Festive Greetings

Open Book

Once an acquaintance with a human being named “ ”... heck what difference it makes. I liked and despised him for several rationale but none the fewer he was an open book everyone he met, which he is till date. He was an idyllic example of Black and White persona, no shades of grays in between; maybe he had some polarizing filter on to hide those shades. But lately I have started to see those gray shades, honest – witness this on his blog here.

There are Nuclear Scientists and here is this Exceptional Copywriter.

I exhibit some of his works in my next post.

Meditation

Meditating does more than just feel good and calm you down, it makes you perform better – and alters the structure of your brain, researchers have found.

People who meditate say the practice restores their energy, and some claim they need less sleep as a result. Many studies have reported that the brain works differently during meditation – brainwave patterns change and neuronal firing patterns synchronise. But whether meditation actually brings any of the restorative benefits of sleep has remained largely unexplored.

So Bruce O’Hara and colleagues at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, US, decided to investigate. They used a well-established “psychomotor vigilance task”, which has long been used to quantify the effects of sleepiness on mental acuity. The test involves staring at an LCD screen and pressing a button as soon as an image pops up. Typically, people take 200 to 300 milliseconds to respond, but sleep-deprived people take much longer, and sometimes miss the stimulus altogether.

Ten volunteers were tested before and after 40 minutes of either sleep, meditation, reading or light conversation, with all subjects trying all conditions. The 40-minute nap was known to improve performance (after an hour or so to recover from grogginess). But what astonished the researchers was that meditation was the only intervention that immediately led to superior performance, despite none of the volunteers being experienced at meditation.

“Every single subject showed improvement,” says O’Hara. The improvement was even more dramatic after a night without sleep. But, he admits: “Why it improves performance, we do not know.” The team is now studying experienced meditators, who spend several hours each day in practice.

Brain builder
What effect meditating has on the structure of the brain has also been a matter of some debate. Now Sara Lazar at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, US, and colleagues have used MRI to compare 15 meditators, with experience ranging from 1 to 30 years, and 15 non-meditators.

They found that meditating actually increases the thickness of the cortex in areas involved in attention and sensory processing, such as the prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula.

“You are exercising it while you meditate, and it gets bigger,” she says. The finding is in line with studies showing that accomplished musicians, athletes and linguists all have thickening in relevant areas of the cortex. It is further evidence, says Lazar, that yogis “aren’t just sitting there doing nothing".

The growth of the cortex is not due to the growth of new neurons, she points out, but results from wider blood vessels, more supporting structures such as glia and astrocytes, and increased branching and connections.

The new studies were presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, in Washington DC, US.

• > Original article

Pay it forward

Everyone says they want to make the world a better place and young Trevor McKinney is no exception. Only he isn't just using words, he is using an idea. What would happen if three people were given a favor and, instead of paying it back, they paid it forward?

Trevor is an intelligent and caring young boy who has seen first hand that the world can be a very unkind place. When his mother, Arlene, isn't out working long hours she is home drinking her sorrows away. Trevor's father is an even worse drunk who has only taught Trevor the value of neglect and abuse. School is no picnic either, as the school bully sees little Trevor as a particularly good mark. Just when things couldn't look any worse for Trevor, something happens.

While in class one day, Trevor's new teacher, Mr. Simonet, asks the class to involve themselves in a project, to find something that each of them can do to make the world a better place. While most children come up with heart felt but mostly implausible ideas, Trevor comes up with something special. What if he gave out three random favors to three individuals in need, and instead of paying him back they passed on three favors to someone else, and then those people did the same? Would it change people's lives or would the chain break shortly down the line? Eager to see his idea blossom, Trevor begins his project and thus starts a train of events with such impact that no one, not even Trevor, could have imagined its results.

My final observation on Pay it Forward is that not only is it a more than worthwhile film, it also promotes a truly inspiring and powerful message that really reminds you about the good in the world and the changes just one individual can make. Seeing this kind of message is really something everyone can enjoy so, as can be told, I would certainly recommend this film to anyone. In my humble opinion, watching this great piece of film work truly seems a favor and anyone that takes my recommendation and agrees, please don't pay me back by thanking me for telling you about it, when your done viewing just tell three friends about it and Pay it Forward.

"THIS MOVIE IS ABSOLUTELY NOT BE MISSED!!"

• Official Website - http://payitforward.warnerbros.com/

Quality Cinema

After a long time a good movie, it was Yuva last time.

I am neither a writer nor a film critic but I liked a review written by Sandeep Bajeli.
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The story is interwoven with the life-stories of three college friends – Siddharth, Geeta and Vikram who are drawn into the swirl of contradictions of the time, throwing them in different directions. The three friends represent three contesting ideologies but the momentous period of history offers them two paths – either be in the rat race for ‘success’ building up careers, serving the system or listen to the call of history, lending one’s voice to the voiceless thereby going against the system. While Siddharth plunges whole-heartedly into the movement, Geeta wavers and backs out, Vikram remains indifferent, untouched by the prevailing current. Even though ideologically poles apart, Siddharth and Vikram have one common interest – Geeta. They both are in love with the same woman. Geeta, on the other hand, loves Siddharth for all that he stands for. The first half of the film reflects on the larger political discourse, the latter half shifts focus to explore the intricate tangled relationship of the three protagonists in the midst of the sharpening of social contradictions.

Nevertheless, what the film ultimately seems to suggest is that the emancipatory project in the face of an all-powerful state is an impossibility. The early revolutionary enthusiasm and optimism shown in the film is overtaken by a feeling of despondency and inertia, the empathy with the ideals of revolutionaries replaced by sympathy of the doomed souls who tried to make a difference. At a time when changing the world is urgently on the agenda what we need is an inspiring hero who can brave the harshest condition and illuminates the path of revolution and not a hero who ultimately joins the ranks of defeated heroes.

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Superb direction, vibrant cinematography, slick editing, lovely music and superlative performances from all three protagonists make for a thoroughly satisfying cinematic experience. The surprise package is Shiny Ahuja, whose model-boy looks belie a prodigious acting talent. Both Kay Kay Menon and Chitrangda Singh deliver superb performances with Chitrangda looking stunning throughout. People say she looks like Smita Patil, yes she does. While the film is not without its faults, including the occasional stilted dialogues and imprecision in the narrative, the overall effect is good enough to make you forget these. If you happen to come across this movie don't miss - it's worth the time.

P.S Donot forget listening to Mirza Ghalib's gazal -

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi ke har Khwaish pe dum nikle,

bohut nikle mere armaan lekin phir bhi kam nikle

Muhabbat mein nahiin hai farq jiine aur marane kaa,

usii ko dekh kar jeete hain jis kaafir pe dam nikale

...trust me it will make a whole lot of difference!

• Read the full review here.
• Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi - Official website.

Break Free...

"somebody sent this thought to me..."

As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

I saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "Well," he said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." I was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

TRIANGLE OF LIFE

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE "TRIANGLE OF LIFE"

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of theAmerican Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in anearthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster inthe world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

In 1996 we made a film which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientifictest. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my "triangleof life" survival method.

After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document theresults. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques underdirectly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover. There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of t he "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA, Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under their desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings fallingupon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life". The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building. They are everywhere.

TEN TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1. Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
2. Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
3. Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also,the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4. If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply rolloff the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor,next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
5. If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to sofa, or large chair.
6. Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the door jamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7. Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are alikely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
8. Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
9. People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.
10. I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone's life...

(Courtesy - Doug Copp, American Rescue Team)