LIFE STYLE OF TODAYS WORLD

Asal trailer

2010-02-05T20:28:00.003+05:30

Asal AJITH thala Stils

2010-02-05T20:20:00.002+05:30

Asal Clips

2010-02-05T20:18:00.003+05:30

ASAL

2010-02-05T20:12:00.002+05:30

The trios of Ajith, Saran and Bharadwaj have proved lucky in the past. After musical entertainers like 'Kadhal Mannan', 'Amarkkalam' and 'Attagasam', they have now teamed up together for 'Asal'. The album has seven numbers which are different from each other.

Bharadwaj's penchant for melodies is evident in the album. With Vairamuthu penning the lyrics, it is a real treat for music-lovers.

The pick of the album indeed is a number 'En Thanthai...' rendered by Bharadwaj himself. The one crooned by S P Balasubramaniam too is good to listen to. With lyrics not over powered by the instruments, which has been the hallmark of Bharadwaj's music style, all songs in 'Asal' are attractive.

Produced by Sivaji Films, the movie starring Ajith, Bhavana and Sameera Reddy, is all complete and ready for release.

Let's check out how the songs are

1. Thala Pola Varuma - Listen here

Singer: Sunitha Menon

Appropriate and right one for Ajith fans. Bharadwaj who tuned some splendid mass numbers for Ajith in the past has come out with one such song this time too. A racy track sure to become anthem among Ajith fans. It has peppy and groovy beats combined with lyrics that every 'Thala' fan would relish.

2. Em Thandhai - Listen here

Singer: Bharadwaj

The 'Gnayabagam varudhae...' number of ‘Asal’. A song that glorifies a dad by his son, the number is heart-warming and speaks a lot of a son's admiration for his father. Director Saran was right in dedicating the song to Sivaji Ganesan as the film is produced by the thespian's sons Prabhu and Ramkumar. Vairamuthu is at his best penning the song with touchy lyrics. Bharadwaj's soft-rendering elevates the mood of the number.

3. Kuthiraikku Theriyum - Listen here

Singer: Surumukhi, Sricharan

A catchy track with extra-ordinary arrangements by Bharadwaj. The song is brisk right from its beginning. Vairamuthu's simple lyrics add pep to the song. Bharadwaj seems to have re-invented himself with the song. Surumukhi and Sricharan chip in with their best.

4. Tottodaing - Listen here

Singer: Mukesh, Janani

A mass number with splendid beats. One for Ajith fans to shake their legs, the song is good to listen to. A touch of Classical raga cannot be denied. Janani's youthful voice combines with Mukesh's brisk tone to make it a good listening.

5. Hey Dushyantha - Listen here

Singer: Surumukhi, Kumaran

Though it distantly reminds one of 'Yesh Ishq...' from 'Jab We Met', Bharadwaj's orchestration gives the difference. It is a pleasant number that would go down well with music-lovers. Bharadwaj's ease at handling singers is evident with the number.

6. Yengay Yengay - Listen here

Singer: SPB

Two versions of the song appear in the album. S P Balasubramaniam's brisk rendering leaves an impression. It speaks of a man's journey in his life, and the insults and back-stabbings he had faced. A mild version of 'Saththam Illadha Thanimai...' in 'Amarkkalam' is this sing.

‘Asal’ on the whole, is an album that is worth listening to. Entertainment guaranteed!

World Ends In 2012 :

2009-12-31T18:51:00.001+05:30

SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS from around the world are predicting that five years from now, all life on Earth could well come to an end. Some are saying it’ll be humans that would set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it’ll be God himself who would press the stop button. The following are some likely arguments as to why the world would end by the year 2012.

Reason one: Mayan calendar

The first to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things -- building highly accurate astrological equipment out of stone and sacrificing virgins.

Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts that the earth will end on December 21, 2012. Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it’s likely they’ve got the end of the world right as well.

Reason two: Sun storms

Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery. Our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic and it’s supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the earth with lot of radiation energy. It’s been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse and calculations suggest it’ll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012.

Reason three: The atom smasher

Scientists in Europe have been building the world’s largest particle accelerator. Basically, its a 27 km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it’s properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They’re predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.

Reason four: The Bible says it

If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn’t bad enough, religious folks are getting in on the act as well. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between good an evil, has been set for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese Book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.

Reason five: Super volcano

Yellowstone National Park in United States is famous for its thermal springs and old faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple -- it’s sitting on top of the world’s biggest volcano and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we’re many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.

Reason six: The physicists

This one’s case of bog -- simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berkely University have been crunching the numbers. They’ve determined that the earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they’re claiming that their calculations prove that we’re all going to die, very soon. They are also saying that their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 per cent; and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.

Reason seven: Earth’s magnetic field

We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that shields us from most of the sun’s radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call North and South have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so -- and right now we’re about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30 kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is under way, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.

2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?

2009-12-31T18:46:00.000+05:30

Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice.

Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we're frequently asked regarding 2012.

Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.
Answer (A): Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.

Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?
A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.

Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012?
A: Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then -- just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.

Q: Could a phenomena occur where planets align in a way that impacts Earth?
A: There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades, Earth will not cross the galactic plane in 2012, and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.

Q: Is there a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Planet X or Eris that is approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction?
A: Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles.

Q: What is the polar shift theory? Is it true that the earth’s crust does a 180-degree rotation around the core in a matter of days if not hours?
A: A reversal in the rotation of Earth is impossible. There are slow movements of the continents (for example Antarctica was near the equator hundreds of millions of years ago), but that is irrelevant to claims of reversal of the rotational poles. However, many of the disaster websites pull a bait-and-shift to fool people. They claim a relationship between the rotation and the magnetic polarity of Earth, which does change irregularly, with a magnetic reversal taking place every 400,000 years on average. As far as we know, such a magnetic reversal doesn’t cause any harm to life on Earth. A magnetic reversal is very unlikely to happen in the next few millennia, anyway.

Q: Is the Earth in danger of being hit by a meteor in 2012?
A: The Earth has always been subject to impacts by comets and asteroids, although big hits are very rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago, and that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today NASA astronomers are carrying out a survey called the Spaceguard Survey to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit. We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs. All this work is done openly with the discoveries posted every day on the NASA NEO Program Office website, so you can see for yourself that nothing is predicted to hit in 2012.

Q: How do NASA scientists feel about claims of pending doomsday?
A: For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.

Q: Is there a danger from giant solar storms predicted for 2012?
A: Solar activity has a regular cycle, with peaks approximately every 11 years. Near these activity peaks, solar flares can cause some interruption of satellite communications, although engineers are learning how to build electronics that are protected against most solar storms. But there is no special risk associated with 2012. The next solar maximum will occur in the 2012-2014 time frame and is predicted to be an average solar cycle, no different than previous cycles throughout history.

Best Camera Phones

2009-12-27T04:34:00.002+05:30

T-Mobile G1

You might be wondering how the T-Mobile G1 made it onto this list. After all, the camera interface is basic, with few advanced controls or settings available. The 3-megapixel sensor is barely impressive these days, as co-branded 5-megapixel cams dominate the market. Auto Focus is a nice feature, but there's no smile detection, panorama shooting or even video recording. So why does the T-Mobile G1 make the cut? Simple. It produced some of the best cameraphone images we've seen, with vibrant, accurate colors and sharp details. For us, the bells and whistles are nice, but image quality is the most important thing we look for, and in that area, the T-Mobile G1 is tops. Motorola Zine ZN5

Here at infoSync, we get a chance to test not only cameraphones, but also standalone compact cameras and prosumer DSLRs, so we can be fairly critical when it comes to camera performance, especially on a phone. That said, when we got around to printing glossy test image samples directly from the Motorola Zine, we quickly realized that this was the first phone we've used capable of producing images that we might actually want to print. They weren't perfect, but the level of detail, the color accuracy and the lack of serious problems in these images quickly put them at the head of the pack. We've seen cameraphones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson that brag about the provenance of their imaging technology, using Carl Zeiss and Schneider-Kreuznach branding, but wouldn't you know it was good ol' Kodak and Motorola who finally delivered a top-notch cameraphone to the U.S. market.
Sony Ericsson W760

Sony Ericsson likes to brag about their imaging technology, so we were pleased to find that pictures taken with the 3.2-megapixel Sony Ericsson W760 were able to keep up with the bravado. We found images from the shooter to be vivid and bright, with great color quality. Details were lacking, but pictures still looked impressive. We also liked the in-camera panorama stitching, which worked very well in our tests, and the other attractive camera features. Users who pick this one up for the music-playing abilities will be pleasantly surprised to find a capable cameraphone as well.

Samsung Behold

We have to give the Samsung Behold proper respect for upping the ante on cameraphones and bringing a 5-megapixel monster shooter to the masses, courtesy of T-Mobile. The phone has some nice camera features, including Auto Focus, scene modes and even in-camera panorama stitching. Results weren't the best. Colors were lifelike and richly saturated, but details were missing in the late fall foliage shots we took while testing this phone. Still, it has a nice, touchable camera interface, and plenty of features to keep casual shooters busy.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 took nice pictures with its 3.2-megapixel shooter, but it was the interface design that had us truly wowed. The Xperia X1 uses a touch focus system. You frame your shot, then touch the screen where you want the camera to focus, and it sharpens on that area. It's an amazing, intuitive setup, and we're surprised that more point-and-shoot manufacturers haven't incorporated this into their compact camera lineup. Unfortunately, the feature didn't work perfectly, especially when the subject was a bit too close for comfort. Still, pictures were mostly good, as the camera reproduced color well and handled light effectively. With some polish and better performance, this touch focus idea could be a game-changer for casual cameras.

Top Engineering Colleges in India

2009-12-27T04:24:00.002+05:30

RANK	Name of Institute
1	Indian Institute of Technology IIT Kanpur
2	Indian Institute of Technology IIT Kharagpur
3	Indian Institute of Technology IIT Bombay
4	Indian Institute of Technology IIT Madras
5	Indian Institute of Technology IIT Delhi

6	BITS Pilani
7	IIT Roorkee
8	IT-BHU

9	IIT-Guwahati
10	College of Engg , Anna University, Guindy
11	Jadavpur University , Faculty of Engg & Tech., Calcutta
12	Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad
13	NIT- National Institute of Technology Warangal
14	BIT, Mesra
15	NIT- National Institute of Technology Trichy
16	Delhi College of Engineering , Delhi

17	Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh
18	NIT- National Institute of Technology, Suratkal
19	Motilal Nehru National Inst. of Technology, Allahabad
20	Thapar Inst of Engineering & Technology, Patiala
21	Bengal Eng and Science University , Shibpur
22	MANIT Malviya National Institute of Technology Bhopal
23	PSG College of Technology Coimbatore
24	IIIT - International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad
25	Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI), Kanpur
26	Malviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur
27	VNIT - Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology Nagpur
28	NIT- National Institute of Technology, Calicut
29	Dhirubhai Ambani IICT, Gandhi Nagar
30	Osmania Univ. College of Engineering, Hyderabad
31	College of Engineering , Andhra University, Vishakhapatnam
32	Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, New Delhi
33	NIT- National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra
34	NIT- National Institute of Technology Rourkela
35	SVNIT Surat
36	Govt. College of Engineering, Pune
37	Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal
38	JNTU Hyderabad
39	R.V. College of Engineering Bangalore
40	NIT- National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur
41	University Visvesvaraya College of Engg.Bangalore
42	VJTI Mumbai
43	Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore
44	Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore

45	SSN College of Engineering, Chennai
46	IIIT, Allahabad
47	College of Engineering, Trivandrum
48	NIT Durgapur
49	SIT Calcutta
50	Mumbai University Inst of Chemical Tech., Mumbai
51	Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Mumbai
52	P.E.S. Institute of Technology, Bangalore
53	Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), Pune
54	Amrita Institute of Technology & Science, Coimbatore
55	National Institute of Engineering, Mysore
56	B.M.S. College of Engineering, Bangalore
57	Laxminarayan Institute Of Tech., Nagpur
58	Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad
59	IIIT Pune
60	Amity School of Engineering Noida
61	JNTU Kakinada
62	S.J. College of Engineering, Mysore
63	Chaitanya Bharathi Inst. of Technology, Hyderabad
64	IIIT, Bangalore
65	SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai
66	SASTRA, Thanjavur
67	Bangalore Institute of Technology Bangalore
68	The Technological Inst. of Textile & Sciences, Bhiwani
69	IIIT Gwalior
70	JNTU Anantpur
71	M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology Bangalore
72	Gitam Vishakhapatnam
73	NIT- National Institute of Technology Hamirpur
74	NIT- National Institute of Technology Jalandhar
75	SV University Engineering College Tirupati
76	NIT- National Institute of Technology Raipur
77	Vasavi College of Engineering Hyderabad
78	The ICFAI Inst of Science and Technology Hybd.
79	NIT- National Institute of Technology Patna
80	Cummins Colleges of Engg of Women Pune
81	VIT Pune
82	Shri Ramdeo Baba K.N. Engineering College Nagpur
83	Muffakham Jah Engineering College Hybd.
84	Karunya Institute of Technology, Coimbatore
85	D.J. Sanghvi Mumbai
86	Sathyabhama Engineering College Chennai
87	Kongu Engineering College Erode
88	Mepco Schlek Engineering College Sivakasi
89	Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College Ludhiana
90	Hindustan Inst of Engineering Technology Chennai
91	SDM College of Engineering Dharward
92	R.V.R. & J.C. College Of Engg Guntur
93	Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
94	K.L. College of Engineering Veddeswaram
95	Dharmsinh Desai Institute of Technology Nadiad
96	S.G.S. Institute of Technology & Science Indore
97	Jabalpur Engineering College Jabalpur
98	Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering Trivandrum
99	G.H. Patel College of Engg & Technology Vallabh Vidyanagar
100	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Bhubaneshwar

Paranormal Activity film review and screen shoots

2009-12-24T23:55:00.004+05:30

Paranormal Activity is a 2007 independent horror film written and directed

by Oren Peli.The movie premiered at the Screamfe

st Film Festival in the U.S. on October 14, 2007, and was shown at the Slamdance Film

Festival on January 18, 2008. The movie received a limited release in several U.S. cities

on October 9, 2009, and had a nationwide release on October 16, 2009. The movie center

s on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in the

ir home. The movie is presented using "found footage" from the camera s

et up by the couple to capture what is haunting them, in a similar manner to The Blair

Witch Project, and The Last Broadcast.

The film is considered the most profitable ever made, having

earned over $100 million a

t the U.S. box office alone, on a reported budget of

$15,000. However, such figures are difficult to verify independently and exclude

marketing costs.

Plot

Katie, a student, and Micah, a day trader, are a young couple "engaged to be engaged". Katie claims that a ghostly entity has haunted her since her youth and believes that it has followed her to their two-story tract house in suburban San Diego, California. Micah buys a video camera in the hopes of capturing paranormal activity on film. During a visit to their house, Dr. Fredrichs, a self-professed psychic, assesses that they are being plagued by a demon which feeds off negative energy and is intent on haunting Katie no matter where she goes. Dr. Fredrichs also recommends the two contact Dr. Abrams, a demonologist, and Micah's reluctance to do so leads to arguments between the couple. Each night, Micah leaves the video camera on a tripod in their bedroom to record whatever might be occurring while he and Katie sleep. He manages to document several phenomena such as objects moving on their own, lights and televisions switching on and off, and sounds ranging from voices and growls to footsteps and loud thuds. The strange occurrences in the middle of the night soon involve Katie awakening to spend several hours standing by the bed staring at Micah while he sleeps and going outside to sit on the backyard swing, none of which she remembers the following morning.

Katie, already irritated by Micah's making light of the situation, becomes irate when Micah brings home a Ouija board, despite Dr. Fredrichs' warning against any attempt to communicate with the entity. While the two are out of the house, a wind blows through the living room and the Ouija board's planchette moves on its own. A small fire soon erupts on the board, extinguishing itself seconds later. Later, inhuman footprints are left in baby powder placed on the hallway floor by Micah. In the attic, Micah finds a charred photograph of a young Katie previously thought to have been destroyed in a house fire. The next night, the bedroom door slams itself shut and is violently knocked and banged upon from the other side. Dr. Abrams is abroad when Micah finally agrees to invite him, so Dr. Fredrichs agrees to make a second house call. However, Dr. Fredrichs immediately has a sense of foreboding upon entering their home, and apologetically leaves despite Katie and Micah's desperate pleas for him to stay and help.

That night, Katie is dragged out of bed and down the hallway by an invisible force. Hearing her screams, Micah gives chase and wrestles her away, and Katie emerges from the struggle with a gruesome bite mark on her back. Stressed and exhausted, the couple decide to go to a hotel. That day, a glass picture frame breaks and the image of Micah inside becomes scratched. Micah later finds Katie gripping a crucifix so tightly that it bloodies her palm. Just as Micah is set to leave, a suddenly calm Katie insists they instead remain at the house. When Micah leaves her, she begins to smile as she closes her eyes. That night, Katie awakens to once again stare at Micah while he sleeps for several hours. She then goes down the stairs into the darkness and begins screaming. Micah wakes up and runs to her aid, and the camera can only see the bedroom and dark hallway as it records what sounds like a struggle upon his arrival downstairs. Micah and Katie's screams suddenly stop, and the brief silence is followed by the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Micah is suddenly hurled at the camera, knocking it over. Katie slowly walks into view, her clothing covered in blood. She crouches to sniff at Micah's body, then lunges toward the camera as the screen cuts to black. An ending title card states that Micah's body was discovered days later by the police, and Katie's whereabouts remain unknown.

Left 4 Dead download full game and crack and patch

2009-12-23T18:12:00.002+05:30

FIRST DOWNLOAD TORRENT TO DOWNLOAD THIS FILE BY CLICKING THIS

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Left 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was purchased by Valve Corporation during development. The game uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, and is available for Windows and the Xbox 360. Development on the game was completed on November 13, 2008 and was released digitally on November 17, 2008 and at retail on November 18, 2008 in the United States and on November 21, 2008 in Europe.

Set during the aftermath of an apocalyptic pandemic, the game pits its four protagonists—dubbed the "Survivors"—against hordes of the infected. There are four game modes: a single-player mode in which allied characters are controlled by AI; a four-player, co-op campaign mode; an eight-player online versus mode; and a four-player survival mode. In all modes, anartificial intelligence (AI), dubbed the "Director", controls level pacing and item spawns, in an attempt to create a dynamic experience and increase replay value.

Left 4 Dead was well received by the industry media upon its release, with praise given for its replay value, focus on cooperative play, and movie-like experience. Several criticisms were aimed at limited level selection and the lack of a narrative. The game has won several publication awards, as well as distinctions from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences andBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts. As was done with Team Fortress 2, Valve plans on supplementing the game with free downloadable content. The first of these, called the "Survival Pack", was released on April 21, 2009, with the second, in the form of a new DLC Campaign entitled "Crash Course," released for both the PC and Xbox 360 on September 29, 2009. The popularity of the game led to the development of a sequel, Left 4 Dead 2, which was released November 17, 2009.

here are four playable human characters in the game Francis (voiced by Vince Valenzuela), a tattoo-covered biker; Bill (voiced by Jim French), a former Green Beret and a Vietnam veteran; Zoey (voiced by Jen Taylor), a college student and horror movie enthusiast; and Louis (voiced by Earl Alexander), a junior systems analyst in his company's IT department. Early plans were for players to be randomly assigned to characters but in the final release, players can choose any character—provided that the character has not already been selected—or be randomly assigned an unselected character.

Survivors are armed with various firearms. Each player starts the game with an M1911 pistol. It has unlimited ammo and is the only weapon that the survivor can use when they are incapacitated. When a second pistol is found, the player can dual wield them. At the beginning of each campaign, the player can choose between an Uzi submachine gun and a pump-action shotgun. As the survivors progress through a campaign, more powerful weapons can be found: the fully automatic M16A3 assault rifle (an upgrade to the Uzi), Benelli M4 Super 90 semi-automatic shotgun (an upgrade to the pump-action shotgun), and a scopedRuger Mini-14 hunting rifle. In addition to firearms, a player can also carry three other items in their inventory: improvised grenades (either aMolotov cocktail to create a wall of fire or a pipe bomb, modified with an attached smoke alarm designed to attract the infected to it before it explodes); a first-aid kit, which can be used to heal any survivor; and pain pills, which provide temporary health that depletes gradually and quicker with damage from infected, and can be handed to teammates for later use. Regardless of what weapon or item a player is using, amelee attack can be used to shove away any infected within reach. Also available are environmental weapons, such as gasoline cans, oxygen cylinders, and propane tanks, all of which explode when shot. These can be picked up, moved, and used as a melee weapon by the survivors, but while carrying an object they cannot use their weapons or health items. Strategically-placed minigun turrets are encountered at various locations throughout the different maps.

he Sims 3: World Adventures (Expansion) download full game crack and patch

2009-12-23T18:04:00.002+05:30

he Sims 3: World Adventures Expansion Pack Review

The latest expansion pack for The Sims 3 is is sure to reignite your relationship with your digital family.

Format: PC
Developer: EA Black Box
Publisher: EA
Released: Out now
Score: 8/10

Allow me to introduce you to Dave. Dave is a slender, 6' tall man with brown curly hair. Very pleasant chap. Bored with the hum drum of everyday life, Dave sets his sights on having an adventure. Fancying himself as a bit of a Lara Croft, Dave heads to Egypt for a spot of tomb raiding where he hopes to find an ancient relic to sit on his mantelpiece at home and become a humorous talking point at one of his legendary dinner parties. After finding a tomb to raid and dodging a few fire traps, Dave happens upon a secret door behind which lies an ancient sarcophagus. Prizing open the front to see what treasures await, Dave is unexpectedly cursed and turned into a Mummy. Unable to reach the healing Sphinx's tomb in time, Dave unfortunately perishes, leaving behind a loving wife and never finding his relic after all. Silly Dave. Dave, of course, is my Sim and this is just one of the many (pre-death) adventures we had in EA's stunning new expansion for Sims 3, World Adventure.

