Monday, December 31, 2007

Inspiring Lives-10: "Rudyard Kipling's birthday : December 30"

Nobel Laureate for Literature, creator of 'Mogli' and author of 'Kim', Rudyard Kipling, was born on December 30 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India.

Book on Rudyard Kipling by John Palmer from Project Gutenberg(Full-text):
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18045/18045-h/18045-h.htm

Works of Kipling in Project Gutenberg: (Full text, both in 'Word' and 'Audio' files :
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/k

Notes on Kipling's Autobiography, "Something of Myself":
http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_something.htm

Notes on 'Debits and Credits' (Post-war Stories of Kipling):
http://www.kipling.org.uk/bookmart_collects.htm#debits

Full-text of Kipling's Famous Poem, "If":
http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_if.htm

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Inspiring Lives-9: "U.S. President, Harry S.Truman :"

Harry S.Truman, the 33rd President of the United States of America, died on this day in 1972.
He was Vice President of USA, during Franklin Delano Roosevelt's last tenure. On Roosevelt's death, Truman became President. During his tenure, Marhsall Plan, Use of the Atom Bomb, Berlin Airlift and many other great deeds of historic importance took place.

His detailed biography from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S.Truman


His biography from Infoplease.com:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0760617.html


Harry S. Truman National Historic Site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S_Truman_National_Historic_Site


Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman_Presidential_Library_and_Museum

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Inspiring Lives-8: "J.J.Thomson's birthday: December 20"

The English physicist, Sir Joseph John Thomson, was born on December 20, 1856. His discovery of the electron revolutionized physics and chemistry. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906.

He died on August 30, 1940.

His detailed bio in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._J._Thomson

Sir JJ in American Institute of Physics Website:
http://www.aip.org/history/electron/jjthomson.htm

Sir JJ in Encyclopedia Britannica online:
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9072205/Sir-JJ-Thomson

Sir JJ on Nobel Website:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1906/thomson-bio.html

Inspiring Lives-7: "Willy Brandt's birthday: December 20"

Willy Brandt was acclaimed as one of the great leaders of the world . He was a former Chancellor of West Germany and Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 1971 for his efforts to achieve reconciliation between West Germany and the East European countries.

Willy Brandt’s birthday falls on today, December 18. He was born on December 18, 1913 and died of cancer on October 8, 1992.
Willy Brandt's bio in Wikipedia:
Willy Brandt's CV in Nobel Website:
Willy Brandt in the Nobel Prize Internet Archive:
Willy Brandt in the Encyclopedia Britannica Online.com:

Monday, December 17, 2007

Inspiring Lives-6: "Beethoven's Birthday : December 17"

One of the greatest composers of Western Classical Music, Ludwig von Beethoven's birthday falls today. He was born on this day in the year 1770. He is still remembered and his compositions are famous today also.
His biography:
Free download of the Complete Symphonies of Beethoven:
Catalogue of Titles of Beethoven's works:
Performances of works by Beethoven in MP3 and MIDI formats at Logos Virtual Library
The British Library Archival Sound Recordings online audio service includes
100 years of String Quartets

In the News-2: "'Sri Lanka honours Sir Arthur Clarke' by B.Muralidhar Reddy"

Sir Arthur C.Clarke, well-known British-born science-fiction writer, who has made Sri Lanka his home for the past 50 years, was felicitated at Colombo at a glittering function on Sunday evening.

The tribute to his contribution to the world of space exploration coincided with his 90th birthday.

Presided over by President Mahinda Rajapakse, the function was attended by several distinguished personalities from different parts of the globe in the fields of space exploration and information technology.

Among other predictions of Sir Arthur in his science fiction books was the establishment of communication satellites. He attained world recognition after his book, “2001: A Space Odyssey”.

In a media message to mark the occasion, Sir Arthur said he wished for peace in his adopted home, Sri Lanka. “I have no regrets and no more personal ambitions,” said the writer, confined for the past three decades to a wheelchair because of the effects of childhood polio.

He said he had watched the bitter ethnic conflict dividing his adopted country for nearly half his lifetime.

“I dearly wish to see lasting peace established in Sri Lanka as soon as possible. But I am aware that peace cannot just be wished – it requires a great deal of hard work, courage and persistence”. His three wishes were peace in Sri Lanka, evidence of extra-terrestrial life and for the world to adopt cleaner fuels.

The island nation has honoured Sir Arthur with the nation’s highest honour – “Sri Lankabhimanya” and has also named a local scientific academy after him.

At Sunday’s function, the guest of honour was the world renowned astronaut, Alexey Leonov of Russia, who was the first man to walk in space. The two apex bodies of space exploration of India and Pakistan were also represented at the ceremony.

U.R.Rao, Chairman, Physical Research Laboratory of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), spoke on “The Information Revolution in Developing Countries and Sir Arthur C.Clarke’s contribution”.

Sajid Mirza of Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission also spoke.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, December 17, 2007
For further study:
Biography of Sir Arthur C.Clarke from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke
The Arthur C.Clarke Foundation:
The Sir Arthur C.Clarke Awards:
Books by Sir Arthur C.Clarke:

Friday, December 14, 2007

My Quest : Mahtama Gandhi

I am but a seeker after Truth. I claim to have found a way to it. I claim to be making a ceaseless effort to find it. But I admit that I have not yet found it. To find Truth completely is to realize oneself and one's destiny, i.e. to become perfect. I am painfully conscious of my imperfections, and therein lies all the strength I possess, because it is a rare thing for a man to know his own limitations.
Young India, 17-11-1921
Courtesy: 'Truth is God' by M.K.Gandhi
Published by Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad-380014