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12/31/2007 New Year 2008Normally you would expect a "Happy" in the title.
Unfortunately for many, that's not a word that describes the coming of this new year.
I would like to say that the recent events and on-goings have bogged or depressed me somehow, but unfortunately this has not been the case.
Such is the value we put on life around us that unless we personally know the hundreds of humans killed everyday, we just do not seem to care or let it affect us.
Good thing or bad? I'm really not qualified to say.
I just hope the coming year has just one event that we can look back fondly on.
Tragically, for the life of me I can not think back on any such happing in 2007.
Negativity aside;
Wishing you a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, Safe & Secure 2008 :-).
12/29/2007 Best of 07!! - Viral Vids07 was officially the year of Internet video. You-Tube et all were popular before, but not main-stream. That sure changed! Here's a list of one's I enjoyed the most: #1 Will Ferrell The Landlord Posted it back in the day (April). Some 9 months later and its still the best thing out there. Adam McKay's daughter really up-stages Ferrel as the drunk landlord. #2 Leave Britney Alone! Saying that it was a bad year for Spears would be an understatement. Every two weeks we'd think she's hit rock bottom - only for Brit to prove that she can bypass the lava into the earth's core!!. The most memorable moment though came from some dude Chris Crocker (self proclaimed slut & "Queen of Ghetto") after Spears historically bombed at the VMA's. Check out the Emo slut's claim to fame: & For EXTREME Hi-Larity, watch the Un-Edited version! (WARNING!: You might wet yourself laughing!) (I cant find the one without added effects, if you can - hook me up!) #3 Conan visits Intel! Conan O Brien did a week special from San Francisco back in May. Since the trip was sponsored by Intel he decided to pay them a visit. Even though it was a mock factory and all staged, one of the funniest skits ever!. Unfortunately the folks @ NBC are pricks and kept taking this off You-tube. You can stream it directly of the NBC Website (Slow, streaming + ad's :@) OR watch it on clipstr (Spaces does not support shockwave :{).. #4 The Paris Club God was kind this year & people got the gift of realization. Hilton was mocked everywhere she went---all the way to jail! First up, the extremely UN-Funny Sarah Silverman's rip at the VMA's, Hilton did go to jail.....for less than 48 hours in special custody! It was later found that the Officer was friendly with the Hiltons and thought he could super-seed the order. Hilton was summoned again and slapped with a 45 day sentence. She left the courts crying, kicking & screaming for her Mommy! Too bad it was only in effect for 23 days in a minimum security and solitary cell :{. Here are some stills...not as good as the real thing, but important message at the end & Finally! Here she is being grilled by Letterman! Funny! Paris did end the year having 'earned' more money than a small nations GDP. Jokes on us huh!? #5 Johnny in Japan In a summer of sequels POC3 was one of the big ones....and probably the one that critics most smashed - still made a crap load of money! Anyway's, Here's Johnny Depp promoting the flick in Japan. He supposedly loves the show and comes on every year. Really sweet/cute & funny at the start but soon turns into , but soon turns creepy!. (Kid with the Hitler moustache is awesome though). #6 Errr... Cracks me up every-time. Love how Terry goes to the length to say he's "not that way" while Fat Fuck Frank gives an explains his choice! :P. (Ballakcs 'The Manager'.Noiice!) #7 Prison Inmates do Thriller Murderer? Rapist? Drug-Dealer??? Doesn't matter what your crime is, for if you are one of the 1500 Filipino inmates in the Cebu Detention & Rehab center, you gotta Jiggy to Jacko! #8 Clark & Michael Michael Cera really broke through this year. From being the kid from Arrested Development, to starring in the the 2 biggest hits of the Box office and your monitor. Here's the latter #10 Sleep with the lights on Frodo "going crazy"!!. Its a kids show, but still, ZOMG! Honorable Mentions! You didn't think there were only 10 did you?? Here's some that were kool but just dint make the cut! Miss Teen South Carolina This vid was so many things to so many people. Funny, icky, sad - what's wrong with American society etc etc. One thing it was not...scripted. Also check out her explanation Zombie Turtle kid Smack the ho! Here's how you do not start an interview! Daft Hands Tough to leave this one out. A Mash up that only add's to the "Awesomenessnessness" of the sketch. Wonder how many re-takes did it take! Speaking of Talent Paul Potts, a cell-phone salesman from Wales won "Britain's got talent". And from this sample you can see why. Amazing!....makes my gf cry every time! & This made me cry Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday. This kids been blessed with a great voice!. Still DID NOT HAPPEN! Everyone and their NaNa sent me this Apart from the 10,000,000,000,000,000 sites that popped-up telling you its fake, Seriously? UFO's?? Hope you all get a life 2008!!
