The beauty of Bonsai.

email from Kamalini Kanapathippillai 22 Beautiful Bonsai Trees that Redefine the Name

The bonsai tree is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. The purposes of bonsai are primarily contemplation (for the viewer) and the pleasant exercise of effort and ingenuity (for the grower). But as much as I'm sure you've heard about this practice, most of us are only aware of a few limited types of bonsai tree, when in fact, there are hundreds of different types. These 22 beautiful bonsai trees are a great example of the variety of this beautiful art form.

40 year old Coast Redwood

A 30 year old Azalea

A bonsai is created beginning with a specimen of source material. This may be a cutting, seedling, or small tree of a species suitable for bonsai development. Bonsai can be created from nearly any perennial woody-stemmed tree or shrub species.

Over 40 year old Chinese Banyan

A 30 year old Hibiscus

A tpe of bonsai designed to mimic a forest.

The source specimen is shaped to be relatively small and to meet the aesthetic standards of bonsai. When the candidate bonsai nears its planned final size it is planted in a display pot, usually one designed for bonsai display in one of a few accepted shapes and proportions. From that point forward, its growth is restricted by the pot environment.

Another dazzlling Azalea

A lilac that has both  looks and a lovely scent

Cascade style of bonsai

Root over rock style

A Japanese Maple that is about 100 years old (across seasons)

60 year old Crabapple Tree

The practice of bonsai is sometimes confused with dwarfing, but dwarfing generally refers to research, discovery, or creation of plant cultivars that are permanent, genetic miniatures of existing species. Bonsai does not require genetically dwarfed trees, but rather depends on growing small trees from regular stock and seeds. Bonsai uses cultivation techniques like pruning, root reduction, potting, defoliation, and grafting to produce small trees that mimic the shape and style of mature, full-size trees.

25 year old Cherry Tree

Trident maple with exposed roots

Over 50 year old Atlas Cedar

Cherry Blossom in full bloom

A Bald Cypress

Small trees grown in containers, like bonsai, require specialized care. Unlike houseplants and other subjects of container gardening, tree species in the wild, in general, grow roots up to several meters long and root structures encompassing several thousand liters of soil. In contrast, a typical bonsai container is under 25 centimeters in its largest dimension and 2 to 10 liters in volume.

Wisteria bonsais

One of the oldest bonsai trees in history, this is a Japanese White Pine,and its conjectured that its birthday was in 1625, almost 400 years ago.

Branch and leaf (or needle) growth in trees is also of a larger scale in nature. Wild trees typically grow 5 meters or taller when mature, whereas the largest bonsai rarely exceed 1 meter and most specimens are significantly smaller. These size differences affect maturation, transpiration, nutrition, pest resistance, and many other aspects of tree biology. Maintaining the long-term health of a tree in a container requires some specialized care techniques.

Adenium

Bonsai during winter

Bonsai during fall

One more Azalea - Probably my favorite.

Doctors and terminal illness.

Most doctors who were terminally ill would AVOID aggressive treatments such as chemotherapy - despite recommending it to their patients

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine found most doctors would opt for a 'do not resuscitate' approach to their own care.

Full Story:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2643751/Most-doctors-terminally-ill-AVOID-aggressive-treatments-chemotherapy-despite-recommending-patients.html

Auto Anna Durai - An Extraordinary Philanthropist Auto Driver!!!!

email from Dawood
 
Heard a Radio program tonight on SBS Tamil, where this 'Auto Anna Durai' was interviewed. 
That radio program prompted me to search for the name on Google and found this article which is being copied below.
It is a wonder how this simple Auto Driver can afford to do all these extraordinary Charitable activities! 
Pon
 

 
CHENNAI 
August 7, 2013 

All in an auto

Anusha Parthasarathy 

<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/all-in-an-auto/article4999340.ece?textsize=large&test=1" title="Large Text Size" >T+</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;·&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/all-in-an-auto/article4999340.ece?textsize=small&test=2" title="Small Text Size">T-</a&gt

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The Hindu: I want to open an old-age home where the elderly don’t feel they are a burden.

·  Where they can be taught simple skills using which they can earn a little money and spend it

·  the way they want to. Photo: M. Vedhan

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·  The Hindu:     Annadurai.

·  Photo: M. Vedhan

  In Anna Durai's auto

Why is share-auto driver Annadurai being talked about by people in over 35 countries? His vehicle offers passengers a range of free services, discovers Anusha Parthasarathy

Annadurai spent the early hours of Friendship Day (August 4) answering hundreds of calls that kept his phone ringing incessantly. People from 35 (or more, he says) countries were trying to get in touch with him, to appreciate him and hear his story all over again. 
A share-auto driver on the Thiruvanmiyur-Sholinganallur route, Annadurai’s auto is loaded with goodies — free WiFi, mobile charging point, 35 magazines, 10 newspapers, TV and a Samsung Galaxy tablet to access Internet (in case you don’t have a smartphone). When his story went viral on Facebook last weekend (posted by a group called Photos That Shook The World), with nearly 10,000 shares and 20,000 likes, it was unlike anything he had ever experienced. 
“I was up all night answering those calls,” he says, shaking his head in disbelief. “When I was on one call, another would keep popping up. I’ve got over 2,000 calls so far. It was overwhelming that so many people took time and spent whatever it cost just to call and appreciate me. I know only Tamil and I couldn’t even understand most of them! Dubai, Korea, Pakistan, the list just kept growing.” 
How did he talk to them then? A typical conversation would go like this. “They would call and ask, ‘Annadurai? Auto driver?’ I would say ‘yes’ and they would tell me that I’m doing a good job. Even if I didn’t exactly know what they were saying, I could understand what they were implying. I would say, ‘Thank you, sir. Sometime, you come to Chennai. You call and I will meet you.’ Whoever called on Sunday wished me a happy friendship day before they hung up.” 

