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Top News | Review : Dostana
November 25, 2008 02:27:22
Rating : Above Average (3.6/5)
Genre : Romance/Comedy
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hour 25 minutes
Director : Tarun Mansukhani
Cast : Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachhan, John Abraham, Kirron Kher, Boman Irani, Sushmita Bundela Mukherjee
Kid rating : PG 13
DOSTANA : A GAY FILM !
Recall the “Kantaben” episode in “Kal ho na ho”. Now concoct a whole film around it, and Voila ! You have “Dostana”, a film about two men pretending to be gay. And because it would be mightily inconvenient to situate such a story in good old, traditional India (some “patriotic” group or other “guardians” of our culture might take offence), the story is set in Miami. Also throw in a nicely proportioned, peppy lass and you now have a full-on Masala film !
The two men in question are Kunal (Abraham) and Sameer - or Sam (Bachchan). One’s a photographer and the other’s a nurse, and they both are inevitable skirt-chasers. Having their fill of women (women seem to fall all over themselves for these two) but lacking housing, both end up trying to rent rooms in an apartment belonging to single, Sindhi lady Neha Melwani (Chopra). However, Ms Melwani and her aunt (Sushmita Mukherjee) will have no men in the apartment, and Kunal and Sam then pretend to be a gay couple to gain admittance.
The three roomies then proceed to become best buddies, with the two men falling in love with Neha. She of course treats them as friends only, and falls in love with her boss Abhimanyu Singh (Deol). So there’s one girl, and three men who want her - and it takes the entire second half for one to win.
“Dostana” opens with a song, featuring some of the fittest bodies in Bollywood. There’s John Abraham, resplendent in bright yellow swim shorts. There’s Shilpa Shetty, she of the well-toned body and long, long legs. Abhishek is left (a little too) hirsute and clothed, which is how we like him. And there’s a bevy of bikini-clad beach beauties, vying for attention. Bright colors, blue skies, and the sea complete the slick, well-glamorized shot.
This opening sort of sets the tone of the film; it does not lack item numbers, or skimpy clothing, and it‘s about happening, hot young things sorting out their life and loves in a happening, hot, young world. Gay desis abound, and are amazingly, out of the closet. Desi folk are chic, work in non-engineering careers, and dress to kill. If you have it, you must flaunt it. Priyanka romps around in short shorts and bikini tops, and looks good doing it. And John Abraham, in one scene, wears only the bare essentials.
The men are into wine and women, but they also, this being Bollywood and all, possess hearts of gold. While I must give the film credit for even raising the notion of gay partnership as a possible relationship, for the desi public, I am also a little perturbed that when it suits it, the characters in this film seem to ooze what can only be described as homophobia. And while desi male sexuality is all out on display - Kunal and Sam sleep around and indulge in one night-stands (and they can still apparently morph into paragons of morality when confronted with true love), the desi woman, Neha, still remains prim, proper, and pristine (and asexual ?), unwilling to even share an apartment with a man.
This film is directed by Mansukhani, but has Karan Johar’s stamp all over it. It is thoroughly glam-med up, vibrant and slick, with well-choreographed numbers. Adequate direction, a shallow but entertaining script, and reasonable acting make this a mucho-masala film. The first half of the film is a breeze; funny, with lots of little well-timed gags. In the second half the film drags a bit, because of predictability - I knew exactly how it was going to end, and it isn’t that hard to guess. No real twists and turns here, except for the completely unexpected man-on-man kiss !
John and Abhishek, display real chemistry, playing off well against each other , and Priyanka does adequately. Kirron Kher hams it up as Sam’s typically Punjabi Mom, who has a hard time accepting her son’s alternative sexuality. Boman Irani is Neha’s out-and-about gay boss, and Bobby Deol, as the straight man in her life, is the third contender for Neha’s love.
