Spicey Hot

The Cruelest Tattoo Known To Man

2009-10-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

We all know that it can be painful to get tattooed. But here is a Tattoo which is painful to guys who look at it because of where she got it tattooed and what it says.

The tattoo read:
YOU MUST BE AT LEAST THIS TALL TO ENJOY THIS RIDE

How to make a Woman happy !

2009-10-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

It's not difficult to make a woman happy. A man only needs to be:

1. a friend
2. a companion
3. a lover
4. a brother
5. a father
6.. a master
7. a chef
8. an electrician
9. a carpenter
10. a plumber
11. a mechanic
12. a decorator
13. a stylist
14. a phsiotherapist
15. a gynaecologist
16. a psychologist
17. a pest exterminator
18. a psychiatrist
19. a healer
20. a good listener
21. an organizer
22. a good father
23. very clean
24.. sympathetic
25. athletic
26. warm
27. attentive
28. gallant
29. intelligent
30. funny
31. creative
32. tender
33. strong
34. understanding
35. tolerant
36. prudent
37. ambitious
38. capable
39. courageous
40. determined
41. true
42. dependable
43. passionate
44. compassionate

WITHOUT FORGETTING TO:

45. give her compliments regularly
46. love shopping
47. be honest
48. be very rich
49. not stress her out
50. not look at other girls

AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST ALSO:

51. give her lots of attention, but expect little yourself
52. give her lots of time, especially time for herself
53. give her lots of space, never worrying about where she goes

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT:

54. Never to forget:
* birthdays
* anniversaries
* arrangements she makes

HOW TO MAKE A MAN HAPPY:

Hmmm... I know what you are thinking. Yes a BJ will do :)

Who Was Jesus !

2009-10-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

Three Proofs of Jesus ...

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS JEWISH:
1. He went into his father’s business
2. He lived at home until the age of 33
3. He was sure his mother was a virgin, and his mother was sure he was God

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS IRISH:
1. He never got married
2. He never held a steady job
3. His last request was a drink

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS PUERTO RICAN:
1.His first name was Jesus
2.He was always in trouble with the law
3.His mother did not know who his father was

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS ITALIAN:
1. He talked with his hands
2. He had wine with every meal
3. He worked in the building trades

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS BLACK:
1. He called everybody brother
2. He had no permanent address
3. Nobody would hire him

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS CALIFORNIAN:
1. He never cut his hair
2. He walked around barefoot
3. He invented a new religion

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS A REDNECK:
1. He was always talking to sleazy women
2. He was always hanging around his buddies telling fish stories
3. Everybody crucified him

Mandira Bedi Maxims and Fashion Show pictures

2009-09-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

Of course you remember Mandira Bedi the spaghetti strapped cricket hostess on TV. Viewers thought she looked hot in those saris. Many non cricket fans were there to watch Mandira Bedi host the show. The lady has moved on from those spaghetti strap days to much more daring picture shoots and skin show.

Many wonder if she really needed to do this as her image as a classy dame was well established. Infact she herself is reporeted to have said that she is not very sure if she should have done the Maxim's cover shoot. Personally I thought Madira Bedi's Maixm pictures were brealy all right. Nothing much to write home about. Yes, she looked good and hot but it was pretty tasteful.

That was untill her recent disaster at the Kolkata Fashion week. The usually well turned out Mandira Bedi stepped out draped in a black embroidered zari Satya Paul sari and a low-cut (and when we say low-cut we mean real low-cut) blouse. The blouse was ill fitted with her bust literaly falling out. Most people present thought that Mandira Bedi was not the right choice to model the sari.

We are wondering why she has to go on wearing less and less clothes (not that we mind) ? Is Mandira really so desperate for work that she has to show it all for work?

Sheetal Mafatlal Arrested, Jailed

2009-06-08T05:19:00.000-07:00

Sheetal Mafatlal, a socialite and president of Mafatlal Luxury(Ghar ki Dukan) was arrested on Monday for carrying undisclosed jewelery and diamonds worth several lakhs of rupees. Mafatla has been sent to judicial custody till June 12.

Sheetal Mafatlal was detained on Sunday when she landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport. The Customs officials searched the socialite at the airport on specific information and recovered undisclosed jewellery estimated to be between Rs 53 lakh and one crore from her bag.(This will embarrass Sheetal Mafatlal,because 1 crore is too less in the circles she moves.)

Exact value of the recovered ornaments is yet to be ascertained.(this is ray of hope for Sheetal, She should claim it to be worth 10 crore to save face..errr but that could sent her to jail for a long time. What a paradox!)

Mafatlal, who arrived in a British Airways flight was detained for declaring the jewelry worth Rs 1 cr. as mere Rs 30 lakhs.(are you sure it was not the other way around?)
Meanwhile, Mafatlal’s lawyer has said that that the arrest has been done at the instance of some "disgruntled opponent"(does this mean the jewellery charge was fabricated by the customs?) of Atulya, her husband and scion of Mafatlal industries. “Sheetal was arrested on Saturday night when she was returning from London after the police was tipped by some disgruntled opponent(might as well have blames it on Pakistan and ISI, two birds with one stone) of the Mafatlal family and industry,” Lawyer claimed outside the Esplenade court in Mumbai where Sheetal will be produced.

Sheetal had 51 items in her possession including bangles, chains and rings and the most valuable jewelery was worth Rs 2.5 lakh, he said adding that he would file a bail application. “The jewelery was given to her by her father-in-law and was used ones. According to a Supreme Court ruling, if the value of the gold is less than Rs one crore and the duty is less than Rs 30 lakh then the offence is bailable,” he said. (lawyer ki to ban gayi yaro. 10 lakh fees to hogi hi)

All we can do is pray that the mosquitos don't faint after biting her in jail and prisoners do not choke on her perfume odour.

