p11

A BYTE OF LIFE Thursday, June 5, 2008

VIDYA SMITTEN?
If reports are to be believed, with none
other than the MVP of IPL

FREE CIRCULATION Vol. 2 No. 109

Good
morning
chennai

10
WAYS TO
Raghav
What I love about Chennai
is that it’s this amazing
mix of the ancient and the
modern. While on the one
hand, you can get
anything from almost any
part of the world, on the

SAVE
other hand, there’s some
stuff out here that you
could never even imagine
having anywhere else in
the world!
I grew up around the
Mandaveli and Mylapore

EARTH
areas, and to this day,
whenever my wife and I
feel a little down, all we
need to do is to drive
around the streets of
Mylapore and take in the
great positive vibrations
from the temples and the
quaint agraharams of the
area. And wondering that
one may be walking on
the same streets that
"Tiruvalluvar" may have
roamed - now that’s got to
give you goose bumps!!!
As told to Anusha
Parthasarathy
» PAGE 04
02 NAMMA CHENNAI ERGO Thursday, June 5, 2008

Book release
‘Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann’ will be released
today at Goethe-Institut at 6 p.m. The book talks about the
story of the intertwined lives of two remarkable 19th century
Germans -- Alexander Von Humboldt and Mathematical genius
Carl Friedrich Gauss.

When I’m
64
Cricket
Rowdies!
W
hen it came to the IPL T20,
looks like our readers were not
happy just watching the
matches on the telly.
Guys at Wipro padded up for
their own league format
that had 6 teams, 7
matches and one winner.
The teams had funky
names too - from Cricket
Rowdies to Blazers to
Tsunamies.
The final was between
Cricket Rowdies and Blazers.
Cricket Rowdies, riding on the all
around performance of Nanda, won
the final by 18 runs. Kudos to Deepak,
Ranjit, Ravi and Vikash for organising
the tournament.

Ergo Pets’ Pick of the

Mongrel Dog Show organised by Blue Cross in Chennai.
FILE PHOTO:SHAJU JOHN
SRIYA NARAYANAN
pets@goergo.in
Lyrics from the song “When I’m
Sixty Four” by The Beatles
When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now
Will you still need me, will you
still feed me,
When I’m sixty-four
not fortunate enough to be
adopted, they rummage through
garbage dumps for food and
spend the rest of their days in mi-
sery.
A few of them end up at welfare
organisations and remain in a
state of shock after having been
put in a place where strange dogs
and people reside. Rehabilitating
Week: This week, the
crown goes to the 25
large-hearted people,
including Dominic Lee
of Trimble Navigation
Ltd, who called
Subhashini Raghavan
offering to adopt baby
squirrels. She conveys
her heartfelt thanks to
all of you for your
compassion.

A
dult dogs are a sad sight at
struggling animal shelters.
They are taken in as pups
and then abruptly aban-
doned when they need their fam-
ilies more than ever. Several
people purchase pedigree dogs
but are only prepared to take care
of them until the dogs become ill
or show signs of old age. Some
others might decide to “switch
breeds”. In cases like this, a dog
that’s desperately in need of
medical attention or one that is
old but in perfect health is tossed
out onto the street. The result?
They starve to death or get run
over by speeding vehicles. These
animals are completely un-
equipped to handle traffic and
are lost without their owners.
Like their counterparts who were
them is a mammoth task as they
are still emotionally attached to homes. If you’d like to change the
the families that abandoned destiny of a faithful pet by giving
them. They rarely find foster it a second chance at happiness,
please read on:
It’s a good idea to visit the dog
If you’d like to at the shelter a few times and take
it for walks or give it a snack.
change the destiny Once the dog becomes friendly,
the transition becomes easier
of a faithful pet After adoption, leaving them
alone (or tying them up) for ex-
by giving it a tended periods of time will be
detrimental to them. While they
second chance at don’t have to be house-trained,
happiness, please they still require affection and
quality time with their owners.
read on If you’d like to give these animals
some warmth in the winter of their
lives, please write to
bluecrossofindia@gmail.com or
awptrust@yahoo.com
■
 Thursday, June 5, 2008
Hi guys,
Want to reach to yo
friends? Don’t he sita
ur colleagues,
te.
03
ssage like birthday,
We welcome short me
s.
anniversary message n
ges to sticky@goergo.i
Just shoot your messa mb er.
tact phone nu
along with your con
Cheers - Ed ito r

The next big thing

Tourism management courses are catching on
DIVYA M. CHANDRAMOULI &
SWETHA GANESAN

F
or a while now, Singapore
has been a destination for
education in fields such as
technology and manage-
ment. Amongst the myriad op-
tions available to students today,
tourism management is one of
the most attractive.
“We are looking at the two
large integrated resources (Sen-
tosa Integrated Resort and Mari-
na Bay Integrated Resort) being
complete by the 2009-2010,” says
Siew-Kheng Kang, Regional Di-
rector – South Asia, Middle East
and Africa, Singapore Tourism.
“These resorts will generate in ex-
cess of 60,000 jobs and the indus-
try is worried that we might fall
short of people,” says Edmund
Tan, Manager, International
Recruitment, Tourism Manage-
ment Institute of Singapore.
TMIS and Nanyang Institute of
Management are two of the nota-
ble universities offering tourism
management diplomas that are
participating in the first-ever Sin-
gapore Education Admissions
Fair 08-09 conducted in Chennai.

