Llamas …Peru
Zebras…Kenya
Deer…Michigan
Caucasus…Russia
Great Sphinx…Egypt
Birds….Israel
Horse….Jerusalem
Cricket…Bangladesh
Cow….Romania
Boat Ride…Japan
Train Ride…Canada
Wood Carvers…. India
A Villa @ Italy
source::::National Geographic .com
natarajan
Real Bliss (Ananda) can be won only by means of the transformation of the impulses which agitate the mind. It is not to be found in wealth. Many often think that the rich people are happy. Ask Me, I shall reveal to you that they are full of grief, for they come to Me in large numbers for relief. A strong physique will not give anyone any peace, nor does scholarship, asceticism or rituals. Only constant dwelling on the Name of the Lord gives that Unshakeable Peace, unaffected by the ups and downs of life. You can call someone a Dheera (hero), if they truly take to the Name of the Lord. Keep the Form of your favorite Lord in your mind. Live always in the presence of that form-filled Name, ever vigilant in your mind. Then your life will become one continuous worship of the Lord.
Mustard has a large number of alternative uses, mostly related to health. Herbal medicine is known to stimulate and accelerate blood circulation in the body. This can prevent and alleviate a great host of diseases and symptoms, Besides therapeutic use, it also has useful cosmetic properties: Soften hair, treat dry skin and remove odors. So without further a-do, here are 10 surprising uses for mustard!
1. Mustard relieves a sore throat
Mustard can be used as a natural solution to relieve a sore throat. For the preparation of the solution, mix mustard, lemon juice, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of honey and half a cup of boiling water. Let the solution stand for 10 minutes then gurgle it. The effect is supposed to last for a few days, but if the pain returns, prepare another solution.
2. Mustard fights bad odors
Many products are packaged in attractive bottles, jars and boxes, the problem is that in most cases, it is very difficult to remove the odor of the materials previously stored in those tools. In this regard, mustard is a great solution. Pour a little mustard in the dish, add hot water and shake vigorously. Wash the contents of mustard and water, the smell should completely disappear.
3. Mustard relieves chest congestion
Mustard can help prevent the accumulation of mucus in the body. Prepare a compress made of mustard and flour in a ratio of 1:3, add water until you get a mixture, apply it to a cloth and place on the chest for 20 minutes. Another option is to apply the mustard to the ribcage area and lay over it a cloth dipped in hot water. Within a few minutes you will feel better. If you suffer from sinusitis, apply this method to the forehead.
* Please note, mustard may cause allergic reactions in the skin, so you should first make sure you are not sensitive to it.
4. Use Mustard to treat fever and flu
Prepare an infusion of mustard seeds. On a low heat, cook in a pot of boiling water, and a teaspoon of mustard seeds for about five minutes. Let the brew cool and then drink it all.
5. Mustard as a cosmetic mask
Besides improving the taste of food, mustard can highlight the beauty of the skin, especially facial skin. Apply a thin layer of mustard on the skin, let it sit a few minutes then rinse well. After washing, the face will feel smooth and fresh. As mentioned, check first that you are not allergic to mustard.
6. Use mustard to calm muscles
Athletes and the elderly tend to suffer often from tense and aching muscles. An effective way to relieve pain is by sprinkling mustard and Epsom salt (magnesium- sulfate salt) in a tub. Mustard enhances the therapeutic effects of Epsom salt, which will help relieve muscle pain.
7. Mustard to relieve tired feet
Usually, after a busy day of running around, we suffer from the swollen and painful soles. For relief, make a calming solution in the following way: Mix 2 tablespoons of mustard with warm water in a pot or in a bowl, immerse your feet in the bowl for half an hour, and it should calm the pain and swelling.
8. Mustard treatment for painful knees
For people who suffer from chronic knee pain or seasoanl pain, or during physical effort, it is recommended to perform a warm massage with a mixture of olive oil and mustard oil.
9. Mustard to treat back pain
Back pain often limits the movement of the body, but the long ordeal can be reduced with a hot mustard bath. This is good and effective for back pain, muscle aches, arthritis and sprains. Fill the tub with warm water, add 220 mg of mustard, stir until they mix and then dip in the solution for 20 minutes. The pain will be reduced considerably.
