Quotations

Life isn't a matter of milestones but of moments - Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

We have to work, constantly work with all our power, to put our whole mind in the work, whatever it be, that we are doing. At the same time we must not be attached. That is to say, we must not be drawn away from the work by anything else;still, we must be able to quit the work whenever we like - Swami Vivekananda

Quotable Quotes

"Plenty are born with talent but few are as driven to express it in full and he is as much a product of the nets as blessed genes." - Former England Test player Peter Pringle about Sachin Tendulkar on reaching highest number of runs in Test cricket.

Sub prime crisis

What the world's big guns say about the meltdown?
Link ---> http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/sep/25slid1.htm

Quotes:
What is the nature of the crisis? The details can be insanely complex, but the basics are fairly simple. The bursting of the housing bubble has led to large losses for anyone who bought assets backed by mortgage payments; these losses have left many financial institutions with too much debt and too little capital to provide the credit the economy needs; troubled financial institutions have tried to meet their debts and increase their capital by selling assets, but this has driven asset prices down, reducing their capital even further: Economic Nobel laureate Paul Krugman

We live in an interdependent world and the fate of all countries is related to the international financial system. Our value markets are opened to the world and, if they are affected, this will affect our capacity to finance our development. If the financial crisis causes a recession in the main economies, this will compromise our exports: Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, India

The situation is going to get better when you feel good about buying Citigroup stock. Right now, nobody feels good about buying it: John Catsimatidis, supermarket billionaire and New York mayoral hopeful

I know too well how disastrous these slumps can be. During the 1991 recession I was basically bankrupt -- it all happens very quickly. So what's the use in finger-pointing? I don't want to see the Americans go down the pan. Everyone knows that we'll follow: Stephen Brown, British citizen

You can't just blame the banks, you also can blame the people that took out mortgages... We were brought up that you first had to put some savings together and then enjoy. But this whole society has gotten to the fact that we're a 'now, give it to me today' kind of society. I think regulation has not been adequate. There's no one person to blame other than all of us: Mike Bloomberg, mayor, New York, former Wall Streeter, founder, financial services company Bloomberg

My own view right now is that cash is king; liquidity is king: Don Marron, US billionaire
We have counted on emerging economies, which collectively account for half of global GDP, to hold up. However, with the credit crisis reaching shores of emerging market countries, their growth is now likely to fall well below trend by the end of the year: Moody's Economy.com

Regulators are helping us to identify the quickest and most efficient method to purchase equity in financial institutions so they can resume lending. Throughout this process, we have kept in mind one clear priority: to protect the taxpayers by making the best use of their money: Neel Kashkari, interim assistant secretary for financial stability, US

Globalisation, America as the centre of the globalised financial markets, was sucking up the savings of the world. This is now over. The game is out. It does mean a very serious adjustment for America: George Soros, billionaire investor, head of Soros Fund Management

This has been a man-made catastrophe. The actions and responses to overcome lie in all our hands. We must also insure that as governments and publics turn their attention to matters close to home that they do not step back from their commitments to boost overseas assistance: Robert Zoellick, President, World Bank

America is a different world, where all kinds of people can get credit they shouldn't be getting. We Germans are different: Micky Gliese, German citizen

Any company that is built around the need to add debt is in trouble. The process of deleveraging is industry agnostic. If I had the time, I would be researching every company that needs renewable and expandable debt to survive and would short the sh*t out of it: Mark Cuban, owner, Dallas Mavericks and founder, HDNet.

In an interconnected world, no nation will gain by driving down the fortunes of another. We are in this together. We will come through it together. There have been moments of crisis in the past when powerful nations turned their energies against each other or sought to wall themselves off from the world. This time is different: George W Bush, President, US

It does make me angry that this situation has been created by greedy, irresponsible, feckless city boys. The financial world has been acting in a megalomaniacal fashion and deserves to be taken down a peg or five. This is a terrible situation for the average hard-working family. It happened to my family in the 90's during the last downturn and affected us deeply for years: Katherine Walker, British citizen

It is now becoming clear that emerging market countries are likely to be hit hard by financial turmoil, despite stronger fundamentals and policy frameworks. Lest a sudden stop of capital bring their progress to a sudden halt or, worse, bring down their financial systems, some form of large and rapid financing should be kept ready. There should be no doubt that the fund is prepared to deploy its emergency procedures: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head, IMF

