Accountant in Sydney

30 Things to Do to Keep From Getting Bored Out of Your Skull at Work

2010-09-18T19:39:00.000+10:00

Photo courtesy of miss karen

The war between being and nothingness is the underlying illness of the twentieth century. Boredom slays more of existence than war. - Norman Mailer

I’m not one to get bored, ever … but a number of readers have written in with the question: What do I do if I’m bored out of my skull at work?

It gave me pause, to think about why I can’t recall ever getting that bored at work. And I realized: I always keep myself busy, doing something, whether it’s productive or not.

Sometimes, I’m creating a new project, or improving myself somehow … but sometimes I just find interesting stuff to read online or find a cool solitaire game to play. (Well, I haven’t played any games in awhile, but Freecell used to be my poison of choice a few years ago.)

So the short answer: just find things to entertain yourself. Keep your mind busy. Challenge yourself. Talk to somebody. Break out of your mold.

The longer answer has to do with analyzing why you’re bored in the first place. Is your job that boring? Are you really doing what you want to be doing? Is there a way to start pursuing something better? Or are you already in a great job, but something or someone is holding you back? And what can you do to improve the situation?

I’m not going to pursue the longer answer in this post, but give you some ideas for the shorter answer. It’s not an exhaustive list of ideas. Just some things I’ve done to keep my mind busy — pick and choose those that might work for you.

Create a new challenge. I think this is by far the best thing on the list, but you may differ. Many times we’re bored because we don’t have a challenge — things are too easy or routine. So instead of waiting for someone to create a challenge for you, do it yourself. How can you challenge yourself? Set a new goal at work. Challenge yourself to produce more than ever. Explore new projects. Set personal goals and pursue them. Whatever excites you.
Pursue your next job. If your job is so boring you don’t know what to do with yourself, you may need to move on. But instead of quitting right away, start lining up your next gig first. Look around for openings, call people, update your resume and submit it to a few places, pick up a few applications, send out some email feelers. Find something that will never get you bored, something you’ll be passionate about.
List your life goals. What is it you want to accomplish in life? Not just with work, but personally? If you’ve listed them before, it’s always good to update them. Then choose one of those goals to achieve this year. Now think about what you can do today to move closer to that goal, even if it’s just a small thing. Get the ball rolling. Do this every day — move yourself closer to that goal.
Read Zen Habits. Or whatever your favorite distraction is. If it’s something that will improve your life, even better. Just limit how long you read at one time, so you’re not reading through the Zen Habits archives in one sitting.
Declutter your workspace. If I’ve got nothing better to do, I’ll clear off my desk (if there’s anything there), or start looking around critically at everything in view and asking myself, “Does that really need to be there? How can I simplify this?” Weird, I know, but I have an oddly uncluttered workspace. Right now my desk is a table, my iMac, an nothing else. No files, no papers, no office supplies, nothing. Everything is done on my computer, and I love it that way. Nothing on my walls. You may not need anything as spartan as that, but decluttering can be a lot of fun.
Pursue a hobby. My hobby (until it became a profession) was blogging … I would do it at work in my spare time, or before or after work. Not everyone can pursue their hobby at work — the model airplane glue might bother your coworkers, for example — but sometimes you can just read about it while at work. I was upfront about my blogging and freelancing at work with my boss, btw, but many people get away with doing it on the sly. I won’t make a recommendation, but just don’t get fired.
Make your work a game. You can make a game out of anything. See how many widgets you can crank in 10 minutes. Pretend that your coworkers are evil villains. Imagine that you are a CIA agent in disguise, and no one knows. Or a fairy princess. Whatever floats your boat. :)
Educate yourself. On Guam, this is called “edumacation” — it’s not a real word, but we like to play with English. Whatever you call it, you can improve your knowledge online in any area — whether that be work-related or not. Be your own college instructor. Wikipedia is a great place to start, but if you’re going to have a specialized knowledge in anything, branch out from there.
Improve your skills. Along the same lines: choose a skill that needs sharpening, and challenge yourself to get better at it. Whether that’s computer programming, writing, working with Adobe InDesign, or whatever. Perfect your skills — you can use it to further your career, get a new job, or become self-employed. Or just have the satisfaction of knowing you’re the best you can be at that skill.
Play Sudoku. Perhaps not the most intellectual game of all time, or the most exciting … but I still find it a lot of fun. I only played it a little while and didn’t get addicted like other people I know, but I have to admit it’s a fun way to pass the time.
Choose a soothing desktop picture. I like to do this when I’m procrastinating. I will go online, to flickr or some desktop wallpaper website and browse around until I find a very simple, soothing picture. I do this maybe every month or so. In fact, I’m going to go do that right now!

Do some pushups and crunches. If you’re bored, you might as well start getting in shape. You can do pushups and crunches right there on the floor next to your desk (or go outside if you’re worried about your coworkers seeing you). Or walk up some steps, or do squats and lunges without weights, or dips in your chair, or butt squeezes (that means squeeze your own butt, not your coworkers’).
Take a day or two off. Sometimes you just need to refresh yourself, recharge your batteries before starting again. Don’t do any work while you’re out. Veg out, or read, or sleep, or exercise, or whatever. Get your mind off work. Think about your priorities. Get out in nature. Reconnect with your life.
Take a walk. Often this is all I need, especially if I’ve been sitting all day and my blood is pooling up in my butt and legs. I need to get that blood circulating! Go outside, walk around, look at people, look at nature, think about your day and your life and the people in it.
Drink some water. Dehydration can make us tired and sluggish. Water can refresh us. Keep that water coming all day long — you may need to pee more though.
Call a loved one. What better time to call someone to catch up, to tell them you love them, to just say hi … than when you’ve got nothing better to do. It’s a nice way to stay connected.
Read. I like to carry a novel everywhere I go. Then I whip it out anytime I have spare time, waiting at the doctor’s office, in line at the post office, driving in the Indy 500 … you know. If not a novel, carry around a “to read” folder with stuff you want or need to read but don’t have time for right now … then whip it out at your desk when you’re bored. You could have a “to read” folder on your computer too.
Start writing your novel. Many of us have a novel that’s tossing itself around in our heads and hearts, waiting to come out. Well, start getting it out, mister. Just start by writing some notes, thinking about characters and plot and what the hell this book is about anyway. It’s not going to come out by itself.
Take a nap. If you don’t have a good place to do this, you can curl up under your desk with a sweater, or go to your car and sleep. I’ve learned how to fall asleep at my chair, but thank goodness I’m working at home and can go to the couch in a napping emergency.
Create a new project or role. If things are stagnating at work, start something new. Create and innovate. What can you do that has a lasting impact for your company and for yourself, for your career? If you’re stuck in a dead-end role, create a new role for yourself. It doesn’t matter if it’s not in the job description. Find something that’s not being done by someone else, something that needs to be done or that hasn’t been thought of yet, but that would really benefit the company — and take it upon yourself to do it. You might need to talk to your boss, but sometimes you can just start doing something and inform the higher-ups later. If it’s good for the company, and if they’re smart, they’ll be happy.
Write a love letter. If you have a significant other, write a letter telling them why you love them. They’ll love it. Email is fine, but pen and paper are even better.
Do one small thing to make yourself wealthier. That might be creating a savings account if you don’t have one yet, or setting up an automatic transfer between checking and savings every payday, or researching a money market fund or index fund, or simply reading Get Rich Slowly or The Simple Dollar for personal finance basics.
Write a blog post. This is something I love to do when things get slow. I’ll just call up a text file and start writing. I love lists, of course (you guys should know that by now), so often I’ll just start making a list, and writing down my thoughts. If things are really slow, I’ll do the whole blog post. I can always post it later if necessary. Make sure you love what you’re writing about.
Do an errand. This can either be in the office (“Where’s that ink cartridge I’ve been needing all week?”) or outside the office (“I really should buy toilet paper today!”). It gets you moving, it gets you away from the scene of your boredom, and it accomplishes something useful.
Update your personal finances. I used to track my finances through Microsoft Money, but I’ve since switched to using a Google spreadsheet, so that it’s online and accessible from anywhere. I considered other online solutions, but personally, I like to keep things as simple as possible. However you do it, it’s a good idea to update your financial tracking system once a week or so, so that you know where you stand and you don’t overspend. Got some spare time? Update.
Meditate at your desk. Some people would say this is just a fancy term for taking a nap. But for me the key is not to fall asleep, but to close my eyes and focus on my breathing. Nothing new-agey about this — it brings your focus back to the present and calms you. Sometimes it’ll calm you so much you’ll fall asleep. I say, two birds, one stone.
Organize your files. OK, this might seem boring to many people, but I like to organize things. I get a perverse satisfaction from purging useless stuff and having everything be smaller, neater, and in order. And it doesn’t take long.
Clear out your inbox. I get joy out of an empty inbox, whether that’s my email inbox or physical one. Crank through it until it’s empty — you don’t have to do everything in the inbox, but just make a note of it on your to-do list if you plan to do it later (or delete, file, forward, or do it now). Got a thousand or two emails in your inbox? Put them in a temporary folder and do them later, starting with a fresh inbox. Chances are, you won’t need to do them at all. Now just keep your inbox empty from here on out.
Crank up the tunes. Some funky or upbeat tunes might just do the trick. They can make any job much more fun. Either play it on your speakers if your coworkers don’t mind, or plug in the earbuds. Currently on my playlist: Radiohead, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jack Johnson, Snow Patrol … I could go on and on.
Get wild! Sometimes we just need to let loose. Start singing at the top of your lungs, or dance around the office. Sure, people might stare or laugh, but a little fun in the office isn’t a bad thing. Or get out of the office and do something fun or crazy. One afternoon of wildity isn’t going to hurt you (well, stay away from things that are illegal or life-threatening, if possible).

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. - Dorothy Parker

A Look At: Louie

2010-07-21T09:51:00.000+10:00

Louie continues to be one of the best new series of the year, and if you haven't been watching, I urge you to catch up.
Last week's episode. "So Old / Playdate," was probably the strongest yet when it comes to showing the sitcom's multiple strengths: short stories and long, standup riffs and character pieces, observational comedy and dark, quasi-dramatic set pieces. The opening bit—in which Louie gets lucky with a 26-year-old turned on by how old he is—was a one-joke skit, but a funny joke played out for just the right amount of time. (Sample of their sex talk: Louie: "I voted for Mike Dukakis!" Woman [screaming, orgasmically]: "Who the f___ is he?")
But the second, longer story was really the show at its best. Louie goes to a PTA meeting and meets a single mom, Pamela (Pamela Adlon, who played his wife in his HBO sitcom Lucky Louie—and who provided the voice of Bobby Hill on King of the Hill). Their kids are classmates, so he invites her son over for a playdate, though she makes certain that he has no romantic intentions: "All this"—she gestures below her waist—"is shut down." ("It's OK," he says. "I won't be needing any of this for the playdate.")
Louie invites Pamela to drop her son off, but having nothing else to do, she stays for the playdate, and a very large glass of wine. And in fact, nothing happens—with "this" or elsewhere—although a certain will-they-won't-they tension is set up. Instead, they have a series of long, funny, and brutally honest conversations about being parents: how uninvolved many dads are (Louie, Pamela says, gets a medal just for "showing up"), their annoyance with other kids and parents at the school, and the secret, dark thoughts that come from devoting hours of your day to the care and maintenance of small human beings.
Then she briefly passes out from too much wine, her son—who's seen this before—wakes her up to take him home, and they leave. But I hope we'll be seeing more of her. The episode closes with a standup routine, in which Louis C.K. riffs on how "narcissistic" humans have separated sex from its procreative origins ("Animals must think we're idiots") and a shorter vignette with Louie and his shrink.
The show is not always laff-a-minute hysterical (though the standup is consistently funny), but—on my theory that the best sitcoms are not always those with the most jokes—at its best moments it's better than hysterical. And maybe because the episodes are (all or mostly) both written and directed by Louis C.K., there's a kind of first-person, artisanal-comedy feel to the show that gives us a strong distillation of the comic's personality and worldview.
In tonight's episode, Louie visits the south. I suggest you join him.

Best Apps for the iPhone

2010-07-13T10:38:00.001+10:00

I have always been a big fan of the iPhone and here is a list of my personal recommendations of my favorite apps for the iPhone.

Facebook

Facebook for iPhone makes it easy to stay connected and share information with friends. Use your iPhone to start a conversation with Facebook Chat, check your friends' latest photos and status updates, look up a phone number, or upload your own mobile photos to Facebook while on the go.

Twitter for iPhone

Discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world with the official Twitter for iPhone app.

Realtime search, Top Tweets, trending topics and maps show whats happening now everywhere and nearby.
Tweet, send DMs, share photos, videos and links to your friends and the world.
Don't have an account? Just sign up from the app!

BeejiveIM

Instant messaging anywhere. Now with Push!

Stay connected to all your instant messaging buddies anywhere you go! BeejiveIM (pronounced \bē-hīv\ IM) keeps you in touch with your friends on AIM®/MobileMe®, MSN®/Windows Live®, Yahoo!®, GoogleTalk®, Facebook, MySpace, ICQ® and Jabber... all at the same time, all on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Beejive's reliable and efficient networking has been tested and proven on multiple platforms. Now it is available for the iPhone. Move from 3G, Edge, and wifi connections seamlessly. Stay connected after you close the application and be notified when you get a new message through push notifications. After being out of coverage BeejiveIM automatically reconnects and picks up where you left off.

