Quotes. ________________________________________________________________ In a real dark night of the soul, it is always three o'clock in the morning, day after day.
Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into heaven..
If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.
Good humor is the health of the soul, sadness is its poison.
Let your tears come. Let them water your soul.
The secret source of humor itself is not joy, but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven.
To perceive is to suffer.
The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.
Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation, or creed.
Death row is a state of mind.

A New Begining ... He who chooses the begining of a road chooses the place it leads to. It's the means that determine the end.
Every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. There is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning, and under every deep a lower deep open.
Reality is the beginning not the end ! Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending ...
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunuity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Nadal is unchallenged as king of clay courts

It’s the unquenchable thirst for success and an inexhaustible stamina that has made Rafael Nadal into the champion that he is. The Majorcan hits the tennis ball with a vengeance and reaches corners of the tennis court that the other players can only dream of. The number one player on the men’s circuit has a ruthless game combined with unmatchable power that he uses to stave off any challenge that comes his way. With the second Grand Slam ready to take off soon, Rafa is all set to produce yet another scintillating run of form at the Roland Garros.

Nadal has already made a rousing start to this year’s clay court season. The Spaniard’s 30th consecutive win on clay came at the recently concluded Rome masters, where Nadal won his fourth title in five years. Earlier, Rafa ticked off his fifth uninterrupted victory in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in the same number of years.

The win in the final of the Rome Masters was a hard-fought victory against the Serbian Novak Djokovic, but in the end the matador from Mallorca prevailed. This victory at the Foro Italico registered Nadal’s 147th win on the crushed brick along with four losses, since 2005. Till now Rafael Nadal has brought home 25 ATP title on the clay court and looks good to beat Guillermo Vilas’ Open Era record of 45 wins on the same surface. Rafa is the uncrowned king of clay, but in the year gone by he has churned out triumphs on other surfaces too.

Year 2008 can be reflected upon as a point of inflection in Rafa’s career. Last year, he won the French open for the fourth time, but more importantly, Nadal also prospered on the grassy courts of the All England Tennis Club. The 2008 Wimbledon finals saw Rafa-Fedex rivalry re-ignited. The tussle between the two greats was uplifted to a new level. In a marathon final that lasted up to 4hours and 48 minutes, Rafa for the first time in his career got the better of Roger Federer on grass. In failing light Rafael Nadal put up a spectacular show and lifted the Wimbledon crown. The win proved to be a landmark one in his career. All the calls of him being just a clay-court specialist were put to rest by this amazing victory. Officially, Roger Federer was still the number one in the rankings, but even the Swiss master knew that his territory had been encroached upon.

Dhoni impressive leader both on and off the field: Flintoff

all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has joined the growing list of Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's admirers, saying the wicketkeeper batsman is a very impressive leader both on and off the field.
Flintoff played under Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League before a knee injury forced him out of action.

But the Englishman, the costliest player on the Twenty20 event's roster along with teammate Kevin Pietersen, said he was mighty impressed with what he saw of Dhoni's captaincy during his short stint with Chennai.

"Dhoni is very impressive both on and off the field. He is a very cool-headed guy," Flintoff told PTI.

The talismanic all-rounder said injury might have cut short his IPL sojourn this time around but he was looking forward to be back next year.

"It is great to play in the presence of great players like (Australian) Matthew Hayden. I am looking forward to coming back next year," he said.

Earlier, Hayden had also praised Dhoni's captaincy.

"MS is a fantastic captain and player. MS gets some great power from unorthodox shots. He is a danger in this form, danger in any format really. When he is going he just strikes the ball as hard as anyone on the planet. And these small boundaries ... He is just unstoppable," Hayden had said.

'Slumdog-inspired' Bollywood bug bites Britain

Thanks to the runaway success of Slumdog Millionaire, Britain's film industry has undergone "the Bollywood makeover". Following the triumph of the Oscar-award winning film, several British films are either set in India or poking fun at the culture clash experienced by British Indians.
What's more, these films are scheduled for release, hoping to catch the same East-West audience that made such a hit of Danny Boyle's tale about a boy who wins India's version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'.
Studio bosses in the UK are hoping to replicate the success of Slumdog Millionaire, which has so far taken 227million pounds at the international box office, reports The Independent.
New films in production include Indian Summer, which is being filmed on location in the subcontinent. It tells the story of the last days of colonial rule and is directed by Joe Wright.
"India is a fascinating, extraordinary place. What's happening there is going to affect us more and more, whether in film-industry terms or politically with what's happening in Pakistan," Wright told Variety magazine.
Gurinder Chadha, who directed the 2002 sleeper hit Bend it Like Beckham, is currently making It's a Wonderful Afterlife, which is set in London.
It stars the Indian actress Shabana Azmi and is a comedy about a British Asian mother's attempts to marry off her daughter, which leads to a bout of serial killing.
Blame it on the Bhangra is another comedy about a British Asian girl trying to break into the macho world of bhangra dancing. It is being developed by Origin Pictures.
Rafta, Rafta is another comedy set in an Indian community in the north of England, in which two newlyweds find it hard to consummate their marriage.

