THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

The Statue of Liberty officially known as the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from France in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution.

The statue dedicated on October 28, 1886 was a joint effort between America and France. It was agreed upon that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly in the United States. In both countries various forms of entertainment and lotteries were organized to raise funds.

In America, fund raising for the pedestal was going particularly slowly, and Joseph Pulitzer (who established the Pulitzer Prize) used his newspaper to criticize both the rich and the middle class who failed to finance and donate. Pulitzer's campaign was a success, and it also helped to promote his newspaper adding about 50,000 subscribers in the course of the statue campaign effort.

The statue is made of pure Norwegian copper on a framework of steel designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. The tablet held in the statue’s left hand represents a book of law with the text "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776) commemorating the date of the United States Declaration of Independence. The seven rays of crown represent the seven seas and continents of the world.

Various sources cite different models for the face of the statue sculptured by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. One indicated the widow of Isaac Singer, the sewing-machine industrialist, the other – Bartholdi’s mother.

The Statue disassembled into 350 individual pieces arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885 on board the French frigate Isere and was re-assembled on her new pedestal in four months' time.

The Statue of Liberty was a real lighthouse from 1886 to 1902. There was an electric plant on the island to generate power for the light.

There is a sister statue in Paris (and hundreds of others around the world) standing by the river Seine. It faces west, towards the original Liberty in New York Harbor.

The Statue of Liberty is a popular icon that has appeared in over 30 movies.

GOD BLESS YOU :)

It once was law to say "God bless you" to one who sneezed

During the 6th Century, it was customary to congratulate people who sneezed because it was thought that they were expelling evil from their bodies. During the great plague of Europe, the Pope passed a law to say "God bless you" to one who sneezed.

START UPS ARE A JOKE !!!

Last night it occured to me how much starting up a new product is like a joke.

I remember being on a playground as a child, and having a friend come up and tell me a new joke they learned.

“Why did the monkey fall out of the tree… It was dead”

I’d laugh, and they’d enjoy it.

But then, another friend would come up and tell me the joke again.

“Why did the monkey fall out of the tree… It was dead”

This time I wouldn’t really laugh and explain I’d already heard that one.

The value of being first to market with a joke is very high. Comedians thrive on telling new jokes. People can then go home, steal their material and share it with friends and family. The shelf life of a new joke is very short. Every friend who hears the joke is less likely to go see the comedian because they will have already heard the jokes.

Start ups place a lot of value in being “first to market”. In much the same way, the second person to market is like the friend who told the joke the second time. They might pick up a few more people who missed the joke the first time, but the thunder is already gone.

Instead, a second to market strategy has to put a twist on the first to market. This is easier than being an actual innovator, because it simply adds to the previous innovation.

“Why did the Squirrel fall out of the tree… it was stapled to the monkey”

One doesn’t need to invent the coffee grinder, simply make the coffe grinder better to be able to receive market share and enter into the market.

Now many third to market to market strategies involve adding features to already existing products. DVD R R+ R- R/W for example, each has some minor features that aren’t that different. In the end, it would be similar to:

“Why did the Bird/goat/frog fall out of the tree… it was stapled to the monkey”

Each might be funny in their own right, but also might not be large enough to capture a significant portion of the market to compete with the original joke.

Finally, a start up can run a disruptive technology. A disruptive technology is something that completely alters the playing field within a previous industry. The nintendo Wii is the most recent famous example. Video games are still video games, it is the controller that they altered with an emphasis on usability and playability.

“Why do pigmies always buy umbrellas… because of all the monkeys and squirrels falling out of the trees!”

When you are looking at your company, or thinking of creating a start up, consider carefully which kind of joke you are telling, make sure you tell it to the right audience, and be ready to innovate again, because no one likes a stale joke.

AUTHOR
-ANONYMOUS

KONARK


" Where the Language of Stone defeats the Language of man "


The magnificent Sun Temple at Konark is the culmination of Orissan temple architecture, and one of the most stunning monuments of religious architecture in the world.Built by the King Narasimhadeva in the thirteenth century, the entire temple was designed in the shape of a colossal chariot with seven horses and twelve wheels, carrying the sun god, Surya, across the heavens. Surya has been a popular deity in India since the Vedic period .

