India trounces Australia in first Test

VVS Laxman battled severe back pain to single-handedly take India to a memorable victory over Australia with a gritty unbeaten 73 in a nail-biting first Test on Tuesday.
Laxman, who reserved his best for the Australians, played almost a lone hand in India’s run chase of 216 as his experienced colleagues fell to poor shot selection and umpiring error as he guided India to one of its most memorable Test victories. Sachin Tendulkar was the second highest Indian scorer with 38 while young Ishant Sharma contributed an invaluable 31 in the Test which went down the wire. With the victory today, India took an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series and retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy with their seventh highest run chase in history. The two sides now move to Bangalore for the second and final Test starting in Bangalore from October 9. Laxman, who used runners in both of India’s innings, and Ishant shared an 81-run stand for the ninth wicket from 131 balls and that ensured India achieve what looked impossible when they were looking down the barrel at 124 for eight at one stage.
However, with Ishant given a debatable leg before decision by umpire Ian Gould, it was a tense last 15 minutes for the Indian supporters at the PCA Stadium before Laxman and Pragyan Ojha (five not out) took India to the magic score of 216. India sealed victory with two leg byes got by Pragyan Ojha off Johnson to the wild celebrations at the dressing room and the stands.
Laxman faced just 79 balls for his unbeaten 73 which he made with the help of eight fours while Ishant consumed 92 balls for his 31. It was indeed a ‘Very Very Special’ knock from a man who who was not even being able to walk properly for the last two days due to back spasms. Each and every of those 73 runs he scored has worth its weight in gold. Laxman batted only in the manner he is capable of. The backfoot punches through the cover, the short-arm pulls, extra second he takes while hitting those silken boundaries, those supple wrists and egging the Ishant Sharmas and Pragyan Ojhas to run the singles and twos was worth a sight. But for Ishant, Laxman would not have completed the magnificent win. Having bowled 14 no-balls, being down with a hamstring injury, Ishant may have scored the most significant 31 runs in his career. When some of the top-order batsman lacked stomach for fight, Ishant concentrated like a saint to give Laxman the necessary support that he needed to pull off a Herculean act.

Reliance BIG & Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment to produce The Imperfectionists

Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B Entertainment, under its Creative Partnership with Reliance BIG Entertainment, have acquired the screen rights to Tom Rachman’s novel, The Imperfectionists, which was published this spring by Dial Press.

The Imperfectionists centres on the quirky, maddening, endearing people who write and read an international newspaper based in Rome: from the obituary reporter who will do anything to avoid work, to the young freelancer who is manipulated by an egocentric war correspondent, to the dog-obsessed publisher who seems less interested in his struggling newspaper than in his magnificent basset hound.

Rachman drew from his experience as a former wire service reporter at the Associated Press (AP) office in Rome to set the stage for The Imperfectionists.

Reliance BIG Entertainment, the flagship media and entertainment arm of Indian conglomerate, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), first introduced its innovative development/ production financing deal, termed a Creative Partnership, with Plan B Entertainment at the Cannes Film Festival 2008. Commenting on the acquisition, Reliance BIG Entertainment’s Chairman Amit Khanna said, “The Imperfectionists is a compliment to our slate with Plan B Entertainment. It will make a commercial and extremely relevant film which will play well to an international audience.”

This is one of several projects acquired by Plan B under their creative partnership with Reliance. Last year the company announced Dark Void, which is based on Capcom’s acclaimed video game and being developed as a sci-fi action franchise and potential starring vehicle for Pitt.

droid eris

234″ />Finally, the users of the HTC Droid Eris will be receiving a long awaited notification from Verizon regarding a software update. In the next few days, Verizon will update all users of the HTC Eris from Android 1.5 to Android 2.1, for free. This software will be available for
If you are a Sprint customer with a HTC Hero or Samsung Moment, then you’re stuck with your Android 1.5 for now, as there are no official updates for the two. This is yet another example of Verizon beating Sprint to the punch on releasing new versions Android for their smartphone customers. Sprint has not yet updated any of their smartphones to the Android 2.1 platform.

With this update, Eris will support pinch-to-zoom in the gallery app and Google Maps. Users will also enjoy features like voice-to-text entry in all text fields, multiple Exchange accounts, support for Yahoo mail, and more.
source:apexnewsnetwork

granite countertops

Granite counters are installed in kitchen and bathrooms because of their rich look, but if the granite is not sealed you can end up with stains. Stains on granite countertops completely ruin the look of the room. After all of the money you invested in your countertops, you want them to look nice for many years to come. You don’t want to immediately see stains from oil, grease, red wine, tea, coffee or rust on your magnificent counters. Armed with the knowledge of the correct products to use and how to use them, you can remove rust stains and restore the striking beauty to your countertops.

Always begin with the easiest stain removal product and if you do not have success try the next method.

Buy a liquid rust remover. Liquid rust removers are available at auto supply stores, hardware stores, home improvement stores and online.

Use a clean, dry texture or rough rag such as an old terry cloth towel. corduroy or a piece of denim.

Apply the liquid rust remover to your rag of choice and vigorously rub the area with the rust stain for at least 2 to 3 minutes.

If the rust stain is deeper than just a surface stain and did not come out of the granite countertops try the next step.

