Snowy Owl (bubo scandiacus)

The Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. It is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl or the Great White Owl. Until recently, it was regarded as the sole member of a distinct genus, as Nyctea scandiaca, but mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data (Olsen et al. 2002) shows that it is very closely related to the horned owls in the genus Bubo.

Many birds come to the Arctic in the summer to live and breed but not all of them live here year round. Ptarmigan, snow bunting, and snowy owls are some of the Arctic birds that live here year round. They are called snowy owls because their coloring is almost pure white when they are full grown. The feet of snowy owls are covered with feathers and have extra thick pads. Snowy owls live on the tundra. They stay in the Arctic during the winter unless their food sources are scarce. If they leave the arctic in the winter they overwinter in northern Greenland, the Canadian islands, northern Eurasia, Wrangel Island as well as North America.

This huge yellow-eyed white bird is unmistakable. It is 53-65 cm long with a 125-150 cm wingspan. The adult male is virtually pure white, but females and young birds have some dark scalloping; the young are heavily barred, and dark spotting may even predominate. Its thick plumage, heavily-feathered feet, and coloration render the Snowy Owl well-adapted for life north of the Arctic Circle.

Snowy Owl calls are varied, but the alarm call is a barking, almost quacking krek-krek-krek-krek; the female also has a softer mewling pyee-pyee-pyee-pyee or "prek-prek-prek". The song is a deep repeated gawh. They may also clap their beak in response to threats or annoyances. While called clapping, it is believed this sound may actually be a clicking of the tongue, not the bill.

Snowy owls have incredible vision. They can see from high up in the sky and swoop down silently to capture their prey. Like all owls they have good night vision. They are nocturnal and diurnal hunt at night but in the Arctic it doesn't get dark in the summer so the owls hunt in the daylight too. When the owl gets food it swallows it whole or tears it into large pieces to swallow. The Snowy Owl is typically found in the northern circumpolar region, where it makes its summer home north of latitude 60 degrees north. However, it is a particularly nomadic bird, and because population fluctuations in its prey species can force it to relocate, it has been known to breed at more southerly latitudes. During the last ice age, there was an Central European paleosubspecies of this bird, Bubo scandiacus gallicus, but subspecies are not recognized among the living population.

This species of owl nests on the ground, building a scrape on top of a mound or boulder. A site with good visibility, ready access to hunting areas, and a lack of snow is chosen. Gravel bars and abandoned eagle nests may be used. Breeding occurs in May, and depending on the amount of prey available, clutch sizes range from 5 to 14 eggs, which are laid singly, approximately every other day over the course of several days. Hatching takes place approximately five weeks after laying, and the pure white young are cared for by both parents. The mother stays on the nest and the father brings her food and protects her. After the owlets are born both parents work to feed the owlets. In eight weeks the owlets are ready to leave the nest. This is important because the summers are so short in Arctic regions. If the owlets weren't ready to take care of themselves they would not survive the cold winter.

This powerful bird relies primarily on lemmings and other rodents for food, but at times when these prey are not available, or during the ptarmigan nesting period, they may switch to ptarmigan young. As opportunistic hunters, they feed on a wide variety of small mammals and birds, and will take advantage of larger prey, frequently following traplines to find food. Nesting birds require roughly two lemmings per day, and a family may eat up to 1500 lemmings before the young birds set off to fend for themselves. Due to their beauty, Snowy Owls are kept in captivity by wildlife centers, zoological gardens and by serious hobbyists. They are known to be sensitive to disease, stress and heat, frequently perishing during attempts to train a wild owl during the summer. These owls are not suitable for beginning raptor keepers. ( Original Source : Library Thinkquest Website and Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Photo Source : upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Snowy_Owl_(240866707).jpeg )

India Gate : India War Memorial in New Delhi

All India War Memorial
India Gate is constructed as a memorial and was built in the memory of 90,00 soldiers who laid down their lives during world war I. Located at Rajpath, India Gate is 42 m high and is popular relaxation area during the summer evenings. India Gate also act as popular pinic spot during winter. Also known as the All India War Memorial, India Gate was designed and constructed by Lutyens. He was the who is considered the chief proclaimer in designing the New Delhi plans.

The Architectural Marvel
A tour of Lutyens’ Delhi just has to kick off with the stately India Gate at the east end of the broad Janpath (earlier Kingsway) that leads to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Another additional 13,516 names engraved on the arch and foundations form a separate memorial to the British and Indian soldiers killed on the North-West Frontier in the Afghan War of 1919. The foundation stone was laid by HRH the Duke of Connaught in 1921 and the monument was dedicated to the nation 10 years later by the then Viceroy, Lord Irwin.