“Dostana” is a decent watch. Yes, you do have to accept that in desi filmdom, there is only one kind of sexuality that is accepted, and it’s straight and male. The others (female, gay, lesbian etc. ) might exist but are never quite willingly acknowledged in the desi spectrum, although we might nod our heads and mumble soothing words, when asked, because we are oh-so-broadminded and believe in true love (wherever it might be found). - [Read more]
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| Whoopie Pies - BigOven.com
November 25, 2008 02:15:1016 Servings
chocolate
American
chocolate sweet marshmallow Desserts Chocolate summer American
1 MAKE FIRST Dark Chocolate Cakes
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. instant coffee
1 MAKE SECOND Vanilla filling
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar sifted
3 cups marshmallow creme such as Marshmallow Fluff
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to mix butter and brown sugar until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth after each egg.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, stir together buttermilk, vanilla, and instant coffee until coffee is dissolved (this may take a minute or so); set aside.
4. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on medium speed until smooth, scraping down mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. Add half the buttermilk mixture and mix again on medium speed until smooth and slightly fluffy in texture. Repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk, and mix until smooth. Batter will be thick and slightly springy when done.
5. Drop 2-Tbsp. portions of batter onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each portion to allow for spreading. Bake 11 to 13 minutes, until puffed and set but still soft when touched lightly with fingertips. Let cakes cook for 3 minutes on baking sheets before transferring them to wire racks to finish cooling, about 15 to 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.
6. Prepare filling while cakes are baking and cooling. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to mix butter and vanilla until creamy. Add half the confectioners sugar and mix on low first to combine, then on high until smooth. Add remaining confectioners sugar and mix again. Scrape down sides with a rubber spatula. Add marshmallow creme and mix on medium high until filling is smooth and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Assemble whoopie pies. Spoon filling onto the flat sides of half the cakes, dividing it evenly. Top with remaining cakes, flat side against the filling, rounded side up. Serve immediately, or wrap and store at room temperature for up to two days, or in freezer for up to two months.
Source: Hannaford Fresh Magazine, July/Aug 2008Rate this recipe for Whoopie Pies, or create your own favorites list at www.bigoven.com, with over 160,000 recipes. Free iPhone recipe site now available; visit www.bigoven.com for details. - [Read more] |
| Pirates sign Indian pitchers from reality TV show
November 25, 2008 01:36:07The Pittsburgh Pirates hope Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel really do have million-dollar arms.
The two 20-year-old pitchers, neither of whom had picked up a baseball until earlier this year, signed free-agent contracts Monday with the Pirates. They are believed to be the first athletes from India to sign professional sports contracts outside their country. - [Read more] |
| James1 gets BIG as HELL with mass fx and 6-oxo
November 25, 2008 01:27:51This log will be updated everyday, with as much detail as possible. I will include my diet, training and honest supplement comments. I will also add pictures every other week, 8 week log= 4 pictures.
Time to get big as HELL:numbered:
:welcome:
DAY 1
Diet: upon waking ate a pork roll, bacon egg and cheese at 9 AM
At 12 AM had pizza, with my mass shake (1/2 cup of oats, 50 grams mixed whey protein, 2tbl spoon peanut butter, and a hand full of walnuts). At 4:30 PM Had to big a** chicken sandwiches, a baked potato, and another mass shake. 7:00 PM made myself two chicken caesar wraps(chicken, lettuce, shredded mozz cheese, and caesar dressing). At 9 PM plan to eat a cup of peanuts, a banana, a nice clean salad with chopped steak, and my daily fruits.
Everyday Supplements
1. Generic brand whey protein, and liquid egg white protein
2. now adam multi-vitamin
8 week cycle supplements
1. Mass fx (original version which I prefer)
2. 6-oxo extreme weeks 1-4, regualr 6-oxo weeks 4-8.
My workout schedule was given to me by a power lifting coach and close friend. Today was the first day of a 4x8 3 week cycle, its the transition from 3 weeks of 4x10 for endurance to 3 weeks of 5x5 for power(1 rep max increases).
The Workout
Hang cleans (1x6 at 135)(1x6 at 155)(1x6 at 165)(1x6 at 185)
Squats (1x8 at 185)(1x8 205)(1x8 245)(1x8 275) These squats are absolutely parallel if not ATG
Lat pull downs(1x8 at 120)(1x8 at 140)(1x8 at 160)
Romanian Deadlifts(1x8 at 135)(1x8 at 135)(1x8 at 145)(1x8 at 155) Stayed light because lower back tired from squats
Dumbbell Shrugs (1x8 with 60s)(1x8 with 70s)(1x8 with 75s)(1x8 with 80s) these are done slow, strict, tightening traps at top of motion
Post workout shake consist of my little mass shack except I include waxy starch to help maintain pump, and help to refuel muscles.