Buy white powdered chalk at a paint store, hardware store or home improvement store.

Place the powdered chalk into a small container and slowly add liquid rust remover.

Mix continuously to form a fairly thick paste.

Spread the paste on the rust stains.

Immediately cover the paste with plastic wrap.

Secure the edges of the plastic wrap with a light tack masking tape.

Allow it to stand overnight.
Granites are mostly available in classy shades and textures to add elegance to the place where it is kept. They are available in various sizes which makes it easier to make furniture of our choice. It can be polished to shine and give a bright image like a mirror, as polishing also enhances its color. A granite countertop can be used to prepare dough for baking and for chopping vegetables as it can be easily kept clean and hygienic.

Tamilnadu New Assembly Building

Tamilnadu New Assembly Building, German architect GMP has won the provincial government of Tamil Nadu’s international invitation to tender for the design of the new state parliament building in Chennai. The project is due to be completed by 2010.

GMP is a united venture of Meinhard von Gerkan and Volkwin Marg, who have planned and realized buildings in almost all major cities in Germany. The duo is famous worldwide for their magnificent designs in countries like Russia and China.

The design of the parliament building takes account of the state’s cultural traditions as well as the urban context of the city of Chennai. With its highly visible dome, the design echoes the structural features of Dravidian temple complexes in south India.

The geometry of the complex’s structure is derived from the traditional, round chakra or mandala motif, consisting of circles of various sizes inscribed in 36 isosceles triangles. These basic shapes make up the geometrical structure of the entire design in both ground plan and elevation.

The internal plan features courtyard architecture with five round interior courts that are functionally differentiated, creating public, semi-public and also secure internal areas.

The spacious Citizens’ Forum on the south side of the building is created by the largest circle in the mandala. It is both the opening towards the city and the entrance area, with public functional areas.

The three other round courtyards in the interior of the building house the Assembly Hall, the Legislative Assembly Chamber and the Convention Hall.

The state parliament rests on a battered plinth and is landscaped all round. The glass dome over the Assembly Hall marks the seat of the Tamil parliament.

Gambhir retains number one spot

India’s Gautam Gambhir retained top spot while South Africa’s Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla have made a big impression ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen. Gambhir despite scoring just 13 runs in the match but the gap has narrowed significantly with now just 17 ratings points separating first position from fifth.

Kallis, who scored his 34th Test century during the match, has returned to the top five by gaining four places to sit in fourth position. He is now just ahead of his captain Graeme Smith, who slips three places, and not far behind the Sri Lanka pair of Mahela Jayawardena in second position and Kumar Sangakkara in third.

Amla has broken into the top 10 in the rankings for the first time in his career following his magnificent 253 not out in the first innings, which help to set up South Africa’s victory in the first Test at Nagpur by an innings and six runs. He is now just three ratings points behind Sachin Tendulkar, who was also successful with the bat during the match as he notched up his record 46th Test century in the second innings.

Read more from the original source:
Gambhir retains number one spot

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Gambhir retains number one spot was first posted on February 13, 2010 at 11:56 am.

Janet Jackson “Make Me”

Janet Jackson “Make Me”, Official video for Janet Jackson’s new single , “Make Me.” Janet Jackson.

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Janet Jackson “Make Me” was first posted on November 21, 2009 at 8:13 pm.

Mnet Asian Music Awards 2009

Winner list to 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) which took place from 7pm KST on 21st November.

Winner List for MAMA 2009

Best New Male Artist: Supreme Team

Best New Female Artist: 2NE1

Best Dance Award: Kara – Honey

Best Mixed Group: 8eight

Best Hip Hop Music Award: LeeSang

Best House and Electronic Award: Brown Eyed Girls – Abracadabra

Best Ballad/R&B Award: Kim TaeWoo – Love Rain

Best Asian Star: Dong Bang Shin Ki

Best Male Solo Artist: Drunken Tiger

Best Female Solo Artist: Baek Ji Young

Best Asian Composer: JYP

Best MV: 2NE1 – Fire

Best Female Group: Brown Eyed Girl

Best Male Group: 2PM

Album of the Year: Heartbreaker – G-Dragon

Song of the Year: I Don’t Care – 2NE1

Artist of the Year: 2PM

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Mnet Asian Music Awards 2009 was first posted on November 21, 2009 at 8:45 pm.

Festival of Lights Chicago

Festival of Lights Chicago, The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival offers a full day worth of gifts, including concerts, photos with Santa Claus, an end of fireworks, and gifts. 11-5 at the Festival of Lights Lane (Pioneer Court, 401 N. Michigan), guests are free to decorate holiday cookies at the booth at Whole Foods, fancify a piece of cheesecake free at the booth of Eli’s Cheesecake (bring a donation for the Greater Chicago Food Depository to receive an additional free piece of cheesecake), and take the free Clementines Clementines cabin Cuties. From 7 to 9 pm, more cupcakes (1 E. Delaware Place) will give away its signature “More” cupcake, a chocolate cake with a cream center (limit one per person) and the Best Western (125 W. Ohio) will free gourmet hot chocolate and cookies.

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Festival of Lights Chicago was first posted on November 21, 2009 at 9:21 pm.