BeejiveIM uses your phone's existing data plan or wifi connection, so you can save money by reducing your text messages.

Check out how BeejiveIM works before you buy! View our instructional videos:
http://www.beejive.com/videos

BeejiveIM Key Features:
- BeejiveIM uses your existing data plan: no per-message charges.
- Reliable and efficient networking: be connected 24/7, and it's gentle on your battery.
- Be connected even after you close the application. Get notified instantly when you get a new message with Push Notifications.
- Works with multiple IM networks, multiple accounts per network: AIM®/iChat, MSN®, Yahoo!®, GoogleTalk®, Facebook IM, ICQ®, Jabber, and MySpace IM.
- Send and receive files, including pictures and voice notes. View and forward received documents.
- Desktop-like instant messaging with all of your IM buddies from a single intuitive user interface.

Chatting Features:
- Real-time chats: quick switch between multiple simultaneous chats.
- Group chats: chat with multiple buddies on AIM, Yahoo, GTalk, or MSN.
- Full Unicode support, chat in any language supported by your iPhone.
- Landscape option, type with a larger keyboard.
- Chat history: Email chat logs to save chat history.
- Hyperlink support, automatically parses links for web pages, YouTube videos, email addresses, and phone numbers.
- Emoticons support.
- SMS out, chat with your SMS buddies through AIM or Yahoo SMS out. SMS out is fully integrated with your iPhone/iPod Touch address book.

Account & Buddy Features:
- Manage your buddy-list, including add/remove, nicknames, groups, block, approve/deny requests.
- Merge multiple IM buddies for the same contact under a single buddy list entry with meta contacts.
- Sort/group/search your buddy list.
- Control your own availability, set auto-away and custom status messages, be invisible, change privacy controls.
- Configurable alerts, customizable sound, vibrate settings.
- Buddy icon support, view your friends' icons, set your own.

Skype

Call Skype-to-Skype, wherever you are
Call your Skype contacts wherever you may be – either on 3G or WiFi. It's completely free to call people on Skype over WiFi, and free on 3G* until the end of 2010.
Great value international calls and text messages
Call and text phones anywhere in the world directly from your phonebook, and save with Skype's great rates.
Instant messages
With Skype for iPhone, you can instant message one or many people on Skype at the same time, wherever, and whenever the mood strikes.

Read it Later

Read It Later lets you save webpages to read later, even without an internet connection.

When you come across an article or a webpage you'd like to read but can't at that time, save it to your Read it Later list. You can then read it whenever you have a moment, on the couch, in your commute, on the plane, train, or practically anywhere. This allows you to eliminate the cluttering of bookmarks and inboxes with links that are merely of a one-time interest. It's like a staging area for bookmarks.

The app is a part of the Read It Later service, used by over a million users. Read It Later can integrate with every major web browser and even has a robust Firefox extension. All of your browsers and devices are tied to a single sync account which means you can save an article from work or home and read it on your phone.

Key Features:
- Offline Reading: View complete webpages even without an internet connection.
- Sync: Use the same list between all of your computers and devices
- Text-only View: Easy to read mode strips formatting and images
- Quick Scrollbar: Quickly move up and down long articles.
- Sorting: Sort your list by date, title, and site
- Tagging: Organize your list into groups
- Searching: Filter your list by title, site, and tags
- Saved Positions: Remembers where you left off on every article, provides 'Currently Reading' section for a quick overview of open articles. Syncs your scroll position to your computer.

Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times is one of India's most respected daily newspaper brands. Unflinching commitment to the highest journalistic standards, technological innovation, and strong focus on reader service has placed Hindustan Times in the highest ranks of global news media.

This app brings to you the latest news and photos from Hindustan Times National, World, Business, Cinema and Cricket sections.

Updated round the clock, the news comes to you fresh in this simple and easy to use app.

BBC News

Get the latest, breaking news from the BBC and our global network of journalists.

By downloading the BBC News app you can view:
News stories by geographical region
News by category including business, technology, entertainment and sport

News in other languages including Spanish, Russian and Arabic
Video including one minute news summaries to keep you informed on the go
You can also personalise the app to suit your interests and download content for offline browsing

Bollywood-Buzz

BollywoodHungama.com proudly presents your one stop access point to everything related to Bollywood! Click now for Bollywood News, Reviews, Image and Video Galleries and more! Right here, at Bollywood Buzz!

With this app you can:

-View the latest, exclusive Bollywood clips like Celebrity Interviews, Sneak Peeks Videos, Trailers, and of course, tons of Celebrity Galleries and more

-Confused about movies? Bollywood Buzz is the place to read expert reviews from Taran Adarsh for your favorite movies!

-Get in the groove and know about your favorite to-be-released Bollywood movies.

-Wanna spread the word about movies you liked or disliked? Now, you can tweet your friends about your favorite movies, with Bollywood Buzz!

Get Bollywood Buzz for FREE !!!

--Our Trailers and Videos are optimized for WiFi connection. If you are playing the videos over Edge/3G, please let the videos buffer for 20 sec before hitting play

--Bollywood Buzz requires 'Twitterrific' application for iPhone to post stories to your Twitter

Convertbot

Convertbot is a unit conversion robot. Convert currency, length, mass, time and much more in an exciting new way! Converting numbers will never again be a mundane task. In addition to its innovative interface, our robot is smart enough to convert to and from mixed units. Are you 5 foot 9 inches tall? Other converters require you to convert that to 5.75 ft in your head before being able to enter it. Convertbot allows mixed units like Foot + Inches, Pounds + Ounces, and more! Download the unit converter from the makers of the award-winning Weightbot today!

Conversion Categories (over 500 different Units supported):

✓ Angle
✓ Area
✓ Currency (Updated on application launch. Requires internet connection. Over a hundred different currencies available)
✓ Data Rate
✓ Data Size
✓ Force
✓ Fuel
✓ Illuminance
✓ Length
✓ Mass
✓ Power
✓ Pressure
✓ Radioactivity
✓ SI
✓ Speed
✓ Temperature
✓ Time
✓ Typography
✓ Volume
✓ Work

Expenditure

★ "Expenditure is a gorgeous way to track expenses on your iPhone." -- Gizmodo

★ "Expenditure is simple, succinct and sufficient. Exactly what an expense-tracking application should be." -- 148apps.com

★ "There’s nothing not to like about Expenditure in its current form...Simply put, this is a top notch utility." -- MacTalk

Expenditure combines a beautiful interface with an intuitive way to track your expenses.

Effortlessly add a new transaction, attach a note or a photo and save it with just a few taps. You can even add a transaction in a different currency and let Expenditure convert it for you.

Categories can help you keep track of your various expenses, and you can create as many as you wish.

Visit our website to find out how Expenditure can make it fun to track your expenses.

If you have any questions or comments please send us an email at expenditure@shapehq.com. Note that if you leave a support question in the review, we won't be able to write back to you. So just send us an email.

*What we are working on for version 1.1*
- iOS 4 features: multitasking & Retina display optimization.
- Category view
- German localization
- Russian localization
- Spanish localization
- Portugese localization

*We are also working on*
- Export data as CSV by email.

Air Sharing

The easiest way to view your documents on the go.
Now upgradable to Pro features with an in-app purchase!

FEEDBACK

"Wish you could copy that new proposal to your iPhone and review it on the plane? Now you can." — Apple Inc.

"A dream come true for mobile workers and productivity gurus" — Macworld
"Most Useful App" — 2008 Best App Ever Awards
"Editor's Choice" — PC Magazine
"App of the Week" — Apple Inc.
"It's so easy to use" — Chicago Tribune
"Our favorite file storage app" — Gizmodo
"A fantastic file storage app" — iPhone Alley
"Editor's Pick... Score: 10/10" — AppCraver

INTRODUCTION

With Air Sharing, you can:
- Mount your iPhone or iPod touch as a Wi-Fi drive on your computer (Mac, Windows, or Linux) or connect from your computer's web browser.
- Drag-drop files between your iPhone or iPod touch and your computers.
- View and email documents in many common formats.
- Send email attachments

FEATURES

Upgradeable with in-app purchase to Air Sharing Pro features:
- Connect to your computer (on Windows, requires free desktop app)
- Mount remote file servers (MobileMe iDisk, WebDAV, FTP, FTPS, and SSH/SFTP)
- Custom bookmarks
- PDF table of contents, page thumbnails
- Download files from the web
- Get and Save Photo Library images
- File operations (Copy, Paste, Move, Rename, New Folder)
- Zip and Unzip
- Search by File name
- Playlist interface for audio files
- Print (via printers shared by Mac OS X 10.5+ or Linux)

Ease of use
- Familiar Finder-like file browser
- Use of Bonjour and WebDAV (just like iDisk) for easy connection
- Extensive in-line Help with detailed, simple instructions

Advanced image viewer
- Stable, high-quality viewing of very high-resolution image files
- Configurable image slideshow
- Swipe to previous or next image

Advanced PDF viewer
- Support for large or complex PDF documents
- Go To Page

Fast access
- Scrollbar in document viewer
- A folder popup for going back to previously viewed folders
- Automatic jump to last viewed location when opening a document

Security
- Optional password protection of remote access
- Public folder for guest access
- Local passcode lock for app security

Compatibility
- Mac OS X (Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard)
- Windows (XP, Vista, 7)
- Linux (GNOME and KDE)
- Any web browser
- Computer-to-iPhone connection requires Wi-Fi network

VIEWABLE FORMATS

- iWork (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote)
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), subject to iPhone compatibility
- Web Archive (web pages downloaded by Safari)
- HTML web page
- PDF
- Adobe Illustrator, saved with as PDF Compatible (NEW!)
- RTF (Rich Text Format)
- RTFD (TextEdit documents with embedded images)
- Plain text (many different file extensions), with automatic character-encoding recognition
- Source code (C/C++, Objective C/C++, C#, Java, Javascript, XML, shell scripts, Perl, Ruby, Python, Lua, and more), with color-coded formatting
- Movies, Audio, and Images (standard iPhone formats)

Tunein Radio

Listen to and record over 40,000 radio stations including thousands of AM/FM local stations on your iPhone or iPod touch with TuneIn Radio!

New features for iOS 4!
_______________________________________

"There are some iPhone apps that it is worth parting with money for, and this is one of them."
- TechCentral.ie - Editor's Choice ✭✭✭✭✭

"...its features are incredibly well designed, and it's far better than the low price suggests."
- MacUser - ✭✭✭✭✭

"While there are plenty of internet radio apps for iPhone, you'd be hard pressed to find one as fully featured as TuneIn Radio."
- TechRadar - ✭✭✭✭✭

"The best mobile radio app" - Sync Blog

"...TuneIn Radio is fantastic. Really." - FoneHome
_______________________________________

See if your favorite stations are available by visiting tunein-radio.com.

We've partnered with RadioTime to give you access to the best radio directory available including music, talk, sports and news stations from all over the world. With RadioTime, you get more than just a list of stations. You get a radio guide that helps you find the shows and stations that matter to you.

Plus, with TuneIn Radio, you can pause and rewind live radio just like your DVR.

NEW FOR iOS 4
• Play all stations, podcasts and recordings in the background on your iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and 3rd Gen iPod touch (32/64 GB)
• Control audio playback with the built-in music controls, Apple headphone controls and most dock controls

KEY FEATURES
• Record any station for playback later (on demand or with record timer)
• Alarm Clock
• Play MP3 and AAC stations in the background in Safari on non-multitasking capable devices
• Web browser - Surf the web while listening to your favorite stations
• RadioTime directory featuring 40,000+ radio stations and thousands of radio shows
• Simple, quick, and easy-to-use interface
• Browse or search for your favorite shows and find out what stations they're currently available on
• Browse local stations with GPS or WiFi location
• Search for stations by keyword
• Browse stations by genre, location or language
• Pause live streams for up to 30 minutes
• Rewind and fast forward within last 30 minutes streamed (skip directly to the beginning of songs when listening to stations with song information)
• Listen to podcasts of radio shows when available
• Bookmark your favorite stations, categories or shows
• Sleep timer
• Search for stations playing your favorite song or artist (only select US stations currently supported)

ADDITIONAL FEATURES
• Bookmarks list displays current song or show for each station when available
• Show or station logo displayed when available
• Album art displayed when available
• Current song or show information displayed when available
• Tap album art, show or station logo to display additional show or station information when available
• Tap the Options button on the Now Playing view for additional listening options:
- View station schedules when available
- Report problems with streams
- Choose an alternate stream or bit rate when available
- View related and recommended streams, shows and genres
- View station website
- View station twitter page
• Tap button below the currently playing song information for additional options:
- Listen to artist station in Last.fm app
- Buy currently playing song on iTunes
• Skip back 10 second button
• Automatic restart of last playing station on startup
• Automatic reconnect on loss of connection
• Enter custom stream URLs

IceTV Guide

Far beyond a simple TV guide, the IceTV app can remotely schedule TV recordings on your PVR, Mac or Media Center PC at home, search by keywords, show you what's popular and provide a customisable and personalised TV guide.

