Don LaFontaine, voice of movie trailers, dies

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Don LaFontaine, the man who popularized the catch phrase "In a world where..." and lent his voice to thousands of movie trailers, has died. He was 68. LaFontaine died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from complications in the treatment of an ongoing illness, said Vanessa Gilbert, his agent.
LaFontaine made more than 5,000 trailers in his 33-year career while working for the top studios and television networks.

In a rare on-screen appearance in 2006, he parodied himself on a series of national television commercials for a car insurance company where he played himself telling a customer, "In a world where both of our cars were totally under water..."

In an interview last year, LaFontaine explained the strategy behind the phrase.
"We have to very rapidly establish the world we are transporting them to," he said of his viewers. "That's very easily done by saying, `In a world where ... violence rules.' `In a world where ... men are slaves and women are the conquerors.' You very rapidly set the scene."

LaFontaine insisted he never cared that no one knew his name or his face, though everyone knew his voice.

LaFontaine went on to work in the promo industry in the early 1960s. As an audio engineer, he produced radio spots for movies with producer Floyd Peterson. When an announcer didn't show up for a recording session in 1965, LaFontaine voiced his first narration, a promo for the film, "Gunfighters of Casa Grande." The client, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, liked his performance.

LaFontaine remained active until recently, averaging seven to 10 voiceover sessions a day. He worked from a home studio his wife nicknamed "The Hole," where his fax machine delivered scripts.

LaFontaine is survived by his wife, the singer and actress Nita Whitaker, and three daughters.
His funeral arrangements were pending.

Source: Google News

Smoking riskier to women's hearts than men's

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer

Women typically get heart disease much later than men, but not if they smoke, researchers said Tuesday. In fact, women who smoke have heart attacks nearly 14 years earlier than women who don't smoke, Norwegian doctors reported in a study presented to the European Society of Cardiology.

For men, the gap is not so dramatic; male smokers have heart attacks about six years earlier than men who don't smoke.
"This is not a minor difference," said Dr. Silvia Priori, a cardiologist at the Scientific Institute in Pavia, Italy. "Women need to realize they are losing much more than men when they smoke," she said. Priori was not connected to the research.

Dr. Morten Grundtvig and colleagues from the Innlandet Hospital Trust in Lillehammer, Norway, based their study on data from 1,784 patients admitted for a first heart attack at a hospital in Lillehammer.

Their study found that the men on average had their first heart attack at age 72 if they didn't smoke, and at 64 if they did. Women in the study had their first heart attack at age 81 if they didn't smoke, and at age 66 if they did.

After adjusting for other heart risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes, researchers found that the difference for women was about 14 years and for men, about six years.

Previous studies looking at a possible gender difference have been inconclusive.
Doctors have long suspected that female hormones protect women against heart disease. Estrogen is thought to raise the levels of good cholesterol as well as enabling blood vessel walls to relax more easily, thus lowering the chances of a blockage.

Grundtvig said that smoking might make women go through menopause earlier, leaving them less protected against a heart attack. With rising rates of smoking in women — compared with falling rates in men — Grundtvig said that doctors expect to see increased heart disease in women.

"Smoking might erase the natural advantage that women have," said Dr. Robert Harrington, a professor of medicine at Duke University and spokesman for the American College of Cardiology. Doctors aren't yet sure if other cardiac risk factors like cholesterol and obesity also affect women differently.

"The difference in how smoking affects women and men is profound," Harrington said. "Unless women don't smoke or quit, they risk ending up with the same terrible diseases as men, only at a much earlier age."
Source: Yahoo News

Raj's Diktat Metamorphoses in Bandra

Behold the Raj Syndrome Hit Bandra!!!!


Before

After

This is what I saw en route a small detour that I had of Bandra yesterday. No matter what the High Court says and what the State Government Guarantee's, the retailers, shop owners and multinational bigwigs are not taking any chances with MNS. That speaks volume of the power wielded by the stick and coercion.

