Bobby (Blue) Bland, Soul and Blues Balladeer, Dies at 83

Bobby (Blue) Bland, the debonair balladeer whose sophisticated, emotionally fraught performances helped modernize the blues, died on Sunday at his home in Germantown, Tenn., a suburb of Memphis. He was 83. 

His death was confirmed by his son, Rodd, who played drums in his band.   Though he possessed gifts on a par with his most accomplished peers, Mr. Bland never achieved the popular acclaim enjoyed by contemporaries like Ray Charles and B. B. King. But he was nevertheless a mainstay on the rhythm-and-blues charts and club circuit for decades. 

In addition to his son, Rodd, Mr. Bland’s survivors include his wife, Willie Mae; a daughter, Patrice Moses; and four grandchildren. Rodd Bland said his father had recently learned that the blues singer and harmonica player James Cotton was his half-brother. 

Monica Lewinsky Auction: Bill Clinton Letter, Black Negligee Up for Bidding

Monica Lewinsky's floor-length black negligee is just one of 32 items that are being auctioned off by Nate D. Sanders Auctions this week, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based auction house announced on Monday, June 24. 

Other noteworthy memorabilia include several hand-written notes and greeting cards from the former White House intern, a letter typed on White House stationary and signed by Bill Clinton, and "three sealed and slightly crushed boxes of presidential M&Ms."

The items are part of a collection that was submitted by Lewinsky's former lover Andy Bleiler to special prosecutor Kenneth Starr during his investigation into the Clinton-Lewinsky affair in the late 90s.

Zara Hartshorn: Teenager Who Looked 60 Has Facelift to Combat 'Benjamin Button' Syndrome

 

A facelift at the age of 16 sounds like vanity gone mad – but for Zara Hartshorn it gave her a life as a normal teenager, the Sunday People reveals today.She was a youngster hoping for love like the others but her tender skin looked ­twisted and ­wrinkled because of a rare ­condition.

With prematurely ravaged ­features and gaps in her teeth she spent years enduring kids’ taunts of “monkey” and “granny”.But today, thanks to pioneering surgery, the bullies are no more than an unpleasant memory.

Zara has found the fella of her dreams. She no longer feels out of place with her friends and is ­looking forward to life with her sweetheart Ricky Andrews.With her looks ­transformed, she hopes to open a beauty salon.

Recalling the moment all the ­bandages came off, she said: “When I saw myself it was mixture of surprise and happiness.“Growing up I never thought this day would come. I thought I would be the same for ever.

Google Doodle Honours Antoni Gaudí

The surreal, twisting architecture of Catalan master Antoni Gaudi forms the basis of Tuesday’s Google doodle.

Snippets of six of Gaudi’s iconic modernist buildings or mosaics spell out Google for his 161st birthday, although the actual letters get lost in the design.

Gaudi was struck and killed by a tram in Barcelona in 1926, leaving unfinished his most famous work, the Sagrada Familia church.

Seven of his designs, in and around Barcelona, have been designated World Heritage sites.

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George Lucas, Mellody Hobson Married: Filmmaker, Business Woman Wed In California

Star Wars creator George Lucas and his new wife Mellody Hobson have shared a romantic picture of their wedding day.

The 69-year-old director and producer tied the knot with the 44-year-old on Saturday at the Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California, in front of 200 guests including Oprah Winfrey, Robert De Niro, Glenn Close, Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Quincy Jones and his daughter Rashida.

The bride wore a white dress by Peter Soronen and carried brightly coloured roses as her 'something blue.

 

 

Lucas and Hobson became engaged back in January and have been dating since meeting at a business conference back in 2006.

Hobson heads the investment management firm Ariel Investments and is also chairman of the board at Dream Works Animation SKG Inc. It is her first marriage.

The Star Wars supremo was previously married to film editor Marcia Lucas from 1969 until their divorce in 1983.  He has three adopted children.

The couple discussed their relationship during a joint interview with Oprah Winfrey last year.

'I think it works because we are extraordinarily open-minded people and we're open to what the universe brings us,' Hobson told the talk show host. 'I think we didn't have preconceived ideas about what a partnership should be and so we allowed ourselves to discover something that was unexpected.'

Lucas will have plenty of time to spend with his new wife. He sold his Lucasfilm production company to Disney last October for $4.05 billion - most of which he donated to educational philanthropy. 

Michael Jackson Death Anniversary: The King Of Pop 4 Years After His Untimely Death

It's been four years since Michael Jackson died, on June 25, 2009, from cardiac arrest caused by a lethal combination of prescription drugs. His death, later ruled a homicide, shocked fans and musicians across the world.

Jackson rose to fame in 1964 as the youngest member of his family's Motown group, the "Jackson 5," and continued to dominate the music industry with best-selling hits such as "Thriller," "Billie Jean" and "Beat It."

