Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?

I'll find my way
Through night and day,
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven.

Time can bring you down,
Time can bend your knees.
Time can break your heart,
Have you begging please, begging please.

Beyond the door,
There's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven.

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.

Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976) is being re-presented for its 30th anniversary in the most intelligent context possible - as part of a Bernard Herrmann season at London's National Film Theatre. It was the great movie composer's final score: a compelling mixture of sinuous jazz and a declamatory orchestral soundtrack, denoting as nothing else could a presentiment of catastrophe. Robert De Niro's insomniac New York taxi driver, Travis Bickle, driven mad by driving around the hellish streets at night, has a humiliating date with a political activist (Cybill Shepherd) who is way out of his league, and becomes a would-be assassin, moreover conceiving an obsession with an underage prostitute, unforgettably played by Jodie Foster.

No other movie can plunge you, so sensuously and so completely, into the forgotten 70s New York of checkered cabs and porno-chic, with all the extraordinary sights and sounds: like that pop-eyed busking drummer with the jet-black hair demonstrating indistinguishable percussion styles to uncaring passers-by. He turns up in my dreams on a pretty regular basis.

I haven't seen Taxi Driver since I was a student, when I used to watch it about once a fortnight. But seeing it again on the big screen showed me how much I'd forgotten and how much I never saw in the first place. Scorsese himself makes two creepy cameo appearances, not one. Paul Schrader's script has one of Travis's cabbie acquaintances making a joke about Bertrand Russell - possibly even in reference to the great anecdote about a London taxi driver asking Russell the meaning of life. That under-remembered political storyline shows the movie's consanguinity with Robert Altman's Nashville and Michael Ritchie's The Candidate and it shows that to the list of everything that has borrowed from Taxi Driver since 1976, we must add TV's The West Wing, whose Josh character is surely derived from Albert Brooks, the nerdy, lovelorn aide.

The main thing I'd forgotten was the extraordinary parody-happy-ending coda, in which Travis does indeed succeed in impressing Cybill Shepherd with his psychotic bloodbath: and frankly it isn't too hard to see how deranged John Hinckley got the message for his own attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981. Robert De Niro is almost radioactive with charisma, and the charm and magnetism of his extended dialogue scenes with Shepherd and Foster have a relaxed directness that later he was, sadly, to lose by acquiring repetitious tics and mannerisms. What a mad and brilliant film it is: 1,000-degree proof Seventies cinema.

Russia is home to 7 of the 25 richest people in the world, and 12 of the 25 richest in Europe. There are more billionaires living in Moscow, at 74, than in any other city in the world, with an average wealth of $5.9 billion. Russia ranks second in the world in number of billionaires with 87, behind America's 469.^[1] Below is a list of all 87 Russian billionaires as of March 2008, according to Forbes magazine.^[2]

Take the Son

In Upstate New York years ago, there was a very wealthy man, who with is devoted young son, shared a passion for art collecting. Together they traveled around the world, adding only the finest art treasures to their collection. Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and many others adorned the walls of the family estate.
The widowed elder man looked on with satisfaction as his only child became an experienced art collector. The son's trained eye and sharp business mind caused his father to beam with pride as he dealt with art collectors around the world.

As winter approached war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram. His beloved son was missing in action. The art collector anxiously awaited more news; fearing he would never see this son again. Within days, his fears were confirmed, the young man had died while rushing a fellow soldier to a medic.

Distraught and lonely, the old man faced the upcoming Christmas holidays with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season, that he and his son had so looked forward to, would visit his house no longer.

On Christmas morning a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man. As he walked to the door, the masterpieces of art on the walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home. As he opened the door, he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hands. He introduced himself to the man by saying, "I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you."

As the two began to talk, the soldier told of how the man's son had told everyone of his father's love of fine art. "I am an artist," said the soldier, "and I want to give you this." As the old man unwrapped the package, the paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the man's son.

Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young man's face in striking detail. Overcome by emotion, the man thanked the soldier, promising to hang the picture above the fireplace. A few hours later after the soldier had departed, the old man set about his task. True to his word, the painting went above the fireplace, pushing aside thousands of dollars worth of art.

His task completed, the old man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the gift he had been given. During the days and weeks that followed, the man realized that even though his son was no longer with him, the boy's life would live on because of those he had touched. He would soon learn that his son had rescued dozens of wounded soldiers before the bullet stilled his caring heart.

As the stories of his son's gallantry continued to reach him, fatherly pride and satisfaction began to ease his grief. The painting of his son soon became his most prized possession, far eclipsing any interest in the pieces for which museums around the world clamored. He told his neighbors it was the greatest gift he had ever received.

The following spring, the old man became ill and passes away. The art world was waiting in anticipation, that with the collector's passing and his only son dead, those paintings would be sold at auction. According to the will of the old man, all of the art works would be auctioned on Christmas Day, the day he had received the greatest gift.

The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world's most spectacular paintings. Dreams would be fulfilled this day; greatness would be achieved as many would claim, "I have the greatest collection."

The auction began with a painting that was not on any museum's list. It was the painting of the man's son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid, but the room was silent. "Who will open the bidding with $100?" he asked. Minutes passed, and no one spoke. From the back of the room came a voice, "Who cares about that painting? It's just a picture of his son. Let's forget about it and move on with the good stuff," more voices echoed in agreement. "No, we have to sell this on first," replied the auctioneer. "Now who will take the son?"