At the heart of these adventures, you’ll be sending your Sims to three new fictional towns of Shang Simla, Al Simhara and Champs les Sims (I see what they've done there) set in Egypt, France and China. World Adventures does a wonderful job of transporting you to these fictional towns, not only presenting you with some stunning scenery but tying in everything from the architecture to the sound track to really set the style and tone of each locale. Gone are the days where a new location was a simple re-skinning of old material without anything else of significance to alter the game. The Sims: On Holiday this is not. Each new town is lovingly realised with excellent attention to detail meaning that you’ll spend hours getting lost, exploring the weird and wonderful locations and chatting to the town’s folk.

Upon arrival at each of your holiday destinations, all the essentials you'll need to get started are given at base camp. Acting as your home away from home, base camp offers your Sim all the amenities it will need in order to survive across the pond including food, showers and a place to rest its weary head after a hard days exploring. Here you are presented with the job board which displays the open adventures and quests to keep you busy whilst on your travels. Whether it’s collecting rare minerals or exploring an ancient tomb, there is always plenty to keep you occupied.

Length of stay is dictated by the level of your visa which you upgrade via visa points. These points are accrued through meeting the objectives and quests on the adventure board and give the game an almost RPG feel to the proceedings. Higher grade visas not only extend the amount of time you get in each town, but also open up new adventures and could even see you to buying a holiday home.

One of the greatest departures for the series comes in the form of the tomb exploration found in each town, turning any fledgling Sim into a veritable Indiana Jones. Inside the tombs you take direct control over your Sim to solve simple block pushing puzzles, bypass traps and discover hidden doorways. Further pushing the RPG elements, certain skill levels are needed to negotiate different hazards. Whilst not in keeping with the usual style of play found in the Sims series, the exploration and tomb raiding do offer a good change of pace and will keep you searching every nook and cranny until you discover the long lost treasures of Al Simhara.

No Sims expansion pack would be complete without a whole world of new furniture, outfits and skills to get to grips with. World Adventures doesn’t scrimp in this area either providing a fantastic new set of skills for your Sims to learn. Whether it be learning the way of the dragon as a kung fu master in China, refining their culinary skills with nectar making in France or honing their photographer's eye, your Sims are sure to come back with a wealth of new skills to impress, well, other Sims. Another new feature on offer is the chance to go underground and build a whole new basement to your beautifully created architectural masterpiece. Now you can expand your pixelated dollhouse into the ground and create your dream basement. *cough* games room *cough*.

In a bid to fend off post holiday blues, EA have made sure the adventure doesn’t come to an end when touching down back in Sunset Valley. Intertwining the original Sims 3 with its expansion, the two worlds combine to offer even more, subtle content that rings throughout the main game in little touches which are sure to captivate. Souvenirs decorate your homes whilst guests can be invited over to taste the delights of your nectar making skills. Even your new found foreign friends can pay you a visit should the feeling take you.

If you’re a Sims fan and looking to reignite your relationship with your digital family then World Adventures is an excellent addition, jam packed with new content and gameplay. Far from the expansions of old, World Adventures is a more ambitious project and these ambitions it realises with all the ease and charm we’ve come to expect from the series. From the finely detailed characters and locations right down to the music and humorous jabbering of your on screen chums, one can’t help but fall in love with Sims all over again. At £29.99, this 'expansion pack' doesn't come cheap and bizarrely costs the same as a stand-alone title. If you're willing to foot the bill then the sheer amount of new content on display is sure to make this a reunion to remember.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 download full game and review and crack and patch

2009-12-23T10:41:00.002+05:30

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (also referred to as simply Modern Warfare 2 or Call of Duty 6) is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published byActivision for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Officially announced on February 11, 2009, the game was released worldwide on November 10, 2009. It is the sixth installment of the Call of Duty series and the direct sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, continuing along the same storyline. It was released in conjunction with two other Call of Duty games: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized for the Nintendo DS, andCall of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex, a port of Call of Duty 4 adapted by Treyarch for the Wiiconsole. In addition, a comic book series based on one of the game's characters will also be produced, entitled Modern Warfare 2: Ghost.

Campaign

Similar to previous installments within the Call of Duty series, the player assumes the role of various characters during the single-player campaign, changing perspectives throughout the progression of the story.

Each mission features a series of objectives that are displayed on the HUD, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives. Tasks vary in their requirements, having the player arrive at a particular checkpoint, eliminate enemies in a specified location, stand his/her ground to defend an objective, or plant explosive charges on an enemy installation. The player is accompanied by friendly troops who cannot be issued orders. Laptop computers that contain enemy intelligence appear throughout the campaign and may be collected to unlock several game bonuses.

Cooperative

Modern Warfare 2 features a cooperative mode entitled Special Ops, which consists of independent missions similar in design to the "Mile High Club" epilogue mission from Call of Duty 4. These missions take place in a variety of locations from the campaign mode, but are not related to story of the campaign itself. Most of the Special Ops missions may be played alone, but all of them support two player cooperative play in which two players can play together locally or online. Such mode includes scenarios such as a snowmobile race between the two players, one player providing air support from an AC-130 with the other player conducting operations on the ground, capturing an enemy compound, and searching areas for and eliminating 40 or more enemies at a time.

Special Ops is divided into five separate groups of missions: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. Each mission may be played at three difficulty levels: regular, hardened, or veteran. Successfully completing a mission earns the players stars; there are up to three stars available for each mission: one star for completing the mission on regular difficulty, two for hardened, and three for veteran. Once enough stars are earned, more missions are unlocked. There are a total of 23 missions with their respective 69 stars available for unlock. At the end of each mission, a statistics screen displays how long the player(s) took in order to complete the level and how many kills were scored by each player, amongst other data.

Multiplayer

The online multiplayer mode of Modern Warfare 2 retains the same experience points and unlockable reward system as that of Call of Duty 4, with game modes that include Free-For-All, Search & Destroy, Demolition, Domination, Team Deathmatch, and Capture The Flag. However, Modern Warfare 2 introduces several new features. Aside from new weapons, equipment, and perks that upgrade to "pro versions" after meeting utilization requirements, 15 different kill streak rewards can be unlocked and selected by the player. Among these is the ability to receive a supply drop after achieving four kills in a row, order a Predator missile strike after five kills, and call in an AC-130gunship to strike from the sky after 11 kills. Another new feature is the in-game host migration; if a match host leaves the game, the current game no longer ends (as is the case in Call of Duty 4), as a 'host migration delay' allows a new host to be selected and the game to continue on. There is also the addition of an optional third person mode which can be used in certain game types.

In the Xbox 360 version of the game, the party chat system is disabled while the player is playing online in certain playlist types. This decision, designed to promote cooperation amongst team members, has caused some controversy within the Xbox Live community.

The offline (splitscreen and LAN) multiplayer mode still retains the experience and rewards system found online, a first for the series since the system was introduced. However, the rewards are separate from those that may be earned whilst playing online.

For the PC version, Infinity Ward has decided to implement a new matchmaking service: IWNET working through Steam. This system is nearly identical to the console version of IWNET. Dedicated server support is removed, eliminating the ability for mods or user-created maps to be incorporated. This removal has created anger among many PC gamers. Because the multiplayer aspect runs within Steamworks, thePunkBuster anti-cheat system utilized in previous titles has been replaced by VAC. In addition, the PC version shares the same 18-player cap as the console versions (matches are a maximum of 9 versus 9)

Crysis game download full game and patch and crack

2009-12-22T23:58:00.003+05:30

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Crysis is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek Frankfurt, published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, and released in November 2007. It is the first game of a trilogy. A separate game entitled Crysis Warhead was released on September 12, 2008 and follows similar events as Crysis but from a different narrative perspective.Crysis, Crysis Warhead and a multiplayer expansion called Crysis Wars were re-released as a compilation pack titled Crysis Maximum Edition on 5 May, 2009.

The game is based in a future where an ancient alien spacecraft has been discovered beneath the ground on an island near the coast of the East Philippines. The single-player campaign has the player assume the role of United States Delta Force operator Jake Dunn, referred to in-game by his call sign, Nomad. Nomad is armed with various futuristic weapons and equipment, most notably a "Nano Muscle Suit" which was inspired by a real-life military concept. InCrysis, the player fights both North Korean and extraterrestrial enemies, in various environments on and around a tropical island in the Pacific near Korea.

The game has been noted for its visual quality and is widely used as a benchmarking tool for graphic enthusiasts.

GAME PLAY

As with Crytek's previous game Far Cry, Crysis is an open-ended first-person shooter game with many ways to meet objectives.

The player controls a special forces soldier codenamed Nomad whose weapons can be customized without pausing the flow of time, for example changing firing modes, changing scopes or adding sound suppressors. The player is also capable of selecting various modes in Nomad's military prototype "Nano Suit" which draw power from the suit's energy. When the suit's energy is depleted, no modes can be used and the player is more vulnerable to damage before the suit recharges. One of four modes can be selected: Armor deflects damage and recharges the suit's energy faster; Strength allows stronger hand-to-hand combat, the ability to throw objects and enemies with deadly force, higher jumps, steadier aiming and reduced weapon recoil; Speed increases running and swimming speed, as well as other forms of motion; and Cloak renders Nomad almost completely invisible and suppresses movement noise.

The suit's integral mask has its own HUD, displaying typical data including a tactical map, health, current energy levels, and weapons information. The view is electronic in nature, shown in-game through things such as a booting readout and visual distortion during abnormal operation. A particularly useful utility is the binocular function, which allows the player to zoom in and electronically tag enemies and vehicles from afar, thereby tracking their movement on the tactical display.

The player can engage enemies in a variety of ways; using stealth or aggression, bullets or non-lethal tranquilizers, ranged rifles or short-range weaponry, and so on. Enemy soldiers employ tactical maneuvers and work as squads. AI soldiers will respond to noise caused by the player, including using signal flares to call for reinforcements. If the player has not been detected in the area, enemies will exhibit relaxed behaviour, but if aware of the player they will draw weapons and become combative.

Weapons

The game features assault rifles, sub-machine guns, pistols, LAWs, shotguns, miniguns, sniper rifles, gauss rifles, an Alien energy-based mini-gun like weapon (MOAC and MOAR attachment), and the TAC gun (a micro nuclear missile launcher). Most weapons can be modified with attachments; these attachments may be given to the player by default, acquired from picked-up weapons, or purchased in multiplayer. Attachment options are given a fair amount of leeway even if the end result may seem strange. For instance, a 4x/10x sniper scope can be attached to the buckshot-firing shotgun. Additionally, most weapons have multiple firing modes (single/rapidfire) and different ammo types. Crysis also incorporates some features that have appeared in other recent shooters such as accounting for already-chambered rounds when a reload occurs.

Vehicles

A large selection of vehicles are present, with most being available to players for personal use. Available ground vehicles range from pickup trucks to tanks, while naval vessels range from motorboats to light military hovercraft, and a larger Patrol Boat available in custom made maps using the Sandbox editor. All vehicles (Humvees, pickup trucks, and even tanks) have a turbo mode that can be activated via the sprint key. The aircraft selection is limited to one North Korean attack helicopter and a fictional American VTOL aircraft, each of which can transport eight passengers and two crew. Crytek also included an Amphibious APC vehicle, a version of the IFV that can travel on water and land. The vehicle was only available for those who pre-ordered the game, however.

Damage modeling is limited in wheeled vehicles, most noticeably the ability to burst their tires. Tracked vehicles such as tanks or APCs have the ability to lose their tracks as well, but maintain their ability to operate via the wheels which would normally drive the tracks. Exposed gas cans on vehicles can also be shot at to detonate their contents, usually resulting in the vehicle exploding as well. Flaming wrecks will cause proximity heat damage to objects and characters. Of note is that a vehicle can still run even if all the tires are gone, slowly rolling along on its rims. Unavailable vehicles shown in-game include jet aircraft, excavator, forklift and for reasons of scale, destroyers. None of the alien machines can be commandeered by players either.

Dragon Age: Origins Download game and crack and patch rating and review

2009-12-22T23:41:00.005+05:30

23 9.6

Dragon Age: Origins - PC Games

Release: Nov. 3rd, 2009
Developer: BioWare, Electronic Arts
Genre: Role-Playing Game
Also on: X360, PS3

Gamespot Rating: 9.5 / 10

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Dragon Age: Origins (formerly Dragon Age) is an award-winning computer role-playing gamedeveloped by BioWare's Edmonton studio and described by them as an "epic tale of violence, lust, and betrayal." The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2009, and for Mac OS X on December 21st, 2009.

Dragon Age: Origins uses a new game engine named Eclipse, for which a toolset for creation of fan-made content is available to owners of the PC version. The game is single-player only and does not provide LAN support. BioWare co-CEO Ray Muzyka described Dragon Age: Origins as a "spiritual successor" to the Baldur's Gate series, though it is not based on Dungeons & Dragons

Gameplay

The game incorporates "origins" for each race and some classes. For example, a Dwarf Noble begins the game as part of the royal family in one of the dwarven cities, whereas the Dwarf Commoner origin story begins on the streets of the city. Origin stories determine the background of the player's character prior to the main events of the game's story, forming an introduction to the world while also comprising hours of play. Characters that the player meets during the origin story may reappear throughout the game, some of whom may be adversaries.

There is no tracking of moral alignment as in previous BioWare games, but the moral choices of the player will still affect the story throughout the game. The player will save the world regardless of choosing to be good or evil, but the decisions that the player makes in the process will change the game world accordingly – deciding who will become king, for example, and affecting nations and races and their places in the world. These decisions will also influence the companion NPCs, possibly causing an NPC to leave the party or even attack the player if they disagree strongly with his or her actions.

As with the Baldur's Gate series, players are able to issue orders to NPCs in real time, but pause the game to queue up actions such as spells and special attacks.

There are three base classes to choose from: warrior, mage, and rogue. These classes can be upgraded later into a specialized class, such as the Berserker or Templar for the warrior class, Shapeshifter or Spirit Healer for the mage class, or Assassin or Ranger for the rogue. The game uses a party system similar to that of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, in that it features the main character with up to three active party members, chosen from a large pool of NPCs in the game. The camera is in an over-the-shoulder third person view when zoomed in, and an isometric-style view when zoomed out, though the console versions cannot zoom out to the extent of the PC version. The spells in the game interact with the effects of others, such as a fire spell alighting a grease slick before being put out by a blizzard.

Plot

BioWare has described Dragon Age: Origins as being a "dark heroic fantasy" story told on an epic scale with mature themes.

The player begins the game in one of the six origin stories which serve as an introductory point for the players and present the world from their personal point of view. The origin story chosen (the choices being Human Noble, Human/Elf Mage (dwarves having an immunity to magic), Dalish Elf, City Elf, Dwarf Commoner and Dwarf Noble) determines who the character is and how NPCs react to the player. For example, Elves are often viewed as second class citizens.

After completing their character's respective origin story, the player encounters Duncan, leader of an elite group known as the Grey Wardens. Duncan guides the player to their destiny of becoming a Grey Warden, a group who dedicate their lives to the destruction of the Darkspawn, a force of demonic creatures that live underground and have at various points in history swarmed the surface of Thedas in movements known as Blights.

The player and Duncan journey to a fortress called Ostagar in southern Ferelden, to join the King of Ferelden. There they plan to make a stand against the encroaching Darkspawn, who Duncan believes have gathered for the first true Blight in 400 years. Duncan has sensed the influence of an Archdemon, a great being hosted in the body of a powerful dragon, in the Darkspawn's actions, making a Blight possible.

Duncan ordains the player into the Grey Wardens in a dangerous ritual called the Joining. The player is then given the task of lighting a beacon at the top of the fortress in order to signal Loghain to charge. After fighting through many Darkspawn that have infiltrated the fortress, the player does this, but Loghain, upon seeing the signal, quits the field with all of his men. King Cailan and Duncan die along with most of the army at the hands of the Darkspawn, who take control of the fortress and southern Ferelden. Loghain goes to Ferelden's capitol city, Denerim, and proclaims himself regent for his daughter, Queen Anora.

The player and his party are nearly killed by the Darkspawn as well, but they are saved by Flemeth, a powerful witch who lives in a secluded hermitage. Flemeth presents the player with the involuntary assistance of her daughter and apprentice, Morrigan. The player, along with Alistair and Morrigan, decide that in order to slay the Archdemon believed responsible for the Darkspawn uprising and put an end to the Blight, a new army must be gathered from a myriad of factions located in the Ferelden area, which the Grey Wardens have treaties with.

Grand Theft Auto GTA download game and crack and patch

2009-12-22T23:21:00.005+05:30

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Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is a video game series created by Scottish game programmer Dave Jones, later by Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke and primarily developed by Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design) and published byRockstar Games.

The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure, driving, and occasional role-playing, stealth and racing elements and has gained controversy for its adult nature andviolent themes. The series focuses around many different protagonists who attempt to rise through the ranks of the criminal underworld, although their motives for doing so vary in each game. The antagonists are commonly characters who have betrayed the protagonist or their organization, or who has the most impact impeding their progress.

DMA Design began the series in 1997, and it currently has nine stand-alone games with two expansion packs for the original and two expansion packs being released for the latest console installment, Grand Theft Auto IV. Film veterans such as Michael Madsen,Ray Liotta, Burt Reynolds, Dennis Hopper, Gary Busey, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Penn,James Woods, Joe Pantoliano, Frank Vincent, Robert Loggia, Kyle MacLachlan andPeter Fonda have all voiced major characters in many instalments in the series. The name of the series and its games are derived from grand theft auto, a term referring tomotor vehicle theft.

Aghori indian hindu religious people

2009-12-22T23:14:00.003+05:30

The Aghori are a Hindu sect believed to have split off from the Kapalika order (which dates from 1000 AD) in the fourteenth century AD. Most other Hindus condemn them as non-Hindu because of their cannibalistic rituals. Aghoris or Aughads command extreme reverence from rural populations as they are supposed to possess powers to heal and relieve pain gained due to their intense practices.Doctrines

Aghori ascetics, while being devotees of the Hindu God Shiva in Shiva's form as Lord Bhairava, are monists who adhere to the common Hindu belief in liberation (moksha) from the cycle of reincarnation (samsara). This liberation is a realization of the self's identity with the absolute. Because of this monistic doctrine, the Aghoris maintain that all opposites are ultimately illusory. The purpose of embracing pollution through various practices is the realization of non-duality through transcending social taboos, and seeing the illusory nature of all conventional categories. The Aghoris are not to be confused with the shivnetras, who are also ardent devotees of Shiva but do not indulge in extreme ritual worship practices known to some extent as Tamasic (rituals involving some or all of the following: meat eating, alcohol drinking, consumption of beverages and foods with opiates, hallucinogens and cannabis products as key ingredients, cannibalism, residing in cremation grounds, andTantric sexual rituals). Although they enjoy close ties with the shivnetras, netras are a complete opposite of the aghoris and are purely Sattvicin nature and worship.

In essence, Aghoris base their beliefs on two principles. First, that Shiva is perfect. Second, that Shiva is responsible for everything; every rock, tree, animal, and even every thought. Due to this, everything that exists must be perfect, and to deny the perfection of anything would be to deny the sacredness of all life in its full manifestation, as well as deny God/Goddess and the demigods perfection. Aghoris eat any form of food and intoxicants, engage in a variety of sexual practices, ritually and otherwise, and also meditate on dead bodies for some rituals as prescribed in Hindu Tantric holy scriptures.

History

Although akin to the Kapalika ascetics of medieval Kashmir, as well as the Kalamukhas, with whom there may be a historical connection, the Aghoris trace their origin to Kina Ram, an ascetic who is said to have lived 150 years, dying during the second half of the eighteenth century.Kina Ram was held to be an incarnation of the Shiva, as have been each of his successors. In addition, Aghoris also hold sacred as a predecessor to the Aghori Tantric tradition the Hindu deity Dattatreya. Dattatreya was believed to be an incarnation of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as united in the same singular physical body. Dattatreya is revered in all schools of Tantrism, which is the philosophy followed by the Aghora tradition, and He is oftentimes depicted in Hindu artwork and its holy scriptures of folk narratives, the Puranas, indulging in Aghori "left-hand" Tantric worship as His prime practice.

Aghoris go in search of the powers and they gain it by all means and they again go in search for the next bigger power than the gained one. So they believe that by gaining more and more powers they can avoid the punarjanma(rebirth) in this life. An aghori believes in getting into total darkness by all means and then getting into light or self realizing.It is a different approach but they believe it to be effective.They also are known for their rituals like shava samskara (ritual worship incorporating the use of a corpse as the altar) to invoke the mother goddess in her form as Smashan Tara (Tara of the Cremation Grounds). In Hindu iconography, Tara, like Kali, is one of the ten Mahavidays and once invoked can bless the Aghori with supernatural powers. A little known fact is that the most popular of the ten Mahavidyas who are worshiped by Aghoris are Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, and Bhairavi. The male Hindu deities primarily worshiped by Aghoris for supernatural powers are epithets of Shiva. These forms of Shiva that are worshiped by aghoris include Mahakala, Bhairava, Virabhadra,Avadhooti, and more.

