Intro to interesting sport - Chessboxing

Chessboxing is a sport that combines two traditional sports, chess and boxing. The competitors fight in alternating rounds of chess and boxing. Dutch performance artist, Iepe Rubingh invented Chessboxing. Chessboxing quickly turned into a fully developed competitive sport and is now popular in Germany, India, Great Britain and Russia.

Rubingh's idea to create a sport fusing chess and boxing, originated from the comic book named Froid Equateur written by Enki Bilal- that portrays  a Chessboxing world championship. Rubingh's developed the idea further until it turned into the competitive sport that Chessboxing is today with alternating rounds of chess and boxing and a detailed set of rules and regulations.

The first Chessboxing competition took place in Berlin in 2003. That same year ,the first world championship fight was held in Amsterdam in cooperation with the Dutch Boxing Association as well as the Dutch Chess Federation and under the auspices of the World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO) that was founded in Berlin shortly before. Dutch middle weight fighters Iepe Rubingh and Jean Louis Veenstra faced each other in the ring. Rubingh won the fight in 11th round going down in the history books as the first ever World Chessboxing Champion. The same goes for the Chess Boxing Club Berlin, created in the following year(2004), that is the first of its kind mailing Berlin the birthplace of Chessboxing.

Chessboxing first received credit from the international Chess Federation FIDE, in April 2008, it's president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, took part in Chessboxing demo fight in Elista. At the same time the Chessboxing community began to grow globally at even faster rate. In 2011, the first international club matchup took place with Berlin and London in the ring. London came out the winner with 2:1 won bouts.

The Chessboxing organisation India was founded in 2011 by kickboxing official and former Indian kickboxing and karate champion Montu Das. With this, the growth of Chessboxing in Asia gained momentum with the first Chessboxing Organisation in Western Asia.
At the same time , the process of turning Chessboxing professional reached a milestone. The 2013 World Championship in Moscow was the first Chessboxing event organised and marketed by Chess Boxing Global.

A Chessboxing fight consists of 11 rounds, 6 rounds of chess and 5 rounds of boxing. Chess and boxing rounds alternate, begining and ending with a round of chess. Each round lasts 3mins , regardless of whether it involves chess or boxing. The total amount of chess playing time is 18mins, making it 9mins each player. After each chess round ,the exact setup is digitally recorded and repositioned before the following chess round. The breaks in between the Chess and boxing rounds usually last 60 seconds. The duration of the rounds and overall fight time in amateur Chessboxing fights can change to somedegree ,as in for example youth tournaments and exhibition fights.

A chessboxer must have strong skills in both Chess and boxing in order to be permitted to compete in a professional Chessboxing fight. The current minimum requirements to fight in a Chess Boxing Global event include an Elite rating of 1600 and a record of at least 50 amateur bouts fought in boxing or another similar martial arts. Fighters have to mainly train in speed chess. However Chessboxing is not only the ability to master two sports but above all, being able to withstand the constant switch from a full contact sport to a thinking sport, round after round. This switch becomes extremely hard for the athlete as the fight goes on and he becomes tired. 

Know how 3D works!!

3D films trick your brain, bringing projected images to life in fuol three dimensional glory. If you look at an object near you and close your left and right eyes in turn ,you will see each has a slightly different view of the surroundings. Your right eye alsees a bit more of its right side, and your left eye see a bit moreof it's left side. These two images are fused by the brain allowing you to see in three dimensions. This is known as stereoscopic vision.
To create a similar effect. 3D films are captured using two lenses placed side by side, or by producing computer generated images to replicate the same effects. In old fashioned 3D films ,footage for the left eye would be filtered using a red lens filter, producing a red image ,and the footage for the right eye would be shot using a blue filter, resulting a blue image. The images from the projectors are then superimposed on the cinema screen.

3D glasses with blue and red filters ensured viewers left and right saw the correct image, the red filter would only let red light through to your left eye, and the blue filter would only let the blue light through to your right eye. These two slightly different images are combined by the brain to create the illusion of 3D. The old fashioned 3D films couldn't make full use of the colour.

Therefore in modern 3D films ,polarised light is used instead of  red and blue light.
A polarised light wave vibrates only on one plane. The unpolarized light can be transformed into the polarised light using the polarising filter.

A polarising filter has tiny parallel lines etched into it. These lines will only let the light vibrating on particular plane through. as with old fashioned 3D, the film is recorded using two camera lenses sat side by side. But in the cinema ,the two reels of film are projected through different polarised filters. So the images destined for viewers left eyes are polarised on a horizontal plane, whereas images destined for the right eyes are polarised on a vertical plane.
Thus these filters seperate out the two images,giving each eye sees a slightly different perspectives and fooling the brain so as to obtain a three dimensional view.!

Around U :6 IMAX

IMAX  (an acronym for image maximum) is a motion picture film format and a set of cinema projection standards created by Canadian company IMAX Corporation and developed by Graeme Ferguson,Roman Kroitor,Robert Kerr, and William C  Shaw. IMAX  has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems.

Source: www.London pass.com

IMAX is the most widely used system for special venue film presentations. There are over 1061 IMAX theaters in 67 countries.
During Expo 67 ,in Montreal, the National Film Board of Canada's In  the Labyrinth and Ferguson's Man and the Polar Regions both used multiprojector, multi screen systems. Each encountered technical difficulties that led them to found a company called "Multiscreen", with a goal of developing a simplar approach. But later it became clear that a single large-screen image had more impact than multiple smaller ones and was more viable product direction, Multiscreen changed its name to IMAX.
Tiger Child ,the first IMAX film ,was demonstrated at Expo '70 in Osaka,  Japan. The first permanent IMAX installation was bulit at Cinesphere theater at Ontario Place at Toronto.
The IMAX cinema process increases the image resolution by using larger film frame, in relative terms,a frame of IMAX format film has three times the theoretical horizontal resolution of a frame of 35mm film. To achieve such increase resolution ,which IMAX estimated at approximately 12 thousand lines of horizontal resolution (12k), 65mm film stock passes horizontally through the IMAX movie camera ,15 perforations at a time. At 24 frames per second(fps),this means that the film moves through the camera at 102.7 meters per minute (just over 6 km/hr). In a conventional 65 mm camera ,five perforations at a time or ,34 meters per minute.
The IMAX format of widescreen cinema , the movie image is taller than its wide ,given the film frame dimensions of 69.6mm × 48.5mm. To match the standard image resolution of the moving image produced with the film speed of 24fps, an IMAX  film requires three times the lenght ofvfilm stock required for a 65mm film of comparable scope and cinematic technique.
In 2011 , IMAX announced a 4K 3D digital camera with the similar wide resolution of regular IMAX film cameras. The IMAX format is generally called "15/70" film, the name referring to the 15 sprocket ,holes or perforations per frame. The film's bulk requires horizontal platters ,rayheer than conventional film reels. The IMAX  platters range from 1.2 to 1.83 meters diameter to accommodate 1 to 2.75 hours of film. Platters with a 2.5 hour feature film weigh 250 kilograms. IMAX uses ESTAR baed print film in their 15/70 rolling kiip film projection systems. ESTAR  based print film provides greater precision.

In order to use the more area ,the  IMAX film dies not include an embedded soundtrack. Instead ,the IMAX system specifies a separate six-channel 35mm magnetic film, recorded and played back on a film follower locked to picture.
Like conventional theaters , IMAX theaters place speakers both directly behind the acoustically transparent screen and around the theater to create a 'surround sound' effect. IMAX also provides a 'top center' speaker in addition to center' speaker found in conventional theaters. This extra channel allows the sound to mix engineers to take advantage of the screen's greater height.

To create illusion of depth ,the IMAX 3D process uses two separate camera lenses that represent the left and right eyes. The lenses are separated by a distance of 64mm ,the average distance between a human eyes. Two separate rolls of film are used to capture the images they produce. The IMAX 3D camera weighs over 113kg.

Variations on IMAX included the 48 fps IMAX HD process ,which sought to produce smoother, more lifelike motion, while also reducing the blurting of moving objects, by doubling the normal film rate. The IMAX HD system was tested in 1992 at Canada pavilion of the Seville Expo '92 with the film Momentum.

2 Interesting!! Rarest!!! Water Sports!!! Stay Amazed!!

Underwater Cycling :-

Underwater Cycling is a racing sport which can be done in a swimming pool or on the beds of oceans or lakes. Riders use specially designed dense bicycles and wear scuba diving gear.There are few types of underwater cycing races. The most common type of race is for riding the farthest distance. In this type of race, each contestant individually ride a course with their own free and record their distance and timings. The stats are then validated and accepted. Another type of race is riding a underwater course against other opponents and  first one to make it in finish line wins.

The riders who get off the bicycle are disqualified. Pushing or hitting other people off their bikes are forbidden. 

About 10 people are allowed to compete in races, a course underwater that stretches out about half -mile. Two watches are provided for each contestant ,for the safety of the contestant in the case of emergency.

The record for cycling underwater has been broken by Italian Vittorio Innocents ,who succeeded in peddaling 213ft under the Mediterranean.. He took nine minutes of deep sea pedalling to reach the 213ft mark.

Chicken Fight :-

Chicken fight is a informal game which is played in water mostly lakes or swimming pools, in which players play the game riding on the shoulders teamheir teammates, and attempt to knock down and seperate the opponents.

The person on top is considered to be the attacker while the person below is considered to be the vehicle. The person below may not use the arms or hands and must rely on the momentum to attack by running into the other team. The person in his/her shoulder is the attacker and may use any means possible of separating the other team or knocking them to the ground. If a team is knocked or separated in any way ,they are required to resign from the game and the last team to remain together is considered the winner.

Around U : 5 Healthy Birth Control Using Contraceptives!!!

According to World Health Organisation, reproductive health means a total well-being in all aspects of reproduction. Therefore ,a society with people having physically and functionally normal reproductive organs and normal emotional and behavioral interactions among them in all sex related aspects might be called reproductively healthy
India was amongst the first countries in the world to initiate action plans and programmes at a national level to attain total reproductive health as a social goal. Introduction to sex education in schools were a part of this programme.

In the last century an all round development in various fields significantly improved the quality of life of the people. The world population which was around 2 billion in 1900 rocketed to about 6 billions by 2000. A similar trend was observed in India too. Our population which was around 350 am llion at the time of our independence reached close to the billion mark by 2000 and crossed 1 billion in may 2000. That means, every  sixth person in the world is an Indian.

The most important step to overcome this problem is to motivate smaller FAM lies by using various contraceptive methods. An ideal contraceptive should be user friendly , easily available ,effective and reversible with no or less side effects. It also should in no way interfere with the sexual drive ,desire and/or the sexual act of the user.

A wide range of contraceptive methods are presently available which could be broadly grouped into the following categories,namely Natural/traditional ,Barrier ,IUDs ,Oral contraceptives, Injectable ,Implants and Surgical methods.

Natural Method

Works on the principle of avoiding chances of ovum and spermseeting. Periodic abstinence is one such method in which the couple's avoid or abstain from coitus from day 10 to day 17 of the menstrual cycle when ovulation could be expected. As chances of fertilisation are very high during this period, it is called the fertile period. Therefore by abstaining from coitus during this period, conception could be prevented. Withdrawal or coitus interruptus is another method in which the male partner withdraws his penis from the vagina just before ejaculation so as to avoid insemination. Lactational amenorrhea method is based on the fact ovulation and therefore the cycle do not occur during the period of intense lactation following parturition. Therefore as long as the mother breast feeds the child fully, chances of conception are almost nil. However ,this method has been reported to be effective only upto a maximum period of six months following parturition. As no medicines or devices are used in these methods ,side effects are almost nil. Chances of failure ,though ,of this method are also high.

Barrier

In barrier methods, ovum and sperms are prevented from physically meeting with the help of barriers. Such methods are available for both males and females. Condoms are barriers made of thin rubber /latex sheath that are used to cover the penis in the male or vagina and cervix in the female, just before coitus so that the ejaculated semen would not enter into female reproductive tract. This can prevent conception. 'Nirodh' is a popular brand of a ndom for the male. Use of condoms has increased in recent years due to its additional benefit of protecting the user from contracting STDs and AIDs. Both the male and the female condoms are disposable ,can be self- inserted and thereby gives privacy to the user. Diaphragms, cervical caps and vaults are also barriers made of rubber that are inserted into the female reproductive tract to cover the cervix during coitus. They are reusable. Spermicidal creams, jellies and foams are usually used along with these barriers to increase their contraceptive efficiency.

Intra Uterine Devices (IUDs)

These devices are inserted by doctors or expert nurses in the uterus through vagina. These intra Uterine Devices are presently available as non medicated IUDs, copper releasing IUDs and hormone releasing IUDs. The hormone releasing IUDs  make the uterus unsuitable for implantation and the cervix hostile to the sperms. Ideal contraceptive for the females who want to delay pregnancy.

Oral Contraceptives (pills)

Oral administration of small doses of either progestogens or progestogen-estrogen combinations is another contraceptive method used by the females. They are used in the form of tablets and hence are popularly called the Pills. Pills have to be taken daily for a period of 21 days starting preferably within the first five days of menstrual cycle. After a gap of 7 days it had to be repeated in the same pattern till the female desired to prevent conception. They inhibit ovulation and implantation as well as alter the quality of verb Cal mucus to prevent / retard entry of sperms. Pills are very effective with lesser side effects and are well accepted by females. Saheli ,the new oral contraceptive for the female contains a non steroidal preparation. It is a 'once a week' pills with very few side effects and high contraceptive value.

Implants

Progestogens alone or in combinations with estrogen can be also used by females as injections or Implants under skin. Administration of progestogens or progestogen-estrogen combinations or IUDs within 72 hrs of coitus have been found to be very effective as emergency contraceptive as they could be used to avoid possible pregnancy due to rape or casual unprotected intercourse.

Surgical Methods

Also called sterilisation are generally advised for the male / female partner as a terminal method to prevent any more pregnancies. Surgical intervention blocks gamete transport and thereby prevent conception. Sterilisation procedure in the male is called 'Vasectomy' and in the female , 'tubectomy'. In Vasectomy , a small part of the vas deferens is removed or tied up through a small incision in the scrotum where as in tubectomy' , a small part of fallopian tube is removed or tied up through a small incision in the abdomen or through vagina. These techniques are highly effective bit their reversibility is poor.

WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL DAY 2016

 TODAY, June 5 - World environmental day!!The day is celebrated globally to raise global awareness to protect and preserve nature and earth.This is basically run by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).We know that we should conserve our resources which helps us in lessening the impact of human activities on the natural ecosystem.We are well aware that its our prime need to conserve the earth from the present strategy.Most of all, deforesting 364 days and planting trees for the rest one day would never make up the situation..!!
As in every year, this year too have got a theme for environment day--"Join the RACE to make the world a better PLACE". Yes.. this is obviously a race to make up our dying world.The astonishing fact is that even the very common food stuffs are getting extinct from this so called blue planet.
There are some food stuffs that get deprived off due to certain climate changes and other changes in our environment.Honey is one of them.This is because, the temperature changes that occur in the earth decreases the migrating capability of bees and also many of the population died off.This is followed by choclates.The temperature changes and weather approximities are behind the low production of cocoa which makes way for the production problems in choclate industry.Scientists predicts that the choclate production will be significantly diminished by the year 2030..!Environment changes also affect the production of coffee.High temperature and extreme conditions leads to coffee rust and fungus.Depleting water supplies also cause problems.Even the future of seafood is on vague.Global warming lead the temperature of sea to rise suffiiently for the marine species to decline.This would defnitely lead to the decline in sea food.While the depriving of our favourite foods take place, the production of those of no need is increasing!!
         This year, the day also focus on protecting the wild life. "Go Wild for Life and focuss on the fight against illegal wild life traits!!" The theme completely emphasise on the protection of the endangered wild life species from being extinct.Poaching smuggling and illegal trades in wild life are driving various species to the brink of extinction.
Apart from all those themes and varying concerns about the environment for this particular day, we must have a bunch of good moves to protect,preserve and maintain our environment.Its well known that the world we live in is not inherited from our ancestors.But we have borrowed this from the future generation.So, it must be our duty and prevlege to take a step to save our earth and mother nature!!

EYES BEHIND MOVIES!!