12/27/2007 Best of 07!! --I know alot of folks have already gotten this over with, but the year is ending and im just begining.... wait
 ... Nehu. Over the next few weeks you'll find lists of stuff that I found interesting/ fancied in the year about to pass.
Comments, Quries, Suggestions and flames - welcome as always!
Just one fyi. I've probably missed A LOT of good stuff that came out in 2007. Some albums/movies/books may already have been realeased, but may have not been experinced by me & thus missing. (EG: Sweeny Todd).
If some items are not there, its probably cause I have not watched them and not due to any dislike.
Have fun & Hope 08 brings even kooler media! Okk...So yeah. Its random video day!
I was 4 or 5 when blessed with an NES. Still consider that one of the happiest days eVER!
Must have beaten all 3 proper Mario games a bajillion times & still play them from time to time.
Basically....Mario to me is like Hello Kitty to Japanese, Cats to old ladies or crying to Arsne Wenger!
This however is by far the most useless use I've ever seen:
Too much time?? You bet!
Super Mario On Paper - video powered by Metacafe Semi-Pro R BandThe 3rd R-Band (18+) trailer for Will Ferrels semi pro is out:
Din't find this funny, but still gonna watch it..Probably cause the teaser trailer still manages to crack me up!
In case you missed it:
"You need a fourth reason? You're looking at it!
 LOL!!Movie releases Feb 28 12/26/2007 TDK - Teaser Galore! I somehow missed this, the initial posters for TDK are out. The first one here shows Batman in Gotham towers overlooking the city. Functional I'd say, nothing 'Wow!'.  (Source) That's cause the 'Wow!' is reserved for the second in series. Heath Ledger's J man in the trademark purple suit! With his back turned, head bowed and dagger in hand you know he's about to unleash menace!  The third is the viral that will probably be scaring kids at bus-stands the world over!. Looks great! With the faded face and the exaggerated abrasions on J Mans face - Scary!  (Source) Also, here's the Initial trailer for those interested. It is the same bootleg that got released with "I Am Legend". I have not seen it - don't wanna spoil the movie (HA!), so please quit telling me how it blew your socks away! As always, TDK gets released Summer 2008.
Technorati Tags: Joker,The Dark Knight,Christian Bale,Heath Ledger,Maggie Gyllenhall,Chris Nolan,Bat Suit,Bat Mobile,Bat Pod,Gotham,Girl Scout,Viral Marketing,Virals,2008,Why So Serious,Batman On Film,Comics,Trailer,Teaser,Poster,Movie,TDK,Batman,Bat Man,DC Comics,Warner Bros
12/25/2007 Dus Kahaniyaan (10 Stories)Sanjay Gupta is a well reputed director in the Indian Film Industry. Most of his movies in recent times have been remakes or "inspired"(Usual Suspects+Reservoir Dogs+Heat=Kaante , Oldboy=Zinda), but instead of a scene-to-scene 'Copy', they get changed enough for the message to apply to its target audience and society.
His latest project is Dus Kahaniyaan (imdb) (Official site) a clollection of 10 short stories/segments that wary in length and story, directed by 6 different people (5 by Mr.Gupta).
 WARNING: The following might contain spoilers!.
Matrimony: * Arbaz Khan, Mandira Bedi. Directed by Sanjay Gupta.
Rahul & Pooja are a middle aged married couple. Raul is a vp of a mnc whilst Pooja is his bored housewife.
Every Thursday she goes to visit her "Aunt".
Turns out the "Aunt" is an army officer with whom she shares a bed.
The man is being posted at one of the borders and as a parting gift (something to remind her of him), he gives Pooja a necklace.
This is a conundrum & might be difficult to explain at home.
Pooja goes to a jeweler and puts the necklace "girwi" (as a deposit) in exchange for rs500 and in exchange for a un-marked receipt.
Once home she announces that she has entered a lottery/lucky draw scheme and in exchange for rs500 she will receive a prize!.
She tells her husband to pick up her winnings on the way to work the next morning and that she would visit him at work to see what she has won.
When the time comes her husband gives her the necklace box, but this only contains a ring.
Pooja is confused but Rahul repeatedly tells her to be happy for getting such an expensive ring in exchange for rs500. She leaves his office infuriated. Clearly the jeweler has conned her and she intends to tell him so.
