infringement lawsuit against the industry giants. The investigation held by the F.B.I not only establish Stewart as the writer of the movie “The Matrix” but also surprisingly “The Terminator”.

It is reported that since the release of the movies The Terminator and The Matrix including the sequels a gross of over 2.5 Billion Dollars was raked in by Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, Andy and Larry Wachowski while the allege creator as we know it now, Sophia Stuart never got a cent.

Unbelievable ? Believe it !!!

Church fights Da Vinci Code novel --Article from BBC

The Roman Catholic Church in Italy has spoken out against what it says are "shameful and unfounded lies" in the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa, broke the church's official silence on the controversial book.
Dan Brown
Its story about the Church suppressing the "truth" that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene has convinced many fans.
But the cardinal's spokesman denied reports that the clergyman was asked by the Vatican to hit back at the book.
Carlo Arcolao told the BBC's News website that it had been the cardinal's own decision to make a public statement about the book.
Mr Arcolao confirmed that the cardinal told an Italian newspaper: "It astonishes and worries me that so many people believe these lies."
The archbishop told Il Giornale: "The book is everywhere. There is a very real risk that many people who read it will believe that the fables it contains are true."

The Da Vinci Code has made author Dan Brown a household The Da Vinci Code, by US author Dan Brown, has been a publishing sensation around the world and is still in best-seller lists.
Its conspiracy theories and thriller style, in which two code-breakers try to track down the truth behind the Holy Grail, have caught the imaginations of millions.
Its central claim is that the Holy Grail is really the bloodline descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene - which the Church is supposed to have covered up, along with the female role in Christianity.
Brown has previously said: "All of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies, all of that is historical fact."
'Unmask lies'
On Wednesday, Cardinal Bertone will host a seminar called Storia Senza Storia (Story Without History) to rebut the claims.
The cardinal has been deputy to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the man known as "the Pope's enforcer" and a possible successor to the pontiff.
As well as the original novel, published in 2003, another 10 books have been written to debunk its claims and a booming tourist industry has sprung up around its sites.
It is also being turned into a film starring Tom Hanks, Jean Reno and Audrey Tautou. Publisher