Heigru Hidongba festival celebrated in Manipur

Imphal, Sep.17 : "Move onward with the Lord within your heart and with the footprints of your ancestors in your eyes' is the greatest moral teaching from Heigru Hidongba ceremony held every year in Manipur.

Heigru Hidongba, a socio-religious ceremony, to exhibit the firm devotion of the descendants of the Great Grand Mantri Anandashai of Lord Bejoy Govindajee was recently held in Imphal.

Devotees brought offerings of Heigru (Amla) fruit to the almighty on the 11th day of Langban Manipuri month which coincides with September to bring prosperity to the community.

During this festival a special boat race 'Hiyang Tanaba' is held in the sacred Thangapat Moat of Sagolband, Bejoy Govinda in Imphal amidst singing of devotional songs and a lot of clamour.

It attracted a huge number of spectators on this occasion. "We have organized the ceremony so that we can come and pray together so that the ills of the society will be removed and also for peace to be restored in our land that is filled with violence. In other places, it is celebrated anytime as a festival but we celebrate it as it is our custom," said Boshana, organiser of the Heigru Hidongba festival.

"This is the 231st Heigru Hidongba Festival. The main theme of the festival is about preserving the age old traditional beliefs and customs of our culture," said Magochandra, a local resident.

Devotees converged at the Bijoygobinda Moat at Sagoband to witness the ceremony symbolising the unity, which was once deeply rooted amongst the Manipuris' ancestors and for their struggle for peace and freedom.

Devotees, today, believe that the ceremony brings prosperity to the State and overcomes ills of the society.
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What College Students Don't Know

students on the UCLA campus

Every Fall the professors at beloit college publish their Mindset List, a dictionary of all the deeply ingrained cultural references that will make no sense to the bright-eyed students of the incoming class. It's a kind of time travel, to remind us how far we've come. This year's freshmen were typically born in 1991. That means, the authors explain, they have never used a card catalog to find a book; salsa has always outsold ketchup; women have always outnumbered men in college. There has always been blue Jell-O.

In 1991 we were fighting a war in Iraq, and still are; health care needed reforming, and still does. But before despairing that some things never change, consider how much has. In 1991 the world watched a black motorist named Rodney King be beaten by L.A. cops, all of whom were acquitted; a majority of whites still disapproved of interracial marriage. Ask yourself, Would the people we were then have voted for a mixed-race President and a black First Lady?

That year, apartheid was repealed, the Soviet Union collapsed, the Dow broke 3000. The next year, the first commercial text message was sent; now there are more transmitted every day than there are people on the planet. In the time it took for toddlers to turn into teenagers, we decoded the human genome and everyone got a cell phone, an iPod, a GPS and a DVR. As the head-spinning viral video "Did You Know" informs us, the top 10 jobs in demand in 2010 did not exist six years ago, so "we're preparing kids for jobs that don't yet exist using technologies we haven't yet invented."

We have managed, rather gracefully, far more change than we predicted would come; it turns out that our past's vision of the future was not visionary enough. This is often the case: reality puts prophecy to shame. "Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote," declared Grover Cleveland in 1905. Harry Truman, in his 1950 State of the Union address to mark the midcentury, predicted that "our total national production 50 years from now will be four times as much as it is today." It turned out to be more than 33 times as large. "It will be gone by June," promised Variety in 1955--talking about rock 'n' roll. "It will be years--not in my time--before a woman will become Prime Minister," declared Margaret Thatcher in 1969.

Leaders rely on the future as a vaccine against the present. The Soviets have put a man in space? "I believe we should go to the moon," President Kennedy announces. "I have a dream," the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. declares as the world around him burns. Maybe the promise is realized, even surpassed; maybe it keeps receding, pulling us along. "The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time," Abraham Lincoln supposedly observed. Which is true for those in charge of creating it but maybe not for the rest of us. When we pause and look back, we get to see the past's future, know how the story turned out. Did we rise to the occasion? Did we triumph? Did we blink?

The past's power comes from experience, the lessons it dares us to dismiss on the grounds that maybe things will be different this time. The future's power is born of experiment, and the endless grudge match between fear and hope. We are having a dozen simultaneous conversations right now about change: in our institutions, our culture, our treatment of the planet and of one another.

It's tempting to just stand stock-still and squeeze your eyes shut and wait for the moment to pass, or else hoard canned goods and assume the worst. This has been an awfully ugly summer of argument, and you'd be forgiven for concluding that we've lost our will to face or fix anything. We'll just dance with the devils we know, thank you. But if you look past Washington, past Wall Street, turn down the volume and go outside and walk around, you'll find the parcels of grace, of ingenuity and enterprise--people riding change like a skateboard, speeding off a ramp, twisting, flipping, somehow landing with a rush of wind and wheels--and wonder that it somehow hasn't killed us yet.