As for Sheetal Mafatlal, one lucky dame, now she will regale people at those Page 3 parties with her jail escapade. What an adventure man.

Indo Canadian MP Ruby Dhalla in hot Movie

2009-03-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

Who is the sexiest Indian Politician in the world? Well not Sonia Gandhi for sure. Indian-Canadian MP Ruby Dhalla is listed as the third sexiest women politicians in the world by Maxim magazine. Dhalla and British Columbia Conservative MP Nina Grewal are the first Sikh women to serve in the Canadian House of Commons.

Ruby Dhalla was an aspiring bollywood actress before she jumped into politics. She acted in a lead role in the film “Kyon Kis Liye” made in Canada. Dhalla is shown in some hot steamy scenes in the movie Kyon Kis Liye with the film’s producer and co-star Charanjit Sihra.

The 35-year-old Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine, Dhalla says the scenes in the film, and distribution posters for DVDs have been “doctored” to malign her.

The film is based on the local Sukhinder Dhillon murder case in which the wife was poisoned by her husband to collect insurance money . Kyon Kis Liye was released in India and Canada without much success. But the present controvery might rake in the moolah for the producer with sale of DVD's of Kyon Kis Liye picking up.

But Dhalla has mounted a legal challenge to stop it. A 1993 Miss IndiaCanada runner-up, Dhalla claims she is being misrepresented through objectionable scenes. “...they put my face on someone else’s body , in clothes I never wore,” she told local daily Toronto Sun.

“I have worked extremely hard to get to where I am and will not be exploited by individuals.” But producer and co-star Charanjit Sihra, who owns a body shop in Hamilton, said Dhalla had given her consent in writing for the distribution of the film DVDs.

The movie producer said there was “nothing sexual” in the film (just too bad). “Her mother was there every day (during the shooting of the film)... there is no nudity, or sex(Yikes! whats all the fuss about dude),” he said.

He said, "She wanted to be in Bollywood films...she had a passion for the movie, but she's a politician now and doesn't want the DVD of the film released.'' Sihra said he had first met Dhalla in 1993 after she became a runner-up in the Miss Canada-India beauty contest.

Well we would certainly like to watch the objectionable nude and steamy scenes from movie Kyon Kis Liye. Post the link to the Video of Kyon Kis Liye please.

Just in case you are wondering who is the sexiest woman politician in the world here is a picture of Mara Carfagna, an Italian . Mara Carfagna is a Member of Chamber of Deputies (Campania 2), Minister for Equal Opportunity (Brings a smile to your face,does't it!)

Don't we deserve some hot looking politician like her!!! I mean look at the cut outs of Adavani, Manmohan Sigh, Mayawati, Jayalalitha, Lalu Parsad....We must be voting for the wrong kinda people here. And if we had to have an imported Italian politician why couldn't we get someone like Mara Carfagna. Jago India Jago.

Slumdog Millionaire bags 8 Oscars at the 81st Academy Awards

2009-02-22T21:05:00.000-08:00

The 81st Oscars winners list is finally out. Slumdog millionaire swept the Oscars winning eight Academy Awards in total. A.R. Rehman bagged two Oscars for Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) and Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song). This was a proud moment for Indian artists and technicians who participated in the making of Slumdog Millionaire.

A.R.Rehman made history when he became the first Indian to win an Oscar. The following is the complete list of all the nominees and winners of the 81st Oscars. The winner of the Oscar is in highlighted in red italics.

Nominees & Winners for the 81st Academy Awards

Performance by an actor in a leading role

* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

* Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)

* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)

* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

* Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Best animated feature film of the year

* “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
* “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction

* “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in cinematography

* “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design

* “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

Achievement in directing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature

* “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
* “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
* “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
* “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall in association with Red Box Films Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
* “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Best documentary short subject

* “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
* “The Final Inch” Vermilion Films in association with Google.org, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
* “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
* “The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year

* “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
* “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

Achievement in makeup

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
* “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat
* “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Best motion picture of the year

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
* “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris, Producers
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer

Best animated short film

* “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
* “Lavatory - Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
* “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films), A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
* “Presto” (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
* “This Way Up” A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Best live action short film

* “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
* “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
* “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
* “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
* “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing

* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* “Wanted” (Universal), Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
* “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay

* “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
* “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
* “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Noida MMS Scandal video link

2009-02-19T22:09:00.000-08:00

Here is another MMS scandal from Noida that has hit the net. The Noida MMS clip showing a girl doing a striptease was circulated by her estranged boyfriend. She had turned down his marriage proposal.

I do feel bad for the people involved in this episode, specially the the girl and her family and friends. I feel this is very unfair on part of the boyfriend who circulated the Noida MMS among his friends and finally on the net. This is backstabbing at its worst.

Relationships break and go through rough patches, but that does not mean that one should make public anything that once was given to you in confidence and trust. I wish some girls would make Nude MMS of guys and circulate them but then two things come to my mind:

1. No one would be interested in watching those Nude MMSes

2. Girls usually do not stoop this low as for them a nude video or MMS clip of a guy is no conquest. Where as guys love to flaunt their score with females foolishly without even thinking about the consequences of such act for the girl. It is a shame.

The guy shot some pictures of the girl and then he hacked into the girl's mail account and sent off the video clips, making it appear that she was sending them.

The girl alleged the two families had been friends for long, to the point that the boy's family wanted the girl's hand in marriage when she was much younger. "My father did not say yes but insisted that we complete our studies first. Later, the boy became increasingly insecure about me. Then he insisted I marry him,'' the girl said.