Another memorial, Amar Jawan Jyoti was added much later after India had said goodbye to its imperial rulers. It is in the form of a flame that burns day and night under the arch to remind the nation of soldiers who perished in the Indo-Pakistan War of December 1971.

The entire arch stands on a low base of red Bharatpur stone and rises in stages to a huge cornice, beneath which are inscribed Imperial suns. Above on both sides is inscribed INDIA, flanked by MCM and to the right, XIX. The shallow domed bowl at the top was intended to be filled with burning oil on anniversaries but this is rarely done.
( Original Source : Indiasite Website, Photo Source : Sabudi Prasetyo )

Prambanan : The Largest Hindu Temple in Indonesia

( Original Source : Borobudurpark Website and Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Photo Source : Google Images )

Prambanan, named after the village, is the biggest temple complex in Java. There are 224 temples in the complex; three of them, the main temples are Brahma Temple in the north, Vishnu Temple in the south, and the biggest among the three which lies between Brahma and Vishnu temples is Shiva Temple (47 meters high).

Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia, located in central Java, approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta (Coordinates: 7°45′8″S, 110°29′30″E). It was built around 850 CE by either Rakai Pikatan, king of the second Mataram dynasty or Balitung Maha Sambu, during the Sanjaya dynasty. Not long after its construction, the temple was abandoned and began to deteriorate. Reconstruction of the compound began in 1918. The main building was completed in around 1953, since it is next to impossible to find the original stonework, which has often been stolen and reused at remote construction sites. A temple will only be rebuilt if at least 75% of the original stones are available. Therefore only their foundation walls of most of the smaller shrines are visible and they will not be rebuilt.

The temple was damaged during the earthquake in Java in 2006. Early photos suggested that although the complex appears to be structurally intact, damage is significant, with large pieces of debris, including carvings, scattered over the ground. The temple has been closed to the public until damage can be fully assessed. The head of Yogyakarta Archaeological Conservation Agency stated that: "it will take months to identify the precise damage". However, some weeks later in 2006 the site re-opened for visitors. The immediate surroundings of the Hindu temples remain off-limits for safety reason.

The complex
The compound is assembled of eight main shrines or candis, and more than 250 surrounding individual candis. The three main shrines, called Trisakti (Ind. "three sacred places"), are dedicated to the three gods Shiva the Destroyer, Vishnu the Keeper and Brahma the Creator.
The Shiva shrine at the center contains four chambers, one in every cardinal direction. While the first contains a three meter high statue of Shiva, the other three contain smaller statues of Durga, his wife, Agastya, his teacher, and Ganesha, his son. The statue of Durga is also called temple of Loro Jongrang (slender virgin), after a Javanese princess, daughter of King Boko. She was forced to marry a man she did not love, Bandung Bondowoso. After long negotiations she eventually agreed to the marriage, under the condition that her prince built her a temple ornamented with 1000 statues, between the setting and the rising of the sun. Helped by supernatural beings, the prince was about to succeed. So the princess ordered the women of the village to set a fire in the east of the temple, attempting to make the prince believe that the sun was about to rise. As the cocks began to crow, fooled by the light, the supernatural helpers fled. The prince, furious about the simple trick, changed Loro Jongrang to stone. She became the last and the most beautiful of the thousand statues.

The two other main shrines are that of Vishnu, to the north, and the one of Brahma, facing to the south. In front of each main temple is a smaller candis on the east side, dedicated to the mounts of the respective god - the bull Nandi for Shiva, the gander Angsa for Brahma, and Vishnus Eagle Garuda, which serves as the national symbol of Indonesia (cf. also to the airline Garuda Indonesia).

The bas-reliefs along the twenty sides of the temple depict the Ramayana legend. They illustrate how Sita, the wife of Rama, is abducted by an evil ogre. The monkey king Hanuman brings his army to help Rama and rescue Sita. This story is also shown by the Ramayana Ballet, regularly performed at full moon in front of the illuminated Prambanan complex.

The temple complex is surrounded by more than 250 individual temples of different sizes, called Pewara, believed to have been offered to the king as a sign of submission. The Pewara are arranged in four rows around the central temples, according to the rank of the people allowed to enter them. While the central row was accessible to the priests only, the other three were reserved for the nobles, the knights and the simple people respectively.

These three ancient masterpieces of Hindu architecture are locally referred to as Prambanan Temple or Lorojonggrang Temple. One of its appeals is the wealth of sculptural detail. The well known one is on the inner wall of the balustrade, the wonderfully vital and utterly engrossing Ramayana epic.