When members of the freshman class of 2027 look back at our future, what's likely to surprise them most? Will they marvel that gays were once not allowed to marry--or that they ever were? That we waited while the planet warmed, or that we acted to save it? That we protected the poor, or empowered them, or ignored them? That we lived within our means, or beyond them? We'll make our choices one day at a time, but our kids will judge our generation for what we generate, and what we leave undone.
READ MORE - What College Students Don't Know

Woman died while hunting Ghost!

In a bizarre incident, a woman died in Toronto while hunting for ghosts in a 134-year-old building that is said to be haunted. According to police sources, the 29-year-old woman fell three storeys to her death Friday morning at a building not far from the city centre while she and a man were hunting for ghosts. She fell while trying to jump from one level to another level in the building in the wee hours.

Nine years ago, 50-year-old artist and professor David Buller was stabbed to death in his studio in the building. Buller, who was an arts professor at the University of Toronto, was repeatedly stabbed Jan 19, 2001 in his second-floor studio in this Gothic building.

Ghost hunting is very common among thrill seekers in North America. In fact, the Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society, which is dedicated to investigating paranormal activities, has listed dozens of buildings in Toronto city which are haunted.

Commenting on the death of the woman, the society saidi in its blog: “Although we’d heard stories about (the building at) 1 Spadina Crescent, they are mostly about a ‘curse’…apparently, the building is considered ‘bad luck’ to departments housed there… but this is rumour and is not ‘ghostly’ related.

“Again, we cannot stress that our thoughts and prayers are with the woman’s friends and family during this sad time, and again, there is no reason for anyone at any time to trespass, break any laws, or put their safety or the safety of others at risk in pursuit of looking into ghostly lore and legend.”
READ MORE - Woman died while hunting Ghost!

'Thanks for coming to my husband's book launch... sorry he's not here!,'says Nigella as she attends by herself

Charles Saatchi launched his new book last night at his own huge gallery in London's King's Road.
So it might have been reasonable to expect that he would come along and discuss his creation with the assembled audience.
But it was not to be. The art tycoon stayed away and left it to his wife, Nigella Lawson to explain the merits of his book to the guests, who included Vanessa Feltz, Jane Asher and Graham Norton.
Nigella Lawson
A cracking read: at least that's what the author's wife thinks. Nigella poses with her husband Charles Saatchi's latest written work
Before feeling sorry for Nigella, it's worth remembering that this was probably not a surprise to her.
After all, this isn't the first time Nigella has been left to front a Saatchi opening all on her own.
Back in 2003, before they were married, she was put in a similar position when
Charles decided not to attend the opening of the spectacular Saatchi Gallery in Central London's historic County Hall building.
  Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson
Stand by your man - even if he can't be bothered to be there himself. Nigella took the stage to conduct a question and answer session in her husband's absence
A picture of loyalty, Nigella coped admirably with the situation.
She conducted a question-and-answer session about the book, which contains reminiscences from the art collector's career as well as Saatchi's views on a range of subjects.
Despite the fact that the writer of the book being launched wasn't around, the guests, including Richard E Grant and Linda Barker, seemed to be enjoy themselves.
Linda Barker, Nigella Lawson and Vanessa Feltz
Pressing the flesh: Nigella coped admirably as she made small talk with interior designer Linda Barker and talk radio host Vanessa Feltz
Anyone concerned that Saatchi's absence was an act of monumental arrogance should think again, according to Nigella.
According to the TV cookery star, the reason behind his no-show was actually his humble dislike of 'standing around talking about himself.'
Others may not share this charitable view, although it was hard to disagree with her logic when she claimed: 'He never comes to anyone else's launches so he wasn't going to come to his own.'
READ MORE - 'Thanks for coming to my husband's book launch... sorry he's not here!,'says Nigella as she attends by herself

Kate Moss storms out of GQ Awards in four-letter fury after host's risqué joke backfires

It was meant to be harmless, but a cheeky joke from the presenter at an awards ceremony last night led to Kate Moss throwing one almighty tantrum.
The supermodel stormed out of the GQ Awards in true diva style after host James Nesbitt cheekily implied to the audience he'd had intimate relations with her.
Minutes later she was seem flouncing out of the backstage interview room and barging past Lily Allen, uttering: 'He’s so****ing rude,' before adding that she would ‘never come to one of these ****ing award ceremonies again'.

Scroll down to see an exclusive video of Kate...