The girl said that she turned him down as he had shown scant regard for her when her father was seriously ill for two months.

From the clips it is obvious that girl willingly posed for the video, although that does not give the boy any right to make them public. But i do feel that girls need to be more aware of getting themselves clicked in the nude by their boy pals as we get hit by one MMS scanadal after another.

Although there is nothing much scandalous in these Noida MMSes but still they can ruin the reputation of a girl. What we do in private should remain so.

I hope that girls and guys are aware that even when they delete sexy or nude pictures or MMSes from the phone these can still be retireved and eventually made public.

So be aware and be warned, there are plenty of other ways to have fun than getting yourself shot in the nude.

The Noida MMS and the other Nude mmses on the net are a fair warning to everyone who thinks they are safe.

I do not host such MMS on my site but there are links that you can follow to watch such and other MMS on the net.

P.S. sorry guys! I have removed the links to the Noida MMS scandal because I didn't feel too good about posting the links to the MMS. Post in comments and someone might still give you the link to the Noida and other scandal MMS sites.

Shoe thrown on President Bush

2008-12-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

An Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at US President George W Bush at a Baghdad news conference.

The Iraqi TV reporter who threw his shoes at President Bush during a news conference remained in custody Monday, while judicial officials decided whether to charge him with assault. Muntadhar al-Zaidi, a reporter for the TV channel Al-Baghdadia, faced testing for alcohol and drugs to determine his state of mind, said a government official, who requested anonymity.

At Sunday's news conference, the journalist whipped off his shoes and hurled them at Bush during the president's unannounced stop in Baghdad. The reporter called his shoe-throwing, a traditional insult in Arab culture, a "farewell kiss" to a "dog" who launched the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Bush swiftly ducked the shoe missile and later told reporters aboard Air Force One that the "bizarre" incident was not a sign of popular opinion in Iraq.

Watch the Video of shoe thrown at Bush:

Miss World 2008 winner from Russia

2008-12-15T06:29:00.000-08:00

Kseniya Sukhinova was crowned the 58th Miss World on Saturday. The 21-year-old blue-eyed blonde beauty, who is pursuing an engineering degree, was crowned Miss World 2008 in an extravagant African-themed pageant held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The second runner up was Gabrielle Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago and the first runner up Parvathay Omanakuttan of India. The other two finalists were South Africa and Angola.

She said her immediate ambitions included meeting Russia's president, and that she planned to return soon to her studies at the Tyumen Oil and Gas University in her home region of northwestern Siberia.

"I am so happy to be here," Kseniya Sukhinova said of South Africa, which was hosting its sixth Miss World final. "I am so excited. It's amazing."

Sukhinova, who in a biography on the Miss World website listed becoming a supermodel as a goal, also had won the contest's top model award and was third in the swimsuit competition. She was a crowd favourite - though not as popular as hometown beauty Miss South Africa, Tansey Coetzee. Coetzee made the final five.

Miss World 2008 Bathing Suit Contest:

The winners of the Miss World bathing suit contest: Miss South Africa, Tansey Coetzee won third place; Miss Mexico, Anagabriela Espinoza won first place and Miss Russia, Kseniya Sukhinova won second place in Miss World 2008 Swim Suit competition in Durban, South Africa.

Miss India in swim suit contest

Winners of Miss World 2008 Bathing Suit Contest

Miss World 2008 Bikini parade.

Miss Venezuela, Hannely Quintero Ledezma, parades before the judges in the 2008 Miss World bathing suit contest in Durban.

Laura Bush killed a guy in car accident

2008-12-07T22:20:00.000-08:00

In May 2000, a two-page police report pertaining to a fatal accident that had taken place near Midland, Texas, in 1963 was made public, according to which Laura Bush killed a guy in a car accident.

According to a public police report, Laura Bush (then known as Laura Welch) was involved in a fatal car accident in 1963. According to the report, Laura Welch allegedly had been driving when her car passed a stop sign and struck a sedan driven by 17-year-old named Michael Douglas. No charges were filed as a result of the accident. There was another female teenage passenger in Laura (Bush)Welch’s car.

News reports stated that Michael Douglas died after suffering a broken neck in the car accident with Laura Bush. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Midland Memorial Hospital.

There have been numerous rumors over the years regarding Laura Welch’s conduct at the time and whether she was at fault for the accident. Some have insinuated that Laura Welch was criminally negligent and/or she had been drinking. However, no lawsuits or charges were ever filed. There is no evidence of wrongdoing on her part.

Laura Welch was taken to the hospital after the accident and treated for minor injuries. Michael Douglas was a star athlete at Laura Welch’s high school. According to news reports, he was very popular among his peers.

''It was a very tragic accident that deeply affected the families and was very painful for all involved, including the community at large,'' said Mrs. Bush's spokesman, Andrew Malcolm. ''To this day, Mrs. Bush remains unable to talk about it.''

Laura Bush, asked at a campaign stop about the crash said, ''I know this as an adult, and even more as a parent, it was crushing ... for the family involved and for me as well.''

There had been published accounts of the accident, but city officials had declined to release the records because those involved were under 18. The police report was released in response to an open-records request that was submitted to Midland officials in March.

According to the two-page accident report, Laura (Bush) Welch was driving her Chevrolet sedan on a clear night shortly after 8 p.m. on Nov. 6, 1963, when she drove into an intersection and struck a Corvair sedan driven by 17-year-old Michael Douglas.

Although previous news accounts have reported Douglas was thrown from the car and broke his neck, those details were not in the report.