For non-subscribers the application provides a 7 day TV guide (registration is free), seeing what's popular with other IceTV users and recommendations. IceTV subscribers can also remotely set shows to record on their PVR at home and more.

Registering for a free account can be done via the IceTV website.

Features:
- Australian and New Zealand free-to-air TV guide for most regions with digital TV
- Remotely schedule TV shows to record (IceTV subscription required)
- Recommendations based on shows you like
- Personalised TV guide for your favourite shows and recordings
- See what’s popular with IceTV users

Shazam

Lovin’ that tune? Shazam gives you instant satisfaction when you want to know what song is playing. Just point your phone towards the music source to identify and buy the track, or share your discovery with friends and family.

If you are a new Shazam user you’ll be limited to 5 Tags a month. If you’ve been using Shazam on your current iPhone/iPod touch since before 9th November 2009, you still receive unlimited tagging.

Or why not buy Shazam Encore - the premium version of our app. Encore comes with extra features including unlimited tagging, previews, recommendations and Tag charts. Shazam Encore is the fastest, slickest way to discover and share music.

Start your music journey, and enjoy Shazam to:
• Discover and buy music: identify what song is playing; preview and buy the track direct on iTunes, or watch the video on YouTube.
• Share a music moment: Tweet your Tags, post track details to Facebook, or send a postcard to friends who share your music tastes.
• Learn more about music: read track and album reviews, view song lyrics* and artist biographies.
• Personalise your Tags: take and add a photo, or map your Tags, as a reminder of where you where when you captured the moment.
• Store pending Tags: when you don’t have a data connection, you can still capture the music moment. Untagged tracks will be sent when you’re back in WiFi or a data coverage area.

* Lyrics available in the US, Canada, Australia & New Zealand.

Buying music requires iTunes Music Store in your country.

A note to iPod touch users: Shazam needs to hear the music sample, which means using a microphone (on the iPhone it's built in, on the iPod touch you can attach an Apple Stereo Headset which has a small microphone capsule). Hold the mic towards the music source and Shazam will do the rest!

None of the competitions featured in Shazam are conducted by, or sponsored by Apple Inc. Please refer to competition pages for applicable terms and conditions before entering.

Onetap Movies

MACWORLD: “Let’s go out to the movies. OneTap Movies…provides showtime information for movies in your area, but it does it with a slick collapsible list of theaters.” Top Ten Reviews: "4 of 5 Stars."

OneTap Movies™ is the famous ultimate app for movie lovers. From now on you will enjoy the show even when you are searching for a movie now playing at your local theater near you.

With a single tap of your finger OneTap Movies recognizes where you are and displays the nearest movie theaters, along with the movies that are being played, as well as the show times, critic ratings, basic info based on box office sales, posters, etc. You can also watch the trailers or enjoy reading the details for any movie with a link to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Metacritic, & Rotten Tomatoes.

NEW: Ticket sales to theaters who partner with Fandango.

VIDEO DEMO
www.avantar.us/OneTapMoviesDemo

REVIEWS
Publication – MACWORLD: “Let’s go out to the movies. OneTap Movies…provides showtime information for movies in your area, but it does it with a slick collapsible list of theaters”

User Review – PUNKINB1: “(5 Star Rating) Freaking Awesome!...Since I travel a lot I would have to figure out what zip code I was in to find the closest theater. Now with location based services it tells me the closest theaters without the hassle. And to view trailers within 10 seconds or so is totally cool too.”

Blogger – THE FRISKY: “[One of the] 16 best iPhone apps.”

Blogger - /FILMS: “OneTap Movies is the clear winner in the presentation category”

FEATURES
- Fandango movie ticket sales
- Auto detects your location
- Interactive map with driving directions to each theater
- One tap shortcuts: Sort your results by theaters, movie popularity, star ratings, newest movies, additional info based on boxoffice sales
- Modify your default location
- View movie times now showing or up to 5 days ahead
- Links to Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Rotten Tomatoes & Metacritic
- Choose your favorite theaters to show up top by location
- View showtimes for every theater in your vicinity by movie title under the Popular, Rating, and Newest shortcuts
- Results cashing is used to display quicker search results when doing multiple searches in a short period of time
- Refresh listings to reset cashed results

RESULTS INCLUDE
- Movie trailers
- Movie posters
- Movie theaters
- Titles
- Times
- Description
- Critic ratings (stars)
- Movie ratings (PG, R, etc.)
- Movie length

COMPATIBILITY
- iPhone
- iPod touch

COUNTRIES
- United States
- Other: May have to set your location

Urbanspoon

Can't decide where to eat? Urbanspoon can help. Shake your iPhone and the Urbanspoon slot machine will pick a good restaurant for you to try. Keep shaking until you find a restaurant you're happy with.

FEATURES
+ Uses GPS to find a restaurant near you
+ Filter by neighborhood, cuisine, or price
+ Search and browse local restaurants
+ See a list of all nearby eateries
+ Compare restaurant picks with your friends
+ Ratings and reviews from newspapers, bloggers and fellow eaters

Available in most North American cities as well as London, Sydney and Melbourne.

Tripview Sydney

TripView displays Sydney Train/Bus/Ferry timetable data on your phone. It features a summary view showing your next services, as well as a full timetable viewer. All timetable data is stored on your phone, so it does not require any network access.

Notes:
- TripView supports multiple bus routes / train lines in the same trip. Just edit the trip, click on the line name, and select additional lines as necessary.
- If you're going to leave a review claiming that the timetable is not accurate, please email me with details so that I can fix it. Timetable accuracy is my highest priority, and as far as I'm aware the data is 100% accurate, so if you do find a problem - I want to know about it. Thanks!
- For more news and updates, follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/nickmaher

Features:
- Define trips using presets (source/destination/lines)
- Multi-segment trips (can mix trains/buses/ferries)
- Auto route calculation for train trips
- Summary view allows you to scroll through all matching trips for the week, showing ETA and arrival/departure times
- Route editor lets you edit or extend a trip (e.g. change at a different station)
- Reverse a trip by tapping the station names in the title
- Scrolling blue "plasma" indicator display
- Full browseable timetable
- Get directions to nearest stations, using GPS (trains only)
- Automatically selects weekday/weekend timetable
- Supports services that only run on select days (e.g. late night friday/saturday)
- Supports all suburban and intercity CityRail services
- Displays special stop flags (e.g. pickup / setdown only)
- Where trains proceed from one line to another, timetables are seamlessly merged (e.g. North Shore and Northern Line)
- All views update in real time
- Information on train delays from CityRail
- Small application size (~2MB including all timetable data)
- Timetable updates can be downloaded from within the app

NOTE: Timetable data is derived from the web based timetables, so it does not take into account any delays, cancellations, or trackwork. Best efforts are taken to ensure timetable accuracy, but no guarantees are made. If you find an error in the timetable, please email contact@grofsoft.com with details, and it will be fixed in the next release.

Known issues:
- All trains on the plasma display are currently shown as "8 Cars" and "Limited Stops"
- Note that not all bus trips are reversible, because the stop names in the opposite direction are sometimes different.
- No support for public holidays or trackwork

ESPN Cricinfo Mobicast

Get live cricket scores and Cricinfo’s famous ball by ball commentary updates pushed to your iPhone or iPod Touch in real time. This application will automatically update, eliminating the need for constant web page refreshes and long waits. With stunning game time visuals from Getty Images and the latest news from Cricinfo, this is a must have for all cricket fans. Also included are several audio podcast features from experts such as Ian Chappell, Tony Greig and Geoff Boycott. This application is brought to you by Cricinfo and Plusmo.

Angry Birds

#1 IPHONE PAID APP in US, UK, Canada, Italy, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Singapore, Poland, France, Netherlands, Malta, Greece, Austria, Australia, Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Belgium, Norway, Hungary, Malaysia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Romania, New Zealand, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Nicaragua, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Mauritius, Chile, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Taiwan, Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Kenya, Macedonia, Croatia, Macau, Paraguay, Peru, Armenia, Philippines, Vietnam, Jordan, Kuwait and Malta.

#1 IPHONE PAID GAME in more countries than we can count!

AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE for version 1.3.3 = 4.84 / 5.

“Lemme tell ya, these ain’t no ordinary finches we’re talkin’ about. These here are the Angry Birds, the ones that’s gonna kick you in the ‘nads. And they’re the ones on your side. They must be from Galapadapados, or sumptin’.” – Col. Angus, Bird Expert.

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified castles. Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 165 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy.

Protect wildlife or play Angry Birds!

Features 165 levels, leaderboards, achievements, Facebook and Twitter integration, and lots and lots of Angry Birds!

Hit, Flop

2010-07-06T16:56:00.000+10:00

Newspapers and magazines are full of stories about how Bollywood has lost hundreds of crores this year – mainly because two of the year’s biggest films (Kites and Raavan) have crashed at the box office.One of the reasons given for the poor performance is the inflated price tags of these films. When films are that expensive, it’s difficult to recover the money. But it is equally true that if these films had done even reasonably well at the box office, the situation wouldn’t have been so desperate. But since they just collapsed and died in theatres all over the country, there’s no hope in hell of anyone recovering the investment.

Why did audiences reject these movies? In the past, viewers have liked bad films and rejected good films, so box office performance is not the best indicator of a film’s overall quality. But it is an objective if ruthless yardstick. Audience reaction – that’s something no one can control. Once a film is released, it acquires a life of its own. If it connects with audiences -something every single person in the movies craves for, dreams about – it becomes a hit. Unfortunately, most of the time it doesn’t connect with audiences.

It’s tough to figure out why a film becomes a hit (or why it doesn’t). Usually, it’s only with the benefit of hindsight and intelligent analysis that you can try and come to some conclusions – and even then, you can only hope to identify broad trends and phases in cinema (entire books and PhD theses have been written about why Amitabh Bachchan’s films hit the jackpot so consistently in much of the Seventies and Eighties).

But sometimes, you just know why a particular film won’t work. Maybe you can’t pinpoint the reasons – but you know. Instinctively. Usually it’s because the film has failed that one basic test no film should ever, ever fail – it hasn’t engaged you for those two or three hours that you watched it. You got bored. You moved restlessly in your chair. You furtively looked at your watch. You didn’t care what happened to the characters. In emotional/charged scenes, you wanted to giggle. Once this kind of thing happens, the film is doomed.

I had most of the above mentioned responses when I went to see both Kites and Raavan. I went to seeRaavan with great expectations (actually I see all films with great expectations; every time I walk into a theatre, I’m all set to like the film and enjoy myself).

I like Mani Ratnam’s movies very very much. I think he’s one of the best filmmakers we have. Roja,Bombay and Nayakan are among my all-time favourite films. And Abhishek Bachchan has done some of his best work with Mani Ratnam (Yuva, Guru). I so wanted to like Raavan. But I didn’t like it — at all. Neither, it turns out, did most people who saw the film.

I kept wondering – what happened? What went wrong? How could Mani Ratnam not have known – while making the film – that Beera was so totally off-key? How could he not have known that the narrative wasn’t working?

I don’t have any answers but I guess even the best of directors can trip up sometimes. The good thing is, film audiences in India are very forgiving. We’ll dutifully queue up for tickets next time Mani Ratnam makes a movie, hoping we’ll like it. Only if we’re disappointed again and again and again with a particular filmmaker/actor will we turn our backs on him/her.

Otherwise, there’s always the next Friday to look forward to. And we’re all primed to be once again – hopefully — mesmerized by the story unfolding on the big screen…

Bollywood Summer [but winter for me :-( ] Movie Guide

2010-06-09T10:55:00.005+10:00

Here are some of the gems that I'm looking forward to and now you will be, too!

NOW PLAYING:

JUNE:

Raavan (June 18th)

Mani Ratnam's latest Hindi offering has been in the news for months due to the all-star cast and the many (many) problems encountered during film. The film is supposed to be a modern take on the kidnapping of Sita by Raavana with the twist that real life married couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan are playing Sita and Raavana respectively.

Why I'm excited: I usually really enjoy Mani Ratnam films and the cast for this is really something else. Along with the aforementioned Aishwarya Rai, Mani got guaranteed scene stealers Govinda and Ravi Kishan. Plus Tamil Hero Vikram (aka Kanthaswamy himself) will be playing Sita's husband Ram. Romance, mythos, violence, and a score by A.R. Raman - what's not to be excited about?

Why I'm not excited: Abhishek Bachchan. The man is capable of light comic roles (Dostana, Bunty aur Babli, his cameo in Om Shanti Om) but his other two personas (i.e. the constipated 'cool dude' of Bluffmaster and Dhoom/2 and the 'serious actor' of Guru) really turn me off.

Raavanan (June 18th)

The Tamil version of Raavan was shot at the same time but has a different cast and, for my money, should be the better film.

Why I'm excited: The same reasons as I'm excited for the Hindi version but also because of VIKRAM! More specifically, Vikram playing bad.

Why I'm not excited: Raavanan will almost certainly be more difficult to see than Raavan - from a smaller distribution to a lack of subtitles. Still, fortune favors the bold!

Also releasing in June - Twilight: Eclipse! (What? I'm only human!)