Jackson is survived by his three children, Prince Michael Jackson II, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson.

Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal Suffers Shock Defeat by Steve Darcis

In one of Wimbledon's greatest upsets, an ailing Rafael Nadal was knocked out in straight sets Monday by a player ranked 135th — the Spaniard's first loss in the opening round of a Grand Slam event. Steve Darcis of Belgium stunned the two-time champion 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4. He ended Nadal's 22-match winning streak and eliminated one of the Big Four of men's tennis on the very first day of the grass-court Grand Slam.

Nadal was sidelined for seven months with a left knee injury after losing in the second round of Wimbledon last year. He seemed to be struggling physically. He was unable to turn on the speed or use his legs to spring into his groundstrokes, limping and failing to run for some shots. Darcis was as surprised as everyone else with the result.

"Rafa Nadal didn't play his best tennis today,'' the 29-year-old Belgian said. "The first match on grass is always difficult. It's his first one. Of course, it's a big win. I tried to come to the net as soon as I could, not play too far from the baseline. I think it worked pretty good today.''

Nadal was coming off his eighth championship at the French Open last month but, on this day, he never looked like the player who has won 12 Grand Slam titles and established himself as one of the greatest players of his generation. It's the second straight early Wimbledon exit for Nadal, who was ousted in the second round last year by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol.

Infosys Plans Better Hikes For Performers

Infosys is drawing up plans to tilt the scales in favour of top performers, part of efforts to revitalise the workforce after NR Narayana Murthy returned as its chairman on June 1. 

According to company executives briefed about Murthy's thinking, the emphasis on employee performance as a vital differentiator is linked to a broader effort to revive a culture of meritocracy in the company that has underperformed the industry for two years. "The differential between high-performers and non-performers will increase. Variable pay will be one mechanism through which this will be achieved," said a person aware of Murthy's plans. 

Murthy, 66, returned as executive chairman of Infosys following a request from the company's board, which was under pressure from investors and analysts fretting about the company's troubles. Infosys grew at half the pace of the broader industry in 2012-13 and has admitted that it will lag rivals this year too.

At present, employees with the top ratings receive 50-90% of their variable salary while the lowest-rated ones get only up to 30%. Typically, 10-25% of an executive's compensation can be variable, depending on seniority. 

Besides individual performance, the relative performance of the business unit also becomes a key deciding factor. 

Champions Trophy: BCCI Announces Cash Prize of Rs.1 Crore Each to Players

The BCCI on Monday announced monetary incentives for the members of the Indian cricket team including the support staff for winning the ICC Champions Trophy.

Each player in the team will be awarded a cash prize of Rs.one crore while the each member of the support staff will be richer by Rs.30 lakh, according to a BCCI media release.

India clinched the ICC Champions Trophy, in its last edition, with a nerve-wracking five-run victory over hosts England in a rain-hit final, giving their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni the unique record of being the first captain to win three world titles.

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After frustrating showers reduced the contest to a T20 affair, India first scored 129 for seven and then restricted England to 124 for eight in a topsy-turvy game that went down to the wire. Ravindra Jadeja (33 no and 2/24) made another all-round contribution which proved to be telling in the context of the match.

Confederations Cup: Spain Top Group With 3-0 Win Over Nigeria

Two excellent goals from defender Jordi Alba, one of eight Barcelona players in the starting lineup, and a fifth of the tournament from Fernando Torres gave Spain a third successive win and top spot in Group B.

 World and European champions Spain stayed on course for the title they have never won when they beat African champions Nigeria 3-0 to reach the Confederations Cup semi-finals on Sunday.

Two excellent goals from defender Jordi Alba, one of eight Barcelona players in the starting lineup, and a fifth of the tournament from Fernando Torres gave Spain a third successive win and top spot in Group B.

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They stretched their unbeaten run in competitive games to 28, going back to their 1-0 defeat to Switzerland at the 2010 World Cup, and have not lost at all since England beat them in a friendly in November 2011.

They will face Italy, who they beat 4-0 to win the European title in Kiev a year ago, at Fortaleza's Castelao in Thursday's semi-final. A young and largely experimental Nigeria team, after beating Tahiti 6-1, finished third after defeats to Uruguay and Spain and must now concentrate of qualifying for the World Cup. They need a draw against Malawi in September to top their African qualifying group and will then have to play off over two legs with another group winner to earn a return trip to Brazil next year.

Puzzle of How Heart Regulates Its Beat Solved

A long-withstanding puzzle as to how the heart regulates its beat appears to have been solved, paving way for better understanding of heart failure. When the heart beats (contracts), the contractile machinery is switched on by an increase in calcium within the cell, according to researchers.

This increase is produced by a release from intracellular stores activated by a small influx of calcium into the cell during the cardiac electrical signal - known as the action potential, they said.