The speed of Laura Bush's car was illegible on the report. The speed limit for the road was 55.

Laura Bush and her passenger, Judy Dykes, also 17, were taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries, according to an accident account printed at the time in the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

O.J. Simpson trial and sentence

2008-12-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

O J Simpson who was acquitted of double murder in 1995 was sentenced Friday to up to 33 years in prison for robbing two memorabilia dealers.

He will not be eligible for parole before 2017 and that means atleast nine years behind the bars.

Simpson delivered a tearful five-minute apology to a packed courtroom. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it," Simpson said.

Simpson, 61, told the judge that he went to a down-market Las Vegas hotel on Sept. 13, 2007, to recover family heirlooms—including his slain ex-wife's wedding ring—to pass down to his children.

"This was the first time I had an opportunity to catch the guys red-handed who had been stealing from my family," said O J the NFL Hall of Fame running back, dressed in navy jail garb.

"In no way did I mean to hurt anybody, to steal anything from anybody. I just wanted my personal things," he said. When Simpson finished, his shoulders slumped and his face fell.

According to O.J.Simpson's lawyer what O J was doing truly was a retrieval of his own property. What it was was a highly emotional, stupid act that violated the law.

"Stupidity," he added, "is not criminality."

But the judge Jackie Glass had other ideas and said,"When you take a gun with you and you take men with you in a show of force, that is not just a 'Hey, give me my stuff back.' That's something else, and that's what happened here,"

The Judge Glass also made is clear that the sentencing of O. J. Simpson was not "payback" for the double-murder acquittal that devided the Americans into for and against O.J.Simpson camps.

Jennifer Aniston Nude calender makes a splash

2008-12-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

Jennifer Aniston nude photos from the much anticipated scene from the 'Break Up' have been splashed online despite legal threats from Jennifer's attorneys. At the time the movie was being filmed Jen said that she didn’t panic over the scene although she admits it was the one of the few times she ever watched the dailies. “Luckily I had been hitting the gym before that already,” said Aniston. “No, you don’t panic about your physical shape. You panic that you just need to be naked, period.”

Jennifer Aniston Nude Photos Hit the Web

Jennifer Aniston did not use a body double for the picture. “No, I definitely didn’t. The problem is because the way it was shot, it was so specifically me. They wanted to make it a tricky camera so you saw the face and then you go to the back. It was hard to cut, unless you did it. You don’t want to do a butt double really. That’s iffy.”

Now the photos are making the rounds on the Internet. The photos appear to be scanned from French magazine Choc. She looks absolutely fabulous in the film and even though the images are a bit blurry, Jennifer Aniston also looks great on the cover of the magazine.

IPL team Deccan Chargers' stake sale

2008-11-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

The IPL bidding wars have begun. The first team on the block is Deccan Chargers with at least 10 firms, including a few media houses and some of the leading private equity funds in the race to acquire a majority stake in Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers, the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team currently owned by the Deccan Chronicle group.

According to highly placed sources, KPMG, the advisors for Deccan Chronicle Group on the stake sale of Deccan Chargers, is currently in talks with at least 8-10 ‘interested parties’.

“There are a couple of leading media houses and some private equity funds (including some international funds) that have shown interest in Deccan Chargers. We should be closing the deal quickly,” a source close to the development said on conditions of anonymity.

The Hyderabad IPL cricket team has been on the block since last month after the Deccan Chronicle group acquired it earlier this year by paying $107 million (about Rs 502 crore) to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Deccan Chargers is the second IPL team hunting for investors after Rajasthan Royals, which represents Jaipur and won the maiden tournament, has been on the lookout, sources said.

It might be a bit tough to sell the stake in Deccan Chargers in times of financial turmoil in the economy, however, sources in KPMG say that IPL, as a television property, generated high viewership ratings consistently between April and June and therefore has proved to be an event that attracts both viewers and advertisers.

“The fact that IPL ratings beat the ratings of several leading entertainment channels confirms that the format worked. Investors and all interested parties believe that there is a lot of return value in owning an IPL team,” a source close to negotiations with the potential investors said.

Deccan Chargers was the most expensive IPL team after Mumbai and Bangalore and the Deccan Chronicle group paid $107 million over ten years to the BCCI. Later, Group M, the leading advertising agency group, acquired 20 per cent in it, sources said.

The team spent over $5.88 million (Rs 28 crore) acquiring 11 players (both domestic and international). Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was one of the highest-paid IPL players, with a fee of $1,350,000, almost double Adam Gilchrist’s and over four times captain VVS Laxman’s earnings.

Surfing the net stimulates your brain functions

2008-10-19T23:02:00.000-07:00

Those of you who think you are losing your marbles here is some cheerful news for you (provided you are reading this on the net and not with a printout handed to you by your exasperated spouse)

Reading books and paper is not the only way to stimulate your mind, for a new study has suggested that surfing the Internet boosts the brain more than going through a book.(That includes reading stuff on the net dude and not just ogling at porn sites. Although that is pretty stimulating too, but not for the brain, if you get my drift)

Researchers at California University have found that browsing the web triggers centres in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning, particularly in older and middle-aged adults.(Study will also show those are the ones who ogle at porn sites the max)

In fact, the study, which looked at brain activity during web searches, resulted in a fascinating finding: Middle -aged to older people who know their way around the Internet had more stimulation of decision-making and complex reasoning areas of the brain than peers who were new to web surfing.

What's more is that reading didn't stimulate the same number of brain areas as Internet searching.(and that finally, includes porn sites as a stimulation...so surf on dude)

The first of its kind to access the impact of Internet searching of brain performance, the study is to appear in an upcoming issue of 'American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry', according to the University.