JULY:

I Hate Luv Storys (July 2nd)

Set in Bollywood itself and starring Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor as a pair of bickering friends, this film should be a breezy by-the-books romantic comedy.

Why I'm excited: The film is set against a background of Karan Johar style romance and I do love filmi in jokes.

Why I'm not excited: No amount of filmi in jokes will save the film from two of my least favorite things - a dead eyed heroine and self-centered Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na romance. I'm not saying that the film has either of those but judging from the trailer alone, it is very possible that it does.

Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai (July 9th)
BYBH is rumored to be inspired from another Filmi Girl favorite My Cousin Vinny and stars Govinda, Lara Dutta, Sushmita Sen, and Tabu.

Why I'm excited: Did you see the part about My Cousin Vinny and Chichi? Plus, Sushmita Sen and Tabu can class up even the silliest of films.

Why I'm not excited: Lara Dutta. I'd say more (*cough* rhymes with smokesmore) but it would just be mean.

Milenge Milenge (July 9th)

We finally milenge with the film that none of us knew we wanted until Jab We Met became a super-smash hit just as Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor broke up. Their final outing was delayed for years but Kapoor and Kapoor have come together (separately) to finish dubbing and give the Kapoor-Kapoorjodi a swan song.

Why I'm excited: I have seen Jab We Met something like ten times and we all know that I have a huge crush on Bebo and a new found appreciation for Shahid.

Why I'm not excited: Actually, even if this film is more 36 China Town than Jab We Met, we are guaranteed some good dancing and snappy one liners. There is no downside to Milenge Milenge!

Lamhaa (July 16th)

Set and filmed in Kashmir against a background of terrorism, Lamhaa is going to tackle politics, power, and terror. Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu are the main couple but Kunal Kapoor is going to have a supporting role.

Why I'm excited: The terromance genre is my absolute favorite and Bipasha Basu and Kunal Kapoor should turn in nice performances. Plus, the scenery and art design look amazing.

Why I'm not excited: Sanjay Dutt has recently made a habit of lazy performances and if we're all very unlucky, he could turn in something similar to Saif's botoxed Kurbaan fiasco.

Tere Bin Laden (July 16th)

The film debut of Pakistani rock star Ali Zafar, Tere Bin Laden is a small budget/high concept comedy parodying the media hysteria surrounding Osama Bin Laden and all things "Islamofacsist."

Why I'm excited: Basically, everything about this film looks highly entertaining.

Why I'm not excited: I can almost guarantee it won't be arriving in any theater near me at any time in the near future, which means I'll have to wait for the DVD.

Khatta Meeta (July 23rd)

Akshay Kumar's second release for 2010 is of a much different tone than his first - Housefull. Director Priyadarshan lends his light touch to a remake of his 1989 superhit Malayalam film Vellanakalude Nadu, a rural comedy about road development.

Why I'm excited: AKSHAY KUMAR! I will literally go and see every Akki movie - this includes such dire fare as 8 x 10 Tasveer - because I adore the man. Plus, Priyadarshan usually hits the mark with me.

Why I'm not excited: Trisha is kind of hit or miss for me but I'm going to keep my hopes up!

Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai (July 30th)

Set in the 1970s, this period film is loosely based on the life of Haji Mastan and delves into the growth of the underworld.

Why I'm excited: Everything! The cast includes such Filmi Girl favorites as KANGANA RANAUT (!) and AJAY DEVGN (!!) and the trailer emphasizes the vintage 70s esstyle of the film which promises big hair, thick eye make up, and copious amounts of briefcase exchanging.

Why I'm not excited: My expectations are so high there is every chance that I could be disappointed but I choose to look on the bright side.

Also releasing in July: The Anurag Kashyap produced Udaan looks good but intense - plus a score by Amit Trivedi!

AUGUST:

Aisha (August 6th)

Sonam Kapoor stars in this modernized remake of Jane Austen's Emma. Abhay Deol is to be her Mr. Knightly.

Why I'm excited: I do love a good Jane Austen adaptation and if Aisha borrows from Clueless, then we'll all be in for a good time!

Why I'm not excited: Emma is my least favorite Austen novel and is easy to ruin by a vapid lead actress (see: Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma).

Peepli Live (August 13th)

The Aamir Khan produced dark comedy tackles farmer suicides.

Why I'm excited: The buzz surrounding Peepli Live has been pretty intense but the Aamir Khan name is (usually) a mark of good quality. Plus, I kind of can't resist rumors of the alleged feud between Aamir and the director of the film.

Why I'm not: Since it did show at Sundance, there might be some horrible American press coverage and reviews that call it "Slumdog but with farmers."

Also releasing in August: an all-star art house cast including Atul Kulkarni and Naseer should make Allah Ke Banday worth a watch.

Desi Slashers

2010-05-19T12:04:00.000+10:00

The other day, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was hunting for a DVD to see. Rummaging in my shelves, I came across a DVD called Ssshhh.. starring Kajol’s younger sister Tanisha and Dino Morea, directed by Pavan Kaul. It was still sealed in its packet, so clearly no one in the house had ever wanted to see it! On an impulse I took it out and watched it. (Has anyone else in the world seen it?)

It’s a text book slasher film that looks suspiciously like Scream. Tanisha is a young college girl whose sister is brutally murdered. She herself gets stalked by the killer who always appears in a sort of long black coat, black trousers and a clown mask. Tanisha is absolutely traumatized and her college friends decide to take her to Bangkok for a holiday. They end up in a deserted island there. Meanwhile, Tanisha’s mother, back home in India, is also killed by the masked killer. And then, everyone on the deserted island starts getting killed one by one. Finally, in the climax, the killer’s identity is revealed.

It’s the kind of film where you can predict exactly when the killer will appear, when he won’t, when it’ll be a false alarm etc.

But you know what? Many of the sequences were actually executed quite competently. (The locations are lovely: the first part of the film is shot in Manali and the second part in a beautiful, idyllic island). The shots were nicely framed, the background music was not bad, and the director did manage to build tension — even though it was so predictable. (Eg: whenever Tanisha is left alone, whether it’s at home or in the college restroom, you know the killer will appear). Also – a plus point – you were quite confused as to who the killer could be (at least I was!)

However, every time the director moved away from the real story – of the killer terrorizing Tanisha and other people – the film just fell apart. All the songs, the mandatory love angle, the college banter made large parts of the film extremely boring.

But even the killer track didn’t work finally, mainly because the film was such a ‘classic’ slasher film, and so heavily derived from Hollywood films such as Scream. You felt you were watching something you’ve seen many, many times before. (Only the characters and settings were Indian — and of course, the usual Bollywood touches – like a Punjabi night in a Bangkok hotel! The perfect excuse to have some naach gaana). No wonder the film came and went and no one even remembers it.

So why? I mean, I don’t think the director is without talent. I just kept wondering why he had made this film.

Whenever we copy Hollywood genres faithfully (I’m discounting the Bollywood touches), the result is always so disappointing. As it is, slasher films are formulaic even in the West and always slotted as B grade. Why attempt that kind of genre here?

But why single out poor Pavan Kaul? I haven’t seen the recent Bollywood horror films – Vikram Bhatt’s Shaapit or Ramgopal Varma’s Phoonk or any of the others – but from what I’ve heard and read, none of them make the cut as original movies. (Either the killer is a bhoot or he/she is a crazed psychotic serial killer. The basic format remains the same).

Is there no original, Indian way to make this kind of film? Since it’s such a popular Hollywood format, are we doomed to constantly look there for inspiration?

Deja Vu

2010-03-12T18:54:00.001+11:00

Some things about the movie business are just so predictable. Don’t know what I mean? Read on:Predictable fact no. 1 — All our movie stars suddenly surface when their films are about to release. Till then they’ve been mostly inaccessible to the media because they’ve been (a) in the bathroom (b) sleeping (c) shooting abroad for 55 months (d) spending quality time with their family and close friends (they’ve been working so hard for many years, you see, they deserve a break).

Predictable fact no. 2 - Once they start promoting their films, this is how all the interviews go. (And this applies to all films, all actors, all directors. They say the same things for every film, regardless of whether it’s a comedy, an action film, a love story, whatever.)

“I’ve worked really hard on this movie. I hope audiences appreciate my work.”

“X (insert name of a senior co-star) was so helpful and cooperative. Despite the fact that he/she has been in the industry for so long, he/she was really down to earth. And so professional! He/she still works so hard on his/her performance. It’s really inspiring.”

“I was quite nervous about acting with X (insert name of hero). But I was so surprised - he was so helpful and cooperative. He really put me at ease and made me comfortable.”

“We had so much fun on the sets. It was like a picnic. It just didn’t feel like I was working.”

“X (insert name of a male co-star) is such a prankster on the sets. He’s always playing pranks on everyone!” (Why are so many actors ‘pranksters on the sets?’ I mean, do they think they’re in Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers series - written more than 50 years ago - where boarding school girls continually played ‘pranks’ or what Blyton called ‘tricks’ on their teachers?)

The following stories will also be quietly ‘leaked’ to the media around the time of the film’s release (some newspapers take money from the producer to print these stories):

Example one: X (insert name of actor) did all his stunts himself. Everyone was so impressed. There was no need for him to have done that, the double was there - but he insisted. There was a particularly scary stunt where he jumped off a 12-storey building / hung from a helicopter… we all held our breath but thankfully it went off well.”

Example two: X (insert name of actor or actress) got high fever in the middle of the shoot. But he/she was so professional, he/she reported to shoot and completed the entire day’s work. He/she was so concerned about the producer - after all, he (the producer) must have spent so much money fixing that day’s shooting. He/she couldn’t let him/her down.”

Example three: X (insert name of the hero) is alleged to have got really close to Y (insert name of the heroine). They were spotted having cosy dinners and going for long drives. But when asked, X sounded really exasperated. “I’m so tired of being linked up with every actress I work with! I’ve just got used to it now. I guess it’s all part of being an actor. But I keep wondering — who the media will link me with next time! Thankfully, my wife is very understanding - she knows this is all part and parcel of an actor’s life.” And Y will say, “Puh-leez! We’re just friends! Can’t someone just have a coffee with a co-star without people jumping to conclusions?!”

And after the film?

“I’m so overwhelmed by the love and affection that the people have shown me.”

Why do you see a film?

2009-12-01T13:46:00.001+11:00

I know it sounds like a strange question – I can almost hear everyone say, of course we know why we watch films.

But the reason I’m asking is this: I have many friends who say they watch films for entertainment. They want to laugh. They want to come out of the theatre feeling good. They want to see drama, action, comedy, romance, spectacle, glamour.

They don’t want to see films that are sad, depressing, heavy, disturbing, violent, gory.

Their view is that there’s enough stress in their lives, that newspapers and TV news channels are anyway full of depressing, disquieting reports and stories; so when they go to see a movie, they want to relax/have a good time. They don’t want to come out feeling even more depressed.

I think that’s fair. I remember a story in Brunch on how to beat the blues and a well known psychiatrist suggested – in all seriousness – that watching Govinda comedies was a great way to feel smiley-smiley again. (So never knock Govinda films!)

But what about films that are dark, depressing, unsettling – but really good? Wouldn’t it be a pity not to see such films?

The answer has to be yes. But watching them is not easy. To give just two personal examples (though of course there are many, many more). When I saw Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, the film just blew my mind. But I found it profoundly disturbing and I don’t think I can ever see it again. Just remembering those scenes of the boat going down the river, coming closer and closer to Kurtz’s insane jungle kingdom, gives me an eerie feeling.

I resisted seeing Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par for the longest time because I thought it would be a weepy-weepy film and I don’t like movies where you end up crying all the time. When I finally did see it, I loved it. Yes, I did feel tearful (how can you not?) at some points in the film, but because it’s quite an optimistic, positive film, I didn’t leave the hall feeling heavy-hearted.

Much of it, I guess, also depends on your mood.

Sometimes you just want to have fun. You don’t want to see anything that will tax your emotions or your mind.

Sometimes you know you’re going to see a powerful film and you’re prepared for it.

Sometimes you go in not knowing what the film will be like and it socks you between the eyes. You come out, unsettled and uncomfortable, but glad that you saw it.

Sometimes you’re reluctant to see a film because it doesn’t sound like the kind of movie you enjoy. But when you see it, you end up liking it. Or vice versa.

I’m squeamish about films with graphic violence. And I’m not wild about films which make you cry a lot. I try and avoid both. But I seldom succeed. I always end up watching them.

That’s because I really, really like watching movies. Film as entertainment, film as timepass, film as art, film as social comment – I’m happy to see all of them (my first love of course remains Hindi films). I’m okay with bad movies too – I’ll crib endlessly afterwards, but I’ll still see them.

But not everyone is a lunatic like me. Most people – like the friends I mentioned – see films only for entertainment. And I can see their point totally.

But are they missing out on something?

9 Energy Boosters

2009-10-27T10:29:00.000+11:00

Feeling sluggish? A few simple tricks can help you feel more awake.