On my way to the popular eating joint Stomach, I happened to see something which was markedly differently to what I was normally used to. The Vodafone Store which was previously known as Hutch, and known as Orange before that had now taken a new 'Avatar'. Vodafone had gone in for a major alteration to its look.

As soon as you cross the signal at Lucky and head towards Globus, you will now be greeted with Vodafone, written in Marathi, almost unrecognizable from its more renowned brand name, which defined its style and overall look and presentation. The difference was so glaring that it didn’t hit me as the same store where I had been to so often in the recent past for various reasons, which I'll withhold for some other day.

It didn’t take me much time to figure out the reason for such a, seemingly unwarranted redo. It was the clearly the result of the diktat, order, request or demand; whatever you may call it from the MNS supremo Raj Thackeray, who had asked all the shop owners and retail outlets to use the Marathi language for their hoarding, signboard or any other signage that they use. He had also made sure to let everybody know that those who erred to heed his advice were in store for some serious backlashes and repercussions.

Although, some looked at the stance taken by the MNS as just a publicity gimmick nothing short of showboating, and considered the suggestion rhetorical were in for a rude shock. Soon shops started to be pelted with stones, with staff and employees attacked, while threats of dire consequences began to do the rounds.

This move by the Vodafone seems strange when you consider that the High Court had come out strongly against the actions of MNS and the asked the State to protect the safety and freedom of the shop owners. This was in response to the petition filed by the lobby of the retail shop owners. Even Raj had decided to stay quite after the order. Obviously the order was too little too late for some of the bigwigs in Bandra.

My only hope is that this episode won't set a precedent that others will like to emulate, not least the MNS itself who would gain heart from the results that it was able to garner through this agitation and try to replicate it in some form or the other, only bigger and more ambitious, and effectively hold the public of Mumbai to ransom.

Some of the Other's who Fell in Line include.

Mystery Chinese iPhone worker becomes Internet star

Mystery Chinese iPhone worker becomes Internet star

Thu Aug 28, 2008 1:40am EDT
CANBERRA, (Reuters) - A Chinese factory worker has become an Internet sensation after a picture of her smiling and flashing a peace sign to a co-worker testing an Apple iPhone stayed on the phone that was sold to a man in Britain.
Photos of the unidentified, smiling woman were posted on the Apple discussion website MacRumours.com by a customer identified as "markm49uk" from Kingston-upon-Hull and quickly posted around other sites.
"Not sure if this is or is not the 'norm' but I just received my brand new iPhone here in the UK and once it had been activated on iTunes I found that the home screen (the screen you can personalize with a photo) already had a photo set against it!!!!" he wrote.
"It would appear that someone on the production line was having a bit of fun - has anyone else found this?"
Some people voiced concern that the woman could now lose her job while others joked on the website that they were considering returning their phones because they did not come loaded with a photo.
"I think its a kind of personal touch. It's nice. Maybe every phone that gets a full quality test should have its tester's picture taken and left on there. And the working conditions look pretty good," wrote one.
Taiwanese company Foxconn assembles the iPhones for Apple in Shenzhen in southern China but calls to the company by Reuters went unanswered.
However Foxconn spokesman Liu Kun told the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong that the woman had been identified but her details would not be released. She had also been assured by her bosses that her job was safe.
Liu said the photos were taken in the testing department as part of a normal procedure and only one phone was known to be affected so far.
(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Miral Fahmy)

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav: Free India's First Individual Olympic Medal Winner

Full Name: Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav

Born: January 15, 1926(1926-01-15)

Died: August 14, 1984 (aged 58)

Residence: Satara,Maharashtra,India

Occupation: Wrestler

Claim to Fame: Men's wrestling Bronze at 1952 Helsinki (Bantamweight)

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav (January 15, 1926 – August 14, 1984), or KD Jadhav, widely known as 'Pocket Dynamo', was independent India's first individual Olympic medalist when he won the wrestling bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games. Since 1900 when Norman Pritchard won two silver medals in athletics, India had won gold medals only in field hockey, a team sport. For nearly half a century, his would remain the only individual medal for India at the Olympics until Leander Paes won a bronze in 1996.