"The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerised technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults.

"Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function," said lead researcher Dr Gary Small of the University's Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour.

He added: "A simple, everyday task like searching the web appears to enhance brain circuity in older adults, demonstrating that our brains are sensitive and can continue to learn as we grow older."

Alas the body does not cooperate with the brain as you go along...and that includes with or without Viagra.

Twenty 20 cricket inventor concerned about sport

2008-10-11T04:43:00.000-07:00

The marketing man credited with inventing Twenty20 cricket has some concerns about the super-shortened format's effect on the sport.

Stuart Robertson was marketing manager of the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2000 when he devised the format for the 20-overs-a-side game, trying to overcome dwindling crowds at county matches.

Now star players having come out of retirement to sign lucrative contracts with the cashed-up Indian Premier League and the game, packaged perfectly for three hours of television or an afternoon or night away at a stadium, could spread to the United States and even China.

Robertson said on Thursday that he's not sure whether the sport and its stars can be stretched so many ways in a schedule full of international commitments.

"That's going to be a really tricky and interesting one going forward," Robertson, now the commercial director of English country Hampshire, said at a Cricket Victoria lunch.

"If the model is to replicate the IPL, the IPL is so powerful because it has all of the world's stars playing in it, I guess you're going to come to a point where it gets saturated."

England will next year host the second world championship and England, Australia and South Africa are also planning to improve their domestic competitions by attracting foreign players.

India will also host the inaugural Champions League competition later this year, featuring eight domestic Twenty20 teams representing five countries.

Robertson urged the International Cricket Council to monitor the amount of Twenty20 tournaments played, to prevent the risks of too much cricket and players getting burned out. "I kind of wonder if the ICC should be playing a stronger role perhaps in managing it," he said.

Robertson admitted the priorities of elite cricketers could change if Twenty20 continued its popularity. "If you ask a current player, they've been brought up since they were 5, 6, 11, 12 knowing test cricket is the pinnacle of their sport," said Robertson, who remains a supporter of test and 50-over matches.

"It would be interesting to ask a young Indian player who's now 16 or 17 who is breaking into a Twenty20 environment, and ask them in five years what the most important part of their sport is."

57% of men and 64% of women unhappy with sexlife

2008-10-03T04:46:00.000-07:00

If you have been wondering about your sex life lately, then let me assure you that you are not the only one . According to a survey as many as 57% of men and 64% of women in the Asia Pacific region are not very satisfied with their sex lives.

This was revealed in an Asia Pacific survey conducted in India and 12 other countries. ( have you ever wondered who are the people surveyed, cause no one ever asks you!)

The AP SHOW survey reveals that in India discussion about sexual experience is still a major concern among couples ( Men discuss sex with men and women with women and I am not talking about gays). Sex ranks seventh out of the seventeen life priorities for men(r u wondering what are the other six priorities), while for women it ranks near the bottom at fourteen(always knew that).

Family life is clearly the most important aspect of life for both men and women. Other life priorities include being a spouse, work or career, being a parent, financial well-being and physical health. The same life priorities appear on the top of women’s list.

The survey reveals that sexual satisfaction is strongly associated with satisfaction in overall physical health, and love and romance.

The key findings of the survey are:

· As much as 57% of men and 64% of women in the Asia Pacific region are not very satisfied with their sex lives

· Greater satisfaction with sex is strongly associated with greater satisfaction with life overall

· For men and women, greater satisfaction with erection hardness is linked to greater satisfaction with sex (Thats why all those fake viagras)

· Satisfaction with erection hardness is associated with satisfaction with sex, love & romance, family life, and role as spouse/partner – for men and women

· Men with suboptimal erections have sex less often, are less satisfied with sex and other aspects of the sexual experience, and are less positive about life overall

India, the survey showed that adults who are less than satisfied with sex are less likely to be satisfied with life overall.

There is also a clear link between satisfaction with erection hardness and satisfaction with sex for people in India.

The AP SHOW survey confirms the importance of sexual health to overall wellness in life. The survey also reveals that sexual dissatisfaction is high among men and women.

The survey, conducted among 3,957 sexually-active men and women (2,016 males and 1,941 females) from the general public aged between 25 and 74 years, was designed to gather information on attitudes towards sexual health in Asia Pacific, a region characterized by diverse cultural beliefs and practices.

Ask for help if you are not happy with your sex life. Talk and discuss it with your partner, find out their needs and desires and if nothing works, get professional help.

Human Jet Croses English Channel

2008-09-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Human Jet, Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy, known as Fusionman, successfully crossed the English Channel using his homemade jet-propelled wing Friday, the first man to perform the feat.
Yves Rossy makes a safe landing after successfully crossing the English Channel.

Yves Rossy makes a safe landing after successfully crossing the English Channel.

Rossy leapt from a plane more than 8,800 feet or a mile and a half from the ground, before firing up his jets.He had postponed his flight earlier because of poor visibility. "It's not so safe to fly across water if you can't see," Rossy told National Geographic Channel in a live television interview Thursday. "I don't have any instruments, and I need to be able to see the landing site."

The human jet made the 22-mile trip from Calais in France to Dover in England in a little under 15 minutes.

He began the Friday flight just before 1207 GMT; by 12:15 GMT, Rossy was above British soil and looped over onlookers before opening his parachute, with his wings still strapped to his back.

He touched down in a field near the famous white cliffs of Dover.

The trip across the Channel is meant to trace the route of French aviator Louis Bleriot, the first person to cross the narrow body of water in an airplane 99 years ago.

