FUN HIKE...: July 2008

Nine elevators dot the lobby floor: Two are designated for parking areas, three for guest quarters, two for the Ambani family residences and two for service. The lobby opens to numerous lounges, reception areas and powder rooms. Dual stairways lead from the lobby floor down to the ballroom, which is designed in an open layout with a two-story roof.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Independent India's Biggest Building in Infosys Mysore

Independent India’s biggest structure that surpasses Rashtrapati Bhavan in size and equals it in grandeur is coming up on the Infosys campus in Mysore. It will be unveiled in December 2008.

With a floor area of more than 9.6 lakh square feet, the new structure, designed by architect Hafiz Contractor, will house the second unit of the Global Education Centre (GEC) where all Infosys employees will undergo training before taking up their placements.

For comparison, the floor area of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is 2 lakh square feet as per the official website of the President. The GEC has been designed entirely on classical style of architecture with similarities to the Colosseum of Rome, while the pillars are reflective of the Parliament House. A large dome emerges from the centre of the structure and overlooks the entire campus and the structure reflects various ancient Greek and Roman architectural style all of which will cost around Rs. 350 crore.

“When completed, Infosys would have invested over Rs. 1,650 crore for education and training alone which is reckoned to be the largest investment ever on education at one place anywhere in India,” according to T.V. Mohandas Pai, director, HR, Education, Research and Administration, and member of the Infosys Board.

“We are lagging behind by one year as there were not enough skilled workers and trained labour to take up the construction of the complicated design,” said Mr. Mohandas Pai. He pointed out that they were keen to have the architectural styles of ancient Indian universities of Nalanda and Taxila too but none of them have survived.

“We have incorporated diverse architectural styles in the Mysore campus to reflect the diversity of India,” said Mr. Pai who described the new structure as the grandest and one of the biggest buildings constructed for the cream of Indian youth who will come here for study and training and make them feel proud. When fully completed the Mysore campus of Infosys will have many more “firsts” to its credit. They include the single largest residential unit anywhere in the world surpassing The Venetian at Macau as it will have more than 13,500 residential rooms, fully air-conditioned and Wi-Fi enabled and 13,500 students can be trained in one sitting. Four batches are trained for 16 weeks each and hence, nearly 50,000 students and professionals will be trained every year, according to Mr. Pai.

The “guided tour” of the new facility included a visit to one of what is arguably the country’s biggest automated laundry. This has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 6 crore, and is technology-intensive with 175 individual washing machines.

Also on the anvil is the world’s second largest synthetic tent structure which will function as a food court and will accommodate 2,000 people at a time for dining.

The Global Education Centre facility taking shape in Mysore is reckoned to be the largest of its kind in the world and the first phase was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in February 2005. Spread over 335 acres of land, the structure occupies only about 30 per cent of the area.

The GEC imparts centralised residential foundation programme for Infosys employees, including generic and stream-specific training in various technology areas, apart from soft skills and leadership programmes to fresh engineering graduates who have joined Infosys.

Divorce Cakes

Interesting idioms and one liners

Advertisement In A Long Island Shop:
Guitar, for sale....... cheap....... ....no strings attached.

Ad.. In Hospital Waiting Room:
Smoking Helps You Lose Weight ... One Lung At A Time!

Seen on a bulletin board:
Success Is Relative. More The Success, More The Relatives.

When I Read About The Evils Of Drinking...I Gave Up Reading .

My Grandfather Is Eighty And Still Doesn't Need Glasses...
He Drinks Straight Out Of The Bottle.

You Know Your kids Have Grown Up When:
Your Daughter Begins To Put On Lipstick..
Or Your Son Starts To Wipe It Off.

Sign In A Bar:
"Those Of You Who Are Drinking To Forget, Please Pay In Advance."

Sign In Driving School:

If Your Wife Wants To Learn To Drive, Don't Stand In Her Way.

Behind Every Great Man, There Is A Surprised Woman.

The Reason Men Lie Is Because Women Ask So Many Questions.

Getting Caught Is The Mother Of Invention.

Laugh And The World Laughs With You, Snore And You sleep Alone.