Hailing from a wrestling background, Jadhav was an ardent fan of sports, mainly wrestling, kabaddi, running, swimming and others. His father, a wrestler himself taught Jadhav about the sport and despite being the youngest in the family managed to grasp the game and outclassed everyone. Gradually he began emerging as undisputed wrestler in the area and soon was competing in national events.

Jadhav was fleet footed, which made him different from other wrestlers of his time. English coach Rees Gardner saw this trait in him and trained him prior to 1948 Olympic games.
In the 1948 London Olympics, he participated in the flyweight category finishing sixth. Four years later, before the selection for Helsinki Olympics, Jadhav alleged that nepotism among officials prevented him from getting selected for the Olympics.

According to him, they intentionally gave him one point less that the eventual winner at the Madras Nationals, and this ruled him out of the Olympics. He did not bow down to corrupt officialdom and appealed to Maharaja of Patiala seeking justice. Fortunately the Maharaja of Patiala loved sports, saw his point, and arranged his entry in Olympic trials where he floored his opponent and won an entry in the Olympics.

Now Jadhav faced his next set of problems. He had to arrange for money for his travel to Helsinki. Even the principal of Kolhapur's Rajaram college, Mr. Khardekar, mortgaged his house for a sum of Rs. 7,000 to pay for his travelling cost. Local shopkeepers from his village Goleshwar, in Karad district presented him with groceries and other items of use.
At Helsinki, Jadhav had to fight seven bouts in all in the 52 kg freestyle event.

In the first five, he met opponents from Europe and the Gulf countries and took barely five minutes to dispose them off. In the sixth round, his opponent was the famed Shonachi Ishi of Japan. Ishi's novelty of the ankle hold surprised Jadhav, but when he counterattacked, Ishi attempted rolling fouls which were penalised giving Jadhav a win.

Unfortunately his next bout was soon after this sapping bout. This was officially not permissible, but since there was no Indian official to lodge an official protest, he had to face this bout within less than half an hour of this bout with Ishi.

The tired Jadhav took on his next opponent, Manod Bekov of Russia. It is believed that had Jadhav not been tired from his previous bout, he would have defeated Bekov in no time, but tired as he was, he was beaten by Bekov and had to settle for a bronze.

Despite his loss, his was a unique achievement in India. Yet like most talented individuals in developing countries, he was largely forgotten. A principal reason for his oblivion was that in India cricket dominates and all other sports invariably take a backseat.

There was no fanfare from his return to Helsinki. No newspaper interviews, no television. Televison in fact was not born in India then! There was however a small felicitation for him at Mumbai's Shivaji Mandir auditorium in Dadar. Interestingly there was also a cavalcade of 101 bullock carts from Karad to his village.

After this glorious moment he slid into oblivion and despite serving in the state police was living in poverty until he died - almost certainly a broken man - in 1984 in a road accident.
A tribute to his sterling feat is that it remained unmatched for 56 long years. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Sushil Kumar ultimately won bronze in wrestling equaling - not beating - Jadhav's feat!

Source: Wiki

Airoli

Airoli is an up-and-coming suburban node or part of the City of Navi Mumbai. It's definitely a developing part of the city and is already among the most popular and largest part of this satellite City.

Chances are that many of the Town folks or even those hailing from the Western suburbs may not have been here much and know about this place, but it's an ideal place to invest in right now, as the realty sector in this area is set to boom even more.

Airoli is already a favorite among the BPO and KPO employees who find it easier to commute between the thriving hotbeds of outsourcing and other new economy industries and enterprise that are based around Airoli. The rooms are also cheap and as against the rumors of safety issues, it's a good place to stay which fulfills most of the requirements of a middle-class family.

Although there are a lot of good things to be said about this place, there are some less than perfect aspects that I would like to point out.