Kate Moss
Heading for the exit: Kate stormed past her embarrassed-looking friend Lily Allen as she stormed out of the GQ Awards last night
Lily Allen
Alone: Lily was left cringing after Kate's dramatic exit who was angered by a joke by host James Nesbitt who implied he'd had intimate relations with her
Unfortunately for the 35-year-old her exit was caught on camera by a television crew who were filming rap star Dizzee Rascal and Lily at the time.

Lily, who Kate had earlier presented the Woman of the Year trophy to, could only manage a nervous giggle as her friend headed for the exit.

 
An irate Moss was then seen re-emerging and demanding someone find her lip-stick which she had mislaid in her temper.
Lily Allen with her Woman of the Year award and Kate Moss (right) at the 2009 GQ Men of the Year Awards
Gritted teeth: Kate looked like she'd rather be elsewhere as she stood behind her friend Lily clutching her Woman of the Year gong at the GQ Awards last night
James Nesbitt
Controversial: James Nesbitt offended Kate with his quip to the crowd

Kate Moss
Blemishes: Kate's skin was showing the strain of her partying lifestyle

The dramatic scenes were sparked after Kate and Lily left the stage and Nesbitt then told the audience: 'Kate Moss has still got it. Well, she should do, I gave it to her just before she came on stage.'
After some muted laughter from the awards show guests, he added: 'What? I'm talking about my telephone number.'
As she left London's Royal Opera House, she was pictured being bundled into a taxi, propped up by rocker boyfriend Jamie Hince.
After staring the day with lunch at Claridge's in Mayfair, she was unable to hide her spotty skin as she made her getaway last night, which was showing the strain of what had been a long day for the notorious hard-partying model.
It paved the way for what turned out to be an embarrassing night, which saw her launch herself into an impromptu pole-dance at the back of the Royal Opera House after arriving late for the event.
Enlarge   Kate Moss
Time for bed? Kate arrives back at Claridge's hotel after the event
As she wrapped her slender figure around a column at the venue, she danced to the music and slipped off her black satin jacket, which caught on her wrist and dragged on the floor.
While doing her routine her dress rode up and she narrowly avoided flashing her underwear.
When she joined Lily in the winner's room to celebrate the singer picking up the Woman of the Year trophy, she looked like she would rather be elsewhere.
Clearly having sat though 20 winners collecting their awards and making their acceptance speeches had proved rather tiresome for the mother-of-one.
Earlier she admitted 'being terrible at these things' before presenting Lily with her award on stage.
As Lily smiled for photographers clutching her trophy, Kate leaned on the backdrop and let her head roll back.
Lily's composed display came in stark contrast to last year's GQ Awards when the star had a drunken on-stage row with Elton John as the pair hosted the ceremony.
She told him to 'f*** off' after he commented that she had been drinking a lot, before he quipped back that he could 'snort' her 'under the table'.
Last night was a different affair, however, and Lily, dressed in a black sheer dress, left the bad behaviour to Kate.
Kate Moss and Jamie Hince spotted at the 2009 GQ Men Of The Year Awards at The Royal Opera House
Rushing in: Kate and boyfriend Jamie Hince hurry into the Royal Opera House
Later on at the awards ceremony, Kate mingled with Hollywood hellraiser Mickey Rourke, who attended with his new girlfriend Elena.
She also interrupted Dizzee Rascal being interviewed in a stairwell of the venue as she ran around trying to find her lipstick before making her hasty exit back to Claridge's.
Lily and Kate struck up a friendship earlier this year and have been spending increasing amounts of time together.
Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Private dancer: Kate cavorts around a column in the Royal Opera House as she watches the GQ Men of the Year Awards
Kate Moss
Strike a pose: The Croydon model tries to take off her jacket
Last month, they were spotted holidaying together on a yacht off the coast of the south of France.
Kate, who has made no secret of her wish for a rock career, has been supportive of Lily's new album and attended several of her gigs in the capital.
In March, the pair both attended the Chanel fashion show together - the French fashion house which both have modelled for.
Mickey Rourke and Kate Moss
Mingling: Kate talks to Hollywood lothario Mickey Rourke
In 2007, the pair were rumoured to be embarked in a feud over their respective clothing ranges.
While Kate is preparing to release her ninth collection for TopShop, Lily designed just one for rival high street store New Look, which failed to match Kate's impressive sales.
However, Lily later insisted she had nothing but praise for the model after she rescued her from bullies at the Glastonbury Festival several years ago.
Kate Moss
Rushing out: Jamie bundles Kate into a waiting car after her sulky exit

Kate Moss
Cover-up: Is Jamie trying to hide Kate's blemishes or her blushes?
Lily said: 'These girls were beating me up and she was the only person who stood in and said 'leave her alone you're being bullies.
'They stabbed me in the ear with a beer can and cut my ear open, I also had two black eyes - it was a bit of a nightmare.'
Kate wasn't the only model at last night's ceremony: also in attendance were Daisy Lowe and Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley.
Kate Moss
Starting early: Kate Moss seen yesterday afternoon going for lunch at Claridge's

 

READ MORE - Kate Moss storms out of GQ Awards in four-letter fury after host's risqué joke backfires

X Factor judges floored by the Welsh Whitney..