Lucrative investment
Interestingly, Nanyang also of-
fers a diploma specific to casino
management. Casinos will play
their part in popularising the up-
coming integrated resorts and
this diploma will enable students
to manage gaming and fun-flow
apart from handling client re-
quirements. “The demand for
Nanyang’s casino management
programme is not as high as our
tourism and hospitality pro-
gramme but people are starting
to view it more seriously as a lu-
crative investment,” says Gigeo
Sakkaryas, Director, IMTP Con-
sultancy Services.
The diplomas on offer from
various universities come at a
course fee than ranges between
7,000 and 9,000 dollars (Singa-
These resorts will
generate in excess of
60,000 jobs and the
industry is worried
that we might fall
short of people
pore) and include an internship 쒀 Students at the Singapore Education Admissions Fair 08-09 PHOTO: K. V. SRINIVASAN
component. “It is our responsi-
bility to place the students with a
recognised brand for a paid-in-
ternship,” says Tan. TMIS and
Nanyang hold tie-ups with the re-
gion’s top hotels and resorts.
The prospective students are
Ergo’s pick
also on the lookout for variety. “I
want to specialise in tourism as I
like travelling and aspire to do so-
mething different,” says Savitha, 12 Singapore-based institutions showcased various degrees and di-
a commerce graduate. Manasa, plomas at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level at the fair.
also present at the fair, men- Here’s one programme that struck us as interesting
tioned tourism as one of her op-
tions that include other streams
such as psychology and fine arts. Bachelor of Information Technology
Time will tell if tourism in India (Games and Creative Technology)
can offer such rewarding oppor-
tunities, but, if this is what inter- offered by Informatics Education, which has a global network
ests you, Singapore is a plane ride of 143 campuses in 23 countries. The institute also offers an
away. ■ International and International Advanced Diploma in Gaming
The Singapore Education and Animation Technology. For more information, log on to
Admissions Fair is being conducted www.informaticseducation.com.sg
on June 4 and 5 at Hotel Chola
Sheraton between 11 a.m. & 7 p.m.
04 ENVIRON DAY ’08
A simple way to save
energy in your home is by
unplugging your phone
charger when your phone
is fully charged. "Two-
thirds of the energy
consumed by a mobile
phone during its usage is
lost when the phone is
fully charged and
unplugged but the
charger is left connected
to the outlet," according
to Nokia.
Turn your computer off during those
business meetings, coffee breaks and
when you hit the bed. Why leave it
on, when you aren’t using it.
Don’t have a garden? Grow
potted plants in your terrace.
TO SAVE EARTH
Remember every leaf counts.
Live on the 5th floor? Try cross ventilation and
conserve energy. Open those windows save on
those electricity bills.
At the office, print on both sides of the paper
whenever you can. Save paper!
STOCKTRACK
15514.79 4585.60
-447.77 -130.30
SENSEX NIFTY
ERGO Thursday, June 5, 2008
‘‘
Beauty is truth, truth beauty" - that is all
ye know on earth, and all ye need to know
John Keats
Switch to the right bulb. Use compact
fluorescent light bulbs (C.F.L.) instead
of the traditional incandescent light
bulbs. Wondering why? Simply
because a 30-watt C.F.L. produces
about as much light as an ordinary
100-watt bulb. Although the initial
price is higher, C.F.L.’s
can last 12 times
as long If you thought plastics were
the enemy then add glass to
the list. It takes almost a
million years for them to
decompose. So recycle both
plastic and glass and reduce
both air and water pollution.
Travel healthy. Use a bicycle or
walk the next time you need
to go to your local shop. If it’s
a long way to work then hitch
a ride with your friends and
try a carpool.
Recycle your newspaper, don’t
let them just pile up!
Go veggie one day a week! To
produce one pound of meat
requires 2,500 gallons of
water—that’s 40 times more
water than is used to produce
a pound of potatoes.
GRAPHIC ART:
RAHUL DAS
COMPLIED BY:
RINI MUKKATH
AND THARINI
VISWANATHAN
 Thursday, June 5, 2008

Save trees
05
To produce each week’s Sunday newspapers, 500,000
trees must be cut down. Recycling a single run of the US $ 42.63

SOURCE: RBI
Sunday New York Times would save 75,000 trees. If all Pound 83.40
our newspaper was recycled, we could save about Euro 65.80
250,000,000 trees each year.
100 Yen 40.53

GREEN DAY
INITIATIVES
쑸
eMan created
using computer
peripherals to
emphasise safe
disposal and
recycling of e-
waste at
Ascendas

● It’s a three-day celebration

at Ascendas International
Tech Park. Drop in at the
Ascendas Eco Bazaar, where
an exhibition-cum-sale of
various eco-friendly products
will go a great way in
promoting green.
That’s not all. An ‘Eco-Talk’
by a team from SIMS
Recycling Solutions will
discuss ways to manage e-
waste. Also, HI TECH
Singapore will showcase
how office consumables can
be recycled.
........................................
● ‘Sify Cyclathon’ – a cycling
rally, drawing, painting, essay
and a slogan contest on
environment.... Sify promises
to bring awareness among its
employees with its activities.
This is apart from the host of
programmes being aired in
parternship with Big FM.
........................................
●The green initiative at Taj
Coromandel starts today and
goes on till June 9. Make sure
you collect a green sapling if
you are checking out from the
hotel. ‘Need of the Hour’ a
talk by M.B. Nirmal, president
of Exnora, at 3 p.m. and a
host of other activities
promise to ring the green
message loud.
........................................ P.Barclay; Compiled
PLANTING
THOUGHTS
World Earth Day or World Environment Day dosen’t end with a
day or a week’s celebration, for these companies have sustainable
initiatives rolling month after month.
Get set for a ban on all things Cleaning the shores of Marina Henkel has a long list of
plastic inside the Olympia Beach, car-pooling among initiatives it aggressively
Technology Park’s Food Court. employees ... are some of the promotes among its
“We have been discussing green programmes actively employees.
with restaurant owners since carried out by Scope It ensures all its in-house
the last six months. In the International. magazines are printed on
next two weeks we hope to This year though the focus recycled paper. Employees are
implement the rule,” says will be more at reducing urged to use stairs instead of
Chandrakanth Kankaria, carbon impact. The ’Co2 kick lift. A copy of the ‘Power
Director, Olympia Technology the Habit’ is one such Saving Guide’ is given to all, a
Park. contribution – employees are regular check of carbon
Being a ’Green Building’ the encouraged to calculate their dioxide emission is conducted
campus has been promoting carbon footprint to reduce on all employee vehicles and
green measures. Watch out carbon emission and save all employees are urged to
there are more plans in the energy. resist honking on roads,
pipeline. among others.
쑺 Around 1000-odd employees from UST
An employee Global on OMR will be doing their bit to
dressed as a save the environment. Each of them will be
tree collects planting a sapling for which the
money from arrangements are being worked out.
colleagues for Meanwhile, the company is looking at
the ‘Green broadening its car pooling initiative. “We
Fund’ at UST have a good number of senior executives
Global who work from home. That’s our role in
reducing traffic on the roads and saving
power,” says Ramakrishnan Narayanan,
Chennai Centre Head of UST Global. A
paper-less office and deferring from
unnecessary printing of papers are a few
other steps which have helped this
Page Design: Francis company become one of the top 10 Green
Outsourcers.
by Liffy Thomas
06 VILLAGE ERGO Thursday, June 5, 2008