Review of mass fx and 6-oxo:
Well it is only day one so there was nothing noticed from the supplements. Lifted with more aggression, wanting to get the most out of the products. Currently at 7 mass fx caps ED, and 1 6-oxo extreme pre-workout, and 3 6-oxo extreme at bed time. So far so good, Dont have high expectations for supps, Im just going to train my a** off, and post pics and the most honest detailed log/review I can. If I can I will obtain bloodwork before and after for your viewing pleasures.
Thanks for checking out, will be updated with great new stuff every day. Thanks for support James 1:drunk: |
| The IT Job Board
November 24, 2008 14:45:28IT jobs from leading employers in The United Kingdom from The IT Job Board. Search by IT skill or location to find an IT vacancy. Receive IT jobs by email and upload your CV to receive the latest IT jobs matching your requirements. - [Read more] |
| BUNDEL Sneller dan 2x3,2 ghz AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+ All-in-1 1GB Radeon 1200 +2GB DDR2
November 23, 2008 17:37:00Geweldige bundel met X2 dual core X2 4200 AMD Athlon64 processor, mooie koeler, moederbord met 1 GB Radeon 1200 vga on board en PCI express slot, plus... 2 x 1 GB 800 mhz DDR2 EXCELLERAM geheugenbanken voor u geplaatst, slechts 129 euro bij computerstunt voor de hele bundel! Dit moederbord heeft 1 x IDE, dus u moet SATA harde schijf of SATA Brander/DVDrom hebben... wel kunt u 4 SATA apparaten aansluiten! (CDrom en harde schijf liever niet in 1 kanaal plaatsen, als het al werkt).
Het hart van deze bundel is een moederbord van het merk FOXCONN! (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Foxconn is one of the largest manufacturers of electronics and computer components worldwide, and mainly manufactures on contract to other companies. Among other things, Foxconn produces the Mac mini, the iPod and the iPhone for Apple Computer; Intel-branded motherboards for Intel Corp.; various orders for American computer retailers Dell, Inc. and Hewlett Packard; the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 for Sony; the Wii for Nintendo;the Xbox 360 for Microsoft, cell phones for Motorola, and Amazon Kindle. Foxconn mainly manufactures in China; in 2007 it employed 450,000 people there and was Chinas largest exporter. As of 2007, the company and its subsidiaries owned plants in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Mexico, Brazil, India and Vietnam.
Deze processor scoort in sommige benchmarks bijna even snel als de razendpopulaire Intel E2140 en sneller dan de Intel Pentium Dual Core 2 x 3,2 ghz! Bovendien is deze processor sneller dan Core2 Duo T5450! Dus met de prestaties zit het wel snor!
Fraai bordje uit de FOXCONN fabrieken, met een nieuwe, nog onbekende merknaam: Afox, en groen gekleurd. Met dezelfde specificaties als de A6VMX van Foxconn zelf. Met alle toebehoren in fraaie retail box.