Symbols

The Aghori ascetic is himself a symbol of the God Shiva in Shiva's form as Bhairava. His main symbol that makes him distinct from othersadhus is the skull cup he uses as a begging bowl. He goes naked or wears the shroud of a corpse, he covers himself in the ashes of the cremation ground and always has his hair disheveled or in matted dreadlocks. If an aghori uses a corpse as part of his ritual worship, the corpse upon which he meditates, it is a symbol of his own body and the corpse devouring ritual is a symbol of the transcendence of his lower self and a realization of the greater, all pervading Self that is universal consciousness. Another symbol of the aghori, which ties him to the affiliation of Bhairava and links aghoris together with other Saiva and Sakta traditions, is the trident. The three pronged trident staff in Tantric Hinduism, of which aghoris follow, is a symbol representing the three constituents of which Shiva and/or Shakti first creates the universe: iccha shakti (power of will/desire/intention), jnana shakti (power of knowledge - the preconceived architectural design of the universe), and kriya shakti (the power of action). The staff part of a trident in Hinduism represents the human spinal chord, of which the sushumna nadi runs along. Thesushumna nadi is the main nerve current, or meridian, in the human body which is the track that the kundalini energy rises up, bringing the aghori or yogi, or meditation practitioner into full spiritual enlightenment, nirvana, or more precisely nirvikalpa samadhi.

Adherents

Though Aghoris are prevalent in cremation grounds across India, Nepal, and even sparsely across cremation grounds in South East Asia, the secrecy of this religious sect leaves no desire for practitioners to aspire for social recognition and notoriety. Therefore no official figures are available.

Headquarters

The main akhada of Aghoris is Kina Ram's hermitage or ashram in Varanasi. Here Kina Ram is buried in a tomb or samādhi which is a centre of pilgrimage for Aghoris and Aghori devotees. Another centre is Aghor Sodh Sansthan, Ravindrapuri, Varanasi. Apart from this, any cremation ground would be a holy place for an Aghori ascetic. The cremation grounds near the yoni pithas, 51 holy centers for worship of the HinduMother Goddess scattered across South Asia and the Himalayan terrain, are key locations preferred for performing sadhana by the Aghoris. They are also known to meditate and perform sadhana in haunted houses.

Cannibalism

The Aghoris distinguish themselves from other Hindu sects and priests by their alcoholic and cannibalistic rituals (see necro-cannibalism). The corpses, which may be either pulled from a river [including Ganges] or obtained from cremation grounds, are consumed both raw and cooked on open flame, as the Aghoris believe that what others consider a "dead man" is, in fact, nothing but a natural matter devoid of the life force it once contained. Therefore while for ordinary folks cannibalism may be seen as primitive, barbaric as well as unclean, for aghoris it is being both resourceful and subverting the common stereotypes placed on such taboos into a spiritual ascertainment that indeed nothing is profane nor separate from God, who is hailed to be all and in all. In fact, the Aghoris see it as a scientific approach in trying to discover how matter converts from one form to another

In popular culture

In Tad Williams' Otherland series, the main member of the resistance group the Circle, Nandi Paradivash, spent several years as an Aghori ascetic while preparing for the final confrontation with the Brotherhood.
In 2006 a Greek documentary by the name of "Shiva's Flesh" shows a Varanasi Aghori by name Black Boom Boom Baba and the existing faith around Aghoris in Varanasi.
The television program Wildboyz starring Steve-O and Chris Pontius featured a segment in which the duo learned about the Aghori culture firsthand. Chris and Steve-O were given the ritualistic alcohol from a skull and were covered in remains of a corpse in the form of ashes. One Aghori also demonstrated the traditional drinking of urine.
Director Jeff Tremaine, responsible for the Wild Boyz, Jackass, etc. felt the bit on the Wild Boyz was so successful he wanted to re-shoot it for Jackass 2. This time they sent in Dave England, Chris Pontius, and Steve-O. When an Aghori started mutilating his own leg, and jumped at Dave England with the blood everyone decided it was far more than they had planned on, and wanted out. This 'bit' ended up in Jackass 2.5, as Johnny Knoxville foreshadows in the taping of the 'bit'.
On the Dirty Sanchez TV show, in a season called "Sanchez Get High," Welshmen Matthew Pritchard and Lee Dainton meet up with an Aghori ascetic, and shows Pritchard drinking alcohol from a skull.
In the Tamil film Naan Kadavul by Bala, Arya essays the role of an Aghori.
In the block-buster Telugu film Arundhati, Sonu Sood, the antagonist is a converted Aghora.

A popular novel in kannada "Aghorigala naduve" (Life with agoris) was published in 1980. In that novel one of the popular sites for Aghoris in south India is near Chamundi Hills at Mysore, Karnataka state.

Mayan Calender End Of Days By 2012

2009-12-22T15:47:00.005+05:30

The Maya calendar is a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya civilization ofpre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and by some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala.

The essentials of the Maya calendric system are based upon a system which had been in common use throughout the region, dating back to at least the 6th century BC. It shares many aspects with calendars employed by other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Zapotec and Olmec, and contemporary or later ones such as the Mixtec and Aztec calendars. Although the Mesoamerican calendar did not originate with the Maya, their subsequent extensions and refinements of it were the most sophisticated. Along with those of the Aztecs, the Maya calendars are the best-documented and most completely understood.

By the Maya mythological tradition, as documented in Colonial Yucatec accounts and reconstructed from Late Classic and Postclassic inscriptions, the deity Itzamna is frequently credited with bringing the knowledge of the calendar system to the ancestral Maya, along with writing in general and other foundational aspects of Maya culture.

Overview

The most important of these calendars is the one with a period of 260 days. This 260-day calendar was prevalent across all Mesoamerican societies, and is of great antiquity (almost certainly the oldest of the calendars). It is still used in some regions of Oaxaca, and by the Mayacommunities of the Guatemalan highlands. The Maya version is commonly known to scholars as the Tzolkin, or Tzolk'in in the revisedorthography of the Academia de las Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala.^[2] The Tzolk'in is combined with another 365-day calendar (known as theHaab, or Haab' ), to form a synchronized cycle lasting for 52 Haabs, called the Calendar Round. Smaller cycles of 13 days (the trecena) and 20 days (the veintena) were important components of the Tzolk'in and Haab' cycles, respectively.

A different form of calendar was used to track longer periods of time, and for the inscription of calendar dates (i.e., identifying when one event occurred in relation to others). This form, known as the Long Count, is based upon the number of elapsed days since a mythological starting-point.^[3] According to the correlation between the Long Count and Western calendars accepted by the great majority of Maya researchers (known as the GMT correlation), this starting-point is equivalent to August 11, 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar or 6 September in the Julian calendar (−3113 astronomical). The Goodman-Martinez-Thompson correlation was chosen by Thompson in 1935 on the basis of earlier correlations by Joseph Goodman in 1905 (August 11), Juan Martínez Hernández in 1926 (August 12), and John Eric Sydney Thompson in 1927 (August 13).^[4]^[5] By its linear nature, the Long Count was capable of being extended to refer to any date far into the future (or past). This calendar involved the use of a positional notation system, in which each position signified an increasing multiple of the number of days. TheMaya numeral system was essentially vigesimal (i.e., base-20), and each unit of a given position represented 20 times the unit of the position which preceded it. An important exception was made for the second-order place value, which instead represented 18 × 20, or 360 days, more closely approximating the solar year than would 20 × 20 = 400 days. It should be noted however that the cycles of the Long Count are independent of the solar year.

Many Maya Long Count inscriptions are supplemented by a Lunar Series, which provides information on the lunar phase and position of theMoon in a half-yearly cycle of lunations.

A 584-day Venus cycle was also maintained, which tracked the heliacal risings of Venus as the morning and evening stars. Many events in this cycle were seen as being astrologically inauspicious and baleful, and occasionally warfare was astrologically timed to coincide with stages in this cycle.

Other, less-prevalent or poorly understood cycles, combinations and calendar progressions were also tracked. An 819-day count is attested in a few inscriptions; repeating sets of 9- and 13-day intervals associated with different groups of deities, animals and other significant concepts are also known.

Maya concepts of time

With the development of the place-notational Long Count calendar (believed to have been inherited from other Mesoamerican cultures), the Maya had an elegant system with which events could be recorded in a linear relationship to one another, and also with respect to the calendar ("linear time") itself. In theory, this system could readily be extended to delineate any length of time desired, by simply adding to the number of higher-order place markers used (and thereby generating an ever-increasing sequence of day-multiples, each day in the sequence uniquely identified by its Long Count number). In practice, most Maya Long Count inscriptions confine themselves to noting only the first five coefficients in this system (a b'ak'tun-count), since this was more than adequate to express any historical or current date (20 b'ak'tuns cover 7,885 solar years). Even so, example inscriptions exist which noted or implied lengthier sequences, indicating that the Maya well understood a linear (past-present-future) conception of time.

However, and in common with other Mesoamerican societies, the repetition of the various calendric cycles, the natural cycles of observable phenomena, and the recurrence and renewal of death-rebirth imagery in their mythological traditions were important and pervasive influences upon Maya societies. This conceptual view, in which the "cyclical nature" of time is highlighted, was a pre-eminent one, and many rituals were concerned with the completion and re-occurrences of various cycles. As the particular calendaric configurations were once again repeated, so too were the "supernatural" influences with which they were associated. Thus it was held that particular calendar configurations had a specific "character" to them, which would influence events on days exhibiting that configuration. Divinations could then be made from the auguriesassociated with a certain configuration, since events taking place on some future date would be subject to the same influences as its corresponding previous cycle dates. Events and ceremonies would be timed to coincide with auspicious dates, and avoid inauspicious ones.^[6]

The completion of significant calendar cycles ("period endings"), such as a k'atun-cycle, were often marked by the erection and dedication of specific monuments (mostly stela inscriptions, but sometimes twin-pyramid complexes such as those in Tikal and Yaxha), commemorating the completion, accompanied by dedicatory ceremonies.

A cyclical interpretation is also noted in Maya creation accounts, in which the present world and the humans in it were preceded by other worlds (one to five others, depending on the tradition) which were fashioned in various forms by the gods, but subsequently destroyed. The present world also had a tenuous existence, requiring the supplication and offerings of periodic sacrifice to maintain the balance of continuing existence. Similar themes are found in the creation accounts of other Mesoamerican societies.

**Tzolk'in calendar: named days and associated glyphs**
Seq. N^o. ¹	Day Name ²	16th C. Yucatec ⁴	reconstructed Classic Maya ⁵	Seq. N^o. ¹	Day Name ²	16th C. Yucatec ⁴	reconstructed Classic Maya ⁵
01	Imix'	Imix	Imix (?) / Ha' (?)	11	Chuwen	Chuen	(unknown)
02	Ik'	Ik	Ik'	12	Eb'	Eb	(unknown)
03	Ak'b'al	Akbal	Ak'b'al (?)	13	B'en	Ben	(unknown)
04	K'an	Kan	K'an (?)	14	Ix	Ix	Hix (?)
05	Chikchan	Chicchan	(unknown)	15	Men	Men	(unknown)
06	Kimi	Cimi	Cham (?)	16	K'ib'	Cib	(unknown)
07	Manik'	Manik	Manich' (?)	17	Kab'an	Caban	Chab' (?)
08	Lamat	Lamat	Ek' (?)	18	Etz'nab'	Etznab	(unknown)
09	Muluk	Muluc	(unknown)	19	Kawak	Cauac	(unknown)
10	Ok	Oc	(unknown)	20	Ajaw	Ahau	Ajaw

Origin of the Tzolk'in

The exact origin of the Tzolk'in is not known, but there are several theories. One theory is that the calendar came from mathematical operations based on the numbers thirteen and twenty, which were important numbers to the Maya. The numbers multiplied together equal 260. Another theory is that the 260-day period came from the length of human pregnancy. This is close to the average number of days between the first missed menstrual period and birth, unlike Naegele's rule which is 40 weeks (280 days) between the last menstrual period and birth. It is postulated that midwives originally developed the calendar to predict babies' expected birth dates.

A third theory comes from understanding of astronomy, geography and paleontology. The mesoamerican calendar probably originated with the Olmecs, and a settlement existed at Izapa, in southeast Chiapas Mexico, before 1200 BC. There, at a latitude of about 15° N, the Sun passes through zenith twice a year, and there are 260 days between zenithal passages, and gnomons (used generally for observing the path of the Sun and in particular zenithal passages), were found at this and other sites. The sacred almanac may well have been set in motion on August 13, 1359 BC, in Izapa. Vincent H. Malmström, a geographer who suggested this location and date, outlines his reasons:

(1) Astronomically, it lay at the only latitude in North America where a 260-day interval (the length of the "strange" sacred almanac used throughout the region in pre-Columbian times) can be measured between vertical sun positions -- an interval which happens to begin on the 13th of August -- the day the peoples of the Mesoamerica believed that the present world was created; (2) Historically, it was the only site at this latitude which was old enough to have been the cradle of the sacred almanac, which at that time (1973) was thought to date to the 4th or 5th centuries B.C.; and (3) Geographically, it was the only site along the required parallel of latitude that lay in a tropical lowland ecological niche where such creatures as alligators, monkeys, and iguanas were native -- all of which were used as day-names in the sacred almanac.

Malmström also offers strong arguments against both of the former explanations.

A fourth theory is that the calendar is based on the crops. From planting to harvest is approximately 260 days.

Calendar Round

Main article: Calendar Round

Neither the Tzolk'in nor the Haab' system numbered the years. The combination of a Tzolk'in date and a Haab' date was enough to identify a date to most people's satisfaction, as such a combination did not occur again for another 52 years, above general life expectancy.

Because the two calendars were based on 260 days and 365 days respectively, the whole cycle would repeat itself every 52 Haab' years exactly. This period was known as a Calendar Round. The end of the Calendar Round was a period of unrest and bad luck among the Maya, as they waited in expectation to see if the gods would grant them another cycle of 52 years.

Long Count

Since Calendar Round dates can only distinguish in 18,980 days, equivalent to around 52 solar years, the cycle repeats roughly once each lifetime, and thus, a more refined method of dating was needed if history was to be recorded accurately. To measure dates, therefore, over periods longer than 52 years, Mesoamericans devised the Long Count calendar.

The Maya name for a day was k'in. Twenty of these k'ins are known as a winal or uinal. Eighteen winals make one tun. Twenty tuns are known as a k'atun. Twenty k'atuns make ab'ak'tun.

The Long Count calendar identifies a date by counting the number of days from the Mayan creation date 4 Ahaw, 8 Kumk'u (August 11, 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar or September 6 in the Julian calendar). But instead of using a base-10 (decimal) scheme like Western numbering, the Long Count days were tallied in a modified base-20 scheme. Thus 0.0.0.1.5 is equal to 25, and 0.0.0.2.0 is equal to 40. As the winal unit resets after only counting to 18, the Long Count consistently uses base-20 only if the tun is considered the primary unit of measurement, not the k'in; with the k'in and winal units being the number of days in the tun. The Long Count 0.0.1.0.0 represents 360 days, rather than the 400 in a purely base-20 (vigesimal) count.

**Table of Long Count units**
Days	Long Count period	Long Count period	Approx solar years
1	= 1 K'in
20	= 20 K'in	= 1 Winal	0.055
360	= 18 Winal	= 1 Tun	1
7,200	= 20 Tun	= 1 K'atun	19.7
144,000	= 20 K'atun	= 1 B'ak'tun	394.3

There are also four rarely used higher-order cycles: piktun, kalabtun, k'inchiltun, andalautun.

Since the Long Count dates are unambiguous, the Long Count was particularly well suited to use on monuments. The monumental inscriptions would not only include the 5 digits of the Long Count, but would also include the two tzolk'in characters followed by the two haab' characters.

Misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is the basis for a New Age belief that a cataclysm will take place on December 21, 2012. December 21, 2012 is simply the last day of the 13th b'ak'tun. But that is not the end of the Long Count because the 14th through 20th b'ak'tuns are still to come.

Sandra Noble, executive director of the Mesoamerican research organization FAMSI, notes that "for the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle". She considers the portrayal of December 2012 as a doomsday or cosmic-shift event to be "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in."^[12] The 2009 science fiction apocalyptic disaster film 2012 is based on this belief.

Supplementary series

Many classic period inscriptions include a supplementary series. The supplementary series was deciphered by John E. Teeple (1874-1931). A supplementary series consists of the following:

Nine lords of the night

Each night was ruled by one of the nine lords of the underworld. This nine day cycle was usually written as two glyphs: a glyph that referred to the Nine Lords as a group, followed by a glyph for the lord that would rule the next night.

Lunar series

A lunar Series generally is written as five glyphs that provide information about the current lunation, the number of the lunation in a series of six, the current ruling lunar deity and the length of the current lunation.

Moon age

The maya counted the number of days in the current lunation. They started with zero on the first night that they saw the thin crescent moon.

Lunation number and lunar deity

The Maya counted the lunation in a cycle of six, numbered zero through 5. Each one was ruled by one of the six Lunar Deities. This was written as two glyphs: a glyph for the completed lunation in the lunar count with a coefficient of 0 through 5 and a glyph for one of the six lunar deities that ruled the current lunation. Teeple found that Quirigua Stela E (9.17.0.0.0) is lunar deity 2 and that most other inscriptions use this same moon number. It's an interesting date because it was a Ka'tun completion and a solar eclipse was visible in the Maya area two days later on the first unlucky day of Wayeb'.

Lunation length

The length of the lunar month is 29.53059 days so if you count the number of days in a lunation it will be either 29 or 30 days. The maya wrote whether the lunar month was 29 or 30 days as two glyphs: a glyph for lunation length followed by either a glyph made up of a moon glyph over a bundle with a suffix of 19 for a 29 day lunation or a moon glyph with a suffix of 10 for a 30 day lunation.

Venus cycle

Another important calendar for the Maya was the Venus cycle. The Maya were skilled astronomers, and could calculate the Venus cycle with extreme accuracy. There are six pages in the Dresden Codex (one of the Maya codices) devoted to the accurate calculation of the heliacal rising of Venus. The Maya were able to achieve such accuracy by careful observation over many years. There are various theories as to why Venus cycle was especially important for the Maya, including the belief that it was associated with war and used it to divine good times (calledelectional astrology) for coronations and war. Maya rulers planned for wars to begin when Venus rose.

Sachin Tendulkar life and biography

2009-12-22T00:54:00.003+05:30

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar pronunciation (help·info) (Marathi: सचिन रमेश तेंडुलकर) (born April 24, 1973 in Mumbai) is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test andOne Day International cricket.^[6]^[7]^[8] In 2002, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Testbatsman of all time, next to Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one day international(ODI) batsman of all time, next to Viv Richards.^[9] In September 2007, the Australian leg spinner Shane Warne rated Tendulkar as the greatest player he has played with or against.^[10] Tendulkar was the only player of the current generation to be included inBradman's Eleven.^{[nb 1]} He is sometimes referred to as Little Master or Master Blaster.^[12]^[13]

Tendulkar is the highest run scorer in both Test matches and ODIs, and also the batsman with the most centuries in either form of the game. The first player to score fifty centuries in all international cricket combined, he now has eighty-eight international centuries.

On November 20, 2009, Tendulkar passed 30,000 runs in international cricket.^[14]

On October 17, 2008, when he surpassed Brian Lara's record for the most runs scored in Test Cricket, he also became the first batsman to score 12,000 runs in that form of the game,^[15] having also been the third batsman and first Indian to pass 11,000 runs in Test cricket.^[16] He was also the first player to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals, and also the first player to cross every subsequent 1000-run mark that has been crossed in ODI cricket history. In the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Tendulkar surpassed Australia's Allan Border to become the player to cross the 50-run mark the most number of times in Test cricket history, and also the second ever player to score 10 Test centuries against Australia, after only Sir Jack Hobbs of England more than 70 years back.^[17] Tendulkar has been honored with the Padma Vibhushan award, India's second highest civilian award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honor.

Early years and personal life

Tendulkar was born in Bombay (now Mumbai). His father, Ramesh Tendulkar, a Marathinovelist, named Tendulkar after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman. Tendulkar's elder brother Ajit encouraged him to play cricket. Tendulkar has two other siblings: a brother Nitin, and sister Savitai.

Tendulkar attended Sharadashram Vidyamandir (High School)^[1], where he began his cricketing career under the guidance of his coach and mentor, Ramakant Achrekar. During his school days he attended the MRF Pace Foundation to train as a fast bowler, but Australian fast bowlerDennis Lillee, who took a world record 355 Test wickets, was unimpressed, suggesting that Tendulkar focus on his batting instead.^[18]

When he was young, Tendulkar would practice for hours on end in the nets. If he became exhausted, Achrekar would put a one-Rupee-coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Tendulkar now considers the 13 coins he won then as some of his most prized possessions.^[19]

While at school, he developed a reputation as a child prodigy. He had become a common conversation point in Mumbai circles, where there were suggestions already that he would become one of the greats. His season in 1988 was extraordinary, with Tendulkar scoring a century in every innings he played. He was involved in an unbroken 664-run partnership in a Lord Harris Shield inter-school game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli, who would also go on to represent India. The destructive pair reduced one bowler to tears and made the rest of the opposition unwilling to continue the game. Tendulkar scored 326* in this innings and scored over a thousand runs in the tournament.^[20] This was a record partnership in any form of cricket until 2006, when it was broken by two under-13 batsmen in a match held at Hyderabad in India.