Greenhouse gas emitter

India is the world’s fourth biggest greenhouse gas emitter and
produces about 4 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. The
1,884 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent it emitted in 2000
rank after the US (6,928), China (4,938) and Russia (1,952).

Prince William Three US soldiers killed

FAILS TO DROP in Iraq
Three American soldiers were killed by

ANCHOR small arms fire near the northern Iraqi oil

city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, the US
military said. The attack took place in the
mainly Sunni Arab town of Hawijah west
Makes a crate start with the of Kirkuk, the military said. “The names
of the deceased are being withheld
Royal Navy pending next of kin notification and
release by the (US) department of
defence,” a statement said. The deaths
raised to 4,090 the number of US troops
killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
AFP

Malaysia to hike petrol

prices
Malaysia will raise pump prices of petrol by
about 41 percent to 2.70 ringgit ($0.833) a
litre, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi said on Wednesday.
He also said diesel prices will be raised to
2.58 ringgit ($0.796) a litre.
Apart from pushing up inflation, already at
15-month highs, the fuel price hike could
stoke public anger against the prime
minister at a time when he is trying to
arrest a slide in public support for the
government and fend off a challenge to his
leadership.
Reuters

Japan top court strikes down

nationality law
Japan’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday it was
unconstitutional to deny nationality to children born
out of wedlock to foreign mothers, opening the
door to citizenship for thousands of illegitimate
youth. The ruling, which ended years of court
battles, said it was discriminatory to consider
parents’ marital status. The children were mostly
born to Filipina entertainers working in Japan. “If
P rince William, the second-in- line to the British
throne, has failed to “drop anchor” on his first day
with the Royal Navy.
we look at the significance of nationality in
guaranteeing basic human rights, we cannot afford
Despite two attempts, William did not succeed in to ignore discrimination against children,” presiding
the traditional test of “dropping anchor” and as a judge Niro Shimada said.
AFP
result he owes his new colleagues, a ten-member
strong team, in the Navy a crate of beer.
“It is a tradition in the Royal Navy for someone who
misses slipping the anchor first time to buy those on
the ship a crate, the British media quoted the Prince’s
Estrogen can help prevent Suspected paedophile
instructor Petty Officer Wayne Rattenbury as saying.
In fact, new recruits have to use a sledgehammer to
HIV spread in men gets bail
The female hormone, estrogen can help prevent the spread of A Cambodian court has granted
release a cable attached to a 30-metre chain and an-
HIV infection among men, say a group of Aussie researchers, who bail to an Italian tourist detained
chor on a training ship. And it must be freed with one
blocked the entry of the virus into the penis by creating “living for allegedly sexually abusing six
blow or the unlucky sailor has to get the beers in.
condom”. HIV affects over 40 million people worldwide and is on children, a decision criticised on
The 25-year-old Prince took two swings of the mal-
the rise particularly in countries where males are not circumcised. Wednesday by a child welfare
let but laughed off his embarrassing gaffe. William is
The study, conducted by University of Melbourne researchers, group.
currently on a two-month attachment with the Royal
showed that applying the female hormone estrogen to the penis Fabio Cencini, 43, was released last
Navy. He is to serve as a sub-lieutenant aboard the
increases the thickness of the natural keratin layer in the skin.“In week on 2,500-dollar bail and had
Type 23 frigate Iron Duke, on patrol in the north At-
countries where circumcision is not religiously or culturally his passport confiscated as he
lantic.
accepted, estrogen treatments to the penis could be very effective awaits trial on charges of
He will spend five weeks in the Caribbean in the
in reducing the spread of the disease,” he added. The study is committing indecent acts against
“core” hurricane season during which the ship’s crew
published in PLoS ONE journal. minors.
will be involved in operations to catch drug smug-
ANI AFP
glers. ■
PTI
 Thursday, June 5, 2008
07
Websites of the day Beware of temperature rising
Find out which celebrity you most Rising temperatures could provoke more frequent floods
closely resemble: and droughts, spur disease and increase water scarcity in
www.myheritage.com India because of the disappearance of Himalayan glaciers.
Find a picture, any picture By 2030, glaciers could shrink from 500,000 sq km to
www.flickr.com 100,000 sq km if current rates of warming continue.

