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Commercial software created in the lab anticipates wrong answers and reinforces needed skills for first-year algebra students.

Author: Yudhijit Bhattacharjee - [Read more]

xanthous: yellowish

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Sydney Mardi Gras 2009

Sunday 15 February to Saturday 7 March 2009

Mardi Gras is three weeks packed full of culture, entertainment and social events and of course the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade

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A man who threatened to smash windows after police refused to give him a lift from Belfast to Ballymena receives a suspended jail sentence. - [Read more]

Rating : Above average (3.8/5)
Genre : Thriller/Suspense
Year : 2008
Running time : 3 hours
Director : A. R. Murugadoss
Cast : Amir Khan, Asin, Jiah Khan
Kid rating : PG-13

GHAJINI : MASALA MEETS MUSCLE


The remake of the South-Indian original, Ghajini reminds me of the 8o’s revenge based dramas; films like Shiva which, in their turn, were remakes of South-Indian hits. Hence the abundance of large instruments of torture and gory fight scenes which usually end up with a knife in the back or a smashed head. With the color-coordinated songs (clothes match the cars) this film is also reminiscent of older Jeetendra-Sridevi pot-boilers like “Himmatwala” etc.

It’s a vendetta based film, where the whole point of the film is revenge. Aamir plays Sanjay Singhania, a very, very rich tycoon, who’s run afoul of a nasty businessman/crook. When the villain vastly damages Sanjay and his loved ones, resulting in Sanjay losing his lady-love Kalpana (Asin), and most of his memory, he must have his revenge on an enemy he doesn’t quite remember.

This is a formula film – nothing new about it. The first half of the film is mostly breezy – there are some gory parts, but on the whole it’s pretty light-hearted and fun. This is mostly due to the heroine - peppy Asin, a newcomer who also starred in the Ghajini original. Asin makes an impressive Hindi debut; she reminds me of a slimmer version of Sridevi – the hair, the figure, the over-archingly self-aware, over the top acting.

The second half of the film features some very gory fight scenes, and much brutality. Amir goes from a sweet lover-boy to rabid, growling revenge-seeker, very believably. Truly, in such films, where direction is adequate, but not quite flawless, where the story needs you to put away rational doubts, and brute force, not realism rules, can one see the finesse of an actor. And Aamir is quite a fine performer.

Jiah Khan who plays a major role, can’t act. And neither can the guy who plays the role of police inspector; he does very little besides flex his muscles. The rest of the cast is just about adequate; the villains are evil and sneering and trigger-happy, and the “good people” are very holier-than-thou. The heroine especially is a wholesome do-gooder, earnest and a little too empathetic – the kind of chirpy, scootie-driving gal who appeals to all the richie-rich, macho tycoons of desi filmdom, because of her golden heart.

This film is quite interesting with it’s anterograde amnesia theme; the hero able to retain events of only the past 15 minutes. And while the pace is fast, and keeps you engrossed, all facets of such a potentially complicated story aren’t intelligently handled. The director glosses over much of the things-that-could-be. In reality, Aamir’s mentally tortured character might need intensive therapy, but in the film he bashes 7 men all by himself, deals with many traumas, and manages to beat up villains with iron rods stuck into him.

Yes, it is a masala film, so yeah, I’ll bite my tongue and continue. I liked the film – it’s an interesting drama, dark and gruesome. But it also has romance, light-hearted moments, and features one of my favorite heroes. The heroine packs some oomph, the film has good cinematography and some very nicely picturised, melodious songs. The song which features “multiple” Amirs , all in different get-ups and all in the same frame was especially interesting. The downer is that Ghajini is predictable fare; there had been a spate of such films during the Shiva phase, and this theme seems a little jaded for today’s time. I wish it had had more finesse and attention to detail, been more realistic, and avoided some amateurish blotches – then it would have been quite superlative.

AFP - AsianWeek, a 30-year-old newspaper for Asian-Americans based in San Francisco, has announced plans to drop its print edition and go online only.

A life lived around the world, in photos - [Read more]

John 5 (John Lowrey) has built an impressive reputation for himself as a solo artist and as the guitar shredding foil to Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson. On first appearance, his goth/horror makeup, which predates and may have inspired the late Heath Ledger’s Joker image, belies some incredible chops that have earned accolades from musicians and artists of diverse musical genres and have been in demand from the likes of Les Paul, David Lee Roth, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, Salt-N-Pepa, k.d. lang, Leah Adreone, Static-X, The Scorpions, Paul Stanley, Meatloaf, Joe Satriani and many others.

John 5 is an excellent studio professional who originally started his career doing session work. His signature Fender Telecaster through a Marshall amp forms the backbone of his primary live sound. He recently contributed 40 personally programmed patches to Zoom, resulting in the Zoom G1J John 5 Signature Edition. It is identical to the standard Zoom G1 except that it’s blood red and the package includes a John 5 poster, guitar pick, and a John 5 greeting card. - [Read more]

Nu vernieuwd met een zeer fraaie HD2600 pro kaart, 3 dagen tot en met maandag 5 januari a.s. slechts 189 euro! Daarna € 199, de vergelijkbare prijs elders is 275 euro.