10. Mustard to prevent the growth of weeds in your garden
According to scientists, the materials secreted by white mustard seeds can prevent the growth of weeds on the same ground. Plant a handful of mustard seeds near the plants, or sprinkle the seeds around the garden. The amount of weeds will be significantly reduced, so you can move them easily with bare hands. Please note before you plant: the seeds may harm other plants, so make sure to check first.
source:::::babamailnet.
natarajan
1. The statue’s full name is Liberty Enlightening the World.
2. It was a gift from France, given to America in 1886.
3. The head of the statue was displayed at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1878.
4. The robed female figure represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom.
5. She holds a torch and tablet upon which is inscribed the date of American Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776).
6. From the ground to the top of the torch the statue measures 93 metres, and weighs 204 metric tonnes.
7. Lady Liberty wears a size 879 shoe.
8. She has a 35-foot waistline
9. Visitors have to climb 354 stairs to reach the statue’s crown.
10. There are 25 windows in the crown.
11. Approximately 4m people visit the statue each year. In comparison, over 6m people visit The Eiffel Tower, and 3.5m visit The London Eye.
12. The seven spikes on the crown represent the seven oceans and the seven continents of the world, indicating the universal concept of liberty.
13. The statue has an iron infrastructure and copper exterior which has turned green due to oxidation. Although it’s a sign of damage, the patina (green coating) also acts as a form of protection from further deterioration.
14. Edouard de Laboulaye provided the idea for the statue, while Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi designed it.
15. Laboulaye proposed that a great monument should be given as a gift from France to the United States as a celebration of both the union’s victory in the American Revolution, and the abolition of slavery.
16. Laboulaye also hoped the gift of the statue would inspire French people to fight for their own democracy in the face of a repressive monarchy under Napolean III.
17. Gustave Eiffel, the man who designed the Eiffel Tower was also behind the design for Liberty’s ‘spine’; four iron columns supporting a metal framework that holds the copper skin which is a mere 3/32ths of an inch thick.
18. 300 different types of hammers were used to create the copper structure.
19. The statue’s face was said to be modelled on the sculptor’s mother, Charlotte.
20. The statue’s original torch was replaced in 1984 by a new copper torch covered in 24k gold leaf.
21. Although you cannot see Lady Liberty’s feet clearly she is in fact standing among a broken shackle and chains, with her right foot raised, depicting her moving forward away from oppression and slavery.
22. Despite the positive meaning of the statue – American independence and the abolition of slavery – it African Americans saw the statue as an ironic image of America; professing to be a country of freedom and justice for everyone regardless of race, despite racism and discrimination continuing to exist.
23. The Statue of Liberty became the symbol of immigration during the second half of the 19th century, as over 9m immigrants came to the United States, with the statue often being the first thing they saw when arriving by boat.
24. The statue’s most famous cinematic appearance was in the 1968 film “Planet of the Apes” where it is seen half buried in sand.
25. It is also destroyed in the films “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow”.
26. The cost of the statue was funded by contributions from both the French and the Americans. In 1885, a New York newspaper entitled “World” announced that $102,000 had been raised from donors, and that 80 per cent of this total had been received in sums of less than one dollar.
27. Groups in Boston and Philadelphia offered to pay the full cost of the construction of the statue, in return for its relocation.
28. When the statue was first erected in 1886 it was the tallest iron structure ever built.
29. In 1984, the statue was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
30. In high winds of 50mph Lady Liberty can sway by up to 3 inches, while her torch can move 5 inches.
31. Lady Liberty is thought to have been hit by around 600 bolts of lightning every year since she was built. A photographer captured this for the first time in 2010.
32. Two people have committed suicide by jumping off the statue, one in 1929 and the other in 1932, while many others have jumped and survived.
33. American poet Emma Lazarus wrote about the Statue of Liberty in a sonnet called “The New Colossus” (1883). In 1903 the poem was engraved on a bronze plaque and placed inside the lower level of the pedestal on the statue.
34. The island in which it stands was previously called Bedloe Island, but its name was changed in 1956 to Liberty Island.
35. There are various replicas of the statue, including a smaller version in Paris, and one on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.
36. In 1944 the lights in the crown flashed “dot-dot-dot-dash” which in the Morse code means V, for Victory in Europe.
37. Andy Warhol painted “Statue of Liberty” as part of his Pop Art series in the 1960s. It is estimated to be worth in excess of $35m.
