When you next find yourself gnawing on your steering wheel as the vehicles ahead of you concertina into a wall of metal, spare a thought for the drivers currently stuck in one of the longest traffic jams in history.
Thousands of drivers on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway just outside the Chinese capital have been snared by roadworks ever since 14 August – and the disruption is expected to last a further month. The tailbacks now stretch for a mind-boggling 100km and 400 police officers have been assigned to the area to quell rising tensions, with impromptu vendors said to be charging exorbitant prices for tea and noodles. Meanwhile, drivers resigned to their fate are reported to be passing the time with games of chess or cards. Some have requested concerts be performed on roadside verges.
Road-weary residents of Sao Paolo are similarly resourceful in dealing with their regular mega-jams, which are said to be the worst in the world. Men shave, women apply makeup, couples canoodle and the thirsty simply lock their car doors and head to the nearest cafe.
The AA says such jams are mercifully rare in the UK, with a channel port disruption being its “very worst nightmare”. But we are prone to the odd “perfect storm”, says a spokesman. One such incident, now dubbed “the Prat” by the motoring organisation (after the individual who caused the “totally avoidable” snarl-up), occurred in 2006 when a lorry driver hit a ventilation fan in the Dartford tunnel on the M25, causing the east tunnel to close for nine hours.
A more recent example hit the M11 in January, when a snowstorm trapped drivers for more than 20 hours. “The biggest lesson from this incident was for people to remain in their cars and check traffic reports,” says the AA spokesman. “It was people abandoning their cars that aggravated the situation. We issue the standard advice: always carry water and food with you, and make sure your mobile is topped up.”
Keeping calm and relaxed when caught in a jam is a skill few have ever mastered, but the hypnotist Paul McKenna recommends an exercise called the “calm anchor”. “Remember a time when you felt really, really calm – at peace and in control,” he writes in Control Stress. “Return to it now, seeing what you saw, hearing what you heard and feeling how good you felt.” Or if all else fails, just do as a cab driver would: tune into Magic FM.

(Source: Guardian)

The Dirty Picture, which is set for Friday release all over the world, has been banned by Pakistan Censor Board, reported TOI. Known for its conservative approach to cinema, the board apparently thinks the film is too bold to be screened in their country.

Tanuj Garg, CEO, Balaji Motion
Pictures, is aware of the ban, reports the daily.

“Earlier Aamir Khan’s Delhi Belly was banned because of what was termed as lewd content; now the axe has fallen on The Dirty Picture that is considered not suitable for playing in cinema halls across Pakistan,” a Bollywood trade source told the daily.

“Pakistan is one of the biggest consumers of Hindi cinema. Pirated DVDs are reportedly available, sometimes even a day before the release on Friday. So even if Dirty Picture doesn’t play in theatres, it is quite likely that the film may still be widely seen,” the daily quotes another trade source as saying.

Click On READ POST

As I grow in age, I value women who are over forty most of all. Here are just a few reasons why: A woman over forty will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, “What are you thinking?” She doesn’t care what you think.

If a woman over forty doesn’t want to watch the game, she doesn’t sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it’s usually something more interesting.

A woman over forty knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of forty give a hoot what you might think about her or what she’s doing.

Women over forty are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won’t hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it’s like to be unappreciated.

A woman over forty has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn’t trust the guy with other women. Women over forty couldn’t care less if you’re attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won’t betray her.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over forty. They always know.

A woman over forty looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not true of younger women. Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over forty is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They’ll tell you right off if you are a jerk, if you are acting like one! You don’t ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over forty for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it’s not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of forty-plus, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some twenty-two-year-old waitress.

Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free,” here’s an update for you. Now 80 percent of women are against marriage, why? Because women realize it’s not worth buying an entire pig, just to get a little sausage.

(Source: divinecaroline.com)

Music thieves steal because it is fast, convenient and cheap. An album that can be listened to from beginning to end without skipping a song is a diamond in the rough.
Many music thieves use illegal download of music before deciding whether to buy an album or not. What initiated this movement of stealing intellectual property?
Our artists are not producing albums worth the cost. Most music thieves say, “Artists are already rich, I’m not hurting them by downloading a few songs,” but what people fail to realize is that several other million people are saying the same thing Music piracy not only affects the music artist, but hundreds of others jobs that make music distribution possible such as song-writers, back-up singers, arrangers, the sound mixers and engineers, the  musicians, the truck drivers who deliver the CDs, the plastic companies who produce the CD materials, the factory workers, the CD label designers, the printing companies who print the labels for the CDs, the people who install the sound-proofing for the studio, the advertising and public relations workers, and other administration even down to the cleaning crews at the studios. .

Click On READ MORE

A lot has been spoken about concerning indie artists and the ‘Long Tail’, but with the introduction of more advanced in-home studio software, the gap has been widening into a chasm that so many artists fall into and can sometimes never return from.

The Long Tail is a term that was first coined by Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson. It is actually a very simple concept that describes the phenomenon of the online environment. It operates on the principle that 20% of the artists earn 80% of the music income and 80% of the artists earn 20% of the music income. In recent times the top of the tail has become even steeper with closer to 5% of the artists earning 95% of the income. This whole scenario is particularly relevant to the indie music market as it rushes headlong into the future.

CLICK ON READ MORE

JULIAN & CYNTHIA LENNON UNVEIL EUROPEAN PEACE MONUMENT IN LIVERPOOL TO CELEBRATE LENNON’S 70TH BIRTHDAY  The city of Liverpool became the centre of the universe on Saturday 9th October as Julian & Cynthia Lennon proudly unveiled a European Peace Monument dedicated to the memory of John.The unveiling of the eighteen-foot peace monument entitled Peace & Harmony celebrated what would have been Lennon’s 70tth birthday drawing 2000 dignitaries and fans from all over Europe to the most important celebration of John’s birthday in the world. 

READ MORE

On July 20 2011, Save the Elephants team led by the Founder and CEO, Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton attended a public event held at the Kenya Wildlife Service training school in Manyani to witness the burning of over 300 confiscated tusks and processed ivory, set on fire by Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki. This move is a message to the world that Kenya is against any form of Ivory trade. The day also marked the first national celebration of the African Elephant Law Enforcement Day. Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton was interviewed and took a strong stand on stopping the demand.

Click On Elephant Video

(Source: savetheelephants.org)

Nearly 50 years after Decca famously rejected the Beatles and reportedly said that the group had “no future in showbusiness,” the label is working with Paul McCartney to release his upcoming ballet, “Ocean’s Kingdom,” Reuters reports.

The show will debut on Sept. 22 at the New York City Ballet and will have four additional performances in September and five in January. The recording will be released in Britain by Decca on Oct. 3.

READ MORE

Once the young (white) lions of the blues, they’re now the old guard. Gregg Allman, John Mayall, Jimmie Vaughan and Johnny Winter are all playing Canadian gigs this summer – including this year’s Kitchener Blues Festival Aug. 4-7. We offer a look at their respective kin, influences, peculiarities and memorable recordings. READ MORE