She arrived at the X Factor audition determined to deliver the performance of her life.
But even 18-year-old Lucie Jones couldn't have predicted just how successful her appearance before judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue would be.
Hailing from a small village outside Cardiff, where this week's auditions were held, Lucie told the panel: 'The X Factor is my ticket out of here. Out of the little village on top of a hill, with all the sheep.'


Lucie performs on The X Factor
Born to sing: Lucie Jones performed Whitney Houston's notoriously difficult I Will Always Love You, leaving even Simon Cowell mesmerised
But things looked ominous when she announced she was going to perform the notoriously hard to sing Whitney Houston song I Will Always Love You.
'Are you sure you want to do that song?' a clearly unconvinced Simon asked.

But Lucie forged ahead and long before she had finished singing, Simon was beaming from ear-to-ear - as were all four judges.
The audience in the auditorium gave her a standing ovation.
Lucie performs on The X Factor
'Vulnerability': The 18-year-old had a cheering section made up of residents from her small Welsh village
Lucie performs on The X Factor
Lucie performs on The X Factor
Over the moon: Lucie was ecstatic by the judges' response
A clearly moved Cheryl then told the teenager: 'I actually loved the vulnerability in your performance because it makes me think you don't realise how amazing you are.
'I think you can sing anything.'
An excited Louis added: 'Some people were born to sing. You were born to sing.
'Everything is going to change for you from this day on.'
Even Simon was uncharacteristically gushing - by his standards, at least.
He said: 'Lucie, this is why we came to Wales. [That was] one of the hardest songs in the world to sing. I like you.'
Lucie told the judges: 'This is my dream. I've never wanted to do anything else. I'm now one step closer.'
Cheryl, Simon, Louis and Dannii then all voted her through to the next round with a unanimous chorus of 'Yes'.

Cheryl Cole hugs Lucie backstage
Cheryl was so impressed she came backstage to give Lucie a hug (above), while the teenager nervously waited with her parents before the audition (below)
Lucie sits with her parents before the audition

But Lucie's adventures weren't over yet - Cheryl was so moved she popped backstage to give her a hug.
And she wasn't the only teen to impress the judges - schoolboy Lloyd Daniels from South Wales shone with an acapella version of R Kelly's Turn Back The Hands Of Time.
The petrified 16-year-old nearly blew his chance though when he first nervously launched into an accompanied rendition of the Jason Mraz song I'm Yours and hit a few bum notes.
Clearly spotting that talent lurked beneath his extreme anxiousness, Cheryl asked Lloyd to stop singing and then Simon asked him to sing acapella which was when his magic shone through.
Schoolboy Lloyd performs
Anxious: Schoolboy Lloyd Daniels has been dubbed the new X Factor heartthrob
Not everybody impressed though.
Dawn Thomas, a customer services worker, delivered such a toe-curling performance that Simon told her: 'I think every dog in Cardiff has just turned up outside the theatre.'
Elsewhere, pop duo Combined Effort - Jack and Kirsty - admitted that despite being engaged, they had split up just three days before the audition.
They explained that the relationship was called off after a series of rows about things like the washing up and going out.
Following their dreadful performance of Starship hit Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, Cheryl told Jack: 'I think that she still likes you.'
Simon then encouraged him to ask her back out before the pair publicly reconciled.
The girls from Project A perform Lady GaGa's Let's Dance
Sexy: The girls from Project A performed Lady GaGa's Let's Dance

Other highlights of the Cardiff auditions included girlband Project A made up of Laura, Lucy, Amy and Lauren who are cheerleaders for a rugby team.
They performed Lady GaGa's Let's Dance, and wanted their rendition to appeal to everyone including mothers, but especially 'lads'.
Meanwhile, full-time mother Ashanti was supported by her children as she anxiously waited to perform Mary J Blige's I'm Goin' Down.
She needn't have worried though as the judges unanimously voted her through.

Mother Ashanti performs
Full-time mother Ashanti's biggest fans are her children. The judges voted her through to the next round
Next up was young rugby fan Daniel, who said singing is more important to him than sport, before performing Let It Be by the Beatles.