She asks Rahul's secretary to call the jewelers number for her when she notices her necklace on the assistants neck - Given to her by the loving boyfriend!
Probably the shortest scene of them all. Well acted by Mandira Bedi, especially the last frame where her face shows anger/betrayal/shock at the same time. Too bad she is not in a position to take the higer moral road!
Well told story by the director.
High On the Highway: *Jimmy Shergill, Masumeh Makija. Directed by Hansal Mehta.
Two college students about to graduate live a reckless life. Always high and killing time on the highway as life passes them by.
They both love each other, but neither is willing to get serious or commit to a relationship with the other.
One day some guys stop their truck and abduct the girl and rape her. Since the guy is stoned, there isn't much he can do about it, but the regret breaks him and he ends up committing suicide. Found by his raped companion who now has another reason to shed tears.
Poor story, poor direction. Over reliance on the 'shaky-cam', dark visuals that only add to the darkness of the story & the length just adds to the pointlessness.
Pooranmashi(Night of full moon): *Amrita Singh, Minisha Lambha. Directed by Megna Gulzar.
A mothers only daughter is about to get married. She loves her dearly and its a typical, joyous occasion in the village.
Right after the engagement ceremony the father leaves for town to the pleading of the mother who only gets abuse for her efforts.
The daughter feels sorry and tells her not to be down and feel sorry for herself. She is still attractive and should not hide behind dull clothes.
To prove her point the daughter puts her own wedding 'chooriyan' (bangles) & 'duppata' (shawl) on the mother.
As the night time comes the mother realizes her insecurities. Whilst observing the Full-Moon she remembers her lovers letter in which he admits to loving her despite the passing of time & if she feels the same way, she should meet him on a night of full moon as that's the time he would always be waiting for her.
As per script her lover awaits and they end up 'fornicating' in the fields.
At the break of dawn the elder woman wakes up to realize her moment of weakness and rushes back home, covering her head in shame with the duppata.
A few hours pass by and she is woken up by the daughter who is going to worship at the temple.
The next voices she hears are screaming villagers who are questioning the daughters character and damming her for the shame she has brought them.
One of the farmers saw the mother fleeing the scene of her sin, to prove himself he has brought the brides broken bangle found at the scene of adultery.
The mother realizes the misunderstanding, but is too shocked to say anything.
The daughter returns and cry's her innocence. Looking at the evidence she quickly connects the links but its too late to say anything. Her in-laws to be are too ashamed to want to be associated with her and the relationship is broken.
Before her mother can absorb all of this, the daughter jumps in the well to her death, leaving the older woman shattered.
The story in one word = Powerful. It starts out a little slow and is for a mature audience or people who can understand the psyche of the people in villages.
Mr.Gulzar is one of my favorite authors. His works are always simple yet hit you like a 500tonne freight-train & this script continues the trend.
His daughter is a talented director and shows the conflicting emotions of the mother beautifully.
Amirta Singh as the mother was brilliant. Minisha Lambha as the daughter paled in comparison but enacts the daughter role competently.
Strangers in the Night: * Neha Dhupia, Mahesh Manjrekar. Directed by Sanja Gupta.
Each year on their anniversary, one tells the other a secret. This year its the wife's turn and the husband's in a probing mood.
What begins is with the woman licking the hands of a stranger she met in the waiting room of a railway station. How it ends is a sharp contrast and a big surprise.
Neha puts in a good performance. Mahesh narrates his handful of lines competently, but imho is wasted.
Sanjay Gupta tells a serious & important story well, but it lacked the punch - the same message could have been delivered in a better way.
Maybe because it comes right after 'Poranmashi', or maybe because it gets turned on its head in the last frame.. Not the most impressive of the lot.
Zahir(Obvious):*Manoj Bajpai, Dia Mirza. Directed by Sanjay Gupta.
Saahil is moving into a new apartment and bumps into Sia who turns out to be his next door neighbor.
They start spending time together and we find that Saahil is a banker by profession and a writer at heart. He has just gotten out of a messy relationship, left his job and moved into a friends apartment to pursue his passion. Sia works in a call center.
As their meetings increase, so does the fondness Saahil has for the neighbor.
Despite his friends telling him not to, he makes a pass at Sia and is strongly rebuffed.
To uplift his mood his friends take him out & they start bar hopping. Late at night a drunk Saahil lands at a place where Sia is a "dancer".
He feels devastated and storms out.
Back home he continues drinking in wait for the girl he fancied.
When Sia arrives he confronts her in the hallway. She tells him that she needs to tell her something, but he only takes out his frustration in forms of abuse.