Perhaps one of the most majestic temples in the South-East Asia, Prambanan attracts many admirers each year from abroad. Situated about 15 kilometers from Yogyakarta, the top of the main shrine is visible from a great distance and rises high above the scattered ruins of the former temples. Prambanan is the best seen shortly after dawn or in the late afternoon. However it is still beautiful at any time.

Prambanan Sunrise
Enjoy sunrise behind the glory of Prambanan Temple. Visitors should be at the location - in the area of The Open Air Theater and archaeological park of the temple - before sun rise at about 5:00 o'clock in the morning.

Playground

A park designed specially for children and the rest of your family to play in and have fun while enjoying the beauty of Prambanan Temple.

Archeological Museum

The museum where you can learn about the ancient history of Prambanan and all the surrounding temples and Wanabaya's discoveries.

Lionfish

( Original Source : Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Photo Source : Google Images )





A Lionfish is any of several species of venomous marine fish in the genera Pterois, Pteropterus, Parapterois, Brachypterois, Ebosia or Dendrochirus, family Scorpaenidae. The lionfish is also known as the Turkey Fish, Dragon Fish and Scorpion Fish. The lionfish are voracious predators. When they are hunting, they corner prey using their large fins and then use their lightning quick reflexes to swallow the prey whole. They are notable for their extremely long and separated spines, and have a generally striped appearance, red, brown, or black on white.

While the hardiness and disease resistance of the lionfish make their care relatively simple, the venom of the spines is extremely painful, and lionfish are recommended for only the careful aquarist.The lionfish is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region of the world, but various species can be found worldwide. Due to a recent introduction, the lionfish has recently been spotted in the warmer coral regions of the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Successful breeding of the lionfish in captivity has not been reported.

Venom
Lionfish are members of the scorpionfish family Scorpaenidae, and have venomous dorsal, pelvic and anal spines. Typically they have 12 to 13 dorsal spines, 2 pelvic spines and 3 anal spines. Each spine contain two grooves containing venom producing tissue. The ornate pectoral fins, though similar in appearance the dorsal fins, are not equipped with these glands.
The severity of an envenomation event may depend on the species and the size of the lionfish. The predominate effects of the lionfish venom are severe pain and swelling (edema) in the area around the wound. Other systematic responses such as nausea, dizziness, muscle weakness, shortness of breath, hypotension, and headache have been recorded either from the venom or as a reaction to level of pain.
In a series of 101 documented cases of captive lionfish envenomations in the US, the following effects were reported (Gallagher, 2001):
92% of patients experienced local pain
60% of patients experienced edema
13% of patients experienced systematic symptoms
1% of patients experienced tissue necrosis
0% of patients experienced death
In another study of 45 documented cases of captive lionfish envenomations reported to the San Francisco Poison Control Center over a 5 year span, the following effects were reported (Kizer, et al, 1985):
100% of patients experienced local pain
22% of patients experienced pain extending through the affected extremity
13% of patients experienced systemic symptoms
0% of patients experienced death
ResponseLionfish venom is comprised of thermolabile proteins which, as their name suggests, are vulnerable to heat and denature quite easily. First aid techniques are to immerse wound in hot water(43 – 45 °C) for 30 to 40 min or until pain diminishes.

Koala (phascolarctos cinereus)

( Original Source : Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Photo Source : Google Images )

The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae.

The Koala is found all along the eastern coast of Australia from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula, and as far into the hinterland as there is enough rainfall to support suitable forests. The Koalas of South Australia were largely exterminated during the early part of the 20th century, but the state has since been repopulated with Victorian stock. The Koala is not found in Tasmania or Wester Australia.

Names
The word "koala" comes from the Dharuk word gula. Closely related words appear in other Australian Aboriginal languages, including:
1. The Ngunnawal of the Canberra region also call it gula.
2. In the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Aborigines called Koalas by the word Cullawines.
3. In the Murray Region, Aborigines called Koalas by the word Karbors.
4. Other Aboriginal names for Koalas include: Bangaroos, Koolewongs, Narnagoons and Colos.

It is commonly said that the common name 'Koala' is an Aboriginal word meaning "no drink." The Koala actually does drink water, but only rarely, due to its diet consisting of eucalyptus leaves, which contain sufficient water to obviate the need for the Koala to climb down for a drink.