When he was 14, Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar gave him a pair of his own ultra light pads. "It was the greatest source of encouragement for me," he said nearly 20 years later after surpassing Gavaskar's top world record of 34 Test centuries.^[21] In 1995, Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali (born November 10, 1967), a paediatrician and daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta. They have two children, Sara (born October 12, 1997), and Arjun (born September 24, 1999).^[22]

Tendulkar sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annaben Mehta.^[23]

Early domestic career

On December 11, 1988, aged just 15 years and 232 days, Tendulkar scored 100 not out in his debut first-class match for Bombay againstGujarat, making him the youngest Indian to score a century on first-class debut. He followed this by scoring a century in his first Deodhar and Duleep Trophy.^[24]. He was picked by the Mumbai captain Dilip Vengsarkar after seeing him negotiate Kapil Dev in the nets.^[1], and finished the season as Bombay's highest run-scorer.^[25]^[26] He also made an unbeaten century in the Irani Trophy final,^[27] and was selected for the tour of Pakistan next year, after just one first class season.^[28]

His first double century was for Mumbai while playing against the visiting Australian team at the Brabourne Stadium in 1998.^[1] He is the only player to score a century in all three of his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debuts.^[29]

In 1992, at the age of 19, Tendulkar became the first overseas born player to represent Yorkshire^[1]^[30] Tendulkar played 16 first-class matches for the county and scored 1070 runs at an average of 46.52.^[31]

International career

Early career

Tendulkar played his first Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989 aged just 16.He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match, but was noted for how he handled numerous blows to his body at the hands of the Pakistani pace attack.^[32] In the final test in Sialkot, he was hit on the nose by a bouncer, but he declined medical assistance and continued to bat even as he gushed blood from it.^[33] In a 20 over exhibition game in Peshawar, Tendulkar made 53 runs of 18 balls, including an over in which he scored 28 runs off Abdul Qadir^[34]. This was later called "one of the best innings I have seen" by the then Indian captain Kris Srikkanth.^[35] In all, he scored 215 runs at an average of 35.83 in the Test series, and was dismissed without scoring a run in the only One Day International he played.^[36]^[37]

The series was followed by a tour of New Zealand in which he scored 117 runs at an average of 29.25 in, Tests including an innings of 88 in the Second Test.^[38] He was dismissed without scroing in one the two one-day games he played, and scored 36 in the other.^[39] On his next tour, to England in 1990, he became the second youngest cricketer to score a Test century as he made 119* at Old Trafford.^[33]Wisden described his innings as "a disciplined display of immense maturity" and also wrote:^[40]

"He looked the embodiment of India's famous opener, Gavaskar, and indeed was wearing a pair of his pads. While he displayed a full repertoire of strokes in compiling his maiden Test hundred, most remarkable were his off-side shots from the back foot. Though only 5ft 5in tall, he was still able to control without difficulty short deliveries from the English paceman."

Tendulkar further enhanced his development during the 1991–1992 tour of Australia, that included an unbeaten 148 in Sydney and a century on a fast, bouncing pitch at Perth. Merv Hughes commented to Allan Border at the time that "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB."^[41]

Rise through the ranks

Tendulkar waits at the bowler's end.

Tendulkar's performance through the years 1994–1999 coincided with his physical peak, in his early twenties. On the day of the Hindu festival Holi, Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994.^[42] He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. He scored his first ODI century on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken him 79 ODIs to score a century.

In 1996 against Pakistan in Sharjah, Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was going through a lean patch. Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu both made centuries to set a record partnership for the second wicket. After getting out, Tendulkar found Azharuddin in two minds to bat out. Tendulkar boosted Azharuddin to bat and Azharuddin subsequently unleashed 29 runs in mere 10 balls. It enabled India post a score in excess of 300 runs for the first time. India went on to win that match.

Tendulkar's rise continued when he was the leading run scorer at the 1996 Cricket World Cup, topping the batting averages whilst scoring two centuries. He was the only Indian batsman to perform in the infamous semi-final of that World Cup. When Tendulkar's wicket fell, the Indian batting lineup collapsed and India conceded defeat after the crowd began angry demonstrations.

This was the beginning of a period at the top of the batting world, culminating in the Australian tour of India in early 1998, with Tendulkar scoring three consecutive centuries. These were characterized by a premeditated plan to target Australian spinners Shane Warne and Gavin Robertson, to whom he regularly charged down the pitch to drive over the infield. This technique worked as India beat Australia. The test match success was followed by two scintillating knocks in Sharjah where he scored two consecutive centuries in a must-win game and then in finals against Australia tormenting Shane Warne once again. Following the series Warne ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis.^[43] He also had a role with the ball in that series, including a 5 wicket haul in an ODI. Set 310 runs to win, Australia were cruising comfortably at 3 for 203 in the 31st over when Tendulkar turned the match for India taking wickets of Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Tom Moody and Damien Martyn for just 32 runs in 10 overs.^[44]

Tendulkar single-handedly won the ICC 1998 quarterfinal at Dhaka to pave way for India's entry into the semifinals, when he took 4 Australian wickets after scoring 141 runs in just 128 balls.

A chronic back problem flared up when Pakistan toured India in 1999, with India losing the historic Test at Chepauk despite a gritty century from Tendulkar himself. The worst was yet to come as Professor Ramesh Tendulkar, Tendulkar's father, died in the middle of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against Zimbabwe. However, he returned with a bang to the World cup scoring a century (unbeaten 140 off 101 balls) in his very next match against Kenya in Bristol. He dedicated this century to his father.^[45]

Captaincy

Tendulkar's two tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. When Tendulkar took over as Captain in 1996, it was with huge hopes and expectations. However, by 1997 the team was performing poorly. Azharuddin was credited with saying "Nahin jeetega! Chote ki naseeb main jeet nahin hai!",^[46] which translates into: "He won't win! It's not in the small one's destiny".

Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, then led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by the newly-crowned world champions.^[47] Tendulkar, however, was at his usual best and won the player of the tournament award as well as player of the match in one of the games. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0-2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.

Tendulkar remains an integral part of the Indian team's strategic processes. He is often seen in discussion with the captain, at times actively involved in building strategies. Former captain Rahul Dravid publicly acknowledged that Tendulkar had been suggesting moves such as the promotion of Irfan Pathan up the batting order which, although only temporary, had an immediate effect on the team's fortunes.

Injuries

Tendulkar continued his good form in Test cricket in 2001 and 2002, with some pivotal performances with both bat and ball. Tendulkar took three wickets on the final day of the famous Kolkata Test against Australia in 2001. Tendulkar took the key wickets of Matthew Hayden andAdam Gilchrist, centurions in the previous test.

Tendulkar made 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, helping India reach the final. While Australia retained the trophy that they had won in 1999, Tendulkar was given the Man of the Tournament award. The drawn series as India toured Australia in 2003/04 saw Tendulkar making his mark in the last Test of the series, with 241* in Sydney, putting India in a virtually unbeatable position. He followed up the innings with an unbeaten 50 in the second innings of the test and then an unbeaten 194 against Pakistan at Multan in the following series. The 194 was controversial in that he was stranded prior to reaching his double century as a result of a declaration by Rahul Dravid. In meeting with the press that evening, Tendulkar responded to a question on missing 200 against Pakistan by stating that he was disappointed and that the declaration had taken him by surprise.^[48] Many former cricketers commented that Dravid's declaration was in bad taste.^[49]^[50] The media noted at the time that the decision had apparently been made by Sourav Ganguly,^[51] and Ganguly himself later admitted that it had been a mistake.^[52] The controversy was put to rest when Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and coach John Wright spoke to the media after the team's victory and stated that the matter was spoken internally and put to rest.^[53]

Although he was in strong form, tennis elbow then took its toll on Tendulkar, leaving him out of the side for most of the year, coming back only for the last two tests when Australia toured India in 2004. He played a part in India's victory in Mumbai in that series, though Australia took the series 2-1.

On December 10, 2005 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Tendulkar scored his record-breaking 35th Test century, against the Sri Lankans. On February 6, 2006, he scored his 39th ODI hundred, in a match against Pakistan. He followed with a run-a-ball 42 in the second one-day international against Pakistan on February 11, 2006, and then a 95 in hostile, seaming conditions on February 13, 2006 in Lahore, which set up an Indian victory.

On March 19, 2006, after scoring an unconvincing 1 off 21 balls against England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground,Wankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd,^[54]^[55] the first time that he had ever faced such flak. Tendulkar was to end the three-Test series without a single half-century to his credit, and news of a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity. Tendulkar was operated upon for his injured shoulder. In July 2006, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Tendulkar had overcome his injury problem following a rehabilitation programme and was available for selection, and he was eventually selected for the next series.

Comeback

Tendulkar's comeback came in the DLF cup in Malaysia and he was the only Indian batsman to shine. In his comeback match, against West Indies on September 14, 2006, Tendulkar responded to his critics who believed that his career was inexorably sliding with his 40th ODI century. Though he scored 141*, West Indies won the rain-affected match by the D/L method.

In the preparation for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Tendulkar was criticized by Greg Chappell on his attitude.^[56] As per the report, Chappell felt that Tendulkar would be more useful down the order, while the latter felt that he would be better off opening the innings, the role he had played for most of his career. Chappell also believed that Tendulkar's repeated failures were hurting the team's chances. In a rare show of emotion, Tendulkar hit out at the comments attributed to Chappell by pointing out that no coach has ever suggested his attitude towards cricket is incorrect. On April 7, 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India issued a notice to Tendulkar asking for an explanation for his comments made to the media.^[57]

At the Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies, Tendulkar and the Indian cricket team, led by Rahul Dravid had a dismal campaign. Tendulkar, who was pushed to bat lower down the order by the Greg Chappell had scores of 7 (Bangladesh), 57* (Bermuda) and 0 (Sri Lanka). As a result, former Australian captain Ian Chappell, brother of the then Indian coach Greg, called for Tendulkar to retire in his column for Mumbai's Mid Day newspaper.^[58]

In the subsequent series against Bangladesh, Tendulkar returned to his opening slot and was Man of the Series. He continued by scoring two consecutive scores of 90+ in the Future Cup against South Africa. He was the leading run scorer and was adjudged the Man of the Series.^[59]

Tendulkar celebrates upon reaching his 38th Test century against Australia in the 2nd Test at the SCG in 2008, where he finishednot out on 154

On the second day of the Nottingham Test (July 28, 2007) Tendulkar became the third cricketer to complete 11,000 Test runs.^[60] In the subsequent One day series against England, Tendulkar was the leading run scorer from India^[61] with an average of 53.42. In the ODI Series against Australia in October 2007 Tendulkar was the leading Indian run scorer with 278 runs.^[62]

Tendulkar was dismissed seven times in 2007 between 90 and 100, including three times at 99, leading some to suggest that he struggles to cope with nerves in this phase of his career. Tendulkar has got out 23 times between 90 and 100 in his international career. On November 8, 2007 he got out on 99 against Pakistan in an ODI at Mohali to the bowling of Umar Gul caught by Kamran Akmal. In the fourth ODI, he got out on 97 (off 102 balls with 16 fours) after dragging a delivery from Umar Gul on to his stumps, falling short of another century in ODIs in 2007.

2007/08 tour of Australia

In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2007-08, Tendulkar showed exceptional form, becoming the leading run scorer with 493 runs in four Tests, despite consistently failing in the second innings. Sachin scored 62 runs in the first innings of the first Test at the MCG in Melbourne, but couldn't prevent a heavy 337-run win for Australia. In the controversial New Years Test at Sydney, Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 154 as India lost the Test. This was his third century at the SCG, earning him an average of 221.33 at the ground. In the third Test at the WACA in Perth, Sachin was instrumental in India's first innings score of 330, scoring a well compiled 71, only to be dismissed by what was later confirmed to be a questionable LBW decision. India went on to record a historic triumph at the WACA. In the fourth Test at Adelaide, which ended in a draw, he scored 153 in the first innings, involving in a crucial 126 run stand with V.V.S. Laxman for the fifth wicket to lead India to a score of 282 for 5 from 156 for 4. He secured the Player of the Match award.

In the One-Day International Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series involving Sri Lanka and Australia, Tendulkar became the first and only batsman to complete 16,000 runs in ODIs. He achieved this feat against Sri Lanka on February 5, 2008 at Brisbane. He started the CB series well notching up scores of 10, 35, 44 and 32, but could not convert the starts into bigger scores. His form dipped a bit in the middle of the tournament, but Tendulkar came back strongly in India's must-win game against Sri Lanka at Hobart, scoring 63 off 54 balls. He finished the series with a match winning 117 not out off 120 balls in the first final,^[63] and 91 runs in the second final.^[64]

Home series against South Africa

In the first test of a three-test series against South Africa at home, Tendulkar made a duck in the first innings. He missed the rest of the series, which was drawn 1-1, with an injury.

Sri Lanka Series

Before the three-Test series in Sri Lanka in mid-2008, Tendulkar needed just 177 runs to go past Brian Lara's record of 11,953 runs in test cricket. However, he failed in all six innings, scoring a total of just 95 runs. India lost 1-2.

Return to form and breaking the record

In the following ODI series against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar was sidelined due to injury. However, during the following Australia tour of India, he returned to fitness and form, scoring 13 and 49 in the first test before making 88 in the first innings of the second test, thus breaking the record for most number of Test runs held by Brian Lara. He also reached the 12,000 run mark when he was on 61. He made a fifty in the third test and 109 in the fourth, as India won the series 2-0 and regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

ODI and Test Series against England

Tendulkar was again out due to injury from the first three ODIs of a 7-match ODI series at home against England, but he made 11 in the fourth ODI and 50 in the fifth, before the ODI series was called off due to the Mumbai terror attacks, the scoreline being 5-0 to India.

England returned for a 2-match test series in December 2008, and in the first test in Chennai, chasing 387 for victory, Tendulkar made 103 not out in a 163-run unbroken fifth wicket stand with Yuvraj Singh. This was his third century in a fourth match innings, and the first which resulted in a win. This was redemption for the Chennai Test of 1999 when chasing 271 against Pakistan, Sachin had made 136 with severe back pain and was out 17 runs short of the target, precipitating a collapse and a loss by 12 runs. He dedicated this century to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks. Tendulkar failed in both innings in the second test, India won the series 1-0.

Sri Lanka ODIs

In early 2009, India revisited Sri Lanka for 5 ODIs, as the Pakistan series had been cancelled due to the security situation in Pakistan and the attacks in Mumbai. In the first 3 ODIs, Sachin made 5,6 and 7, being incorrectly given out LBW on all three occasions.^{[citation needed]} Then he was injured again.

New Zealand Series

India's next assignment was the away series against New Zealand. It consisted of 3 Tests and 5 ODIs. In the ODI series, Tendulkar started off with 20 in the first match followed by 61 in the second. Then he made a 163 not out in the third ODI, an innings ended by stomach cramps that forced him to retire hurt. India made 392 and won easily. Sachin was out of the next two ODIs due to injury but India won the series 3-1 with one game washed out. Tendulkar made 160 in the first test, his 42nd Test century, and India won. He made 49 and 64 in the second test and 62 and 9 in the third, in which India were prevented from winning by rain on the last day.India won the series 1-0.

Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka

Tendulkar rested himself for the ODI tour of West Indies, but was back for the Compaq Cup (Tri Series) between India, SL and New Zealand in early September 2009. He made 46 and 27 in the league matches before notching up 138 in the final, as India made 319 and won by 46 runs. This was Tendulkar's 6th century in ODI finals and his third consecutive score of over 50 in such finals. India has won all six times that Tendulkar has made a hundred in an ODI final.

ICC Champions Trophy 2009

Tendulkar played just one innings in the ICC Champions trophy in South Africa, scoring 8 against Pakistan as India lost. The next match against Australia was washed out and he was out with food poisoning in the third match against the Windies, as India were eliminated after beating the Windies and finishing third in their group.

India-Australia ODI Series

Australia returned for a 7-match ODI series in India in October, and Tendulkar made 14, 4, 32 and 40 in the first four games.

In the fifth match, with the series tied at 2-2, Australia amassed 350/4 in 50 overs. Tendulkar made his 45th ODI hundred, a 175 off just 141 balls. Just when it seemed that he would steer India to the large victory target, he paddle-scooped debutant bowler Clint McKay straight to short fine leg, with India needing 19 from 18 balls with four wickets left. The Indian tail collapsed, and they lost by 3 runs, being all out for 347.

During this match, Tendulkar also became the first player to reach 17000 ODI runs, and achieved his personal best against Australia, as well as the third highest score in a defeat. He described it as one of his best innings but said it could have been better had India won the match.

Indian Premier League

Tendulkar was made the icon player and captain for his home side, the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20competition in 2008.^[65] As an icon player, he was signed for a sum of US$1,121,250, 15% more than the second-highest paid player in the team, Sanath Jayasuriya.^[66]

Style of play

Tendulkar plays a wristy leg-side flick

Tendulkar is cross-dominant: He bats, bowls and throws with his right hand, but writes with his left hand.^[67] He also practices left-handed throws at the nets on a regular basis. Cricinfo columnist Sambit Bal has described him as the "most wholesome batsman of his time".^[1] His batting is based on complete balance and poise while limiting unnecessary movements and flourishes. He appears to show little preference for the slow and low wickets which are typical in India, and has scored many centuries on the hard, bouncy pitches in South Africa and Australia.^[1] He is known for his unique punch style of hitting the ball over square. He is also renowned for his picture-perfect straight drive, often completed with no follow-through. Recently, legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar, in an article he wrote in the AFP, remarked that "it is hard to imagine any player in the history of the game who combines classical technique with raw aggression like the little champion does".^[5]

Sir Donald Bradman, considered by many the greatest batsman of all time, considered Tendulkar to have a batting style similar to his. In his biography, it is stated that "Bradman was most taken by Tendulkar's technique, compactness and shot production, and had asked his wife to have a look at Tendulkar, having felt that Tendulkar played like him. Bradman's wife, Jessie, agreed that they did appear similar."^[68]^[69]

Tendulkar at the crease, getting ready to face a delivery.

Former Australian cricket team coach John Buchanan voiced his opinion that Tendulkar had become susceptible to the short ball early in his innings because of a lack of footwork.^[70] Buchanan also believes Tendulkar has a weakness while playing left-arm pace.^[70] He was affected by a series of injuries since 2004. Since then Tendulkar's batting has tended to be less attacking. Explaining this change in his batting style, he has acknowledged that he is batting differently due to that fact that (1) No batsman can bat the same way for the entire length of a long career and (2) He is a senior member of the team now and thus has more responsibility. During the early part of his career he was a more attacking batsman and frequently scored centuries at close to a run a ball. Ian Chappell, former Australian player, recently remarked that "Tendulkar now, is nothing like the player he was when he was a young bloke".^[71]However, during the latest tour of Australia in 2008, Tendulkar displayed glimpses of his attacking style with several masterful innings, dominating attacks in a manner reminiscent of his younger days.

While Tendulkar is not a regular bowler, he is adept at bowling medium pace, leg spin, and off spin with equal ease. He often bowls when two batsmen of the opposite team have been batting together for a long period, as he can often be a useful partnership breaker. With his bowling, he has helped secure an Indian victory on more than one occasion.^[72] He has taken 44 test match wickets and is the 9th highest wicket taker for India in ODIs.^[73]

Career achievements

Main articles: Achievements of Sachin Tendulkar and List of ODI Awards for Sachin Tendulkar

An innings-by-innings breakdown of Tendulkar's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).

Sachin Tendulkar is the most prolific run scorer in one-day internationals with 17,178 runs. With a current aggregate of 12,877 Test runs, he surpassedBrian Lara's previous record tally of 11,953 runs as the highest run scorer in test matches in the second Test of Australia's 2008 tour of India in Mohali.^[15]^[74] Sachin described “It is definitely the biggest achievement in 19 years of my career” on the day he achieved the record.^[75] He also holds the record of highest number of centuries in both Test (43) and ODI cricket (45). Throughout his career, he has made a strong impact on Indian cricket and was, at one time, the foundation of most of the team's victories. In recognition with his impact on sport in a cricket-loving country like India, Tendulkar has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. He was also elected Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997 and is ranked by the objective scoring method of theWisden 100 as the second best test batsman and best ODI batsman of all time.

Tendulkar has also consistently done well in Cricket World Cups. Tendulkar was the highest run scorer of the 2003 Cricket World Cup and 1996 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs 7 times, and in 1998 he scored 1894 runs, easily the record for the highest number of runs scored by any player in a single calendar year for one day internationals. Tendulkar is also one of the very few players who are still playing in international cricket from the 1980s.

He has been Man of the Match 11 times in Test matches and Man of the Series 4 times,^[76] out of them twice in the Border-Gavaskar Trophyagainst Australia. The performances earned him respect from Australian cricket fans and players.^[41] Similarly he has been Man of the Match60 times in One day International matches and Man of the Series 14 times.

Individual honours & appreciations

Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, 2008.^[77]
ICC World ODI XI: 2004, 2007
Rajiv Gandhi Awards - Sports: 2005^[78]
Player of the tournament in 2003 Cricket World Cup
Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra State's highest Civilian Award in 2001 ^[79]
Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, 1999^[80]
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports, 1997-98.^[81]
Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 1997
Arjuna Award, by the Government of India in recognition of his outstanding achievement in Cricket, 1994.^[82]

In January 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that Sachin should be conferred with an honorary knighthood for his contribution to international cricket.^[83] He was mentioned in the TIME magazine as the "The greatest living exponent of his craft."^[84]

Praise by other cricketers

In September 2007, former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne published his list of the 50 greatest cricketers who had played during his time, in which Tendulkar had secured the number 1 spot.^[10] Sunil Gavaskar, one of the greatest Indian Test batsmen, regarded as Tendulkar as being the "closest thing to batting perfection."^[85] Shane Warne had mentioned a decade back, "I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player."^[86]^[87]^[88] He has received such appreciations from various other cricketers, including Wasim Akram who said "Cricketers like Sachin come once in a lifetime and I am privileged he played in my time."^[87], Viv Richards who said "He is 99.5 percent perfect. I'd pay to see him."^[88], Brian Lara who said "You know genius when you see it. And let me tell you, Sachin is pure genius."^[84], and Barry Richards who said "Sachin is cricket's God." ^[87] Former New Zealand all-rounder Richard Hadleebelieves Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman ever to grace the game.^[89] Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has said in the past that Tendulkar will go down in history as the best ever batsman after Bradman. Former South African great Allan Donald considers Tendulkar to be the best batsman he has ever bowled to.^[90] Current Australian captain Ricky Ponting too believes that Tendulkar is the best batsman he has seen or played against.^[91]. Sir Don Bradman also said that he saw himself in Sachin when he saw him bat.