Joy Gosney

Get an Energy Boost From Trying Something New

Recent research confirms what world travelers and adult-education addicts already know: New experiences give you a rush. “We’ve known that when people do something novel, the brain’s reward chemical, dopamine, is released,” says Gregory Berns, M.D., a neuroscientist at Emory University, in Atlanta, and the author of Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment ($24, amazon.com). But novelty has an added benefit. “What we’ve discovered in the last five years,” Berns says, “is that dopamine is also a motivating chemical that gears us up to do more.” In other words, take a trip or learn Spanish and you may also feel inspired to start a new project at home or work.

Joy Gosney

Get an Energy Boost From Moving Around

The more active you are, the better your circulation will be. And good circulation is “essential for energy because blood transports oxygen and nutrients―fuel for the cells―to the muscles, brain, etc.,” says internist Jacob Teitelbaum.

If you have a desk job, get up throughout the day―once an hour is ideal―to give your body breaks from activities such as typing and staring at the computer. Also, stand up when you’re on the phone or pace around the office. When you’re stuck seated, like on a long car ride, do neck rolls and shoulder shrugs and circle your feet to keep blood circulating.

And sit up straight. Good posture opens the chest cavity and increases oxygen intake by as much as 30 percent, making more energy available to your mind and muscles, says Teitelbaum. If you’re a sloucher, trade in your chair for an exercise ball, which forces you to sit taller, says Andrew Weil, M.D., author of Healthy Aging ($28, amazon.com).

Joy Gosney

Get an Energy Boost From Deep Breathing

Shallow breathing prevents the body from getting enough oxygen. Many people fail to breathe deeply when they feel tense, which is one reason they may feel zapped at the end of a stress-filled day. “The general principles of correct breathing are to make it deeper, slower, quieter, and more regular,” says Weil. Doing so helps you force more oxygen into your cells, which slows heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and improves circulation, ultimately providing more energy.

Weil suggests you do a simple breathing exercise twice a day or whenever you feel yourself losing steam: Put the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper teeth. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound. Then inhale deeply through your nose for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of seven, and exhale through your mouth for a count of eight. Repeat for a total of four breaths.

Joy Gosney

Get an Energy Boost From Exercise

Regular workouts boost energy stores by conditioning the body to make optimal use of oxygen and glucose, its two primary fuel sources. You need only 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week, to get the cardiovascular benefits that lead to increased vitality,” says Woodson Merrell, M.D., director of integrative medicine at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing, at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.

There’s good evidence that simply walking regularly can boost energy. Ongoing research on the relationship between mood and activity by Robert E. Thayer, a professor of psychology at California State University in Long Beach, has found that the more steps his research subjects take, the more energetic they report feeling.

Joy Gosney

Get an Energy Boost From Grazing

"Eating consistently―three small meals with snacks in between―keeps your blood-sugar level even, so you don’t experience the highs and lows that occur when you go too long without food," says Molly Kimball, a registered dietitian at the Ochsner Clinic’s Elmwood Fitness Center, in New Orleans. Ideally, all your meals and snacks should contain complex carbohydrates (produce, whole grains) to provide fuel, and protein (nuts, cheese) to give you endurance. Try an apple and a piece of cheese or carrot sticks and edamame.

Snacks of refined carbs, like cookies and pretzels, provide an initial rush, but the body burns them quickly and your energy soon flags. To satiate a sweet tooth, try dark chocolate. It contains the chemical phenylethylamine, which increases energy by improving mood and attention span. According to Teitelbaum, dark chocolate also contains theobromine, a mild stimulant.

Joy Gosney

Get an Energy Boost From Doing Things That Lift Your Spirits

Fun people, rhythmic music, and funny movies can boost your energy level, researchers have found. "In fact,anything that makes you feel good may raise your level of endorphins―the same chemicals that are released when you exercise," says Weil. Listening to music invigorates the body by activating several areas of the brain at once, building new nerve connections. "It also increases oxygen flow to the heart, which perks you up as well," adds Weil.

While you’re infusing your life with energizing experiences, try to cut out people and activities that drag you down and deplete your energy―the whiners, the naysayers…that deadly planning committee.

Joy Gosney

Get an Energy Boost From Drinking Fluids

Your body needs water to transport oxygen to your cells. Deprive yourself of sufficient liquids and you may feel tired or get headaches. While there’s no magic number for the amount of liquid to consume in a day, experts say you should try to drink at least four tall glasses of water or low-calorie beverages, such as Propel or Crystal Light.

Caffeine gets a bad rap, but used judiciously, it can give you a lift. The trouble is “many people drink too much in the morning, so their energy is bunched up early in the day, and they need more later to keep going,” says Weil. Try to limit yourself to one cup of coffee in the morning and, if you must and it doesn’t interfere with falling asleep at night, a half cup after lunch. Consider switching to green tea, which contains caffeine but also theanine, a calming substance that counteracts the jitters from caffeine.

Joy Gosney

Get an Energy Boost From Obsessing Less

When your mind is in overdrive, your body secretes stress hormones, such as cortisol, which over time can wreak havoc on the body. It can also make falling asleep difficult by suppressing the hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for lowering body temperature so that you can shift into sleep mode. “Worrying is like putting a hole in your gas tank,” says Teitelbaum. “Unless you do something to stop it, you’re draining energy away.”

To rewire an overwrought mind, Merrell suggests doing some form of mind-body exercise, like meditation, practicing yoga, or engaging in regular prayer. For a quick fix, Teitelbaum suggests this trick: “Ask yourself, ‘Am I in imminent danger?’ It may sound irrational or melodramatic, but that’s the point. You bring yourself down to earth by reminding yourself that your worries aren’t crises. This will relax your body’s adrenal ‘fight or flight’ system and help you feel in control.”

Joy Gosney

Get an Energy Boost From Going Outside

At least once during the workday, get out of the office. Studies show that spending time outdoors provides a boost by reducing stress hormones and lowering blood pressure. "Sunlight can also increase the body’s production of serotonin, which lifts mood and increases energy," says Teitelbaum.

In addition, "air that contains a high balance of negative ions (molecules with a negative electrical charge) may increase the body’s oxygen intake and serotonin levels," says Michael Terman, Ph.D., director of the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at New York–Presbyterian Hospital. Negative ions are produced when there’s a lot of air and water movement in the atmosphere, like during a thunderstorm. Terman has found that when people with seasonal affective disorder (a mood disorder associated with seasonal variations of light) and depression use specialized negative-ion generators, their symptoms improve.

Wake up, lovers

2009-10-07T14:16:00.000+11:00

I am so delighted that Wake Up Sid has got such glowing reviews. Everyone has – very rightly – exclaimed over the fact that the director is so young and the performances so good. The music has come in for a lot of praise too, as has the very fresh, young feel of the film.

It’s also been hailed as one of the best coming of age films we’ve seen in recent years. And I agree with all these sentiments. But what struck me most of all when I saw the film was this: I kept thinking how wonderful it was to see a film where the relationship between the lead pair was played out so naturally, with such nice nuances.

For the longest time, we’ve had the ‘hero’ and the ‘heroine’ falling in love at first sight and talking about janam janam ka saath, or the gareeb hero taming the spoilt and shrewish rich heroine, or the two of them falling prey to the most idiotic misunderstandings or fighting a zaalim zamana opposed to their pavitra rishta etc etc. Very rarely did we get to see a film where the love story was, well, like love stories usually are.

In Wake Up Sid, I liked the way Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen meet, then go on to become unlikely friends, and eventually discover they’re in love with each other. The tension, the irritation with each other, the sudden flare-ups, the moments of fun and togetherness: everything was handled so delicately. Sid and Aisha’s relationship is based on the kind of people they are and not on extraneous factors like parental opposition or societal disapproval.

I’m not suggesting that you can’t have a love story where the lovers are shown dealing with all these things, but (a) we’ve seen them in our films for years and years and (b) if it has to be shown, it must be depicted in a fresh way (not with those cliched scenes of girls being thrown into their rooms with the father thundering, “Aaj se tumhara bahar jaana band!” (I’m sure there are fathers who do this even today, but you have to find less hackneyed ways of showing it).

There have been a few other films too where the lead pair’s love story has been depicted in an interesting way. Take Luck By Chance. Farhan Akhtar and Konkona’s story was told very well – and intriguingly, without the customary happily-ever-after ending. Or Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. I liked Imran Khan and Genelia’s friends-turn-lovers tale.

So is it finally goodbye to those cardboard love stories? And a big hello to more nuanced prem kahaanis?

I hope so!

What’s happened to Ram Gopal Varma?

2009-08-22T11:01:00.000+10:00

I’m not courageous – or foolhardy enough – to go and see Ram Gopal Varma’s Agyaat. But friends whose judgment I trust totally have told me that it’s one of the worst movies they have ever seen. That’s what most people felt about Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag as well. And no, I didn’t see that film either (I love Sholay too much and the Aag trailers themselves were so dreadful I shuddered to think what the full film would be like).

What’s happened?

I mean, this is the same filmmaker who made wonderful movies like Satya, Rangeela and Company. Even Sarkar was good. So why is he making such godawful films these days? Even more puzzling, he doesn’t seem to think he’s making bad films. Whenever I go through his interviews, all he seems to be saying is that the media is against him, the media keeps criticizing him, the media is after him, the media is biased against him etc etc. There’s never even the faintest acknowledgment that he could be losing his touch.

So, once again – what’s happened?

My theory? Hubris.

When RGV made those superb films, the media (yes, the same media that, according to him, hates him) praised him to the skies and hailed him as an exciting, gifted young director. So much was made of Ram Gopal Varma’s talent that it seems to have gone to his head. I think he actually began believing in all the hype surrounding him. Maybe he really began thinking of himself as some sort of genius/ highly evolved guru who would mentor dozens of aspiring filmmakers/ super-talented director everyone in the industry was dying to work with.

Once you start thinking of yourself in the third person (if you know what I mean), then you lose the ability or the humility to see that you can make mistakes.

Of course I may be completely wrong. Maybe the media is biased against him and he’s actually making great movies. But somehow I don’t think that’s true. Everybody can’t be wrong.

There’s another theory (which many people I know subscribe to) and that is: even the best directors, even the most talented directors (and actors, music composers etc etc), run out of steam at some point. The creative juices simply dry up. Then they either keep repeating themselves or become caricatures of themselves.

I can think of a lot of people to whom this happened (Rajesh Khanna, for instance), but I still find it a sad and depressing theory. Because it means that it’s all over for the person concerned. There’s no second chance. There’s no hope.

I certainly hope that Ram Gopal Varma will still astound us with a fabulous film one day. I’m waiting. But till then, if he could stop making the Agyaats and Aags, please.

The Kaminey Confusion

2009-08-18T11:03:00.001+10:00

This post is really for those who’ve seen Kaminey. If you haven’t, please do go and see it and then read the blog (it’ll make more sense then!). I caught the film over the weekend, and was disappointed to see the half-empty hall because I liked the film so much. Though the reviews have been uniformly positive, I got mixed feedback on the film from friends. Some loved it unconditionally, others found it confusing.

As far as I’m concerned, Kaminey passed my first and single most important test with flying colours, i.e., was it boring? (No. On the contrary, I was fully engrossed).

I’m trying to figure out why some viewers found it confusing. Is it because Vishal Bhardwaj didn’t explain everything clearly – the way most Hindi films do? For example, the scene in the hotel in the first half (which ends with Shahid Kapur escaping in a police jeep). You don’t know immediately that the two men in that hotel room are anti-narcotic cops. You figure that out a little later. You don’t know who Tashi is when he appears on the screen. You find out a little later. Could that be a problem for some viewers? (Frankly, it shouldn’t be, but if you’ve got used to having everything explained to you, maybe it’s a bit unsettling).

Is it because so many scenes in the film are shot in low light? In Bollywood films, everything is usually clearly and brightly lit (in fact, one of the things I loved about Om Shanti Om was the glamorous lighting, and the almost blinding colours, particularly in the song-and-dance sequences). But Kaminey’s dimly-lit scenes are totally in sync with the grey-wet-overcast-monsoon look and feel of the film, the decaying urban backdrops.

Is it because people felt cheated that they never saw Shahid Kapur – absolutely the best dancer in Bollywood (even better than Hrithik Roshan; Hrithik is technically awesome, but when Shahid dances, you can feel the music in him) – dance in the film? Yes, I know there’s the Fatak song but Kaminey’s big number is Dhan Te Na (what a song!!). And when it comes on screen, you can’t make out much because of the constantly moving camera and the shifting psychedelic colours. So yes, maybe some viewers were disappointed, but Vishal clearly wanted that kind of surreal effect in Dhan Te Na.

Is it because Vishal’s story-telling style is so different in this film?

Or is it just because Kaminey is different, period? Sometimes it’s not easy to warm up to something you’re not used to or familiar with.

Whatever the reason, it would be a pity if the film doesn’t have a healthy run at the box office. It’s not as if Bollywood is churning out hundreds of fabulous films (I’m still in a state of shock after Kambakht Ishq). Ideally, good films should do good business. What a pity it doesn’t always work that way!

How to Find Anything on the Internet

2009-07-09T19:32:00.000+10:00

The internet can be an extremely useful tool to find information on a number of topics but the internet can also be a confusing place. This website is designed to help the non-tech savvy use the internet and find what they are looking for. This is a simple three step process:

1) Go to this website

2)Type in the topic you are researching.

3)Scroll through the pages until you find what you are looking for.