Finally, a neighbor of the old man spoke. "Will you take ten dollars for the painting? That's all I have. I knew the boy, so I'd like to have it.""I have ten dollars. Will anyone go higher?" called the auctioneer. After more silence, the auctioneer said, "Going once, going twice, gone." The gavel fell.

Cheers filled the room and someone exclaimed, "Now we can get on with it and we can bid on the real treasurers!"

The auctioneer looked at the audience and announced that the auction was over. Stunned disbelief quieted the room. Someone spoke up and asked, "What do you mean, it's over? We didn't come here for a picture of some old guy's son. What about all of these paintings? There are millions of dollars worth of art here! I demand that you explain what is going on!"

The auctioneer replied, "It's very simple, according to the will of the father, whoever takes the son...gets it all."

Puts things into perspective doesn't it?

Just as those art collectors discovered , the message is still the same. The love of a Father, whose greatest joy came from his Son who went away and gave his life rescuing others. And because of that Father's love... whoever takes the Son gets it all.

10 Essential Health Tips  (The Basics to Practice Every Day)  "He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything." -Arabian Proverb 1. Move More Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it's a stress buster. Think 'move' in small increments of time. It doesn't have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that's great when you're up to it. Meanwhile, move more. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it! 2. Cut Fat Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one! 3. Quit Smoking  The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we've seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or 'tough guy' stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one. 4. Reduce Stress  Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. ( i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.  5. Protect Yourself from Pollution  If you can't live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It's a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: 'Smoke gets in your eyes'…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily. 6. Wear Your Seat Belt Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up. 7. Floss Your Teeth Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it's because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don't? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body's boss. 8. Avoid Excessive Drinking  While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time. 9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook  There's a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can't be unhappy when you're smiling or singing.  10. Choose Your Parents Well  The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn't mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.

--
Saravjit

WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO EMPLOYEES TODAY?
by Bruce L. Katcher, Ph.D. Vice President, Corporate Surveys, Inc.

There are 5 key issues that are most important to employees today*

Part 1 - The Problem

Keeping good employees is one of the major problems confronting organizations today. To retain valuable employees, senior management needs to have a good understanding of what is most important to their employees.

Part 2 - The Results and Recommendations

I examined 18 employee opinion studies we conducted during the past 2 years. In each of these studies employees were asked to identify the 10 issues that are most important to them (regardless of their level of satisfaction with the issue). The 5 issues most frequently cited by employees as most important to them are presented below along with strategies for meeting these employee needs.

1) ENJOYMENT OF THE WORK

Employees today want to enjoy the actual work they are performing. They can often withstand highly stressful working environments and uncertainty about the future of their organization if they enjoy their actual work activities such as helping customers, using their creativity, or solving problems.

• Make certain employees have an opportunity to use their valued skills and abilities.
• Continually ask employees if they are enjoying their work assignments.
• Provide employees with more say in how they actually conduct their work.
• Ensure that employees receive the training they need to perform their job well.

Satisfaction with the degree of balance they are able to strike between their work and personal life is also very important to employees today. This is especially true for younger employees. Even the extremely hard-working baby-boomers have reached a point in their lives where they realize that better balance is essential to their psychological health.

• Make work/life balance a recognized organizational value.
• Management should try to serve as role models for work/life balance.
• Reduce organizational inefficiencies that drain employee time and energy.
• Provide employees with scheduling flexibility.

Employees today still view pay as very important. They want to be paid fairly compared to others performing similar work in other organizations.

• Establish and communicate the organization's pay philosophy.
• Conduct salary surveys to make certain the pay levels are appropriate.
• Eliminate clear internal pay inequities.
• Carefully script the messages supervisors transmit to employees about pay.

• Eliminate across-the-board increases.
• Make sure performance reviews are conducted.
• Don't tolerate ineffective performers.
• Use other types of rewards for good performers as well, such as recognition, opportunities for training, and interesting work assignments.

It is important to employees today that their organizations hire and retain enough qualified employees to handle the workload. Downsizing and restructuring has left many organizations with a shortage of qualified workers. This has led to longer working hours, a frenetic work pace, and lower quality service.

• Conduct staffing audits to make certain staffing levels match the workload.
• When appropriate, quickly replace departing employees.
• Develop innovative recruiting methods.

 Difficult Judgment !!

In a small town, a person decided to open up his Bar business, which was right opposite to a Temple. The Temple & its congregation started a campaign to block the Bar from opening with petitions and prayed daily against his business.

Work progressed. However, when it was almost complete and was about to open a few days later, a strong lightning struck the Bar and it was burnt to the ground.

The temple folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, till the Bar owner sued the Temple authorities on the grounds that the Temple through its congregation & prayers was ultimately responsible for the demise of his bar shop, either through direct or indirect actions or means.

In its reply to the court, the temple vehemently denied all responsibilityor any connection that their prayers were reasons to the bar shop's demise. As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork at the hearing and commented:

"I don't know how I'm going to decide this case, but it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of  prayer and we have an entire temple and its devotees that doesn't."

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library.

Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell.

With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II.

During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York.

"You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.

I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened:

A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose.

As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat.. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.

I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her.

This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.

"I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"

The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive.

"Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "And I will tell you who you are."

Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good. God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!" Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice-cream! Why, I never!". Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?" As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer." "Really?" my son asked. "Cross my heart." Then in a theatrical whisper he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes." Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes, and my soul is good already."