Thursday, August 11, 2011

Another member of 27 Club: Amy Winehouse and the curse of 27


Club 27 or the curse of 27 is the term used for curse which started in 1938 with the death of a Blues artist Robert Johnson. In the beginning there was nothing evil about his death but then it started catching attention and became curiosity when a series of death was noticed amongst the 27 year old celebrities. Most of these celebrities were Rock stars involved in various drug addictions. There are about 42 artists who died at the same age and almost all them with the same cause but the curse became popular mainly because of the death of 6 major Rock artists. Amy Winehouse, with her drug addictions and a "Rock n' Roll" life style, was also 27 and was believed by many to be the next on the list. On July 23 2011 Amy Winehouse was found dead in her home in London. Though the reason of the death is yet to be found, the 27 year old singer has been included in the list of 27 Club. Seven of the most popular artists who are considered to be a part of this curse are as follows.

Robert Johnson, Blues Singer 16-Aug-38 27 years, 100 days












Brian Jones, Rolling Stones 3-Jul-69 27 years, 125 days












Jimi Hendrix - Singer, Song writer, Guitarist 18-Sep-70 27 years, 295 days












Janis Joplin - Singer 4-Oct-70 27 years, 258 days













Jim Morrison - The doors, Singer, song writer 3-Jul-71 27 years, 207 days











Kurt Cobain - Nirvana, Singer, Lead Guitarist 5-Apr-94 27 years, 44 days











Amy Winehouse 23-Jul-11 27 years, 312 days












Charles R. Cross, who is Kurt Cobain's biographer, writes, "The number of musicians who died at 27 is truly remarkable by any standard. Although Humans die regularly at all ages, there is a statistical spike for musicians who die at 27."

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Google introduces cellphone: The Nexus one phone

The Nexus One is a smartphone by Google. Manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corporation this smartphone (Nexus One) was introduced on January 5, 2010 and uses the Android open source mobile operating system. Features of the Nexus one phone include:

1) Capability of transcribing voice to text.

2) Noise canceling dual microphones (one mic in the front and one in the back to minimize the background noise)

3) Voice directions while driving

The Nexus one phone comes unlocked and is not restricted to particular network. Nexus one phone is available to buy on google.com/phone for $ 529 unlocked. It features multi-touch technology but this is not enabled in default applications in the US version. Also It's thinner than Apple iPhone

Nexus one phone also features a 5.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash and digital zoom, GPS receiver, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and 802.11b/g WiFi. Nexus one runs on a Snapdragon processor which allows many advanced capabilities including 720p video playback.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Sir Richard Branson Unveiled Rocket Plane

Sir Richard Branson has unveiled the rocket plane he will use to take fare-paying passengers into space.

SpaceShiptwo was presented to the world in Mojave, California. The vehicle will undergo testing over the next 18 months before being allowed to take ticketed individuals on short-hop trips just above the atmosphere. According to the Billionaire Sir Richard (Head of Virgin Group) it has been intended to run the first flights out of New Mexico before extending operations around the globe.

This hybrid rocket motor powered and Built from lightweight carbon composite materials SS2 is based on the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne concept which is basically a rocket plane that is lifted initially by a carrier vehicle before blasting skywards. The Plane will take the passengers into the space for about five mins and then will come back back down. This five mins flight into the space to make you feel weightless or whatever you might wana call it will cost about USD 200,000 (Source: news.bbc.co.uk)

READ MORE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8400353.stm

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

British geology maps now free to explore on website

Ever wondered if there was a volcano under your home?

Well, now you can find out by using the British Geological Survey's (BGS) new OpenGeoscience portal.

It allows the public to study all the UK's rocks on a simple Google map, down to a "scale" of 1:50,000. Toggling the map shows overlying towns and streets.

A range of educational and professional tools are also brought together on the website, including the huge national geological archive of photographs.

(source: news.bbc.co.uk)


READ MORE:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8398451.stm

Google includes real-time data in search results

Google has launched real-time search to give users access to up-to-the-second information.

The search giant said it will draw real-time data from over a billion pages on the web.

The new feature will also include updates from Twitter and the social networks of MySpace and Facebook.

"Information is being created at a pace I have never seen before and in this environment, seconds matter," said Google fellow Amit Singhal.

At an event staged at the Computer History Museum in California, the company said this was the first time that any search engine has integrated the real-time web into its results page.

"There is so much information being generated out there that getting you relevant information is the key to the success of a product like this. It's all about relevance, relevance, relevance," said Mr Singhal. (source: news.bbc.co.uk)

READ MORE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8400230.stm

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Mobile phones 'have not increased brain cancers'


There has been no substantial change in the number of adult brain tumours since mobile phone usage sharply increased in the mid-1990s, Danish scientists say.

The Danish Cancer Society looked at the rates of brain tumours among 20 to 79 year olds from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. They found that trends in cancer rates had not altered from the period before mobiles were introduced.But they say longer follow-up studies are needed. (source: news.bbc.co.uk)

READ MORE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8393884.stm

iPhone orchestra ready for debut

Smartphone symphony: a group of US students have

built music applications and written scores for their iPhones.

A group of US students has created an entire orchestra out of separate iPhone applications.

As part of their studies, the group from the University of Michigan built the applications themselves and composed music for them. (source: news.bbc.co.uk)

Read More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8394148.stm