Google phone in India by December

2008-09-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

High Tech Computer (HTC), a Taiwanese handset manufacturer, is planning to launch the Android platform-powered phone (popularly referred to as the Google phone) in India by December

The phone is priced Rs 8,200 ($179) in the US, but in India the price will be much higher. The main reason for this is that these handsets (Apple iPhone, T mobile Google Phone) are subsidized in the US by the operators.

HTC (India) is keen on tie up with some local operator for the Google phone.

Android is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices that was announced in November last year and developed by the Open Handset Alliance — a group comprising players like Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola and Samsung.

To spur the growth of third-party applications, Google recently announced the Android Market, similar to Apple's App Store, where consumers can buy and download content for its mobile platform.

Labelled as competition to Apple’s iPhone, which is priced at Rs 31,000 for the 8GB model, the HTC G1 could be priced cheaper to maintain an edge in India. Currently, HTC has smart-phones in the Indian market priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 35,000.

HTC’s device is a 3G phone with a touch-screen, slider keyboard, GPS and Wi-Fi.

HTC India hopes to sell 600,000 mobile devices in 2009, having doubled sales this year from 100,000 in 2007. Research firm Strategy Analytics has predicted that the G1 could sell 400,000 units by the end of 2008, accounting for 4 per cent of the smart-phone market.

Nokia N96 Vs iPhone

2008-09-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

The top end slot in phones is getting crowded and it is difficult to pick and choose any clear winner. Yesterday TMobile Google phone was in news and today let us compare the Nokia N96 and iPhone 3G from Apple

Both Nokia N96 and Apple iPhone 3G have their pluses and minuses and no clear winner emerges in a comparison between the two. The two phones are neck to neck on a host of applications available or bundled. If N96 fails in terms of an impressive interface, the iPhone stumbles on security and storage.

Let us take the comparison a bit further:

Looks and Interface:
The iPhone wins hands down from Nokia N96 as far as the looks are concerned. N96 though a smart slider phone, has bleak black looks which reveal none of the phone's power and capability. There’ is hardly any design innovation on Nokia’s part.

Multimedia and Applications:
Nokia N96 screen (diagonally) is 2.8 inches; the iPhone’s is 3.5 inches and here size matters. Being a video-oriented phone, the N96 adds support for more video formats, including H.264, Flash video, ensuring you can watch YouTube clips on the phone, and Windows Media Video version 9. The N96 includes dedicated DSPs and video acceleration chips.

The picture quality on the iPhone is good and you can watch in either vertical or horizontal mode.

Camera:
The iPhone has a 2 megapixel built-in camera, but it takes adequate photos in daylight. Compared with N96’s 5 megapixels camera (with flash support) it seems inadequate.

Games:
Nokia has included three great games to begin with, but the iPhone offers more variety in games.

GPS:
Nokia has taken a lot of pains to make the GPS simpler and detailed, even adding a pedestrian mode. Apple’s newly-added assisted GPS offers pinpoint locations with the help of Google maps, but is nowhere close to Nokia’s accuracy.

Apple iPhone 3GInternet and Mail:
On the iPhone mail can be configured to ‘fetch’ (iPhone term) mail every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, hourly, or manually. N96’s symbian OS is a familiar one, with web security and remote lock features weaved in.

Storage:
Nokia N96 packs in attention-grabbing features like inclusion of DVB-H digital TV and strikingly high specifications. It comes with 16 GB of onboard and 8 GB of replaceable flash storage, and has a pronounced focus on video and music.

Even the form factor and bundled kick-stand suggest this model is a TV-phone, let alone the numerous hardware specifications like the STMicroelectronics chipset that make it video-relevant.

Battery life:

Nokia has invested a lot in making the battery life longer and one can happily dismiss the fear that the low-capacity battery used in Nokia N96 (950 mAh) won’t be enough for comfortable operation. N96 averages a solid 6 hours while iPhone battery fizzled out in about 5 hours.

Price:

The Nokia N96 (16 GB) is now available for 34,999 while Apple iPhone (16 GB) retails at Rs 36,100 and the 8GB iPhone for Rs 31,000 with Airtel and Vodafone. Nokia’s phone is operator independent.

T-Mobile Google Phone

2008-09-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

How long did you think that Google will take to enter the mobile communications market? Well, if you ask me they are bit late already, but like they say "better late than never". All you gizmo freaks are going to love this bit. tmobile Google Phone looks snazzy and with Google parentage it might pack a punch.

T-Mobile will be the first carrier to offer a mobile phone powered by Google’s Android software, according to people briefed on the company’s plans. The phone will be made by HTC, one of the largest makers of mobile phones in the world, and is expected to go on sale in the United States before Christmas, perhaps as early as October.

The t-mobile Google phone is expected to match many of the capabilities of Apple’s iPhone and other so-called smartphones that run software from Palm, Research in Motion, Microsoft and Nokia to access the Internet and perform computerlike functions.

The HTC phone, which many gadget sites are calling the “dream,” will have a touch screen, like the iPhone. But the screen also slides out to expose a full five-row keyboard.

Apps in the gizmo

Google Maps Street View

With Google Maps, Google's groundbreaking maps service, T-Mobile G1 users can instantly view maps and satellite imagery, as well as find local business and get driving directions, all from the phone's easy-to-use touch interface.

The TMobile G1 also includes Google Maps Street View, allowing customers to explore cities at street-level virtually while on the go. Without taking a step, customers can tour a far-away place as if they were there -- standing on the street corner. Even better, the Google Maps feature syncs with the built-in compass on the phone -- an industry first -- to allow users to view locations and navigate 360 degrees by simply moving the phone with their hand. Google Maps Street View is available today in many U.S. locations and soon in European countries.

