Call it a new way of branding to stay afloat in the time of crisis or the dawn of a new era in India where the most recognisable faces (read cricketers) have learned to the tread the Twitter path to keep their followers informed about every aspect of their lives.
On his return from the US where he underwent three cycles of chemotherapy, Yuvraj Singh has been hailed as the new braveheart not just by his fans across the country but also by the entire media. An obvious question also being raised by many is: why is he risking his health for the sake of publicity?
Yuvraj was tweeting about his health and posting photographs of each and every stage of his medical progress, a first by any Indian sportsperson.
India’s World Cup hero hardly needed any publicity to keep his brand value intact. So what compelled him do all this? Well, the batsman says he “wanted to put to rest all speculation about his health issues”.
“The moment the news of my illness became public, there was all kind of speculation. I thought it was important to let my fans know about my condition and also not allow people to cook up stories,” Yuvraj said on Wednesday, during his first media interaction after returning home.
One thing’s for sure, though. Yuvraj has emerged as a more mature and responsible person after his treatment and he could, perhaps, become a great crusader for cancer awareness in this country. “Maybe I would like to do something for all cancer patients. I know their pain because I have gone through it. But right now, my focus is to get back to fitness as early as possible,” Yuvraj said. He spoke candidly for an hour about his two-month stay in the US. He also revealed how he avoided watching cricket on television and was inspired by the practical approach of fellow chemotherapy patients, a group he called “the cancer family”.
Yuvraj confessed that he was in denial. “I could hardly believe that a fit person like me could actually have cancer. I concealed my ill-health for a long time even while having breathing problems during the World Cup. I had always presented a cheerful front to the outer world during that time.”
Yuvi also thanked Sachin Tendulkar for his encouraging words during their meeting in London. “Sachin has always inspired me. He always talks positively and motivated me during my difficult times,” Yuvi said.
On his future plans, Yuvraj says that it would be difficult for him to say anything at this point of time. “I don’t know what the future holds. It will be a great achievement if I get back to the field,” the 30-year-old said, adding, “the cancer is out of my system, but the scars are yet to be healed. All my fans want me to come back soon, I am sure you people will understand that my body will take time.”
Yuvraj also spoke about the inspiration he drew from legendary American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer. “I read Lance Armstrong’s book some five-six years back but had to leave it midway for some reasons. I didn’t know that I will have to complete it in the way and circumstances like I did,” he said.
The Razorbacks, 21-5 the past two seasons, were enjoying sustained football success and turning into a powerhouse in the Southeastern Conference.
But with Petrino, 51, having been fired Tuesday night for not being forthcoming to school administrators over his recent motorcyle accident and inappropriate relationship with 25-year-old football staff member Jessica Dorrell, his once-promising career is in limbo.
MORE: Petrino joins list of sports' great downfalls
Will another school eventually hire Petrino, long regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds in the sport?
He has not been a stranger to controversy. While coaching at Louisville, he met with Auburn officials about that school's head coaching job when Tommy Tuberville was still coaching the Tigers. Petrino abruptly left the Atlanta Falcons and took the Arkansas job with three games left on the NFL team's 2007 schedule.
There have been instances where scarred coaches have landed on their feet.
Larry Eustachy rebuilt his basketball coaching career in eight seasons at Southern Mississippi following his departure from Iowa State in 2003, shortly after photos surfaced of him partying with students. Eustachy, who will be named head coach at Colorado State, according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan, went through alcohol rehabilitation and said this season that he has not had a drink in nine years.
In May 2003, then-Alabama football coach Mike Price was fired for what the school called improper behavior after Price spent time at a strip club and drank too much the night before a charity golf outing. The humiliation continued after two women from the club were quoted in a Sports Illustrated story about a wild night in Price's hotel room.
In December 2003, Texas-El Paso hired Price, who had denied the women's allegations and sued the magazine for $20 million. The suit was settled out of court in 2005, and Price said at the time that he felt vindicated by the settlement.
UTEP athletics director Bob Stull, who brought Price to the school, said Wednesday that the Petrino and Price situations were "not even close" to being the same.
"Mike had too much to drink one night. That's really what happened," he said.
Stull said the school did an extensive background check before Price was even interviewed, and Stull, a former UTEP football coach, already had known Price for 20 years.