From 3D and green screens to iMax and CGI ,the steadycam and digital film,the world of cinema has remained ceaselessly dedicated to technological advances through time. With the proliferation of digital platforms ,tech solutions and computer based discoveries in the fields of special effects and filming ,the innovations that lie ahead are certainly no less thrilling than those of the last 90+ years.

Once ,24 frames per second was an industry standard. But now 48 frames per second are made possible by improving filming technology.The Hobbit' became the first film in the Hollywood history to surpass the standard fps rate.
On movies set across the world,Red One Digital cameras are transforming the filming process by replacing the standard 35mm camera with a smaller ,lighter and thus more portable camera solution,without lessening image quality.Now film makers every where can exercise their craft without being anchored down by heavy equipment.
Virtual backlots now allow actors to appear in far flung destinations ,with the help of digital backgrounds,directors can incorporate scenes from their wildest imaginations without breaking their bank or rewriting their scripts.

Nine different cameras were used to make the movies nominated for BestPicture at the 2015 Academy Awards,of those ,six of them come from a company called ARRI.

The ARRICAM ST  noted for its two magazine mounting configurations. It's a hefty unit but it's a popular choice for blockbuster films.

The ARRIcam LT is roughly half the weight of the studio version ,while still offering same exceptional recording quality. This lighter body was designed to allow more mobile steadycam footage.

ARRI's Alexa brings the high quality associated with their film cameras into the digital age. Alexa manages to replicate organic film look shooting directly onto a 16:9 sensor with upgradable components to allow for a future proof design. The Alexa can shoot 1080p footage and features two HD-SDI outputs that allows metadaa to be streamed from the camera while shooting.

The Alexa XT takes the impressive Alexa camera and then adfs a whole rafy of new features to appeal to professional film maker. It has Super 35 sensor with Open Gate and 4:3 sensor modes,the ability to shoot raw footage at 120fps,a new silent fan and refreshed mounting bracket, and it's also lighter than original Alexa.

Alexa XT Plus has integrated radio and lens motor electronics extra ,which allows filmmakers to control the camera remotely.

The 35mm MovieCam Compact ,was one of three cameras made by the MovieCam that saw great success ,before the company was bought by ARRI.
Cameras greatly influence in film making industry.This is just a small article about modern camera used in film making industry.New and very modern equipments are still out there ,and we can expect more and more cameras with awesome specs in the coming days.

Around U : 4 LCD TV

LCD TV uses Liquid Crystal Display technology for the display.The term Liquid Crystal is referred to a state between Liquid and solid but exhibits the properties of both.Liquid crystals can exist in one of several distinct phases. One such phase is nematic phase. Nematic phase is characterized by molecules that have no positional order but tend to orient in specific direction. This arrangement of molecules enables the mefiumvto flow as a liquid. When a voltage is applied to a liquid crystal, the crystal part turns itself within liquid.

LCD screen

Liquid crystal display works on the principle of blocking light rather than emitting light. LCDs require backlight as they do not emit light by them. LCDs are light modifiers, not producers. This characteristic is responsible for the low power consumption of the LCD .LCD display consists of an array of tiny segments called pixels that can be manipulated to present information. An LCD screen is thus made up of many layers kept together. Among layers there is a filter layer that has red,green and blue filters for each pixel  element. A liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between two transparent glass plates are  kept adjacent to colour filter plate. The plates have transparent contact tobeach pixel element's colour. Finally ,there is a light source , often a fluorescent light.

Working of LCD display

In their normal state ,the Liquid crystals will be flat so that no light can pass through them to the coloured filters. When electrical charges flow through them from the glass plate in front to the glass plate behind them ,it causes crystal elements to rotate onto their edges,allowing the light behind them to pass through the coloured filter in front of them. Amount of electrical charge decides how much crystals rotate and how much light pass through them. This is how the mix of red, green ,and blue is controlled to give us the whole range of light that we see. The combination of coloured light with the gray scale image of the crystal created as electric current flows through the crystal forms the coloured image. This image is then displayed on the screen.