The Surest Sign That Intelligent Life Exists Elsewhere In The Universe
Is The Fact That It Has Never Tried To Contact Us.

Sign At A Barber's Saloon In Detroit :
We Need Your Heads To Run Our Business.

A Traffic Slogan:
Don't Let Your Kids Drive If They are Not Old Enough
Or Else They Will Never Be.

Sign In A Restaurant:
All Drinking Water In This Establishment Has Been Personally Passed By The Manager.

Sign On A Famous Beauty Parlor Window:
Don't Whistle At The Girls Going Out From Here.
She May Be Your Grandmother !

Monday, July 28, 2008

The Dark Knight - Review by Peter Sciretta

I have been given the go ahead to review The Dark Knight, but this is the type of film that I need to see at least two or three
times before attempting such a task. The film is so very expansive, so incredibly epic. I decided that instead of a full review, I
will just share my first impressions. But lets first talk expectations. Going into 2008, I was looking forward to only a few
films, The Dark Knight being one of them. As you probably already know, WALL-E was at the top of my list, and Pixar’s latest
didn’t disappoint. I was very sure that WALL-E would end up being my favorite film of the year, and it is… errr WAS. That is until
I saw The Dark Knight. I screened the film on Saturday night in Los Angeles, and now that I’ve had a few days to think about the
film, I thought I would share my ten spoiler-free reasons why I believe that The Dark Knight is a masterpiece - an almost flawless
comic book movie adaptation.

1. The Movie is Epic - The Dark Knight is not just a superhero movie. It is the first comic book adaptation to transcend the
genre. Imagine one of the greatest crime thrillers of all time which just happens to have a guy who dresses in a bat costume and
fights crime. Think Godfather 2 or Heat, with a insane terrorist who paints his face like a clown and goes around killing random
people. It’s expansive in feel and tone. It’s the type of film which you make a point to refer to as a “film” instead of a
“movie”.

2. Bigger, Better, Longer - I’ll admit that I wasn’t completely blown away by Batman Begins. Sure, it was the best Batman film to
date, incorporating darker themes and a sense of realism that the franchise had never seen before. But Batman Begins is also not
without its problems. I think even hardcore fans would agree that the film suffers from third act problems. The Dark Knight is
bigger and better in every single way. The film is 152 minutes (two hours and thirty two minutes) long, and every second is
gripping. Does it feel long? Yeah. But at the same time I wouldn’t have removed a thing. Every single second is necessary to tell
this story. Nolan even keeps some plot developments off screen which resonate in various scenes throughout the film.

3. Heath Ledger - Some friends have expressed concern that the death of Heath Ledger will taint their Dark Knight viewing
experience. It doesn’t, and here is why - Heath is amazing. From the first second he steps on screen you will forget that their is
an actor behind the make-up. Heath doesn’t play The Joker, he IS the Joker. You will believe that a psychopath wearing clown
makeup is terrorizing a whole city. The performance is Oscar worthy. What Anthony Hopkins did for Hannibal Lector, Ledger does for
The Joker.

4. Two-Face - At the core this movie is not about Batman, or even The Joker, but instead about Harvey Dent, and his transformation
into Two-face. In a way the story is almost a Shakespearean tragedy of a man who goes bad. The screenwriters play against the
established conventions of Two-face’s origin story to give you something new, refreshing, and ultimately more authentic than the
story presented in the comic books. You will believe that a hero becomes the villain. And you might also be shocked at how long
the two-face character appears on screen. It’s not just a tease - you will get everything! His computer generated make-up is so
gruesome and realistic looking, that I’m shocked the film was able to get a PG-13 rating.

5. The Empire Strikes Back - The Dark Knight is The Empire Strikes Back of comic book movies. It is dark, bleak, and realistic.
Kids looking for a fun superhero movie need to look elsewhere. This is a multi-layered, authentic crime tale. There is more than
one casualty, and it doesn’t exactly end on a high note. Fans will eat the ending up. After sitting in the theater for two and a
half hours, it will leave you wanting more.