Britons and
Obama clinches oranges

NOMINATION
S
enator Barack Obama of Illi-
nois laid claim to the Demo-
cratic presidential
nomination on Tuesday
night, taking a historic step to-
ward his once-improbable goal of
becoming the America’s first
black President.
“Tonight, I can stand before
you and say that I will be the
Democratic nominee for Presi-
dent of the United States,” Oba-
ma said during a huge rally in St.
Paul, Minnesota. “America, this is
"Tonight, I can stand
before you and say
that I will be the
Democratic nominee
for President of the
United States"
our moment, this is our time. Our
AFP PHOTO
in-waiting.
Appearing overwhelmed, Oba-
ma paused for a long period as
the crowd of roughly 17,000 peo-
ple at the Xcel Energy Centre
erupted in wild applause and
sign-waving, The New York Post
reported.
Another 15,000 people were
outside, and chants of “Yes we
can!” - Obama’s catch phrase -
were heard throughout his
speech.
Obama’s victory will be made
official with the vote of delegates
at the Democratic convention in
late August.
In his remarks, Obama compli-
mented Hillary Rodham Clinton
and even mentioned her hus-
band, Bill, who’s been deeply
critical of the Illinois senator.
Obama went into the day need-
ing just over 40 delegates to hit
the magic 2,118 number needed
to clinch at the party convention -
B ritons are too busy to eat or-
anges in their lunch breaks
nowadays and are opting instead
for “easy to peel” fruit like sat-
sumas, according to a survey.
For the third year in a row, or-
ange consumption has fallen. It
was down 2 percent at some 600
million compared with the previ-
ous year, market researchers TNS
said.
Although still popular with the
health-conscious over-45s seek-
ing their 5-a-day fruit and vegeta-
ble intake, oranges are being
replaced by the smaller and more
manageable satsumas and tan-
gerines among young adults.
Both are easier to carry in
lunch boxes, quicker to peel and
less messy to eat. Consumption
of satsumas rose 35 percent over
the past year to about 460 million

time to turn the page on the pol- and capped the night with 2,144 and the number of tangerines
icies of the past,” the 46-year-old after a drip-drip rollout of super jumped 60 percent to about 62
senator said in his first appear- delegates throughout the day. ■ million. ■
ance as the Democratic nominee- ANI Reuters

TUMOUR OR TOWEL? Nature’s fury

The eight-centimetre tumour turned
out to be a surgical towel
D octors who carried out surgery
on a Japanese man to remove
a “tumour” had good news and
bad news for him. He did not
have cancer – but the “growth”
that had been causing him pain
was in fact a 25-year-old surgical
towel.

Since 1983
The patient had been carrying
the cloth since 1983, when sur-
geons at the Asahi General Hospi-
tal in Chiba prefecture near
Tokyo left it in him after an oper-
ation to treat an ulcer, a spokes-
man for the hospital said.
The man, now 49, went in to
another hospital in late May after
suffering abdominal pain. When “The towel was greenish blue
examinations found what was be- although we are not sure about
lieved to be an eight-centimetre its original colour,” the Asahi 쒀
(3.2-inch) tumour, he underwent General Hospital spokesman Lava flows on May 30, 2008 down the Cerro Azul volcano on Isabela Island, the
the operation to remove it. It was said, adding it had been crum- largest of the Galapagos islands, 1,000 km west of Ecuador’s coast in the Pacific
only then that surgeons realised it pled to the size of a softball. ■ Ocean. The eruption began on May 29. AFP PHOTO
was a towel. AFP
08 SPORT
Watson gets ODI call
All-rounder Shane Watson’s stupendous
show in the Indian Premier League has
earned him a place in the Australia ODI
squad for the five-match series
against the West Indies, albeit as
replacement for injured opener
Matthew Hayden. Chairman of
selectors Andrew Hilditch said
Watson’s domestic performance and the
cracking form in the IPL, where he
scored 472 runs and took 17 wickets
for Rajasthan Royals to be
adjudged player of the
tournament, deserved to be
rewarded.
Hilditch said the 26-year-old
Queenslander would be an
exciting replacement for
Hayden, who returned home with
an Achilles tendon injury without
playing any part in the Test
series, in the five-match ODI
series starting with the first
game on June 24 at St.
Vincent. “Shane has had a disappointing run
with injuries but finished our interstate
season well and has sustained his fitness
levels throughout the IPL tournament. Shane
is an exciting young player and deserves his
opportunity to return to the Australian
side,” Hilditch said.
PTI
Warne rules out Test
comeback
Australian spin legend Shane Warne said on
Wednesday that he was “happily retired”
from Test cricket and had no intention of
staging a dramatic comeback. Warne was
responding to speculation that he would be
tempted back into bamboozling the world’s
top batsmen by Stuart McGill’s surprise
retirement this week.
“I’ve got no interest at all at this stage. I’m
very happily retired, I’m comfortable where
I’m at the
moment,” he said.
Warne, 38, who
retired from
international cricket
in January 2007
with a then world
record 708 Test
wickets, last month
raised the prospect
of a return for next
year’s Ashes series
against England if
MacGill was injured.
But he said on
Wednesday those
comments did not
apply to the current
situation. “I actually
said I was happily retired and if Stuart
MacGill broke his leg – which he hasn’t, he’s
retired – and there was no other spinner in
Australia and if Ricky (Ponting) asked me,
I’d consider it,” Warne said.
AFP
Weight of history
R
afael Nadal and Novak Djo-
kovic will square up in a
French Open heavyweight
clash on Friday determined
to ignore the history-tinged im-
plications of their mouth-water-
ing contest. Nadal, the
22-year-old triple champion is
two wins away from joining Bjorn
Borg as the only man to win four
successive Roland Garros titles.
But should world number three
Djokovic take the semi-final, the
21-year-old Serbian will become
the first man to defeat the Spa-
niard at the French Open.
A victory for the Australian
Open champion will also see him
replace Nadal as the world num-
ber two, a position the popular
Spanish left-hander has held for
three years.
Chasing Borg’s record
Nadal is growing weary of com-
parisons with Borg who complet-
ed his four successive Roland
Garros titles in 1981, five years
before he was even born.
He is also quick to remind peo-
ple that so far he has collected 26
tour trophies whereas Borg won
six French Opens and 62 titles in
all.
“This is just talk, talk, talk.
What is important is to play well
on the court on Friday, and we’ll
see who wins,” said Nadal, who
reached the semi-final with a 6-1,
6-1, 6-1 demolition of compatriot
Nicolas Almagro, a man with
more clay-court match wins than
any other player in 2008 coming
ERGO Thursday, June 5, 2008
Gascoigne detained
Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne was detained
under the Mental Health Act for the third time this year on
Tuesday. Gascoigne won 57 caps between 1988 and 1998
but has struggled with a series of health and alcohol-
related problems since retiring from the game.
Nadal, Djokovic
face off in epic
battle
into Roland Garros.
Despite Nadal’s reluctance to
mention himself in the same
breath as the great Swede, his
form here in 2008 has been so
impressive that even the likes
of Djokovic and world num-
ber one Roger Federer can’t
fail to be intimidated.
His victory over Almagro
was the most one-sided quar-
ter-final in the history of Roland
Garros. Furthermore, he has lost
just 25 games in five rounds, the
lowest in any Grand Slam
event in the Open era.
Slovak king
But Djokovic is not in
an entirely hopeless po-
sition. He may have lost
seven of the pair’s 10
meetings, but has
shared the last four
while two of his defeats
– at Wimbledon in
2007 and here in the
2006 quarter-finals –
have come about
through an injury-
enforced retire-
ment.
The
Serbian,
who has been
the most successful
player on the tour in 2008,
lost to Nadal at the same
stage in 2007, but the tables
can turn this time. ■
AFP
 Thursday, June 5, 2008
09

