ASHES TO ASHES by Andrew Flintoff

The inside story of a national hero and the spectacular impact he has had on the game.In an era of cricketing superstars, 'Freddie' Flintoff outshines the rest. His magnificent spell of fast bowling at Lord's and his electrifying run out of Ricky Ponting at The Oval were major turning points in the recapture of the Ashes by England in 2009. It was victory in the 2005 Ashes series that cemented Flintoff's place in the nation's heart, when his match-winning performances helped England regain the Ashes after eighteen years. In Ashes to Ashes he writes not only of his many highlights but also reveals his feelings of frustration during his periods out of the game through ankle and knee injuries, and the anxiety that has followed the major operations he has had to undergo. For many years, Flintoff has been the spearhead of the English bowling attack. Moreover, with his powerful hitting and his frequent heroic performances he has so often spurred on his colleagues and thrilled his avid fans. Flintoff provides an insider's account of the build-up to the long-awaited 2009 Ashes series in which he played such a vital role. Andrew Flintoff's lively and very personal account of his last four years of Test cricket is both informative and compelling.

Chandrayaan-I finds water on moon

India's maiden moon mission Chandrayaan-I has detected evidence of water across the lunar surface, scientists announced today.Moon Mineralogy Mapper, a NASA instrument onboard Chandrayaan-I, detected wavelengths of reflected light that would indicate a chemical bond between hydrogen and oxygen in materials on the thin layer of upper soil.The Moon Mineralogy Mapper or M3 has confirmed existence of water on moon by analysing the data collected from Chandrayaan-I.The finding ends four-decade long speculation on whether there is water on moon.Scientists first claimed that water existed on moon about 40 years ago after they analysed rock samples brought to earth as souvenirs by Apollo astronauts.But they had doubts about the findings as the boxes in which the moon rocks were brought to earth had leaked contaminating the samples with air from the atmosphere.

Patrick Swayze dies at 57

Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into viewers’ hearts with “Dirty Dancing” and then broke them with “Ghost,” died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months. No other details were given.Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer.He had kept working despite the diagnosis, putting together a memoir with his wife and shooting “The Beast,” an A&E drama series for which he had already made the pilot. It drew a respectable 1.3 million viewers when the 13 episodes ran on the cable television station in 2009, but A&E said it had reluctantly decided not to renew it for a second season.Swayze said he opted not to use painkilling drugs while making “The Beast” because they would have taken the edge off his performance. He acknowledged that time might be running out given the grim nature of the disease.When he first went public with the illness, some reports gave him only weeks to live, but his doctor said his situation was “considerably more optimistic” than that.

Google Fast Flip Bridges Digital and Print Media

Google Labs unveiled an innovative new tool called Fast Flip. At first glance it appears similar to Bing Visual Search which was also unleashed yesterday. However, snazzy interface aside, Fast Flip isn't about eye candy or changing the way users search. Fast Flip is about helping print media adapt to the Internet age.Google has teamed up with 36 publishers for the initial rollout. Users who visit the Fast Flip site are greeted with large thumbnail images of various articles sorted by their source, topic, or current popularity. That initial page seems at least a little like Bing Visual Search, but the similarities end there.

Del Potro stuns Federer to win US Open

Juan Martin del Potro dethroned five-time defending champion Roger Federer 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to capture the US Open on Monday, ending an era to win in his first Grand Slam final.Firing consistent winners, the 1.98m Argentine giant kept the pressure upon the player many hail as the greatest in tennis history, one he had never beaten in six prior attempts, and completed a dramatic upset after four hours and six minutes.The shocker made Del Potro only the second South American to win the US Open men's crown, after countryman Guillermo Vilas in 1977, and denied Swiss world No.1 Federer a 16th career Slam crown.

The Ten Best Movies of 2009

This year has seen the coming up of many new movies which had in its own way transformed the way in which people watch movies. Mostly the viewers tried to get engrossed in movies which has more comedy and fun with some actions films too doin well in this year.
1. This Side of the Truth
2. State of Play
3. Up
4. Nine
5. The Informant
6. Shutter Island
7. The Lovely Bones
8. The Road
9. Watchmen
10. Avatar