Double Excitement at the Electric Peacock Festival & The Colombo Night Races

Fast cars and bikes, hot ladies, and loud music – sounds like heaven for anyone who is an ardent follower of street racing. For many years, street racing has been a topic that has been frowned upon.

Times have changed and the Carlton Sports Network is about to change things on 16 and 17 December with the Colombo Night Races! One hundred and forty nine cars and ninety bikes will hit the streets of Colombo on 16 Dec for the qualifying rounds of the Night Races where the drivers will start revving up their engines in front of the Galadari Hotel and then go past the Hilton, down Duke Street, passing Standard Chartered Bank, Cargills, the World Trade Centre, past the Ceylon Continental Hotel and wind up at the Galadari.

Mind you, these are not any ordinary cars that will be whizzing past thousand of fans – there will be Lamborghinis, Porsches, Aston Martins are just some of the amazing machines that you will be able to see.

International drivers from India and Malaysia will be a part of this fantastic event and what’s more interesting is that some of the cars that are being brought down from India and Malaysia will be driven by Sri Lankan drivers!

The finals of the Colombo Night Races will be held on 17 December on the same 2.2 Kilometre circuit.

The goal behind creating an event of such great magnitude is to light up Colombo and to open up Sri Lanka to the International Racing arena and hold events similar to the GP2 which is the second level of Formula One racing.

Tickets to witness this spectacular event are available at the lobbies of the Hilton, Galadari and Ceylon Continental Hotels and the prices range from Rs.50- Rs.4000. Be there to enjoy two days of Bass and Pace!

Following the qualifying rounds, The Electric Peacock Festival will come alive at “The Light House” situated on Chaithya Road where the Grammy award winning Felix B of Basement Jaxx, Chicane, DJ Nihal, Asvajit and Tim will make sure that the the whole of Colombo is aware of their presence. The Electric Peacock Festival will also present the first ever Silent Disco, 3D Mapping, an amazing Fireworks Display, Body painting, Stilt walkers, Fire Eaters, Dancers and a Canon photo booth.

Copyright © CSN

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Colombo Night Race 2011

Colombo Night Race 2011

The busy streets of Colombo that sleeps at nights will be invaded by mean machines on December 16 and 17 after sunset. All plans have been placed to conduct the inaugural Colombo Night Races which will take motor racing in Sri Lanka to another level. The races will take place in the central area Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, which is the busiest town in the country day or night.

The races will see both cars and motorbikes line up in different categories on a circuit that is drawn out from Colombo streets. Ten car events and seven bikes events are on cards according to the organizers of the event. The main race day will be December 17 where the drivers and riders compete following the qualifying races on December 16.

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★ Event Calender ★

Qualifying Races :: 16th of Friday 5:00pm onwards

Main Races :: 17th of Saturday 7:00pm onwards

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The races will be conducted on the streets that will be totally re-laid especially for the event. Different races will be held for Minis, Fords, Mazdas, Honda Civics in addition to Super Cars and Formula Fords. The main feature of the event will be the combined race for GT3 and GT4 cars where top international competitors drive featuring exotic racing machines.

“Sri Lankan fans will get the opportunity of seeing Aston Martins, Porsches, BMWs, Moslers, Lamborghinis and other racing cars competing on home soil. There is also a possibility of seeing Sri Lanka’s only international driver, Dilantha Malagamuwa taking part in his new Lamborghini.

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The race circuit sets off opposite Galadari Hotel on Lotus Road and run towards Fort and will take a left turn towards Chatham Street. The drivers will take a right turn to Duke Street which runs towards Main Street opposite Gaffoor Building. Then they will turn left on Sir Baron Jayathilaka Mawatha and run past the Cargills Building on York Street. The route will then take a right turn to Bank of Ceylon Mawatha and towards Ceylon Continental Hotel and turn left towards the roundabout opposite Galadari Hotel where the lap will be completed.

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.:: TICKETS : 3000/-, 2000/-, 1500/-, 250/-, 50/- ::.

Depending on which areas and platforms spectators choose to view the races.

Available at HILTON, INTERCONTINENTAL, GALLE FACE, GALADARI, CINNAMON GRAND, TAJ hotels and WTC.

Also Available at following Keells Super Outlets: Crescat/Liberty Plaza/ Union Place/ Rajagiriya/ Capital Mall – Thalawathugoda/ Kohuwala/ Kiribathgoda/ Wattala & KZone – Moratuwa.