The entrance is guarded by two lions, which are each shown crushing a war elephant. Each elephant in turn lies on top of a human body. The temple symbolises the majestic stride of the Sun god. At the entrance of the temple is a Nata Mandir. This is where the temple dancers used to perform dances in homage to the Sun god. All around the temple, there are various floral and geometric patterns. There are also human, divine and semi-divine figures.

Lodestone
Legends describe a lodestone on the top of the Sun temple. Due to its magnetic effects, vessels passing through the Konark sea were drawn to it, resulting in heavy damage. Other legends state that magnetic effects of the lodestone disturbed ships' compasses so that they did not function correctly. To save their shipping, the Muslim voyagers took away the lodestone, which was acting as the central stone and keeping all the stones of the temple wall in balance. Due to its displacement, the temple walls lost their balance and eventually fell down. But there is no record of this occurrence in any historical records, nor is there any record of the existence of such a powerful lodestone at Konark.

[edit] Kalapahad
The most popular theory about the root of the fall of Konark temple rests with the Kalapahad. According to the history of Orissa, Kalapahad invaded Orissa in 1508. He destroyed Konark temple, as well as a number of Hindu temples in Orissa. The Madala Panji of Puri Jagannath temple describes how Kalapahad attacked Orissa in 1568. Including Konark temple, he broke most of the images in most of the Hindu temples in Orissa. Though it was impossible to break the Sun temple of Konark, the stone walls of which are of 20 to 25 feet thick, he somehow managed to displace the Dadhinauti (Arch stone) and thus made a way for the temple to collapse. He also broke most of the images and other side temples of Konark. Due to displacement of the Dadhinauti, the temple gradually collapsed and the roof of the Mukasala was also damaged, due to the stones falling down from the temple top.
Consequently, Orissa came under Muslim control in 1568. There were constant attempts to destroy the Hindu temples. The Pandas of Puri, to save the sanctity of the Puri temple, took away the Lord Jagannath from the Srimandir and kept the image in a secret place. Similarly, it is said that the Pandas of Konark took away the presiding deity of the Sun temple and buried it under the sand for years. Latter on the image was said to have been removed to Puri and kept in the temple of Indra, in the compound of the Puri Jagannath temple. According to others, the Puja image of the Konark temple is yet to be discovered. But others hold the view that the Sun image now kept in the National Museum of Delhi was the presiding deity of the Konark Sun temple.
However, the Sun worship in the Konark temple was ended upon the removal of the image from the temple. This resulted in the end of pilgrimages to Konark. The port at Konark was also closed, due to pirate attacks. Konark was as glorious a city for Sun worship as it was for commercial activities, but after the cessation of these activities, Konark became deserted and was left to develop as a dense forest for years.

In 1626 the then king of Khurda(my father's home place :)), Raja Narasimha Dev, son of Purusottam Dev, took away the Sun image to Puri along with two other moving deities - Sun and Moon. Now they are found in a temple in the compound of Puri Jagannath temple.
It is recorded in the Madala Panji of Puri temple that in 1028, Raja Narasimha Dev ordered measurements to be taken of all the temples at Konark. At the time of measurement, the Sun temple was in existence up to its Amalak sila, i.e. about 200 feet in height. Kalapahad had only destroyed its Kalas, the crowning stone and the Padma-dhwaja, the lotus finial and the upper portions.
As described earlier there was a big block of stone called Navagraha Paata placed in front of the Mukhasala. The then king of Khurda removed the block. The king had taken away many sculptured stones from Konark and constructed some portions of Puri temple with them. During Marahatta's time the outer compound wall of the Puri temple was constructed of stones from Konark temple.
It is reported that among all the temples the Naata Mandir or the Dancing hall of Konark was in its original form for the longest period, and that it was broken intentionally since it was considered an unnecessary structure during the Marahata administration.
In the year 1779, a Marhatta Sadhu had taken away the Arun Pillar from Konark and put it in front of the Lion's Gate of Puri Jagannath temple. Thus by the end of 18th century Konark lost all its glories and had been turned to a dense forest. In course of time, the temple area thus became devoid of people, covered with dense forest, full of sand, filled with wild animals and became the abode of pirates. It is said that even the locals feared to go to Konark in broad daylight.

The poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote of Konark: "here the language of stone surpasses the language of man." and i truly agree :)