International Friendship Day2009, Friendship Day Quotes

International Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first sunday of August every year. The tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends began in US in 1935. In 1935 American Govt had killed a person on 1st Saturday of Aug. The next day his friend committed suicide in his memory. Since then American Govt declared 1st Sunday of Aug as friendship day. Gradually the festival gained popularity and today Friendship Day is celebrated in large number of countries. On this day people spend time with their friends and express love for them. Exchange of Friendship Day Gifts like flowers, cards and wrist bands is a popular tradition of this occasion.
The United States Congress, in 1935, proclaimed the first sunday of August as National Friendship Day. Since then, celebration of National Friendship Day became an annual event. The noble idea of honoring the beautiful relationship of friendship caught on with the people and soon Friendship Day became a hugely popular festival.
Following the popularity and success of Friendship Day in US, several other countries adopted the tradition of dedicating a day to friends. Today, Friendship Day is enthusiastically celebrated by several countries across the world. In 1997, the United Nations named Winnie the Pooh as the world's Ambassador of Friendship.
Most countries in the world, however, celebrates the "Friends Day" on July 20th. For this reason, on July 17th, 2009 Facebook launched a marketing campaign declaring "Friends Day" as July, 20th.

" Two may talk together under the same roof for many years, yet never really meet; and two others at first speech are old friends. "
- Mary Catherwood

" Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival. "
- C. S. Lewis

" Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success. "
- Oscar Wilde

"Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.” - Elbert Hubard

“True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.” – Charles Caleb Colton

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” – Anais Nin

“My friends are my estate.” – Emily Dickinson

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” – Walter Winchell

“A friend is someone who is there for you when he’d rather be anywhere else.” - Len Wein

"A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more."

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." : Walter Winchell

"A friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else." : Len Wein

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.Walk beside me and be my friend." : Albert Camus

Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life."

"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships." : Abraham Lincoln

"The love of my life is the love between friends."

"To be depressed is to be lonely; to have a friend is to be happy..." : Guido

Friendship is like a perennial river which flows forever. It may change it's path but will never ever dry up.

Daniel Suelo, A man who lives without money.

Daniel Suelo says nine years ago, in the fall of 2000, Daniel decided not to use money. He now lives in a cave and writes about his hobo life at the library on a blog...for free, of course.

"He lives off the land, scours the forest and river bank for food and gatheris discarded items from the town.

So, he lives off of someone else's money, by scavaging. Simple as that.

Jesus, on the other hand, lived without money and didn't make anything of it. Jesus was more like the woman in Germany who has lived without money for 12 yrs.

Jesus performed kindnesses, healed the sick, received favors in return and with that was able to eat and feed his disciples, who likely had bank accounts they could tap in to. Who knows?

In any event, it's pretty much impossible to get by without money, either using your own or taking advantage of someone else's.

Unless, of course, you can make wine from water or catch a fish and reproduce it miraculously like Jesus did.

Hindustani classical vocalist Gangubai Hangal -- Died

A rebel who broke caste and gender barriers, a perfectionist and a singer par excellence - this is how Hindustani classical vocalist Gangubai Hangal will always be known to her numerous fans and fellow musicians.

The doyenne of the Kirana Gharana, who died in Karnataka's Hubli town Tuesday morning at the age of 97, had often said that she made music because she felt it was her duty to hand down her music to future generations for posterity.

In her musical career, Hangal was almost reborn when she lost her voice after a brief illness but returned with a new masculine one that was considered more gifted than many of her contemporaries.

'Initially, Hangal had a sweet and a high-pitched voice. But mid-career, she lost her voice after a brief illness. When she recovered, the tenor of her voice changed and it acquired a masculine timbre. She overcame the problem and continued to sing in her new androgynous voice, which was powerful than many male singers,' said veteran music writer and Hindustani classical music aficionado Kuldeep Kumar.

Born on March 5, 1913, in a small town called Hangal in Dharwad district (now Haveri district) in Karnataka, Hangal was often looked down upon by her peers since her boatman-agriculturist father Chikkurao Nadiger was from the fishermen's caste.

Hangal was also ridiculed as a 'gaanewali' for being one of the few women trying to breach the male-dominated world of Hindustani classical singing.

However, Hangal, whose mother Ambabai was a Carnatic musician, went on to become one of the illustrious members of the Kirana Gharana founded by Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. Other exponents like Bhimsen Joshi, Roshanara Begum (Pakistan) and Mallikarjun Mansur also belonged to the gharana.

