A Dark Matter by Peter Straub

A Dark Matter is a horror novel told from the perspective of different individuals who were lured by a guru years earlier to a ritual in a meadow. Someone was gruesomely killed there, and the individuals try to come to terms with what happened as the story unfolds for the reader.

The charismatic and cunning Spenser Mallon is a campus guru in the 1960s, attracting the devotion and demanding favors of his young acolytes. After he invites his most fervent followers to attend a secret ritual in a local meadow, the only thing that remains is a gruesomely dismembered body -- and the shattered souls of all who were present.

Years later, one man attempts to understand what happened to his wife and to his friends by writing a book about this horrible night, and it’s through this process that they begin to examine the unspeakable events that have bound them in ways they cannot fathom, but that have haunted every one of them through their lives. As each of the old friends tries to come to grips with the darkness of the past, they find themselves face-to-face with the evil triggered so many years earlier

Abu Dhabi Volvo Ocean Destination Village Opens

Abu Dhabi has officially opened the doors to its purpose-built Volvo Ocean Race‘Destination Village’ on its Corniche breakwater as seven-time Grammy Award winning rock band, Coldplay, ushered in the New Year as part of celebrations for the emirate’s historic, fortnight-long hosting of the gruelling 39,000 mile round the world ‘Everest of Sailing’.

The Destination Village -- the size of eight football pitches -- was opened by His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman, ADTA,which was instrumental in bringing the global yacht race to the UAE capital; Sheikh Khalid bin Zayed bin Saqr Al Nahyan, Chairman, UAE Sailing & Rowing Federation; His Excellency Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, ADTA; General Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, Director General, Central Operations, Abu Dhabi Police; SalemRashed Amer Al Romaithi, Vice President, UAE Sailing & Rowing Federation, Knut Frostad, CEO, Volvo Ocean Race and Peter Baumgartner, Commercial Director of Etihad Airways.

Open daily from11am-11pm, with extended weekend hours, the free-to-the-public DestinationVillage is the focal point for a wealth of on and off water activities,entertainment, concerts, rides, sailing schools, games and competitions, aswell as all the Volvo Ocean Race action.

The Secret World of Arrietty

The Secret World of Arrietty, known in Japan as The Borrower Arrietty and in the UK as Arrietty, is a Japanese animated fantasy film based on Mary Norton's juvenile fantasy novel The Borrowers.

The story is about Arrietty, a tiny, but tenacious 14-year-old, lives with her parents in the recesses of a suburban garden home, unbeknownst to the homeowner and her housekeeper. Like all little people, Arrietty remains hidden from view, except during occasional covert ventures beyond the floorboards to “borrow” scrap supplies like sugar cubes from her human hosts. But when 12-year-old Shawn, a human boy who comes to stay in the home, discovers his mysterious housemate one evening, a secret friendship blossoms. If discovered, their relationship could drive Arrietty’s family from the home and straight into danger.

It is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Gary Rydstrom starring Bridgit Mendler as Arrietty (voice), David Henrie as Shawn (voice), Will Arnett and Amy Poehler as Arrietty's parents (voice).

Menswear Fashion Market Growing More Than Womenswear

Despite menswear still being predominantly viewed as secondary to womenswear, recent figures from global consultants Bain & Co prove this assessment must be reviewed -- as the luxury menswear market has been growing at a rate almost double that of womenswear.

A recent report published by Reuters reveals Bain & Co's findings that the men's luxury fashion market -- which comprises 40 percent of the global market -- is growing at about 14 percent a year, while luxury womenswear is growing by a mere 8 percent.

Although this shift is principally being accounted for by the rising interest in designer brands in China, where men comprise three quarters of the luxury goods market and established labels such as Giorgio Armani and Burberry are consumer favorites, it is worth noting the rising interest in men's fashion on a global scale.

While Paris and Milan were previously the only two of the fashion capitals to host menswear fashion weeks there are increasing calls for New York to dedicate a separate week to men's apparel and London Fashion Week now culminates with menswear day.

MTV's NYE in NYC 2012

Among the many celebrations going down in the Big Apple, MTV played host to its "NYE In NYC 2012" special in Times Square on Saturday night, December 31, hosted by "Teen Wolf" star Tyler Posey and Demi Lovato.

The event lit up the Times Square studio and found Lovato herself, Selena Gomez, Mac Miller, J. Cole and Jason Derülo performing their way into 2012 in front of a sea of energetic fans.