6. IMAX - If you don’t see this movie in IMAX than you haven’t seen the movie. A few of the action sequences and many of the
establishing shots throughout the film were shot using IMAX cameras. The result is breathtaking. There is a sequence where Batman
leaps off the top of a building (you’ve probably seen it in the trailers) and the camera pushes in. It’s so vivid and high
resolution that it almost felt like it was part of one of those motion controlled theme park rides. Going into the screening, I
thought the IMAX thing was probably more gimmick than anything else. Previous IMAX presentations involved up-converting the 35mm
film image to fit on the IMAX screen. The footage shot with the IMAX camera is amazing. Even if you’ve seen a traditional IMAX
movie in the past, you will be blown away by seeing a Hollywood action film on the big big screen. It makes you wonder why more
Hollywood productions haven’t begun incorporating the IMAX camera. I wouldn’t be surprised if the inevitable third Batman movie
wasn’t shot completely shot on IMAX cameras.

7. Gotham City - The extensive on location filming in Chicago adds to the authenticity of Gotham City. There is never a moment
that you feel like you’re watching a bunch of actors on a Hollywood soundstage.

8. Characters - Every character that appears on screen has a history. Even when Nolan doesn’t show us this back-story - we see it.
Even a corrupt cop that has two lines of dialogue has an extensive past, at least I’m convinced they do. The world is so full of
rich three dimensional characters, some of which only appear on screen for brief moments. And some of the characters do have
back stories which were provided in the extensive viral marketing campaigns. If you participated in the alternative reality game
online, than you will get more out of the film as a whole.

9. The Bat-Pod - You will love how the Bat Pod is introduced in the film.

10. Nontraditional - The screenplay is both multi-layered and nontraditional. I was caught completely off guard at the many
wonderful choices that Nolan and Goyer made in the script. You will wonder how they got Warner Bros to sign off on the screenplay,
and I mean this in a good way. Characters that you expect to die might survive, and characters you expect to live will meet their
ultimate demise. Even Two-Face’s origin is not exactly as you expect. That said, I advise you to stay as far away from spoilers as
you can, because this is a film you want to experience for yourself in a packed IMAX theater on opening night.

To me, The Dark Knight is an almost flawless cinematic experience. Is The Dark Knight one of the best films of all time? No. Where
does it fit in my top 100? I’ll have to digest it a couple more times before my mind finds a suitable placement. Rewatchability is
an important factor to me. While I do think this film will hold up to multiple viewings, I’m not sure that the expansive IMAX
sequences (which are part of the reason why I loved this film) will translate in a home movie viewing environment.

I do believe that The Dark Knight is the best comic book adaptation to date. For me it takes over the spot held by Spider-Man 2.
For others it might replace Superman: The Movie, X-Men 2 or The Incredibles. And who knows, some people might be disappointed.
Those expecting a fun movie filled with hope might come out sadly disappointed. I’m also not sure this film will play for younger
audiences. And I’m not even going to pretend to know what women might think of it. I can only tell you my thoughts. I can’t wait
for you guys to see the film so that we can have a discussion.

-Peter Sciretta

IAS Interview Questions : supposedly

Q.How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
A.Concrete floors are very hard to crack! (UPSC Topper)

Q.If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall,how long would it take
four men to build it?
A. No time at all it is already built. (UPSC 23 Rank Opted for IFS

Q.If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and
three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?
A. Very large hands.(Good one) (UPSC 11 Rank Opted for IPS)

Q. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
A. It is not a problem, since you will never find an elephant with one
hand. (UPSC Rank 14 Opted for IES)

Q. How can a man go eight days without sleep?
A. No Probs , He sleeps at night. (UPSC IAS Rank 98)

Q. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?
A. It will Wet or Sink as simple as that. (UPSC IAS Rank 2)

Q. What looks like half apple ?
A : The other half. (UPSC - IAS Topper )

Q. What can you never eat for breakfast ?
A : Dinner.

Q. What happened when wheel was invented ?
A : It caused a revolution.(best one)

Q. Bay of Bengal is in which state?
A : Liquid (UPSC 33Rank )

The Joker - Heath Ledger

When a young, hunky 20 year old heart-throb Heath Ledger first came to the attention of the public in 1999, it was all too easy to tag him as a "pretty boy" and an actor of not much depth. He has spent the past five years trying desperately to sway this image away, but this has indeed been a double-edged sword. But that comes much later in his story.