38. The statue functioned as a lighthouse for 16 years (1886-1902), lighting a distance of up to 24 miles away.
39. The statue will be celebrating its 127th birthday in October 2013.
40. Miss America, the comic book character, was granted her powers by the statue.
41. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, the statue was closed for security reasons, with the pedestal reopening in 2004, and the statue in 2009, but only a limited number of visitors are able to go up to the crown.
42. The statue was again closed in 2012 due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, with the island off limits to the public. The statue is reopening to visitors on Independence Day, July 4, 2013.
43. The statue sustained minor damage in 1916 when German saboteurs set off an explosion during World War One. The torch-bearing arm suffered the most damage, with repair works costing $100,000. The stairs in the torch were then closed to the public for safety reasons, and have remained closed ever since.
44. No-one has been able to visit the torch since.
45. Private boats are not allowed to dock at Liberty and Ellis islands. Therefore the only way on is via the ferry system.
46. The statue’s 300 copper pieces were transported to America in 214 crates on the French ship Isere, which almost sank in stormy seas.
47. Liberty Island is federal property within the territory of the State of New York, even though it is closer to New Jersey.
48. In 1982, it was discovered that the head had been installed two feet off centre.
49. Two images of the statue appear on a $10 bill.
50. The cost of building the statue and pedestal amounted to over $500,000, over $10m in today’s money.
source::::The Telegraph UK
natarajan
When most 11-year-old girls day-dream about their idols, they fantasise about Harry Styles from One Direction and write his name in love hearts all over their school exercise books.
Not Shrinidhi Prakash. She is counting down the days until she meets her very own hero, the BBC’s business editor Robert Peston. She is a big fan of his work.
She hopes he will be impressed by the essay she has penned for him on economic growth, entitled Notes On Austerity. Quite clearly, Shrinidhi is no ordinary girl. This week, she beat more than 2,000 children to be crowned Britain’s first Child Genius – a sort of Mastermind-meets-Countdown, for the under 11s
Thirst for knowledge: Shrinidhi and her mother Suja
Over the four-part series, 21 finalists aged eight to 11 were tested in quick-fire rounds such as Debating, Logic, Mental Arithmetic, Spelling and General Knowledge.
Not only were the questions so hard that many were beyond plenty of adults. But the stress for the children answering them was also mercilessly recorded by cameras, which seemed to take perverse pleasure in recording their faces crumple as, one by one, they crashed out of the competition.
Even cycling gold medallist Chris Hoy, a man used to the extreme edge of competition, tweeted that these intelligence tests made ‘the Olympics seem pretty stress-free’.
Other commentators questioned the programme’s seeming failure to acknowledge that other competitors in the group might possibly be on the autistic spectrum in case it jeopardised the fun they were having at the children’s expense.
Yet despite the intense pressure, Shrinidhi thrived. Not only did she manage to recall the order of an entire pack of 52 playing cards, but in the final programme she triumphed with a winning debate speech on whether money brings happiness, correctly identified Lake Baikal in Siberia as the largest freshwater pool in the world and correctly spelled the world ‘metallurgy’.
Title holder: Shrinidhi won the Child Genius final after beating Connor aged nine and ‘human dictionary’ Ben
Shrinidhi’s achievement is all the more impressive when you consider that her first language is not even English, but Tamil, which she still speaks with her family at home, and she came to live in the UK from India only three years ago.
But the supreme irony is that of all the children in the competition, Shrinidhi appeared to be the least pushed by her parents, Suja and Raman. Indeed, the mild-mannered Indian couple looked like pussy cats compared to other tiger mothers in the show.
Shrinidhi, however, seemed to trundle through the competition in her own sweet way. Of all the children who appeared in the series, Shrinidhi, the current Under-12 World Scrabble Champion, seemed the most naturally gifted and the most rightful winner.
Champ: But her parents say she is not driven by achievement
Shrinidhi also showed early promise. By the age of three, she was already a mini media celebrity in India after she was filmed being able to remember the flags of more than 200 different countries. She had learned them by watching the flag-waving spectators at cricket matches with her father.
By five her parents noticed her talent for memory. It morphed into a precocious gift and she began using long words in English. When they introduced her to Scrabble soon after, she began trouncing players several times her age.