Looking at his hopelessly drunk state Sia tells him they will talk in the morning. Unfortunately Saahil isn't interested and rapes her. He covers her mouth and she is unable to speak.
His voice over tells us that he woke up alone.
Sia was trying to explain that she was suffering from Aids.
She dies a couple of years later while Saahil is shown in a hospital bed spending his last days!
Good story by Vishal Bharadwaj. Brilliant acting by the two leads. Manoj Bajpai proves yet again what he's capable of in good hands while Dia puts in the best performance of her career.
Sanjay Gupta handles it extremely well and unlike the previous segment, this one isn't missing any 'punches'. LoveDale: *Aftab Shivdasani and Neha Uberoi. Directed by Jasmeet Dhodi.
Neha is about to get married and is traveling by train to meet the guy chosen by her mother.
Across from her is a woman sitting but what's interesting is that she only has one earring on her ear. Neha asks the woman if she can have a look at the jewelry to a request the elderly woman agrees to.
The woman gets out at the next station and does not return when its time for the train to leave.
Neha disembarks as she is in the possession of the woman's earring and feels obliged to return it.
In town she stumbles upon the house of a painter and asks if some woman lives there. He replies he lives alone. While Neha is about to leave it starts to rain and the man gives her shelter for the next three hours till which the next train leaves the station (Love-Dale).
They start chatting and we find out how differently both the characters live their lives. When the time comes Neha leaves, but the characters do meet again.
A story of fate and destiny. Not the strongest of story line, but the crew Handel it honestly.
Both the leads were competent. The story at times seemed 'forced' though.
Sex on the Beach:*Dino Morea, Tareena Patel. Directed by Apoorva Lakhia.
Dino is chilling on the beach where he finds a book in the sand. He starts reading it and the characters get blurred.
In one word: Pointless. The female shows a lot of skin. The story is totally out of place with the others in series. Dino tries hard, but the guy cant act. Tareena another former model "flaunts her assets" but comes across more as skanky than sensual.
I really don't know what Apoorva was thinking.
Rice Plate:*Shabana Azmi, Naseerudin Shah. Directed by Rohit Roy.
Shabana Azmi is a staunch Hindu, South-Indian(??) woman.
She is visiting her grandchildren but keeps forgetting things on the way and in the process leaves her wallet at home.
What happens next changes her life.
Calling it a simple story might be dis-service, for even though that's what it is, the subject matter is one of great importance.
Shabana Azmi is just WOW. Amazing. Naseerudin Shah, as the Muslim man, does not have much lines but he lets his expressions do the talking. Superb!
No one would believe its Rohit Roys directorial debut for he handles the subject masterfully and with a lot of maturity. Seems he may fare better behind the camera than he did in front of it!.
Gubbare(Balloons):*Nana Patekar,Anita Hasandani & Rohit Roy. Directed by Sanjay Gupta.
Anita and Rohit are a young couple on a bus. Rohit is busy in his book whilst Anita wants him to pay attention to her plans for their new house. Out of nothing their argument flairs and she gets up to sit at the back of the bus.
To her side is a man sitting with red balloons with smiley faces on them. She is intrigued as to why and they start chatting.
The ending is quite predictable and might dampen the story for some, but its very well told.
Nana is natural as always. He handles the character very well and you believe all he says.
The scene at the end where he is addressing his wife (you'll find out what I'm referring to when you watch it) is believable.
I found Anita to be really good. She was completely believable and natural as the young, inquisitive wife. Rohit Roy was O.k in the 2 frames that he's in. Rise & Fall: *Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty. Directed by Sanjay Gupta & Hansal Mehta.
Two parallel stories of two gangsters: Baba (Dutt) & Nawab (Shetty) that end up completing the story.
Baba is the Kingpin while Nawab is is trusted lieutenant.
Trouble is that the Police and a rival is after their gang and the story transpires in a warehouse. Worse still, someone has ordered a hit against Baba.
The other story is of two young boys. Bima & Afu. Bima has just come from the village & is met on the station by Afu who takes him to a man who gives them money and a photo to carry out a hit.
What transpires will either bore you or have you at the edge of your seat.
For me it was both!
Sanju is WOW. Ill run out of superlatives in praise! All I can say is that is was one of Suniel's better performances, yet in most shots he seemed to be in awe of the great master at work!.
The story is good. One of brotherhood, love, trust and ultimately - betrayal.
But its not all good.
I'm assuming that Sanjay Gupta helmed the dialogue while Hansal Mehta was in charge of the action, for at times the sequences were beautiful.