Controversies

Mike Denness incident

Main article: Mike Denness and Indian cricket team incident

In the second test of India's 2001 tour of South Africa, match referee Mike Denness fined four Indian players for excessive appealing as well as the Indian captain Sourav Ganguly for not controlling his team.^[92] Tendulkar was given a suspended ban of one game in light of alleged ball tampering. Television cameras picked up images that suggested Tendulkar may have been involved in cleaning the seam of the cricket ball in the second test match between India and South Africa at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth.^[93] This can, under some conditions, amount to altering the condition of the ball. The match referee Mike Denness found Sachin Tendulkar guilty of ball tampering charges and handed him a one Test match ban.^[94] The incident escalated to include allegations of racism,^[95] and led to Mike Denness being barred from entering the venue of the third test match. After a thorough investigation, the International Cricket Council revoked the official status of the match and the ban on Tendulkar was lifted. Tendulkar's ball tampering charges and Sehwag's ban for excessive appealing triggered a massive backlash from the Indian public and even the Indian parliament.^[96]

Controversy over Ferrari customs waiver

In commemorating Sachin Tendulkar's feat of equalling Don Bradman's 29 centuries in Test Cricket, automotive giant Ferrari invited Sachin Tendulkar to its paddock in Silverstone on the eve of the British Grand Prix (July 23, 2002) to receive a Ferrari 360 Modena from the legendary F1 racer Michael Schumacher.^[97] On September 4, 2002 India's then finance minister Jaswant Singh wrote to Sachin telling him that the government will waive customs duty imposed on the car as a measure to applaud his feat.^[98] However the rules at the time stated that the customs duty can be waived only when receiving an automobile as a prize and not as a gift. It is claimed that the proposals to change the law (Customs Act) was put forth in Financial Bill in February 2003 and amended was passed as a law in May 2003. Subsequently the Ferrari was allowed to be brought to India without payment of the customs duty (Rs 1.13 Crores or 120% on the car value of Rs 75 Lakhs).^[99] When the move to waive customs duty became public in July 2003, political and social activists protested the waiver^[100] and filed PIL in the Delhi High Court. With the controversy snowballing, Sachin offered to pay the customs duty and the tab was finally picked up by Ferrari.^[101] Tendulkar has been seen taking his Ferrari 360 Modena for late-night drives in Mumbai.

Fan following

Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, a die hard fan of Sachin who earned the privilege to get tickets to all home games of India for lifetime.

Sachin Tendulkar's entry into world cricket was very much hyped up by former Indian stars and those who had seen him play. By scoring his first half-century in his second match and his first century aged 17, Tendulkar's consistent performances earned him a fan following across the globe, including amongst Australian crowds, where Tendulkar has consistently scored centuries.^[41] One of the most popular sayings by Sachin's fans is "Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God".^[83] Cricinfo mentions in his profile that "...Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world."^[102]

At home in Mumbai, Tendulkar's fan following is so great that he is unable to lead a normal life. Ian Chappellhas said that he would be unable to cope with the lifestyle Tendulkar was forced to lead, having to "wear a wig and go out and watch a movie only at night".^[71] In an interview with Tim Sheridan, Tendulkar admitted that he sometimes went for quiet drives in the streets of Mumbai late at night when he would be able to enjoy some peace and silence.^[103]

There is one fan who stands out as a die hard fan of Sachin, he is Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary. Sudhir is a popular die hard fan of Sachin Tendulkar and Indian Cricket Team. He paints his body in Indian Flag color and Tendulkar name on his back and visits every home game in India. He even stripped himself showing his painted body to former BCCI president Sharad Pawar to grant him lifetime guarantee of tickets for all Indian home games, his request was denied and yet to be approved. He sends 1000 litchis every year to Sachin Tendulkar and receives match tickets and gifts from the cricketer as gratitude. He can be spotted in almost all Indian home games and he is encouraged and provided tickets by Sachin himself.

Business interests

Tendulkar's immense popularity has led him to numerous profitable business dealings in the past. He currently has the most sponsorships out of all players in world cricket. Sachin Tendulkar was an early pioneer in India on cricket business dealings when he signed a then record sports management deal with Worldtel in 1995, the value of the deal being 30 crore rupees over 5 years.^[104] His next contract with WorldTel in 2001 was valued at 80 crores over 5 years.^[105] In 2006, he signed a contract with Saatchi and Saatchi's ICONIX values at 180 crores over 3 years.^[106] He is the highest earning cricketer in the world.

Making use of his popularity, Tendulkar has opened two restaurants: 'Tendulkar's'^[107] (Colaba, Mumbai) & 'Sachin's'^[108] (Mulund, Mumbai). Sachin owns these restaurants in partnership with Sanjay Narang of Mars Restaurants. He has also got a new restaurant in Bangalore called Sachin's.

In 2007, Tendulkar also announced a JV with the Future Group and Manipal Group to launch healthcare and sports fitness products under the brand name 'S Drive and Sach'.^[109] A series of comic books by Virgin Comics is also due to be published featuring him as a superhero.^[110]

Product and brand endorsements

Sachin Tendulkar endorses the following products:

Pepsi: 1992 - Present^[111]
Canon: 2006 - 2009^[112]
Airtel: 2004-2006^[113]
Nazara Technologies: 2005 - 2008. License for Mobile Content development based on Sachin.^[114]
- Reliance Communications sub-licensed brand 'Sachin Tendulkar' to update the user of the latest 2007 Cricket World Cup scores and news in Sachin's voice. Hutch - ICC's prime communication sponsor protested calling Reliance's plan as 'ambush marketing', a charge that Reliance Communication denies.^[115]
Britannia: 2001 - 2007^[116]
HomeTrade: 2001 - 2002^[117]
Sunfeast: 2007 - 2013/14^[118]
National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC): 2003 - 2005^[119]
Boost: 1990 - Present^[120]
Action Shoes: 1995 - 2000^[121]
Adidas: 2000-2010^[122]
Fiat Palio: 2001 to 2003^[123]
Reynolds: 2007 - Present^[124]
TVS: 2002 - 2005^[125]
ESPN Star Sports: 2002 - Present^[126]
G-Hanz: 2005 - 2007^[127]
Sanyo BPL: 2007 - Present^[128]
AIDS Awareness Campaign: 2005^[129]
Colgate-Palmolive^[130]
Philips^[130]
MRF^[130]
VISA^[130]
Aviva
Royal Bank of Scotland Group

Biographies

Sachin Tendulkar has been the subject of various books. The following is the listing of books focused on Tendulkar's career:

Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global. ISBN 978-0-14-302854-3^[131]
The A to Z of Sachin Tendulkar by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global. ISBN 978-81-7476-530-7^[132]^[133]
Sachin Tendulkar-a definitive biography by Vaibhav Purandare. Publisher: Roli Books. ISBN 81-7436-360-2^[134]^[135]
Sachin Tendulkar - Masterful by Peter Murray, Ashish Shukla. Publisher: Rupa. ISBN 81-7167-806-8^[136]^[137]
If Cricket is a Religion, Sachin is God by Vijay Santhanam ,Shyam Balasubramanian Publisher : HarperCollins India ISBN 978-81-7223-821-6^[138]

Notes

^ Bradman's team: Barry Richards (South Africa), Arthur Morris (Australia), Don Bradman (Australia), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Garry Sobers (West Indies), Don Tallon (Australia), Ray Lindwall (Australia), Dennis Lillee (Australia), Alec Bedser (England), Bill O'Reilly (cricketer) (Australia), Clarrie Grimmett (Australia). 12th man Wally Hammond (England)^[11]

Preceded by Mohammad Azharuddin	Indian National Test Cricket Captain 1996/97 - 1997/98	Succeeded by Mohammad Azharuddin
Preceded by Mohammad Azharuddin	Indian National Test Cricket Captain 1999/2000	Succeeded by Sourav Ganguly
Preceded by Leander Paes and Nameirakpam Kunjarani	Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 1997/1998	Succeeded by Jyotirmoyee Sikdar
Preceded by Anil Kumble	Indian Awardees of Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1997	Succeeded by Rahul Dravid

By popular vote, the greatest batsman in the world today, Sachin Tendulkar has the cricketing world at his feet. The adulation he commands world over is unsurpassed, perhaps since the days of Don Bradman, to whom of course he has been compared, by no less than the great man himself. While he may not end with a Test career average of 99.94, there is little doubt that based on his vigorous style of batsmanship and his insatiable appetite for runs and big scores, he is the most complete batsman since Vivian Richards. In many ways though he has surpassed even that outstanding West Indian batsman.

When Tendulkar is on song, there is no more majestic sight in the cricketing world. The spectators at the stadium are on their feet cheering while all over the world, TV audiences are glued to the screen. He has scored heavily on all kinds of wickets the world over, in conditions which lesser mortals have not been able to master and against bowlers whom other batsmen have found it difficult to score off. Immensely gifted and blessed with an impeccable technique, Tendulkar's batting is a dream, combining timing, elegance and power. Mentally very strong, Tendulkar is best when confronted by a challenge - as he showed when mowing down Shane Warne in India in 1998. Captain during two short stints, Tendulkar has made it clear that he would prefer to concentrate on his batting and indeed, he seems to be getting better with every passing year. Scoring two double centuries in successive seasons and being the first to cross the 10,000 run barrier in ODIs is clear proof of this. The best thing from the fans' point of view - if not the bowler's - is that the entertainment, courtesy Tendulkar, is still at the intermission stage. Long may
`The King' continue to regale his willing subjects!

While his batting ranks him among the best in the world, he is also a part-time bowler and has played a crucial role as a leg spinner or a medium pace bowler who tends to break partnerships. He has more than a hundred wickets in ODIs and 35 in tests, though his bowling averages are above 40. He continues to perform well under the massive weight of expectation of hundreds of millions of cricket followers, in India and around the world, and most recently was named Player Of The Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.Incidentally, Sachin is the first batsman to be declared run out by third umpire in 1992 in South Africa.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar Statistics

Sachin Tendulkar celebrates after reaching his world-record 35th Test century,
India v Sri Lanka, Delhi, December 10, 2005 Sachin Tendulkar created history by becoming the highest
century-getter as India laid the foundation for a mammoth first innings total in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the
Feroze Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi on Saturday. Tendulkar cracked an unbeaten 100 for his record 35th hundred,
the most in Test cricket, as India reached a strong 245 for three at stumps on the opening day.

Tendulkar's seventh ton against the visitors saw him surpass former captain and compatriot Sunil Gavaskar's tally of 34 for most number of hundreds in the all-time centurions list.

Sourav Ganguly was batting on 39 at the other end after playing the supporting role to Tendulkar to perfection.
It was also Tendulkar's 125th Test appearance, again matching Gavaskar and the second highest for an Indian.
Only Kapil Dev had played in more Tests, 131.

Tendulkar's innings helped India seize the initiative after skipper Rahul Dravid, suffering from illness, made a bold decision to
open the innings in the absence of Virendra Sehwag who was down with a throat infection. Tendulkar reached his
century with a single off Chaminda Vaas delivery.

His three figure mark came from 177 balls after 277 minutes at the crease, and contained 13 fours and a six. Tendulkar was somewhat circumspect in the initial phase of his innings and had to endure a testing spell of reverse swing bowling
by Fernando.

Some remarkable achievements of his career are:
* 4th highest tally of runs in test cricket (10,134) at an outstanding average of 57.25 (highest among those who have scored over 8,500 test runs) as of March 2005
* Most runs (over 13642) and centuries (38) in one-day internationals
* Only person to have scored over 11,000 ODI runs and over 25 ODI centuries as of April 28, 2005
* Highest ODI batting average among Indian batsmen and among all batsmen who have scored over 7,500 ODI runs (as of April 3, 2005)
* Most Number of Man of the Matches in one-day internationals
* Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs in ODIs as of April 2005
* Most Number of Runs in World Cup Cricket History
* First cricketer to cross 10,000-run mark in ODIs
* Has equalled Sunil Gavaskar's record of 34 test centuries.
* Among those who have played over 100 test matches, he is the only one with a batting average above 55.
* Only second Indian to cross 10,000 runs in Test matches.
* He has the most centuries in ODI cricket against Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
* He is the fastest to score 10,000 runs in test cricket history. He holds this record along with Brian Lara. Both of them achieved this feat in 195 innings.
* To go with this he has 34 hundreds in Test cricket at an average of 57. An average above 50 distinguishes a batsman as an all time great.
* Highest individual score in ODIs among Indian batsmen (186* against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999)
*1994: Arjuna Award Receipient for achievements in Cricket
*1997: Tendulkar was one of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year
*1997/98: India's highest sporting honour - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
*1999: Padma Shri - India's civilian medal of recognition
*2008: Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award.
*In August 2003, Sachin Tendulkar was voted as the "Greatest Sportsman" of the country in the sport
personalities category in the Best of India poll conducted by Zee News.
*In November 2006, Time magazine named Tendulkar as one of the Asian Heroes.
*In December 2006, he was named "Sports person of the Year"
The current India Poised campaign run by The Times of India has nominated him as the Face of New India next to the likes of
Amartya Sen and Mahatma Gandhi among others

Panama Canal

2009-12-21T23:58:00.002+05:30

The Panama Canal is a 77 km (48 mi) ship canal that joins the Atlantic Ocean and thePacific ocean and a key conduit for international maritime trade. Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in the canal's early days to 14,702 vessels in 2008, displacing a total 309.6 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons.

One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the canal had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco via the canal travels 9,500 km (6,000 miles), well under half the 22,500 km (14,000 miles) route around Cape Horn.^[1]

The concept of a canal near Panama dates to the early 16th century. The first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880 under French leadership, but was abandoned after 21,900 workers died, largely from disease (particularly malaria and yellow fever) andlandslides. The United States launched a second effort, incurring a further 5,600 deaths but succeeding in opening the canal in 1914.

While the Pacific Ocean is west of the isthmus and the Atlantic to the east, the 8- to 10-hour journey through the canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic is one from southeast to northwest. This is a result of the isthmus's "curving back on itself" in the region of the canal. The Bridge of the Americas at the Pacific end is about a third of a degree of longitude east of the end near Colon on the Atlantic.^[2]

The maximum size of vessel that can use the canal is known as Panamax; an increasing number of modern ships exceed this limit, and are known as post-Panamax or super-Panamax vessels.

History

Main article: History of the Panama Canal

[edit]Early efforts

The earliest mention of a canal across the Isthmus of Panama dates back to 1534 when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spainordered a survey for a route through Panama that would ease the voyage for ships traveling to and from Spain and Peru, as well as give the Spanish a tactical military edge over the Portuguese.^[3] During his expedition of 1788–1793, Alessandro Malaspina demonstrated the feasibility of a canal and outlined plans for its construction.^[4]

Given the strategic situation of Panama and its narrow isthmus separating two great oceans, other forms of trade links were attempted over the years. The ill-fated Darien scheme was an attempt launched by the Kingdom of Scotland in 1698 to set up an overland trade route, but was defeated by the generally inhospitable conditions, and abandoned in July of 1699.^[5] Finally, the Panama Railway was built across the isthmus, opening in 1855. This overland link became a vital piece of infrastructure, greatly facilitating trade and largely determining the later canal route.

Construction work on the Gaillard Cut is shown in this photograph from 1907

An all-water route between the oceans was still seen as the ideal solution, and the idea of a canal was enhanced by the success of the Suez Canal. The French, under Ferdinand de Lesseps, began construction on a sea-level canal (i.e., without locks) through what was then Colombia's province of Panama, on January 1, 1880. The French began work in a rush with insufficient prior study of the geology and hydrology of the region.^[6] In addition, disease, particularly malaria and yellow fever, sickened and killed vast numbers of employees, ranging from laborers to top directors of the French company. Public health measures were ineffective because the role of the mosquito as a disease vector was then unknown. These conditions made it impossible to maintain an experienced work force as fearful technical employees quickly returned to France. Even the hospitals contributed to the problem, unwittingly providing breeding places for mosquitoes inside the unscreened wards. Actual conditions were hushed-up in France to avoid recruitment problems.^[6]In 1893, after a great deal of work, the French scheme was abandoned due to disease and the sheer difficulty of building a sea-level canal, as well as lack of French field experience, such as downpours causing steel equipment to rust.^[7] The high toll from disease was one of the major factors in the failure; as many as 22,000 workers were estimated to have died during the main period of French construction (1881–1889).^[6]

Later efforts

According to Stephen Kinzer's 2006 book Overthrow, in 1898 the chief of the French Canal Syndicate (a group that owned large swathes of land across Panama), Philippe Bunau-Varilla, hired William Nelson Cromwell (of the US law firm Sullivan & Cromwell) to lobby the US Congress to build a canal across Panama, and not across Nicaragua.

In 1902, Cromwell noticed a 10-cent Nicaraguan postal stamp, produced by the United States’ American Bank Note Company, which erroneously depicted a fuming Momotombo volcano. Momotombo was nearly dormant and stands more than 160 km (100 mi) from the proposed Nicaraguan canal path; yet the stamp had taken advantage of a particularly volcanic year in the Caribbean. Cromwell planted a story in the New York Sun reporting that the Momotombo volcano had erupted and caused a series of seismic shocks. Thereafter he sent leaflets with the above stamps pasted on them to all U.S. Senators as witness to the volcanic activity in Nicaragua. On June 19, 1902, three days after senators received the stamps, they voted for the Panama route for the canal. For his lobbying efforts, Cromwell received the sum of $800,000.^[8]

On January 22, 1903, the Hay-Herran Treaty was signed by United States Secretary of State John M. Hay and Dr. Tomás Herrán of Colombia. It would have granted the United States a 99-year lease from Colombia on the land proposed for the canal. It was ratified by the United States Senate on March 14, 1903, but the Senate of Colombia did not ratify the treaty. Philippe Bunau-Varilla, chief engineer of the French canal company, told Roosevelt and Hay of a possible revolt and hoped that the U.S. would support it with troops and money. President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt changed tactics, promising support for Panama's intermittent separatist movement. On November 2, 1903 U.S. warships blocked sealanes for Colombian troops from coming to put down the revolt, while dense jungles blocked land routes. Panama achieved independence on November 3, 1903 when the United States sent naval forces to encourage Colombia's surrender of the region. The United States quickly recognized them. Also in November 6, 1903, Phillipe Bunau-Varilla, Panama's ambassador to the United States, signed the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty, granting rights to the United States to build and indefinitely administer the Panama Canal. Although Bunau-Varilla was serving as Panama's ambassador, he was a French citizen and was not authorized to sign treaties on behalf of Panama without Panamanian review.^{[citation needed]} This treaty became a contentious diplomatic issue between the two countries, culminating in riots in which 21 Panamanians and 4 U.S. soldiers were killed on Martyr's Day, January 9, 1964. The issues were resolved with the signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties in 1977, which returned the former Canal Zone territories to Panama.

The United States, under President Theodore Roosevelt (with John Frank Stevens as Chief Engineer from 1905–1907), bought out the French equipment and excavations for US$40 million and began work on May 4, 1904. The United States paid Colombia $25,000,000 in 1921, seven years after completion of the canal, for redress of President Roosevelt's role in the creation of Panama, and Colombia recognized Panama under the terms of the Thomson-Urrutia Treaty.

Chief Engineer (1905–1907), John Frank Stevens' primary achievement in Panama was in building the infrastructure necessary to complete the canal. He rebuilt the Panama Railway and devised a system for disposing of soil from the excavations by rail. He also built proper housing for canal workers and oversaw extensive sanitation and mosquito-control programmes that eliminated yellow fever and other diseases from the Isthmus. Stevens argued the case against a sea level canal like the French had tried to build. He convinced Theodore Roosevelt of the necessity of a canal built with dams and locks.

An investment was made in eliminating disease from the area, particularly yellow fever and malaria, the causes of which had originally been theorized by Cuban physician/scientist Dr. Carlos Finlay in 1881 who had identified the mosquito as the vector that causes the disease. Finlay's theory and investigative work had recently been confirmed by Dr. Walter Reed while in Cuba with U.S. Army motivation during theSpanish-American War (see Health measures during the construction of the Panama Canal). With the diseases under control, and after significant work on preparing the infrastructure, construction of an elevated canal with locks began in earnest and was finally possible. The Americans also gradually replaced the old French equipment with machinery designed for a larger scale of work (such as the giant hydraulic crushers supplied by the Joshua Hendy Iron Works), to quicken the pace of construction.^[6] President Roosevelt had the former French machinery minted into medals for all workers who spent at least two years on the construction to commemorate their contribution to the building of the canal. These medals featured Roosevelt's likeness on the front, the name of the recipient on one side, and the worker's years of service, as well as a picture of the Culebra Cut on the back.^[9]

In 1907 Roosevelt appointed George Washington Goethals as Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal. The building of the canal was completed in 1914, two years ahead of the target date of June 1, 1916. The canal was formally opened on August 15, 1914 with the passage of the cargo ship SS Ancon.^[10] Coincidentally, this was also the same month that fighting in World War I (the Great War) began in Europe. The advances inhygiene resulted in a relatively low death toll during the American construction; still, 5,609 workers died during this period (1904–1914).^[11] This brought the total death toll for the construction of the canal to around 27,500.