Communicating on the Go

The tmobile g1 features a rich HTML e-mail client, which seamlessly syncs your e-mail, calendar and contacts from Gmail as well as most other POP3 or IMAP e-mail services.

The tMobile G1 multitasks, so you can read a Web page while also downloading your e-mail in the background. It combines Instant Messaging support for Google Talk, as well as AOL, Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger in the U.S. With access to high-speed Web browsing and a 3-megapixel camera with photo-sharing capabilities, the T-Mobile G1 is ideal for balancing a busy lifestyle, whether sharing pictures, checking the latest sports scores or accessing social networking sites.

Embracing User-Generated Content

Customers can use the T-Mobile G1's 3G and Wi-Fi connection to attach and share pictures over e-mail and MMS or download music from their favorite Web sites, and soon, upload and post pictures to their personal blog.

Built-in support for You Tube allows customers to enjoy You Tube's originally created content, easily navigate through You Tube's familiar video browsing categories or search for specific videos.

Music at Your Fingertips

The T-Mobile Google Phone comes pre-loaded with a new application developed by Amazon.com that gives customers easy access to Amazon MP3, Amazon.com's digital music download store with more than 6 million DRM-free MP3 tracks.

Using the new application, T-Mobile Google phone customers are able to search, sample, purchase and download music from Amazon MP3 directly to their device (downloading music from Amazon MP3 using the T-Mobile G1 requires a Wi-Fi connection; searching, sampling and purchasing music can be done anywhere with a cellular connection). The T-Mobile Google Phone will be the first device with the Amazon MP3 mobile application pre-loaded.

Android Market

The T-Mobile Google Phone is the first phone to offer access to Android Market, which hosts unique applications and mash ups of existing and new services from developers around the world. With just a couple of short clicks, customers can find and download a wide range of innovative software applications -- from games to social networking and on-the-go shopping -- to personalize their phone and enhance their mobile lifestyle. When the phone launches next month, dozens of unique, first-of-a-kind Android applications will be available for download on Android Market, including:

ShopSavvy: an application designed to help people do comparative shopping. Users scan the UPC code of a product with their phone's camera while they are shopping, and can instantly compare prices from online merchants and nearby local stores.

Ecorio: a new application developed to help people keep track of their daily travels and view what their carbon footprint looks like. With access to tips and tricks, Ecorio allows users to record the steps they take throughout their day to help offset their impact on the environment.

BreadCrumbz: a new application that enables people to create a step-by-step visual map using photos. Customers can create their own routes, share them with friends or with the world.

A video of the T-Mobile Google phone on YouTube.

Bangla Players to Play in Indian Premier League (IPL )

2008-09-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

The next Indian Premier League season is to begin on April 10, 2009 but things have started stirring up a bit already. The auction of IPL teams is to take place in January 2009, two months before the IPL twenty twenty 2009 season begins.

More players will be included from different regions. For example the BCCI has promised the Bangladesh Cricket Board to rope in more cricketers from the neighboring country into the lucrative Indian Premier League in its second season April next year.

IPL Chairman Lalit Modi said the Indian Cricket Board will help Bangladesh recover from the exodus of 13 top players to 'rebel' Indian Cricket League by also including a team from Bangladesh in the 2010 Champions Twenty20 League. It looks like that BCCI and politicians are already playing a tournment of one up man ship between Indian Premier League (IPL) and Indian Cricket League (ICL).

"We will definitely play an active role in helping them out. We are looking at adding a few Bangladesh players for the next IPL auction. And we are also looking at a team from Bangladesh participating in the Champions League from 2010 onwards," Modi told cricinfo website.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak is the only Bangladesh player currently in the IPL, signed up by Bangalore Royal Challengers for $50,000.

National Boards will receive a significant sum for participating in the Champions Twenty20 League, along with a separate participation fee for the domestic Twenty20 teams that are invited.

End of the World or a New Dawn

2008-09-09T05:24:00.000-07:00

They are going to fire up that particle accelerator called Large Hadron Collider (LHC) [no dude , it is not hard on] on Wednesday and many people are afraid it might be the end of the world. Why ? Because mini black holes will be created in that experiment.

I don't think the earth will be destroyed but yes, it will be an end of an era in human evolution (yes dude, I'm sure it is not hard on collider).

In the most complex scientific experiment ever undertaken, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be switched on Wednesday, accelerating sub-atomic particles to nearly the speed of light before smashing them together.

Deep underground on the border between France and Switzerland, the world's largest particle accelerator complex will explore the world on smaller scales than any human invention has explored before.

The test, which takes place Wednesday, is a major step toward seeing if the the immense experiment will provide new information about the way the universe works, or why it is there in the first place and what is the basic building block.

The collider consists of a particle accelerator buried more than 300 feet near Geneva, Switzerland. About $10 billion (yes, that could have given you many a hard ons instead of just one hadron) have gone into the accelerator's construction, the particle detectors and the computers, said Katie Yurkewicz, spokewoman for CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which is host to the collider.

In the coming months, the collider is expected to begin smashing particles into each other by sending two beams of protons around the tunnel in opposite directions. It will operate at higher energies and intensities in the next year, and the experiments could generate enough data to make a discovery by 2009, experts say.

Although renowned British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has bet 100 dollars (70 euros) that this experiment will not find an elusive particle seen as a holy grail of cosmic science. (you think those guys spent $10 billion to win $ 100!!!)

Experts say the collider has the potential to confirm theories about questions that physicists have been working on for decades including the possible existence of extra dimensions. They also hope to find a theoretical particle called the Higgs boson, which has never been detected, but would help explain why matter has mass.