'After an early spell of training under exponents Dattopant Desai and Krishnacharya, she learnt music for over 15 years from Sawai Gandharv,' said Sanjeev Bharghava, a Delhi-based culture activist and promoter of Hindustani classical music.

As a child, she ran around the house trying to snatch bits of gramophone music being played around street corners.

'Gangubai had several odds stacked against her. But she smashed her way through them. She broke gender and caste barriers in music and should rather be described as the 'father of khayals'. The emancipation of women in Hindustani classical music began with her,' added Bhargava.

Gangubai was part of a group that sang to welcome Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders at the 1924 Belguam session of the Indian National Congress. She used to sing at Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations and her big break came at a concert in 1933 in Bombay.

'For my first recording, when HMV invited me to Bombay, I went because they were taking care of the journey and sightseeing. Later, they gave me Rs.400 for my third recording but my family was annoyed as my name read Gandhari Hubali on the record,' she wrote in her memoir 'Nanna Badukina Haadu' (The Song Of My Life).

Gangubai had a great sense of humour.

In her memoir, she sums up the male domination in the field of classical singing thus: 'If a male musician is a Muslim, he becomes an Ustad. If he is a Hindu, he becomes a Pandit. But women like Kesarbai and Mogubai just remain 'Bai's.'

At the age of 16, Hangal married Gururao Kaulgi, a Brahmin lawyer. Her two sons were by her side when she died. Her only daughter died earlier in 2003.

Hangal succumbed to cardiac and respiratory problems, but had been suffering from bone cancer since 2001.

'I invited Gangubai Hangal to perform in Delhi in 2002 but she could not come because of the bone cancer,' Bhargava said.

Hangal's last concert was held three years ago in Dharward, when she was 94. She held the audience in thrall.

'I remember sending a team of young musicians for festival to Dharwad three years ago. We requested Gangubai Hangal to bless the musicians. We also sent a team to Gangubai's home and recorded her voice,' Jayant Kastuar, secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), told IANS.

According to Kastuar, Gangubai was also made a fellow of the SNA - an honour given to only 30 musicians.

The most abiding influence in her life was her guru Sawai Gandharv. 'He would teach us one note and would not go further till we mastered it. We were taught to make most of sur and made to practise for hours,' Hangal had once said.

As a result, she had the ability to innovate on one raag for two-three hours at a stretch, recalls Talwalkar.

The musician was honoured with prestigious awards like the Karnataka Sangeet Nritya Academy Award in 1962, the Padma Bhushan in 1971, Padma Vibhushan in 2002 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1973.

Jackson Effect: How MJ's death affected the Internet

It may sound weired but true, after Michael jackson's death news broke out Internet traffic become drastic, which lead to Jackson effect.

Wikipedia defines jackson effect as.....

The Jackson effect is an Internet phenomenon where a dramatic news event is initially indistinguishable from a coordinated denial of service attack.

The Jackson effect originated from the 2009 death of Michael Jackson where the Google search engine mistook the spike in search traffic for a coordinated denial of service attack. High volumes of traffic surrounding the death of Michael Jackson overloaded servers and internet service providers causing service to be very slow or stop completely. Google originally believed it was under attack by a virus attempting such a DoS attack replacing any searches for Jackson with, 'Your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application.' Twitter reported that its servers crashed due to users posting so many "Tweets" at one time which they say equated to 'more than 100,000 posts an hour.'

Jackson's doctor is father of his two children: Weekly

Rumours about the biological parents of Michael Jackson's three children have deepened, with Us Weekly saying that a Los Angeles-based dermatologist is the biological father of the late pop star's two children.
Quoting multiple sources, the magazine reported Tuesday that though Jackson was married to Prince and Paris' mother, Debbie Rowe, their biological father is Arnold Klein, Jackson's Los Angeles-based dermatologist and Rowe's former boss.
'He is the dad,' the magazine quoted a Jackson insider as saying. 'He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth.'
Though neither Rowe nor Jackson ever confessed to their kids' true lineage, she did admit in 2002 that she carried his children as a personal favour and would not confirm that the marriage was ever consummated, the weekly said.
'I said: Let me do this. You need to be a dad. You have been so good to me,' Rowe was quoted as saying.
Rowe first met Jackson when she was a nurse's assistant in the 1980s.
The magazine said Klein refused to comment on whether he is the biological father of Jackson's two children.
But his attorney Richard L. Charnley has been quoted as telling Entertainment Tonight: 'Dr. Klein is aware of media reports connecting him to Michael Jackson. Because of patient confidentiality Dr. Klein will make no statement on any reports or allegations.
'Out of respect for his patients and adherence to federal HIPAA regulations, Dr. Klein asks that the media not contact his patients nor interfere with their medical treatments. Like millions of Michael's fans around the world, Dr. Klein is saddened by Michael's death and extends his condolences to Michael's family.'