Amritsar’s Town Hall is site of new Partition Museum

The historic Town Hall in Amritsar, a gracious late-19 century building that stood witness to the unrest in the Punjab after the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre and the Partition, will be the site of the new Partition Museum. This was announced in London today by Kishwar Desai, Chair of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust, which has initiated the project and will manage the museum. The museum, Ms Kishwar said, will “raise the veil of silence” that surrounds Partition, an event that saw the displacement of 14 million people, the largest in recorded history. The Museum will be a “space of commemoration and documentation” of the sacrifices made during this mass migration, where “people lost their loved ones and their homes, and were forced to rebuild their lives upon arrival,” she said. Fleeing the mayhem and violence in both countries at the time, the migrants lived in camps and rudimentary shelters till they found alternate accommodation. “The Museum will be a space of memory, healing and reconciliation. It will also memorialise the grit, courage and spirit of that generation,” Ms Kishwar said. The Punjab government has donated one wing of the Town Hall for the project. The museum’s collection of artefacts, art, documents and oral histories will be built through contributions and donations from private and public sources. The British Library, the UK Parliamentary Library, the National Archives, Punjab Archives, Panjab Digital Library, Cambridge University, London School of Economics, Southampton University and Amity University are formally associated with the Partition Museum project. An ongoing exhibition and curtain raiser to the larger project titled Rising From The Dust: Hidden Tales From India's 1947 Refugee Camps is on view at the Visual Arts Gallery in Delhi. It displays some of the art, photographs, artefacts and documents relating to the period.

Paris floods: Seine up to highest level in 35 years, landmarks shut

Paris floods: Seine up to highest level in 35 years, landmarks shut Updated: June 4, 2016 11:36 IST | AP A view of the flooded banks of the river Seine in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris on Friday. Both the Louvre and Orsay museums were closed as the Seine, which officials said was at its highest level in nearly 35 years, was expected to peak sometime later on Friday. | AP French Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay (left) speaks to the media as Louvre Museum head Jean-Luc Martinez (top left) listens as the museum is closed to the public due to the rising Seine River in Paris, France, following days of almost non-stop rain caused flooding in the country, on Friday. | Reuters Visitors read an information sheet about the closing of the Musee de Louvre and tourists being turned away, due to the unusually high water level of the river Seine in Paris on Friday. French officials say that the Seine River is still rising in Paris as France's unseasonable spate of rainfall begins to taper off. | AP The swollen Seine River kept rising on Friday, spilling into Paris streets and forcing one landmark after another to shut down as it surged to its highest levels in nearly 35 years. Across the city, museums, parks and cemeteries shut down as the city braced for evacuations. The Seine was expected to peak in Paris early on Saturday at about 5 meters (16 feet, 3 inches) above normal. Authorities shut the Louvre museum, the national library, the Orsay museum and the Grand Palais, Paris’ striking glass-and-steel topped exhibition centre. “We evaluate the situation for all the (cultural) buildings nearly hour-by-hour,” said Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay, speaking to journalists outside the world-famous Louvre. “We don’t know yet the evolution of the level of the Seine River in Paris,” she said. At the Louvre, home to Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” curators were scrambling to move some 2,50,000 artworks from basement storage areas at risk of flooding to safer areas upstairs. The Louvre will stay closed through Tuesday and the Orsay Museum, known for its impressionist art, closed through the weekend.

Muhammad Ali, 'The Greatest Of All Time', Dies At 74

Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, the most important, complex and polarizing athlete of our time, died Friday night at an Arizona hospital. He was 74. He had suffered for decades from Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder, and was being treated in the hospital in recent days for a respiratory issue. "After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away. . . . The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening," Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman, told NBC News. Ali may not have been the world's greatest athlete, or even the best boxer of all time - though he is certainly in both discussions. What is indisputable, though, is he was the most beautiful athlete we had ever seen, and likely ever will again - beautiful not so much in the common sense of physical attraction, but in the classical sense, the platonic sense. He was beautiful in motion, the way he danced in the ring - the patented Ali Shuffle - as he circled another victim. And he was beautiful in complete stillness, as in the many iconic photographs of him: standing over Sonny Liston in 1965, his arm cocked in rage; leaning on the rope, glistening with sweat, during a break from training; delivering a devastating right hook to Joe Frazier; clowning with the Beatles; mugging for the camera.