Stull said UTEP President Diana Natalicio also met with Price during the process. "A lot of these decisions start at the presidential level and work their way down (to the athletics department)," Stull said.
Arkansas Head Coach Bobby Petrino was fired Tuesday night after Petrino’s “pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior,” according to Athletic Director Jeff Long.
If you feel like you’ve seen Petrino have a grand exit from a coaching job before it’s because you have. Petrino has made a pattern of leaving jobs on bad terms and the Arkansas case is no different from his previous employers.
“I’m sorry,” Petrino said in a statement. “These two words seem very inadequate. But that is my heart. All I have been able to think about is the number of people I’ve let down by making selfish decisions. I’ve taken a lot of criticism in the past. Some deserved, some not deserved. This time, I have no one to blame but myself.”
The Petrino firing comes after the coach’s motorcycle accident that happened on April 1. It was reported by the LA Times that Petrino was brought to the hospital and was in stable condition after the accident.
In a statement released by his family, Petrino’s accident “involved no other individuals,” but it was discovered later that Petrino was with 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell. Dorrell was a former Arkansas volleyball player, and a current employee hired by Petrino.
When the police report for the accident came out on April 5 and cited that there was indeed another person involved, Petrino would later admit that he and Dorrell were having an inappropriate relationship.
Long would go on to say that Petrino’s relationship with Dorrell was not the reason for his dismissal but rather the dishonesty he showed about the accident and the fact he hid the relationship from Arkansas officials when Dorrell was hired.
Arkansas may have not fired him because of the relationship but they could have made a strong case for to do so. The 51-year-old Petrino is married and has four children.
“In this case, Coach Petrino abused his authority when he made a staff hire that benefited himself and jeopardized the integrity of the football program,” Long said.
Long said that Dorrell was still an employee with the university even though the report indicated that the inappropriate relationship had been going on “for a significant amount of time.”
The reaction around Fayetteville has been mixed after Arkansas competed for a national championship in 2011-12. The team was 11-2 and their only two losses came in SEC play against LSU and Alabama, the two teams that played in the title game. The Razorbacks finished their season with an impressive 29-16 win over No. 8 Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl.
Hopes were high for 2012-13 with a strong core of returning players and a relatively favorable schedule. They also have arguably the nation’s best running back in Knile Davis who was expected to carry the team to a BCS Bowl game.
Petrino’s exit from Arkansas is just the latest incident in a trend of ugly departures that he has become known for over the years. He interviewed for the Auburn job when former coach Tommy Tuberville, who had given Petrino his first big break as an offensive coordinator, was still employed by the university.
After landing the Louisville job and bringing them to the national spotlight, Petrino bolted for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. He didn’t even finish one full season in Atlanta before jumping ship after 13 games for the Arkansas job.
Because of his ability to burn bridges, there has not been much sympathy from his former players. Former Falcon DeAngelo Hall let his hatred for Petrino show when he was asked about his old coach last weekend.
This was my first experience. The tremors were mild in Chennai. I was in the middle of recording couple of book reviews for Makkal TV.
I was in Chennai during the 2004 Tsunami and didn't feel any tremors then. I do remember vividly the panicked crowd running on foot and in autos carrying all their valuable belongings. Yesterday was in the middle of work. Almost everyone in the office wanted to leave immediately as they felt the traffic will pile up, little knowing that they will be only adding to the chaos. Only three or four of us stayed on till 6.30 PM.
The talk now is centered on Kalpakkam and Kudangulam atomic power plants and their safety. Tamil Nadu is not in a heavy seismic zone. The tremors we felt yesterday were insignificant. In fact, Tamil Nadu didn't even feel anything of this kind during the Maharashtra, Gujarat and Pakistan earthquakes in the last two decades in which thousands of people had died
I can understand opposition to nuclear plants on the basis of strong principles. To base it on such weak arguments as lack of safety under mild tremors is ridiculous. But I guess it is futile to discuss these things as neither party is willing to listen to reasoned arguments.
Ann Romney’s debut on Twitter couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
Ann’s first tweet came just moments after Democratic strategist and DNC adviser Hilary Rosen lobbed an insult at Ann Romney, suggesting that the 64-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 16 had never held a job.
“Guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life,” said Rosen, who was being interviewed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the “war on women.”
And then, just like that, a familiar name popped up on Twitter: @AnnDRomney.