'Thriller' voted Michael Jackson's 'Best Ever Track'

Fans of King of Pop Michael Jackson have voted 'Thriller' his best ever track in a poll after his sudden death.

The 50-year-old singer died at his home in Los Angeles last week on Thursday.

Fans flocked to AOL Radio to listen to the legend's greatest hits in the hours after his death was confirmed and have made the 1982 hit

their Jackson number one.

'Billie Jean' came second while 'Beat It' landed the third spot, reports Contactmusic.

'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' stood fourth and and 'The Way You Make Me Feel' rounded off the top five.

The list is as follows:

1. Thriller

2. Billie Jean

3. Beat It

4. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

5. The Way You Make Me Feel

6. Smooth Criminal

7. Man In The Mirror

8. Bad

9. Rock With You

10. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Jai Ho..............MJ

Bryan Adams - Summer Of '69 Lyrics

I got my first real six-stringBought it at the five-and-dimePlayed 'til my fingers bled

It was summer of '69

Me and some guys from schoolHad a Band and we tried real hard

Jimmy quit and Jody got marriedI shualda known we'd never get farOh when I lock back now

That was seemes to last foreverAnd if I had the choiceYa - I'd always wanna be thereThose were the best days of my life(CHORUS)

Ain't no use in complainin'When you got a job to doSpent my evenin's down at the drive inAnd that's when I met youStandin on a mama's porchYou told me that you'd wait foreverOh and when you held my handI knew that it was no or neverThose were the best days of my life(Chorus) Back in Summer of '69Man we were killin' timeWe were young and restlessWe needed to unwindI guess nothin' can last forever, noAnd now the times are changin'Look at everything that's come and goneSomethimes when I play that old six-stringI think about ya wonder what went wrongStandin' on a mama's porchYou told me it would last foreverOh the way you held my handI knew that it was now or neverThose were the best days of my life(Chorus) Back in summer of '69

Paul Erdos- an eccentric Hungarian mathematician

Have you heard of Paul Erdos?

He is an eccentric Hungarian mathematician.

He is the son to Anna and Lajos Erdos (both were jewish mathematician). He is the only son as his siblings pass away before his birth.

I find what is interesting about him is that throughout his career, he offered prizes for solutions to unsolved problems. What is amazing that these prizes are still offered after his death. Currently, winners who solved the problems can either opt for a check signed by Erdos for framing purposes only, or a cashable check signed by the current administrator.

statue of liberty garment

The Statue of Liberty is the most famous Statue of the world and the most visited one also.
Statue of Liberty was gifted to United States of America from France. It is sculpted from copper. The sculptor who made this great piece of art is Frederic Auguste Bartholdi.
It was made in France and was then shipped to USA in 1886. It is a symbol of freedom and hope.
Now some information about the garment of the Statue, The statue of liberty wears a robe made up of copper. The women of Ancient Rome used to wear such robe called stola. The holy figures of Rome were also depicted as wearing these kinds of robes. These Holy figures are called the Roman Goddess of liberty.
Such kind of robe is commonly called as a roman or a neo-classical robe.

The exact dimensions of the Statue are approximately:
35 feet in diameter (at the waist)111 feet tall17 feet head (in vertical direction)90 feet wide (at the shoulders)
The total covered surface area of the Statue of Liberty is approximately 1200 square yards. The Statue is wrapped in two layers of drapery which means that the total fabric required for such a hue statue is almost 4000 square yards.

Leonardo DiCaprio's new film about online casinos

Leonardo DiCaprio is set to star in an untitled film centring on the world of online casinos based in Costa Rica.
The Paramount project hails from scribes Brian Koppelman and David Levien, whose previous works include Rounders, The Girlfriend Experience and Ocean's Thirteen.
Appian Way's Jennifer Davisson Killoran is set to act as the film's producer, reports Variety magazine.
Koppelman and Levien were apparently teaming up with the actor and Appian on the thriller Beat the Reaper, based Josh Bazell's novel.
The Titanic star's Martin Scorsese-helmed Shutter Island is set to hit the big screen in the fall.