Early European settlers to Australia called the Koala the Native Bear, and the Koala is still sometimes called the Koala Bear, but it is not a member of the bear family. In fact, it is not even a placental mammal (which most mammals are) - it is a marsupial. The Koala's scientific name (Phascolarctos cinereus) comes from the Greek: phaskolos meaning "pouch" and; arktos meaning "bear". The cinereus epithet is Latin and means "ash-coloured".

Variation
Although three subspecies have been described, these are arbitrary selections from a cline and are not generally accepted as valid. Following Bergmann's Rule, southern individuals from the cooler climates are larger. A typical Victorian Koala (formerly P. cinereus victor) has longer, thicker fur, is a darker, softer grey, often with chocolate-brown highlights on the back and forearms, and has a more prominently light-coloured ventral side and fluffy white ear tufts. Typical and New South Wales Koala weights are 12 kg for males and 8.5 kg for females. In tropical and sub-tropical Queensland, however, the Koala is smaller (at around 6.5 kg for an average male and just over 5 kg for an average female), a lighter, often rather scruffy grey in colour, and has shorter, thinner fur. In Queensland the Koala was previously classified as the subspecies P. cinereus adustus, and the intermediate forms in New South Wales as P. cinereus cinereus. The variation from one form to another is continuous and there are substantial differences between individual Koalas in any given region such as hair color. Koala fossils are quite rare, but some have been found in northern Australia dating to 20 million years ago. During this time, the northern half of Australia was rainforest. The Koala did not specialise in a diet of eucalyptus until the climate cooled and eucalyptus forests grew in the place of rainforests. The fossil record indicates that before 50,000 years ago, Giant Koalas inhabited the southern regions of Australia. The Koala fills the same ecological role as the sloth of South America. However, its origins are unclear.

Physical description
The Koala is broadly similar in appearance to the wombat (its closest living relative), but has a thicker, more luxurious coat, much larger ears, and longer limbs, which are equipped with large, sharp claws to assist with climbing. Weight varies from about 14 kg for a large, southern male, to about 5 kg for a small northern female. Contrary to popular belief, their fur is thick, not soft and cuddly. Koalas' five fingers per paw are arranged with the first two as opposable thumbs, providing better gripping ability. The Koala is one of the few mammals (other than primates) that has fingerprints. In fact, koala fingerprints are remarkably similar to human fingerprints; even with an electron microscope, it can be quite difficult to distinguish between the two.

The Koala has an unusually small brain, with about 40% of the cranial cavity being filled with fluid, while the brain itself is like "a pair of shrivelled walnut halves on top of the brain stem, in contact neither with each other nor the bones of the skull. It is the only animal on Earth with such a strangely reduced brain.”

It is a generally silent animal, but males have a very loud advertising call that can be heard from almost a kilometre away during the breeding season. There is little reliable information about the lifespan of the Koala, but in captivity they have been observed to reach the age of 15 years.
The inverted thumbs on the Koala's back feet help for grip while the koala changes branches or eats with its front hands.

Life cycle
Females reach maturity at 2 to 3 years of age, males at 3 to 4 years. If healthy, a female Koala can produce one young each year for about 12 years. Gestation is 35 days; twins are very rare. Mating normally occurs between December and March, the Southern Hemisphere's summer.

A baby Koala is referred to as a joey and is hairless, blind, and earless. At birth the joey, only the size of a jelly bean, crawls into the downward-facing pouch on the mother's belly (which is closed by a drawstring-like muscle that the mother can tighten at will) and attaches itself to one of the two teats. The downward-facing pouch provides a much shorter trip from the birth canal to the pouch than in other marsupials. Thus, the forearms need not be as developed for the journey into the pouch, and can develop more fully for excellent climbing ability later in life. Young remain hidden in the pouch for about six months, only feeding on milk. During this time they grow ears, eyes, and fur. The joey then begins to explore outside of the pouch. At about 30 weeks it has begun to eat the semi-liquid form of the mother’s excrement called "pap". The baby Koala will remain with the mother for another six months or so, riding on her back, and feeding on both milk and gum leaves until weaning is complete at about 12 months of age. Young females disperse to nearby areas at that time; young males often stay in the mother's home range until they are two or three years old.