‘‘Soccer
We will enjoy the moment and have fun.
We will remember the good times.
Kapil Dev on the
’83 World Cup reunion

spectacle
10 of
Fifa’s
top-13
nations
are on
parade
at the
European
championships
starting
this
Saturday

triumph in the June Favourite

29 final in Vienna.
“Any team can The bookmakers certainly seem unsure, with half the
win it. If Greece field available for 12-1 or less. Germany, the only team
can win so can to win it three times, are favourites at 3-1.
Spain,” said Luis Ara- The Germans, who failed to get out of the group
gones, coach of a phase in the last two European championships, will
Spanish side seen by look to Michael Ballack to repeat his inspirational per-
many as a good bet to end their formances in midfield. Having tasted defeat for the
dire run of tournament underper- second time in the Champions League final last month
forming that has dogged them since their after an only average season with Chelsea, he will be
sole success in the 1964 European itching to prove himself again.
Championship. Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Croatia, the Nether-
Aragones has opted to leave 102-cap striker Raul lands and the Czechs follow the Germans in the be-
at home, leaving the responsibility for getting the tting, with only joint-hosts Austria at 100-1 rated total
goals with Fernando Torres. no-hopers.
MITCH PHILLIPS
Better than the best The groups
It is often argued that the modern format European The odds, though, are somewhat skewed at this stage

