What lies beneath

Voices from the grave

This one’s spooky. But in case you want to know exactly how Jim Morrison called it quits with the living world, this is one gadget that could help you unravel the mystery (with a little help from the deceased singer, of course). Robert Barrows, an American scientist, has invented a digital tombstone — complete with a flat LCD touchscreen and an in-built microchip — that he claims would enable the dead to speak from within the grave! The means of communication would be video messages transmitted via the screen. Barrows has filed a patent application for his invention, and those who believe in afterlife could look forward to the gadget hitting the market. And in case there are secrets you intend to carry with you to the grave, remember, mum’s the word when you’re six feet under!

Gift of the cab...

...Is what the Mumbai Task Force plans to give the city, and in colours of your choice! If a project mooted by the civic body sees the light of day, the black-and-yellow brigade on wheels could soon be passé, making way for new-age taxis in dazzling shades, with plush interiors, communication systems, maps and trained drivers who would double up as tourist guides. As many as three car manufacturers may be approached in the future to run taxi services in the city, each taxi owned by its driver who would buy the vehicle at a price determined by city taxi unions. The owner would also be free to colour his cab the way he wishes to. So fasten your seat belt for that special first ride along the Marine Drive, in a cab done up in your favourite colours. And if the taxi driver happens to sport a mohawk hair-do á la Robert De Niro, could things get any better?

SHE HIT BIG TIME LAST YEAR with her critically acclaimed cover songs. And now, 17-year-old soul artiste Joss Stone is all set to soar up the charts with her debut album Mind, Body & Soul. Here’s wishing the British lass the best for the times to come.

Telling all in text mode

What could be better than raunchy text messages? A steamy tale of illicit love, and all of it on your mobile phone! Outside the Fortress Besieged, an SMS-friendly novel written by Chinese author Qian Fuchang, will soon be transmitted to Chinese mobile phone users, in 60 chunks of 70 characters each. And if you think this is just another mobile gimmick, Xie Wangxin, vice-chairman of the Guangdong Literary Academy assures that the novel will be recognised as a real literary work.

This one’s for them

Radio ga-ga

From the gab bag to Bollywood, Indian radio jockeys are in for a reel exposure. A film exploring their lives is slated to hit the screens in India soon. Directed by Sanjay Bhatia, 99.9 FM is the story of Gautam Singh, an RJ whose world revolves around his music, his radio programmes and the women in his life. The superb soundtrack is what holds the plot together, comprising numbers by Shubha Mudgal, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, Usha Uthup and Zila Khan. A tribute to the speak-easy fraternity, shall we say?

AWARD OF THE WEEK

Goes to a group of 40 Indian dancers, who danced for 55 hours at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi to set a record for the world’s longest dance party. The tapes of the event will be sent to the Guinness Book of World Records for recognition.