Ecology and behavior
The Koala lives almost entirely on eucalyptus leaves. This is likely to be an evolutionary adaptation that takes advantage of an otherwise unfilled ecological niche, since eucalyptus leaves are low in protein, high in indigestible substances, and contain phenolic and terpene compounds that are toxic to most species. Like wombats and sloths, the Koala has a very low metabolic rate for a mammal (which conserves energy) and rests motionless for about 19 hours a day, sleeping most of that time. Koalas spend about 3 of their 5 active hours eating. It feeds at any time of day, but usually at night. An average Koala eats 500 grams of eucalyptus leaves each day, chewing them in its powerful jaws to a very fine paste before swallowing. The liver deactivates the toxic components ready for excretion, and the hind gut (especially the caecum) is greatly enlarged to extract the maximum amount of nutrient from the poor quality diet. Much of this is done through bacterial fermentation: when young are being weaned, the mother passes unusually soft faeces, called pap, which is rich in these bacteria, thus passing these essential digestive aids onto her offspring. The Koala will eat the leaves of a wide range of eucalypts, and occasionally even some exotic species, but it has firm preferences for particular varieties. These preferences vary from one region to another: in the south Manna Gum, Blue Gum and Swamp Gum are favoured; Grey Gum and Tallowwood are important in the north, and the ubiquitous River Red Gum of the isolated seasonal swamps and watercourses that meander across the dry inland plains allows the Koala to exist in surprisingly arid areas. Many factors determine which of the 800 species of eucalyptus trees the Koala eats. Among trees of their favourite species, however, the major factor that determines which individual trees the Koala chooses is the concentration of a group of phenolic toxins called formylated phloroglucinol compounds.

Conservation status
The Koala was hunted almost to extinction in the early 20th century, largely for its fur. In recent years, some colonies have been hard hit by disease, especially chlamydia. The Koala requires large areas of healthy, connected forest and will travel long distances along tree corridors in search of new territory and mates. The ever-increasing human population of the coastal parts of the continent continues to cut these corridors by agricultural and residential development, forestry and road-building, marooning Koala colonies in decreasing areas of bush. The Australian Koala Foundation has mapped 40,000 km² of land for Koala habitat and claims it has strong evidence to suggest wild Koala populations are in serious decline throughout the species natural range. Although the species covers a massive area, only 'pieces' of Koala habitat remain. These pieces need to be managed, protected and restored in a coordinated way. Presently, many are being lost to weeds, cleared for agriculture, or carved up by developers. Other threats come from logging, poor management, attacks from feral and domestic animals, disease and roads.

In contrast to the situation on much of the mainland, where populations are declining, the Koalas of many island and isolated populations have reached what some have described as "plague" proportions. On Kangaroo Island in South Australia, Koalas introduced some 90 years ago have thrived in the absence of predators and competition. Combined with an inability to migrate to new areas, this has caused the Koala populations to become unsustainable and threaten the Island's unique ecology. In particular, species of Manna Gum, native to the island, are being stripped by Koalas at a rate faster than they can regenerate, endangering local birds and invertebrates that rely on them, and causing the extinction of at least one isolated population of manna. Koala numbers are estimated at over 30,000, with ecologists suggesting that the Island can sustain 10,000 at most. Although culling has been suggested as a means to reduce Koala numbers, with the South Australian Government seriously considering such in 1996, this has met with fierce opposition both domestically and internationally, and the species remains protected. The popularity of the Koala has made the possibility of a cull politically improbable, with any negative perception likely to impact tourism and a government's electability. In place of a cull, sterilisation and translocation programmes have had only limited success in reducing numbers thus far, and remain expensive. There is evidence that Koalas relocated to the mainland have difficulty establishing themselves in the different circumstances. A mooted alternative to the complex sterilisation method, wherein the animal must first be captured, are hormonal implants that can be injected via darts.

The Koala inhabits four Australian states. Under state legislation, the species is listed as Vulnerable in the South East Queensland Bioregion, Vulnerable in New South Wales and Rare in South Australia. The species' national status is under review. The IUCN lists the species as Near Threatened. The Koala cannot legally be kept as a pet in Australia.

Kabuto

( Original Source : Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Photo Source : Google Images )

Kabuto : Japanese Warrior’s Helmet
Kabuto (兜, 冑) is a helmet used with traditional Japanese armour as worn by samurai. It features a strong bowl, the "hachi", which protects the crown of the head, a suspeded series of articulated plates (the "shikoro") to protect the neck, and often a crest of the clan (mon).

A Kabuto was usually constructed from 3 to over a hundred metal plates, riveted together. The plates are usually arranged vertically, and radiate from an opening in the top called the "tehen" or "hachiman-za" (seat of the war god, hachiman). The original purpose of the tehen was for the warrior to pass his top knot through. Although this usage was largely abandoned after the kamakura-muromachi period, the tehen remained as a feature of most helmets, and was decorated with a "tehen kanamono", or ring of intricately worked soft metal bands surrounding the opening of the tehen. The rivets that secure the metal plates of the kabuto to each other could be raised, creating a form known as "hoshi-bachi," or hammered flat, leaving only the flanges of the plates protruding, a form known as "suji-bachi." Some of the finer helmets were signed by smiths, usually from one of several known families, such as the Myochin, Saotome, Haruta, Unkai, and Nagasone.