So when her father Raman was offered a job in IT in UK, they moved here not only to further his career but also their daughter’s – especially as she already spoke English better than 99.9 per cent of the people who live here already.
So how does Shrinidhi see her life panning out before her, now that she is officially Britain’s cleverest child?
‘I don’t see it as anything different. Because it’s part of my brain, I don’t see anything extraordinary. For me this is normal. One day I would like to study economics or etymology at university. But I would also like to have two Ferraris.’
So after being proclaimed a child genius, what is next on the agenda? Maths A-level? An early Oxbridge application? Thankfully no, says Suja: ‘It’s her Grade One Piano exam.’
source::::::mailonline.com
natarajan
FORGET about postcodes and street numbers. A new mapping system called ‘what3words’ can find any searchable spot on the globe with a three-word code.
The London-based start-up has divided Earth into 57 trillion squares, each of them three square metres large. Every individual square has been assigned a unique three-word code.
With a simple, map-based search, you can pinpoint any location and find its code in a matter of seconds. It sure beats writing down a full address.
For instance, say you were meeting friends at the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. Traditionally, you would tell people the address: 455 George St, Sydney NSW 2000. A what3words search would yield a simple result: input.fines.bonus. It’s much easier to remember.
“With GPS and smartphones, we have at our fingertips the ability to pinpoint precise locations,” said what3words CEO Chris Sheldrick.
“However, until what3words we haven’t had a simple, memorable universal system to easily describe locations with any degree of precision.”
The system is certainly more precise than conventional mapping. The three word codes apply to spaces just three square metres large, allowing you to direct people to something as specific as a particular tent in your campsite.
If you feel like shelling out a dollar or so, you can even reduce your address to a single word.
We played around with what3words and came up with a few examples:
The Eiffel Tower: ship.vocal.launched
The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
An escalator in Tokyo: tooth.develops.landings
Escalators probably look like this in Tokyo.
The White House: engine.doors.cubs
The White House looking extra white.
Big Ben: lease.ensure.paused
BONG BONG BONG
A tree in New Zealand: trains.rally.feared
There’s a tree behind this sheep. Maybe.
Christ the Redeemer: familiar.system.mule
“Hey guys, I can totally see write.complex.running from here!”
Tahrir Square: publish.digesting.woven
Another quiet day in Egypt. Photo: AFP
A mailbox in Los Angeles: jump.union.blade
A well maintained American mailbox
source::::::news.com.au pl see the site what 3 words .com for further inf and details…
natarajan
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Liberation is attained when the Soul shines in its own divinity. Liberation is not a nation or a suburb in paradise where aristocratic residents secure good sites. Liberation is the condition of one who has shed delusion. Shed delusion, then grief will be destroyed and joy established. Removal of Grief (Dukha-Nivrithi) and Attainment of Bliss (Ananda-Prapthi), happen at the same time. Your mind is the villain, its other name is desire! When you pull out all the yarn from a piece of cloth, there is no cloth. So too, pull out all the desires from the mind; the mind disappears and you attain freedom! Grief and joy are the obverse and reverse of the same experience. Joy is when grief ends, grief is when joy ends. Just as you must set the table for two when you invite a blind person for dinner (the blind person and his/her companion), so too, grief and joy are inseparable.
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A little girl is on her knees scooping and packing the sand with plastic shovels into a bright blue bucket. Then she upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.
All afternoon she will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.
A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made.
All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built.
Two builders of two castles, they have much in common. They shape granules into grandeur. They see nothing and make something. They are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the end will come.
Yet that is where the similarities cease. For the girl sees the end while the man ignores it, Watch the girl as the dusk approaches.
As the waves near, the wise child jumps to her feet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. She knew this would happen. She is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into her castle and her masterpiece is sucked into the sea, she smiles. She smiles, picks up her tools, takes her father’s hand, and goes home.
The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years collapses on his castle he is terrified. He hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls at the incoming tide.
“It’s my castle,” he defies.
The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs… I don’t know much about sandcastles. But children do. Watch them and learn. Go ahead and build, but build with a child’s heart. When the sun sets and the tides take – applaud. Salute the process of life and go home.
source:::: Reblogged from Propel Steps of Dinesh Kumar Radhakrishnan,
natarajan