Judges also saw French waiter Fouad, who hoped to emulate Mariah Carey's success - but they could barely recognise his version of her hit Vision Of Love.
He then sang Hero, prompting the audience to stand up and join in and the judges to laugh.
Another wannabe with lofty expectations, Allan's high-pitched voice left the judges cringing.
He launched into a bizarre version of Billy Ocean's When The Going Gets Tough to roars of laughter from the audience.

Allan performs
Daniel pumps the air after his rendition of Let It Be by the Beatles
Allan (left) didn't have what it takes to get through the auditions, while Daniel (right) received the thumbs up with a strong rendition of The Beatles' Let It Be
X Factor contestants Combined Effort
Pop duo with the ex-factor: Despite ending their relationship three days before the auditions, Kirsty and Jack took to the stage as Combined Effort

X Factor contestants Combined Effort
Still in love: Kirsty and Jack embraced after Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell encouraged them to get back together
READ MORE - X Factor judges floored by the Welsh Whitney..

Police baffled as dozens of 'suicidal' cows throw themselves off cliff in the Alps

In the picturesque Swiss village of Lauterbrunnen, the locals are worried.

Dozens of alpine cows appear to be committing suicide by throwing themselves off a cliff near the small village in the Alps.

In the space of just three days, 28 cows and bulls have mysteriously died after they plunged hundreds of metres to rocks below where they were killed instantly.
Dozens of cows bodies litter the valley floor after they mysteriously fell from the alpine cliff many feet above
Swiss mystery: Dozens of cows' bodies litter the valley floor after they mysteriously fell from the alpine cliff many feet above

In each case, local mountain rescue services using a helicopter had to be called in to remove the bodies because of the danger to the local groundwater of pollution.
A police spokesman said: 'There are no large carnivores living in the Alps anymore who would once have disposed of the bodies so they have to be moved.

'We are investigating because cows growing up in the mountains normally can estimate dangers and do not plunge down cliffs.'
According to local reports, there had been violent thunderstorms in the area which may well have spooked the animals.
Cows wandering at high altitude are a common sight across much of the Alps, where farmers let them loose to graze on the green plateaus above the villages.
ows Grazing in Lauterbrunnen
Lauterbrunnen valley
Cows graze in the picturesque mountains and valleys of Lauterbrunnen, right
Often carrying large bells around their necks, most are dairy cows as the mix of vegetation and grasses at that high altitude are particularly good for milk and for making cheese.
Cows do occasionally fall to their deaths in these Alpine regions although it is rare for so many to fall in one particular place.
There has been speculation in the past that when this does happen it is because a tightly-grouped number have followed each other as they search for more grass.
Most scientists generally believe that animals are incapable of committing suicide.
Even lemmings, which by popular myth throw themselves off cliffs during mating season, do not take their own lives intentionally.
Instead, evolutionary pressures cause them to feel the urge to change habitat at which point they migrate in huge droves.
Sometimes, particularly in Scandinavia, they reach clifftops overlooking an ocean and, driven by the urge to cross a body of water, throw themselves off in order to swim to the other side.
They often die of exhaustion or drown as a result.
The myth came to the public's attention when a Disney wildlife film in the 1950s mocked up the lemming migration to make it look like the animals had committed suicide.
READ MORE - Police baffled as dozens of 'suicidal' cows throw themselves off cliff in the Alps

Fire near Los Angeles grows in size

Smoke from the Station Fire rises over downtown Los Angeles Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Jon Vidar)


LOS ANGELES
— A relentless Southern California wildfire raged Tuesday with 53 homes up in smoke, thousands more threatened and new rounds of evacuations as towering flames crackled close to foothill neighborhoods in the path of the blaze.

Flames plowed through half-century-old thickets of tinder-dry brush, bush and trees just 15 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Firefighters awaited daybreak to learn the new extent of the 6-day-old fire, which is now expected to burn for weeks.

The size of fire in the Angeles National Forest grew to more than 190 square miles overnight, U.S. Forest Service Cmdr. Mike Dietrich said.

It was spreading in all directions early Tuesday, from Sunland on the western front of the fire to the high desert ranchlands of Acton on the northeast.

"Pretty much everywhere, right now, is the hot spot," forest spokesman Shane Rollman said.

Firefighters planned to set backfires to protect the Sunland area and will try to halt its northeastern spread with bulldozers to carve eight miles of firebreak in the Acton area, Rollman said.

Firefighters were keeping a close eye on the weather. Hurricane Jimena roared toward Baja California, but was not forecast to have much of a factor in firefighting efforts because it is expected to dissipate by the time it hits Southern California.

Meteorologist Curt Kaplan says there is a 20 percent chance of a thunderstorm in the fire area Tuesday, but that could end up being a bad thing because the storm could spawn 40-mph wind gusts. The one factor that's helped firefighters this week has been the lack of wind to drive the flames. Kaplan says temperatures will begin slowly cooling later in the week.
Story continues below

The blaze threatened some 12,000 homes but had already done its worst to the suburban Tujunga Canyon neighborhood, where residents returned to their wrecked homes.