Good luck and happy internet using!

Free is not a business model. By Stephen Sammartino

2009-07-07T10:26:00.000+10:00

Firstly - I’ll start by saying I think Chris Anderson is an incredibly clever guy. I thought his book ‘The Long Tail’ was and is the future of business.

But when it comes to ‘free’ he has got it wrong this time. As has Seth Godin and all the other ‘free’ converts.

As Malcolm Gladwell correctly points out, they are forgetting many of the fundamentals in business, by getting caught up in the stale newspaper argument, which in the new digital economy is easy, soft and will disappear.

The irony of this ‘newspaper’ argument is certainly lost in the broader economy. The non-digital economies are a lot bigger than newspapers and other beleaguered digital industries.

So why is ‘Free’ not a business model?

Quite simply, any business without a revenue-generation model won’t exist over time. We only need look at the dot-com bust of the late 1990s to see this reality.

It’s also much too easy to get caught up in the success of Google and others who ’started free’ to build demand.

But many of the subsequent ‘Free’ offers - like YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr - are considered successful for the owners only because they sold to a business with a large chequebook - not because the business itself was financially successful.

The Google business model is not too dissimilar to that of Network TV - generate eyeballs, sell advertising. Nothing new here.

The real question in the so-called ‘Freeconomy‘ is how many businesses can be supported by the advertising sales model? Why the idea of ‘Free’ is being touted as new is beyond me.

Here’s what ‘Free’ really is: it’s part of the marketing mix.

It’s the 4th P: Promotion.

It always has been and always will be.

Anything a company gives away for free is a promotional tool to sell something. If these businesses who use the so called ‘free model’ fail to sell something, there are only two options for them as time passes:

Go broke and run out of cash
Get bought by large company who values what they have created, albeit ‘non-financial’

Whether it be Proctor & Gamble giving free shampoo in letter boxes in 1957 or Google giving free search and maps in 2009, it’s part of the mix to attract potential customers, who will be converted into ongoing revenue. It isn’t free.

Free is not a business model. Moreover, it’s sampling and promotion for associated revenue-generating activities. So to call it the future of business as ‘free’ is absolute folly.

Sure Anderson can argue that digital stuff is becoming so cheap it may as well be free - as per the transistor example he uses. But the thing that really costs money is building demand and infrastructure - the kind of stuff that’s really expensive.

The other point to consider is that just because some things that previously cost money (i.e. newspapers) are now available free online, doesn’t mean everything is heading down the free path.

Rather, it means that certain industries are dying - not that ‘paying’ will be a thing of the past. In fact, there are just as many examples of items that were once free and are now being charged for: education, toll roads, water, seeds.

The advice I’m giving here is simple.

No business can survive without revenue. Free, isn’t free, but a promotional expense, the fourth ‘P’. If your industry is getting flooded with free, it’s on its deathbed - look elsewhere. Industries die all the time when the revenue dries up, just like those trying to cope with the current digital conversion. Don’t assume you can build something awesome and give it away, relying on your ability to sell it (the business) or something associated later. Chances are you’ll run out of money before that.

The future of business isn’t free, and the idea isn’t new. It’s part of a complex marketing mix. And if you want to own a start-up to thrive, my advice is simple: have a price that isn’t all zeros.

City Secret - Shh, have you been to the Teen Murti canteen?

2009-06-30T14:45:00.001+10:00

The Raj, Britain’s empire in India, is no more, but its successor, the Nehru Gandhi family, remains. The sprawling mansion of Teen Murti Bhawan, built for the British Commander-in-Chief, was eventually taken up by the anglophilic Prime Minister Jawarharlal Nehru as his official residence. Today it is a museum striving to sustain the allure of his descendants. Resist the dynasty’s charm and instead ask for directions to the canteen.

The museum canteen, like the museum, (usually) remains as quiet as grave. The surrounding Amrak, Belpathua and Gurbelia trees serves as natural air-conditioners. Occasional sounds are that of peacocks’ call. Chipmunks scurry through the leaves-strewn grass.

It is the canteen’s sunny outhouse, rather than the canteen itself, that is favored by professor-types, research scholars (taking break from their research in the members-only Nehru Memorial library), and museum visitors. Ladies smoke, men gossip, and families sup silently.

Here I became friendly with a lady who had settled in Delhi after working for several years as doctor in Berlin. Each afternoon she drives her Volkswagen from her home in Defense Colony to Teen Murti - just to have chai (served in a kettle with sugar in a separate caddy) in the outhouse. She requested me to keep the canteen a secret (”My only refuge in Delhi”, the lady says).

With apologies to the friend, I heartily recommend the outhouse to readers. Venture inside the canteen premises to re-live the Soviet-era romance (stained tabletops, gloomy lighting, empty shelves, sullen-faced attendants etc.). Popular among the museum staffers, the mood inside is more informal than in the outhouse. I have seen people resting their heads on the table. Always opt for the window seat where the daylight makes the reading experience easier to the eye. (I was carrying Irène Némirovsky’s *Suite Française* in my last visit). Of course, the window also helps in discreet viewing of the beautiful people sitting outside.

The service, despite the lazy ambiance of the place, is quick. Food is ridiculously cheap. The honest thali, with two tawa rotis, rice, karhi, baingan curry, and sambhar was mere Rs. 15. The homely karhi had a smooth, creamy texture. The comforting sambhar pleased the palate with a decided curry-leaf essence as if the cooking pot had been forever on simmer all these years. Do try the elaichi-flavored samosas (Rs. 2) but refuse the accompanying green chutney. It’s slimy. Also avoid the disgustingly sweet gulab jamuns (Rs 2.50).

*Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Lane
Ph NA
Since NA
Open daily from 9am - 7pm
45 Covers
Popular Specialties:
Lunch Thali, Samosas, Sandwiches
Essential Rates:
Coffee - Rs 3
Tea - Rs 2*

The case of the disappearing actresses

2009-06-29T11:58:00.000+10:00

Where are Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta? I mean, we haven’t seen them in films for quite a while now and as far as I know, it’s not like they’re madly shooting for hundreds of new movies. Yes, they have been in the news — for their private lives. Rani Mukherjee for her relationship with Aditya Chopra (she’s one of the possibly eight people in the world who can claim to have actually seen Aditya in the flesh and blood, the other nine being his parents, his brother, his ex-wife, Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan and maybe his driver).

And Preity Zinta for her now apparently extinct relationship with Ness Wadia — and the IPL.

But my point is different. Both actresses have been around for more than ten years and they are no longer in their twenties. Are they already in the twilight of their career? The film industry certainly thinks so. This is hardly breaking news but the fact is that in Bollywood, actresses have to be young, young, young. Sixteen or 17 is a good age to debut.

If you succeed, you’ll most likely have about good ten years as a busy, in-demand actress. And after that? Well, you may get the odd ‘mature’ film role, or the chance to be a judge a reality show on TV. But that’s about it really. By the time you’ve crossed 30, the film industry expects you to have found a husband and to have shifted into the ‘senior’ category. You may still get some roles, specially in the off-beat, multiplex films, but what you will never ever get again are those glamorous heroine roles, the lifeblood of all actresses. (Don’t believe them when they say they’re tired of such roles, that they want to do more meaningful roles; the truth is no one will give them those glamorous roles again).

Showbiz is very ruthless and it’s at its most ruthless when it comes to actresses. In a recent interview, Monica Belluci said that in Hollywood, all actresses go mad after 40.

In Bollywood, the cutoff for being over the hill (not necessarily for going mad though) is even earlier. (Forties? That’s practically dotage as far as producers are concerned). Top actors, themselves in their forties, have very little desire to be paired with actresses who have been around ten years, with whom they have done many movies before.

Would Shah Rukh Khan have done Om Shanti Om with Rani Mukherjee? Would viewers have liked it? Would Aamir Khan have done Ghajini with Preity Zinta? Is Sushmita Sen going to get any really hot new film with, say, Akshay Kumar? How many more years does Aishwarya have?

There are some exceptions, but these are so rare and so few, that, as the cliché goes, they prove the rule. Kajol is one, and that’s mostly because her career path has been very unconventional (she got married when she was at the peak of her career, leaving fans still craving for more).

Isn’t it a pity? Yes it is. By the time most actresses have figured out what acting is all about, the industry is ready to kiss them goodbye. So should they get married and move into the next phase of their lives instead of clinging on to their fading stardom and becoming, in the process, objects of pity and scorn? Probably.

But it’s tough. It’s not easy for them to accept that one universal truth: Given time, people age. (Even movie goddesses).

PS. Where’s Urmila Matondkar?

Dream dating in Delhi University

2009-06-25T15:12:00.000+10:00

Last night I dreamt that Delhi University (DU) had a classified section on its website where students were actively seeking dating partners. Full details here:

At St. Stephen’s
SHAKESPEARE-READING ENGLISH HONS BOY craves intelligent conversation, spontaneous laughter, and amorous sparks. Had a girlfriend but her marks were way below the cut-off percentage. Now looking for an adventurous spirit to take evening walks in the Ridge. Knowledge of eating the ‘mince’ with fork and knife is a must.

At Lady Shri Ram College for Women
DEVOTED FEMINIST, likes discussing Simone de Beauvoir and Susan Sontag. Passion for stray dogs and fast driving. Looking for a tall, broad-shouldered, guitar-playing intellectual. Would love to learn French together in Alliance Francaise. No moustache.

At Hans Raj College
EGALITARIAN, ACTOR, Maggi-eating, fecklessly romantic, Karl-Marx reading, K-Nags regular. You must be THE college babe. Any college.

At Sri Venkateswara College
NATTILY-DRESSED CHICK LIT FAN, fit girl, GK-I regular, handbag junkie seeks a financially secure boy with an equally big car. Just like Mr Big in *Sex and the City*. Geeks need not respond.

At Jesus & Mary College
FASHIONABLE, SLENDER, brand-conscious, aspiring model seeks a well-dressed IIM-type man. No doctors and engineers. Those with psychology notes must apply during exam time.

At Kirori Mal College
ACTOR, INTELLECTUAL, creative, argumentative, mostly seen in a Fabindia kurta and designer stubble. Tell me if you are artsy, buy skirts in Dilli Haat and fond of Shaw and Beckett. Would prefer someone from KMC or D-School.

At Miranda House
GRACEFUL, ALLURING, Wodehouse-reading, IHC-hopping, backpack-carrying girl with kohl-lined eyes. Call me if you are a Stephanian or a member of the British Council library.

At Janki Devi Memorial College
INTELLIGENT, STUDIOUS, homely girl, nose pierced, hair coloured, enjoys shopping in Karol Bagh. Would love to be with a well-off Mills & Boon kind of character. No flamboyant man, please. Would love to share significant other’s interest in music, dance and sociology.

At Hindu College
PASSIONATE, LOVING INTELLECTUAL girl with strong political views. Regarded by many as a visionary. Fascinated by D-School. Has an I-don’t-care attitude. Write only if you are a boy and carry books and sport long hair. Extra points if you are in Stephen’s.

India's politicians keep it in the family

2009-06-10T15:08:00.000+10:00

The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has been a force in Indian politics since independence

By Sanjoy Majumder
BBC News, Delhi

As India's new cabinet was sworn in, the biggest applause was reserved for one of its youngest members, Agatha Sangma, who is all of 28.

She was among several young faces who were brought into government by the Congress party to inject a sense of freshness and energy after its resounding poll victory.

But every single one of them belongs to political families.

Political nepotism appears to be a trend that isn't abating but seemingly spreading beyond the influential Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to a handful of clans across India.

So the formation of the new cabinet was held up because the chief of the southern Dravida Munnetra Khazagam (DMK) party wanted posts for his children and members of his extended family.

Even the smaller parties are often family fiefdoms with parents handing over the reins to their children.

'Subverting democracy'

It's not a guarantee that just because you have a political background things will be easy for you

Agatha Sangma

Jiten Jain who runs Youth For Equality, a political advocacy group, says increasingly politics is being seen as a lucrative business.

"Sons, daughters, relatives are becoming MPs. This is disturbing. You are moving towards a monarchy where one constituency is ruled by one family and 500 families will rule India."

Youth for Equality put up a candidate in the election but she was routed by her better-funded opponent from a well-known political family.

"There are three to four political families that have five to six ministers in the cabinet. Except for one or two, none of them have worked in the social domain, none of them have any political experience. They have just come with the name of their fathers and grandfathers and got elected," he says.

It's not the voters who are at fault.

Vir Sanghvi, editor of the Hindustan Times newspaper says the parties are simply subverting democracy and freezing out the people.

"Often the voters are given two or three choices and all of those choices are dynasts. The internal democracy that we should be seeing in parties is almost entirely missing.

"So while there may be democracy when it comes to elections there is no democracy within parties. It's almost always the dynasts who get nominated," he says.

Because of a shortage of avenues you need your parental help otherwise you'll be at the bottom of the social rung

Sociologoist Dipankar Gupta

The young political beneficiaries of this trend argue that they have earned the right to be here.

Agatha Sangma, who is the daughter of a former Speaker of parliament, accepts that a political background, especially at a young age, is a huge advantage but it's not enough to succeed.