“I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work,” Ann tweeted.
The Romney campaign confirmed to ABC News that the account belongs to Ann Romney.
The tweet came just as husband Mitt wrapped up a second day of campaigning that all but entirely focused on the “war against women,” packing events with female business leaders and accusing the Obama administration’s economic policies of hurting women.
“I could not disagree with Hilary Rosen any more strongly. Her comments were wrong and family should be off limits. She should apologize,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a tweet.
Top Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod also tweeted his disapproval: “Also Disappointed in Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney. They were inappropriate and offensive.”
Following the interview, Rosen herself tweeted, “I’ve nothing against @AnnRomney. I just don’t want Mitt using her as an expert on women struggling $ to support their family. She isn’t.”
Rosen kept tweeting, not appearing to back off of her comments.
“@AnnDRomney Please know, I admire you. But your husband shouldn’t say you are his expert on women and the economy,” said Rosen.
A woman staffer of Victoria Hospital was Reshma Banu’s pillar of strength in the latter’s moment of grief after her baby, Neha Afreen, died at 11.25 am on Wednesday in Vani Vilas Hospital. Tabassum is an employee of Victoria Hospital. When she learnt that Afreendied and the body was brought to Victoria Hospital for postmortem, she comforted and counseled Reshma.
Initially, Reshma was surrounded by political leaders and BBMP corporators, who told her to stop crying. They offered empty promises that Farooq would be punished. Later, Tabassum reached the mortuary and met Reshma. Tabassum was the only other woman apart from Reshma who were present in the mortuary. Reshma’s relatives arrived at 1 pm.
“When I came here, she was surrounded by men who are telling her to stop crying. But nobody counselled her. Hence, I took the initiative,” she said. Later, Tabassum told Reshma: “There are many people like Farooq. Fight them for the sake of other women in the city. No woman should suffer like you in future.” Tabassum’s first words to Reshma were: “Fight till your last breath for justice.”
“It’s 2012 and yet, people have a gender bias. It is a shame. Reshma, your fight starts from today. This is the beginning of your life. There are many women who are suffering like you and you should become a role model for them,” said Tabassum. “All these days you spent your life without goals. Now, you have to set a goal towards fighting gender discrimination. You should ensure other woman do not suffer like you,” added Tabassum.
“Farooq should receive a life-term, not the death sentence. He should realise his mistakes and men must be scared to beat women or children,” said Tabassum. She told DNA: “She was just 17 years old when she got married. Parents are forcing their children into marriage at the age of 14 or 15 years. This results in the harassment. It should be stopped.” Tabassum stayed with Reshma till Neha’s body was taken to her house
Whether you're a seasoned user or brand new to the iPhone world, chances are you're probably not using your smartphone to its fullest.
Don't worry, you're not alone, as these pocket-sized computers boast many hundreds of features buried in the operating system.
And so here we share a number of our favorite iPhone tips and tricks, some of which you may know already. Hopefully there's a good number of ones you aren't aware of yet. Most of these following 25 suggestions will work with all versions of the iPhone, but be sure to have the latest software installed (iOS 5.1).
OK, here we go:
Take a photo with your headphone cord: Now that you can use the volume up or down buttons to snap a photo, steady your hand while framing up the photo and when you're ready to take the picture, press the button on the cord so it won't shake the iPhone. Voila!
Dry out a wet iPhone: You're not the first one to drop an iPhone in a toilet or sink. If this happens, don't turn it on as you can damage the smartphone by short-circuiting it. Lightly towel dry the phone. Don't use a hairdryer on the phone as it can further push moisture into areas that aren't wet. Submerge the iPhone in a bowl or Ziploc bag of uncooked white rice and leave it overnight. If you have it, try using a desiccant packet you might find with a new pair of shoes or leather purse.
Dismiss suggested words: If you're typing an email or note and the virtual keyboard is suggesting the correct spelling of the word — and you don't want to accept it — you don't need to tap the tiny "X" at the end of the word in question. Simply tap anywhere on the screen to close the suggestion box.
Take photos faster: Even if your iPhone is locked you can double-tap on the Home button and you'll see a camera icon you can tap to open the camera immediately. Now you can use the volume up button to snap the photo, too. You can also use the volume up on the headphone cord to take a photo (if you want to) and pinch the screen to zoom instead of using the slider bar.
