Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Top 10 Books


10. MiddlemarchGeorge Eliot
Middlemarch
Middlemarch is considered by many scholars to be one of the most important novels of the Victorian era. It was written by George Eliot (pen name of Mary Anne Evans) and was first published in 1871 to 1872. It is set in the 1830s in Middlemarch, a fictional provincial town in England, based on Coventry.
9. The Stories of Anton ChekhovAnton Chekhov
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Anton Chekhov was a Russian short story writer and playwright. He was born in Taganrog, southern Russia, on 29 January 1860. His originality consists in an early use of the stream-of-consciousness technique, later employed by Virginia Woolf and other modernists, combined with a disavowal of the moral finality of traditional story structure.
8. In Search of Lost TimeMarcel Proust
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I appreciate the great artistic merit in Proust’s writing, but I have to be honest and say that I have never managed to get more than half way through the first book of this multiple-book novel. I found it extremely slow paced and boring. This is Proust’s most prominent work, it is popularly known for its extended length and the notion of involuntary memory, the most famous example being the “episode of the madeleine” in which he describes in great (boring) detail, eating a madeleine dipped in tea.
7. The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald
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I agree with the inclusion of this book – it is one of my favorites and one of the best examples of Fitzgerald’s writing. The Great Gatsby is a tale from the Jazz age of Gatsby – a wealthy man whose life is surrounded by mystery. A brilliant read.
6. HamletWilliam Shakespeare
Hamlet-V2-Poster
It is no surprise that Mr Shakespeare is on the list. I am not sure that I would have picked Hamlet as his best book, but who am I to debate 125 brilliant authors? Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, probably written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle for murdering Hamlet’s father, the King, gaining the throne through this treachery, and subsequently marrying his mother.
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain
Huckleberry Finn Pix
It is good to see such a great book for the younger generation on the list. Huckleberry Finn is commonly accounted as one of the first Great American Novels. It is also one of the first major American novels ever written using Local Color Regionalism, or vernacular, told in the first person by the eponymous Huckleberry “Huck” Finn, best friend of Tom Sawyer (hero of three other Mark Twain books).
4. LolitaVladimir Nabokov
Lolita
Lolita was first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris. The novel is both internationally famous for its innovative style and infamous for its controversial subject: the book’s narrator and protagonist Humbert Humbert becoming sexually obsessed with a twelve-year-old girl named Dolores Haze.
3. War and PeaceLeo Tolstoy
Warandpeace
War and Peace was first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russkii Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. It is usually described as one of Tolstoy’s two major masterpieces (the other being Anna Karenina) as well as one of the world’s greatest novels.
2. Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary Fronte
Madame Bovary was attacked for obscenity by public prosecutors when it was first serialised in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, resulting in a trial in January 1857 that made it notorious. The novel focuses on a doctor’s wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. Though the basic plot is rather simple, even archetypal, the novel’s true art lies in its details and hidden patterns.
1. Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy
Pevear Karenina
Anna Karenina is widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered this book his first true novel. Although most Russian critics panned the novel on its publication as a “trifling romance of high life,” Fyodor Dostoevsky declared it to be “flawless as a work of art.” Tolstoy’s style in Anna Karenina is considered by many critics to be transitional, forming a bridge between the realist and modernist novel.

Top 10 politicians in the world


10. Margaret Thatcher (Former Prime Minister of U.K):
One of the things being in politics has taught me is that men are not a reasoned or reasonable sexThis firelady from United Kingdom has a clear conception for whatever she promulgates.  Famous for her stubborn and arrogant style, she is a symbol of a principled approach to personal freedom.
9. Thomas Jefferson (Third President of U.S):
Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. A respected educator, a powerful politician and a nerd curious to explore his surroundings. Jefferson is the author of Declaration of American Independence. One of the greatest minds in World politics and the founding father of Democratic party, he always emphasized his followers to obtain great ideas.
8. Al Gore (Former Vice President of America):
A hunk with a geek reputation and addict of Information Technology, this distinguished gentleman of politics demonstrated great leadership by instituting a federal program to wire all schools and libraries to the Internet in America. No matter how hard the loss, defeat might serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.
7. Martin Luther King Jr. (Civil Rights Activist of America):
Spokesperson of his mind, he is considered as GOD among black people. In his perspective life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others? A personality filled with bravery and determination, he was the icon for black people and was passionate to provide them an equivalent status as the white possesses in society. According to his point of view  blacks should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of the character.
6. Adolf Hitler (Dictator of Germany):
Struggle is the father of all things. It is not by the principles of humanity that man lives or is able to preserve himself above the animal world, but solely by means of the most brutal struggle. If you do not fight, life will never be won…wow wow wow, bravo, superb. Despite some people see him as an evil and terrorizing element, he was a man with vision and mission. He was a genius in motivating Germans to achieve their goals, whether it requires devastation.
5. Vladimir Lenin (Russian Revolutionary):
Son of a Russian nobleman, this Russian think tank was inexorable symbol of passionate working. His concept of political correctness and ideological struggle was irresistible. Sometimes – history needs a push.

4. Abraham Lincoln (Former U.S President):
An unifying portrayal of political face, this great man is admired for his statesmanship. His ideas have not only benefited the forthcoming generations till today but would continue to bear an indelible mark on the upcoming generations as well. True believer of democracy, once he quoted – As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.
3. Mikhail Gorbachev (Former President of USSR):
This Nobel Peace Prize winner is a pariah of common people. He is an accumulate figure of change and hope for a stagnant system, motion, creativity and amazing equilibrium. His concept of playing by the rulesand revolution of the mind regard him as a hero. His heroic journey of hardship and triumph is enough to define him as a political superstar.
2. George Washington (First President of America):
Well, character of this person could be described by using the traits of honesty, intelligence, perseverance, endurance and strength. Referred as Father of America, he will be always remembered for his salient contribution in fighting for, creating and leading the United States of America in its sputtering days.
1. Sir Winston Churchill (Former British Prime Minister):
What is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terrors, victory, however long and hard the road may be. For without victory, there is no survival.This legendary head of political ring was also a prolific journalist, writer as well as an adventurer.

Top 10 Scams in India


1) 2G Spectrum Scam

We have had a number of scams in India; but none bigger than the scam involving the process of allocating unified access service licenses. At the heart of this Rs.1.76-lakh crore worth of scam is the former Telecom minister A Raja – who according to the CAG, has evaded norms at every level as he carried out the dubious 2G license awards in 2008 at a throw-away price which were pegged at 2001 prices.

2) Commonwealth Games Scam

clip image005 Top 10 Corruption Scams in India
Another feather in the cap of Indian scandal list is Commonwealth Games loot. Yes, literally a loot! Even before the long awaited sporting bonanza could see the day of light, the grand event was soaked in the allegations of corruption. It is estimated that out of Rs. 70000 crore spent on the Games, only half the said amount was spent on Indian sportspersons.
The Central Vigilance Commission, involved in probing the alleged corruption in various Commonwealth Games-related projects, has found discrepancies in tenders – like payment to non-existent parties, will-ful delays in execution of contracts, over-inflated price and bungling in purchase of equipment through tendering – and misappropriation of funds.

3) Telgi Scam

As they say, every scam must have something unique in it to make money out of it in an unscrupulous manner- and Telgi scam had all the suspense and drama that the scandal needed to thrive and be busted.
Abdul Karim Telgi had mastered the art of forgery in printing duplicate stamp papers and sold them to banks and other institutions. The tentacles of the fake stamp and stamp paper case had penetrated 12 states and was estimated at a whooping Rs. 20000 crore plus. The Telgi clearly had a lot of support from government departments that were responsible for the production and sale of high security stamps.

4) Satyam Scam

clip image007 Top 10 Corruption Scams in India
The scam at Satyam Computer Services is something that will shatter the peace and tranquillity of Indian investors and shareholder community beyond repair. Satyam is the biggest fraud in the corporate history to the tune of Rs. 14000 crore.
The company’s disgraced former chairman Ramalinga Raju kept everyone in the dark for a decade by fudging the books of accounts for several years and inflating revenues and profit figures of Satyam. Finally, the company was taken over by the Tech Mahindra which has done wonderfully well to revive the brand Satyam.

5) Bofors Scam

The Bofors scandal is known as the hallmark of Indian corruption. The Bofors scam was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s; when the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and several others including a powerful NRI family named the Hindujas, were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India’s 155 mm field howitzer.
The Swedish State Radio had broadcast a startling report about an undercover operation carried out by Bofors, Sweden’s biggest arms manufacturer, whereby $16 million were allegedly paid to members of PM Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress.
Most of all, the Bofors scam had a strong emotional appeal because it was a scam related to the defense services and India’s security interests.

6) The Fodder Scam

clip image010 Top 10 Corruption Scams in India
If you haven’t heard of Bihar’s fodder scam of 1996, you might still be able to recognize it by the name of “Chara Ghotala ,” as it is popularly known in the vernacular language.
In this corruption scandal worth Rs.900 crore, an unholy nexus was traced involved in fabrication of “vast herds of fictitious livestock” for which fodder, medicine and animal husbandry equipment was supposedly procured.

7) The Hawala Scandal

The Hawala case to the tune of $18 million bribery scandal, which came in the open in 1996, involved payments allegedly received by country’s leading politicians through hawala brokers. From the list of those accused also included Lal Krishna Advani who was then the Leader of Opposition.
Thus, for the first time in Indian politics, it gave a feeling of open loot all around the public, involving all the major political players being accused of having accepted bribes and also alleged connections about payments being channelled to Hizbul Mujahideen militants in Kashmir.

8) IPL Scam

Well, I am running out of time and space over here. The list of scandals in India is just not ending and becoming grave by every decade. Most of us are aware about the recent scam in IPL and embezzlement with respect to bidding for various franchisees. The scandal already claimed the portfolios of two big-wigs in the form of Shashi Tharoor and former IPL chief Lalit Modi.

9,10) Harshad Mehta & Ketan Parekh Stock Market Scam

Although not corruption scams, these have affected many people. There is no way that the investor community could forget the unfortunate Rs. 4000 crore Harshad Mehta scamand over Rs. 1000 crore Ketan Parekh scam which eroded the shareholders wealth in form of big market jolt.

Top 10 Weekend Box Office Hollywood Movies


week of 4 February 2011

RankTitleWeekendGross
1The Roommate (2011)$15M$15M
2Sanctum (2011)$9.45M$9.45M
3No Strings Attached (2011)$8M$51.4M
4The King's Speech (2010)$7.71M$83.5M
5The Green Hornet (2011)$5.97M$87.1M
6The Rite (2011)$5.59M$23.7M
7The Mechanic (2011)$5.3M$20M
8True Grit (2010)$4.64M$155M
9Black Swan (2010)$3.37M$95.9M
10The Dilemma (2011)$3.28M$45.6M