Lovato played double duty as the clock counted down to midnight when she kicked off the star-studded performance event with her new single, "Give Your Heart a Break." Dressed in a black corset and skirt, the former Disney starlet belted out the tune, offering fans big notes and vocal runs.

Jason Derulo turned up the dance even more when he took the stage for "It Girl" and "Don't Wanna Go Home".

Mac Miller topped off his successful 2011 with a comedic performance of his hit single "Party on Fifth Ave," in which he recreated the tune's retro clip.

Soon after, J. Cole continued to rep for rap with "Work Out." Walking back and forth in a path made by fans, the MC spit the feel-good song as the audience simultaneously waved their hands in the air.

Wrapping up the show was Selena Gomez, who screamed the countdown to 2012 and kicked off her first performance of the new year with a medley of "Love You Like a Love Song" and "Hit the Lights."

Blackburn stun United, Chelsea lost to Villa

Charles N'Zogbia kisses Stephen Ireland after he equalised for Villa

Blackburn Rovers beat Manchester United 3-2 to spoil United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson's 70th birthday. The champions missed the opportunity to lead the Premier League table as Blackburn move off the bottom of the table.

Yakubu scored the opener from the penalty spot against the run of play following Dimitar Berbatov's foul on Rovers defender Chris Samba.

On 50th minute Yakubu scored his 12th goal of the season. He controlled the throw just outside the box, took it deep inside the penalty box and cracked it low into the middle of the goal.

Dimitar Berbatov responded within two minutes, heading from close range on Rafael Da Silva's cross. Berbatov equalised on 62 minutes when Antonio Valencia crossed accurately to  Berbatov, who sweep it from the middle of the box to the bottom right corner of the goal.

On Blackburn's last visit to Old Trafford , in November 2010, they lost 7-1 and Dimitar Berbatov scored five goals.

Blackburn defender Grant Hanley scored the winner on 80th minute. Morten Gamst took the out swinging corner, De Gea came for it but flapped at it completely as Hanley wins the header.

Chelsea's Premier League title hopes diminishes as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Aston Villa. Last year Andre Villas-Boas, serving his Porto side, beacame famous as the finest young manager in Europe nut now he stands on the verge of ridicule.

On 23 minutes Didier Drogba opened the scoring, converting the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal. Drogba himself drew the penalty when Richard Dunne fouled him.

Just 5 minutes later Stephen Ireland equalised hitting a left footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner.

Villas-Boas introduced Torres and Lampard in the second half. Torres’s magnificent effort from 20 yards, crashed against the crossbar as Chelsea laid siege for the next few minutes.

On 83 minutes Stilian Petrov slotted calmly past Cech on Ciaran Clark pass. Three minutes later a shocking error from Lampard allowed Stephen Ireland to intercepted his pass to put Darren Bent in for 3-1. He shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner.

 Robin van Persie, the Arsenal captain, scored the only goal to secure a 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers. The goal was scored after an hour when Andrey Arshavin assisted Persie with a through ball as the Dutchman's left footed shot from the centre of the box went to the bottom left corner of the goal.

 Van Persie’s 35th goal in 36 matches also establishes a new Arsenal record in a calendar year but, agonisingly, he stands one short of the all-time Premier League mark of 36, set in 1995 by Alan Shearer.

A goal from Scott Sinclair (Swansea), seven minutes from time, held Tottenham for a 1-1 draw after Rafael Van der Vaart scored the opener on 44th minute.

Seeing the World usher in the new year

2012 
  SEEING THE WORLD

USHER IN THE NEW YEAR

From Dubai to New York's glittering Times Square, to Berlin's Brandenburg Gate and Hong Kong's jostling harbour, crowds will gather to usher in 2012 in a blaze of light, sound and music.

UAE joins the rest of the world in 2012 celebrations with thousands of people expected to gather in and around iconic landmarks in Dubai, Burj ul Arab and Abu Dhabi for some midnight fireworks.Traffic jams have begun to build up on roads leading to Burj Khalifa where a firework display is expected at midnight.

New York will rock with pop diva Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. They are expected to draw an estimated 1 million revellers to Times Square, where a 12-foot, illuminated crystal ball will drop at the stroke of midnight.

Hong Kong: More than 400,000 people were expected to watch a 4-minute, $1 million (Dh3.67 million) display of fireworks that will shoot off from 10 skyscrapers, lighting up Victoria Harbour.

