EXOTIC SLIDESHOW

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Relax watching these simply captivating photos.

Top 20 Northern Lights - Group History (2007-10-23) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Top 20 Northern Lights - Group History (2007-10-23) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

A group of photo enthusiasts who regularly follow auroras and click them have come together to upload their works on Flickr. So, happy viewing as you marvel the sightings! Some have been taken last week and you and I can enjoy them from any part of the world.How wonderful!

NORTHERN LIGHTS

Man is always in awe of certain phenomenon that occur on earth. Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis are one such.
The celestial phenomenon of bands, curtains or streamers of coloured light that appear in the sky predominantly in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the earth. In the Antarctic, the lights are called the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights and in the Arctic, these are called Aurora Borealis,or Northern Lights.
The sun gives off high-energy charged particles (also called ions) that travel out into space at speeds of 300 to 1200 kilometres per second. A cloud of such particles is called a plasma. The stream of plasma coming from the sun is known as the solar wind. As the solar wind interacts with the edge of the earth's magnetic field, some of the particles are trapped by it and they follow the lines of magnetic force down into the ionosphere, the section of the earth's atmosphere that extends from about 60 to 600 kilometres above the earth's surface. When the particles collide with the gases in the ionosphere they start to glow, producing the spectacle that we know as the auroras, northern and southern. The array of colours consists of red, green, blue and violet.
The Northern Lights are constantly in motion because of the changing interaction between the solar wind and the earth's magnetic field. The solar wind commonly generates up to 1000,000 megawatts of electricity in an auroral display and this can cause interference with power lines, radio and television broadcasts and satellite communications. By studying the auroras, scientists can learn more about the solar wind, how it affects the earth's atmosphere and how the energy of the auroras might be exploited for useful purposes.
Source: http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/English/aurora_borealis.html

STAY MOTIVATED

Motivation can come from different aspects of life. It can be a situation, a person(your teacher, parent, or just someone you meet). Life throws up many challenges. We cannot always be prepared for everything. But, what we make out of it, instead of just getting depressed and giving up on ourselves or our situation, is what makes us stronger.
The following Slideshow from slideshare.net illustrates just this. Enjoy it!!!

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V ISHWANATHAN ANAND

Excerpts from an Interview with Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand by www.latestchess.com after he won the 2007
Morelia-Linares Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament, Linares

At the 2007 Morelia-Linares Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament, Linares, Vishwanathan Anand,the Champion, took an early lead and hung onto it right upto a final draw with Vassily Ivanchuk, to not only take the Title at Linares for the first time since 1998 but also to take the FIDE World No.1 Ranking for the very first time ever!

Viswanathan Anand is an Indian chess grandmaster and former FIDE world champion. Anand is one of only four players in history to break the 2800 ELO mark in the FIDE rating list. He has been among the top three ranked players in classical time control chess in the world continuously since 1997.Since April 2007 according to FIDE rating list, Anand is ranked first in the world for the first time. He is only the sixth person to lead the rating list, the other five being Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik and Topalov.

To read the exclusive interview with Viswanathan Anand, where he tells us about the importance of daily physical exercise for the chess players, his views on modification of draw rules, cheating at high-level tournaments, about the playing style of the world's strongest chess players, computer chess programs, how children can manage the balance of both academics as well as chess, log on to www.latestchess.com

LatestChess:- Do you think daily physical exercise can help a chess player to increase brain's ability to concentrate, remember, focus, visualize, and plan ahead? Could you tell our readers about your views on importance of physical fitness + chess.

Viswanathan Anand:- In chess a small mistake can cost you the game. If you are tired then you make errors in calculations. I go to the gym everyday and it helps me concentrate longer. Especially when you play a tough tournament you need to conserve energy for the last rounds.

LatestChess:- In India, Many young chess players are ready to take a break in the education and they are fully focused on chess preparations, do you think it is a risky approach considering the risk of the failure possibility?

Viswanathan Anand:- A normal childhood is very important. It is healthy to have a lot of interests and go to school . It is not just academics but also the need to interact with other children . Children are very smart and they can very easily learn to balance both academics and chess.

On 30th September 2007, at the age of 37, Vishwanathan Anand became the World Chess Champion for the 2nd time at Mexico city. He won it the first time at Tehran in 2000. He gets a prize of 390,000 USD.

Vishy Anand as he is known has become one of India's greatest sporting heroes!

SOURCE:www.latestchess.com

MYSORE DASARA

The city of Mysore in South India is

famous all over the world for jasmine flowers, Mysore silk

sarees, fragrant sandalwood, delicious mysorepak and most

importantly Dasara procession.