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| Processor: |
AMD Athlon™ 64FX, Athlon™ 64x2, Athlon™ 64, Sempron™ Processors, Socket AM2
Supports Socket AM2+ with HT1.0 interface |
| Chipset: |
AMD® 690V + SB600 |
| Front Side Bus: |
2000MT/s HyperTransport™ |
| Memory: |
Dual channel DDR2 800/667/533 x 2 DIMMs, Max. 4GB |
| VGA on Die: |
Integrated |
| Expansion Slots: |
1 x PCIe x16, 1 x PCIe x1, 2 x PCI |
| IDE: |
ATA 133 x1 |
| Serial ATA(SATA)/RAID: |
SATAII x 4 w / RAID 0, 1, 10 |
| Audio: |
5.1 channel, Realtek® ALC662 |
| LAN: |
10/100M LAN, Realtek® RTL8101E |
| IEEE1394: |
N/A |
| Back Panel I/O Ports: |
1 set 5.1 channel Audio jacks (3 jacks)
1x Parallel port
1x PS/2 keyboard port
1x PS/2 mouse port
1x VGA port
4x USB 2.0 ports
1x RJ45 LAN port
1x Serial port |
| Internal I/O Connectors: |
ATX 24-Pin power connector
4-pin ATX 12V power connector
CPU / System / NB (Reserved) FAN connectors
1x CD-in connector
1x Front Audio header
1x S/PDIF Out header
1x IRDA
1x TV Out header
1x Buzzer (Reserved)
1x Floppy connector
1x Front Panel connector
2x USB 2.0 connectors support additional 4 ports
1x Speaker
4x SATAII connectors
1x Intruder
1x COM header (Reserved)
1x TPM (Reserved)
2x USB Power header
1x IDE connector |
| BIOS Features: |
8Mb flash EEPROM w/ LAN boot PnP, ACPI, WfM, DMI |
| Support CD: |
Driver CD, Adobe Reader, Direct X 9.0c, Norton |
| Standards/Manageability: |
USB 2.0, WfM 2.0, DMI 2.5, WOL by PME, SPI Interface |
| Form Factor: |
Micro ATX (9.6" x 8.2") |
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- [Read more] |
| Calendar of Close Rolls
November 20, 2008 00:00:00The 15 volumes for Henry III are now live. Included as part of our premium content service, the Calendar of Close Rolls is a fundamental source for the study of medieval England. The complete series, from Henry III to Henry VII, will be made live over the next few weeks. - [Read more] |
| Lufthansa: Sale on Central Europe flights!<br>Lufthansa: Flight Sale Deals on International Airline Tickets
November 18, 2008 19:41:49
Sale on flights to Central Europe!
Purchase tickets by November 20, 2008.
| • | Purchase tickets at least 7 days in advance of travel | | • | Stay at least a Sunday night but no more than 30 days | | • | Travel outbound November 25, 2008 through April 2, 2009 | | • | Travel Mon-Thu for lowest fares (Mon-Wed to/from Great Britain) | | • | No Blackout Dates apply | Sample round-trip fare from Boston to Budapest - $468†
With Orbitz Price AssuranceSM youll get an automatic cash refund if another Orbitz customer books your same flight for less!
†Additional taxes and fees apply to sample fares shown.
Additional baggage charges may apply. Learn more
Additional Taxes and Fees Apply - [Read more] |
| MyGiftGadgets.com Gift Guide
November 14, 2008 03:14:07Welcome to *MyGiftGadgets.com Gift Guide*
Good gift ideas make the recipient feel like a special individual and by presenting them with something personalized, unique, and thoughtful you let them know how important they are to you. Think of a gift that creates remarkable memories rather than fulfilling a function. ... - [Read more] |
| Client Wins and News
November 14, 2008 02:57:40
- LCI's new clients: Autodesk, Yotta Mark, Tishman Speyer/The Infinity, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, DeVry University
- iMemories' Associated Press story runs in: New York Times, Chicago Tribune, NPR, Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, Forbes, San Francisco Chronicle, International Herald Tribune, AM New York, Newsday, San Jose Mercury News, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Conde Nast, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Miami Herald, Las Vegas Sun, LiveScience, Denver Post, Salt Lake Tribune, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, FOX TV Kansas City, Sydney Australia Morning Herald and more.
- The Infinity featured on KNTV-TV and in the SF Business Times.
- CA Academy of Sciences spotlighted in Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, Associated Press, BBC, LA Times, People, Newsweek, LA Times, Metropolis, SF Chronicle (front page), Contra Costa Times/San Jose Mercury News and NY Times
- Habitat for Humanity featured in SJ Mercury News and SF Chronicle
- Autodesk's new gallery featured in GreenerDesign and Marin IJ
- Save the Redwoods League featured in SF Chronicle and Sacramento Bee
- San Francisco Chronicle and KPIX TV spotlight The Infinity
- iMemories featured in TEEN Magazine, BusinessWeek. Detroit Free Press and Wall Street Journal
- ING Bay to Breakers featured on The Today Show and The Tonight Show,
- CA Academy of Sciences featured in Time, Travel and Leisure, NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Plenty, five pages in Vanity Fair, Southwest Spirit and NY Times
- More about Client Wins/News
- [Read more] |
| Find Out How Acne Cure Becomes More Effective Through Proper Acne Skin Care
November 13, 2008 07:12:28 Julia Elorriaga asked:
A lot of people think that medical acne treatments are enough for their acne cure but in reality, proper acne skin care matters much more and plays a vital role in every acne cure success. The first thing you should realize is to avoid oil based skin care products because these will clog up pores and will result in more acne breakouts. You should only choose water based make-ups, moisturizers, and other skin care products because these won’t cause any clogging of pores.