You probably know Siri can be used to set a reminder, like saying "Siri, remind me to call mom at 4pm today." But did you know you can set location-based reminders on your iPhone 4S? Say "Remind me to call mom when I leave here" or "Remind me to call mom when I get home" and you'll be notified accordingly.
Get word definitions: Apple has recently added a built-in dictionary and you can access it in most apps that let you select a word. Simply press and hold on a word — such as in an email, reminder, iBooks, and so on — and you'll see a pop-up option for "Define."
Revive a frozen iPhone: If your smartphone freezes on you and pressing the Sleep/Wake button on top of the device doesn't do anything, don't panic. Instead, press and hold the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time. You'll be prompted to swipe the "Slide to Power Off" tab. This so-called "hard reset" resuscitates the frozen iPhone. You'll first need to wait through a full shut down and restart.
Yesterday, a controversial tweet joking about eating disorders from Lady Gaga -- the most popular celebrity on Twitter, with over 22 million followers -- gave rise to a slew of angry responses. Gaga wrote:
It was a surprising statement from Gaga, who has publicly opened up about her struggle with bulimia and urged young women to cultivate healthy body image. During an appearance at a young women's conference in Los Angeles in February, the singer admitted that she was bulimic in high school, and said that she was obsessed with being a "skinny little ballerina."
In response to the tweet, the National Eating Disorder Association staff Twitter account wrote: "Huh? This is the same person who recently implored girls to stop dieting?"
Some of Gaga's fans defended the tweet, saying that it was just a joke and was intended to be ironic. However, the responses were largely negative. For example, one of Gaga's followers tweeted:
Miley Cyrus has also taken to Twitter recently to address eating disorders -- but in this case, she was refuting rumors that she might have a problem. She wrote, "For everyone calling me anorexic I have a gluten and lactose allergy. It's not about weight it's about health." In another tweet, she encouraged her fans to go gluten-free for a week. And although many people enjoy good health on a gluten-free diet, it isn't right for everyone -- and critics have questioned Cyrus's decision to dispense health advice to her fans.
George Zimmerman has been transported to the Seminole County jail after being charged with second-degree murder for the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Cameras captured a man, believed to be Zimmerman, wearing a plaid shirt and covering his face with a jacket being led into the jail. He was booked, and his photo was made public, the first look the public had of Zimmerman as he looks today.
Earlier in the day, special prosecutor Angela Corey announced the charges in a news conference.
georgezimmermanjail Zimmerman Charged With 2nd Degree Murder
A man, believed to be George Zimmerman, was led into jail after being charged with second degree murder. (CBS4)
“It is the search for justice for Trayvon that has brought us to this moment,” state attorney Corey said.
Corey also had a message for those who have been rushing to judgment on the case.
“You cannot know what it’s like to launch this type of investigation and come to this conclusion,” State Attorney Angela Corey said during the press conference.
“We don’t prosecute by public pressure or petition. We prosecute cases on the relevant facts of each case and on the laws of the state of Florida.”
Multiple reports said that Zimmerman is being held in Orange County.
Corey said Mr. Zimmerman’s lawyer can petition for a bond hearing.
The state attorney said that the decision didn’t take a long time, despite it more than 40 days since the original crime was committed.
“It didn’t take long,” Corey said. “Remember, the prosecutor’s burden is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. We have numerous homicides where immediate arrests are not made. We have to have a reasonable certainty for conviction before we file charges.”
Under Florida law, second degree murder is the unlawful killing of a person when perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual. The maximum sentence for the crime is life in prison.
Corey said the decision to charge Zimmerman was made last week. She said Seminole County officials have worked with her office to set up the courts for coming hearings.
In NYC Tuesday, Rooney Mara's signature pitch-black, shoulder length hair and full, blunt bangs were absent on the set of her upcoming film, The Bitter Pill.
Rocking a long, ombre wig, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo actress channeled her all-American looking character in The Social Network, where Mara played the role of Mark Zuckerberg's (Jesse Eisenberg) scorned girlfriend Erica in the Facebook flick.
PHOTOS: Rooney Mara's style transformation
In The Bitter Pill, the 26-year-old star plays Emily Hawkins, a woman who depends on prescription meds as she awaits her husband's release from prison.
VOTE: Which celeb has the best hair in Hollywood?