Load shedding and power cuts are a reality that many in Airoli, and other parts of Navi Mumbai and Mumbai City proper are faced with everyday and are getting accustomed to. The prices of food and other essentials, as well as consumer durables are higher here for some reason. Although the people are good to you, they know when there is a profit to be made and the price could well depend on what they perceive you to be.

Travel is another hassle that I'm faced with everyday. At least from where I reside, the place seems to be marooned right in the middle of the best way to travel back and forth Mumbai, the Local Trains, and because of this fact, commuting to the city can be a real task that you endure everyday.

The Bus service from the Nahur Station from the Central Line leaves a lot to be desired. At present there are just two buses that ply in this route as per what I know, and if you happen to be lucky enough to find a bus with less than a less than ideal frequency, chances are the driver will rarely halt at the stop or if he does, be ready to get your bones squeezed.

Now you would ask, if I'm so fussy about my mode and the comfort of my travel, why I don’t travel by a rickshaw. I would have, but the journey which should cost me 20 bucks could easily hit me back by 40, with the drivers declining to go past the Toll Station. And some rickshaws don’t even have a meter, and you trust your luck and hope that the journey is worth it.

The only saving grace is, if it is really that is the vehicles that ply employees to and fro from offices that are happy to give you a ride for a slight charge, but make sure you decide on a charge before hand, because ideally it is five Indian rupees, but if the driver or his assistant senses that you are new, you could end up coughing up a lot more.

Although I'm thankful for this alternative transport, I'm not sure whether this is even legal. The real dilemma in mentioning this here is, rather than helping the situation I might end up ruining it. The authorities may end taking action actions against those who are earning an alternative source of income, which is what their general reaction is.

All I can do at present is hope for the best and wish that if anybody does happen to read this, will see the real issue here. Ciao!

Celebrating the 369th Year of Chennai on 29th August

Reliving the day British Administrator Francis Day was granted privileges in “Medraspatam”

CHENNAI: This is the story of the beginning of Chennai, the founding of a city. On this day, August 22, in 1639, British Administrator Francis Day is reported to have received the grant for privileges in Medraspatam, as it was referred to then. It was officially ‘granted’ that day, and the rest, too, is history.

According Vestiges of Old Madras by Henry Davison Love, the Naik’s grant, probably drafted by Day, was delivered with a letter signed by Day. Three copies are extant, but only one bears a date, 22nd July 1639, where July is probably a slip for August, since Day did not reach Madras until July 27, Love noted. The original document relating to the grant of the Fort St. George site to the British East India Company is said to have been signed at Chandragiri Fort in what is now in Andhra Pradesh.

The original text of the grant read thus:

‘The firman granted Mr. Day for privileges in Medrasspatam by the Nague Damela Vintutedra.
(O.C. No. 1690, 22nd July
{ ?Aug }, 1639 )
‘Firman granted by Damela Vintatedro Nague unto Mr. francis Day, Cheife for the English In Armagon, in behalfe of the Honble company for their tradeing and fortifieing at Medraspatam, to this effect as followeth:-

‘Whereas Mr. Francis Day, Captain of the English at Armagon, upon great hopes by reason of our promises offten made unto him, hath repaired to our port of Medraspatam and had personall Conference with us on behalfe of the Company of that Nation, Concerning their trading in our territories and friendly comerce with our subjects ; wee out of our spetiall Love and favour to the English, doe grant unto the said Captain, or whomsoever shall bee deputed to Idgitate the affaires of that company, by vertue of this firman , Power to direct and order the building of a fort and Castle in or about Medraspatam, as they shall thinke most Convenient , the Charges whereof, until fully and wholly finished to bee defrayed by us, but then to bee repaied when the said English shall first make their enterance to take possession thereof.

And to make more full Expression of our effection to the English Nation, wee Doe Confirme unto the said Mr. Francis Day, or whatsoever other Substitutes or Agents for that Company, full power and authority to governe and dispose of the Government of Madraspatam for the terme and space of two yeares. Next Insueing affter they shall be seated there and possest of the said fortifications; and for the future by an Equall Division to receive halfe the Custom and revenuewes of that port.