Another very important acne skin care is to avoid rubbing, pressing, picking, or squeezing of pimples because this will spread out the bacteria in other areas that will cause further pimple outbreaks. You can kill the bacteria on the surface of your skin by applying lemon juice that is diluted in water. Its antiseptic quality is the most effective acne cure in most cases.
Applying tea tree oil and mint toothpaste as well as the juice of a raw papaya can help cure pimples because these natural ingredients will penetrate deep down inside the pores and dry out pimples fast. If you have an active acne outbreak, this acne skin care regimen will certainly eliminate them in no time.
In addition to proper acne skin care, you should also consider rethinking your daily diet. A diet that is high in fatty and oily foods will just disrupt your acne cure practice because these foods affect your glands to produce excessive oils thus leading to further acne outbreaks.
You should drink plenty of water and vegetable or fruit juices because they will help in flushing out the toxins of your body. Vitamin A rich foods also help in rejuvenating your skin. You can find this essential vitamin in tomatoes, peaches, watermelons, squash, and carrots.
The acne cure stage doesn’t stop when the pimple outbreaks are gone since you still have to deal with the acne scars that resulted from it. You can use cucumber and other fruit and vegetable ****** packs to cure your pimple scars. In addition, rubbing potato slices all over your face can also help in getting rid of blemishes and acne scars. This is one of the main secrets of acne skin care.
Even if you have found effective acne cure commercial products in the market, when you don’t have the proper acne skin care, your acne will just resurface on your skin. It is very important for us to know these acne skin care regimen to avoid acne from coming back. A lot of people are now enjoying acne free lives because they have perpetually followed every guideline on this article.
I’m sure thousands of people suffering from acne still have no clue about how acne skin care can help them cure their acne. These simple and easy to follow steps are the only way they can get rid of their skin condition. If you know someone suffering from acne, you can help them discover the hidden gem secrets of acne skin care.
- [Read more] |
| My two-year-old DSH Rex we recently adopted loves to be petted most of the time, and rubs...
November 10, 2008 00:00:00How fun! Every cat is unique. I have heard of other cats that like to have their tail gently stroked and tugged. Not all cats enjoy tummy rubs, although they may roll on the ground and seem to ask for that. Rolling generally is a solicitation of attention, and not necessarily a tummy rub. But it takes a very confident and trusting cat to accept tummy rubs. Your Rex sounds like a normal, very affectionate kitty. Enjoy! - [Read more] |
| Nursery Rhymes: Well-Loved Verses to Share, A Nursery Collection Book
October 7, 2008 02:19:36
Nursery Rhymes: Well-Loved Verses to Share, A Nursery Collection Book (CHILDREN BOOKS) - Young children, especially toddlers love repetitive words and songs, more so, if they are read or sung by their parents. Filled with well-loved rhymes such as ‘One Two Buckle My Shoe’, ‘Three Blind Mice’, and ‘Little Miss Muffet’, this a special book to share with your toddler. Flocking and embossing on the cover and pages further enhance this beautiful illustrated book.
- [Read more] |
| Carrier Oils
April 24, 2007 13:00:00It is important to learn not only about the variety of essentials oils and their benefits, but also the way to properly combine them with a carrier oil before applying to the skin. Essential oils are concentrated and alone are very potent. Carrier oils carry essential oils to the skin safely. If essential oils are applied directly to the skin they can irritate it and have a negative effect instead of fulfilling their helpful, healing purpose.
Carrier Oils - [Read more] |
| Coming soon - New Hamza Yusuf CD
April 23, 2007 01:12:55
Alhambra Productions is pleased to announce the much-awaited release of The Alchemy of Happiness 6 CD-set, by Imam Al-Ghazali with translation and commentary by Hamza Yusuf. This recording took place in Jeddah during the summer of 2006 and was a part of the summer Rihla program.
- [Read more] |
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