Quote Of The Day

QUOTE OF THE DAY

It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
      Theodore Roosevelt
       26 th US President
 

 With love and passion,
 Amreish Siman

Startling Discovery ! The Decreasing Speed Of Light

DANGEROUS “DISCOVERY” 
by Jonathan Gray

Have you heard of the "atomic clock"? The atomic clock measures time by the speed of radioactive decay. And this has given ages of billionsof years for the earth. But has this ever dawned on you? If light was once 10 billion times faster than now, then radioactive decay was faster to the same magnitude. A correction, once made, dates our earth as young! Latest research threatens not just dating, but other accepted theories, as well. Modern physics is now considering a theory that could throw into confusion virtually all of the accepted temporal paradigms of 21st-century science, including the age of the universe and the billions of years necessary for evolution. Further, it raises the distinct possibility that scientific validation exists for a (gasp) literal interpretation of the seminal passages of Genesis. Goodbye Scopes trial. The theory is deceptively simple: The speed of light is not constant, as we've been taught since the early 1930s, but has been steadily slowing since the first instance of time. If true, virtually all aspects of traditional physics are affected, including the presumed steady state of radioactive decay used to measure geological time. It’s an intriguing story – and like many revolutions in science, it begins with observations that just don’t fit currently accepted scientific dogma.

HOW THE DISCOVERY OCCURRED

Early in 1979, an Australian undergraduate student named Barry Setterfield, thought it would be interesting to chart all of the measurements of the speed of light since a Dutch astronomer named Olaf Roemer first measured light speed in the 17th century. Setterfield acquired data on over 163 measurements using 16 different methods over 300 years. The early measurements typically tracked the eclipses of the moons of Jupiter when the planet was near the Earth and compared it with observations when then planet was farther away. These observations were standard, simple and repeatable, and have been measured by astronomers since the invention of the telescope. These are demonstrated to astronomy students even today. The early astronomers kept meticulous notes and sketches, many of which are still available.

STARTLED BY THE DISCOVERY

Setterfield expected to see the recorded speeds grouped around the accepted value for light speed, roughly 299,792 kilometers /second. In simple terms, half of the historic measurements should have been higher and half should be lower. What he found defied belief: The derived light speeds from the early measurements were significantly faster than today. Even more intriguing, the older the observation, the faster the speed of light. A sampling of these values is listed below:
* In 1738: 303,320 +/- 310 km/second
* In 1861: 300,050 +/- 60 km/second
* In 1877: 299,921 +/- 13 km/second
* In 2004: 299,792 km/second (current accepted constant)

Setterfield teamed with statistician Dr. Trevor Norman and demonstrated that, even allowing for the clumsiness of early experiments, and correcting for the multiple lenses of early telescopes and other factors related to technology, the speed of light was discernibly higher 100 years ago, and as much as 7 percent higher in the 1700s. Dr. Norman confirmed that the measurements were statistically significant with a confidence of more than 99 percent. Setterfield and Norman published their results at SRI in July 1987 after extensive peer review. It would be easy to dismiss two relatively unknown researchers if theirs were the only voices in this wilderness and the historic data was the only anomaly. They are not. OTHERS AGREE: LIGHT HAS SLOWED Since the SRI publication in 1987, forefront researchers from Russia, Australia, Great Britain and the United States have published papers in prestigious journals questioning the constancy of the speed of light. During 2002 and 2003, Dr. Joao Magueijo, a physicist at Imperial College in London, Dr. John Barrow of Cambridge, Dr. Andy Albrecht of the University of California at Davis and Dr. John Moffat of the University of Toronto have all published work advocating their belief that light speed was much higher – as much as 10 to the 10th power faster – in the early stages of the "Big Bang" than it is today. (It's important to note that none of these researchers has expressed any bias toward a predetermined answer, biblical or otherwise. If anything, they are antagonistic toward a biblical world-view.) Dr. Magueijo believes that light speed was faster only in the instants following the beginning of time. Dr. Barrow, Barry Setterfield and others believe that light speed has been declining from the beginning of time to the historic near past.