Bert Voorhees and his son on Monday fetched several cases of wine from the brackish water of their backyard swimming pool, about all he salvaged from his home.

"You're going to be living in a lunar landscape for at least a couple of years, and these trees might not come back," the 53-year-old Voorhees said. "Are enough of our neighbors going to rebuild?"

About 2,000 people were chased from their homes in triple-digit heat as fire bosses said it could take weeks to contain the fire. Fire spokesman Paul Lowenthal said Tuesday that the blaze is expected to be fully surrounded Sept. 15. Only 5 percent of the fire, the largest of several California wildfires, was contained so far.

Some people wouldn't leave. Authorities said five men and one woman refused several orders to evacuate a remote ranch in a canyon near Gold Creek. The Los Angeles County sheriff's office had initially said the people were trapped and could not be rescued.

"When we tried to get them out, they said they're fine, no problem, they didn't want to leave," said fire spokesman Larry Marinas.

Crews fighting the blaze also were contending with favorable fire conditions such as high temperatures topping 100 degrees and low humidity. Temperatures near the fire were expected to hit 102 degrees Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

The swath of fire extends from the densely populated foothill communities of Altadena, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Tujunga and Sunland in the south to Acton.

Beth Halaas knew her creekside home in Big Tujunga Canyon was gone when she saw her favorite Norwegian dishware on television news. But she was desperate to see for herself and cajoled fire officials to escort her through barricaded roads.

"It's just stuff," she murmured, as her 5-year-old son Robert kicked at a deflated soccer ball in his sandbox. She raked ceramic cups from the ashes.

Two firefighters – Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale – were killed when their vehicle plummeted off a mountain road on Sunday. Quinones' wife is expecting a child any week, and Hall has a wife and two adult children.

The 53 homes destroyed included some forest cabins, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Dennis Cross. He did not know how many were full-time residences.

Fire crews set backfires and sprayed fire retardant at Mount Wilson, home to at least 20 television transmission towers, radio and cell phone antennas, and the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. It also houses two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs in its role as both a landmark for its historic discoveries and a thriving modern center for astronomy.

If the flames hit the mountain, some cell phone service and TV and radio transmissions would be disrupted.

T.J. Lynch and his wife, Maggie, were among residents who evacuated late Monday after the eerie orange glow on the horizon turned into flames cresting the hill near their Tujunga home.

"It's pretty surreal, pretty humbling, how your life is represented in these objects that you collect and then you have to whittle them down," he said, describing the difficulty of choosing what to bring with them.

He said his wife would miss the 1965 Mustang that she has owned since she was a teenager. He would miss the antiques that decorate their home.

"It's a beautiful place – is? Was? I don't know anymore," he said of their home.

The blaze in the Los Angeles foothills was the biggest but not most destructive of California's wildfires. Northeast of Sacramento, a wind-driven fire destroyed 60 structures over the weekend, many of them homes in the town of Auburn.

The 340-acre blaze wiped out an entire cul-de-sac, leaving only smoldering ruins, a handful of chimneys and burned cars.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday toured the Auburn area, where only charred remnants of some homes remained. At some houses, the only things left on the foundation are metal cabinets and washers and dryers.

East of Los Angeles, a 1,000-acre fire damaged one home, threatened 2,000 others and forced the evacuation of a scenic community of apple orchards in an oak-studded area of San Bernardino County. Brush in the area had not burned for a century, fire officials said. Flames burning like huge candles erupted between rocky slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains and the neat farmhouses below. A few miles away, a 300-acre wildfire that erupted on the edge of Yucaipa forced the evacuation of 200 homes.

___

Associated Press Writers John Antczak, Daisy Nguyen and Solvej Schou in Los Angeles and Samantha Young in Auburn contributed to this report.
READ MORE - Fire near Los Angeles grows in size

Jaycee Lee Dugard's prison: First pictures of filthy backyard jail where religious fanatic held kidnapped girl

These extraordinary pictures are the first glimpse inside the squalid back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was kept captive for 18 years.
A hand-painted 'Welcome' sign leads the way to a rundown world of tattered tents and outbuildings amid overgrown trees and bushes.
Police are now investigating evidence that Jaycee was 'brainwashed' by the religious fanatic who snatched her when she was 11.
Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
Prison camp: A child's deckchair stands with two adult chairs in a dusty yard beside a collection of pot plants. Empty cans, a vase and an old saucepan lie discarded in front of a decrepit tent. Inside the tent is evidence of a cat lover - a row of books about cats, several cat toys and a 1,000-piece jigsaw entitled Cats

The first words Jaycee said to her mother when the pair were tearfully reunited were: 'Hi Mom, I have babies,' it has emerged.