By the 1930s it was seen that water supply would be an issue for the canal; this prompted the building of the Madden Dam across the Chagres River above Gatun Lake. The dam, completed in 1935, created Madden Lake (later Alajuela Lake), which acts as additional water storage for the canal. In 1939, construction began on a further major improvement: a new set of locks for the canal, large enough to carry the larger warships which the United States was building at the time and had planned to continue building. The work proceeded for several years, and significant excavation was carried out on the new approach channels, but the project was canceled after World War II.^[12]^[13]

Statement on the Panama Canal Treaty Signing

Jimmy Carter's speech upon signing the Panama Canal treaty, 7 September 1977.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

After the war, U.S. control of the canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it became contentious as relations between Panama and the U.S. became increasingly tense. Many Panamanians felt that the canal zone rightfully belonged to Panama; student protests were met by the fencing in of the zone and an increased military presence.^[14] Negotiations toward a new settlement began in 1974, and resulted in the Torrijos-Carter Treaties. Signed by President of the United States Jimmy Carter and Omar Torrijos of Panama on September 7, 1977, this mobilized the process of granting the Panamanians free control of the Canal so long as Panama signed a treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of the Canal. The treaty led to full Panamanian control effective at noon on December 31, 1999, and the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) assumed command of the waterway.

Before this handover, the government of Panama held an international bid to negotiate a 25-year contract for operation of the container shipping ports located at the Canal’s Atlantic and Pacific outlets. The contract was not affiliated with the ACP or Panama Canal operations, was won by the firm Hutchison Whampoa, a Hong Kong-based shipping concern whose owner is Li Ka Shing.

Construction of locks on the Panama Canal, 1913

[edit]Layout

USS Missouri passes through the canal

The canal consists of artificial lakes, several improved and artificial channels, and three sets of locks. An additional artificial lake, Alajuela Lake (known during the American era as Madden Lake), acts as areservoir for the canal. The layout of the canal as seen by a ship passing from the Pacific end to the Atlantic is as follows:^[15]

From the buoyed entrance channel in the Gulf of Panama (Pacific side), ships travel 13.2 km (8.2 mi) up the channel to the Miraflores locks, passing under the Bridge of the Americas
The two-stage Miraflores lock system, including the approach wall, is 1.7 km (1.1 mi) long, with a total lift of 16.5 meters (54 ft) at mid-tide
The artificial Miraflores Lake is the next stage, 1.7 km (1.0 mi) long, and 16.5 meters (54 ft) above sea level
The single-stage Pedro Miguel lock, which is 1.4 km (0.8 mi) long, is the last part of the ascent with a lift of 9.5 meters (31 ft) up to the main level of the canal
The Gaillard (Culebra) Cut slices 12.6 km (7.8 mi) through the continental divide at an altitude of 26 meters (85 ft), and passes under the Centennial Bridge
The Chagres River (el Río Chagres), a natural waterway enhanced by the damming of Lake Gatún, runs west about 8.5 km (5.3 mi), merging into Lake Gatun
Gatun Lake, an artificial lake formed by the building of the Gatun Dam, carries vessels 24.2 km (15.0 mi) across the isthmus
The Gatún locks, a three-stage flight of locks 1.9 km (1.2 mi) long, drop ships back down to sea level
A 3.2 km (2.0 mi) channel forms the approach to the locks from the Atlantic side
Limón Bay (Bahía Limón), a huge natural harbour, provides an anchorage for some ships awaiting passage, and runs 8.7 km (5.4 mi) to the outer breakwater

Thus, the total length of the canal is 50 mi (80 km).

[edit]Lock size

Miter lock gate at Gatun

Initially the locks at Gatun had been designed as 28.5 meters (94 ft) wide. In 1908 the United States Navyrequested that the locks should be increased to have a width of at least 36 meters (120 ft) which would allow the passage of US naval ships. Eventually a compromise was made and the locks were to be constructed to a width of 33.53 meters (110.0 ft). Each lock is 320 meters (1,000 ft) long with the walls ranging in thickness from 15 meters (49 ft) at the base to 3 meters (9.8 ft) at the top. The central wall between the parallel locks at Gatun has a thickness of 18 meters (59 ft) and stands in excess of 24 meters (79 ft) in height. The lock gates are made from steel and measure an average of 2 meters (6.6 ft) thick, 19.5 meters (64 ft) in width and 20 meters (66 ft) in height.^[16] It is the size of the locks, specifically the Pedro Miguel Locks, along with the height of the Bridge of the Americas at Balboa, that determine the Panamax metric and limit the size of ships that may use the Canal.

Features

Point	Coordinates (links to map & photo sources)	Notes
Atlantic Entrance	9.38743°N 79.91863°W
Gatún Locks	9.27215°N 79.92266°W
Trinidad Turn	9.20996°N 79.92408°W
Bohío Turn	9.17831°N 79.86667°W
Orchid Turn	9.18406°N 79.84513°W
Frijoles Turn	9.15904°N 79.81362°W
Barbacoa Turn	9.12053°N 79.80395°W
Mamei Turn	9.11161°N 79.76856°W
Gamboa Reach	9.11774°N 79.72257°W
Bas Obispo Reach	9.09621°N 79.68446°W
Las Cascadas Reach	9.07675°N 79.67492°W
Empire Reach	9.06104°N 79.66309°W
Culebra Reach	9.04745°N 79.65017°W
Cucaracha Reach	9.03371°N 79.63736°W
Paraiso Reach	9.02573°N 79.62492°W
Pedro Miguel Locks	9.01698°N 79.61281°W
Miraflores Lake	9.00741°N 79.60254°W
Miraflores Locks	8.99679°N 79.59182°W
Balboa Reach	8.97281°N 79.57771°W
Pacific Entrance	8.88846°N 79.52145°W

[edit]Tolls

RORO carriers, such as this one at Miraflores locks, are among the largest ships to use the canal

Tolls for the canal are decided by the Panama Canal Authority and are based on vessel type, size, and the type of cargo carried.^[17]

For container ships, the toll is assessed per the ship's capacity expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs. One TEU is the size of a container measuring 20 feet (6.1 m) by 8 feet (2.44 m) by 8.5 feet (2.6 m). Effective May 1, 2009, this toll is US$72.00 per TEU. A Panamax container ship may carry up to 4,400 TEU. The toll is calculated differently for passenger ships and for container ships carrying no cargo (“in ballast”) -- as of May 1, 2009 the ballast rate is US$57.60 per TEU.

Passenger vessels in excess of 30,000 tons (PC/UMS), known popularly as "cruise ships", pay a rate based on the number of "berths", that is, the number of passengers that can be accommodated in permanent beds. The per berth charge is currently $92 for unoccupied berths and $115 for occupied berths. Started in 2007, this has greatly increased tolls for such vessels.^[18] Passenger vessels of less than 30,000 tons or with less than 33 tons per passenger are charged on the same "per ton" schedule as freighters.^[19]

Most other types of vessel pay a toll per PC/UMS net ton, in which one "ton" is actually a volume of 100 cubic feet (2.83 m³). (The calculation of tonnage for commercial vessels is quite complex.) As of fiscal year 2008, this toll is US$3.90 per ton for the first 10,000 tons, US$3.19 per ton for the next 10,000 tons, and US$3.82 per ton for the next 10,000 tons, and US$3.76 per ton thereafter. As with container ships, a reduced toll is charged for freight ships "in ballast".

Small vessels up to 583 PC/UMS net tons when carrying passengers or cargo, or up to 735 PC/UMS net tons when in ballast, or up to 1,048 fully loaded displacement tons, shall be assessed minimum tolls based upon their length overall, according to the following table^{[citation needed]}:

Length of vessel	Toll
Up to 15.240 meters (50 ft)	US$1,300
More than 15.240 meters (50 ft) up to 24.384 meters (80 ft)	US$1,400
More than 24.384 meters (80 ft) up to 30.480 meters (100 ft)	US$1,500
More than 30.480 meters (100 ft)	US$2,400

The most expensive regular toll for canal passage to date was charged on May 16, 2008 to the Disney Magic, which paid US$331,200.^[20]^[21]The least expensive toll was 36 cents to American adventurer Richard Halliburton who swam the canal in 1928.^[22] The average toll is around US$54,000. The highest fee for priority passage charged through the Transit Slot Auction System was US$220,300, paid on August 24, 2006 by the Panamax tanker Erikoussa,^[23] bypassing a 90-ship queue waiting for the end of maintenance works on the Gatun locks, thus avoiding a 7-day delay. The normal fee would have been just US$13,430.^[24]

[edit]Current issues

Panorama of Pacific entrance of the canal.

Ninety-five years since its opening, the canal continues to enjoy great success. Even though world shipping — and the size of ships themselves — has changed markedly since the canal was designed, it continues to be a vital link in world trade, carrying more cargo than ever before, with fewer overhead costs. Nevertheless, the canal faces a number of potential problems.

[edit]Efficiency and maintenance

There were fears that efficiency and maintenance would suffer following the U.S. withdrawal; however, this does not appear to be the case. Capitalizing on practices developed during the American administration, canal operations are improving under Panamanian control.^[25] Canal Waters Time (CWT), the average time it takes a vessel to navigate the canal, including waiting time, is a key measure of efficiency; according to the ACP, CWT is decreasing.

The accident rate during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 was 0.29 accidents per 1000 transits, down 66.9 percent from 0.89 accidents per 1,000 transits during the same quarter the year prior. An official accident is one in which a formal investigation is requested and conducted.^[26]

Increasing volumes of imports from Asia which previously landed on the U.S. west coast ports are now passing through the canal to the American east coast.^[27] The total number of oceangoing transits increased to 3,157 in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 from 3,147 transits year-over-year (the Canal’s fiscal year runs from October to September). This has been coupled with a steady rise in average ship size and in the numbers of Panamax vessels passing, so that the total tonnage carried has risen steadily from 227.9 million PC/UMS tons in fiscal year 1999 to 309.6 million tons in 2008. The Canal set a traffic record in fiscal year 2007 when 312 million tons transited the waterway.^[2]^[28] Despite the reduction in total transits due to the negative impact of vessel size, e.g., the inability of large vessels to cross in the Gaillard Cut), this represents significant overall growth in canal capacity.

A bucket dredge works to deepen and widen the canal.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has invested nearly US$1 billion in widening and modernising the canal, with the aim of increasing capacity by 20 percent.^[29] The ACP cites a number of major improvements: included among them are the widening and straightening of the Gaillard Cut to reduce restrictions on crossing vessels; the deepening of the navigational channel in Gatun Lake to reduce draft restrictions and improve water supply; and the deepening of the Atlantic and Pacific entrances of the canal. This is supported by new equipment, such as a new drill barge and suction dredger, and an increase of the tug boat fleet by 20 percent. In addition, improvements have been made to the operating machinery of the canal, including an increased and improved tug locomotive fleet, the replacement of more than 16 km of locomotive track, and new lock machinery controls. Improvements have been made to the traffic management system to allow more efficient control over ships in the canal.^[30]

The withdrawal of the U.S. has allowed Panama to sell excess electricity produced by the canal's dams, which was previously prohibited by the U.S. government^{[citation needed]}. Only 25 percent of the hydroelectric power produced in the canal system is required to run the canal^{[citation needed]}

[edit]Capacity

The canal is presently handling more vessel traffic than had ever been envisioned by its builders. In 1934 it was estimated that the maximum capacity of the canal would be around 80 million tons per year;^[31] as noted above, canal traffic in 2008 consisted of 309.6 million tons of shipping.

Despite the gains which have been made in efficiency, the canal is soon expected to approach its maximum capacity. An additional complication is that the proportion of large (close to Panamax-sized) ships transiting the canal is increasing steadily; this may result in a further reduction in the number of transits, even if cargo tonnage rises. In any case, if the canal is to continue to serve the needs of global shipping, action will be required to increase its capacity.

The water that is used to raise and lower vessels in the Canal is fed by gravity from Gatun Lake (pictured above) into each set of locks.

[edit]Competition

Despite having enjoyed a privileged position for many years, the canal is increasingly facing competition from other quarters. Because Canal tolls are expected to rise, some critics^[32] have suggested that theSuez Canal may become a viable alternative for cargo en route from Asia to the U.S. east coast.^{[citation needed]} The Panama Canal, however, continues to service more than 144 of the world’s trade routes and the majority of Canal traffic comes from the "All-Water Route" (the route from Asia to the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts via the Panama Canal).^{[citation needed]}

The increasing rate of melting of ice in the Arctic Ocean has led to speculation that the Northwest Passageor Arctic Bridge may become viable for commercial shipping at some point in the future. This route would save 9,300 km (5,800 mi) on the route from Asia to Europe compared with the Panama Canal, possibly leading to a diversion of some traffic to that route. However, such a route is beset by unresolved territorial issues and would still hold significant problems due to ice.^[33]

[edit]Water issues

As rain water flows into Gatun Lake at a faster rate, the lake accumulates excess water during wet months and consequently loses a total of 101,000 m³ (26,681,377 US gal; 22,216,894 imp gal) (52 million U.S. gallons)^[22]^[34] of fresh water to the ocean each time a ship transits the canal. Thus, during the dry season, when there is less rainfall, there is also a shortfall of water in Gatun Lake.^{[citation needed]}

As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the ACP has developed an environmentally and socially sustainable program for expansion, which will protect the aquatic and terrestrial resources of the Canal Watershed. After completion, expansion will guarantee the availability and quality of water resources by using unique water-saving basins at each new lock. These water-saving basins will diminish water loss and preserve freshwater resources along the waterway by reutilizing water from the basins into the locks. Each lock chamber will have three water-saving basins, which will reuse 60 percent of the water in each transit. There are a total of nine basins for each of the two lock complexes, and a total of 18 basins for the entire project.^{[citation needed]}

The Pacific side sea level is about 20 centimeters (8 inches) higher than that of the Atlantic side due to differences in ocean conditions such as water densities and weather conditions.^[35]

[edit]The future

As demand is rising, the canal is positioned to be a significant feature of world shipping for the foreseeable future. However, changes in shipping patterns — particularly the increasing numbers of post-Panamax ships — will necessitate changes to the canal if it is to retain a significantmarket share. It is anticipated that by 2011, 37% of the world's container ships will be too large for the present canal, and hence a failure to expand would result in a significant market share. The maximum sustainable capacity of the present canal, given some relatively minor improvement work is estimated at between 330 and 340 million PC/UMS tons per year; it is anticipated that this capacity will be reached between 2009 and 2012. Close to 50% of transiting vessels are already using the full width of the locks.^[36]

An enlargement scheme similar to the 1939 Third Lock Scheme, to allow for a greater number of transits and the ability to handle larger ships, has been under consideration for some time^[37] and has been approved by the government of Panama.^[38] This proposal to expand the Canal was approved in a national referendum by approximately 80% on October 22, 2006.^[39]

[edit]Third set of locks project

Main article: Panama Canal expansion project

The current plan is for two new flights of locks to be built parallel to, and operated in addition to, the old locks: one to the east of the existing Gatún locks, and one south west of Miraflores locks, each supported by approach channels. Each flight will ascend from ocean level direct to the Gatún Lake level; the existing two-stage ascent at Miraflores / Pedro Miguel will not be replicated. The new lock chambers will feature sliding gates, doubled for safety, and will be 427 meters (1,400 ft) long, 55 meters (180 ft) wide, and 18.3 meters (60 ft) deep; this will allow the transit of vessels with a beam of up to 49 meters (160 ft), an overall length of up to 366 meters (1,200 ft) and a draft of up to 15 meters (50 ft), equivalent to a container ship carrying around 12,000 20-foot (6.1 m) long containers (TEU).

The new locks will be supported by new approach channels, including a 6.2 km (3.8 mi) channel at Miraflores from the locks to the Gaillard Cut, skirting around Miraflores Lake. Each of these channels will be 218 meters (715 ft) wide, which will require post-Panamax vessels to navigate the channels in one direction at a time. The Gaillard Cut and the channel through Gatún Lake will be widened to no less than 280 meters (918 ft) on the straight portions and no less than 366 meters (1,200 ft) on the bends. The maximum level of Gatún Lake will be raised from reference height 26.7 meters (87.5 ft) to 27.1 meters (89 ft).

Each flight of locks will be accompanied by nine water reutilization basins (three per lock chamber), each basin being approximately 70 meters (230 ft) wide, 430 meters (1410 ft) long and 5.50 meters (18 ft) deep. These gravity-fed basins will allow 60% of the water used in each transit to be reused; the new locks will consequently use 7% less water per transit than each of the existing lock lanes. The deepening of Gatún Lake, and the raising of its maximum water level, will also provide significant extra water storage capacity. These measures are intended to allow the expanded canal to operate without the construction of new reservoirs.

The estimated cost of the project is US$5.25 billion. The project is designed to allow for an anticipated growth in traffic from 280 million PC/UMS tons in 2005 to nearly 510 million PC/UMS tons in 2025; the expanded canal will have a maximum sustainable capacity of approximately 600 million PC/UMS tons per year. Tolls will continue to be calculated based on vessel tonnage, and will not depend on the locks used.

The new locks are expected to open for traffic in 2015. The present locks, which will be 100 years old by that time, will then have greater access for maintenance, and are projected to continue operating indefinitely.^[36] An article in the February 2007 issue of Popular Mechanicsmagazine describes the plans for the canal, focusing on the engineering aspects of the expansion project.^[40]

On September 3, 2007, thousands of Panamanians stood across Paraíso Hill in Panama to witness a huge explosion and the launch of the Expansion Program. The first phase of the project will be dry excavations of the 218 meter (715 ft) wide trench connecting the Culebra Cut with the Pacific coast, removing 47 million cubic meters of earth and rock.^[41]

[edit]Building the new canal

The Flemish (Northern Belgium) dredging company Jan De Nul has been awarded the major Panama Canal contract, together with a consortium of contractors consisting of the Spanish Sacyr Vallehermoso, the Italian Impregilo and the Panamanian company Cusa. The contract will result in 100 million dollars in dredging works over the next few years for the company. In addition, there will also be a great deal of work in the contract for the company's construction division, with six new locks to be built. The design of the locks is a carbon copy of the Berendrecht lock in the Port of Antwerp, which De Nul helped build in the 1980s and the company still has engineers and specialists who were part of that project. Between six months' and a year's worth of analyses and engineering will be required before construction can effectively start.^[42]

[edit]Canal Pilots

During the last one hundred years, the Autoridad del Canal de Panamá has appointed a few "Panama Canal Honorary Pilots." The most recent of these were Commodore Ronald Warwick ^[43] a former Master of RMS Cunard's Queen Mary 2, who has traversed the Canal as Captain more than 50 times, and Captain Raffaele Minotauro, Master Senior Grade, of the former Italian governmental navigation company known in the shipping world as the "Italian Line."^{[citation needed]}

[edit]See also

Panama portal

North America portal

[edit]References

^ Scott, William R. (1913). The Americans in Panama. New York, NY: Statler Publishing Company.
^ ^a ^b "Panama Canal Traffic — Fiscal Years 2002 – 2004" (PDF). Panama Canal Authority. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
^ "A History of the Panama Canal: French and American Construction Efforts". Panama Canal Authority. Retrieved 2007-09-03.; Chapter 3, Some Early Canal Plans
^ Caso, Adolph; Marion E. Welsh (1978). They Too Made America Great. Branden Books. pp. 72. ISBN 0828317143.; online at Google Books
^ "Darien Expedition". Retrieved 2007-09-03.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Avery, Ralph E. (1913). "The French Failure". America's Triumph in Panama. Chicago, IL: L.W. Walter Company.
^ "Read our history: The French Canal Construction". Panama Canal Authority. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
^ Kinzer, Stephen (2006). Overthrow. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 58–59. ISBN 0-8050-8240-9.
^ "The Roosevelt Medal". National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
^ "Read our history: American Canal Construction". Panama Canal Authority. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
^ "A History of the Panama Canal: French and American Construction Efforts". Panama Canal Authority. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
^ Enlarging the Panama Canal, Alden P. Armagnac, CZ Brats
^ Enlarging the Panama Canal for Bigger Battleships, notes from CZ Brats
^ The Martyrs of 1964, by Eric Jackson
^ "Historical Map & Chart Project". NOAA. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
^ "The Panama Canal". Retrieved 2007-10-18.
^ "Maritime Operations — Tolls". Panama Canal Authority.
^ Panama Canal Toll Table http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/tolls.html
^ Almost all major cruise ships have more than 33 tons per passenger; the rule of thumb for cruiseline comfort is generally given as a minimum of 40 tons per passenger. Note that a ton is not a unit of weight, but displacement, and represents a volume of about 100 cubic feet.
^ "Crucero paga cifra récord en Canal de Panamá" (in Spanish). Terra Noticias. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
^ "ACP rectifica récord en pago de peaje" (in Spanish). La Prensa. 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
^ ^a ^b "The Panama Canal; Canal FAQ".
^ "''Récord en pago de peajes y reserva''. ''La Prensa''. Sección Economía & Negocios. Edition 2007-04-24". Ediciones.prensa.com. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
^ "''Cupo de subasta del Canal alcanza récord''. La Prensa. Sección Economía & Negocios. Edición 25/08/2006 in Spanish". Mensual.prensa.com. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
^ "A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama Rises". Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Institution. March 2004.
^ "News - PanCanal.com; Panama Canal Authority Releases Fiscal Year 2008 Fourth Quarter Metrics". Panama Canal Authority. 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
^ Lipton, Eric (2004-11-22). "New York Port Hums Again, With Asian Trade". New York Times.
^ "Panama Canal Traffic - Fiscal Years 2006 through 2008". Panama Canal Authority.
^ Nettleton, Steve (1999). "Transfer heavy on symbolism, light on change". CNN Interactive.
^ "Modernisation & Improvements". Panama Canal Authority.
^ Mack, Gerstle (1944). The Land Divided - A History of the Panama Canal and other Isthmian Canal Projects.
^ Jackson, Eric (2007). Shipping industry complains about PanCanal toll hikes.
^ Sevunts, Levon (2005-06-12). "Northwest Passage redux". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2009-04-20. See also: Comte publisher=DefenceNews.com (Agence France-Presse), Michel (2005-12-22). "Conservative Leader Harper Asserts Canada's Arctic Claims". Retrieved 2006-02-23.
^ "The Panama Canal - Frequently Asked Questions". "Each lock chamber requires 101,000 m³ (26,681,377 US gal; 22,216,894 imp gal) of water. An average of 52,000,000 US gal (197,000,000 L; 43,300,000 imp gal) of fresh water are used."
^ "Sea Level: Frequently asked questions and answers". Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
^ ^a ^b "Relevant Information on the Third Set of Locks Project" (PDF). Panama Canal Authority. 2006-04-24. Retrieved 2006-04-25.
^ "The Panama Canal". Business in Panama. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
^ Monahan, Jane (2006-04-04). "Panama Canal set for $7.5bn revamp". BBC News.
^ "Panama approves $5.25 billion canal expansion". MSNBC.com. 2006-10-22.
^ Reagan, Brad (February 2007). "The Panama Canal's Ultimate Upgrade". Popular Mechanics.
^ "Work starts on biggest-ever Panama Canal overhaul". Reuters. 2007-09-04.
^ "De Nul dredging company to build locks in Panama Canal". Flanders Today. 2009-07-17.
^ Buckinghamcovers.com

Arnold Schwarzenegger biography, autobiography, and life history

2009-12-21T00:02:00.003+05:30

Early politics

Schwarzenegger has been a registered Republican for many years. As an actor, his political views were always well-known as they contrasted with those of many other prominent Hollywood stars, who are generally considered to be a liberal and Democratic-leaning community. At the 2004

Republican National Convention, Schwarzenegger gave a speech and explained why he was a Republican:^[42]

I finally arrived here in 1968. What a special day it was. I remember I arrived here with empty pockets but full of dreams, full of determination, full of desire. The presidential
campaign was in full swing. I remember watching the Nixon-Humphrey presidential race on
TV. A friend of mine who spoke German and English translated for me. I heard Humphrey saying things that sounded like socialism, which I had just left.
But then I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free enterprise, getting the government off your back, lowering the taxes and strengthening the military. Listening to Nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air. I said to my friend, I said, "What party is he
?" My friend said, "He's a Republican." I said, "Then I am a Republican." And I have been a Republican ever since.