‘Moreover, Whatsoever goods or Merchandize the English Company shall either Import or Export, forasmuch as Concernes the dutyes and Customes of Medraspatnam, they shall not only for the Prementioed two years in which they injoy the government , but for ever after, be Custom free. Yett if they shall Transport or bring any commodities up into, or through my Countray, then shall they pay halfe the dutyes that other Merchants pay, whether they buy or sell the said Commodities either in my Dominions or in those of any other Nague whatsoever.
‘Also that the said English Company shall perpetually Injoy the privileges of mintage(e) without paying any Dewes or dutyes whatsoever, more then the ordinary wages or hire unto those that shall Quoyne the moneyes.

‘Iff the English shall Accquaint us before they deliver out any moneys to the Merchants, Painters, Weavers &c, which are or shall hereafter reside in our prementioned port or territories, and take our word for their sufficcency and honest dealeing, then doe wee promise, in case those people faile in their performances, to make good to the English all such sumes of money as shall remaine on their Accounts, or Else deliver them their persons, if they sahllbe found in any part of my territories.

‘That whatsoever provisions the English shall buy in my Countrey, either for their fort or ships, they shall not be liable to pay any Custom or Dutyes for the same.
‘And if any shipp or vessell belonging to the English ( or to any other Countray whatsoever which tradeth or shall come to trade at that port) shall by misadventure suffer shipwrack and bee driven upon any part of my territories, they shall have restitution upon Demand of whatsoever can bee found remaining of the said wrack.

Source: Hindu

New PlayStation and PSP unveiled

Sony has announced details of its latest PlayStation 3 gaming console and handheld PlayStation Portable.
A 160 GB PS3 was unveiled at the Leipzig games conference that will go on sale on 31 October in Europe and November in the US.
Also shown off was a wireless keypad which interfaces with PS3 controllers that will allow touch typing. Upgrades to the PlayStation Portable include a built-in microphone and an anti-reflective screen.
Bundle deals
The new 160 GB PS3 will be sold as a bundle that includes a limited edition of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and will go on sale 31 October for 449 euros (£355), and shortly thereafter in the US for $500.

The recently announced 80 GB version has now started shipping and will sell for 399 euros or $400.

No UK prices have yet been given and may end up being higher than direct conversions suggest.

"Consumers also are utilising PS3 as an entertainment hub for their digital media, placing content such as their entire music collection on the hard drive," said Jack Tretton, who heads up the American part of the entertainment giant's games arm.

"The 160GB PS3 system addresses this growing consumer demand."

In the US, the 160GB version will come with a voucher for the PlayStation Network game PAIN; European buyers will instead receive vouchers worth 70 euros for downloadable content.

A wireless keypad, designed to work with the existing PS3 controllers, was also shown off, to allow direct typing rather than use of the on-screen keyboard.

The keypad is Bluetooth-enabled, and at the touch of a button converts into a touchpad-style mouse. No price for the keypad was given.

Sony also unveiled an upgraded version of the PlayStation Portable, called the PSP 3000. With the same dimensions of the PSP Slim & Lite, the new version sports an antireflective screen with a wider palette of colours and higher contrast ratio.

It will also have a built-in microphone for headset-free use of the built in Skype interface as well as the voice functions in some games.

The PSP 3000 will hit shelves worldwide 15 October, bundled with the game Ratchet and Clank for $200 in the US and 199 euros in Europe.