Another form of Kabuto is the "Kawari Kabuto," or "strange helmet." During the Momoyama period of intense civil warfare, the production of helmets was simplified to a 3 or four plate design that lacked many of the ornamental features of earlier helmets. To offset the plain, utilitarian form of the new helmet, and to provide visibility and presence on the battlefield, armorers began to build fantastic shapes on top of the simple helmets in "harikake," or lacquered paper over a wooden armature. These shapes mimicked forms from Japanese culture and mythology, including fish, cow horns, the head of the god of longevity, bolts of silk, head scarved, ichi-no-tani canyon, and ace heads, among many others. Some forms were realistically rendered, while others took on a very futuristic, modernist feel. A definitive show of Kawari Kabuto was mounted by the Japan Society in 1985. The catalog, entitled "Spectacular Helmets of Japan" (ISBN 0-87011-784-X is a good guide to this form).

Most Kabuto incorporate a suspended neck guard called a "shikoro". This is usually composed of semi-circular lacquered metal or oxhide lames, attached and articulated by silk or leather lacing. This system of lames is the standard technology of defense employed, along with mail, for the body protection in Japanese Armor. Kabuto are often adorned with "Maedate" (Front Crests,) "Wakidate" (Side Crests) or "Ushirodate" (Rear Crests.) These can be family or clan emblems, or flat or sculptural objects representing animals, mythical entities, prayers or other symbols. Horns are particularly common, and many helmets sort "Kuwagata", or stylized deer horns, as seen in the attached illustration (in this illustration, the Kuwagata have been mistakenly transposed L-R). Upon the return of general peace under the Tokogawa Shogunate in the Edo Period, Armor became more elaborate and ceremonial. Many very luxurious armors were produced during this period, as well as a great number of simpler armors for lower ranking Samurai and foot soldiers. Fine armor continued to be produced up to the end of the Edo period in 1867, and slightly beyond. Later armors often emulated the garb of the romanticized Kamakura-Muromachi warriors.

Kabuto were a prominent and important part of the equipment of the bushi, and played a symbolic role, as well. This explains the number of expressions, sayings and codes related to them. A few examples follow:
1. Katte kabuto no o o shimeyo ("Tighten the string of the kabuto after winning the war"): don't lower your efforts after succeeding. Could be compared to not to rest on one's laurels.
2. Kabuto o nugu ("to take off the kabuto"): to surrender.

Nowadays, smaller-sized Yoroi and Kabuto are bought and kept by Japanese people as a personal interior collection or a seasonal home decoration item displayed during the Boys' Festival/May 5 for expressing the hope that each boy in the family will grow up healthy and strong.

Kabuto in the West
The kabuto, with the German Stahlhelm, is the inspiration for the helmet of Darth Vader. Vader’s helmet, armour and robe is highly reminiscent of samurai armour. The helmet is taken directly from the menpō mask and kabuto helmet of a feudal samurai. Vader also wore an under-robe of black that resembled long, flared out pants, called hakama, a garment worn in feudal Japan. Warriors often wore wide-cut pants that grazed the floor, many times it has been erroneously said that these pants were used to hide the movements of their feet from the enemy but in all actuality they were the normal wear and not designed to hide the feet, or give the illusion of floating. In fact, the hakama was tucked up through the belt when a confrontation was imminent, just as the sleeves of the kimono were tied back with cord.

Global Warming

( Original Source : Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Photo Source : Google Images )

Energy Portal
Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in recent decades, and its projected continuation. Models referenced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that global temperatures are likely to increase by 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) between 1990 and 2100. The uncertainty in this range results from both the difficulty of predicting the volume of future greenhouse gas emissions and uncertainty about climate sensitivity and feedback effects.

Global average near-surface atmospheric temperature rose 0.6 ± 0.2 °Celsius (1.1 ± 0.4 °Fahrenheit) in the 20th century. The prevailing scientific opinion on climate change is that "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations", which leads to warming of the surface and lower atmosphere by increasing the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases are released by activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, and agriculture. Other phenomena such as solar variation have had smaller but non-negligible effects on global temperature trends since 1950.

