chOOmbak

Power Cut and Santa Banta

meaw — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:28:39 +0000

This is what happened @ a recent power cut in Delhi

Actor Nirmal Pandey Dead

meaw — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:12:03 +0000

Actor Nirmal Pandey of the famous Is Raat ki Subah Nahin is dead. Unconfirmed reports claim that the actor suffered from a heart attack (source: rediff)..

After passing out of NSD he moved to London, with a London based theatre group, Tara, performing plays like Heer Ranjha, Anitigone, and has acted in around 125 plays ^[1]. After doing two small roles, he first got noticed in Shekhar Kapur’s acclaimed Bandit Queen (1996), there after he received rave reviews for films like, Amol Palekar’s Daayra (Square Circle) (1996), Train To Pakistan (1998), Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi and Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain..

He has also acted in movies like Laila, and acted in several television serials, including Hatim, and Princess Dollie Aur Uska Magic Bag (2005) (Star Plus) .

In addition to being a good actor, he is also a versatile singer and has released an album called Jazba. In 2002, he directed, Andhayug, a Hindi play, written by noted playwright Dharamveer Bharati, which follows the 18 days following the Mahabharata war. The play has a cast of 70 actors, all of whom belong to Sanvedna, a theatre group started by him in 1994

Beatle Paul McCartney finds vegetarianism “most enjoyable”

meaw — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:52:18 +0000

Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, who has been a vegetarian for over 30 years, finds vegetarianism “very simple, tasty, and most enjoyable”.

Writing in the latest newsletter of Oscar winner Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s (Shakespeare in Love) blog “GOOP—nourish the inner aspect”, McCartney advocated “Meat Free Monday”, urging readers not to eat meat at least one-day a week. He wrote: “…there are so many great alternatives, for instance, in Italian cooking, so many of the dishes are vegetarian already and Thai and Chinese cuisine are the same”.

McCartney points out: “…livestock industry as a whole was responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the whole of the transport sector put together…The Livestock industry produces gases that are extremely dangerous for the future of our environment…Livestock production is the largest source of water pollutants”. Former United States Vice President Al Gore is listed as one of the supporters of “Meat Free Monday” initiative.

McCartney further says that number of schools in United Kingdom, town of Ghent in Belgium, and Sao Paulo (Brazil) have already done this. “…we cannot leave this important issue to the politicians of the world… it is once again left to us, the people, to do it ourselves”, he argues and adds, “Next Monday – don’t eat meat and do your bit to save this beautiful planet of ours”.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, pointed out that Hinduism promoted strict vegetarianism insisting on ahimsa (not harming living creatures) and non-killing, and renouncing animal slaughter and meat eating. It suggested taking of sattvik (vegetables, fruits, etc.) and avoiding rajasik (eggs, etc.) and tamasik (meat, intoxicants, etc.) foods, Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued.

Paltrow suggested few vegetarian recipes in this newsletter—“Vegetarian ‘Squab’ with Lettuce”, “Vegetarian Fried Rice”, “Bok Choy in Oyster Sauce”, “Babycakes” ; listed favorite vegetarian cookbooks—“How to Cook Everything Vegetarian”, “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, “The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook”, “Get Cooking”, “The Kind Diet”, “Veganomicon”; and “Eating Animals” (about novelist Jonathan Safran Foer’s decision to become vegetarian).

GOOP is said to be a name carved from 37-year old Gwyneth Kate Paltrow’s initials, who is also sometimes known as “part yogini”.

A Few Interesting Thoughts..

meaw — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:59:20 +0000

1. Once, all villagers decided to pray for rain, on the day of prayer all
the People gathered but only one boy came with an umbrella…
THAT’S FAITH

2. When you throw a baby in the air, she laughs because she knows you
will catch her…
THAT’S TRUST

3.Every night we go to bed, without any assurance of being alive the next
Morning but still we set the alarms in our watch to wake up…
THAT’S HOPE

4. We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the
future or having any certainty of uncertainties…
THAT’S CONFIDENCE

5. We see the world suffering. We know there is every possibility of same
or similar things happening to us. But still we get married??…
THAT’S OVER CONFIDENCE!!

India’s Madhusree Dutta’s “Cinema City” chosen for prestigious Berlin Film Festival

meaw — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 05:59:21 +0000

The renowned “60th Berlin International Film Festival” of Germany has selected Indian filmmaker Madhusree Dutta’s "Cinema City” project for display.