But the climax scene, the fight in the rain gave me a freaking head-ache. Its dark to the point that you cant tell who's doing what & the 'shaky-cam' only makes things worse!
Note to all film makers. IF YOUR NAME ISNT PAUL GREENGRASS, DO FUCKING NOT USE THE 'shaky-cam'.
So that's Dus Kahaniyaan in a nut-shell. You can read a critics review here.
Out of the 10, a few of them were duds, but the good left a much stronger impression than the mediocre.
I think a 7/10 would be a fair rating. (Would have given it a 6.5, but with the rounding off....!).
Best segments (imho):
What worked for you??
Technorati Tags: Dus Kahaniyaan,Sanjay Gupta,Meghna Gulzar,Gulzar,Apoorva Lakhia,Hansal Mehta,Rohit Roy,Javed Akhtar,Vishal Bharadwaj,Suresh Nair,Sanjay Dutt,Suneil Shetty,Sunil Shetty,Arbaaz Khan,Mandira Bedi,Amrita Singh,Minissha Lamba,Minisha Lambha,Mahesh Manjrekar,Neha Dhupia,Manoj Bajpai,Diya Mirza,Aftab Shivdasani,Neha Oberoi,Anupam Kher,Dino Morea,Tarina Patel,Shabana Azmi,Naseeruddin Shah,Nana Patekar,Anita Hassandani
12/24/2007 A Christmas Carol! " mourhinio are you listening
we kept our trophy glistening we won it back, you got the sack walking in a fergie wonderland"  Merry Christmas everyone!
Hope you have a wonderful holiday season
 .
12/22/2007 Hellboy II: The Golden Army I'm a huge fan of Guillermo del Toro! Cronos was a freaking amazing movie that more people should have watched - & this is wayyy back in 1993. Since then he's done Blade II (my frav of the series), the original Hellboy & the best movie of 2006!: Pans Labyrinth Im sure this one's gonna kick just as much butt come Aug 08. The original Hellboy released back in 2004 at a time when making a comic-book based movie was the thing to do. A period in which the greedy idiots nearly killed off the concept! (One word: CATWOMAN). It was a hit at the box office ($65 mill budget & over $100 mill worldwide), but since the last few similarly themed movies had been duds + ppl only seemed interested in spidey, many folks considered Hellboy a flop. I, like many intelligent critics, found the movie to be great! (gave it 8/10 back then). It was very well handled, Ron Perfman as the devils son. Selma Blair as Liz (For the first time It dint look as if she's gonna die from an O.D any sec) & my frav character ABC aka Abe Sapien aka The Chamberlain aka the Angel Of Death!:  More Info on Abe here. You can check out the Official movie website for plot synopsis and more info. Click on the Image to go the Official Site.  Here's the initial Teaser poster,  The Teaser trailer, All the info you need can be found here (Loads of screen-shots as well, including close-up's of the horns!. Boy!, my frav scene from the original: when HB is chained in the cemetery and his horns start growing back in anger/evil. Scary + Awesome in the same breath!!!)
12/20/2007 Eid Mubarak!!First off:
Thnx to absolutely everyone (you know who you are! :)) for all the kind words and wishes!. Means alot! :}.
Next up:
Congrats & Mubaraks to everyone who had the previlige to perform Hajj this season.
Hope it gets accepted & all your desires come true :).
& Finally EID MUBARAKK!!!!!
 (Photo credit Abunet on flikr)
Hope you have a great time. Just don't eat too much meat & if you get nervous by Qurbani - stay in! :)
PS: Umm NO!. I am in not contemplating suicide - nor have I ever have. It was a digg & not a cry for help....seriously! 12/15/2007 Would you care to commit Suicide!?Does your life suck?
Are you sick of the way ppl treat you?
Would you like to do something about it??
Well, commit suicide! & lucky for you the great Matsushita Shuji is here to help!!
Read all about it here.
NOTE: Spare me the e-mails if you dint see the sarcasm in either of the posts.
This is in no way, shape or form a HOW-TO.
Life sucks for everyone around the world. You just have to suck it up and work with what you have.
Suicide may seem like the easy way out - its not. Its nothing but selfish & if you belive in after-life, its a sure way to ensure eternal suffering. 12/13/2007 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!Read it & weap folks.
Im gonna go watch it again and hope this does not see the light of day.
12/12/2007 Robot Heckler!Since this was all over the news yesterday, you've probably already heard about it.
In case you have not
Robot Heckles Campaigning Bill Clinton In Iowa (local nbc4 story with streaming video).