"It's not a guarantee that just because you have a political background things will be easy for you. It gives you an initial advantage but after that you have to be able to perform and only that will determine your political future," she says.

Family business

So at a time when India is emerging as a major international player, the world's largest democracy and an economic giant whose companies are at the forefront of global buy-outs - what can explain this apparently regressive step?

Priyanka Gandhi (left) is often urged to join her brother Rahul in politics

"It's an extremely profitable business, people who become ministers tend to make a lot of money," says Vir Sangvi.

"There's also a sense, particularly in the smaller parties, that if you allow proper succession you lose control of the party. It's much more tempting to run it like a family business."

Then there's the tradition in India of children, usually male but increasingly female, going into the family profession.

Sociologist Dipankar Gupta says that unlike their Western counterparts, middle-class Indians feel that they cannot afford to leave the family profession, be it medicine, law, or increasingly, politics.

"The gap between the rich and the poor is so large that nobody wants to risk sliding to the bottom of the social scale. And because of a shortage of avenues you need your parental help otherwise you'll be at the bottom of the social rung."

So why do the parties select people from political families?

Mr Gupta says it has to do with a vast system of patronage between the politicians and the parties where they both end up favouring each other often at the cost of ordinary people.

But for many, this is extremely worrying for Indian democracy.

"If this continues, you will have the emergence of a political caste - a sort of Brahminical caste. Indian democracy will cease to be participatory, it will cease to be a way of empowering people. To get elected to parliament you will have to be born into political families," says Mr Sanghvi.

"The whole point of democracy in India is that poor people should be able to enter politics and change their lives.

"If there's just going to be a class of new Brahmins who get elected because the peasants vote them into power, the consequences for India will be devastating."

Critical acclaim or box office success?

2009-05-19T11:41:00.000+10:00

I just read two interviews with Bollywood filmmakers Nagesh Kukunoor and Anurag Kashyap, and what struck me was how much both these critically acclaimed directors have always yearned for commercial success.

Nagesh’s Akshay Kumar starrer 8 X 10 Tasveer released a couple of weeks ago. Here’s what he had to say in the interview: “The box office definitely matters more than critical acclaim. When you get critical acclaim you feel nice about the appreciation, but box office success helps you make more films. My main motive is to keep making films; if because of any reason I’m denied that, I will feel horrible.”

Anurag Kashyap, I thought, was more honest, brutally so, in his self-analysis. Before Dev D happened, Anurag had made Paanch which never got released but which achieved a sort of minor cult status because everyone who saw the film raved about it. Then he made Black Friday, which, fortunately, did get released and received outstanding reviews but didn’t have much luck at the box office. After that came No Smoking, which was too surreal for both critics and audiences (I tried to watch it and gave up after 15 minutes). But despite the flak Anurag got for No Smoking, the fact is that he had two highly praised films to his credit. The only problem was – the two released films hadn’t worked with audiences.

So what happened? According to Anurag, he sank into depression, alcohol and random partying. He would spend aimless evenings alone in clubs and restaurants or constantly surf the Net, looking “for God only knows what.”

One day, he suddenly realized that his life was going nowhere. He wrote the script of Dev D and made the film. It turned out to be a big success – audiences loved it and songs like Emosanal atyachaar became big hits.

Post the success of Dev D, life has changed completely for Anurag. (It also helps that he fell in love during the making of the film). He says he’s happy, and he’s learning to be a better man (he’s even apologizing to people he had slammed in the past — like Karan Johar).

In Nagesh’s case, he had made many highly rated films — like Hyderabad Blues, Dor and Iqbaal, to name just three — before Tasveer. And since he’s quite prolific, I don’t think the lack of commercial success hampered his ability to get projects. But yes, what must have rankled was being branded as a small, arthouse kind of director. The desire to get into the big league, to direct big stars, to taste big box office success seems to have been there all along. Otherwise, why direct an A-list commercial star like Akshay Kumar?

The truth is that most directors and actors crave for the kind of 70mm success that can only come with the audience’s love and appreciation.

No one’s life ever got into a crisis because critics didn’t like his film and audiences loved it. But when audiences reject a film, the filmmaker’s world can spin out of control. After the failure of Mera Naam Joker, Raj Kapoor was almost finished. Only the mega success of Bobby saved him.

It isn’t only about money. Of course, if you’re a producer and your film flops, you will be hit financially. If you’re an actor and your film flops, it’s likely to affect your market price. Ditto for a director.

But more than the monetary loss, it’s the loss of confidence and the feelings of rejection and failure that are the hardest to take.

Yes, there are some filmmakers who say they don’t care about the box office. They are happy to make films they believe in, send them off to various film festivals where they will (hopefully) win awards. And I think it’s a good thing that they’re around because you need all kinds of voices in the creative space. But when their films release in theatres, they’re as excited as their more commercial brethren if the films do well.

Show me one filmmaker/actor/director who says he or she doesn’t care about how his or her film does at the box office and I’ll show you a liar.

Mr Sreesanth’s Date Filter

2009-05-11T15:45:00.001+10:00

The WTF comment of the day comes from S Sreesanth, who, while denying a link-up with an actress named Daisy Bopanna, says:

I don’t think that I would stoop so low that I have to date an unknown, struggling actor.

That shows his class, doesn’t it? He only dates people based on their social status. I can imagine Sreesanth, thinking he’s a stud and all that, hitting on a hot chica at a party.

Sree: Hey baby! I am India fast bowler, I want to daaance with you, rowmaaance with you, want to come on a date?

Chica: Sure!

Sree: Good. But first, tell me what you do?

Chica: I am an actor.

Sree: What kind of actor, have you done any big roles? Have you starred in a Yash-Raj film? Do you have an agent in Hollywood?

Chica: Er, no, I’ve just started out, and…

Sree: Oh, I see. You’re an unknown, struggling actor?

Chica: That’s right.

Sree: Okay then, date is cancelled. Bye bye. I don’t stoop so low.

Harbhajan Singh, if you’re reading this, please go to wherever Sreesanth is hanging out these days and slap him again. Do it for your country. India needs you.

Why is Nasbani Colony called Nasbandi?

2009-05-06T13:52:00.001+10:00

The strange logic behind the naming of Delhi neighbourhoods.

Shakespeare says, that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. The other day, I went to Khichdipur in east Delhi and could not smell any khichdi.

What difference would it have made if the place were called Biryanipur? But trust Delhi not to care for such existential questions. The city is littered with localities that have weirdly funny names.

I asked my rich friends in New Friends Colony and they couldn’t say why NFC is called so. “We live in a spirit of friendliness perhaps…,” said Anupama Ghosh, a resident there.

If that’s the logic, then are there more shaadis at Shadipur? Are people in Swastha Vihar healthier? Are rooftops in Sunlight Colony decked with solar panels? Do people in Maujpur, near Shahdara, have more mauj than the population anywhere else? Is Gole Market gole? Uhmm…it actually is.

Another curious name is that of the Metro station near Seelampur, called Welcome. I thought that it might be Metro’s first ever station in Delhi, which is why they named it so. I was wrong. Says Anuj Dayal of Delhi Metro, “Shahdara is our first station, not Welcome, which is named after a colony called Welcome.” Ouch!

But the Oscar for the most creative name goes to a neighbourhood called — hold your breath — Nasbandi Colony.

Around 20 years ago, the government, in a desperate attempt to control the population, drafted a policy awarding free plots in an NCR wasteland to anyone who underwent a nasbandi (vasectomy). Around 5,000 did and became citizens of what came to be known as Nasbandi Colony.

I, too, may consider a nasbandi but the free plot needs to be in New Friends Colony.

The Bookologist

2009-04-28T14:33:00.000+10:00

I am a 19-year-old male. I had sex with my female cousin a month ago. Recently she parceled me Alex Comfort’s The Joy of Sex : Fully Revised & Completely Updated for the 21st Century, but it was without the plastic wrapping. Is there a chance of me getting AIDS?

Have you already opened the book? Keep it aside. First get a test done. Read the book only while wearing a thick condom.

I am a 28-year-old man and my girlfriend is 26. Last week I tried to introduce her to James Joyce’s Ulysses but could not penetrate even the first few pages together. When I tried to probe beyond, my girlfriend winced and experienced severe pain. After I withdrew, she eased back and offered me Danielle Steele for mutual pleasure. Is there any way I can get her used to Joyce?

What you are insisting on her can easily be termed abuse. Just how can you expect your partner to share your hardcore taste in reading? It is clear she is still not used to the rigor and demands of high-value pleasure and so rather than being hasty, you should first baby-step her to easier authors like Dickens, Bronte and then to perhaps Marquez, and only afterwards graduate to Joyce. But for now stick to cute-nothings. Don’t lose heart. Danielle Steele is still better than Mills & Boon. Perhaps.

I’m a 12-year-old boy and I, along with my girlfriend, secretly read my older sister’s forbidden copy of Sidney Sheldon’s The Other Side of Midnight. Actually we read only a certain portion of this novel where Larry Douglas is making love to Catherine for the first time. The scene lasts for three pages and the end of it leaves both of us panting. The problem is that since last week my girlfriend is feeling like throwing up. Could she be pregnant?

You haven’t specified the age of your girlfriend. If you have not done anything more than just read the scene together, it is unlikely that she is pregnant. However both of you should think whether your behavior will help you in the future. It is best to wait till both of you are adults — 21 years for males and 18 for females - to read such novelists as Sidney Sheldon. Meanwhile focus on Harry Potter.

I am a 27-year-old unmarried man. Until now, I have had no problems related to reading, and faced no hurdles in doing re-readings of all the volumes in my Nancy Drew collection. However, last month I fell ill and used the weeklong bed-rest in reading 25 Hardy Boys at one go. Could I be gay? Will this affect my sex life? Am I still eligible for marriage?

Do you mean that you are into novels of the Nancy Drew series? It is very unusual at your age for such acts. A man reading Nancy Drew usually happens to be a homosexual. But nothing can be concluded without a personal meeting. You also haven’t provided much detail in your query. Did you like Nancy Drew or her fiancé Ned? You also seem to have shifted your interest to Hardy Boys during the course of your illness. What disease was it? You are very quiet about it. Hardy Boys usually has a fan following among straight boys. So you cannot be gay. But then what about the Nancy Drew chapter of your life? You are most probably a bisexual. You may still be eligible for marriage but whether you are marrying a woman or a man, it will be ethical to confide into her or him about your confused orientation.

I am a 35-year-old housewife and the two books that I love to re-read are Madame Bovary and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, while my 41-year-old husband cannot sleep in the night before reading bits and pieces of Lolita? Is it OK?

You seem to be a dysfunctional couple. Do you have a good-looking bachelor as a neighbor? Are you attracted towards him? More worryingly, do you have a housemaid? Is she under-age? Can she be a nymphet? If yes, sack her.

I would like some information regarding Virginia Woolf. How long does the reading take? How long does one need for recovery? Are there any precautions to be taken before starting? How much does she cost?

She is safe and simple only if assisted by a guidebook and can be completed within 20 days to one month. Make sure to have Prozac with you during the entire time of reading. Once finished, the reader may recover his energies by reading absolutely nothing for a few hours and taking complete rest for a weekend before resuming with other books. The cost will depend on whether you are buying first-hand or second-hand editions.

Delhi’s niharinama

2009-04-27T13:30:00.000+10:00

The alleys of Matia Mahal, under the shadow of Jama Masjid, are redolent of morning meals. Opt for paya-nihari.
Try Jawahar Hotel on the main street, a few paces away from Jama Masjid. The nihari (Rs 90) and paya (Rs 90) glisten in a pool of oil. The roti (Rs. 3) is fresh off the tandoor. The extra plate of lime wedges, chopped chillies, and slivered ginger completes the meal.

The boneless mutton nihari is supple. The garlicky gravy, spiced with javitri and dhaniya, is hearty. Its warmth is believed to have restorative qualities. True. Each bite infuses the body with a vigor that easily explains why nihari happens to be a morning food for the ‘working-class’ men. The delicacy originated in the genteel dastarkhwans of Delhi, before it percolated down to other classes, following the fall of the Mughal Empire.

Like the nihari, paya(trotters), is a satisfying winter dish prepared in a similar fashion — simmered overnight until the marrow is softened and the bones free of gelatin. I’m told that two cooks start their nihari preparation in the freezing cold of the night. They leave as the sun rises.Their tough job is worthwhile. This is truly a kingly breakfast that has long outlived the kings.

Nihari stalls you mustn’t miss Jawahar Hotel 9-10 Matia Mahal (23269241, 7am-11am); Karim’s 16 Gali Kababiyan, Jama Masjid (23269880, 7am-9pm); Kallu Nihari Shop No. 80; Chattan Lal Mian Jama Masjid (6am to 7.30am); Haji Noora, near Hindu Rao Hospital (7am-9am); Haji Shabrati Nihariwale Shop No. 722; Haveli Azam Khan, Jama Masjid (6am-9am).

Plane watching in Delhi

2009-04-27T12:42:00.001+10:00

I’m standing in the middle of the railway track. The Rewari Passenger will not be coming for another half hour. But I can listen to a distant roar. It’s a shrill sound gradually picking up speed. Hear, hear. It is approaching fast. It is getting thicker. It is close. Closer. It is right here. Above me. Grrrrrrrrr. Above us. Grrrrrrrrr. We look up. Me. Villagers. MBA students (from a local management institute). The kulfi walla. The chaat walla. We all see a giant steel ship floating up in the air. Magnificent scene. Wah wah.