In 1985, Schwarzenegger appeared in Stop the Madness, an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration. He first came to wide public notice as a Republican durin

g the 1988 Presidential election, accompanying then-Vice President George H.W. Bush at a campaign rally.^[43]

Schwarzenegger's first political appointment was as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, on which he served from 1990 to 1993.^[5] He was nominated by George H. W. Bush, who dubbed him "Conan the Republican". He later served as Chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson

. Yet,

political analysts have identified Schwarzenegger as a liberal, as he has become more left-leaning since his election.^[44]

Between 1993 and 1994, Schwarzenegger was a Red Cross ambassador (a mostly ceremonial role fulfilled by celebrities), recording several television/radio public service announcements to give blood. A small amount of interest was garnered by his wearing of a white t-shirt with the Red Cross on it, while posing with a flexed arm; the image made it into several celebrity magazines.

In an interview with Talk magazine in late 1999, Schwarzenegger was asked if he thought o

f running for office. He replied, "I think about it many times. The possibility is there, because I feel it inside."^[45] The Hollywood Reporter claimed shortly after that Schwarzenegger sought to end speculation that he might run for governor of California.^[45] Following his initial comments,

Schwarzenegger said, "I'm in show business – I am in the middle of my career. Why would I go away from that and jump into something else?"^[45]

Governor of California

President George W. Bush meets with Schwarzenegger after his successful election to the California Governorship

Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy in the 20

03 California

recall election for Governor of California on the August 6, 2003 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.^[12] As a candidate in the recall election, Schwarzenegger had the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates, but he had never held public office and his p

olitical views were unknown to most Californians. His

candidacy immediately became national and international news, with media outlets dubbing him the "Governator" (referring to The Terminator movies, see above) and "The Running Man" (the name of another one of his films), and calling the recall election "Total Recall" (yet another

Schwarzenegger starrer). Schwarzenegger declined to participate in several debates with other recall replacement candidates, and appeared in only one debate on September 24, 2003.^[46]

On October 7, 2003, the recall election resulted in Governor Gray Davis being removed from office with 55.4% of the Yes vote in favor of a recall. Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California under the second question on the ballot with 48.6% of the vote to choose a successor to Davis.

Schwarzenegger defeated Democrat Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican Tom McClin

tock, and others. His nearest rival, Bustamante, received 31% of the vote. In total, Schwarzenegger won the election by about 1.3 million votes. Under the regulations of the California Constitution, no runoff election was required. Schwarzenegger was the first foreign-born governor of California since Irish-

born Governor John G. Downey in 1862.

As soon as Schwarzenegger was elected governor, Willie Brown said he would start a drive to recall the governor. Schwarzenegger was equally entrenched in what he considered to be his mandate in cleaning up gridlock. Building on a catchphrase from a sketch partly parodying his bodybuilding career, Schwarzenegger called the Democratic State politicians "girlie men" (a reference from a Saturday Night Live sketch called "Hans and Franz").^[47]

Schwarzenegger's early victories included repealing an unpopular increase in the vehicle registration fee as well as preventing driver's licenses being given out to illegal immigrants, but later began to feel the backlash when powerful state unions began to oppose his various i

nitiatives. Key among his reckoning with political realities was a special election he called in November 2005, in which four ballot measures he sponsored were defeated. Schwarzenegger accepted personal responsibility for the defeats and vowed to continue to seek consensus for the people of California. He would later comment that "no one could win if the opposition raised 160 million dollars to defeat you".

Schwarzenegger then went against the advice of fellow Republican strategists and appointed a Democrat, Susan Kennedy, as his Chief of Staff.^[48] Schwarzenegger gradually moved towards a more politically moderate position, determined to build a winning legacy with only a short time to go until the next gubernatorial election.

He has appeared alongside his fellow actor from Around the World in 80 Days, Jackie Chan, in a government advertisement to combat copyright infringement.^[49]

Schwarzenegger ran for re-election against Democrat Phil Angelides, the California State Treasurer, in the 2006 elections, held on November 7, 2006. Despite a poor year nationally for the Republican party, Schwarzenegger won re-election with 56.0% of the vote compared wi

th 38.9% for Angelides, a margin of well over one million votes.^[50] In recent years, many commentators have seen Schwarzenegger as moving away from the right and towards the center of the political spectrum. After hearing a speech by Schwarzenegger at the 2006 Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom said that, "[H]e's becoming a

Democrat [... H]e's running back, not even to the center. I would say center-left".who wrote an unofficial biography on Schwarzenegger, claims he plotted his political rise from an early age using the movie business and bodybuilding as building blocks to escape a depressing home.^[8] Leigh portrays Schwarzenegger as obsessed with power and quotes him as saying, "I wanted

to be part of the small percentage of people who were leaders, not the large mass of followers. I think it is because I saw leaders use 100% of their potential – I was always fascinated by people in control of other people."^[8] Schwarzenegger has said that it was never his intention to e

nter politics, but he says, "I married into a political family. You get together with them and you hear about policy, about reaching out to help people. I was exposed to the idea of being a public servant and Eunice and Sargent Shriver became my heroes."^[27] Eunice Kennedy Shriver was sister of John F. Kennedy, and mother-in-law to Schwarzenegger, Sargent Shriver is husband to Eunice and father-in-law to Schwarzenegger. According to the 2005 Year-in-Review issue of Time magazine, supporters of Schwarzenegger are hoping to amend the Constitutio

n so that he can run for President of the United States;^[27] he currently cannot run because he is not a natural born citizen of the United States. In The Simpsons Movie, Schwarzenegger is portrayed as the President and in the Sylvester Stallone movie Demolition Man; it is revealed there was an amendment to the constitution passed which allowed him to run for President.

Schwarzenegger is a dual Austria/United States citizen.^[53] He holds Austrian citizenship by birth and has held U.S. citizenship since becoming naturalized in 1983. Being Austrian and thus European he was able to win the 2007 European Voice campaigner of the year award for taking action against climate change with the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and plans to introduce an emissions trading scheme with other US states and possibly with the EU.^[5

^4] Still, Schwarzenegger has always identified with his American citizenship, and has shown great affinity for the state of California beyond his foreign birth.

Schwarzenegger does not accept his governor's salary of $175,000 per year.^[55]

Schwarzenegger's endorsement in the Republican primary of the 2008 U.S. Presiden

tial election was highly sought; despite being good friends with candidates Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain, Schwarzenegger remained neutral throughout 2007 and early 2008. Giuliani dropped out of the Presidential race on January 30, 2008, largely because of a poor showing in Florida, and endorsed McCain. Later that night, Schwarzenegger was in the audience at a Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

The following day, he endorsed McCain, joking, "It's Rudy's fault!" (in reference to his friendships with both candidates and that he could not make up his mind).^[56] Schwarzenegger's endorsement was thought to be a boost for Senator McCain's campaign; both spoke about their concerns for the environment and economy.

Amendment of Three Strikes Law

Governor Schwarzenegger played a significant role in opposing Proposition 66, a proposed amendment of the Californian Three Strikes Law, in November 2004. This amendment would have required the third felony to be either violent or serious in order to mandate a 25-years-to-life sentence. In the last week before the ballot, Schwarzenegger launched an intensive

campaign^[57] against Proposition 66.^[58] He stated that "it would release 26,000 dangerous criminals and rapists".

Electoral history

California gubernatorial recall election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Arnold Schwarzenegger	4,206,284	48.6
	Democratic	Cruz Bustamante	2,724,874	31.5
	Republican	Tom McClintock	1,161,287	13.5
	Green	Peter Miguel Camejo	242,247	2.8

California Gubernatorial Election 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Arnold Schwarzenegger (Incumbent)	4,850,157	55.9	+7.3
	Democratic	Phil Angelides	3,376,732	39.0
	Green	Peter Miguel Camejo	205,995	2.3	-0.5

Environmental record

On September 27, 2006 Schwarzenegger signed a bill creating the nation’s first cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The law set new regulations on the amount of emissions utilities, refineries and manufacturing plants are allowed to release into the atmosphere. Schwarzenegger also signed a second global warming bill that prohibits large utilities and corporations in California from making long-term contracts with suppliers who do not meet the state’s greenhouse gas emission standards. The two bills are part of a plan to reduce California’s emissions by 25 percent to 1990’s levels by 2020. In 2005, Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling to reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.^[59]

Schwarzenegger signed another executive order on October 17, 2006 allowing California to work with the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. They plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by issuing a limited amount of carbon credits to each power plant in participating states. Any power plants that exceed emissions for the amount of carbon credits they have will have to purchase more credits to cover the difference. The plan is set to be in effect in 2009.^[60] In addition to using his political power to fight global warming, the governor has taken steps at his home to reduce his personal carbon footprint. Schwarzenegger has adapted one of his Hummers to run on hydrogen and another to run on biofuels. He has also installed solar panels to heat his home.^[61]

In respect of his contribution to the direction of the US motor industry, Schwarzenegger was invited to open the 2009 SAE World Congress inDetroit, on April 20, 2009.^[62]

Personal life

In 1977, Schwarzenegger's autobiography/weight-training guide Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder was published and became a huge success.^[5] After taking English classes at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, he earned a B.A. by correspondence from the University of Wisconsin–Superior, where he graduated Business and International Economics, in 1979.^[5]

On April 26, 1986, Schwarzenegger married television journalist Maria Shriver, niece of the past President of the United States John F. Kennedy, in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The Rev. John Baptist Riordan performed the ceremony at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church.^[63] They have four children: Katherine Eunice Shriver Schwarzenegger^[64] (born December 13, 1989 in Los Angeles, California); Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born July 23, 1991 in Los Angeles, California);^[65] Patrick Arnold Schwarzenegger (born September 18, 1993 in Los Angeles, California);^[66] and Christopher Sargent Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 27, 1997 in Los Angeles, California).^[67]

Schwarzenegger and his family currently live in their 11,000-square-foot (1 022 m²) home inBrentwood.^[68]^[69] They used to own a home in the Pacific Palisades.^[70] The family owns vacation homes in Sun Valley, Idaho and Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.^[71] Schwarzenegger does not have a home in Sacramento. However, whenever he is in the state capital, he lives in aHyatt Regency hotel suite. The suite costs about $65,000 a year.^[72]

On Sundays, the family attends Mass at St. Monica's Catholic Church.^[73]

Schwarzenegger has said he believes the secret of a good marriage is love and respect.^[6] "If you have the ultimate love for your wife and she has it for you, I think you have a great head start … That's not to say it won't be difficult sometimes. You go through your ups and downs but you work through it."^[6] Schwarzenegger has talked about parenthood in 2000: "One of the best things you can do with your children is play with them. At the same time, I act very silly. Many times I do a lot of sports with them. I play games with them. Act out parts. We do little plays, sometimes."^[6]

His official height of 6'2" (188 cm)^[1]^[13]^[74] has been brought into question by several articles. In his bodybuilding days in the late 1960s, he was measured to be 6'1.5", a height confirmed by his fellow bodybuilders.^[28]^[75] However, in 1988 both the Daily Mail and Time Out magazine mentioned that Schwarzenegger appeared noticeably shorter.^[76] More recently, before running for Governor, Schwarzenegger's height was once again questioned in an article by the Chicago Reader.^[77] As Governor, Schwarzenegger engaged in a light-hearted exchange with Assemblyman Herb Wesson over their heights. At one point Wesson made an unsuccessful attempt to, in his own words, "[s]ettle this once and for all and find out how tall he is".^[78] by using a tailor's tape measure on the Governor. Schwarzenegger retaliated by placing a pillow stitched with the words "Need a lift?" on the five-foot-five inch (165 cm) Wesson's chair before a negotiating session in his office.^[79] Bob Mulholland also claimed Arnold was 5'10" and that he wore risers in his boots. ^[80] The debate on Schwarzenegger's height has spawned a website solely dedicated to the issue,^[81] and his page remains one of the most active on CelebHeights.com, a website which discusses the heights of celebrities.^[28]

In 2005, Peter Pilz, from the Austrian Green Party, demanded that parliament revoke Schwarzenegger's Austrian citizenship. This demand was based on Article 33 of the Austrian Citizenship Act that states: A citizen, who is in the public service of a foreign country, shall be deprived of his citizenship, if he heavily damages the reputation or the interests of the Austrian Republic.^[53] Pilz claimed that Schwarzenegger's actions in support of the death penalty (prohibited in Austria under Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights) had indeed done damage to Austria's reputation. Schwarzenegger explained his actions by referring to the fact that his only duty as Governor of California was to prevent an error in the judicial system.

Schwarzenegger's home town of Graz had its soccer stadium named The Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium in his honor. It is the home of both Grazer AK and Sturm Graz. Following the Stanley Williams execution and after street protests in his hometown, several local politicians began a campaign to remove Schwarzenegger's name from the stadium. Schwarzenegger responded, saying that "to spare the responsible politicians of the city of Graz further concern, I withdraw from them as of this day the right to use my name in association with the Liebenau Stadium", and set a tight deadline of just a couple of days to remove his name. Graz officials removed Schwarzenegger's name from the stadium in December 2005.^[82] It is now officially titled UPC-Arena.

The Sun Valley Resort has a short ski trail called Arnold's Run, named after Schwarzenegger (It was named after him in 2001).^[83] The trail is categorized as a black diamond, or most difficult, for its terrain. ^[84]

He bought the first Hummer manufactured for civilian use in 1992, a model so large, 6,300 lb (2900 kg) and 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, that it is classified as a large truck and U.S. fuel economy regulations do not apply to it. During the Gubernatorial Recall campaign he announced that he would convert one of his Hummers to burn hydrogen. The conversion was reported to have cost about US$21,000. After the election, he signed an executive order to jump-start the building of hydrogen refueling plants called the California Hydrogen Highway Network, and gained aU.S. Department of Energy grant to help pay for its projected US$91,000,000 cost.^[85] California took delivery of the first H2H (Hydrogen Hummer) in October 2004.^[86]

People in Thal celebrated Schwarzenegger's 60th birthday by throwing a party. Officials proclaimed A Day for Arnold on July 30, 2007. Thal 145, the number of the house where Schwarzenegger was born, belonged to Schwarzenegger and nobody will ever be assigned to that number.^[87]

Accidents and medical issues

Schwarzenegger broke his right femur while skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho with his family on December 23, 2006.^[88] He tripped over his ski pole on Lower Warm Springs run on Bald Mountain, an 'easy' or green level run. He is an expert level skier. On December 26, 2006, he underwent a 90-minute operation in which cables and screws were used to wire the broken bone back together. He was released from the St. John's Health Center on December 30, 2006.^[89] Schwarzenegger did not delay his second oath of office on January 5, 2007, although he was still on crutches at the time.

Schwarzenegger has twice crashed motorcycles on public highways, injuring himself in the process. On January 8, 2006, while riding hisHarley Davidson motorcycle in Los Angeles, with his son Patrick in the sidecar, another driver backed into the street he was riding on, causing him and his son to collide with the car at a low speed. While his son and the other driver were unharmed, the governor sustained a minor injury to his lip, forcing him to get 15 stitches. "No citations were issued", said Officer Jason Lee, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.^[90]Schwarzenegger, who famously rode motorcycles in the Terminator movies, has never obtained an M-1 or M-2 endorsement on his California driver's license that would allow him to legally ride a motorcycle without a sidecar on the street. Previously, on December 9, 2001, he broke sixribs and was hospitalized for four days after a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles.^[91]

Schwarzenegger opted in 1997 for a replacement heart valve made of his own transplanted tissue; medical experts predict he will require heart valve replacement surgery in the next two to eight years as his current valve degrades. Schwarzenegger apparently opted against a mechanical valve, the only permanent solution available at the time of his surgery, because it would have sharply limited his physical activity and capacity to exercise.^[92]

He saved a drowning man's life in 2004 while on vacation in Hawaii by swimming out and bringing him back to shore.^[93]

Schwarzenegger’s private jet made an emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport on June 19, 2009 after the pilot reported smoke coming from the cockpit, according to a statement released by the governor’s press secretary. No one was harmed in the incident. ^[94]

Business career

Schwarzenegger has also had a highly successful business career.^[8]^[27] Following his move to the United States, Schwarzenegger became a "prolific goal setter" and would write his objectives at the start of the year on index cards, like starting a mail order business or buying a new car – and succeed in doing so.^[17] By the age of 30, Schwarzenegger was a millionaire, well before his career in Hollywood. His financial independence came from a series of successful business ventures and investments. In 1968, Schwarzenegger and fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu started a bricklaying business. The business flourished thanks to the pair's marketing savvy and an increased demand following a major Los Angeles earthquake in 1971.^[95]^[96] Schwarzenegger and Columbu used profits from their bricklaying venture to start a mail order business, selling bodybuilding and fitness-related equipment and instructional tapes.^[5]^[95] Schwarzenegger rolled profits from the mail order business and his bodybuilding competition winnings into his first real estate venture: an apartment building he purchased for $10,000. He would go on to invest in a number of real estate holding companies.^[97]^[98] In 1992, Schwarzenegger and his wife opened a restaurant in Santa Monicacalled Schatzi On Main. Schatzi literally means "little treasure," colloquial for "honey" or "darling" in German. In 1998, he sold his restaurant.^[99]He invested in a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. He has talked about some of those who have helped him over the years in business: "I couldn't have learned about business without a parade of teachers guiding me... from Milton Friedman to Donald Trump... and now, Les Wexnerand Warren Buffett. I even learned a thing or two from Planet Hollywood, such as when to get out! And I did!"^[14] He has significant ownership inDimensional Fund Advisors, an investment firm.^[100]

Planet Hollywood

Net worth

Schwarzenegger's net worth has been conservatively estimated at between $100–$200 million.^[102] Over the years, he invested his bodybuildingand movie earnings in an array of stocks, bonds, privately controlled companies, and real estate holdings worldwide, so a more accurate estimation of his net worth is difficult to calculate, particularly in light of declining real estate values owing to economic recessions in the USA and Europe. In June 1997, Schwarzenegger spent $38 million of his own money on a private Gulfstream Jet.^[103] Schwarzenegger once said of his fortune, "Money doesn't make you happy. I now have $50 million, but I was just as happy when I had $48 million."^[8] He has also stated "I've made many millions as a businessman many times over."^[14]

Governor Schwarzenegger's 20% in 20 Days Challenge

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER'S 20% IN 20 DAYS CHALLENGE