T
he European Championship, as Greece proved
emphatically in 2004, often escapes the super-
power dominance that has marked the World
Cup and this year’s edition starting on Saturday
looks there for the taking again.
Nine different countries have lifted the trophy since
the first Nations Cup finals were staged in 1960, in-
cluding Spain, the former Soviet Union and Denmark,
none of whom have been able to make an impact on
the World Cup.
That tradition has justifiably fuelled the belief in
more than half the 16 nations arriving for competition
in Austria and Switzerland this week that they could
Championship is a tougher tournament than the
World Cup, certainly in the group stage where there are
usually no soft matches.
That claim looked a little thin four years ago when
Greece, 80-1 outsiders, took the title in Portugal after a
semi-final line-up that did not include Italy, France or
Germany.
The big three previous winners are back on duty in
Austria and Switzerland and, along with fellow former
champions Netherlands, are the natural favourites.
However, with 10 of Fifa’s top-13 ranked nations on
parade – only Brazil, Argentina and England are absent
– it really is anybody’s to win.
by the group makeup, where Germany look certain to
emerge along with one of Croatia, Poland and Austria,
whereas Italy and France are by no means guaranteed
of seeing off the Dutch and Romania.
Greece, 25-1 this time having followed up their suc-
cess four years ago by failing to qualify for the 2006
World Cup, could well advance again from a well bal-
anced group that also includes Sweden, Russia and
Spain.
Switzerland are the best-placed of the two hosts but
will still have to find something special to get the better
of two of Portugal, Turkey, and Czech Republic. ■
Reuters
10 FLICK
Hot 100 gay icons
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Douglas Freeman in New Line Cinema’s release of Gavin Hood’s Rendition.
H
ollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal
has topped a poll of the Hot
100 gay icons for the second
straight year.
The Brokeback Mountain star took
top spot in the poll of 100,000 people
on gay website AfterElton.com.
The website stated that it was not
only Gyllenhaal’s ’doe-eyed, boy next
door looks’ that helped him take the
number one position, but also that
’he doesn’t have an issue going for
us’, adding: "Jake has done as much
as any actor to show straight guys
there isn’t a good reason to be
afraid of gay guys or gay roles."
Second spot on the list went to John
Borrowman, who stars in
’Torchwood’.
For him, the website said: "An
outspoken advocate for gay rights,
John has been out professionally for
Jake Gyllenhaal tops ’Hot
100 gay icons’ list
Uma Thurman stalker
to undergo
psychiatric care
A man convicted of stalking
actress Uma Thurman and harassing
her family for two years was
ordered released from jail on
Monday and will be required to
submit to psychiatric care as a
condition of his probation.
Jack Jordan, 37, was accused of
sending harassing e-mails to
Thurman’s father and brother,
loitering for hours on the steps of
Thurman’s Manhattan apartment
and visiting her trailer on the set of
the 2006 film "My Super Ex-
Girlfriend."
Reuters
ERGO Thursday, June 5, 2008
Dr No
"Dr. No" was the first of the James
Bond films produced at Eon
Productions in Britain in 1962.
Joseph Wiseman played the
villainous Dr. No.
Neil Patrick Harris
Top 10 of the
’Hot 100 gay
icons’
years, and as his list of credits
prove, his openness hasn’t 1. Jake Gyllenhaal
held him back’. 2. John Borrowman
Third on the list was hunky 3. Luke MacFarlane
Canadian actor Luke 4. Cheyenne Jackson
MacFarlane, who stars in the 5. Neil Patrick Harris
hit series ’Brothers and Sisters’. 6. Gale Harold
The top five was rounded off 7. Van Hansis
by actor Cheyenne Jackson 8. Chris Evans
and Neil Patrick Harris, who 9. Anderson Cooper 10.
came in fourth and fifth place Ryan Reynolds
respectively. ■
ANI
Cameron Diaz gets cosy
with Jennifer Aniston’s ex
Jennifer Aniston is not the only leading
Hollywood lady that British model Paul
Sculfor has gotten cosy with, for the latest to
fall for his good looks is none other than
perky Cameron Diaz. Diaz and Sculfor were
snapped out on a date in Santa Monica on
Sunday night by British tabloid The Sun.
According to the paper, Sculfor and
Cameron went to Italian restaurant Giorgio
Baldi for their date, with one onlooker
revealing that the model really put the smile
on her face.
"She was laughing ridiculously loudly at
his jokes and throwing her head back like
something out of one of her rom-coms. She
also had her shirt undone very low - which
didn’t escape his attention." The pair spent
two hours in the restaurant then drove off in
Sculfor’s car.
ANI
 Thursday, June 5, 2008
Costly paining
British rocker Pete Doherty has splashed
out 10,000 dollars on a portrait of ex
girlfriend Kate Moss. The Babyshambles
frontman was snapped buying the oil
painting from artist Sam Shaker in London.
Vidya couldn’t Cine City
take her eyes off
Shane Watson
She describes
Australian all-
rounder as a
very good
looking man,
and added that
during the
recently held
IPL, she couldn’t
take her eyes
off him
B
ollywood actress Vidya Balan has described Aus-
tralian all-rounder as a very good looking man,
and added that during the recently held Indian
Premier League Twenty20 tournament, she
"couldn’t take my eyes off him."
On his part, Watson said he felt the love in India in a
way he has never experienced in his own country.
"Even though it was Twenty20, it was a world-class
competition. It had the intensity, the crowds and I felt it
was a great challenge. Hopefully it works favourably on
my case," said Watson, who after a short holiday in the
Maldives, will travel to England for a six-week stint with
Hampshire.
"The most important thing is to continue to string
games together and improve, and I know I’ll be playing
cricket somewhere … My dream all along has been to
break back in and be a permanent member of the Aus-
tralian team," Fox Sports quoted him, as saying.
Whether he will hear his name chanted by the crowd,
as he did in Mumbai last week, is another matter.
"I hope one day that adulation might be there in
Australia because it’s my home country, and I love play-
ing in Australia, for Australia," he said.
A member of Shane Warne’s triumphant Rajasthan
Royals, Watson said the intensity of the IPL was compa-
rable with international cricket, and hoped it would
bring redemption.■
ANI
11
Reimagining Holmes
British director Guy Ritchie has signed on to
write and helm a reimagining of super sleuth
Sherlock Holmes for Warner Bros. The pic is
being produced by Lionel Wigram and Dan Lin,
and will give a new take on Holmes.
The Iman-Harris
Connection
M usic director D. Iman is a great fan of Harris Jayaraj.
But there is another side to this coin. He is a distant
relative of Harris Jayaraj.
“My father and his father were college mates and best
friends,” says Iman, who recently entered wedlock.
“I love all his songs of Harris and even he has
commented on mine. Even though we don’t mingle
much, our music brings us together,” says Iman.
When asked about his wife, Iman blushes. “It was an
arranged marriage, but we fell in love after our
engagement. We used to call each other and talk
secretly. According to me love after marriage is always
the best. “
“My wife Monica is a great fan of mine. She loves the
song Mobilelaa Mobilelaa from the movie Rendu,
because it was me who sang the song.”
Iman has got handful of offers now and he attributes
everything to his wife. From melodies like Vizhigalil
Vizhigalil, Mobilelaa Mobilelaa to Kuthu songs like
Madhura Jilla machan thaandi, Iman has tried his hands
at a variety of genres. Iman has till now scored music for
nearly 30 films in Tamil, three in Hindi and one in
Malayalam. He has worked for films acted by various
top actors like Arjun, Vijay, Dhanush and Sundar C. His
Hindi films include two acted by Mallika Sherawat (Kis
Kis Ki Kismet) and (Khwahish) and Garam Masala
directed by Priyadharsan.
Shoba
12 SCAN ERGO Thursday, June 5, 2008

All for Comfort

According to IMDB, in the movie Jodha Akbar, for
Hrithik and Aishwarya’s sword fight scene, initially
the sword was made of wood and fibre. But Hrithik
and Aishwarya found it difficult to manoeuvre it,
and so the swords were re-made light fibre.

PICK OF THE DAY

HBO VH1 Star World Star Vijay

Space Cowboys – 11-30 pm
Sci-fi comedy drama about a team
of superannuated astronauts who
are rejected by NASA in the 1950s
but find themselves in demand
years later when a Russian satellite
system malfunctions and plunges
towards Earth.
VH1 Classic – 11 pm
Vh1 classic takes you back in time
and plays your favourite classic
songs showcasing some of the
legends including Queen, U2,
Madonna, Michael Jackson & many
more.
Beauty and the Geek
– 10 pm
The show consists of a group of
"beauties" & a group of "geeks"
that are paired up to compete as
couples for a shared $250,000 and
other prizes.
Thiranthudu Sesame – 9 pm
A game show that is based on luck
and that tempts the participants
into taking risks and keeps the
audience on the edge of their seats.