You can check the vids on youtube (different views)
From someone standing right next to the guy:
Better sound from CNN. Bill responds in what I could only make out as a "responsible way to protest":
Mr Clinton does have a history of lashing out against hecklers.
Here he is telling it to one on the current campaign:
And my personal favorite! (from his own presidential campaign):
How can someone not vote this man in!?
Technorati Tags: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Presidential Elections, 2008 Elections, Robot Heckler, Heckler, Sistah Soljah, Funny, How Dare You, Shut Up
TDK UpdateIts pretty much known that I'm a Bat-Nut.
So why have I not been sharing all the awesome new stuff thats been coming out.
Well cause:
a) I was out of town and missed most of it
b) It containted spoliers and I like to be surprised when I watch my movies.
Regardless, the promotional capaigns for TDK have been relentless with the PR folks on a creative high and pushing campaigns that are both fun to follow and ingenious at the same time.
Found a few shots courtesy of Comics2Film.
The first one is the most intresting for me.
I love the lighting and set. Looks like a man from the streets than what I can only presume as Joker before he bank robbery scene!
.jpg) (Once you click on the picture in the link, you can see the total set of 24 & the ones that I may have not posted).
The other link is about the above mentioned promo blitz.
Before I post the video: WARNING. This video contains Perez Hilton.
For those who do not know, Perez Hilton is a fat-fuck/homosexual blogger/complete douche/ famous person wanna be. His shtick is more irritating than an itch you cant reach.
So yeah, watch it but please direct your abuse to him, not me for sharing it:
Keeping at it...Normally I woulnd not say anything, but todays OP-Ed by Friedman just rubbed me the wrong way.
Mr.Friedman, Who exactly is "worried" about Iran??
Except Israel not a single country/state in Asia of for that matter the Middle East "Fears" Iran.
Over the past century, how many of its neighbours has Iran attacked?
It went through a long, bloody war against Iraq a country that attacked it with the blessings of the mighty U.S of A.
Except Israel, with how many of its regional countries can you describe Iranian relations as 'poor'?
You'll have a hard time convincing anyone (aware of the geo politics of the region) of otherwise.
What's got me Peeved is not because I'm a lover of all things Iran.
The thing that gets me is that people think Mr.Friedman is an ecnomic genius who is championing democracy and human rights for all. A person who has always been fair and pleaded for the US not to attack Iraq.
He did not.
Go back to his archive.
For 2+ years, week in-week out he clamoured for the free world to take action against a dictator who, if you go by the picture he painted, was the last man standing b/w global peace and total anarchy.
Total anarchy is what the globe is falling into thanks to the righteous war you and your colleagues sold Mr.Friedman.
One you abandoned like a bastard child conceived in some dark alley.
There's a saying "As much as things change, they remain the same".
The same tactics are now being set into motion with Tehran. (One line says no war, but the next 9 lay down a plan on why its the only way)
Who exactly looses if the Iranians develop Nuclear capabilities - something that is their fundemental right and according to them a way of alternate energy means.
With half of its neighbours (Pakistan, China) already sitting on a bomb and in a region where by and far the Iranians have Civil, if not friendly, releations with - who exatly is so "worried" about Tehran??
The Sunni neighbours?
If that is the case, why dont the hapless souls make a case for themselves. Over the past five years or so I have yet to hear/read one of the leaders come out and say
"This needs to stop".
The only quotes we hear is them pleading the mighty leader of the free world not to attack yet another country and put everyone in a mess.
Another revalation - even though its mighty secret, I am in a giving mood this holiday season - Sunnis & Shias dont kill each other.
Forget Iraq in its current state for a second.
Go back to pre Gulf-War (Iran/Iraq version).
Did on ever hear of one sect being our-rightly being targeted by the other?? In every Muslim country there are vast populs of both. Except for a few secratarian killings - sponsored by a few extremists who are condemned by the general public, when have we heard of the different sects at each others throats??
The facts are that Muslims throughout the region were living peacefully for centuries. Not living a mission to exterminate anyone who's not in their sect.
I am in no way proclaiming that all is rosy. Sure there is plenty of distrust. But it is being exploited and fueled to promote certain agendas. The classic divide and conquer strategy.
Next time you support the views of Mr.Friedman or peers of his like, take a moment to think about the bigger picture and what his words mean and the objectives they acheive, not just for the region, but global stability.
12/11/2007 Islam’s Silent ModeratesIslam’s Silent Moderates (NYTimes).