THE REAL ISSUE

Dr. Magueijo has stated that the debate should not be whyand how the speed of light could vary, but what combination of irrefutable theories demands that it be constant at all. Setterfield now believes there are at least four other major observed anomalies consistent with a slowing speed of light: 1. quantized red-shift observations from other galaxies, 2. measured changes in atomic masses over time, 3. measured changes in Planck's Constant over time, 4. and differences between time as measured by the atomic clock, and time as measured by the orbits of the planets in our solar system. Perhaps the most interesting of these is the quantized red-shift data. The red shift refers to observations by astronomers of the light emitted by galaxies. Early astronomers noticed that galaxies considered to be most distant from the earth had light spectra shifted toward the red end of the spectrum. In 1929 astronomer Edwin Hubble compared the galaxies' spectra with their presumed distances (calculated using different methods), and showed that the amount of "red shift" was proportional to the calculated distance from Earth. Hubble and others postulated that the "red shift" was caused by the velocity of the galaxies as they receded from Earth and from each other – the farther away the galaxy, the faster the velocity, the more the observed Doppler red shift. Galaxies whose observed light is seen as shifted into the far red are considered to be moving at amazingly high speeds away from us. Hubble’s theory of the expanding universe demands an even distribution of red-shift data. Dr. William Tifft, now retired from the University of Arizona, measured and recorded red-shift data for over 20 years. Dr. Tifft found that the red-shift data were not random at all, but grouped into quantum bands. Quantum red-shift data simply does not fit in the comfortable world of classical physics. Where it does fit, like it was made for it, is in the Setterfield Hypothesis. According to Setterfield and others, declining light speeds would cause changes in the quantum states of atomic structure within these galaxies, leading to quantum shifts in the light emitted – precisely what Dr. Tifft and others detected. Setterfield believes that the speed of light was initially about 10 to the 10th power faster than it is today. After the creation of the universe, light speed declined following a curve approximating the curve of the cosecant squared. He believes that light speed reached a point where it is asymptotic since the mid 1960s. Though reasonably constant, he believes the speed still varies in waves – sometimes higher and sometimes lower than the accepted standard. Intriguingly, recent observations of the signals received from the aging satellites Galileo, Ulysses and Pioneer are also in the category of speed of light anomalies. An unexplained Doppler frequency shift has been detected from all of these satellites, even though the satellites' distances from the Earth are only about 20 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun – way too close for a traditional Doppler shift to occur in the electromagnetic spectrum. NASA scientists have attempted with little success to attribute the anomalies to an unknown acceleration. Setterfield suggests that equally plausible explanations are variations in c.

RESISTANCE FROM SCIENTIFIC “ELITE”

It’s important to recognize the resistance that the current hierarchy of science has to the possibility that light speed may not be constant. Dr. Joao Magueijo was forced to wait for over a year between submission of his initial work on varying light speed and publication. Setterfield, Dr. Tifft, Dr. Paul Davis, Dr. John Barrow and others have been subjected to peer review which borders on ridicule. Dr. Tifft's discussion of red-shift anomalies was published with seeming reluctance in the Astrophysical Journal in the mid 1980s with a rare editorial note pointing out that the referees "neither could find obvious errors with the analysis nor felt that they could enthusiastically endorse publication." After Dr. Tifft's initial publication, several astronomers devised extensive experiments in attempts to prove him wrong. Among them, two Scottish astronomers, Bruce Gutherie and William Napier from the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, observed approximately 300 galaxies in the mid 1990s. They found to their surprise confirmation of quantum banding of red-shift data. They also had difficulty publishing their data. It has been reported that the prestigious Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics refused publication until an additional set of observations from 97 other spiral galaxies was included. A Fourier analysis of the 302 early data points, and the subsequent total of 399 data points strongly confirmed the quantum shifts. Despite this – and additional observations by Bell in 2003 – many scientists are still reluctant to give up on the theory that red shifts are solely caused by Doppler shifts. And have continued to claim that the red-shift quanta results by Tifft and others are due to sloppy research or insufficient data. It's intriguing to note that the first measurement of light speed by Olaf Roemer in the late 17th century was an attempt to disprove the Aristotelian belief that light speed was infinite. Despite overwhelming and repeatable evidence, over 50 years passed before the scientific hierarchy of the time accepted evidence which, in retrospect was clear, compelling and unimpeachable. The point is this. When something is proved to be true beyond reasonable doubt, do not expect the scientific world to automatically accept it. History shows they will continue to stubbornly resist. Did you know that even after modern explorers proved the earth to be round, a flat earth continued to be taught in the schools of Europe for the next 200 years! Why am I doing this now? Because of the tremendous benefit you will derive from the discovery of what our planet really was like in the days of our earliest ancestors. It is not what you may think. I just don't want you to miss out on such a shattering discovery.