An increase in global temperatures can in turn cause other changes, including a rising sea level and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation. These changes may increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, and tornados. Other consequences include higher or lower agricultural yields, glacier retreat, reduced summer streamflows, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors. Warming is expected to affect the number and magnitude of these events; however, it is difficult to connect particular events to global warming. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, even if no further greenhouse gases were released after this date, warming (and sea level) would be expected to continue to rise for more than a millenium, since CO2 has a long average atmospheric lifetime.

Remaining scientific uncertainties include the exact degree of climate change expected in the future, and especially how changes will vary from region to region across the globe. A hotly contested political and public debate has yet to be resolved, regarding whether anything should be done, and what could be cost-effectively done to reduce or reverse future warming, or to deal with the expected consequences. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at combatting global warming.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

( Original Source : The Wikipedia Encyclopedia & Google Images )

Hindi : कभी अलविदा न कहना, Urdu: کبھی الوداع نہ کہنا, English: Never Say Goodbye

Dev Saran (Shahrukh Khan), a formerly successful, now injured footballer, is unhappily married to Rhea (Preity Zinta), who has a high-flying job with a fashion mag. They have a son named Arjun. Maya (Rani Mukerji) is about to unhappily marry her childhood friend Rishi Talwar (Abhishek Bachchan). Samarjit a.k.a "Sexy Sam" (Amitabh Bachchan) is Rishi's dad, and Kamaljit (Kiron Kher) plays the peppy mom to Dev.

Dev happens to meet Maya before her wedding and despite being strangers, they connect instantly. It could be that the two are unhappy with their partners, it could be that Dev was only too happy to talk of his uncomfortable marriage or it could be that Maya just could not love Rishi and so, found Dev attractive. Whatever the case, the connection between the two remains a glowing spark that re-ignites when they meet four years later.

During those four years, Maya has married Rishi and Dev has met with an accident that leaves him crippled and ends his football career. So when Maya meets Dev the next time, he is bitter - his failed career and failing marriage are festering wounds to which his wife Rhea's professional success is salt. In the Talwar home, things are no better - Maya still does not feel any love for Rishi and feels guilty for her inability to have children.

Dev and Maya realise that their situations are similar and decide to help each other repair their breaking marriages. Things don't work quite as expected however, and they become more and more drawn to each other. At the same time, Rishi and Rhea are working to keep their marriages afloat and are willing to see hope in even the smallest, most innocuous signs from their partners. However, their efforts are insignificant in the face of Maya and Dev's intense unhappiness in their marriages and their growing love for each other.

Dev and Maya give in to a dreamy, coffee-drenched romance and realise they have fallen in love. However, when Dev is about to give flowers to Maya, he sees Rhea and gives them to her so she dosent see Maya. He saves one rose for Maya. She takes the rose home and Rishi sees it and Maya gives it to him. Rhea and Rishi now think that their partners really love them and are happy. But after an incident at the ballet that makes Dev intensely jealous, they realize they now feel like they are cheating on each other with their own spouses. This realization brings them to a dramatic point of no return. Shortly afterward, they are caught in an embrace outside the train station by Sam and Kamaljeet.

Sam, having lived the good life for a long, long time ultimately has to bear the punishment of all his excesses - he has a fatal heart attack and as he lies on his death bed, he gives Maya some unconventional advice: he tells her to leave his son Rishi since neither of them are happy in their marriage.

Things come to a head and Dev and Maya decide to leave each other and return to their partners. But this re-union will not be without honesty, so they come clean and confess their extra-marital affair. Rishi and Rhea decide that enough is enough and end their marriages - this doesn't mean that Maya and Dev come together however. They only speak to each other on the phone, and lie to each other, saying that all is well in their marriages.

Three years later, Rishi goes to meet Maya and invites her to his wedding. There Rhea sees Maya for the first time in three years and realises that she and Rishi weren't together as she thought. The news that Dev is still alone, combined with some prodding from Rishi and Rhea convinces Maya to run after Dev. Dev is about to catch a train to Canada when he sees Maya. He hides from her because he has told Maya earlier than he was happy with Rhea and he thinks that she is happily married to Rishi. However, Maya finds him in his seat a few seconds before his train leaves the station. He uses the emergency brakes to get out to meet her. Dev finds out that Maya has been living alone all of that time too and feels very bad. Then they finally get together.

Directed by : Karan Johar
Produced by : Dharma Productions
Written by : Karan Johar
Starring : Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan & Kirron Kher.
Music by : Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Cinematography : Anil Mehta
Editing by : Sanjay Sankla
Distributed by : Dharma Productions
Running time : 193 Min.
Language : Hindi
Budget : $ 11 million [Rs 50 Crore]

Road Test: Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster LP640

(Original Source : By Patrick Hong with photos by Bruce Benedict, Yahoo!Autos )

Unadulterated Fun. Test drive Lamborghini’s new $400,000 sports car. Lamborghini's new roadster goes zero to sixty in three seconds.

The Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster LP640 is bold, aggressive and powerful. But some practical-minded people may argue that there is hardly any sensible reason to own the $400,000 exotic that: 1) has only two seats, 2) is powered by a 632-bhp and 487-lb.-ft.-of-torque 6.2-liter V-12 engine, and 3) can rocket you from 0-60 mph in just 3.4 seconds, and to a top speed of 205 mph. Plus, where would you be able to experience the car's extreme performance limits in these days of traffic-laden highways?

Well, just throw out your thinking cap and trust what your heart and soul tell you. Driving the low-slung and wide LP640 Roadster is a heart-pounding experience. You may feel guilty about pressing the pedal to the metal for the sole purpose of getting a quick rush of adrenaline. But boy is it fun to hear the deep-throated growl as the engine revs past 5000 rpm — and feel the air rushing above the open top.

On the road, the LP640 Roadster is a movie star, with large numbers of passers-by pointing and looking at this Italian raging bull from Sant'Agata Bolognese. Some will stop and ask you about the car. Some will just give a thumbs-up or a slight nod of approval. But the best is to see the reactions of kids: eyes wide open and mouths agape.

Largely unchanged from last year's Murciélago LP640 Coupe styling, the Roadster offers a special bevel-cut window line that adds more sleekness to the exotic. Inside, the seats are snug and the instrument panel is canted toward the driver for better reach. The 6-speed paddle-shift transmission and the traction control take the worry out of trying to master all of the car's massive torque on acceleration at a stoplight.

Also helping to keep the powerful Lamborghini in check is the full-time all-wheel-drive system. Through a viscous clutch aided by electronic management, torque can be distributed up to a full 100 percent to the front or the rear when it is appropriate. At cruise, the drive force is split 30 percent front and 70 percent rear.

The LP640 Roadster retains much of the coupe's steel and carbon-fiber chassis, with added reinforcement in the engine compartment to ensure body stiffness with the open top. The suspension is of multilink type all-around, riding on front 245/35ZR-18 and rear 335/30ZR-18 tires. Our test car is fitted with the $6500 carbon-ceramic brake rotors acted on by 6-piston calipers. Full ABS stopping distances are quite exemplary: From 60-0 mph, 107 ft., and from 80-0 mph, 189 ft. Not bad for a car that tips the scale at 4160 lb.

The LP640 is a competent performer, but by no means is it the fastest or the best-handling car in the world. However, the Murciélago Roadster offers the unique styling flair and driving atmosphere that only the folks from Sant'Agata Bolognese can deliver. This makes the Lambo an irresistible ride for any car enthusiast.

Grape juice good for the heart

(Original Source : By Patricia Reaney, Wed Jan 31, 12:06 PM ET Yahoo!News)

Study shows grape juice is good for the hearth.

LONDON (Reuters) - Grape juice seems to have the same protective effect against heart disease as red wine, French scientists said on Wednesday. Researchers at the Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg were examining the effect on the heart of Concord grape juice.

"Grape juice can have a similar effect (against heart disease) as red wine but without the alcohol. That is a very important message," said Dr Valerie Schini-Kerth, lead author of the study published in the journal Cardiovascular Research.

Red wine and certain types of grape juice have high levels of polyphenols, which block the production of a protein linked to cardiovascular disease -- the number one killer in many Western countries.

Heart and vascular problems develop when endothelial cells that make up blood vessels do not work properly.Schini-Kerth and her team found that polyphenols in Concord grape juice activate endothelial cells to produce nitric oxide which helps to protect against cardiovascular disease and to maintain healthy blood vessels and blood pressure.

Polyphenols work the same way in red wine and in grape juice.
"But not every grape juice has the beneficial effect. It has to have a high level of polyphenols," Schini-Kerth said.

The amount of polyphenols in grape juice, as in red wine, depends on the type of grape used and how it is processed.

"We have information on more than 100 different kinds of wine and the amount of polyphenols. What we know is that the most protective ones have the highest levels of polyphenols. That is established," she said.

But Schini-Kerth, whose research was partly funded by Welch Foods Inc which is a leading producer of grape juice, said little information is available on the levels of polyphenols in grape juice.

The scientists were studying cells from pigs, which provide a good model for studying human cells.They were looking at healthy blood vessels and are planning a further study to see whether grape juice has a similar impact on blood vessels that show signs of cardiovascular disease.