The 29-year-old's stepfather also claims that she had developed a powerful emotional bond with her abductor, Phillip Garrido. Carl Probyn said: 'Jaycee has strong feelings with this guy. She feels it's almost like a marriage.'
Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
No place like home: A hand-made 'Welcome' sign hangs from a tree at the rear of secret backyard where Jaycee Dugard and her daughters lived in sheds, tents and outbuildings. The innocence of the scene is underlined by three decorations, apparently a bell, a butterfly and a dove, under the sign. The trees and shrubs helped to conceal the backyard from neighbours
Experts have pointed out that although the makeshift compound where Jaycee and the two daughters allegedly fathered by Garrido lived included an 8ft by 4ft steel cage, it appeared unused. And Jaycee and the girls, aged 15 and 11, were allowed to play in the garden, in view of neighbours.

 
Her captor claimed to be a minister of a 'church' he called God's Desire and indoctrinated her with self-published religious tracts.
Jaycee never appealed for help, despite his repeated assaults. She is still undergoing extensive medical and psychological tests at a secret location in Northern California, where she is staying with her mother, Terry, and a half-sister under FBI protection.
One of America's leading hostage experts, retired FBI agent Clint Van Zandt, said: 'The relationship that can develop between hostages and kidnap victims and their captors is now known as "the Stockholm Syndrome", a type of emotional bonding that is in reality a survival strategy for victims of emotional and physical abuse.'
Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
Chilling: One of the most ominous sights in the earth-floored compound is an 8ft by 4ft wire cage, half draped with a tarpaulin. It is not clear what use the cage might have been put to. Next to it is a crudely built hut with white sliding doors with two black metal clasps which suggest that it could be opened only from the outside. The hut was largely empty

A source close to the case said: 'The initial findings are that physically she is remarkably healthy but that some type of brainwashing clearly occurred.
'There were moments in the 18 years when she could have called attention to who she was.
'She hadn't forgotten her real identity. In fact, she remembers a remarkable amount about her old life. But from what we know so far about Mr Garrido, it seems he played mind games with her.
'It sounds simplistic, but the real prison was her brain.'
Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
Chaos: The scene inside one of the dingy sheds. On the left is a microwave oven, catfood in a plastic container and two hanging vegetable baskets. The rest of the area seems to have been used as an office. There are three old swivel chairs and a reading lamp on a small table strewn with papers. The floor and shelves are covered in files, boxes and bric-a-brac
Jaycee may also have been forced to take part in orgies in the backyard where she was held, the News of the World reports.

A neighbour said he saw men lining up in Garrido's garden, before entering the tents 'one by one'.
Mike Rogers, 49, told the newspaper that he once peered through the garden fence during an 'excessively loud' party next door.
'What I saw was not normal,' he said. 'Eight to 10 men, mostly Mexican, would gather in a line in his garden drinking beer, yelling and screaming and swearing.

'They normally had a bonfire and I saw them entering the tent one by one. On a number of occasions I saw them bobbing up and down through the window and I thought, 'My God, there is something sexual going on in there'.
Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
Toys and games: Two fluffy Furbies, an electronic toy from the Nineties, sit on a pile of computer discs next to a computer joy stick. The toys were robots which could speak. Many toys were scattered around the site, including Barbie dolls with limbs and heads missing. There were several threadbare teddy bears but little evidence of teenage culture such as pop posters

'I thought they had a prostitute or something in there. I thought it might have been some kind of sex party or something.
'I just hope that sicko wasn't pimping out Jaycee or those children. The thought makes me sick.'
But, despite being disturbed by what he had seen, Mr Rogers said he didn't think he had enough evidence to call police.