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ADVANCED SUPPLEMENT SECRETS  Gain up to 15 lbs. in the next 6 weeks by discovering how to turn the supplements you buy at your local health food store into super powerful anabolic compounds!   Click Here To Find Out How      ____________________________________________        FITNESS TIPS FOR 9/29/2004                   ____________________________________________  Arnold Schwarzenegger's Old School Bodybuilding Workout   Arnold is probably the most famous bodybuilder of all time, he won Mr. Olympia seven times (1970-1975, 1980) and brought bodybuilding into the national spotlight in the movie "Pumpin Iron".    Arnold's Top Form Measurements  Arms 22 inches  Chest 57 inches  Waist 34 inches  Thighes 28.5 inches  Calves 20 inches  Weight 235 pounds  Height 6'2"   Arnold was from the old "No Pain No Gain" school of bodybuilding and his  routines consisted of high sets and reps, mostly not to failure. He trained  each muscle group three times each week (except calves, forearms & abs which he trained every day), using a six day split routine.  There was very little rest between sets, and he usually increased weight each  and every set. Although he experimented with high reps at times, he usually  preferred a rep range of about 6 to 10.  The following is a typical Arnold routine, but be aware that Arnold's routine  changed constantly. At times he trained twice a day, while at other times  once a day was enough. There were periods when he did lots supersets  and giant sets. Arnold tried every thing, and picked what worked best for  him at that particular time. By mixing things up he challenged his strength  and endurance and the training variety helped keep him fresh and motivated!  Remember this is a very advanced bodybuilding routine and should not be used  by beginners or intermediates, and even advanced bodybuilder's should only  take what they think will work best for them and adapt it to their own  bodybuilding philosophy.   Arnold's Routine   Mon, Wed, Fri   Chest: Bench press 5 x 6-10 Flat bench flyes 5 x 6-10 Incline bench press 6 x 6-10 Cable crossovers 6 x 10-12 Dips (body weight) 5 x failure Dumbell pullovers 5 x 10-12.    Back: Wide-grip chins (to front) 6 x failure T-bar rows 5 x 6-10 Seated pulley rows 6 x 6-10 One-arm dumbell rows 5 x 6-10 Straight-leg deadlifts 6 x 15  Legs: Squats 6 x 8-12 Leg press 6 x 8-12 Leg extensions 6 x 12-15 Leg curls 6 x 10-12 Barbell lunges 5 x 15  Calves: Standing calf raises 10 x 10 Seated calf raises 8 x 15 Oneplegged calf raises (holding dumbells) 6x12   Forearms: Wrist curls (forearms on knees) - 4 sets, 10 reps Reverse barbell curls - 4 sets, 8 reps Wright roller machine - to failure  Abs:  ½ hour of a variety of nonspecific abdominal exercises, done virtually nonstop.   Tues, Thurs, Sat   Biceps:  Barbell curls 6 x 6-10 Seated dumbell curls 6 x 6-10 Dumbell concentration curls 6 x 6-10    Triceps: Close-grip bench presses 6 x 6-10 Pushdowns 6 x 6-10 French press (barbell) 6 x 6-10 One-arm triceps extensions (dumbell) 6 x 6-10   Shoulders: Seated barbell presses 6 x 6-10 Lateral raises (standing) 6 x 6-10 Rear-delt lateral raises 5 x 6-10 Cable lateral raises 5 x 10-12  Calves , Forearms & Abs:  Same as Monday, Wednesday, Friday workout    Arnold Schwarzenegger's New Updated Pumping Iron DVD  Own this classic bodybuilding movie on DVD! This movie is a must have for any bodybuilding fan!  We only have limited number of videos available.   http://www.trulyhuge.com/pumping-iron.htm

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (English pronunciation: /ˈʃwɔrtsənɛɡər/, German: [ˈaɐnɔlt ˈaloʏs ˈʃvaɐtsənˌʔɛɡɐ]; born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian American bodybuilder, actor, model,businessman, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the state of California.

Schwarzenegger began weight-training at fifteen. He was awarded the title of Mr. Universe at age 22 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest a total of seven times. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, and has written several books and numerous articles on the sport.

Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon, noted for his lead role in such films as Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator. He was nicknamed the "Austrian Oak" and the "Styrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnold Strong" and "Arnie" during his acting career, and more recently the "Governator" (a portmanteau of Governor and theTerminator, one of his film roles).^[1]

As a Republican, he was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis's term. Schwarzenegger was then re-elected on November 7, 2006, inCalifornia's 2006 gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor, defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, who was California State Treasurer at the time. Schwarzenegger was sworn in for a second term on January 5, 2007.^[2] In May 2004 and 2007, he was named as one of the Time 100 people who help shape the world.^[3]^[4]

Early life

Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria, a small village bordering the Styrian capital Graz, and was christened Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger.^[5] His parents were the local police chief Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907 – 1972), and his wife, Aurelia Jadrny (1922 – 1998). They were married on October 20, 1945 – Gustav was 38, and Aurelia was a 23-year-old widow with a son named Meinhard. According to Schwarzenegger, both of his parents were very strict: "Back then in Austria it was a very different world, if we did something bad or we disobeyed our parents, the rod was not spared."^[6] He grew up in a Roman Catholic family who attended church service every Sunday.^[7]

Gustav had a preference for Meinhard, the elder of the two sons.^[8] His favoritism was "strong and blatant," which stemmed from unfounded suspicion that Arnold was not his child.^[9] Schwarzenegger has said his father had "no patience for listening or understanding your problems… there was a wall; a real wall."^[7] Schwarzenegger had a good relationship with his mother, and kept in touch with her until her death.^[10] In later life, Schwarzenegger commissioned the Simon Wiesenthal Center to research his father's wartime record, which came up with no evidence of atrocities despite Gustav's membership in the Nazi Party and SA.^[8] At school, Schwarzenegger was apparently in the middle, but stood out for his "cheerful, good-humored and exuberant" character.^[7] Money was a problem in the household; Schwarzenegger has recalled that one of the highlights of his youth was when the family bought a refrigerator.^[9]

As a boy, Schwarzenegger played many sports—heavily influenced by his father.^[7] He picked up his first barbell in 1960, when his footballcoach took his team to a local gym.^[5] At the age of fourteen, Schwarzenegger chose bodybuilding over football (soccer) as a career.^[11]^[12]Schwarzenegger has responded to a question asking if he was age thirteen when he started weightlifting: "I actually started weight training when I was fifteen, but I'd been participating in sports, like soccer, for years, so I felt that although I was slim, I was well-developed, at least enough so that I could start going to the gym and start Olympic lifting."^[6] However, his official website biography claims: "At 14, he started an intensive training program with Dan Farmer, studied psychology at 15 (to learn more about the power of mind over body) and at 17, officially started his competitive career."^[13] During a speech in 2001, he said, "My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me to be a police officer like he was. My mother wanted me to go to trade school."^[14] Schwarzenegger took to visiting a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local movie theaters to see bodybuilding idols such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen. "I was inspired by individuals like Reg Park and Steve Reeves."^[6] When Reeves died in 2000, Schwarzenegger fondly remembered him: "As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves. His remarkable accomplishments allowed me a sense of what was possible, when others around me didn't always understand my dreams ... Steve Reeves has been part of everything I've ever been fortunate enough to achieve."^[15] In 1961, Schwarzenegger met former Mr. Austria Kurt Marnul, who invited him to train at the gym in Graz.^[5] He was so dedicated as a youngster that he was known to break into the local gym on weekends, when it was usually closed, so that he could train. "It would make me sick to miss a workout … I knew I couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn't do it."^[6] When Schwarzenegger was asked about his first movie experience as a boy, he replied, "I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters and seeing some newsreels. The first real movie I saw, that I distinctly remember, was a John Wayne movie."^[6]

In 1971, his brother Meinhard died in a car accident.^[5] Meinhard had been drinking and was killed instantly, and Schwarzenegger did not attend his funeral.^[9] Meinhard was due to marry Erika Knapp, and the couple shared a three-year-old son Patrick. Schwarzenegger would pay for Patrick's education and help him to immigrate to the United States.^[9] Gustav died the following year from a stroke.^[5] In Pumping Iron, Schwarzenegger claimed that he did not attend his father's funeral because he was training for a bodybuilding contest. Later, he and the film's producer both said this story was taken from another bodybuilder for the purpose of showing the extremes that some would go to for their sport, and to make Schwarzenegger's image more cold and machine-like in order to fan controversy for the film.^[16] Barbara Baker, his first serious girlfriend, has said he informed her of his father's death without emotion and that he never spoke of his brother.^[17] Over time, he has given at least three versions of why he did not attend his father's funeral.^[9]

In an interview with Fortune magazine in 2004, Schwarzenegger told how he suffered what "would now be called child abuse" at the hands of his father:^[18]^[19]

Early adulthood

Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian army in 1965 to fulfill the one year of service required at the time of all 18-year-old Austrian males.^[5]^[13]He won the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965.^[12] Schwarzenegger went AWOL during basic training so he could take part in the competition and spent a week in an army jail: "Participating in the competition meant so much to me that I didn't carefully think through the consequences." He won another bodybuilding contest in Graz, at Steirer Hof Hotel (where he had placed second). He was voted best built man of Europe, which made him famous.

"The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America – the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich."^[14] Schwarzenegger made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the NABBA Mr. Universe competition in London.^[13] He would come in second in the Mr. Universe competition, not having the muscle definition of American winner Chester Yorton.^[13]

Charles "Wag" Bennett, one of the judges at the 1966 competition, was impressed with Schwarzenegger and offered to coach him. As Schwarzenegger had little money, Bennett invited him to stay in his crowded family home above one of his two gyms in Forest Gate, London, England. Yorton's leg definition had been judged superior, and Schwarzenegger, under a training program devised by Bennett, concentrated on improving the muscle definition and power in his legs. Staying in the East End of London helped Schwarzenegger improve his rudimentary grasp of the English language.^[20]^[21] The training paid off and, in 1967, Schwarzenegger won the title for the first time, becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe at the age of 20.^[13] He would go on to win the title a further three times.^[12] Schwarzenegger then flew back to Munich, training for four to six hours daily, attending business school and working in a health club (Rolf Putzinger's gym where he worked and trained from 1966-1968), returning in 1968 to London to win his next Mr. Universe title.^[13] He frequently told Roger C. Field, a friend in Munich at that time, "I'm going to become the greatest actor!"

Move to the U.S.

Schwarzenegger moved to the United States in September 1968 at the age of 21, speaking little English.^[5]^[12] "Naturally, when I came to this country, my accent was very bad, and my accent was also very strong, which was an obstacle as I began to pursue acting."^[6] There he trained at Gold's Gym in Santa Monica, California, under Joe Weider. From 1970 to 1974, one of Schwarzenegger's weight training partners was Ric Drasin, a professional wrestler who designed the original Gold's Gym logo in 1973.^[22]Schwarzenegger also became good friends with professional wrestler "Superstar" Billy Graham. In 1970, at age 23, he captured his first Mr. Olympia title in New York, and would go on to win the title a total of seven times.^[13]

Schwarzenegger may have been an illegal immigrant at some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s because of violations in the terms of his visa.^[23]

In 1969, Schwarzenegger met Barbara Outland Baker, an English teacher he lived with until 1974.^[24] Schwarzenegger talked about Barbara in his memoir in 1977: "Basically it came down to this: she was a well-balanced woman who wanted an ordinary, solid life, and I was not a well-balanced man, and hated the very idea of ordinary life."^[24] Baker has described Schwarzenegger as "[a] joyful personality, totally charismatic, adventurous, and athletic" but claims towards the end of the relationship he became "insufferable – classically conceited – the world revolved around him".^[25] Baker published her memoir in 2006, entitled Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak.^[26] Although Baker, at times, painted an unflattering portrait of her former lover, Schwarzenegger actually contributed to the tell-all book with a foreword, and also met with Baker for three hours.^[26] Baker claims, for example, that she only learned of his being unfaithful after they split, and talks of a turbulent and passionate love life.^[26] Schwarzenegger has made it clear that their respective recollection of events can differ.^[26] The couple first met six to eight months after his arrival in the U.S. – their first date was watching the first Apollo Moon landing on television.^[17] They shared an apartmentin Santa Monica for three and a half years, and having little money, would visit the beach all day, or have barbecues in the back yard.^[17]Although Baker claims that when she first met him, he had "little understanding of polite society" and she found him a turn-off, she says, "He's as much a self-made man as it's possible to be – he never got encouragement from his parents, his family, his brother. He just had this huge determination to prove himself, and that was very attractive ... I'll go to my grave knowing Arnold loved me."^[17]

Schwarzenegger met his next love, Sue Moray, a Beverly Hills hairdresser's assistant, on Venice Beach in July 1977.^[9] According to Moray, the couple led an open relationship: "We were faithful when we were both in LA ... but when he was out of town, we were free to do whatever we wanted."^[9] Schwarzenegger met Maria Shriver at the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in August 1977, and went on to have a relationship with both women until August 1978, when Moray (who knew of his relationship with Shriver) issued an ultimatum.^[9]

Schwarzenegger has said his big dream from the age of 10 was to move to the U.S.^[27] He questioned what he was doing "on the farm" in Austria, and believed bodybuilding was his "ticket to America": "I’m sure I can go to America if I win Mr. Universe."^[27] LA Weekly said in 2002 that Schwarzenegger is the most famous immigrant in America, who "overcame a thick Austrian accent and transcended the unlikely background of bodybuilding to become the biggest movie star in the world in the 1990s".^[27]

Bodybuilding career

Personal Info
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Nickname	The Austrian Oak
Birth	July 30, 1947 (age 62), Thal,Styria, Austria
Height	6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m)^[28]
Weight	240 pounds (113 kg)
Professional Career
Pro-debut	NABBA Mr. Universe, 1968
Best win	IFBB Mr. Olympia, 1970-1975, 1980, Seven Times
Predecessor	Sergio Oliva ('69), Frank Zane('79)
Successor	Franco Columbu ('76, '81)
Active	Retired 1980

Schwarzenegger is considered among the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, in part because of his ownership of gyms and fitness magazines. He has presided over numerous contests and awards shows.

For many years, he wrote a monthly column for the bodybuilding magazines Muscle & Fitness and Flex. Shortly after being elected Governor, he was appointed executive editor of both magazines, in a largely symbolic capacity. The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives. The magazine MuscleMag International has a monthly two-page article on him, and refers to him as "The King".

One of the first competitions he won was the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965.^[5] He won Mr. Europe the following year, at age 19.^[5]^[13] He would go on to compete in and win many bodybuilding contests, as well as some powerlifting contests, including five Mr. Universe (4 –NABBA [England], 1 – IFBB [USA]) wins, and seven Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would stand until Lee Haney won his eighth consecutive Mr. Olympia title in 1991.

Competition Weight: 240 lbs (top 250 lbs)

Off Season Weight: 260 lbs

Strongman

In 1967, Schwarzenegger competed in and won the Munich stone-lifting contest, in which a stone weighing 508 German pounds (254 kg/560 lbs.) is lifted between the legs while standing on two foot rests. Schwarzenegger has said the following on his size: "During the peak of my career, my calves were 20 inches, thighs 28.5 inches, waist 34 inches, chest 57 inches, and 22-inch arms."

In a full squat (buttocks close to ground) Schwarzenegger had a personal record of 181 kg/400lbs, for twelve repetitions.

Mr. Olympia

Schwarzenegger's goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming Mr. Olympia.^[5]^[13] His first attempt was in 1969, when he lost to three-time champion Sergio Oliva. However, Schwarzenegger came back in 1970 and won the competition, making him the youngest ever Mr. Olympia at the age of 23, a record he holds to this day.^[13]

He continued his winning streak in the 1971 – 1974 competitions.^[13] In 1975, Schwarzenegger was once again in top form, and won the title for the sixth consecutive time,^[13] beating Franco Columbu. After the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, Schwarzenegger announced his retirement from professional bodybuilding.^[13]

Months before the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore persuaded Schwarzenegger to compete, in order to film his training in the bodybuilding documentary called Pumping Iron. Schwarzenegger had only three months to prepare for the competition, after losing significant weight to appear in the film Stay Hungry with Jeff Bridges. Lou Ferrigno proved not to be a threat, and a lighter-than-usual Schwarzenegger convincingly won the 1975 Mr. Olympia.

Schwarzenegger came out of retirement, however, to compete in the 1980 Mr. Olympia.^[5] Schwarzenegger was training for his role in Conan, and he got into such good shape because of the running, horseback riding and sword training, that he decided he wanted to win the Mr. Olympia contest one last time. He kept this plan a secret, in the event that a training accident would prevent his entry and cause him to lose face. Schwarzenegger had been hired to provide color commentary for network television, when he announced at the eleventh hour that while he was there: "Why not compete?" Schwarzenegger ended up winning the event with only seven weeks of preparation. After being declared Mr. Olympia for a seventh time, Schwarzenegger officially retired from competition.

Steroid use

Schwarzenegger has admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in 1967 that "steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up." He has called the drugs "tissue building."^[29]

In 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Dr. Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted an early death for the bodybuilder, on the basis of a link between steroid use and later heart problems. Because the doctor had never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a $10,000 USD libel judgment against him in a German court.^[30] In 1999, Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with The Globe, a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health.^[31] Schwarzenegger was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, an aortic valve with only two leaflets (a normal aortic valve has three leaflets).^[32]^[33] As late as 1996, a year before Schwarzenegger's open heart surgeryto replace this aortic valve with a human homograft valve,^[33] Schwarzenegger publicly defended his use of anabolic steroids during his bodybuilding career.^[34]

Acting career

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Othername(s)	Arnold Strong Arnie
Occupation	Actor, Director, Producer
Years active	1970-2004, 2009-present(acting)

Schwarzenegger wanted to move from bodybuilding into acting, finally achieving it when he was chosen to play the role of Hercules in 1970's Hercules in New York. Credited under the name "Arnold Strong," his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed after production.^[12]His second film appearance was as a deaf and mute hit-man for the mob in director Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film Stay Hungry (1976), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe for New Male Star of the Year. Schwarzenegger has discussed his early struggles in developing his acting career. "It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was 'too weird', that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long. You name it, and they told me I had to change it. Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance."^[6]

Schwarzenegger drew attention and boosted his profile in the bodybuilding film Pumping Iron (1977),^[11]^[12] elements of which were dramatized. In 1991, Schwarzenegger purchased the rights to the film, its outtakes, and associated still photography.^[35] Schwarzenegger auditioned for the title role of The Incredible Hulk, but did not win the role because of his height. Later, Lou Ferrigno got the part of Dr. David Banner's alter ego. Schwarzenegger appeared with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret in the 1979 comedy The Villain. In 1980 he starred in a biopic of the 1950s actress Jayne Mansfield as Mansfield's husband, Mickey Hargitay.

Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982, which was a box-office hit.^[11] This was followed by a sequel, Conan the Destroyer in 1984, although its box-office performance was disappointing.^[36] In 1983, Schwarzenegger starred in the promotional video "Carnival in Rio".

In 1984, he made the first of three appearances as the titular character and what some would say was the signature role in his acting career in director James Cameron's science-fiction thriller filmThe Terminator.^[11]^[12]^[37] Following The Terminator, Schwarzenegger made Red Sonja in 1985, which "sank without a trace."^[36]

During the 1980s, audiences had a large appetite for action films, with both Schwarzenegger andSylvester Stallone becoming international stars.^[12] Schwarzenegger's roles reflected his droll, often self-deprecating sense of humor (including sometimes famously bad puns), separating his roles from more serious action hero fare. His alternative-universe comedy/thriller Last Action Herofeatured a poster of the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day which, in the fictional alternate universe, had Sylvester Stallone as its star.

Following his arrival as a Hollywood superstar, he made a number of successful films:Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), The Running Man (1987), and Red Heat (1988). In Predator(1987), another successful film, Schwarzenegger led a cast which included future Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (Ventura also appeared in The Running Man and Batman & Robin with Schwarzenegger) and future candidate forgovernor of Kentucky Sonny Landham.

Twins (1988), a comedy with Danny DeVito, was a change of pace, and also proved successful. Total Recall (1990) netted Schwarzenegger $10 million and 15% of the gross, and was a widely praised, science-fiction script directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the Philip K. Dickshort story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". Kindergarten Cop (1990) reunited him with director Ivan Reitman, who directed him inTwins.

Schwarzenegger had a brief foray into directing, first with a 1990 episode of the TV series Tales from the Crypt, entitled "The Switch," and then with the 1992 telemovie Christmas in Connecticut. He has not directed since.

Allegations of sexual and personal misconduct

During his initial campaign for governor, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger (dubbed Gropegate).^[104] Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the Los Angeles Times recounting allegations of sexual misconduct from several individual women, six of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories.^[105]

Three of the women claimed he had grabbed their breasts, a fourth said he placed his hand under her skirt on her buttock. A fifth woman claimed Schwarzenegger tried to take off her bathing suit in a hotel elevator, and the last says he pulled her onto his lap and asked her about a particular sex act.^[104]

Schwarzenegger admitted that he has "behaved badly sometimes" and apologized, but also stated that "a lot of [what] you see in the stories is not true". This came after an interview in adult magazine Oui from 1977 surfaced, in which Schwarzenegger discussed attending sexual orgies and using substances such as marijuana.^[106] Schwarzenegger is shown smoking a marijuana joint after winning Mr. Olympia in the 1975 documentary film Pumping Iron. In an interview with GQ magazine in October 2007, Schwarzenegger said, "[Marijuana] is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me."^[107] His spokesperson later said the comment was meant to be a joke.^[107]

British television personality Anna Richardson settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger, his top aide, Sean Walsh, and his publicist, Sheryl Main.^[108] A joint statement read: "The parties are content to put this matter behind them and are pleased that this legal dispute has now been settled."^[108] Richardson claimed they tried to tarnish her reputation by dismissing her allegations that Schwarzenegger touched her breast during a press event (for The 6th Day) in London.^[109] She claimed Walsh and Main libeled her in a Los Angeles Timesarticle when they contended she encouraged his behavior.^[108]

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