May the Force be with us !!

With love and passion,

Amreish Siman

My Theory On The Decreasing Speed Of Light

A sudden intuition hit me as i came across an interesting article by Jonathan Gray on the recent findings by scientists around the world that the speed of light is found to be significantly decreasing over the years since it was first measured by Olaf Roamer in the 17th century( for full article,pls visit ( http://mindsparkenigma.blogspot.com/2010/06/startling-discovery-decreasing-speed-of.html).By having a keen interest in science,especially in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics,i read on enthusiatically startled by the findings.Also over the last recent years,i've began to explore spirituality and did plenty of soul-searching and it lead me to many sources of spiritual knowledge from various spiritual masters which transformed and moulded the way i look at life completely,for the better of course.And ever since till now,whenever i come across any piece of information of any findings,events,news and by active observation of people and my surroundings,i've developed an uncanny ability to view all data input from a spiritual point of view and slip into long hours of contemplation and analysis which resulted in astounding surge of universal knowledge which have gifted me great level of awareness and sensitivity to view the world we live in a distinctive manner.Simply put,i see the big picture,thanks to the Divine intervention.Now,what has my micro 'enlightenment' has got to do with the decreasing of the speed of light?I've mentioned that i've came across various forms of spiritual knowledge in the recent years,and one source in particular contained extensive and detailed explanation about the concept of spirituality,and assessed it thoroughly with a remarkable amount of R & D with an universal approach without sidelining any spiritual organization or master.According to them,our universe consists of 3 basic elements,these are subtle elements.The gross or physical elements that we can see,feel and touch are the five we all know - air,water,fire,land and sky,which make up the physical world,so we may think but the 'world' we came to know is just a tiny fraction of the universe.There are millions of subtle worlds right now,right here in front of us which we can't see except a fraction of the population who are gifted with the SIXTH SENSE,which i call divine intuition or extra sensory perception( for detailed info,visit http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/articles/id/spiritualresearch/spiritualscience/sixthsense)These gifted elite group are able to see things most of us,including me can't.A large group of this select few belong to this foundation called SSRF( Spiritual Science Research Foundation) which is the source i'm talking about.The three subtle elements are :-

RAJA - Action and passion.(a person who consists majority of this element is Rajasik)

TAMA - Ignorance. ( a person who consists majority of this element is Tamasik)

SATTVA - Purity and knowledge - a person who consists majority of this element is Sattvik)(http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/articles/id/spiritualresearch/happiness/benefitsofspiritualpractice/personalitydevelopment_trigunas_d

According to Hinduism,the universe has three stages of existence,CREATION,SUSTENANCE and DESTRUCTION we are living in the era of KALIYUGA,the fourth and final era of the SUSTENANCE stage,in other words,we are living in a world which is on the brink of Doomsday.As per their research,the earlier eras of SATYAYUGA,TRETAYUGA and DWAPARYUGA consisted more of Sattva element,Satyayuga being the most and gradually decreasing as the eras passed where now in Kaliyuga,the predominant element is Raja and Tama,meaning the world we live in now is far less sattvik than it was once,and that simply translates to pollution and impurity,in the spiritual sense.

