Archive for the ‘Entertainment And Music’ Category

Design kids room of you dream

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

With not much space outside for kids to play, the kids should not limit their physical activity. With such a wide range of products available today you can design a perfect getaway for your kids in a separate room.

There are online stores which offer game tables which you can keep in your game rooms, these also supply home fitness equipment. Your kid’s room can have game tables for air hockey, pool, shuffle board, table tennis. There are 3 in 1, 4 in 1, 9 in 1 and also 14 in1 multi game tables also. These game tables have pool, table tennis, push hockey, football, bowling, chess, backgammon, shuffle board, and draughts with all the accessories included.

While buying, care should be taken to ensure that these are of good height and ergonomically designed otherwise these are bad for kids posture when he will be spending much time on playing games. Stores selling home fitness equipment also keep these game tables. These game tables will liven up your game room and kids will be happy spending hours inside the room. The game room can have kid games like board games, strategy games, and RC toys, classic games like monopoly, scrabble, and trivial pursuit. Even adults can play these games with kids which teach them very important lessons of life.

Lots of Parties

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

I seem to be getting so many invitations at the moment. I love going out to places but sometimes wonder how, in this time of economic crisis, how people can afford to have parties and celebrations. I am not begrudging them, I mean it is nice to have something else to think about rather than the state of the world economy and one`s own bank balance but by throwing a party you are likely to be worrying about it even more in the future. I have received two party invitations just this week and I am worrying about the expense of buying a present and a new outfit – goodness know how the people throwing the party will afford everything that they will need.

I guess I should just decide to enjoy it and not worry about that sort of thing for them. I am hoping that I can get a new outfit that will suit both of these parties. I have also received a graduation invitation and if I decide to go, I am hoping that it will be suitable for that as well. Goodness there is so much going on lately and so much socialising to do, it should be great fun!

Taiyo Yuden DVD

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

I am looking for a DVD player to buy for my husband for his birthday. Ours has been ruined by the children stuffing all sorts of things in to t and it makes a nasty noise when it plays DVD’s which is not good. I figured that rather than tell him that the children have broken it, I will buy him a Taiyo Yuden DVD which is one that he has wanted for ages and pretend that it was a special treat to replace the cheap one that we bought before because we were skint.

Hopefully he will not see through my plan and will be so overawed by the DVD Yuden that he will not even bother about chucking the old one away. I will have to make sure that the children look after the new one or perhaps that they are not allowed to touch it at all. Although I can be a bit heavy handed with things myself – maybe I should keep the old one for me and the boys and let my husband be the only one allowed to touch the new one!

Moviegoers must step through death’s door

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

As Jim Morrison sang, “No one here gets out alive.” Maybe he was referring to a modern-day movie theater?

Forget popcorn, Milk Duds and escapism. To take a trip to the cinema these days is to confront one’s own mortality, as some of the fall’s biggest prestige titles have the meaning of life — more specifically, the end of it — on their minds.

(Beware: A few spoilers are necessary to explain the, er, end of several films.)

In “Seven Pounds,” a character wracked with guilt over the accidental death of his wife begins a long series of preparations to kill himself. The film’s climactic scene has him dying dramatically in a bathtub suicide.

“Synecdoche, New York” features a man who, after a string of flawed relationships and an attempt to create a grand work of art, comes face to face with his mortality. The movie ends when a God-like figure gives the one-word command “Die.” (He obliges.)

And in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a man heads inexorably toward his own demise equipped with the knowledge of exactly how much time he has left. In the movie’s affecting climax, he dies as a baby, closing his eyes for the final time in the arms of the woman he loved.

Watching these films that give new meaning to the phrase “end credits,” one is tempted to ask several questions. First, does Hollywood need a hug? And second, what exactly is behind this sudden burst of Yeats-like tendencies?

Over the decades there have been many great, and even more not-so-great, films that feature death as a central element. But most have used it either as a dramatic denouement, like the wartime romance, or as a story’s engine, like countless family dramas.

What’s happening here is perhaps something more subtle; specifically, the birth of a subgenre, one in which death is contemplated for its own sake. Call it mortality cinema. These new movies don’t simply use death to propel the action or motivate (or enervate) the characters. They’re built to concern themselves with death. They exist to ponder the end of existence.

All, it should be said, share another trait: They offer a peculiar mixture of bleakness and hope. Last fall’s crop of so-called dark films might have explored man’s baser impulses, but mortality cinema tries a more deft balance. The inevitability of death is underlined, but so is its meaning.

In all three titles, the act of dying is preceded by an act of great sacrifice or ambition: giving away organs to save the lives of others (”Pounds”), building an entire world for the sake of one’s art (”Synecdoche”), walking away from the person you love to spare them from getting hurt (”Button”). Mortality cinema might constantly nag us that we’re nearing the end, but it sure spends a lot of time telling us what happens before we get there.

Comedian Will Shriner once said that he wanted to die in his sleep like his grandfather, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car. Amazingly, though, no one at the theater seems to be screaming and yelling. “Button” has earned nearly $80 million since Christmas day, while “Pounds” has hit $60 million since December 19.

Even more curious is why these movies are getting made in these uncertain times. With all there is to worry about in life at the moment, why throw death onto the pile?

It’s not as illogical as you’d think. With the percentage of Americans over age 65 now at more than 20% (the highest in history), aging and mortality are in the ether more than ever.

More specifically for Hollywood, filmmakers who grew up during and were influenced by the American golden era of the 1970s are hitting age milestones. Someone who was, say, 14 when “The Godfather” came out would have just turned 50. “Synecdoche” director Charlie Kaufman, for instance, hit the midcentury mark just six weeks ago.

Of course, filmmakers tend to have death obsessions in general. Woody Allen once said that he didn’t want to achieve immortality through his work, he wanted to achieve it by not dying.

That seems like a good approach. But if you want to be reminded of mortality these days, you don’t need to make a movie. You just need to go to one.

Sanjay Gupta gifts Rs.600,000 watch to action director

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta has joined the bandwagon of Bollywood stars known for giving exorbitant gifts to their colleagues. He recently gifted a Rolex watch worth Rs.600,000 to action director Tinu Varma for his work in upcoming movie ‘Acid Factory’.

‘Sanjay was so impressed with the kind of action sequences Tinu had created for ‘Acid Factory’ that he decided to gift him the watch. It was Sanjay’s way of showing that he admired Tinu’s professionalism and work,’ said a source close to Gupta.

‘Acid Factory’ is Gupta’s latest venture and stars Fardeen Khan, Dia Mirza, Aftab Shivdasani, Irrfan Khan, Dino Morea, Manoj Bajpai and Danny Denzongpa.

Varma was apparently moved by Gupta’s gesture.

‘I have always felt White Feather Films (Gupta’s production company) to be like my own production house. I’ve given my heart and soul to it. ‘Acid Factory’ is extremely special to me and I have done every bit to make the action sequences as thrilling as possible,’ the action director said.

‘Besides innovative action sequences, we have also used every other possible trick. I’m looking forward to the film’s release since ‘Acid Factory’ is my best and biggest film till date,’ Varma added.

The movie will hit the screens later this year.

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I’ve possibly made wrong choices: Kim Sharma

In her Bollywood career spanning almost eight years, actress Kim Sharma has managed just one hit - ‘Mohabbatein’ - and she has no qualms admitting that it might be a result of her wrong selection of films.

‘I have possibly made wrong choices in the films that I’ve done. But I feel as an actor, I can only do my job. I can’t control people’s reactions. And I don’t spend any time wondering why a certain film goes wrong. It’s okay,’ Kim said.

After making her debut in Aditya Chopra’s ‘Mohabbatein’ in 2000, Kim followed it up with films like ‘Tumse Achcha Kaun Hai’ (2002), ‘Fida’ (2004) and ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’ (2006). But these were not well received at the box office.

The model-turned-actress is, however, positive about her acting career.

‘I’m not unhappy with my career. I am a practical person and I do understand that it is all a part of learning. Whatever I’ve done till now, I’ve done it on my own without anyone’s help and I’m well aware of the mess-ups I have made in my career,’ she said.

Stall statement

Friday, October 17th, 2008

Besides their collections, designers at the DFW are using their stall spaces to make a social statement. Leading the show is Raghavendra Rathore, who has used empty egg trays to deck up his stall.

They provide a great mathematical sequence for interiors. Malini Ramani too has an aesthetically alluring stall.

While a muted gold hue lines the interiors, she has also created a palm-tree influenced chandelier. The stalwarts of Indian fashion, Rohit Bal and Tarun Tahiliani, however have closed door stalls.

Is it to keep the identity of their buyers a secret?.

Buzznet adds TheSuperficial to online celebrity gossip venue

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Buzznet on Wednesday added celebrity slamming website TheSuperficial to its growing online community of people obsessed with pop culture and the antics of film stars.

Buzznet.com is a thriving social networking website at which members form communities centered on music, media, celebrities or other interests.

The Superficial joins a Buzznet online celebrity gossip community at Celebuzz.com that includes opinion websites Just Jared, What Would Tyler Durden Do, Go Fug Yourself, and Socialite Life.

“We want to become the de facto pop culture community,” Buzznet chief executive Tyler Goldman told AFP.

“If Britney Spears goes for a Frappuccino (coffee drink) in Century City, lots of people care. They want to know how many calories are in the Frap, where to get one, how they are made and more.”

A glimpse at TheSuperficial revealed blurbs ridiculing the physique of tennis star Serena Williams as well as actress Lindsey Lohan’s desire for a brood of children.

Buzznet amasses pop culture and celebrity news, blogs, paparazzi pictures and more and sorts the digitized data into categories that fans can wallow in without leaving the website.

“The traffic in celebrity keeps growing despite the number of players out there,” Goldman said. “Users are really looking for more and more on the topic.”

Instead of simply aggregating third-party content found on the web, Buzznet makes deals to own digital material it presents.

Buzznet reports having 31 million users, nearly 10 million of which visit the website monthly.

“Someone is going to win along a similar formula,” Goldman said. “I think we have a leg up, but obviously a long way to go.”

Approximately 65 percent of Buzznet’s audience is in the United States and the rest is international.

“It turns out other countries really love our pop culture,” Goldman said.

Buzznet launched in 2005 and major US newspapers turned to it by the end of that year for pictures of devastation caused in the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina.

Already this year, Buzznet formed an alliance with heavy metal music website TheGauntlet.com and acquired music-themed sites Stereogum and Idolator.

Shah Rukh Khan cancels shows in Germany, Spain

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has cancelled three live song-and-dance shows, part of his Temptation Reloaded world tour, scheduled in Germany this week, leading to arguments between the tour’s Indian sponsor and the agent in Germany.

‘The German promoters, SensAsian Media Ltd, to whom we gave the contract for promotion, venue booking, etc have breached the contract and that is why we have cancelled the show,’ Mohammed Morani, director of event management firm Cineyug told IANS.

SensAsian Media Ltd has said no reason was given for the cancellation.

Cineyug was sponsoring the tour.

‘We have also cancelled the Spain tour because just having a show in Spain would have been a costly affair,’ added Morani.

Shah Rukh was to have compered and performed with his cast at a glittering theatrical show on Friday night in Berlin, followed by performances Saturday in Munich and Sunday in Frankfurt.

‘Cancelling three concerts with about 10,000 tickets sold at the last minute is rudeness to the fans,’ said SensAsian Media Ltd in a statement distributed by a Frankfurt public-relations agency.

The company claims Shah Rukh’s lawyer informed them through a letter that the actor was not available for the ‘Temptation Reloaded 2008′ tour and no reason was given.

But SensAsian Media Ltd confirmed there had been disputes during earlier negotiations with the star’s agent.

Tickets to the shows cost up to 150 Euros. Bollywood movies have developed a small but loyal fan following in Germany.

After a successful Temptation world tour in 2005, Shah Rukh launched his Temptation Reloaded tour in June this year in Rotterdam, Holland. The star was joined by Arjun Rampal, Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone, Anushka Dandekar and Ganesh Hedge.

According to the reports, Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Malaika Arora and Kareena Kapoor were also expected to join him at different venues.

In 2005 young singer Shweta Pandit joined Shah Rukh on the tour and this time female rapper Hard Kaur was roped in to be a part of the troupe.

Earlier Katrina Kaif was also a part of the troupe, but after his spat with Salman Khan on Katrina’s birthday, Shah Rukh dropped her from the tour.

‘Chikkamagaloora…’ - good songs, great visuals but old narrative

Sunday, October 12th, 2008

Film: ‘Chikkamagaloora Chikka Mallige’; Director: Channagangappa; Cast: Shravanth, Radhika Gandhi, Jagadeesh, Avinash, C.R. Simha, Sharath Lohithashwa and Vinaya Prakash; Music: K. Kalyan; Rating: **1/2

Director Channagangappa has effectively used his writing skills to narrate a simple and entertaining story in ‘Chikkamagaloora Chikkamallige’, which stands out for good technical work and fine performances by veteran character artistes.

The film introduces fresh talents in leading roles. The story of ‘Chikkamagaloora…’ doesn’t have a contemporary feel, but it pleases your eyes and ears, thanks to the fantastic visuals and some good songs.

Channagangappa, who has earlier made issue-based films, has this time made an entertaining movie that has comedy and suspense. As a writer, Channagangappa has written an interesting script with intriguing twists.

However, it has certain weak points that prevent it from becoming a full-on entertainer. Besides lacking a contemporary touch, the narration is old style. While Kalyan’s compositions are good, it lacks variety. Some of the songs sound similar to one another.

The story is mainly about a former king, who lives in the illusion that he still holds power. Vasundhara, a college student, is the grand daughter of this maverick ex-ruler.

The hero is the son of a business who does not see eye-to-eye with the king, but fall for his granddaughter. But Vasundhara was apparently engaged to one of her relatives as a child.

Meanwhile, there are assassination attempts made on the king. Who wants to kill the king and will the hero and heroine meet?

Veteran artistes like C.R. Simha, Avinash, Bharath Bhagavathar, Sharath Lohithashwa give great performances, while Shravanth and Radhika Gandhi make good debuts. Radhika looks cute and has a terrific screen presence in songs.

Veteran cameraman J.G. Krishna proves he is one of the best cinematographers in the Kannada film industry. However, many scenes look out of place in today’s environs.

‘Chikkamagaloora Chikka Mallige’ has quite a few engaging and entertaining moments that will appeal to family audiences.

Christina Applegate kept cancer diagnosis a secret

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

“Samantha Who?” star Christina Applegate avoided hugs for weeks and hid her cancer diagnosis from nearly everyone working on her hit television program, the actress said in an interview airing on Friday.

Applegate, 36, publicly revealed her diagnosis for breast cancer in August and had a double-mastectomy performed.

The actress told chat show host Ellen DeGeneres that she went back to work on her sitcom “Samantha Who?” for about five weeks right after her surgery, but mostly kept her diagnosis a secret.

“I told my make-up and hair people and people that are really close to me just so I had a protection wall so that no one was pushing me,” Applegate said.

The California-born actress has said she is cancer free since her surgery. She told DeGeneres that, despite the pain her diagnosis caused her, she is now feeling better.

She said she had been reluctant for a time to hug people “but now I’m good. I’ll grab you,” Applegate said.

“I’m going to hug you a bunch during this commercial break,” DeGeneres told Applegate.

Applegate rose to fame playing the ditzy daughter of a shoe salesman on TV sitcom “Married … With Children.”

She won an Emmy, U.S. television’s top honor, for a guest role on “Friends.” On “Samantha Who?” she plays an amnesiac trying to pull her life together.

Applegate was interviewed on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” for a segment airing on Friday.