Als u het door de crisis wat rustiger aan wilt doen maar toch een snelle NIEUWE computer wilt kopen, waar u ook nog aardig wat spellen mee kunt spelen, dan hebben wij goed nieuws! Computerstunt biedt nu een geweldige AMD ATHLON 3000+ MultiMedia/Gamers computer SPECIALE EDITIE met 160 GB harde schijf, 1024 MB geheugen en een CD-DVDrom speler met 20 speed Double Layer DVD/CD BRANDER en als slagroom op de taart: een HD2600pro videokaart met 256 mb geheugen! Dat alles voor u ingebouwd in een mooie BLACK 400 WATT miditower behuizing, zeer mooi moederbord met LAN, USB 2.0 en 5.1 sound.

Deze mooie computer kost nu geen € 275, maar tijdelijk slechts € 189!! Daar moet u bij zijn voordat het te laat is! U kunt nog configureren naar wens...

Verduiveld snel krengetje, dat menig maal een pentium 4 eruit werkt, getuige de volgende benchmarks:

At stake: People’s Assembly - [Read more]

Orange Jello Salad recipe - BigOven.com

Rate this recipe for Orange Jello Salad, 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.

Beyonce Knowles has created a hip hop beef with Janet Jackson - by suggesting that the Jackson clan is lower class. Beyonce allegedly said: “I grew up upper class. Private school. My dad had a Jaguar. We’re African-American and we work together as a family, so people assume we’re like The Jacksons. But I didn’t have parents using me to get out of a bad situation.”

Its on! Janet Jackson, who barely knows Beyonce, is going to support her family to the fullest and confront the former Destinys child singer about the slam.

The BBC was shocked - Shocked! - when Sir Paul McCartney did an impromptu "trans-racial" impersonation of Michael Jackson on the air. McCartney is said to have talked in a high-pitched Jackson-style voice when asked about the once-black-man turned middled-aged white-woman singer, which the usually insensitive and over-the-top BBC decided was too outrageous, even by non-existent British standards.

A BBC source told the Daily Mail: "McCartney started to reply in this high-pitched Jacko voice, and apparently it was very funny. But the BBC - deeply nervous, perhaps because of the Jonathan Ross-Russell Brand affair - has declined to broadcast the interview."

Security systems in Houston, including a new home security system installation and new construction alarm monitoring for homes pre-wired with an alarm system, include special offers. Alarm monitoring in Houston of existing home monitoring security systems and commercial security systems is offered 24 hours for your protection. Stay safer with Safeguard. - [Read more]

Alaska HDTV Presents: Event mashup of the SCCA Alaska Arctic Region And now for something entirely off the regular beat of hikes, beautiful scenery and the Alaska travel videos. Scott and I were looking for something with a little more motorized energy and dropped by the first RallyCross event of the 2008-2009 winter season. The Arctic Alaska Region of the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) hosts several car racing events throughout the year, but in my opinion, the rally racing is by far the most fun! More shows like this at www.alaskahdtv.com Cheers, Scott

The Fifth Global Congress on Counterfeiting and Piracy 2-4 June in Cancun, Mexico, will discuss the rising tide of counterfeiting in Mexico, Central and South America. - [Read more]

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The Heavyweight cotton, in short or long sleeves, in up to 50 different colors, is available on the Internet, when looking for shirt printing. Few retailers advertise no setup or screen charge fees with rush shipping when needed. Their capability of designing t-shirts through a web browser is possible through some sites. Do look at pictures of various kinds of apparel and choose type, color, and other details and then choose the quantity. This is possible to upload a design or graphic to be included on an order and sites offer ways to add notes or additional customizable options. Numerous Christian organizations use apparel items in a fundraising effort and include their organization name along with a Bible scripture. Never underestimate the power of one scripture especially when reaching out to those in need.

Free agent Aaron Boone agreed Thursday to a $750,000, one-year contract with the Houston Astros. Boone played for the Washington Nationals last season, hitting .241 with six homers and 28 RBIs. "Aaron gives us another veteran who can share time at third base and also help us with his overall versatility," Wade said in a statement. "We believe that Geoff Blum, Aaron and Chris Johnson give us good depth at third. - [Read more]

Hit the slopes for less with this sale
Purchase tickets by December 31 to save!

The complete series of the Calendar of State Papers, Venice, is now live. These 38 volumes cover the period 1202-1675, and calendar papers in the Venetian archives which relate to English affairs. Covering a period in which Venetian diplomacy was central to European politics, these calendars offer a rich external view of English history. - [Read more]

The first thing is not to put the SIM card from your old phone into your iPhone. Everything else will work but you voice mail and visual mail will likely not work. If you go to an ATT store, yo - [Read more]

A one bedroom furnished flat situated near Westbourne Grove in Bayswater with a private garden.

Welcome 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]

• 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

How 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 (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.

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When you want a form that can be submitted without requiring the rather prominent submit button, you can utilize one of the following methods... - [Read more]

It 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]

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.

China has imposed new rules on computer Web sites, tightening government control of online news and information, in the latest effort to limit what Chinese citizens can read on the Internet. - [Read more]