What sets him apart? 
It isn’t just Annadurai's auto that sets him apart but what he symbolises through the services he offers. A native of Peravurani (Thanjavur District), Annadurai, now 29, came to Chennai when he was four years old and grew up with two brothers and a sister. He now lives in Injambakkam and has been a share-auto driver for four years. Two years ago, he had an idea. “I don’t know why I started adding things to my auto. I just thought I must do something for my customers and stocked around 20 newspapers. But, it wasn’t enough,” he smiles. Now, of course, it has grown to include other things. “After I installed WiFi a year back, I bought a tablet for Rs.7,000 but felt my customers deserved better (they were mostly from the IT sector). So I saved up for a couple of months and bought a more expensive one,” he adds, nonchalantly. 
Annadurai’s list of services seems to be never ending. He provides free service to teachers and nurses who work in hospitals that treat those with HIV. And on eight days of the year (such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day) he offers free or discounted services to some customers. He sponsors a child’s education and has inspired three of his customers to do so too. “I do this because I need job satisfaction. Money may come and go, but the feeling you get when your customers choose to travel only in your auto is unmatched,” Annadurai says, “I think teachers do the most honourable service in the world and for them, auto rides will always be for free. They make leaders and thinkers and must be recognised for their work.” 

Contest for customers 
There is also a customer relationship contest in which one has to answer five questions. A lucky winner could win Rs.1,000. Similarly, a token is given to every customer who boards Annadurai’s auto. If the customer collects 20 tokens, he gets Rs.250, 30 tokens would get him Rs.500 and so on. “I wondered if my customers would participate in a quiz that I set and was surprised to get 80 entries in the first month. I’ve been holding these contests for over a year now.” 
This auto driver, fondly called ‘Auto anna’ by his customers, hopes to sponsor 10 children next year and eventually plans to open an old-age home. “I’ve already begun planning how to go about it. I want to provide a place where the elderly don’t feel they are a burden. Where they can be taught simple skills using which they can earn a little money and spend it the way they want to,” he says. 
But how does he manage to do all this? “It is tough, yes. I do have my problems but doing this makes me happy. I’m positive and I know I will be able to achieve my goals.” 

Annadurai offers discounts on 
Mother’s Day – Free rides for mothers with their children 
Women’s Day – Free rides for women over the age of 50 
Children’s Day – Free rides for school students 
Father’s Day – Free for men over the age of 45 
Abdul Kalam’s birthday – Rides at 50 per cent off for all customers 
Independence Day – Free rides for anyone born before 1947 
Annadurai’s birthday – 50 per cent off on rides for all customers 
Valentine’s Day – Free rides for couples (Because I’m a bachelor too, smirks Annadurai). 
All customers will also get a chocolate on all these days 

 
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/all-in-an-auto/article4999340.ece
 

A Human Kaleidoscope !

email from Edwin Kirubs

 

This is a fantastic clip and you wonder about the coordination of so many artists in producing it

  

​Click on the link below to view the 'human kaleidoscope'.​

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0-zCwSfkOo     

 

 

 

Sleep's memory role discovered.

The mechanism by which a good night's sleep improves learning and memory has been discovered by scientists.

The team in China and the US used advanced microscopy to witness new connections between brain cells - synapses - forming during sleep.

Their study, published in the journal Science, showed even intense training could not make up for lost sleep.

Experts said it was an elegant and significant study, which uncovered the mechanisms of memory.

It is well known that sleep plays an important role in memory and learning. But what actually happens inside the brain has been a source of considerable debate.

Researchers at New York University School of Medicine and Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School trained mice in a new skill - walking on top of a rotating rod.

They then looked inside the living brain with a microscope to see what happened when the animals were either sleeping or sleep deprived.

Their study showed that sleeping mice formed significantly more new connections between neurons - they were learning more.

And by disrupting specific phases of sleep, the research group showed deep or slow-wave sleep was necessary for memory formation.

During this stage, the brain was "replaying" the activity from earlier in the day.

Prof Wen-Biao Gan, from New York University, told the BBC: "Finding out sleep promotes new connections between neurons is new, nobody knew this before.

"We thought sleep helped, but it could have been other causes, and we show it really helps to make connections and that in sleep the brain is not quiet, it is replaying what happened during the day and it seems quite important for making the connections."

And by disrupting specific phases of sleep, the research group showed deep or slow-wave sleep was necessary for memory formation.

During this stage, the brain was "replaying" the activity from earlier in the day.

Prof Wen-Biao Gan, from New York University, told the BBC: "Finding out sleep promotes new connections between neurons is new, nobody knew this before.

"We thought sleep helped, but it could have been other causes, and we show it really helps to make connections and that in sleep the brain is not quiet, it is replaying what happened during the day and it seems quite important for making the connections."

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27695144

World.City News Updates 

The growth of Sri Lanka?

Population: 20 million(APPROX.) 4 million.retired  @NTB 2 million in state Govt;  (Doesn't work)  6 million professionals. in private sector  (Doesn't work for Sri Lanka )  3 Million .in school  1 Million.under 5 years  1 Million..unemployed  1 Million.anytime in hospitals  1,999,999 .anytime in jail  the balance is  U  U are busy  checking Mails  and forwarding them '..!!!  how can  Sri Lanka  GROW alone?

'Kool' - A thick soup with a variety of ingredients.

email from Kamalini Kanapathippillai.

 

 

 Jaffna kool யாழ்ப்பாணக் கூழ்
 
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10203218037837096&set=vb.1393063418&type=2&theater