Mysore is the second biggest city in the state of Karnataka. It lies 130 km's from the State capital, Bangalore. It is the erstwhile capital of the Mysore Maharajas, who ruled Mysore State from this royal City. Mysore Dasara is a Royal Festival Celebrating victory of Truth over Evil. Legend has it that the Goddess Chamundeeswari or Durga slew the demon Mahishasuran on Vijayadashami day. Dasara is a 10-day festival in the region culminating on Vijayadashami. In Karnataka, Dasara is observe as State festival - Nadahabba, because of the celebration of the festival is steered by the Royal Family of Mysore. The royal family of Mysore performs special Pooja on the occasion of Dasara. During Dasara, the entire City is decorated and illuminated. Cultural programmes by famous artists are arranged in the Palace along with Sports, Wrestling, Poet's meet, Food Festival, Film Festival witnessed by a large number of people. SOURCE: www.mysoredasara.com

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING WATERFALLS

Are you tired?Have you been at the computer all day?Or are you simply wanting to relax?

Just close your eyes and remind yourself of your last wonderful holiday with your family! Alternately, you could watch the following video!!!

One of the widest waterfalls of the world - Iguazu waterfalls on the border of Paraguay,Argentina,and Brazil is amazingly breathtaking!

The waterfall system consists of 275 falls along 2.7 kilometers (1.67 miles) of the Iguazu River. Some of the individual falls are up to 82 meters (269 feet) in height, though the majority are about 64 meters (210 feet). The or Devil's Throat , a U-shaped 150-meter-wide and 700-meter-long (490 by 2300 feet) cliff, is the most impressive of all, and marks the border between Argentina and Brazil. Most of the falls are within Argentine territory. About 900 meters of the 2.7-kilometer length does not have water flowing over it. The edge of the basalt cap recedes only 3 mm per year.

The water of the lower Iguazu collects in a canyon that drains into the Rio Parana and this is located in Argentina.

SUNITA WILLIAMS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

"One small step for a woman and a giant leap for all womankind."

Several women have gone up in space and returned, but the ones closest to our hearts are Kalpana Chawla who did not make it back to earth with her crew and remained a permanent star in the sky.Sunita Williams is an American Indian astronaut who has captured the hearts of everyone, especially school going children in India.
Having lived for a record six months at the ISS(International Space Station), ran a marathon in space(her sister ran the Boston Marathon on the earth along with her). She did several spacewalks and conducted many experiments. She even cut her waist length hair and preserved it to be given to a person recovering from disease.
In the following video, she talks just before she leaves the ISS to come back to Earth.

COFFEE ART

See how a cup of coffee can be served!!!

Latte art or coffee art refers to designs created on the tops of espresso based drinks by a barista. These designs are usually created in one of two ways and sometimes using a combination of both. Latte art is considered by many consumers of coffee to be the final, crowning touch on an exquisitely prepared espresso-based beverage. Because of its visual presentation to the customer and beverage drinker and the increasing importance latte art has in cafes around the world, there is concern that taste should never become secondary to the art.


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EXOTIC

When in the mood for some quiet contemplation, watch this slideshow. There are many more slideshows which you can view or have fun, making your own at slideshare.net.

Slideshare.net is the world' largest community for sharing presentations on the web.

THE WORLD IN FOUR MINUTES

CAN GANDHIJI INSPIRE TODAY'S YOUTH?

Why should Gandhi inspire only youth? What relevance does Gandhi Jayanti have today?

Being a National holiday,some schools and all political parties offer flowers/garlands to a portrait /statue of the Mahatma at their respective headquarters.The Congress Party also dons the Gandhi topi. The Raj Bhavan has a classical music programme in the evening.

But the most satisfying answer came from Sonia Gandhi who addressed the UN for the first time.

Mahatma Gandhi`s 138th birth anniversary is being commemorated as International Day of Non-Violence.

"It is not the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi that is in question today ... It is whether we have the courage to emulate his preachings and what he lived and died for," she said in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.

ST.MARK'S CATHEDRAL

Located at No.1, MG Road, Bangalore, is this famous landmark. Surrounded by a lush garden full of trees, a fountain with coloured lights in front, just outside the front porch, the St.Mark's cathedral is steeped in history.

It was the first church to be built in the city in 1808 by the British as a garrison church for Protestants.Its walls stand testimony to the many brass plaques which bear the names of many young British officers who died in battle. There are many unique features here, among them the massive pillars on either side of the central aisle, the high dome near the altar where the hymns sung by the choir seated on either side sounds magical. The most impressive of all is the old pipe organ which was recently restored. Enthralls one and all when played every Sunday morning.
Impressive , colorful stained glass images of Jesus Christ mesmerize you as you walk up to the altar as sunlight streams on it. Extremely enchanting stained glass portrayal of Christ is on the rear wall, can be seen as you walk towards the main door from the altar.

Yesterday, one-year anniversary celebrations were begun after a prayer by the Bishop, Karnataka Central Diocese. The church will complete 200 years of its existence in 2008.