'I'd told my brother about the parties and he agreed that unless they got really out of control I should keep out of it,' he said.
Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
Self help: This book has a particularly ironic title, given the circumstances of its discovery. The author, Jean Illsley Clarke, is an American expert in family relationships. Self-Esteem: A Family Affair, which came out in 1998, sought to help parents increase the confidence and happiness of their children by the subtle use of encouragement
Jaycee's stepfather Mr Probyn, who is being briefed regularly on the case, has disclosed that she is racked by 'guilt' because she 'bonded' with Garrido.
Her formal education ceased when Garrido allegedly snatched her in 1991 and Mr Probyn said he has been informed that her 'emotional age' is still that of an 11-year-old.
'She didn't try to get away,' he told The Mail on Sunday. 'It probably kept her alive. If she had been really spunky and fought and tried to escape, maybe she would have been killed.'
Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
Poignant playthings: A teddy bear lies abandoned on a trampoline in the parched area that acted as a playground. Just visible in the background is a yellow slide and a set of swings. Behind that can be glimpsed the wall of an empty swimming pool
Meanwhile Garrido's first victim, Katherine Callaway of Las Vegas, Nevada, who was kidnapped, raped repeatedly and held as a sex slave by Garrido in 1976, said: 'He's a monster.'
Callaway was a 25-year-old casino worker when Garrido hitched a ride in her car. He made her drive to a warehouse in Reno that had been prepared as a 'sex palace'.
Police now believe Katherine's abduction was, essentially, a 'trial run' for the kidnapping of Jaycee in South Lake Tahoe, California, years later.
Just as he built a labyrinthine backyard prison for Jaycee, Garrido created a makeshift cell for Katherine in the warehouse. It contained a movie projector, sex toys, a spotlight, wine and pornographic magazines.
At his trial, there was testimony that he used handcuffs to restrain her and that he used LSD, cocaine and cannabis.
Retired Reno police detective Dan DeMaranville, who worked on the case, said: 'I asked him after he confessed why he did it and he said it was the only way he could get sexual satisfaction.'
However, investigators have found no evidence that Jaycee - who was less than half Callway's age - was physically restrained.
Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
Make-up for a captive: A stained flower-patterned box which might hold make-up or jewellery sits on a table in one hut. Three plastic boxes of cheap make-up and a hair brush lie on the table. A number of girls' hairbands have been wound around the brush handle
Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
Tales of escape: Fantasy novel Shadow Bridge lies on a worn bedside cabinet. The 2008 book features an orphaned female puppeteer who travels through a mythical land of bridges, meeting strange characters. Also visible is another fantasy novel, A Game Of Thrones
A few years after Jaycee was kidnapped, her desperate grandmother visited a psychic. 'I wanted to find out if she was still alive,' said Wilma Probyn, 83.
'I didn't want to give up hope, but it was agonising to keep holding on. We had pretty much given up hope. The psychic said that Jaycee was alive, in Northern California with a couple, living happily and being looked after and going to school.
'It turns out she was alive but not happy. She didn't go to school and wasn't allowed to see a doctor.
'She was kept caged in an old shed for 18 years without contact with anybody, raped, and she's got two children by that creep, a sexual predator.
'We've always been hoping for the day when she'd be found but when I found out how she'd lived for the last 18 years, I wasn't happy. It's a shock.
'I'm delighted to have Jaycee back, but I'm saddened by how she was treated, living in squalor like that.
'Jaycee's 29 now but she's been cut off from the world since she was 11. We don't know if she'll ever be able to recover from this.'

Enlarge   Back garden compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was imprisoned
Tales of horror: The main author among these battered paperbacks is Dean Koontz, whose novels often feature sociopathic monsters. Crime novels by Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson and romances by Danielle Steel are also visible
READ MORE - Jaycee Lee Dugard's prison: First pictures of filthy backyard jail where religious fanatic held kidnapped girl

Ancient Bird Feathers Had Iridescent Glow


Nanostructures preserved in feather fossils more than 40 million years old show evidence that those feathers were once vivid and iridescent in color, paleontologists say.
Iridescence is the quality of changing color depending on the angle of observation — it's what makes you see a rainbow in an oil slick.
Many insects, such as butterflies, display iridescent colors on their wings, as do many modern birds on their feathers.
The simplest iridescent feather colors are produced by light scattering off the feather's surface and a smooth surface of melanin pigment granules within the feather protein.
Scientists found smooth layers of these melanin structures, called melanosomes, when they examined feather fossils from the Messel Shale in Germany with an electron microscope.

"These feathers produced a black background with a metallic greenish, bluish or coppery color at certain angles — much like the colors we see in starlings and grackles today," said Richard Prum of Yale University, who was part of the team that studied the fossils.
For more than 25 years, paleontologists had thought these structures in similar feather fossils were bacteria that had digested the feathers at the time they were fossilized. The team had previously discovered that these structures were in fact not bacteria but melanosomes, which then allowed them to document the original color patterns. Following up on the new finding, they are racing to discover what additional coloration features may be found in fossil feathers.
"The discovery of ultra-structural detail in feather fossils opens up remarkable possibilities for the investigation of other features in soft-bodied fossils, like fur and even internal organs" that otherwise are not typically preserved, said study team member Derek Briggs, also of Yale.
The discovery could pave the way for determining color features of other ancient birds and even dinosaurs, the team said.
The new findings are detailed in the Aug. 26 online edition of the journal Biology Letters. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society and Yale University.
READ MORE - Ancient Bird Feathers Had Iridescent Glow