Dear Diary …
Balakrishnan.V, founder-director,
Theatre Nisha
I just received thunderous re-
sponse for my new play, ‘Retell’.
And I’m sitting back thinking;
how did it all begin? And as if it
was yesterday, memories start
pouring in.
I was preparing for my IAS ex-
ams when I thought: “Why not do
theatre full-time?” That is when I
decided to try for a place in the
National School of Drama (NSD)
which I can honestly say changed
my life forever.
I had worked in Sriram Centre
for Performing Arts part-time,
toured a lot of places in North In-
dia, performed with a lot of great
actors and had a reasonable
grounding in performance arts.
But I was still unprepared for the
audition an interview to get into
NSD.
Three to four thousand people
쑸 forever.
Balakrishnan in action at a
play staged at the Alliance
Francaise in April.
PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN
apply every year (and this was in
the 1990s) of which around 80
people get called in for the sec-
ond round. After a four-day work-
shop of games and exercises, only
20 people get seats in the college.
For the first audition, we had to
prepare and perform a speech.
Everyone chose speeches from
various Hindi and English plays
but I wanted to be different. So I
picked a speech in Sanskrit from
Bhasa’s play “Urubhangam,”
based on the Mahabharata.
Though the epic treats the Pan-
davas as the heroes, “Urubhan-
gam” gives Duryodhana that title
and it also happens to be one of
my all time favourites. Anyway, it
went well and I got selected for
the second round. From then on,
everything just fell into place.
Now, when I think back, that San-
skrit speech changed my life
Wow, diary, isn’t it amazing
how every word we speak makes
a difference … ■
Compiled by Tharini Viswanath
 Thursday, June 5, 2008
13
Learn to fly Buried in pringle tub
A bird lover has taught an orphaned baby heron The US designer who invented the Pringles tube was so
to fly by flapping his arms and pretending to try proud of his achievement he’s been buried in one. Fredric
to take off. Gary Zammit came to the rescue J Baur asked for some of his ashes to be put in a tube
after the grey heron’s family was killed in a and interred in a grave in his home city of Cincinnati.
storm, reports the Daily Mirror.

Tenali Raman
Koothu p pattarai stages the play
’Tenali Raman’. Tenali Raman
popularly who was known as Vi-
kata Kavi was a court jester dur-
ing the reign of Krishnadeva
Raya.
Where: Koothu-p-pattarai,
Stage II
Vaikasi Street,
Chinmaya Nagar,
Virugambakkam
When: Jun 5 – Jun 15, 7 p.m.

’Vanilla’s Art &

Music Café’
Vanilla is to launch ‘Vanil-
la’s Art & Music Café’
which will offer a space to
exhibit all types of art work
and music. This is an at-
tempt to recognize and
GUERRA DE CANUDOS
P rinces and
rincesses
promote local and regional
talent.
Where: 8/57,1st Street,
Luz Avenue,Mylapore,
When: Jun 6
6.30p.m. – 9.00p.m.

The Alliance Francaise of Madras will be play-

The Embassy of Brazil in association with Indo Cine Appre- ing a movie named Princes and Princesses at
ciation Foundation (ICAF) is organising a Brazilian Film Fes- their auditorium.
tival at the South Indian Film Chamber Theatre where a film Where: Alliance Francaise
named GUERRA DE CANUDOS is being played. College road Nungambakkam
Where: South Indian Film Chamber Theatre Anna Salai When: Jun 5, 6.30p.m.
When: June 5, 6.15p.m.

TOP 5 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU ARE ALONE AT HOME

Thai Food Festival
The Residency Towers is
hosting the Thai Food Fes-
tival at the “Main Street”
Restaurant. Join them this
evening and should this
date not be convenient,
please feel free to be their
guest for dinner on any
convenient day.
Where:
Main Street Restaurant
The Residency Towers
T.Nagar
When: June 5
First of all, make a decision to sit at home for an entire day
and spend some time with yourself. If you think you’re
capable of making and carrying out such a decision, Ergo
has some ideas as to what you can do:
1. BAKE A BATCH
No, I don’t mean buying Betty Crocker’s mix at the
supermarket and dumping hurriedly mixed batter in the
microwave. Get out your beaters and break some eggs! And
try using a nice real fashioned oven this time.
2. TURN THOSE LEAVES
How long has it been since you opened a novel? Forget the
flashy magazines you leaf through on the way to work or
at the dentist’s office. Pick up that book you have been
putting off for the past seven years and lose yourself in the
pages.
3. BRING BACK THOSE SWEET MOMOENTS
Remember those good times when your mother or
grandmother would heat sesame oil and massage it into your
head?
Treat yourself to a nice oil bath. You don’t necessarily have
to wait until Diwali or Pongal, you know.
4. GAZE OUT
Are your windows open? If not, open them and spend a few
minutes enjoying the view. If done right, it can bring back
some memories. If not, just a few angry neighbours.
5. DOZE OFF
If you have nothing better to do, then pick up your physics
book and read through. The next moment, you will find
yourself drifting into a much needed sleep!
Tharini Viswanath and Monisha Mohandas
14 TRAFFIC JAM ERGO Thursday, June 5, 2008

Brown is alien hunter

Gordon Brown is portrayed as an alien-fighting hero
in a new American comic. He helps protect the planet
from an evil, green-skinned race known as The Skrulls
in Marvel comic book Captain Britain and MI13.

