The Life of Brian

One of the greatest parodies ever made in a zany style, with apologies and due respect to all Christians! On that famous midnight clear, three wise men enter a manger led by the Star of the East to find an infant called Brian...they are obviously in the wrong manger! Brian is played by Graham Chapman and he is destined to become the Messiah. He is always in the shadow of the `other guy' from Galilee. The scene of the Sermon on the Mount' is extremely hilarious. Brian becomes a witness to that sermon along with his mother but gets a place so far away that he cannot hear a word of what Jesus is saying. It is interpreted by people standing close by who are as dumb as him as they hear phrases like `Blessed are the Cheese Makers'! Ultimately, he is brought before Pontius Pilate and sentenced to crucifixion, which takes place at a crowded execution site a few blocks shy of Calvary. Instead of uttering the last six words, Brian has to hear an English cheer-up song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." The entire Monty Python troupe (Chapman, Jones, Cleese, Palin, Idle and Gilliam) are there, playing multiple roles - some of them being Loretta, Biggus Dickus, Deadly Dirk, Casts the First Stone and Intensely Dull Youth. “Life of Brian” is not only a tongue-in-cheek mockery of religion but a twist on the theist myths as seen through the eyes of Brian who wants to be a hero but finds out that it is all meaningless nonsense that earns him only bunch of imbecile followers who are seeking to earn a little retribution through his sacrifices.Brian is the unintended messiah, the man who fell in to his aspirtaions for fame while Jesus sought it out. “Life of Brian” has a lot to say about religion,martyrs and dictators and the futile living exercise where you are either a sheep or a shepherd. Monty Python's zany sense of comedy shows up when Brian is saved by alien ships from Star Wars' series. This film will also go down as a masterpiece from the Monty Python group. http://youtu.be/krb2OdQksMc

5 Essential Green Power Technologies for a Hazard Free Environment

The energy sources that are being used by dominant industries use fossil fuels and they have a negative impact on the environment. They also play a large part in global warming and climate change. The fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil and coal cause considerable harm when compared with sources of renewable energy to a large extent, polluting both air and water. Slowly but surely, they will damage public health and eradicate wildlife habitats with the hazardous greenhouse gas emissions. It is necessary to understand the impact on the environment and climate change associated with renewable energy sources and green power technologies like wind power, solar power, geothermal power, biomass energy and hydropower. The intensity of the impact on the environment will depend on a particular green power technology used along with several other factors. When we understand the environmental issues that are associated with each green power technology, we can begin to take necessary steps to minimize the impact on climate change and global warming. The five green power technologies that have the potential to make this positive impact are the wind turbines that float, concentrated solar power, geothermal power, biomass gasification and tidal hydropower. Wind Turbines Operation of the floating wind turbines on a commercial level holds the key to unlock the wind power potential in areas where wind force is steadier and stronger. As against the standard offshore wind turbines that need concrete base erections in the sea bed, the floating wind turbines can be anchored in the sea bed with the help of a few cables only at areas which are about seven hundred meters deep, much like the offshore platform technology of oil and gas installations. Researchers have discovered that there was a change in the climatic conditions around a wind farm in Texas as a result of the presence of the wind turbines. The first floating turbine has been built off the coast of Maine. Concentrated Solar Power This green power technology involves mirrors that are used to project sunlight on to a receiver which captures and transforms this solar energy into heat for the purpose of electricity generation. This type of technology is being used for the last three decades and more. During the past few years, this green power technology has emerged stronger with molten salt techniques and innovative solutions for thermal storage. Solar power provides considerable resources for the generation of sustainable electricity without the toxic pollution of the environment or the global warming emissions. Geothermal Power This green power technology has an answer to the requirements concerning protection of the environment and sustainable development. It harnesses the natural heat from the earth and it is a source that works without cessation. Geothermal energy is clean and its resources range from shallow ground to hot magma rock and hot water found miles under the surface of the earth. Geothermal heat pumps can tap the resources from the shallow ground to provide heat to the buildings or cool them when necessary. They work on a heat exchanger and an air delivery system of pipes that are buries in the shallow ground near the buildings. Wells are also drilled into the reservoirs underground for electricity generation. The direct use applications include heating of buildings, growth of plants in greenhouses and various other industrial processes. Biomass Gasification This green power technology converts biomass to combustible gas and uses it for the generation of power. This technology has emerged as a vehicle for conversion of available biomass waste into clean energy. A biomass gasification plant uses a gas conversion system to convert solid biomass into combustible gas which is clean. This is done with the help of processes which are thermo-chemical and they involve drying, gasification and pyrolysis stages. Bioenergy possesses the potential to replace fossil fuels and, thereby, reduce the impact on climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide during biomass gasification. Tidal Hydropower Flowing water has the power to create energy which can be captured and transformed into electricity. This process is known as hydropower. A common example of hydropower is one that uses a river dam to store water in reservoirs. Water which is released from these reservoirs through a turbine activates a generator for the production of electricity. A whole range of devices that include offshore floats, pitching devices and buoys and oscillating water columns along with underwater turbines have been developed recently to generate electricity from tides and waves of the ocean, giving rise to the tidal hydropower segment of the green power technology. These underwater turbines carry the potential of tidal hydropower generation. Tidal power cannot get depleted like the fossil fuels can. The tidal forces are due to the gravitational interaction of the earth with both the moon and the sun and tidal power will last as long as these two celestial bodies exist. Why are the Green Power Technologies essential? For the next few decades, it will be the wave of the green power technologies as they will be the perfect choice for renewable energy. They will be essential as they provide clean energy. The equipment they use will not be resource-consuming to generate power and there will be no danger of any hazard to our environment.

A Great Presentation by BBC on Eroica

http://youtu.be/mFA_tT8_v-Q Ferdinand Ries, Beethoven's pupil and friend recorded his memoirs of Beethoven and explained one of the myths of the cultural history of the nineteenth century - 1804 - Beethoven's ripping off the dedication page of his Eroica Symphony and stripping Bonaparte's importance after learning that Napoleon had declared himself Emperor of France. Ries mentions that Beethoven had Napoleon Bonaparte as his ideal when composing Eroica. Napoleon was then the First Consul. Beethoven held him in high regard and compared him to the greatest consuls of Rome. On hearing that Napoleon acted like a common dictator, Beethoven flew into a rage and got disappointed that Bonaparte was after all a common mortal. He knew that he will tread the needs of the common man under his feet. Anton Schindler also mentions this incident in his biographical account of Ludwig van Beethoven. Ries remained as an unpaid secretary and an assistant to Beethoven during the last years of the composer. The dedication of the symphony finally went in favour of Count Lichnowsky.

The Legends of the Fall

This 1994 film is a masterpiece by Edward Zwick. Its romanticism against the magnificent hilly backdrop of Montana skies is like a master brush work on the cinematic canvas and truly deserves the cinematography Oscar it got. The entire cast delivers capable performances beginning with Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Aidan Quinn and Julia Ormond. James Horner has surpassed himself in this engrossing drama and has composed a magnificent score. Hopkins has delivered an austere and a melancholy portrayal of his character. As per the ancient fables of Native American Indians, there is a story which is hidden within our hearts; the story of our lives guided by inner voices that some of us hear with greater clarity than the others. Some people live by what they can hear and such people become a little crazy. They also become legends. The story revolves around Colonel William Ludlow (Hopkins and his three sons, his favourite being Tristan (Pitt). Colonel raises his children to escape the imperfections of a society which is ruled by a government he respects no longer. Henry Thomas has also played his part capably as the third son Samuel. This is a tragic tale of the life they all shared and the wounds they suffered, many of which never healed. This is an emotionally engrossing film and the visuals are absolutely stunning. Bronze Wrangler deserves the Oscar. The musical score, once again, is a gem. This film will go down as a Classic! I saw it first on a British Airways flight bound to London from Bombay. http://youtu.be/Rtxdl36WnC8

Advanced Apprentice Programme of Mercedes Benz

Mercedes Benz has taken a decision to set up an Apprenticeship Scheme based on the dual education system practiced in Germany. Many companies are now following the model set up in Germany and encouraged by the German government to set up apprenticeship schemes. This scheme lays stress on the blend of classroom theory and training with the hands-on technical experience of the actual workshop. About sixty per cent of the students who complete the high school level of education go on to take apprenticeships. The apprentices can opt for training and select a career as perhaps Parts/Accessories Specialists or Technicians. The student apprentices in the United Kingdom will get a chance to be trained at the new Mercedes Benz National Apprentice Academy in Milton Keynes. Mercedes Benz has provided dormitory facilities with single individual rooms. A practical training course can get the apprentices an NCQ Certificate (Native Command Queuing) which is designed to improve performance in technological studies. The apprentices will get to train on cars and diagnostic procedures with the latest technology. They will be paid a stipend while on training and this is one of the best apprenticeship schemes in the United Kingdom. The economic crisis has motivated a restructuring of the alignment between manufacture and servicing in several countries such as the United Kingdom. Mercedes Benz is extending the apprenticeship scheme even to the United States of America. It has a plant near Tuscaloosa in Alabama. It has actually started building cars there almost fifteen years ago. During this period, the sales in the United States and the evolution in technology became a challenge for Mercedes Benz with the complexities involved and it faced bigger problems in terms of the supply of skilled labour. Yet, Mercedes Benz is now trying to take the sharp aspects of the German dual education system and make it even better in the United States. It is going to start with a class of sixty apprentices or `mecatronic’ trainees, as they are called, beginning this fall. Many apprentices have enrolled in a three year program also at the Mercedes Benz plant at the outskirts of Stuttgart. These apprentices are getting trained in `mecatronics’ which is a mix of electronic and mechanical engineering. The training will set them up for a full time career for life should they opt to stay on with Mercedes Benz and in majority of the cases, they do get themselves confirmed as technicians. This, in turn, solves Mercedes Benz’s problem of looking around for skilled labour which does not come without extra cost. Each year, Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes Benz, hires around two thousand apprentices and that is safely about one third of the car sector’s annual intake in Germany. The Mercedes Benz Apprentice Training program has been a priority with the car maker since the past one hundred and twenty years. When the demand for skilled workers had increased sharply in 1888, Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler created something that was unique and revolutionary. They decided to train and mould their young recruits and turn them into full-fledged technicians. Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft started the apprenticeship program and trained individual apprentices.

5 Most Dangerous Cars as Rated by IIHS

There are some cars that are good in surviving car crashes and protecting the passengers far better than others. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has done some crash tests on cars to determine the best and the worst. This Institute has always remained dedicated in promoting the reduction of the impact of crashes on the roads in the United States of America. The Institute set up ratings in four categories. The first category was the frontal crash where the cars move at forty miles per hour and collide head-on with a barrier. The second category was the side impact crash in which an SUV-like demo object hits the driver’s side at thirty one miles per hour. The third category was the rollover rating. Here, the corner of the car is hit by a metal plate to check the force it can endure before it rolls over. The fourth category was the rear impact protection rating to emphasize the safety of the seats and the ability of the seatbelts to protect from a whiplash. Five cars that received indifferent ratings and were deemed dangerous were: 1. Dodge Ram 1500 – It received marginal ratings in side impact and rollover categories. It weighs half a ton. It does not have an impressive safety track record. 2. Chevrolet Colorado Crew Cab – It received a poor rating for side impact and marginal for rollover and rear impact categories. It is a light truck made by General Motors. Last year in November, there was a recall of over five thousand Colorado units for seat belt safety concern. 3. Mazda CX 7 – It received a marginal rating for rollover and rear impact categories. It has not been considered as a safe car to drive. 4. Mazda CX 9 – It has also received marginal ratings in rollover and rear impact categories. It has the lowest strength-to-weight ratio among all the mid-sized SUVS tested by the IIHS. This ratio tells us about the force impact a roof can endure before it crushes five inches. 5. Nissan Pathfinder – It received marginal ratings in rollover and rear impact categories. The Pathfinder is liable to be thirty per cent more risky at the time of rollover as reported during the tests.

Prince of the Romantics

I have finally read the biography of Frederic Chopin written by Adam Zamoyski. This was initially published in 1979 but was not available in English transcriptions for all these years. In his short life of thirty nine years, Chopin elicited very strong emotions. Very few composers have been cherished like him. Plenty of mushy nonsense has also been written about him. This biography was intended to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Chopin. This compelling account manages to cut through the myths that have sprung around Chopin's life and the enigmatic Parisian personalities who were his contemporaries. This group included Berlioz, Victor Hugo, Franz Liszt and George Sand. Zamoyski has captured the social and historical background of Chopin's native Poland and of Paris where he spent most of his days. You will come across many archives of Krakow, Paris and Warsaw in Zamoyski's pursuit of knowledge. This has resulted in a biographical account of complete authority about a man of sensitive intelligence. He was a genius when it came to musical innovation. Heinrich Heine has labelled Chopin as `a man made for intimacy'. An interesting anecdote in this account is of George Sand. She wrote, "A great piece of news is that Little Chip-Chip is going to give a great concert; He does not want any posters and any programmes; he does not want anyone to talk about it. He is afraid of so many things that I have suggested he go ahead and play without candles and without an audience on a muted piano." This was written in 1841 by a cigar smoking Sand. Chopin was a child prodigy and was an inspired improviser. The extraordinary musicality of Chopin is something that the world needs a constant reminder of. Performance of his music has become a routine now but that cannot blind the world to the revolutionary and its unique qualities. Many of the new piano prodigies can rattle off his etudes with ease and it is in times like these that we need to understand the man behind the music, as brought out poetically by Adam Zamoyski.