Now a 'Gladiator' sequel in the pipeline

Fans of Ridley Scott's Oscar-nominated 'Gladiator' just might have a visual treat if a sequel to the hit, written by musician Nick Cave gets a nod by Hollywood bosses.
Cave was asked to write the screenplay at the request of Scott and star Russell Crowe but the idea was eventually scrapped after the film's studio decided it was too hard to follow on from the first film, in which Crowe's character, Maximus, dies, reports themirror.co.uk.
In Cave's script, however, Maximus is reincarnated by Roman gods and he goes on to become the saviour of early Christians.
Scott, on the other hand, has not rejected Cave's version for the sequel to the 200 film.
'We tried [to go with Cave's script]. Russell didn't want to let it go, obviously, because it worked very well...When I say 'worked very well', I don't refer to success. I mean, as a piece it works very well. Storytelling, [it] works brilliantly,' said Scott.
'I think [Cave] enjoyed doing it, and I think it was one of those things that he thought, Well, maybe there's a sequel where we can adjust the fantasy and bring [Maximus] back from the dead,' he added.
Cave's script has also been described by a blogger as 'one of the most amazing, out-of-left-field screenplays I have ever read'.

Cancer not just down to genes, say experts

Cancer is not just down to genes, unhealthy diet and poor lifestyle also contribute to the potentially fatal disease, say experts.
Dr Rachel Thompson, science programme manager for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) dispelled the myth insisting lack of exercise and being overweight - causes three times as many cases of cancer as genetics.
According to her, 39 per cent of the most common cancers, including breast and bowel, could be prevented through a good diet, exercising and keeping weight under control.
"It's important to dispel the myth that cancer is just down to genes," the Telegraph quoted Thompson as saying.
"The evidence shows that an unhealthy diet and low activity levels cause three times more cancer cases than genes.
"It could possibly be even more than this, if only five per cent of cancers are as a result of our genes, then an unhealthy diet and lifestyle could cause eight times more cancer cases.
"If people do have a family history, then this is important information for them personally, but overall this inherited genetic predisposition is uncommon.
"Specific genes for breast and bowel cancer have been identified, but these are rare and account for a very small percentage of cancer cases, whereas more than a third of the most common cancers could be prevented by following a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight," she added.
The scientists suggest that although people inherit these genes have a higher risk of developing cancer, it is not certain whether they would go on to develop the disease.
They can cut their risk by eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits, vegetables and wholegrains, reducing their salt and alcohol intake and avoiding processed meats.
"When you add not smoking into the healthy lifestyle mix, this 39 per cent becomes even higher," said Thompson.
"In fact those who have inherited genes should pay closer attention to their lifestyle as there is probably still a lot they can do to reduce their risk.
"Many think that inherited genes or simply bad luck are the only factors in cancer development and it's about time that myth was laid to rest.
"It is clear that choosing a healthy diet and being more physically active are important ways to help prevent many cancers," she added. (ANI)

For left-handers in SA, it's all going right

Of all the trends that have been noted in the second season of the IPL — from the influence of seniors to the impact made by spinners — this one has to be the most intriguing:
and#149; The top five run-getters in the competition — Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina, JP Duminy, Yuvraj Singh and Adam Gilchrist — are all left-handers.
and#149; The top wicket-taker in the tournament, RP Singh, is a left-arm seamer; in fact, six in the list of top ten wicket-takers bowl left-arm.
and#149; JP Duminy, lefty, has hit the most number of 50s — four — so far.
and#149; Hayden has hit the most number of sixes, while Yuvraj has smashed the longest one of them all at 118m.
and#149; RP's tally of 30 wickets in the two IPL seasons is the most by any bowler, while Irfan Pathan has inflicted the maximum number of golden-ducks in IPL 2009.
The numbers have left — pun intended — even experts scratching their heads for an explanation. "Honestly, it's strange," says former Zimbabwe opener Alastair Campbell. "Left-handers are everywhere, with the bat and the ball. I spoke to the guys about this, but there doesn't seem to be any particular reason. Maybe it's because there are fewer left-handers around, so they're more difficult to get used to. "
The fact that it's mostly the left-handers who open the batting for their respective teams also give them more scoring opportunities. Similarly, the main impact bowlers of respective sides are all left-handers. Delhi, in fact, have left-arm bowlers — Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes — to bowl with the new ball.
Most studies say left-handers constitute just about 8-10 percent of the human population. In the IPL though, they are making up for quantity

IPL valued at $2 bn; KKR richest team

Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders may be struggling at the bottom in the second season of Indian Premier League, but in terms of brand value it is the richest team of the twenty-twenty cricket tournament, whose collective valuation has been now pegged at $2 billion. At the same time, Rajasthan Royals, partly owned by another Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, has emerged as the best team in terms of return on investment, although it is ranked third in terms of brand value.
The valuation exercise of the entire IPL franchise, along with the individual teams, have been conducted by UK-based international brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance Plc. "The entire enterprise is valued at $2.01 billion," Brand Finance said, adding, its methodology took into account various revenue lines such as broadcasting, IPL sponsorship, team sponsorship, merchandising and gate receipts as well as the effect of performance, the presence of iconic players, etc. KKR has been ranked the most valued team with a brand value of $42.1 million, followed by Mumbai Indians ($41.6 million).

funny;read out pals

A man escapes from prison where he has been for 15 years.He breaks into a house to look for money and guns and finds a young couplein bed. He orders the guy out of bed and ties him to a chair, while tying the girl to the bed he gets on top of her, kisses her neck, then gets up andgoes into the bathroom.
While he's in there, the husband tells his wife:"Listen, this guy's an escaped convict, look at his clothes! He probably spent lots of time in jail and hasn't seen a woman in years. I saw how hekissed your neck." If he wants s** , don't resist, don't complain, dowhatever he tells you. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is probably very dangerous. If he gets angry, he'll kill us. Be strong,honey. I love you."
To which his wife responds: "He wasn't kissing my neck. He was whispering inmy ear. He told me he was gay, thought you were cute, and asked me if we had any vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom. Be strong honey. I love youtoo!!"