This “installation project” will be on display in several cinema foyers, exploring questions about the relationship between urban space and cinema during the Festival in Berlin from February 11 to 21. It has been described as a project to archive the city whose identity is integrally linked with its production process of cinemas, through an inter-disciplinary network of research, productions and documentations.

Filmfare and National awards winner Dutta (7 Islands and a Metro), a National School of Drama (New Delhi) alumni, besides filmmaking, is also said to be a producer-curator-pedagogue-researcher-activist.

Congratulating Dutta and her project team, acclaimed Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged India Government and large private conglomerates of India to promote independent cinema. India was full of creative and excellent filmmakers and they only needed an integrated effort in funding, encouragement, marketing/promotion, exposure in global avenues, and organization of world-level film festivals in India, Rajan Zed, who is chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, added.

Another Indian entry into this Festival is “My Name Is Khan” in “out of competition” category. Directed by Filmfare winner Karan Johar (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…), its cast includes Filmfare winners Shah Rukh Khan (Chak De India!) and Kajol (Fanaa) besides Christopher B. Duncan (Contradictions of the Heart), who plays US President Barack Obama. It is the story of Rizwan Khan of Mumbai who suffers from Asperger syndrome.

Berlin International Film Festival (Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin) is claimed to be "the biggest audience event in the film world". At last Festival, it had 486,955 visitors from 136 countries and there were 389 films in the public program. Dieter Kosslick is Festival Director.

Chetan Bhagat Vinod Chopra Controversy – Agreement Paper says it all

meaw — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 06:46:05 +0000

After the ‘shut up’ episode, Three Idiots producer Vinod Chopra has uploaded the contract he signed with Chetan Bhagat.

Read the agreement details here

Who is the 4th idiot? Is Chetan Bhagat trying desperate attempts to sell his book?

The Art of Timepass

meaw — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:32:24 +0000

This is how working professionals actually pass their time.

Itching Crotch

meaw — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:06:43 +0000

A teacher noticed that a little boy at the back of the class was squirming around, scratching his crotch, and not paying attention.
She went back to find out what was going on. He was quite embarrassed and whispered that he had just recently been circumcised and he was quite itchy. The teacher told him to go down to the nurse’s office.
He was told to telephone his mother and ask her what he should do about it. He did it and returned to his class.
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the back of the room. She went back to investigate only to find him sitting at his desk with his penis hanging out.
"I thought you were told to call your mom!" she said.
"I did," he said, "And she told me that if I could stick it out till noon, she’d come and pick me up from school."

Pyaar Impossible Music Review – It’s Girlie

meaw — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:55:39 +0000

Pyaar Impossible is set to be launched in the first week of Jan, i.e. Jan 8th, 2010 and here is the music review.

Pyaar Impossible

Pyaar Impossible Songs

Alisha
Pyaar Impossible
You And Me
10 On 10
Ek Thi Ladki

The music is highly inspired by rock groups like U2, Shania Twain, Green Day and of course, Britney Spears.

Coming back to the music, Anushka Manchanda fits Priyanka Chopra’s voice just like a blue jeans fits in you.

She righfully sings Priyanka on the screen and Alisha song is surely an easy to one’s ear.

The song ‘Pyaar Impossible’’ opening track reminds you of a typical hollywood music, thought the song is nicely sung – speaks of chemistry between the actors.

This song is already ringing up the charts.

Other songs Ek Thi ladki and 10 on 10 are a typical wannabe hollywood song – but doesn’t come closer to Rock On when it comes to head banging. Moreover, it’s girlish.

Overall, 3.5/5.

Firefighter Joke

meaw — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:31:07 +0000

A firefighter was working on the engine outside the station, when he noticed a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides, and a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle.
The girl was wearing a firefighters helmet. The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat.

The firefighter walked over to take a closer look.
"That sure is a nice fire truck,"’ the firefighter said with admiration.
"Thanks," the girl replied.
The firefighter looked a little closer. The girl had tied the wagon to her dog’s collar and to the cat’s testicles.
"Little partner," the firefighter said, "I don’t want to tell you how to run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat’s collar, I think you could go faster."

The little girl replied thoughtfully, "You’re probably right, but then wouldn’t have a siren."