Now,my theory of what could possibly decrease the speed of light is this - Since the predominant subtle elements of today's world is Raja and Tama,which is are largely negative,and Sattva being the divine subtle element,my mindspark of the day said its because the steadily decreasing element of Sattva as years pass on,light which is a pure divine energy is proportionately slowed down as the universe is now densely made up of Raja and Tama,hence the results of the findings by scientists.

But western scientists do not take this into account because its not verifiable by modern physical science because there is simply no equipment to measure these subtle elements,it can only be felt by the elite group with advanced sixth sense.They will continue to debate and conduct experiments after experiments and tons of research only to reach a dead end unless they adapt an unorthodox,or shall i say re-evaluate their beliefs accepting Divine Intervention and Will as part of their research which is highly questionable.The only way to look at it,being a firm believer of the spiritual and metaphysical realities of the universe,is by adapting a more refined spiritual approach towards life,which i myself haven't even really begun in the REAL sense.

But i constantly live in gratitude and thank God every possible moment for every experience in every sense maintaining a positive outlook in life because i realised we are spiritual beings here on Earth for a temporary human experience,not human beings on Earth for a temporary spiritual experience ;)

May the blessings be !

With love and passion,

Amreish Siman

Review : Raavanan

Film : Raavanan (2010)

Director : Manirathnam

Studio : Madras Talkies

Writers : Manirathnam,Suhasini

Music : AR Rahman

Cinematography : Santhosh Sivan,Manikandan

Cast : Vikram,Aishwarya Rai,Prabhu,Karthik,Prithviraaj,Priyamani,Munna,John Vijay

Tamil 127 mins

I have never reviewed director Manirathnam's films before but i've watched almost all of his films and needless to say,he and his films are in their league of their own.Noted for their offbeat storyline,superb performances,mouthful screenplays,to-die for cinematography and beautiful music,heck,the recipe is more than complete! What else is needed to make a great film? My favourites are Mouna Ragam,Alaipayuthey,Iruvar,Nayagan & Thalapathi.Who doesn't like his films anyway?Now,Raavanan,being his second film to be inspired from a Hindu epic,with Thalapathi being the first loosely based on Mahabaratha,this effort of his is more directly adapted since the title itself says it all.I shall write this review from a point of view of both a film enthusiast and an aspiring filmaker myself.