Australia: 7 tonnes of explosives will light up the sky for a colourful midnight display that is expected to attract more than 1.5 million people at vantage points along Sydney Harbour. "Every year we make sure our celebrations are bigger and better than the one before," said Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

London: A huge fireworks display will be seen above the River Thames as Big Ben chimes out midnight.

Paris: Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather on the Champs Elysees to mark the celebration known as la Fete de Saint-Sylvestre.

Rio: A white party, with at least two million people dressed in white, is expected to ring in the New Year on the Copacabana beach, which will feature a "green" fireworks extravaganza.

In other parts of the world, New Year will be a sombre occasion, especially in calamity-hit Japan and the Philippines

Headline Jan 1, 2012 / The Lost Game

THE LOST GAME

OF

WEATHER FORECASTING 

While most scientists are revered for making sense of our complex universe (Einstein is practically a hero), meteorologists often face ridicule. How can we put a person on the moon or foretell planetary alignments years in advance, yet still fail to put together accurate weather forecasts?

On September 20, 2011 six Italian scientists and a government official were set to go to trial for not doing their duty in aggressive communication of the risk of an impending earthquake. They faced charges of manslaughter for the earthquake killed more than 300 people in 2009 in L'Aquila.

Predicting an earthquake days or weeks in advance in never easy for scientists. It demands knowledge to understand the stresses deep in the Earth and that which parts of the crust are so weak that those stresses are going to cause ruptures.

A butterfly flapping its wings (or some other small phenomenon) in one place can, in principle, alter the subsequent weather pattern in a distant place. At the core of this effect is chaos theory, which deals with how small changes in certain variables can cause apparent randomness in complex systems. That's what makes the weather so unpredictable.

Scientists have been successful in solving most complex problems but failure to accurately predict weather and disasters has posed serious threats specially when the catastrophes are increasing with passing years.

ELECTRO HORTICULTURE

The man eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors:
could electricity create a monster plant?

Ever since Benjamin Franklin got his knuckles burned when flying a kite in a thunderstorm, many scientists — and even more quacks — have been curious about the possibilities of what has been called electro-horticulture.
The logic is inescapable — most things react in some way to an electric current. Why shouldn’t plants react too, and perhaps grow better/faster/bigger?

Mediterranean Diet helps you live longer

New research proves that a Mediterranean Diet will help people live 3 years longer. This study is known as H70. Scientists have studied the effects on older people for more than 40 years. They compared thousands of 70-year-olds who eat the diet with others who have eaten more meat and animal products. Another similar study had been done on children which showed the same results.

Gianluca Tognon, a scientist at the University of Gothenberg, Sweden, said: "This means in practice that older people who eat a Mediterranean diet live an estimated two to three years longer than those who don't."

"The conclusion we can draw from these studies is that there is no doubt that a Mediterranean diet is linked to better health, not only for the elderly but also for youngsters."

Falling TV Prices

Like many other effects of falling economy, one is faced by TV sellers. But for buys you can always say that its a good time to buy a television.

Salesmen are quote disappointed on the scenario and think that what would have sold for $6000 a few years ago is currently sold at $3000. More TV's, LCDs and all products are sold by the companies but their annual income are much lower than past years.

Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV research for DisplaySearch, which tracks the market, noted that a 60-inch LCD television by Sharp was now selling for as little as $799 — about half of what it was selling just a year ago. “Absolutely amazing,” he said.

He analyzed that there were roughly 32 million television sets sold in North America in 2004, for an average cost of $400 and average size of a television was 27 inches. Today, 44 million sets are sold a year in North America, with an average cost of $460 and an average size of 38 inches.

Auction of Titanic artefacts

Hundred years after the ship's tragic sink, thousands of Titanic artefacts are out on auction.


The items recovered from the ship will be sold by "Guernsey Auctioneers in New York on 15 April" (the BBC reports). 


RMS Titanic is the only company allowed to recover objects from the ship wreckage.


An assortment of 5500 items will be sold as a single collection for which the bidders will be selected "through an application process that is open until 1 April".

2011 - Second Warmest Year For UK

According to the Met Office, 2011 was the second warmest year for UK.


2006, the warmest year for UK had an average temperature of 9.73C, with 2011 only second to it with an average temperature of 9.62C.