This apparently simple process raised an important question, since the trigger signal was smaller than the release and both involve calcium how could the system be graded - since once the release is started it should overcome the trigger signal and be fully regenerative.

Researchers led by Professor Mark Cannell from the University of Bristol's School of Physiology and Pharmacology with Dr Laver from Hunter Medical Research Institute in Australia constructed a 3-dimensional computer model of the release machinery incorporating measurements of the calcium sensitivity of the release mechanism.

They found that the key to this puzzle is in the calcium dependence of the closed time of the channels that release calcium and the microscopic domain in which they reside. This model showed automatic release termination without having to invoke any other mechanism a process they called "induction decay".

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Therefore, a key piece of the puzzle as how the heart regulates contraction appears to have been solved, and this paves the way to improved understanding of what goes wrong when the heart fails - because there is good evidence that the calcium release mechanism becomes faulty in heart failure.

"These intracellular processes only occur on the molecular scale which is difficult, if not impossible, to image and study within living cells. Thanks to sophisticated computer modelling, we have been able provide the necessary insight into the complex behaviour of this fundamental system," Cannell said.

Sleep Deprivation in Teens Linked to Poor Dietary Choices

Well-rested teenagers tend to make more healthy food choices than their sleep-deprived peers, according to a new study. The findings led by Lauren Hale, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine in US may be key to understanding the link between sleep and obesity. "Not only do sleepy teens on average eat more food that's bad for them, they also eat less food that is good for them," said Hale.

"While we already know that sleep duration is associated with a range of health consequences, this study speaks to some of the mechanisms, ie, nutrition and decision making, through which health outcomes are affected," said Hale.

The study examined the association between sleep duration and food choices in a national representative sample of 13,284 teenagers in the second wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The data were collected in 1996 when the interview subjects had a mean age of 16 years.

Researchers found that those teens who reported sleeping fewer than seven hours per night - 18 per cent of respondents - were more likely to consume fast food two or more times per week and less likely to eat healthful food such as fruits and vegetables.

The results took into account factors such as age, gender, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, physical activity and family structure, and found that short sleep duration had an independent effect on both healthy and unhealthy food choices.

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The respondents fell into one of three categories: short sleepers, who received fewer than seven hours per night; mid-range sleepers, who had seven to eight hours per night; and recommended sleepers, who received more than eight hours per night. The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that adolescents get between nine and 10 hours of sleep per night.

The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

Amount of Exercise Matters, Not Frequency

Scientists have found that it is the total amount of exercise you get in a week that matters and not whether you spread your workout over several days or few.

Adults, who accumulated 150 minutes of exercise on a few days of the week, were not any less healthy than adults who exercised more frequently throughout the week, a new Canadian study has found.

Ian Janssen and graduate student Janine Clarke from Queen’s University, studied 2,324 adults from across Canada to determine whether the frequency of physical activity throughout the week is associated with risk factors for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

“The findings indicate that it does not matter how adults choose to accumulate their 150 weekly minutes of physical activity,” said Janssen.

“For instance, someone who did not perform any physical activity on Monday to Friday but was active for 150 minutes over the week-end would obtain the same health benefits from their activity as someone who accumulated 150 minutes of activity over the week by doing 20-25 minutes of activity on a daily basis,” Janssen said.

Physical activity was measured continuously throughout the week by having research participants wear accelerometers on their waists. Accelerometers are tiny electrical devices (about the size of a small package of matches) that record how much a person moves every minute.

Janssen divided the adults who met the physical activity guidelines (more than 150 minutes per week of aerobic activity) into those who were frequently active (active five to seven days of the week) and infrequently active (active one to four days of the week).

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“The important message is that adults should aim to accumulate at least 150 minutes of weekly physical activity in whatever pattern that works for their schedule,” Janssen said.

The study was published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.

Supermoon: Brighter Moon Beams Over Us Sunday

A special full moon hangs in the weekend's night skies, adding an unusually large and bright splash of silver to our longest days.

The full moon -- appearing at 4:32 a.m. Sunday -- peaks within 20 minutes of the moon's nearest encounter with Earth for all of 2013, making it the largest full moon of the year. Dubbed a "supermoon," it will appear 15 percent larger and 20 percent brighter than when it's at its farthest point -- and will not be so close again until August 2014.

It is part of an astronomical trifecta -- a close-in "supermoon" that is perfectly full, just after the summer solstice, the longest day of the year -- that lifts the hearts of skywatchers.

The convergence of the three events means we will be bathed in more light this weekend than any other time of the year, said astronomy instructor Jonathan Braidman of Oakland's Chabot Space and Science Center, which will offer to the public its three telescopes -- for free -- from sunset to about 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

"After a very long day, we'll have a nearby full moon, reflecting the sun," he said. "There will be lots of vitamin D!"