Read the article (You might need to login. It's free & worth the 2 mins of registration).
& read the comments.
12/9/2007 Fight Night!So? Did you watch the big fight?? Shame on you who did not for it was as good as the build up! Here's how it went for me Background: My nephew/cuz had her b'day on sat so a lot of the family had gathered at their place. Fun time! As night rolled on a bunch of us guys (9 to be exact) were all psyched, looking forward to the fight. We descended to the cinema room (decent sized room with a kick-ass pioneer projector, great sound - The works). There was plenty of food & drink & after watching Man U win & 'Pool going down in a shock defeat - to say that the testosterone was over-flowing. Understatement! Now the fight was supposed to be 0400. So we had a few hours to kill. Video Games! We had both a 360 & ps3 set up with numerous matches of G.O.W & Resistance:FOM, with sprinkles of DOA, Team Fotress2 & KOTOR throughout the night. Clock rolls to 0200 & the channels are being flipped. Not a sign of the fight. Hmmm........ such a huge event and no build up yet?? Are you sure its @ 4? Go online and check. Turns out two of the dumb-ass's got the timing wrong - HORRIBLY wrong. It was 0400 - GMT. Not local! Needless to say we were pissed & the bruises on Danny's shoulder would prove it. What now? Well, we put in a movie. The second part of Jet Li's 'Once Upon A Time In China' series. Great series with a perfect match of action & comedy. Since we were watching it in Cantonese (with subs), the 2 hr movie finished in almost 3.5 with the constant pauses for some to read the dialogs & at other times to afford bathroom breaks and to take phone-calls. Nehu, time WAS passed. (A couple of us snuck out to watch C's vs Bulls. Rondo was on Fiiiiire! & Bulls really gave me a scare in the last 2 mins, but we did hold on). By 07:30 the build up was on. Super-sport's panel host was this African dude who's name I wont even try to pronounce. It was really funny cause most of the guys could not understand a word he was saying - & they DID try hard! :P. The group was pretty evenly split on who would win the fight. Majority, me included, were behind Pretty Boy Floyd but Hatton's stats did make a very compelling case & once they showed the deafening crowd, you were hard pressed to go against him. The scenes looked more like England than Nevada. Brits everywhere screaming for their boy to show em how its done!. Even "the Real Pretty Boy" ('Sir' David Becks) was out in support. The pre match pictures and the way he came out clearly showed a pumped Hatton. Mayweather on the other hand looked much calmer, composed. Like a vetran ready to go about his job. They met in the ring with the ref Cortez trying to lay his authority. He said "Im firm but fair". On the evidence Mr.Cortez----err really!? Round 1: Hatton comes out like a house on fire. Quickly backs PBF into a corner and lays a solid left punch to his cheek. Floyd manages to get out and bring it back to the center. He answers with a left of his own. One of the many that would seem as if time has been frozen and you can see the hands frame by frame. He'd have another right jab to Hatton's face, but the round belonged to the Brit for his clean left that left PBF dazed and staggering around the top corner. Round 2: Hatton starts where he had left. He backs PBF into the corner and tries to rough him up. Problem is that Floyd has a height advantage & keeps bringing his left shoulder in to defend. Hatton is like a mad dog trying to bite a wall! Floyd elbow's his opp into a hold and lands a beautiful straight right between the eyes. He runs the clock out by defending Hattons jabs. Round 3: Here's is where the fight was won imho. Superior strategy by PBF. Hatton quickly backed Floyd into the corner and got real close trying to go for body blows. He did not however adapt to the situation as well. Floyd kept defending with a left shoulder that acted like a shield. He wasn't getting any blows in the lower regions and for my money, it was a matter of time before he sucker punched his opp. Sure enough!. While Ricky tried to break the shoulder barrier with hooks, PBF landed a beautiful Right/Left combo straight and cut open Ricky's left eye. Great win for the American. Round 4: Looks like a matter of time. Floyd seems to have figured his opponent out. He lands some crisp and solid punches across Ricky's face. An explosive combo across Ricky's jaw & you'd think PBF has won!. Round 5: But you're wrong. Hatton shows a lot of grit. PBF has cleaner, solid punches but he cant match Ricky's enthusiasm. All 3 mins he is trying to pounce on his opponent, looking for an opening. Even when Floyd lands a crisp 1-2-3, Ricky is determined to be unfazed and keeps at it. There maybe hope after all? Round 6: Maybe not. Hatton kept at it again. A nice Left and a short right from Mayweather is countered by a solid right to his head. Mayweather looses his balance and falls on the rope. Hatton is on his follow through and it looks as if he hit his downed opp. Cortez comes rushing in. Foul play by Hatton and a point is to be deducted. WTF! ThAT BULLSHIT! were the unanimous screams --(at this point in the fight we really dint have much of an allegiance with anybody. It was a good fight and we wanted it to be as fair as possible.)-- PBF had fallen down and Ricky had missed on his follow through. If anything, he had hit the top of the rope. No where near his opponents head. To give Cortez the benefit, he did not have the luxury of replays and from his real-time view, contact would be certain. But here's also where Cortez was not fair, for that would have meant penalizing PBF as well, who since round 2 had been using his elbows and the occasional cheeky shots and low blows. Team Hitman really should have been on top of this one. He was not to impressed with the decision and showed PBF his rear end - but it dint look like something that might effect him too much in the course of the fight. Round 7: Ricky comes out swarming. Backs Floyd into the corner and goes for quick jabs. Trouble is the shield of left shoulder that Floyd has. While Hatton has to concentrate on getting though, Mayweather lands a series of solid rights across his face, further opening Ricky's eye and now even doing damage to the nose and above the right lip. Round 8: "He's gone" That was the declaration made by my elder cuz for Ricky. And frankly, he did look beat. Floyd had done damage without being made to try too hard. Ricky looked frustrated! And that showed in the fight. Floyd delivered some punches that you can watch non-stop for a whole day and not get tired. A clean powerful right, right between Ricky's eyes seemed to left the Brit dazed. His knees seem to have buckled but he tries to come back, only to get a 1-2 counter from Floyd. Thankfully for him, the round ends before the American couldn't steam-roll him Round 9: Is this it? You'd think after the last few shots from Pretty boy that its over. But he is a bad mofo. Ricky puts all his remaining strength into a left that catches Floyd's attention. Bad move for he starts to toy with his opp now. Jumping back and dodging the desperate blows. Landing with some jabs on the counter that looked more like caresses than punches! Round 10: Yes it is. Anyone who's seen boxing before knew it had become ugly for the Hitman. He was on his last legs and they barely supported his weight. He is gutsy though and charges Floyd, who dodges and lands an hge hook sending his opponent head-first into the turn buckle. Ricky is totally dazed and tries to stand up. He barely does so, only to be met with a 1-2 and another hook that sends him flying through the air and onto the matt. Cortez waves it off even before Team Hitman throw in the towel!. Even if the fight was under-matched (Ricky should not be fighting in Welterweight proper in the first place, the height disadvantage, the lack of strategy etc etc) it ended up living to the hype. It seldom happens, but after a long time we got one that lived up to its billing. Pretty Boy showed his class - not a scratch on him - while Hitman showed his grit. Worth staying up 30 + hours for! :P. Oh and one more thing. We were watching the HBO PPV telecast........WORSE ANNOUNCERs - PERIOD. You can watch ESPN's Teddy Atlas break down the fight below: Read ESPN's report here Check out the British spin here. You can also check the BBC for post-match news conference videos. Technorati Tags: Fight Night,Boxing,Pretty Boy Floyd,Pretty Boy,Hitman,Welter Weight,Floyd Mayweather Jr,Ricky Hatton,MGM Grand,HBO,PPV 12/8/2007 Trailer go round!Will Ferrel's next = Semi Pro
Looks awesome. Andre 3000 is always great & the trailer has some really funny moments (Get a live camel in here and see what happens, Its like he's in a basketball trance :P!)
Cant wait!
Harold & Kumar 2 - RedBand trailer
looks O.K. Nothing too funny.
First one was pretty decent & ill be expecting more genius from Neil Patrick Harris!
Technorati Tags: Will Ferrel,Semi Pro,Trailer,Preview,Andre 3000,Andre Benjeman,Woody Harrelson,Harold & Kumar,Guantanamo Bay,Cuba,John Choo,Kal Penn
Awww!Precious!
12/7/2007 HAPPPIEEEEE!!!!!I received my Deluxe Edition of "In Rainbows" by Radiohead in the mail today. Needless to say, I'll probably be MIA for a little while!  . Been listening to disc one. Further comments when I'm done with both.Lots of goodies in this edition - giving the price I pay' ed, anything else would be  . Artwork and photo's of the guys at work. Sharing them now. Just some FYI. These have not been scanned by me (I'm wayyyyyyyyyie too lazy!). I was forwarded these by someone last week, so credit to the original uploader. Anyway's, check em out. Lovely! & I'll see everyone in 2019 . |
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