The races will be conducted by Sri Lanka Automobile Sports (SLAS) and Federation of Motorcycle Sports in Sri Lanka (FMSSL). Carlton Sports and Tharunyata Hetak are the chief organizers of the entire event where Red Cherry Entertainment will also play a major role. Concurrently to the races the second Electric Peacock Festival 2011, a musical extravaganza that features foreign and local artists will be held on both days. The organizers expressed their confidence in the joint effort where sports and entertainment will take the centre stage.

Copyright © Carlton Sport Network (CSN)

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Nelum Pokuna ( Lotus Pond )The theatre open

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will open the Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) Mahinda Rajapaksa Performing Arts Theatre today ( 15 / 12 / 2011 ).The Theatre built on a model similar to the Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) of Polonnaruwa, was constructed with expertise from China at a cost of Rs 3.08 billion.

Physical as well as spiritual developments are both important when considering the overall development of a country. Creativity and perception can be considered an integral part of spiritual development.

Though, there are thought processes, which enhance the Arts and Aesthetics in our country, facilities necessary for enhancing creativity are sadly lacking. This is common to all Arts in Sri Lanka. For example, the hosts of technology shortcomings are responsible for the dearth of mega cinematic creations emanating in our country. Yet, we are the proud heirs to a level of performing arts coming down from a long period of time which can overcome these short comings. Some of these have a long history, going back to a period surpassing other civilizations the world over. It is a felt need of hour to modernize, what we have inherited, to suit the present century.

Facilities in our halls, where dramas can be staged today are poor. The theatres available, even in the main towns, of our island, are over fifty years old and have little in the way desired facilities,. In spite of these short comings our audiences are privy to productions of very high quality.

In order to develop a contemporary tradition it should be our task to indulge in research and the development of new creations, rather than protect and replicate our traditional system per se. This theatre of performing arts can be envisaged as a place where skills, fresh ideas are blended to form a truly Sri Lankan mega tradition.

While this stage and facilities will give new value to our performing arts it will provide an opportunity for our artistes to take their creations to the international arena.

Further, we have not been able to get down to Sri Lanka any of the great operas produced internationally. When Khemadasa produced an opera on an unfamiliar stage, it appeared to be foreign to us, because we had no idea of operas, as we had not come into contact with them earlier

The absence of suitable facilities may have been the reason for Khemadasa’s inability to storm this gigantic production on to the international stage. It may have been the absence of a stage of this magnitude that unfortunately prevented us from getting the full effects of this maestro’s production.

This is not just another construction of the Chinese Government. The possibilities to make use of the latest creative sound techniques have come along with it. The present generation will have the privilege of using the varied facilities that were not available to the giants of yester years, such as Sarachchandra and Khemadasa. Therefore, we can hope to witness quality productions in the future.

This theatre will also give a fillip to drama as a component of school education. A new generation of artistes will be born. It will be possible through this addition, to hope for a new dialogue, a new introduction as an alternative to the poor values, the lack of progressive ideas, and poverty in quality that are the order of the day and that these would be replaced by a fresh dialogue that would bring fresh values, progressive ideas, steeped in quality. Many facilities such as a modern stage, needed by performing Thespians are included in this theatre. This would result not only in a new awakening but also in advanced technological knowledge of performing arts and their use and also much needed discipline, the technological advances in stage dramas, are emerging as a vehicle bringing in new ideas to the fore. As such a dialogue will be created whereby recognition of indisciplined and vulgar productions will be recognized and rejected.

We are much obliged and grateful to the Government of China for providing us with a theatre of this nature.

Great honour is also due to our President His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, who insists not only on the physical development but also the spiritual development of the nation and made this dream of a modern theatre a reality.

Copyright © Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre

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Traffic Navigation Solution - T-Navi

Mobitel partners T-Navi to keep you in the know, while on the go!

Now Mobitel brings you the very latest traffic navigation solution T-Navi to make your lives easier, less stressful, more productive, and fun while on the go!

While other navigation solutions available in the market tend to only focus on getting you from point A to point B, the Mobitel T-Navi solution offers you more value as it offers a more personalized navigation experience that is tailored to your daily travel needs.

The Mobitel T-Navi solution is available in three formats;

1. a Mobile Phone Application for your Smartphone
2. a Personal Navigation Device (PND) to be fitted in your vehicle
3. a Software SD Card for 2DIN Devices

The features on the Mobitel T-Navi system include;

• Route Guidance and Maps – offering turn-by-turn directions to your destination,
• Live Traffic Updates – offering live upd ates on traffic jams or road congestion,
• Multilingual Voice Guidance – offering clear and easy to understand voice guidance to your destination in English as well as Sinhala,
• Auto Map Updates – a feature where the T-Navi map auto updates itself with new roads or new names of roads as and when they c ome up,
• Junctions View - informing drivers which lane to be in to make complex lane changes simple and easy,
• Route According to time – providing the recommended route to a destination based on traffic conditions
• 3D moving maps
• Places of interest – static as well as dynamic

T-Navi not only accurately guides you to your destination; it also provides you with many useful features along the way to make it easier to drive and arrive safely with more confidence and less stress.

The Mobitel T-Navi Smartphone App works on:

• IOS (Apple OS),
• WM (Windows Mobile),
• Android and
• Symbian operating systems

The a 15 day FREE trial version can be downloaded on to your mobile phone through www.tnavi.lk site (Apple users – on App Store search for tnavi and select 'City Guide'). The License Key for the full version comes as a scratch card and can be purchased from any Mobitel outlet.

Activation Methods

Option 1	SMS “Get” to 3656
Option 2	Via Scratch Cards (Can be purchased from Mobitel Branches Island wide)

Charges

	Android Operating Systems, WM (Windows Mobile), Symbian Operating Systems	Rs.3,999
	IOS (Apple OS)	Rs.4,600

CopyRight by : http://www.mobitel.lk/tnavi

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Why you should activate the new Facebook profile setting – the “Facebook Timeline” Copyright by Indu Nanayakkara

You can love or hate or just be ‘meh’ over the new changes on facebook profiles that were launched during the last week’s f8 developers conference (go ahead and click the link if you’d like to see the recording). But instead of waiting around for the automatic update of your profile from the old to the new – Timeline profile, it would be a good idea to activate the new Timeline now.

Here’s what mine look like:

Although you won’t get to see it on my profile just yet!

Why should I activate my facebook profile to the new Timeline? I already hate it!

Well, whether you and I love it or hate it, Facebook is going to activate it this week. When you activate the new timeline, Facebook says:

Welcome to Your Timeline – Developer Release
Your timeline currently features your top photos and posts. Right now, only you can see what’s here. Take a tour and star, hide or add whatever you want. Then click Publish Now or wait until your timeline goes live on Thursday, September 29, 2011.

So, unless you are planning on abandoning Facebook and deleting your profile altogether or something, my humble opinion is that you should activate the new Timeline now! So that you can check on what’s visible and what’s private and be comfortable with your profile before Facebook activates it on the 29th.

When I activated mine, I realized that anyone can go right to the beginning of my days on Facebook and easily check on anything that’s posted public. The thing is, when we just started using Facebook (Going down the Timeline, I found out that I joined in June 2007, well fancy that!) I don’t think many of us were aware of the privacy settings. Nor did we have a lot of friends and probably didn’t see ourselves ‘friending’ our bosses and colleagues and aunty Netta either. So it’s quite likely that we may have posted status updates, photos, comments that we might not like everyone on Facebook or at least ALL our current friends to view. THIS is why you should take a trip down Facebook Timeline memory lane and check out all your posts as much in detail as you can (that means including your comments on other people’s posts and their comments on your posts) and edit privacy settings to limited or “just you” or even delete them altogether.

As a rule of thumb, you should look at a post and think, Is it okay if my mom, my boss, my haters, my partner/spouse seeing this? If it’s cool, then leave it. Otherwise, change visibility settings or just delete it. It would save you loads of trouble and headache and even heartache later on. Trust me!

How do I activate the new Facebook Timeline?

So having said that, here’s how you can activate your new Timeline without waiting for the official unveiling. There are some pretty good post out there. I followed the one on TechCrunch but there are so many out there like the one on Mashable.

But one of the easiest ways to do it is actually watching how its been done. So here’s a pretty good YouTube video on how to activate your Facebook Timeline.

Facebook timeline profile activation procedure

If that doesn’t work for you, here’s another YouTube video on it with step by step instructions.

Oh, before I forget it… do anything on your new profile but DON’T click on the green button on top that says “Publish Now” until you’re absolutely positively sure that everything on your new profile is ready to go out there in public. Just a bit of advice ;)

So, you might as well get started with it now. Today is already the 26th and trust me it will take you at least a couple of days to clean up your act, if you’ve been on Facebook as long as I have. So happy cleaning! :D

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Sri Lankans Returning from Japan can check for radiation

The Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Authority says that Sri Lankans returning from Japan can undergo a complete check for radiation if they wish to do so, Chairman of the Authority Dr. W. Abeywickrema said.

Speaking to the News Now.lk, Dr. Abeywickrema said that additional information on the radiation check can be available on the Authority’s hotline number – 0112547332 – and anyone who wishes to conduct the test can visit the Authority.

However Dr. Abeywickrema said that the radiation check was not compulsory and only those who were interested could get it done.

After days of seesawing between hope and fear, between a triumphant vindication of nuclear safety and a disastrous loss of confidence in the atom, events at the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactors seem to have taken an alarming turn for the worse, as the Foreign Office advises Britons to consider leaving Tokyo and north-eastern Japan, the foreign media reported.

According to reports Yukiya Amano, the Japanese head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has abandoned his largely reassuring stance to say the situation is “very serious”. Gregory Jaczko, the Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has been assisting the Japanese authorities, said that radiation levels are “extremely high”. And the EU’s energy commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, said: “We are somewhere between a disaster and a major disaster.” He added: “There is talk of an apocalypse and I think the word is particularly well chosen.”

(Report by Jamila Najmuddin for News Now.lk)

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Radiation fears after Japan blast

Explosions at a Japanese quake-stricken nuclear plant have led to radiation levels that can affect human health, a senior Japanese official has said.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has urged those living within 30km (18 miles) of the plant to stay indoors.

Earlier, reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant was hit by a blast - the third reactor to explode in four days - leading to fears of a meltdown.

The crisis was sparked by a 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami on Friday.

Thousands of people are believed to have died.

Exclusion zone

A fresh explosion rocked reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant - 250km (155 miles) north-east of Tokyo - in the early hours of Tuesday.

"Now we are talking about levels that can impact human health," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

Exclusion zone

A fresh explosion rocked reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant - 250km (155 miles) north-east of Tokyo - in the early hours of Tuesday.

"Now we are talking about levels that can impact human health," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

Continue reading the main story

JAPAN NUCLEAR EMERGENCY

• Explosions in three reactors at Fukushima plant
• Fourth reactor on fire
• Containment chamber damaged at reactor 2
• Radiation levels at plant rise more than four fold
• 20km (12 mile) exclusion zone
• People living within 30km to stay indoors

• US asks nuclear questions

He stressed that such levels were recorded at the plant and that the "further away you get from the power plant or reactor, the value should go down".

In his televised address, Prime Minister Kan said: "There is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out."

He added that the last remaining people within a 20km (12 mile) exclusion zone around the plant had to leave, and that those living between 20km and 30km from the site should remain indoors.

Radiation levels around Fukushima for one hour's exposure rose to eight times the legal limit for exposure in one year, said the plant's operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco).

The radiation reading at 0831 local time (2331 GMT) climbed to 8,217 microsieverts an hour from 1,941 about 40 minutes earlier, Tepco said. The annual legal limit is 1,000 microsieverts.

A fire which briefly broke out at the plant's reactor 4 on Tuesday is also believed to have led to radioactive leaks.

Higher radiation levels were recorded on Tuesday south of Fukushima, Kyodo news agency reported.

Levels in Tokyo were higher than normal, but officials said there were no health dangers.

Shares on the Tokyo stock exchange plummeted 13%, before recovering slightly. The leading Nikkei index had already fallen by 7% on Monday.

On Monday, a hydrogen blast at the Fukushima plant's reactor 3 was felt 40km (25 miles) away. It followed a blast at reactor 1 on Saturday.

All explosions have been preceded by cooling system breakdowns. Engineers are trying to prevent meltdowns by flooding the chambers of the nuclear reactors with sea water.

Japan's nuclear safety agency said it suspects Tuesday's blast may have damaged the vessel that holds reactor 2.

The BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says that would make it a more serious incident than the previous explosions, which were thought just to have damaged the buildings that housed the reactors.

Complete devastation

Meanwhile, five days after the tsunami triggered by the earthquake, the relief operation is continuing.

The latest official death toll stands at about 2,400 - but some estimates suggest 10,000 may have been killed.

One of the worst-hit towns, Minamisanriku, is now just a scene of complete devastation, says the BBC's Rachel Harvey.

Everything was flattened by the force of the tsunami, with only the town's hospital and a government building remaining, our correspondent says.

Thousands are still unaccounted for - including hundreds of tourists - while many remote towns and villages have not been reached.

More than 500,000 people have been made homeless.

The government has deployed 100,000 troops to lead the aid effort.

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