The collider will recreate the conditions of less than a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, when there was a hot "soup" of tiny particles called quarks and gluons, to look at how the universe evolved, said John Harris, U.S. coordinator for ALICE, a detector specialized to analyze that question.

Why should the layperson care about this particular exploration? Years ago, when electrons were first identified, no one knew what they were good for, but they have since transformed our entire economy.

Fears have emerged that the collider could produce black holes that could suck up anything around them -- including the whole Earth. Such fears prompted legal actions in the U.S. and Europe to halt the operation of the Large Hadron Collider, alleging safety concerns regarding black holes and other phenomena that could theoretically emerge.

Although physicists acknowledge that the collider could, in theory, create small black holes, they say they do not pose any risk. A study released Friday by CERN scientists explains that any black hole created would be tiny, and would not have enough energy to stick around very long before dissolving.

On Wednesday the first protons will be injected into a 27-kilometre (16.9-mile) ring-shaped tunnel, straddling the Swiss-French border at the headquarters of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).

Physicists have long puzzled over how particles acquire mass. In 1964, a British physicist, Peter Higgs, came up with this idea: there must exist a background field that would act rather like treacle.

The standard quip about the Higgs is that it is the "God Particle" -- it is everywhere but remains frustratingly elusive. This is what they are hoping to find.

And yes, it might give some scientists a hard on if they find it. Good luck!

Google to launch Internet Browser "Chrome"

2008-09-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

To end the dominance of Microsoft, Google Inc. is releasing its own Web browser which will ensure easy access to its own search engine.

The free browser, called "Chrome," is supposed to be available for downloading from Tuesday . Google said it's still working on versions compatible with Apple Inc.'s Mac computer and the Linux operating system when it announced its latest product on the Labor Day holiday.

Microsoft is unveiling of a test version of its latest browser update Internet Explorer 8 which will include tools for Web surfers to cloak their online preferences, creating a shield that could make it more difficult for Google and other marketing networks to figure out which ads are most likely to appeal to which individuals.

Google's lead in the lucrative Internet search market is nearly as commanding, with its engine processing nearly two-thirds of the Web's queries.

Google has been trying to take advantage of its search engine's popularity to compete with Microsoft in software for word processing and spreadsheet applications.

Google has tried to make its alternatives more appealing and accessible by hosting them for free over Internet connections instead of requiring users to pay a licensing fee to install them on individual computers, as Microsoft typically does.

Microsoft has also tried, though unsuccessfully, to invade Google's realm by investing billions in the development of its own search engine and making an unsuccessful attempt to buy Yahoo Inc. for $47.5 billion.

Until now, Google had been trying to undermine Internet Explorer by supporting Firefox, a Web browser developed by the open-source Mozilla Foundation. Bolstered by an advertising partnership with Google's search engine, Firefox ranks as the second most popular browser, with a market share of more than 10 percent. Google recently extended its advertising alliance with Firefox through 2011.

Bearing the stamp of Google's renowned brand, Chrome could be an even more formidable rival to Explorer.

Still, Google's name is no guarantee of success. For instance, Google's instant messaging service hasn't made come close to catching up to the market-leading products made by Yahoo, Microsoft and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL.

In a blog post Monday, Google touted Chrome as a more sophisticated Web browser better suited for displaying the dynamic and interactive content blossoming on the Web as people migrate from television, radio and newspapers.

"The Web gets better with more options and innovation," Sundar Pichai, Google's vice president of product management, and Linus Upson, Google's engineering director, wrote in the posting. "Google Chrome is another option, and we hope it contributes to making the Web even better."

Only time will tell if the new browser from Google becomes popular with surfers.

Killer Hurricane Gustav to Hit US Coast today

2008-08-31T23:14:00.000-07:00

Three years after hurricane Katrina now comes the mother of all storms “Hurricane Gustav”. The Category Three storm is due to make landfall soon from the Gulf of Mexico

Maps of Gustav's path show that it could strike southern Louisiana and other areas battered by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Katrina, a Category 3 storm, flooded most of New Orleans, flattened beach towns in Mississippi and killed more than 1,800 people.

The exodus of an estimated 1.9 million people from the Louisiana coast is said to be the largest evacuation in state history. An estimated 95 percent of Louisiana's 2 million coastal residents had fled ahead of Hurricane Gustav by Sunday evening in the largest evacuation in state history, Louisiana's governor said.

Roads out of New Orleans - much of which lies below sea level - were crammed with traffic throughout Sunday.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal appealed to residents: "If you're hearing this, seeing this, if you've not evacuated, please do so. There's still a few hours left."

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin told local TV only about 10,000 residents remained in the city, where rain began falling at sunset on Sunday.

A dusk-to-dawn curfew is in force in New Orleans, which is described as being like a ghost town. The mayor has warned looters will be sent to jail.

Crime was a major problem in the New Orleans area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the city three years ago, causing disastrous floods.

He said the first storm winds could hit New Orleans at daybreak on Monday and Hurricane Gustav could reach Category Four strength.

Dangerous storm surges of 10 to 14 feet above normal tides are expected near and to the east of Hurricane Gustav's center, forecasters said. Rain accumulations between 6 to 12 inches are possible over parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches, through Wednesday morning, according to forecasters.

Gustav killed at least 51 people in southwestern Haiti and eight in the neighboring Dominican Republic last week before moving to Cuba. It was in the Caribbean on Friday and intensified just before it hit Cuba.

The US Republican party's convention has been scaled back as nearly 2m people flee Hurricane Gustav, which is now nearing New Orleans.

Senator John McCain, due to accept his party's nomination for president, said it was no time for party politics.