sudoku

Anoop T Verghese
from Wipro
clicked this photo
in Kuttanadu,
Kerala, he adds
just ahead of the
mid-summer
showers. He says
he enjoys
travelling and
playing football.
Email:
anoop.varughese
@wipro.com

KAKURO
So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never really had the platform?
Mail us your best work and we’ll publish it in this space, with credit.
E-mail: clickpick@goergo.in

TEAM
Editor: Karthik Subramanian
karthik@goergo.in

Deputy Editor: Vijay Parthasarathy

vijay@goergo.in

Sr Dy Chief Designer: J.A. Prem Kumar

Dy Chief Designer: R. Ravi Kannan
Illustrator: R. Venugopal

Technical Support:
V.R. Vasudevan, K.G. Gurumurthy
N. Ravichandran, E. Baskar
Head of Advertising:
Sriya Narayanan
ads@goergo.in

Head of Circulation:
RA. Babu Vijay
copies@goergo.in

SNAIL MAIL
859/860, Anna Salai,
Chennai - 600 002
mail your feedback to
feedback@goergo.in
FAX 2857 6691

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES
Call our
Advertisement Manager
at 2857 6695.
email: ads@goergo.in
Website: www.goergo.in

Printed and Published by S. Karthik on behalf of

KASTURI & SONS LTD., at Plot B-6 & B-7,
CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar,
Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin:
603209 & at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860,
Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Editor: S. Karthik
(Editor responsible for selection of news under
the PRB Act).
 Thursday, June 5, 2008
Busking pole dancer
Police in Bucharest are looking for a busking pole dancer who
performs her routines on the city’s underground railway. She
apparently performs her routines only when the train is
travelling between further apart subway stations in the
Romanian capital.
15
Word’s worth
"Ubiation" (yoo-bee-ay-shuhn) the act of occupying
a new place. From a Latin word meaning ’where.’
Ubication is the condition of being in a certain
place, and ubity is a rare word meaning ’place.’

B.C

ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

Planning today’s activities in advance will certainly
help you. On the whole, the day may be very busy.
Ganesha suggests that if you get stuck at some
place, use logic. For love life, sugar coating your
words will make your relationship sweeter.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20

You may feel varied emotions today, feels Ganesha.
Though you might begin the day with confidence, it
might start draining out, leaving you completely
baffled. Be extremely careful as far as relationships
are concerned. Do not ignore your love life.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20

The morning may be confusing and hectic. However
BORN LOSER everything will fall in proper place after lunch.
Ganesha notes that you will be very active on the
email circuit with your friends. On the love front,
you will be noted to be playful and active!
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20
Expect miracles today as luck is on your side.
However, you must keep working with a powerful
pace. Ganesha assures that everything will fall in
proper place. Lovers may feel hurt due to
insecurities amongst themselves. .
LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20
At work, there may be technical errors which you
may have to solve. Ganesha warns you against such
troubles for coming few days. Along with keeping
your cool, Ganesha suggests you should not hesitate
from asking for helpfrom your beloved or friends.
VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20
Though the day may seem to be favourable, it may
FREE RANGE WORKING IT OUT change its flavour after lunch time. Make the most
of the favourable time. Ganesha advises you to be
careful about your romantic life. Even a minor fight
may trigger off a huge argument.
LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20
You will be at the centre of the spot light today.
Ganesha feels that you will also be able to help
and motivate your colleagues. Young couples may
feel a strong need for a commitment and married
couples will have a gala time with each other.
SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20
Fight for the right thing today. If you give up, you
may never be able to achieve your dreams, warns
Ganesha. Try to be clear and direct with people at
office today. On the love front however, it is not
advisable to be demanding.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20
Ganesha wants you to be very punctual about time
today. Sudden opportunities might come your way
and you will be surprised at your luck today. On the
romantic front however, your bonds may become
stronger. On the whole, a very lucky day for you.
CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20
Feel free to go ahead and make decisions. Ganesha
feels today you will be at your best when it comes
to making decisions. However, let the discussions be
only about professional matters. In love life, you
may have to face some emotional stress.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20
PREVIOUS Team work will not only help you, but will also help
your organisation. Try team building activities at
ISSUE’S office today. Ganesha feels your colleagues will
appreciate you for the same. The day will end with
SOLUTIONS a perfect evening with family members.
PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20
Ganesha notes you to be very moody today. Don’t
let your dull mood disturb your work style. Try to
relax. If in case you feel that things are going out
of hand, try to contact a person who is close to
your heart and will understand your demands.
Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni
16 ! ERGO Thursday, June 5, 2008

Lucky escape for couple

A 100-year-old New Zealand man and his 99-year-old wife have
had a lucky escape after driving the wrong way along a
highway near Wellington. Police say the mature duo was
travelling through Ngauranga Gorge, just north of Wellington
around 9 pm on Monday.

Man jailed for faking

his death Return of Ms.Kollywood
A Singapore man was jailed for three years after he faked his
own death in a civil war shoot-out in Sri Lanka in 1987 to
escape his creditors and claim S$331,341 ($243,600) in
insurance money, a newspaper reported Saturday. The Straits
Times said that Gandaruban Subramaniam fled Singapore
more than 20 years ago – harassed by creditors and illegal
money lenders since the failure of his car rental business –
and moved to London to work as a street sweeper. The 60-
year old eventually settled in Sri Lanka where he managed to
obtain a death certificate stating he had been killed in a
shootout between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels,
allowing his family to
claim on his insurance
policies.
But he returned to
Singapore a number
of times using a fake
Sri Lankan passport
and also remarried
his wife in Sri Lanka
in 1994 and fathered
a son, their fourth
child, two years later.
The couple has since
divorced. 쒀 Simran flashes her 100-watts smile after she was announced to be the brand
Reuters ambassador for ‘Kurkure’ biscuit in the City on Wednesday. PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR