It is often said that what differentiates humans from animals are not our superior intelligence, language skills or tools use. What truly makes us the most advanced of all species is what we become through the long, and sometimes painful and embarrassing, process of socialisation. It is in interacting with other humans and in learning to treat each other with respect and, most especially, tolerance, that we become human-e.

And yet it comes as no surprise that trash-talking still remains one of the most favourite past times of people. Children and teens may be forgiven for this childish aberration, but what exactly do you propose to do with adults who consider it time well-spent when dissing people. Apparently, throwing dirty slangs about appearance, race, and personal traits of another person is so important that it is being considered a talent you should flaunt with much pride, made obvious by the MTV show Yo Momma. The show invites viewers who believe they can offend a stranger the best. Two contestants participate every week in a face-off and hurl insults at each other in front of a live audience; bonus points for creativity and alacrity in insulting the other. The show audaciously also includes a segment based purely on Yo Momma jokes, which even most kids consider way beneath them.

If filth makes up the ladder that you have to climb to go up in social popularity, this is a piteously pathetic and simple solution for all the brain-dead losers looking for a way out of their boring lives. Any half-wit can definitely win this rat race; they would only be competing with losers. But is it worth becoming a throwback in human evolution?

Via: MTV

The big soap bubble is ready to burst on Indian Television. Time has come for the 8-year-old Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, (KSBKBT) with it’s immortal characters (well, they just refused to die and saw five generations), kilos of jewellery, shimmering silks, naach-gaana, rona-dhona and the  regressive approach to women, to finally reach its last chapter by end October.

Many claim that KSBKBT is reaching a natural end (phew!) but it’s actually the TV channel (please read Star Plus) which has decided to end the contract with producers Balaji Telefilms. There was a time when this very regressive Balaji soap was responsible for the increasing TRPs of the channel, but now Star wants to reinvent itself. The last two years have seen quite a downfall in its popularity.

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Probably the only scene with sense in Salman Khan’s latest film ‘Hello’ got snipped at the hands of, may I say, our Stone Age-d Censor Board. The scene in reference is the one where actor Gul Panag asks co-star Sharman Joshi whether he is carrying a condom before they have sex.

As absurd it may sound, but the Censor actually committed the crime of stupidity. When on one hand, we get to see soooooooooo many ads on radio and TV urging us to talk about sex freely to avoid health hazards and unplanned pregnancies. After all, if the public outlook does not change we might soon be the country with largest AIDS cases in the world and of course, largest population too. Then recently, weren’t we hearing all those ‘condom, condom’ ringtones?

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Apart from the one Ashes Series in 2005, it is hard to really believe that in the last couple of decades The Ashes have been the real pinnacle of Test Cricket. It was the best period in the cricketing journey of Freddie Flintoff and a shaky Australian team that resulted in an Ashes Series that was worth remembering. Otherwise, the contests between India and Australia have pretty much occupied the slot of being the best cricketing contests with pure adrenaline, great skill level and some controversies put together. There are many reasons why the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has grown into being arguably the definitive Test Series in the last two decades.

Australia and India are two nations with cultures that are quite exclusive and different. Their cultural and geographic uniqueness have shaped the cricketing contests between the two nations into battles of grit, endurance, skill and art of winning. Test cricket finds its true identity in these contests. Australia is the best team of this generation by some distance, but India is the team always cutting that distance in half. Australians love to dominate and India has always refused to lie down and submit. Even the conditions in both nations are so different from one another that Australia struggle in the dust bowls in India while India struggle with the pace and bounce down under.

Yet, there is one other great and simple reason why the India-Australia contest is the modern Ashes. Both sides simply sport the greatest players of this generation who show-off their best skills when pitted against one another. The two greatest players of modern cricket went eye-to-eye in these contests. Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar brought the authenticity of greatness and an air of immortality to the battles. Then there were the supporting cast in the form of Ponting, McGrath, Laxman, Dravid, Ganguly, Steve Waugh and Anil Kumble. If cricket were the silver screen, that would be an awesome collection for sheer supporting-cast.

The generation that electrified cricket is slowly giving way to a new act. As the curtain rises on the 2008 series, one cannot but feel that the curtain is falling on the careers of the heroes of the past. But instead of looking beyond the series, let us look at tomorrow. The first test at Bangalore could end up in a draw, despite all the hoopla around it. Scattered showers are being predicted for all five days and that is not good news. Add to it, the fact that India has never won in Bangalore their last 13 test matches. The signs are not good for the Indian side.

Overcast conditions would mean advantage Australia. Their steamers will love gentle breeze and cloudy skies. But if India does manage to win the toss, then they will try to bat once and bat big.

Pre-Series Blunders:

India: Dropping Ganguly out of practice matches and playing him against the Aussies is not a very clever move by a long stretch.

Australia: Dropping Andrew Symonds (Enough said)

Match Breakers:

Virender Sehwag: While all the concentration would be on the Fab 4 in the middle order, Sehwag could hold the key for India. An early onslaught and a great start would very quickly put India in driver’s seat.
Matthew Hayden: The Aussie opener loves to score big against India and you would expect that the top heavy Aussie batting line up would depend on him a lot. If he sets his mind on a big one, it could be curtains for the home side.

The Hits:

Sourav Ganguly: He is on his farewell tour and when a man knows that this will be the last chance at glory, then he is all the more determined. There is no one more dangerous than a man who has nothing to lose- Australia might find this out soon.

Stuart Clarke: Much like McGrath, he will trouble the Indians by stifling them and choking them to death.

The Misses:

Ricky Ponting: There is no reason to believe that Ponting will struggle against turn once again. If he does, then his team could find themselves in deep trouble.

Rahul Dravid: It has been long since ‘The Wall’ has got his act together. He will be playing on home turf, but might still fall over to pace and accuracy.

Turning Point:

Sachin Tendulkar: If he has a series against Australia like he normally does, then back India to win this one. If he fails, then it might not just be the turning point of this series but also face of Indian Cricket.

Win Percentage for First Test:

India- 70%
Australia- 30%

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I really didn’t expect that I would be reviewing Abhishek Bachchan’s latest debacle of a fantasy film ‘Drona’ had it not been for this article on Indiatimes. Well, the writer feels that Indians suffer from a Hindi film ‘inferiority’ complex (ya, the ‘inferiority’ is amiss in the original sentence) and so cannot appreciate brave attempts by desi directors. He goes on to draw a parallel between some recent crappy fantasy films of Hollywood like ‘The Mummy Part 3’ and ‘Wanted’.

Well, honestly I did not like either and the same goes for ‘Drona’ too. I can’t seem to understand that aren’t directors the least bit embarrassed to steal popular film plots (that are like epics), add their own masala (unrequired, of course) and create a complete disaster!

What made Abhishek (or even Jaya Bachchan for that matter) accept this film?
a. OK, the Bachchans wanted to launch Abhi baby as the next super hero what with Krissh stealing all the limelight (wonder when they will stop comparing their bonny boy to Hrithik). But why the Harry Potter theme? Did they actually think we’d be that stupid to fall for it!
b. Why use a phirang land? Honestly, I was kicked about this film when the trailers began showing in because I thought this film would probably take us back into mythological times. But no, all illusions were shattered.
c. What made the ultra modern chick Priyanka Chopra talk in ‘shudh’ Hindi. The recurring references to her father as ‘bauji’ were completely out of sync. I think ‘dad’ would have been more apt or else she should have worn a different outfit altogether.
d. Kay Kay Menon…just why in the world did you become Riz Raizada? A total let down.
e. The songs….ugggghhhh! As the fantasy mood began to be developed, a song would come and interrupt. On top that, they weren’t even hummable.
f. About Jaya Bachchan? Actually, I just sat and cringed through her cranky song of ‘ma-beta milan’.

That’s what I thought in the 40 minutes that I could tolerate ‘Drona’ for. After that, I decided to walk out of the movie theatre.

Sharon Stone has been the daughter of controversy ever since she crossed or didn’t cross her legs in that notorious movie a couple of decades ago, which we all know. The smoking blonde has always managed to gain publicity whether negative or positive. This time however, she has gained a lot of negative publicity thanks to her bad mothering skills, which apparently are as much in mess as her. Californian officials have criticized and also rejected her request to change her child’s custody arrangements.

They have blamed her for overreacting to her son Roan’s medical issues. The court was especially infuriated with Stone’s suggestion that her son must be treated with botox as his feet were smelly. Now it has also come to notice that Bronstein will have complete custody over the boy and Stone may just have to worry endlessly if he would be taken care of by the jubilant father properly. The crux of the matter is not the custody of the child or Stone concern for her son’s health but the fact that celebrities usually end up over reacting to every tiny incident no matter what.

Probably, the entire attention and media glare showered and sometime forced upon them make them notice even small changes and worry about that endlessly. Probably the celebrities must be left alone and allowed to live a life in privacy. And the ones that like to be in the media glare are best avoided.

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Via: IMDB

If you had been wondering from where all the heroin of the world comes, it must not be too difficult to guess. It’s from the most troubled nation on earth, Afghanistan. The country depends literally on the money that comes from the sale of homegrown opium and poppy and also the derivatives like heroin and morphine. These narcotics make way to Western Europe through the neighboring Tajikistan.

Just 13 hours ago, many afghan smugglers were killed in a shootout in Tajikistan when they were caught red handed smuggling heroin into Tajikistan’s borders. These drugs after reaching France, Germany and elsewhere, are sold at exorbitant prices. What I fear is that the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan has actually encouraged the Afghan opium farmers to grow more as lawlessness has increased many folds after the Americans have entered.

Only through proper negotiations with the U.N. and afghan government can the drug route and trade be blocked. I wonder how things will go in the near future. Though listening to the news of the smugglers being shot dead isn’t a very pleasant one, it may just have the right thing to do, for the Tajik forces, whose land is being used as a transit for drug delivery to Europe.

Via: AfghanConflictMonitor

There has been a lot of discussion about men going bald and losing charm. However, if there is a standing example to the fact that hair really doesn’t matter as long as someone is really capable of attracting attention through other ways, it has to be Fran Healy from the Scottish alternative rock band Travis. The man behind singles like ‘Why does it always rain on me’, ‘Sing’, and many others, has publicly stated that he doesn’t worry about getting old or not looking as great as he used to.

Well, I couldn’t agree more with such great music he and the guys make and also his deep blue eyes. I just wish Travis’ new album ‘Ode to J. Smith’ gets released soon and we can listen to what is being called the greatest alternative rock album to be released in 2008. The album has already received critical acclaim and a favorable critical mood.

For now, I would say baldness or any other matter really doesn’t matter as long as a man remains committed to his true mission and talents, be it music or politics or sports. Showbiz unfortunately has concentrated more upon a celebrity’s looks rather than the talent behind what makes him or her a celebrity.

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Via: GodsInTheTVZine

When the film industry was keeping mum about the Marathi manoos complex, it took only an Aamir Khan to come forth and take a stand. I don’t consider the Bachchan approach worth appreciating. First Jaya makes an irresponsible statement, her tenor and choice of words could have been more responsible and then Big B like always covering up with an apology. Well, Aamir’s little speech on ‘don’t let anyone divide us on the basis of culture’ actually reached out. He shunned politicians for creating tremors in Indian unity without taking any names.
Though he called himself a Marathi, he said that any film whether in Hindi, Marathi or any other language has the right to be released. We should not let anybody mess with our belief of ‘unity in diversity’. He said that we should only support leaders who keep us all together and promote peace.
I can’t help but like the sensibility of this man. I wish there were some more responsible actors in our country.
Via indianexpress

One of best coolest cinema in this year’s Toronto Film Festival was rock documentary “It Might Get Loud” — some excellence time useless with Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White, playing together and chatting discretely about what electric guitar income to every of them. The film was directed by Davis Guggenheim, who also made Al Gore Oscar victor “An Inconvenient Truth.” One of best coolest parts of film fest was that can be every one three guitarists appear together at opening show of film. Here is an audience-caught short of them taking a small number of questions and goofing around after show. Alas, no one has yet chosen up sharing rights, so I don’t know when film will be unconfined.

Davis Guggenheim has finished a film on a documentary that will be seem at narrative of exciting guitar from point of vision of three important rock musicians: the “Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White”.

Guggenheim, director-producer of “An Inconvenient Truth” and “Deadwood,” directed and co-produced “It Might Get Loud,” which Thomas Tull finance and shaped. The small Film Co. will symbolize the pic in Cannes.

Led Zeppelin’s Page, U2’s Edge and White, leader of White Stripes and Raconteurs, were selected for their crash across three dissimilar generations from Page’s 1960s days as a sitting musician and an associate of Yard birds into Edge’s single sound urbanized in ’80s through White’s present work. Each explain and demonstrate that how he misused sound of electric guitar to outfit his own style.