The BBC reports:
"The mean temperature for the first 28 days of December was 4.7C (40.5F); a big swing from 2010, says the Met Office, when temperatures were 5C below average for the coldest December on record.

The BBC weather centre is predicting another "very mild" day for New Year's Eve with highs of 13C (55F). Forecasters say it will be mostly cloudy and windy, with perhaps a few brighter spells in the north and east of the UK and the odd outbreak of mainly light rain or drizzle.

John Prior, national climate manager at the Met Office, said: "While it may have felt mild for many so far this December, temperatures overall have been close to what we would expect.

"It may be that the stark change from last year, which was the coldest December on record for the UK, has led many to think it has been unseasonably warm."

All bar one of the top 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1997 and all the UK's top seven warmest years happened in the past decade.

The warmest temperature recorded this year was 33.1C (91.5F) on Monday 27 June at Gravesend in Kent. The Met Office said it was the warmest temperature recorded in the UK for five years.

Apart from January, the other months that had below-average temperatures were June, July and August.

Gravesend was also the location for the warmest October temperature ever, when 29.9C (85.8F) was recorded on 1 October, beating the previous record of 29.4C (84.9F) in the Cambridgeshire town of March on the same day in 1985.

The coldest temperature was -13C (8.6F) at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands on 8 January, while the strongest gust of wind was 165mph (265.5kph), recorded at the highest point of the Cairngorms mountain range on 8 December."

SIRI SOFTWARE SHUTS 12-YEAR-OLD UP

A 12 year old when tried to test new voice technology of iPhone 4S in Tesco supermarket, faced a tirade by its Siri Software. The handset will be going back to Apple for diagnostic tests, says Tesco.



England: Charlie Le Quesne had been using the phone's Siri system – which answers spoken questions. To test the new voice technology he had asked: "How many people are there in the world?" And received filthy answers in return.

His mother Kim, 39, a nursery worker, said: "The phone was a demo version and was low enough on the shelf for Charlie to have a go with it. He asked it a simple question and we couldn't believe the filth it came out with."

"I thought I must be hearing things. So we asked again and the same four-letter stuff blared out.I asked for the manager and after staff heard it they agreed to unplug it. I couldn't see the funny side."

Staff of Tesco supermarket told her that the Siri system addresses the phone's user by name but some one had tampered with phone's set up to enter the obscene 7 word phrase. They said that the investigation had been launched and the handset will be sent back to Apple for diagnosis.

Famous Accomplishments made late in life

Anna Moses

Grandma Moses Picks up a Paintbrush
Self-taught artist Anna Moses started painting at 76, despite being crippled by arthritis. She painted every day, turning out more than 1000 works in the 25 years until her death, at 101. She became a celebrity, with exhibitions in the US and abroad.

Ray Kroc Franchises fast food
Ray Kroc spent 17 years of his adult life as a paper-cup salesman, then another 17 peddling the Multimixer- a machine that could make five milkshakes at once. At 52, Kroc started building the McDonald's brand, later becoming the owner of a franchise that tops in many countries today,

The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose

By Sarah Mahmood

Recognize the picture? It is of a man who has been a big inspiration for me ever since I read one of his books called Universe in a Nutshell.

While I do not remember much of it now (having read it rather reluctantly at the time owing to my dad's refusal to get me the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series and instead an insistence upon reading worthwhile stuff such as the one mentioned above), I developed a keen interest in the man behind it. Our common interests of cosmology and the universe got me hooked on. Further researches told me he was one Professor Stephen Hawking, a physically impaired man who was suffering from the motor neurone disease, something he had developed while studying at Cambridge University in his twenties.

His life is an example, for all of us here, the man who was told that he would not survive more than two or three years after the disease was first diagnosed. Prof Hawking, who is now almost completely paralysed, had the will to live a life of purpose, of accomplishments and achievements. Where do we stand then, in the course of history, with all our powers and abilities intact?

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."  -Erma Bombeck

World Economy Ends A Difficult 2011

Stock markets around the world end a difficult year.


The BBC reports:


"The UK FTSE 100 has fallen 5.6% in 2011, while France and Germany stocks have seen falls of 18% and 15% as growing fears for the survival of the euro took their toll. 


The Libyan revolution saw the oil price surge in the first half of the year, while the gold price set a new record high as investors sought its safety.


Meanwhile, the euro is set to end 2011 at a 15-month low against the dollar."