Microsoft Releases PhotoSynth 3-D Photo Stitching Service

Microsoft's PhotoSynth enables users to create navigable, three-dimensional visual "tours" by stitching together digital photos to recreate scenes that can be shared online.
By J. Nicholas Hoover,Aug. 21, 2008

It'll cost a pretty penny for that plane ticket to Italy, lodging and other expenditures required to step into a gondola on the Grand Canal in Venice, look around, and have the gondolier take you closer to points of interest along the canal. But with Microsoft's new PhotoSynth software and Web site, you can now take a free digital tour that consists not of video, but of an array of photos stitched together to recreate the scene in three dimensions.
PhotoSynth allows users to combine an array of photos of a single location into a navigable, three-dimensional image called a "synth" and upload it to Photosynth.net to share with the world. The technology, which originated in a Microsoft Research project, is an altogether new way of putting photographs together.
"The photo hasn't fundamentally changed since it went digital," says Alex Daley, group product manager for Live Labs, which incubated the PhotoSynth technology before its release. He describes PhotoSynth as a "creative medium similar to photo or video, but just a little bit different."
PhotoSynth requires photographers to think a little bit differently about how they take pictures of a scene. It won't combine photos unless they are "synthy," that is, unless they overlap one another so that they can be meshed together.
For now, PhotoSynth is a consumer product, but Microsoft sees potential for commercial uses as well. "If you think about the commerce scenarios, you have this ability to provide a generalized overview of that that you might not have been able to before," Daley says. Take, for example, the possibility of a real estate site with navigable virtual tours of houses. Synths can be made to allow users to navigate around corners and objects as well as view an image in a 360-degree round.
PhotoSynth will be free, and Microsoft hasn't decided on a way to monetize it, or even if it ever will be monetized via advertising or licensing of the technology for commercial use. "It's more about engaging our online customers," Daley says.
Microsoft is moving the PhotoSynth team from Live Labs to MSN, and more specifically Virtual Earth. Users can tag photos with longitude and latitude today, but Microsoft aims to allow people to soon navigate to synths via Virtual Earth. Microsoft isn't yet further detailing other future integration with MSN and Virtual Earth, though the company says there are more plans ahead.
PhotoSynth can't yet create an image from a collection of pre-existing photos taken by many people, but such capability could be on the way. At the SIGGRAPH graphics conference last week, the company presented a paper titled "Finding Paths Through The World's Photos" that could create such images. "This version of PhotoSynth is only the tip of the iceberg," Daley says.
Other limitations: water and shiny surfaces don't yet synth well, and for now, PhotoSynth only runs in Windows. A Mac version is in the works, but with no set release date. PhotoSynth requires users to download an 8 Mbyte plug-in that creates the synths and to have or sign up for a Windows Live ID. It runs in Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, but only on Windows today. Users are given a large amount of online storage -- 20 Gbytes or more than 60 synths of 150 photos apiece.
For now, all synths that get uploaded are open for public viewing, though people can choose to copyright their synths, make them available for use under the Created Commons license or place them in public domain. Users can rate and comment on each other's synths. Synths can also be embedded into a third party Web site. Going forward, users might be able to restrict synths to a smaller group of people.

Source: InformationWeek

Has Palm gotten its groove back?

Devotees of Palm’s Treo brand of smartphones (whoever is left raise your hands) have a new model to get excited about: the Treo Pro.
On Wednesday the company announced it would begin selling a sleeker and more elegant version of its once popular Treo for a suggested price of $549 in the United States. It is being sold here without a contract – meaning you can choose between AT&T or T-Mobile’s G.S.M. networks and switch at will. It will also work with many wireless networks in Europe and Asia, which makes it easy for customers to take abroad.
The Treo Pro is powered by the largest battery Palm has ever used in a device giving it five hours of talk time and 250 hours of standby. (It’s 4.49 inches by 2.36 inches wide.)
It also has a one-touch Wi-Fi button for easy Internet access and a switch that silences a ringing phone immediately. (That way you don’t have to fiddle with turning it off or, worse, hanging up on someone if you don’t want to be bothered.) The screen saver too shows clearly whether there is a message waiting or a call missed. And there is a center button which flashes too if a voicemail is waiting, as well as one-button access to e-mail or the calendar.
Palm, which has been beset by trouble the last few years, hopes the Treo Pro will bring back a little of the consumer-friendly sheen Palm has lost to competitors like Research in Motion and Apple. Next year will be the real test. That is when it plans to introduce a device using the new operating system Palm’s engineers are furiously working on.

Source: Business Week and NY Times