Islamic artists were 500 years ahead of Western scientists

News Clip Courtesy : Steve Connor, Science Editor.... published on 23 February 2007..


Islamic artists were exploiting a mathematical principle to decorate buildings with complicated patterns of tiles more than 500 years before its discovery in the West.

The decorative tilework that adorns some medieval Islamic buildings has been found to use basic geometric shapes that form a complex and highly intricate tiling pattern which does not repeat itself.

In modern mathematics the principle of non-repeating patterns on a flat surface is known as quasicrystal geometry, and the most famous example is known as Penrose tiling, after the Oxford mathematician Roger Penrose, who was thought to have discovered it 30 years ago.

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Comedian Jeni dies in apparent suicide

News Clip, Calif. -

Richard Jeni, a standup comedian who played to sold-out crowds, was a regular on the "Tonight Show" and appeared in movies, died of a gunshot wound in an apparent suicide, police said Sunday.

Police found the 45-year-old comedian alive but gravely injured in a West Hollywood home when they responded to a call Saturday morning from Jeni's girlfriend, Los Angeles Police Officer Norma Eisenman said.

Eisenman said the caller told police: "My boyfriend shot himself in the face."

Jeni died at a nearby hospital.

Eisenman said suicide had not been officially confirmed and the investigation was continuing.

Jeni regularly toured the country with a standup act and had starred in several HBO comedy specials, most recently "A Big Steaming Pile of Me" during the 2005-06 season.

Jeni's movie credits included "The Mask," in which he played Jim Carrey's best friend, "The Aristocrats," "National Lampoon's Dad's Week Off," and "An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn."

He also had guest appearances in the TV shows "Everybody Hates Chris," "Married: With Children," and updated versions of the game shows "Hollywood Squares" and "Match Game."

The Brooklyn-born comic first received national attention in 1990 with the Showtime special "Richard Jeni: Boy From New York City." Two years later, his "Crazy From the Heat" special attracted the highest ratings in Showtime's history

He also wrote comic material for the 2005 Academy Awards, which was hosted by his friend Chris Rock.

News Clip Courtesy : By ANA BEATRIZ CHOLO, Associated Press Writer

Swiss Company Touts Watches Made From "Titanic-DNA"

Swiss watch maker Romain Jerome has announced the worldwide launch of a watch which it claims is made from authentic parts of the Titanic, the ocean liner which became infamous for its collision with an iceberg, and for its dramatic sinking on April 14, 1912. The watch is a part of the company's new "DNA of Famous Legends" collection.

According to the watchmaker, the steel that makes the body of the watch has been created by a fusion of authentic steel from the shipwreck and that of the future Titanic II at the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast.

"This is how the DNA is captured; a myth is reborn," the company said, according to Fibre2fashion.com.

The minute and hour hands of the watch are shaped like the anchor of the Titanic and the company describes the deep black dial as taking its color from the "coal collected in the legendary shipwreck."

The company has produced only 2,012 pieces of the watch to represent the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic and the launch date of the Titanic II in Belfast in 2012.