Chile: Education Minister resigns

Chile - Education Minister Felipe Bulnes resigns after a term in office marred by massive educational protests.


The minister has reportedly stepped down due to "personal reasons". He is the second educational minister to resign after President Pinera took office in March 2010.


Economist Harald Beyer is the new minister, an educationist "who advocates reform but does not believe that free university education is the answer" (the BBC reports).


Talks with protesting students failed due to the government's unwillingness to accept the former's demands of free and 'fair' education.

China's Beidou starts service

Beijing's rival for the US Global Positioning System, Beidou, has started offering service.


China has been working on the project since 2000, launching the tenth of the navigation system's satellites into orbit earlier this month.


The BBC reports:


"Beidou - which translates as the Big Dipper - promises to offer civilian users positioning information correct to the nearest 10 metres, measure speeds within 0.2 metres per second, and provide clock synchronisation signals accurate to 0.02 millionths of a second.

The Chinese military will be able to obtain more accurate data.

A 2004 study by Geoffrey Forden, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, suggested that Beidou could be used to target cruise missiles against Taiwan if a war broke out over the territory. Having its own system would protect China against the risk that the US could turn GPS off.

A 2011 report for the website defensepolicy.org suggested the network could also be used to guide drones to destroy foreign naval forceswere China to come under attack.

However, Beidou's developers also stress day-to-day benefits for the public.

They told China Daily that the system could create a 400 billion yuan ($63.2bn, £40.4bn) market in related applications for the automotive, telecommunications, fishing and other industries by 2020."

Be-aware if you are a Fish-Lover

Fish present many health and environmental problems. A 1992 examination by "Consumer Reports" researchers found that half the store-bought tested were contaminated with human or animal feces, and 40 percent were of only fair to poor quality, thanks to bacteria. An added danger with some fish and shellfish is toxic chemicals, since fish live in the waters we pollute. Fish can contain everything from industrial pollutant PCB to the pesticide DDT, to lead, to mercury and aresenic.

As with meats, assume the worst about fish and cook thoroughly.Shun raw seafood no matter how in vogue it may be. Ans use a wide variety of fish from different habitats, to reduce exposure to any one contaminant. Pregnant women should avoid fish while they're with child because of the pollutants.

'Record Ivory Seizures' In 2011

More elephant tusks were seized in 2011 than in any year since 1989, when the ivory trade was banned. Discovery News reports,"TRAFFIC, which runs the ETIS database of illegal ivory trades, said there had been at least 13 large-scale seizures in 2011, totalling at least 23 tonnes of ivory -- representing about 2,500 elephants...As most large-scale ivory seizures fail to result in any arrests, I fear the criminals are winning," Milliken said.
International trade in elephant ivory was banned in 1990, and ETIS (the Elephant Trade Information System) holds the details of more than 17,000 reported ivory and other elephant product seizures across the world since then."

Japanese Tycoon steps in to restore Rome's pyramid

An ancient massive marble pyramid built as a mausoleum for a Roman dignitary needs £22m for restoration. The structure is grimy from traffic fumes and festooned with weeds and bushes growing from the cracks between its enormous stone blocks. 

The 118ft-high monument was built as the burial chamber for a Roman magistrate, Gaius Cestius.It was constructed following Rome's conquest of Egypt, which initiated a fashion for all things Egyptian.It was a must-see sight during the Grand Tour and inspired Shelley and, a century later, Thomas Hardy.

Yuzo Yagi, a Japanese fashion business tycoon, has agreed to donate one million euros for the restoration of the 2,000-year-old monument, which forms part of Rome's ancient walls and overlooks the Protestant Cemetery, the burial place of Shelley and Keats.

Earlier this week Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, called for the project to be brought forward because of concerns over the state of the former gladiatorial arena.  The project will include efforts to determine whether, as legend has it, there are secret chambers built into the pyramid.

"His dream is to leave a mark in our country. Last year, he visited the pyramid and was struck by how remarkable it was," said Rita Paris, who manages the monument.

Silence of the Lambs 'archived' to US Film Registry

Silence of the Lambs is added to the National Film Registry by the US Library of Congress.


Others having made their way to the national archives include Forrest Gump, Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, Norma Rae, War of the Worlds (1953) and Disney animation Bambi.


The films were chosen from a list of 2,228 public nominations.


"Every new addition must be considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant in order to be added to the registry" (the BBC reports).