Contrary to popular belief, so far this hasn't really been a banking crisis. The institutions that have gotten into trouble handle a broad range of financial instruments. Real banks, in this sense, are the sinews of the economy. If they become affected, then we'll find ourselves in an even more serious stage of the crisis. Then the economy as a whole could begin to seize up: Heizo Takenaka, former Japanese minister of economic and fiscal policy

What is subprime crisis? How it caused financial mayhem?
Link ---> http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/oct/17slde1.htm

Badminton in action - snaps

Rolling Stones - You can't always get what you want lyrics

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the Rolling Stones released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone in its 2004 list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." Chorus is by London Bach Choir. The lyrics are about how hard it is to find happiness. No matter what you have, you always want more. The three verses (along with the varied theme in the 4th verse) address the major topics of the 1960s: love, politics, and drugs. Each verse captures the essence of the initial optimism and eventual disillusion, followed by the resigned pragmatism in the chorus.

Lyrics go here.....

[chorus]
I saw her today at a reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she would meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she was gonna meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need

Oh yeah, hey hey hey, oh...

And I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, "We're gonna vent our frustration
If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse"
Sing it to me now...

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need
Oh baby, yeah, yeah!

I went down to the Chelsea drugstore
To get your prescription filled
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy
And man, did he look pretty ill
We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red
I sung my song to Mr. Jimmy
Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was "dead"
I said to him

You can't always get what you want, no!
You can't always get what you want (tell ya baby)
You can't always get what you want (no)
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need
Oh yes! Woo!

You get what you need--yeah, oh baby!
Oh yeah!

I saw her today at the reception
In her glass was a bleeding man
She was practiced at the art of deception
Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

You can't always get what you want (no, no baby)
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need, ah yes...

Enid Blyton pips Rowling as UK's favourite author

London: In a poll outcome set to delight children worldwide, British adults have voted Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and J K Rowling as their three favourite writers, putting them well ahead of authors of the critically acclaimed 'serious stuff'.

A nationwide poll of adult British readers, commissioned to mark the 2008 Costa Book Awards, saw English literature stars William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen trail behind children's authors in the list of the top 50.

Geoffrey Chaucer, whose Canterbury Tales is considered one of the seminal texts of English literature, came bottom of the list.

Beatrix Potter, another children's favourite (remember Tom Kitten and Peter Rabbit), also appeared in the top 10, as did Agatha Christie - whose detective novels are a favourite of many older children - and J R R Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings.

And C S Lewis, whose Narnia series is a children's classic, nudged Potter at number 11.

The love affair between British adults and the page-turner adventures of Blyton, Harry Potter creator Rowling and Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and many other popular books) did not come as a surprise to some.

Jeff Norton of Chorion, owners of the Enid Blyton estate, said: 'We are delighted that the British public has voted Enid Blyton its best-loved author. Her storytelling is timeless and this result confirms that her books are still a firm favourite today.'

Eight million Blyton books are sold worldwide every year, including more than a million of her Famous Five series.

Also crowding the list were children's authors Jacqueline Wilson, Judy Blume, Jilly Cooper and the ever-popular cartoonist-writer Dr. Seuss (his titles include: Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish).

In fact, the first serious contemporary writer - Martin Amis, a critically acclaimed chronicler of the post-modern condition - managed no better than number 22.

The following is the ranked list of the 50 best-loved authors, as voted by British adults:

* Enid Blyton

* Roald Dahl

* J K Rowling

* Jane Austen

* William Shakespeare

* Charles Dickens

* J R R Tolkien

* Agatha Christie

* Stephen King

* Beatrix Potter

* C S Lewis

* Catherine Cookson

* Martina Cole

* Bill Bryson

* Charlotte Bronte

* Jacqueline Wilson

* Oscar Wilde

* Maeve Binchy

* Dan Brown

* Emily Bronte

* Jackie Collins

* Martin Amis

* Isaac Asimov

* Margaret Atwood

* John Grisham

* Marian Keyes

* H G Wells

* Alan Bennett

* Arthur C Clarke

* George Orwell

* Danielle Steel

* Iain Banks

* Judy Blume

* Jodi Picoult

* Arthur Conan Doyle

* Peter Ackroyd

* Kingsley Amis

* P G Wodehouse

* Dr Seuss

* Mark Twain

* J G Ballard

* Thomas Hardy

* James Patterson

* Ian Rankin

* Leo Tolstoy

* Irvine Welsh

* Jilly Cooper

* Beryl Bainbridge

* Ray Bradbury

* Geoffrey Chaucer

Olymipic Movement

Source : http://www.olympic.org/uk/passion/studies/index_uk.asp

Olympism
"Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles."
(Olympic Charter, Fundamental Principles, paragraph 1)

Badminton - Glossary

Source : http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/equipment_uk.asp?DiscCode=BD.&sportCode=BD


Attacking clear: An offensive stroke hit deep into the opponent's court.

Backhand: The stroke used to return balls hit to the left of a right-handed player and to the right of a left-handed player.

Base position: The location in the centre of the court to which a singles player tries to return after each shot; also called "centre position".

Baseline: The back boundary line at each end of the court, parallel to the net.

Battledore and shuttlecock: A game played with a battledore and shuttlecock, the forerunner of modern badminton.

Carry: An illegal stroke in which the shuttle is not hit, but caught and held on the racket before being released; also called a "sling" or "throw".

Centre line: A line perpendicular to the net that separates the left and right service courts.

Centre position: The location in the centre of the court to which a singles player tries to return after each shot; also called "base position".

Clear: A shot hit deep into the opponent's court.

Doubles: A game where two people play two people as teams.

Doubles sideline: The side boundary of a doubles court.

Drive: A fast and low shot that makes a horizontal flight over the net.

Drop shot: A shot hit softly and with finesse to fall rapidly and close to the net in the opponent's court.

Fault: A violation of the rules.

Feint: Any deceptive movement that disconcerts an opponent before or during the serve; also called a "baulk".

Flick: A quick wrist-and-forearm rotation used to surprise an opponent by changing an apparently soft shot into a faster passing shot.

Forecourt: The front third of the court, between the net and the short service line.

Forehand: The stroke used to return a ball hit to the right of a right-handed player and to the left of a left-handed player.

Game: The part of a set completed when one player or side has scored enough points to win a single contest.

Hairpin net shot: A shot made from below and very close to the net and causing the shuttle to rise, just clear the net, then drop sharply down the other side so that the flight of the shuttlecock resembles a hairpin.

Halfcourt shot: A shot hit low and to midcourt, used effectively in doubles play against the up-and-back formation.

High clear: A defensive shot hit deep into the opponent's court.

Kill: A fast shot hit straight down into the opponent's court so that it cannot be returned.

Let: A minor violation of the rules allowing a rally to be replayed.

Long service line: The back line for the area into which a serve must land (also the back boundary line in singles play, but a line 83 centimetres inside the back boundary line in doubles play).

Match: A series of games to determine a winner.

Mid court: The middle third of the court.

Net shot: A shot hit from the forecourt that just clears the net and drops sharply.

Passing shot: A shot which passes the opposing player or team.

Poona: A 19th-century game in India, named after the city of the same name, with similarities to lawn tennis.

Push shot: A gentle shot played by pushing the shuttlecock with a little wrist motion.

Rally: The exchange of shots that decides each point.

Serve: The stroke used to put the shuttlecock into play at the start of each rally; also called a "service".

Service: The stroke used to put the shuttlecock into play at the start of each rally; also called a "serve".

Service court: The area into which a service must be delivered.

Set: To choose to extend a game beyond its normal ending score if the score is tied with one point to go.

Short service line: The front line of the service courts 1.98 metres from the net.

Singles: A game where one person plays one person.

Singles sideline: The side boundary of a singles court.

Sling: An illegal stroke in which the shuttle is not hit, but caught and held on the racket before being released; also called a "carry" or "throw".

Smash: A hard-hit overhead shot slammed straight down into the opponent's court.

Throw: An illegal stroke in which the shuttle is not hit, but caught and held on the racket before being released; also called a "carry" or "sling".

Wood shot: A legal shot in which the shuttle hits the frame of the racket.