All quiet now. The airplane has disappeared into the darkening sky. So has the roar. Where is it going? Manama? Geneva? Sydney? No time to ponder. Another roar. A new build-up. That same crashing noise. The stunning sight. The ear-numbing climax. And then the unquiet quiet. And then the rumbling again… whooa, another plane.

This is Delhi’s new Jumbo Point. The original at National Highway 8, near Mahipalpur, is now the stuff of things past. Blame the traffic police. It discourages people (and cars) from gathering there. Before, Delhi wallas used to drive there to see the landing of airplanes in the Indira Gandhi international airport whose runway is just across the highway. It is said that the planes come so close there that you could touch them with your arms. (Well, almost.)

Plane watching at jumbo point. Photo by: Mayank Austen Soofi

The old Jumbo Point has other memories, too. As a booze adda for boys and giggle joint for girls, many love affairs started and ended there. Film journalist Anupama Chopra in her biography of Shah Rukh Khan, King of Bollywood, revealed Jumbo Point nights of the film star when he was just another school kid in Delhi:

One night they (Shah Rukh and friends) ran away from their respective homes, each one saying he was spending the night at another person’s house. For a few hours they watched planes land from a spot near the Delhi airport called Jumbo Point. The police found them playing hockey on the road and detained them until dawn. This was the extent of their teen spirit.

Time flies as fast as, well, you know…Shah Rukh Khan is now a Bombay walla and the old Jumbo Point has been emptied of its spirit. Nothing stirs there, except the roar of planes followed by short intervals of silence.

Don’t lose heart. The new Jumbo Point, at Dwarka, may have remote access (it has a railway track rather than a highway) but it offers better views. In the old, you could only watch the landing of planes. Here, you face two runways. On one, planes take off. On another, planes land. Sometimes both happen together. Double roar. Double thrill. Double climax.

Plan a trip in the morning when the extra-giant US cargo plane is taking off. As it twist to a dangerous angle, the spine-tickling thrill you experience would be priceless. Just the stuff memories are made of.

Best Time Around 9 am, 6-7 pm Where Bagdolla Village Nearest Metro Station Sector 8, Dwarka

Prepare to cringe

2009-04-27T11:52:00.000+10:00

Twenty-five headlines we're afraid we're going to see this IPL season

1. Bangalore royally challenged

2. Indians win it for Mumbai

3. Lightning Gilchrist charges Deccan

4. Gayle blows Rajasthan away

5. Dale stains Mumbai

6. Kolkata ride into the night

7. Knights bow down to Kings XI

8. Ross tailors Bangalore's victory

9. XI Kings not enough for Indians

10. AB devils Chargers

11. Dwayne's bravo downs Delhi

12. Chennai's super kings seal big win

13. Harbhajan's slap hands Bangalore victory

And a few for off the field:

14. Ladies' Taylor a hit in Cape Town

15. Gony, Gony, Gone

16. Albie there when Chennai needs me - Morkel

17. In Fidel we trust - Deccan coach

18. No one can if Nuwan can't

19. James hopes for more opportunities

20. Dinda, done that

21. Moises emerges from the wilderness

22. I shan't do that again, says Sharma

23. Duminy you have, men?

24. Dhawal breaches The Wall

25. Watson your mind, Shane?

A Religion Of Peace

2008-12-16T08:54:00.000+11:00

The big question on everyone's mind is how to solve the problem of terrorism. On the one hand, the authorities are trying to crush the terror

menace through legal action; and on the other hand, reformers are trying to curb it by engaging in condemnation. However, both of these methods are, apparently, proving to be ineffective. Then what is the solution?

The present problem of terrorism is based on an ideology and that cannot be countered or killed through legal action or by mere condemnation. We have to develop a counter-ideology to overcome it. Violence begins from the mind. It must, therefore, be uprooted from the mind itself. This goes directly to the root cause of terrorism. Therefore, in order to eliminate this root cause we need to initiate our efforts by beginning from the right starting point. And this is the re-engineering of minds of individuals by taking them away from the culture of violence and bringing them closer to the culture of peace.

Let's look at two parallel examples from history. One pertains to the American campaign against communist Russia and the other refers to the American campaign against Saddam-led Iraq. Both communist Russia and Iraq were declared enemies of the US, but while America was successful in curbing the menace of communist Russia, it failed to cope with Iraq. The reason was that America met the Russian challenge at an ideological level, while it opted for military action against Iraq.

Terrorism will persist in one form or another until the ideology of violence is countered with another ideology based on peace. But let us first understand the ideology of violence that is resulting in terrorism. This ideology is that Islam is a political system and that it is the duty of all Muslims to establish the political rule of Islam in the world. This kind of thinking was not prevalent during the time of Prophet Muhammad or his early companions. It is a later invention. This was developed over the last few centuries by a handful of people and has become widespread in the Muslim world today. This has led to the present-day violence.

A large number of Muslims, especially many among the youth, have become obsessed with this ideology and are trying to establish the political rule of Islam, thinking it to be their ticket to paradise. Having failed to achieve this objective of establishing Islamic rule by peaceful methods, they have started resorting to suicide bombing. The idea being that if we cannot eliminate non-Islamic rule, then let us at least destabilise it and pave the way for Islamic rule.

After studying Islam by making reference to its original sources the Quran and Hadith one can say with certainty that the political interpretation of Islam is an innovation and the real Islam, as followed by Prophet Muhammad and his early followers, is based upon peace, compassion and tolerance.

People consider peace as the greatest good in the world. However, peace does not prevail in the world today. This is because people the world over are acting intolerantly and indulging in acts of violence, saying, "Give us justice and peace will ensue". But when people, ostensibly seeking justice, stoop to violence, peace can never prevail. Peace is always desirable for its own sake, and every other desirable state comes after peace, not along with it. So, the maxim to follow, when peace is the desired state, is: "Ignore the problems, and avail of the opportunities."

Once people become tolerant and obtain peace for its own sake, what that actually does is open up opportunities. It creates favourable conditions which enable people to strive for their ideals, eventually attaining justice and other constructive ends. This happens due to the law of nature. When the individual refrains from making a controversial matter into one of prestige, this gives rise to serious thinking. This non-emotional thinking helps him to understand that if he were to walk out of the point of controversy he would find all other paths open to him.

This ideology of peace can counter the ideology of violence and it is based on the original sources of Islam. Prophet Muhammad provides a very clear historical example of this in his method of negotiating the Hudaybiyya peace treaty. On this occasion he brought matters to a successful conclusion by unilaterally accepting all the conditions of his opponents. In this peace treaty, the Prophet had not apparently received justice or his rights. But what was in effect a 10-year no-war pact gave the Prophet an opportunity to work uninterruptedly on a constructive programme which would otherwise have been impossible. By means of this peaceful non-political programme, the Prophet and his companions were able to consolidate themselves so thoroughly that they had no need to wage war; they were able to take control of Mecca peacefully.

From this example of the Prophet, we can understand that there is no room for violence in Islam. The ideology of Islam banishes the notion that there can be anything acceptable about terrorism. Islam is a completely peaceful religion and the Islamic method is a peaceful method. By following the ideology of peace, each individual's mind can be re-engineered away from the culture of violence and closer to the culture of peace.

Heroes has finally.....

2008-12-10T08:41:00.001+11:00

lost it's story line....the first 2 seasons were gr8 n everythin but common u have to agree wid me wen i say tht this season was a disaster!! the whole plot is messed up...how can u have an entire season based on giving super powers to people!! i mean i cant even understand if giving normal people super powers is good or bad...and wats up wid arthur?? first he takes away peters powers and den durin d last episode he tells peter he can have his powers bak if the formula is a success!! why did he take dose powers in the first place??! i sincerely hope dat dis awesome show doesnt go wrong like tht other infamous show tht we all loved in the beginnin 'lost'.....i would love to hear wat u guys have to say bout this season of heroes and no hard feelins to the heroes lovers out dere...i was jus sayin wat i felt...till my next post...all u need is love......

- accountant in sydney

2008-12-09T20:40:00.000+11:00

10 Chick Flicks That Actually Don’t Suck

Ready to end your relationship if you have to sit through The Notebook one more time? Pop one of these flicks into the DVD player on movie night.

10. The Craft (1996)
Director: Andrew Fleming
Starring: Neve Campbell, Rachel True, Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk.
Four neglected gals exact revenge through evil curses. Sounds like some X-chromosome BS, eh? Witch, please. With sexy voodoo children, magical catfights and more angst than a Mary J. Blige song, it casts a spell hypnotizing enough for freaky Goth chicks and for guys who love bad girls.

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9. Love & Basketball (2000)
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Dennis Haysbert, Alfre Woodard
Like an Oxygen movie-of-the-week, friends-cum-lovers balance their relationship and hoop dreams. The on-court action is surprisingly watchable, but it’s leading lady Sanaa Lathan that will keep your eyes glued to the off-court antics.

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8. Mean Girls (2004)
Director: Mark Waters
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams
Before her alleged coke-and-vodka-induced stupor, Lindsay Lohan was a real actress. The proof is this raging bitchfest where she plays a high schooler trying to overthrow the popular clique. It’s realistic (home-schooled-kids are freaks), hilarious (see the hallway brawl) and features LiLo’s cardigan-busting cleavage, which started the great boob-job debate.

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7. Set It Off (1996)
Director: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Vivica A. Fox, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett
Hey, women can pull bank heists too. The Queen’s lesbian scenes were more gag inducing than her performance in Last Holiday, but every man can enjoy a chick who can handle a gun. Four of ‘em? Even better.

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6. Clueless (1995)
Director: Amy Heckerling
Starring: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, Wallace Shawn
Quirky, sexy and thick with Valley-girl patois, Clueless is a Laguna Beach–like guilty pleasure. Screw the plot, which was lifted from Emma (ask your English lit teacher): It has Stacey Dash rocking knee-highs while lecturing about sex ed.

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5. Shrek (2001)
Director: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
Starring: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy
In this fairy tale spoof, an ogre discovers that a belching, karate-kicking princess is way more fun after dark. “Beauty is only skin deep” or “love is blind”? Pick a cliche, but you’ll still be squirting beer through your nose throughout.

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4. Gia (1998)
Director: Michael Cristofer
Starring: Angelina Jolie
Model Gia Carangi endures failed relationships (read: Angelina Jolie in lesbian scenes), drug abuse (read: Angelina Jolie, strung out and topless) and a few pesky chain-link fences in this raunchy runway biopic.

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3. Out of Sight (1998)
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn
In perhaps the most romantic film to start out in the clink, George Clooney is a bank robber who falls for a U.S. Marshal (Lopez). From the director of Traffic, we get lush, color-drenched cinematography and a gem of a supporting cast. Most important, though, is its unadulterated amount of pure J.Lo eye candy. There’s J.Lo in the back of a trunk with her skirt hiked up around her thighs. There’s J.Lo in black leather, in a lacy bra and panties, in a snug football jersey. There’s J.Lo…

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2. Knocked Up (2007)
Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann
In Judd Apatow’s follow-up to The 40-Year-Old Virgin, an overweight loser impregnates a busty, career driven blonde during a one-night stand. In other words: Your biggest fantasy.

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1. Bound (2004)
Director: The Wachowski Brothers
Starring: Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon
A mob princess, Violet, gets her pipes cleaned by the plumber, Corky. realizing sex is so much better when you’re rich, she and the Corkster steal $2 million from her beau, Joe Pantoliano (who played Ralph Cifaretto in The Sopranos). It doesn’t end well for him here, either.–Matt Barone, Jerry L. Barrow, Katie Hintz, and Clover Hope

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The most useful application....

2008-12-09T16:38:00.000+11:00

I have used till now on a windows computer is CCleaner. It was formerly known as Crap Cleaner but then some people suggested on changing the name. I wonder why?! Well this app is sooo freakin cool...it cleans all the junk in ur computer's trunk and makes it super clean and fast....I just lurve this tiny little program...actually without this program it would have been difficult for me to sleep at night...im a little bit of a neat freak but i'll tell u guys bout tht some other time. Till den check out dis really cool app http://www.ccleaner.com/

2008-12-09T16:22:00.000+11:00

hmmmm...an accountant in sydney...wat comes to ur mind when u hear bout some1 who is an accountant in sydney...accountant hmmmm...must be good wid numbers...must be really boring....must make a lotta money...but why an accountant...tht too in sydney?? if u live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world u would wanna be somethin a little more adventurous...mayb an actor...or a writer...or a painter!! well i chose accounting coz it was my ticket to success in the land down under...it was super borin at first but it bcame more interestin wid d passage of time...i guess u start njoyin wat u do even though in the bak of ur mind ur sooo sick of the job tht u jus needed one little push to jump over the edge!! well today this accountant has decided to start writng dis blog as a way to let out all the anger, frustration, happiness, insanity, passion and comedy he has to share wid the world. i will keep u all updated on nethin i find interestin and feel like tlkin about....till den all u need is love...

- accountant in sydney