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Climate Change Like Atom Bomb

The planet has been building up temperatures at the rate of four Hiroshima bombs of heat every second, and it’s all our fault, say climate scientists.

Hurricane Katrina and superstorm Sandy are just two examples of how extreme weather will intensify, Australia’s Climate Action Summit has heard.

Humans are emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than any other time in history, says John Cook, Climate Communication Fellow from the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland.

‘‘All these heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere mean ... our planet has been building up heat at the rate of about four Hiroshima bombs every second - consider that going continuously for several decades.’’

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In a speech on extreme weather in Sydney on Saturday, Mr Cook said about 90 per cent of global warming was going into the oceans, which act like a natural thermometer along with changes in land, ice, and animal species.

Distributions of trees are shifting towards cooler areas such as the poles or mountains, and animal species are responding to global warming by mating earlier in the year.

‘‘This isn’t because animals are getting randier, it’s because the seasons themselves are shifting,’’ Mr Cook said. 120 climate records were broken in Australia this January, including the hottest month and the hottest day. New colours had to be added to temperature maps to denote highs of over 50 and 54 degrees celsius.

Rupee Hits Low of 59.27; Government Steps In

The Indian currency dropped sharply a day after the US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke signalled that the Fed would start winding down its stimulus spending later this year.

The Fed move is likely to lead to appreciation of the US currency against its major rivals.

The Indian currency recovered in the afternoon after the government said it was ready to take steps to curb volatility.

Forex Reserves Up $982 Million to $290.66 Billion

Foreign exchange reserves were up by USD 982 million to USD 290.66 billion on the back of healthy rise in the core currency assets, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

The total reserves had swollen by USD 1.78 billion to USD 289.7 billion in the previous reporting week. Foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex reserves, rose USD 962.5 million to USD 261.09 billion for the week ended June 14, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

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Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies, such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves, the bank said.

The gold reserves were unchanged at USD 22.836 billion, the bank said. For the week under review, the special drawing rights (SDRs) were up by USD 13 million to USD 4.401 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF was also up by a USD 6.8 million to USD 2.333 billion, the bank data showed.

UBS To Shut India Banking Unit

Swiss Bank UBS AG is winding up its banking business in India as part of its global strategy of accelerating its exit from what it describes as "capital intensive business". The group will continue to be present in India as an investment bank which will house its corporate client service business.

Although UBS had a full-fledged banking licence in India, its focus was on wealth management clients providing forex, fixed income and credit services through its single branch in Mumbai.

UBS was in the news last year when its India chief Manish Girotra, who had been face of the bank for more than a decade, put in her papers. Girotra was replaced by Aashish Kamath, who heads India operations.

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According to data provided by RBI in its "profile of banks", UBS profit was Rs 312 crore in FY12 and Rs 579 crore in FY11.

The bank had a capital base of close to Rs 2,000 crore as on end-March 2012, including reserves and surplus. It had deposits of Rs 631 crore as on end March 2012 and investments of Rs 3,796 crore and advances of Rs 685 crore.

Raanjhanaa Review

Cast: Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Swara Bhaskar, Kumud Mishra

Director: Aanand L Rai

Kundan (Dhanush), the son of a Banaras panda, is madly, deeply in love with Zoya (Sonam Kapoor). He does the running. She keeps him at bay. Just as she is about to relent, the Hindu-Muslim never-the-twain-shall-meet angle comes in, and the two part ways. I should have said 'torn asunder', actually, because that is how it is shown, him desperately chasing the train that is bearing her away, both sobbing their hearts out. When she does return, several years later, her Banarasi swain is waiting, unprepared that the girl whom he loves may love someone else (Deol). Aanand L Rai who gave us an acute, well-observed small town sensibility in his first film Tanu Weds Manu, brings the same skill sets to Raanjhanaa.

Samsung Unveils Galaxy NX, an Android-Powered Mirrorless Camera

Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy NX, a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera that also runs Android. And it has LTE. The Galaxy NX has a 20.3-megapixel APS-C sensor with hybrid autofocus. The rear LCD is a large 4.8-inch touchscreen, and there's an electronic viewfinder as well. It's capable of capturing fast action with shutter speeds as quick as 1/6,000 of a second, and ISO goes up to 25,600 for shooting in low light.

What separates the NX from other mirrorless cameras is its Android OS and wireless abilities. Not only does it run Android 4.2 "Jelly Bean," which gives it full access to apps and content from Google Play, but it also has Wi-Fi and cellular connections. Unlike the Galaxy Camera, the NX is equipped with 4G LTE for fast uploading of your photos to the web.

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The camera includes a new feature called Photo Suggest that uses your location to suggest popular places to take pictures. The spots are said to be sourced from real photographers all over the world, so hopefully they won't all be obvious things like the Statue of Liberty.

Samsung hasn't yet announced a price or a U.S. availability date for the Galaxy NX.