The Review :-
The maestro successfully adapted yet another epic and played it well in contemporary setting.What i love most about this film is the lush and jaw-dropping cinematography by Santhosh Sivan( Roja,Iruvar).He managed to capture and deliver the feel of the movie - wet,green,cold,exotic,raw and ethereally beautiful with crisp perfection,my God,if u reaaly lose yourself in the film,i bet you can smell the rain,shiver in cold like Ragini (Aishwarya Rai) and feel the sense of liberation felt by Raavanan(Vikram),all this even without watching3D,probably u'd catch a cold if watched it in 3D ! Like all his previous films since Roja(1992),the now Oscar Nayagan A.R Rahman delivers the sound to compliment the sight,and as usual,the man can do no wrong.Beautiful music accompanies the film like Samwise Gamgee did for Frodo Baggins,so spot on it blends magnificently,the songs transitions are never unnecessary,it flows with the story just like his previous films - Veera ,Usure Poguthey,Kaattu Sirikki are just awesome.Now,the performances,with a cast like this,the director who fails to milk the best out them,deserved to be shot to death !Not Maniratham,the guy's a perfectionist,hence those who sign up for his films are well aware of this and they deliver,so did the cast here.I realised something interesting here,the characters here are tailor-made for the actors playing them because almost all of them have played almost similar characters before.Check this out - Vikram as Raavanan is a blend of his Pithamagan,Sethu & Bheema
- the mannerisms,body language,body,facial features,diction gives a feeling of deja-vu and u'd be thinking nobody else could've done the role but Chiyaan himself !Sita,reputedly the most beautiful woman who ever walked the face of Earth,is played by Aishwarya Rai,again to such perfection which surely will get her nominated for an award - strong willed,brave,sensitive and goddess like beauty with glowing skin and captivating eyes packaged in a full and sensuous body,who else but Mrs.Abhishek?Beauty alone is not sufficient,Maniratham picked her because of her performances in Kandukondein Kandukondein and Bride & Prejudice.Watch those two films if u haven't and judge.Prithviraaj,tall,handsome,determined with sharp eyes and a calm,commanding voice is a good fit for Rama.He has played this character before people,in Satham Podathey - husband in determined pursuit for his kidnapped wife and wins with his sharp intelligence and relentless effort only here he adapts a  no-nonsense,much more serious toned character with a shade of darkness in him without the moustache !Bingo,u've got ur Rama and it worked !For the supporting roles,its a good blend of old and new faces.First up is Karthik,yes good 'ol Karthik,one of Manirathnam's earliest heroes,those days in Mouna Ragam(1986) and Agni Nakshathiram ( 1988).He's back here playing a loosely based character of Hanuman,a forest officer,how apt eh Mr.Maniratham??How do u adapt such a grand,larger than life,powerful and commanding character into modern setting?By making him a drunkard,tree-hopping,hapless forest officer?What the heck?But Mani being Mani,he must have his reasons i guess but why Karthik for the role?Because he can play comedic roles with perfect comic timing and funny dialogue delivery energeticly like his Mouna Ragam and Ullam Kollai Poguthey characters.And he plays it to perfection!Excellent choice.Prabhu,our fat,jovial and hearty son of Sivaji is playing a fat,lovable,hearty Singarasan,brother of Raavanan,a hint of Kumbakarnan.Why him?Because he can play it,think an old Chinnathamby cooking,eating and playing around but is violent and u have it !The younger brother role,played by new actor Munna,who i suppose is Vibhisana,is a good fit too.Priyamani,who plays the younger step-sister to Raavanan,Vennila is an obvious choice,who can can play a deep-voiced,brave sister role to bandit brothers?The tough girl from Paruthi Veeran can,and there u have it,brutally gang-raped and dies in the end,just like Muthazhagi.

So,what i'm saying is the master knows to play his cards well.He just knows who to pick to play his characters,who to hire to translate his story to visuals,who to rely on to bring life through sound for the visuals and his good ol'self to put the pieces together for a beautiful contemporary love epic with familiar but complex characters interwoven with great music and eye-candy cinematography.

Personally i'm both happy and disappointed,happy to see Aishwarya Rai delivering the Tamil dialogues herself,happy to see both veteran Karthik and Prabhu together again after 22 years since Agni Natchathiram,happy that Manirathnam adapted the story frm Ramayana,happy that so much painstaking effort is put by a lot of people to realise a project of a genuine maestro and happy that my dream to be a filmaker is constantly reinforced by the fact that they are filmakers and films that are worthy to be adored and admired by the world and i am fortunate enough to have such a dream in the first place which makes my life worthy.And i'm damn happy that Manirathnam didn't do a direct page-to page adaptation of Ramayana,thank God for that because.....you'll know one day :)

Disappointments are few..the film could've explored  Raavanan's complex ten-headed clockwork better,it should have been one of the film's main plot and the characters of Rama and Hanuman could've been better written.Lastly,the screenplay is slightly disappointing at some points.Other than that,its yet another glorious feather in Manirathnam,AR Rahman,Vikram,Aishu and everyone else's cap.Hats off for the entire team !! 

By the way,this is not the last adaption of Ramayana u'll get to see in your lifetime...the real live-action adaption is on the way....and its gonna take the world in a storm!! Patience is virtue,people :)

Reviewed by Amreish Siman