Heath Ledger was born on the fourth of April 1979, in Perth, Western Australia. As the story goes, in junior high it was compulsory to do one of two electives, either cooking or drama, and as Heath could honestly not see himself in a cooking class, he tried his hand at drama.

Heath was talented, there was no denying that. However, the rest of the class did not acknowledge his talent, possibly out of jealousy. When he was 17, he and a friend, decided to pack up, leave school, take a car and rough it to Sydney. Heath believed Sydney to be the place where dreams are made, or at least, where actors can possibly get their big break. However, upon arriving in Sydney with a purported 69 cents to his name, Heath tried everything to get a break.

His first real acting job came in a low budget movie called Blackrock (1997), a largely unimpressive cliché; a teen angst film about one boy's struggle when he learns his best mate raped a girl. He did not have a large part in this movie. In fact, it was a very small one. The only thing of notice in his role is you get to see him get his lights punched out. After that small role, Heath auditioned for a role in a TV show called "Sweat" (1996) about a group of young Olympic hopefuls. He got offered one of two roles, one as a swimmer, another as a gay cyclist. Heath accepted the latter because he felt to really stand out as an actor one had to accept unique roles that stood out from the bunch. It got him small notice, but unfortunately the show was quickly axed, which led him to look for other roles. He was in "Home and Away" (1988) for a very short period, in which he played a surfer who falls in love with one of the girls of Summer Bay. Then came his very brief role in Paws (1997). Paws was a film which existed solely to cash in on guitar prodigy Nathan Cavaleri's brief moment of fame, where he was the hottest thing in Australia. Heath played a student in the film, involved in a stage production of a Shakespeare play, in which he played "Oberon". A very brief role, this did nothing other than give him a small paycheck, but nothing to advance his career. Then came Two Hands (1999). He went to America trying to audition for film roles, showcasing his brief role in "Roar" (1997) opposite then unknown Vera Farmiga. He could not find any American roles but then Australian director Gregor Jordan auditioned him for the lead in Two Hands (1999), which he got. An in your face Aussie crime thriller, Two Hands (1999) was outstanding and helped him secure a role in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). After that, it seemed Heath was being typecast as a teen hunk, which he did not like, so he accepted a role in a very serious war drama The Patriot (2000).

What followed was a stark inconsistency of roles, Ledger accepting virtually every single character role, anything to avoid being typecast. Some met with praise, like his short role in Monster's Ball (2001), but his version of Ned Kelly (2003) was an absolute flop, which led distributors hesitant to even release it outside Australia. Heath finally had deserved success with his role in Brokeback Mountain (2005), for which he was nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA.

It was a night when Heath Ledger should have been celebrating, for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" (the second installment in the Christopher Nolan-Christian Bale "Batman" series) is already generating Oscar buzz. But of course the talented young Australian actor is gone, passing away in January from an accidental overdose of prescription medications. Ledger was found dead on January 22, 2008 in his apartment in the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo, with a bottle of prescription sleeping pills nearby. It was concluded weeks later that he died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs that included painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication. So at the gala premiere of "The Dark Night" Monday evening in New York, all thoughts were focused on his loss.

Ledger's family attended, in from the actor's hometown of Perth, Australia. His parents Kim Ledger and Sally Bell, and his sister Kate avoided reporters and photographers, but his father reportedly gave the "thumbs up" sign as they left the theater.

"There are actors that they just break through the sound barrier," Gary Oldman commented. "I would arguably say that Heath was possibly psychologically one of the most frightening screen villains ever. I think he's up there with Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth in 'Blue Velvet' and that's pretty scary. You have the original 'Cape Fear,' that's a villain, or Hannibal Lector. Heath's Joker is like those."

Ultimate performance by Heath in 'The Dark Knights'. Truly an "Oscar" performance… One must see the film.

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Before And After Salary

The Ostrich

A small Management Lesson! : Understand before start working

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

customer care in 2020

MUKESH AMBANI'S HOME

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