Arresting Images

I quote from the page itself:
"Without the aid of fancy lighting, makeup, and wardrobe, these little works of mug shot art--taken with Instamatic, Polaroid, and digital cameras at law enforcement agencies nationwide--are perhaps the most candid photos of celebrities (and other public figures) that you’ll see."

Here it is!

The sky is falling !

Though i have my reservations about the veracity of this report. But, since it is not 1st april yet and Pravda is not Punjab Kesari either, one might get inclined to believe it.
Though this photo article just claims about the UFOs, the details are expected to be found on French space agency' website. I havent had the time to read about it more and to find out what was the motive of releasing these pictures. Whether they are just releasing them as records of claimed UFO sightings or publishing them as evidence of their existence, is not yet clear.
we are living in troubled times, UFOs apperances are given goverment recognitions, Popes are curing Parkinson's disease, TATAs are making a 1 lakh car, Saudis are ridiculing america, the mightiest country is ruled by an imbecile, china is mulling over curtailing the one child policy....................nothing makes sense to my addled mind. while you dig out further over the UFO issue. I'll try to calm my nerves :P

The Birthday Paradox

It can be proven that you are more likely to find 2 persons having the same birthdate in a randomly chosen group of 23 people, than not. If you don't mind mathematics, this Wikipedia article should appeal to you.

Individual rights vs religious identity

This article brings forth an important issue.
How is the sikh community at large going to react to the situation? It is not so hidden a fact that an increasing number of sikhs have embraced trimming of their beards, and the SGPC has averted its eyes to accomodate it in name of changing times. But when it comes to not wearing turbans, a crucial element of Sikh identity is in danger of extinction.
With changing times, changes in customs and outlook, have been accomodated by various religions so far it does not clashes with the core beliefs. Perhaps because these are necessary to keep the base intact and in the first place they dont defy the religious identity so blatantly.
A clarification here is important. I am indeed in favor of changes whether they be radical or subtle as far as they confirm with reasoning and logics. Afterall you need to move forwards as the civilization progresses, and the perspective and beliefs of our ancestors were a function of the knowledge under their domain.
Coming back to my main contention, which is, when you have always preached some element to be part of your unique identity you cant denounce it overnight. But also there is no way you can make people wear something they dont want to, encroachments on individual freedom will only result in defiance.
Let us see are there any real sikhs (that is subject to my definition of a sikh, which is the same as been traditionally believed) left after this new wave of cultural revolution.

Has Agarkar failed Indian cricket, or has Indian cricket failed him?

Anand Vasu deliberates upon the question which so many people have asked, looks at the statistics, and gives us an answer in this article in Cricinfo.

What were they thinking !

This IHT article gives an amusing account of a new approach towards green revolution in China. Though the thinking is seemingly sincere, the methods to achieve the goal are unprecedental.
We Indians can sure take a lesson or two from the Chinese, in increasing our country's green cover which has seen a steady decline over the decades :)

When you have no option but to set a record

This CNN article describes how US astronaut Sunita Williams will end up breaking the record for most number of days in space by an American. The interesting thing is, it's not her fault!

Ecstasy by Asphyxiation

This is an article in the New York Times discussing the growing prevalence among children in their teens, of suffocation-related 'games'. The objective of these life-threatening activities is to first starve the brain of blood, taking it to the point of loss of consciousness, and then releasing the airflow, which gives a rush, or a high moment. The article also narrates the case of a 16-year old who came back to life after 3 days in a coma, as a result of such a game.