Monday, February 28, 2011
Hot Photo Kashmira shah
Kashmira Shah is one of the boldest women of Bollywood tinsel town. She knows that she got a great body and never hesitates to flaunt. This time she has gone one step further and has appeared in all her nothingness in a calendar titled Kashessentual being produced by Third Rock Entertainment. Needless to say currently this hot babe is hogging the limelight. It remains to be seen how she has gone this time. Till calendar is out we have got one of her sexiest picture.
22 February 11
Coconut rice with vegetables and chicken in peanut sauce (I think? I can't remember) with a spicy coconut-yogurt topping, and sprouts.
Guest Review: "Falling Under" by Gwen Hayes
Woo Hoo-- A guest review! Check out this review of Falling Under by Gwen Hayes, courtesy of Sara of Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog. When you're done with the review, be sure to check out Sara's blog for some more great reviews and giveaways.
Title: Falling Under ARC
Author: Gwen Hayes
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: 03/01/11
Summary:
Plot: 3.5 Stars
Dreams and visions are not a very unique trope in Paranormal Young Adult novels, but the complexity and terrifying details to the dreams really set this novel apart. Although Haden was the focus of the dreams, there were many other creatures that were both intriguing and revolting at the same time. Even with these dreams, Theia accepted the fact that Haden was a demon much quicker than expected. And it didn’t turn her away; instead it seemed to make her attraction to him stronger. Even when he explains the demon dimension where he was born to her, she still continues to hang onto his every word. The biggest problem with this novel is that the demon dimension was ten times more interesting than the human world, but only a couple chapters take place in the demon dimension. There are even more horrifying creatures to contend with, and there was a lot of lost potential. The majority of the twists and turns of this novel took place in this dimension, but seemed rushed due to the lack of time spent exploring this other world.
Pace: 3 Stars
The beginning of this novel jumps right in. The main character and her friends are introduced, and the reader is easily swept up into Theia’s life. Then Theia’s odd dreams begin and the plot starts to unfold. Haden is introduced and Theia is immediately drawn to him, and he seems to be drawn to her. But then he starts to push her away. This plot line would’ve been fine, if it didn’t repeat itself throughout the middle of the book. Every other chapter Haden was either drawing Theia back in, or pushing her away again. This tug of war happened for at least one hundred pages, and caused the plot to stall to the point where it seemed to be moving about as slow as molasses. As the end of the novel drew near, the whirlwind plot drew the reader back in. The twists and turns were back to turn the reader upside-down. And then it ended. Just like that. There were a number of plot elements left wide open without explanation, and the conclusion of the novel seemed a touch lacking.
Characters: 3 Stars
Theia was an interesting character. She stood out from the other kids at school, but it didn’t bother her like it would most characters. Although she was swept up by Haden, it was refreshing to read about a young adult main character who wasn’t instantaneously obsessed by the bad boy. Theia was a bit sheltered by her father, which was never explained in its entirety. He was a bit absent and distant, and it all stemmed from her mother’s death years earlier. Although he tried to explain, there seemed to be a bit missing from the recollection. Theia’s best friends, Donny and Ame, were a great contrast which made the threesome a very enjoyable group of friends to read about. The touch of New Age and psychic ideas that Ame brought to the table not only came in handy, but helped with the world-building. It allowed the world to branch out beyond just demons, without having to include vampires, werewolves, and everything else in the paranormal bag. Haden failed as the love interest of this story. Whether he was pulling Theia to him, or pushing her away, he never seemed genuine. Something about the way the character was written made him come off as a bit robotic.
Cover: 3 Stars
This is an average cover. In the world of Paranormal Young Adult, this cover blends in with the crowd. The colors are a bit muted; even the red isn’t as bright as it could be. It also doesn’t tell the person browsing the shelves much about the novel. In order to know it’s a paranormal novel based around demons, the novel must be picked up off the shelf and turned over to read the back cover. But the cover model is an accurate depiction of Theia, especially the abundance of blonde curls. The red dress and the black roses in the background are both relevant to the plot as well, which is a nice touch. It just seems as if something is missing (possibly a little detailing around the otherwise simplistic title) that could really make this cover pop.
Overall: 3 Stars
Author: Gwen Hayes
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: 03/01/11
Summary:
Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, Theia knows she's seen Haden before -- not around town, but in her dreams.
As the Haden of both the night and the day beckons her closer one moment and pushes her away the next, the only thing Theia knows for sure is that the incredible pull she feels towards him is stronger than her fear.
And when she discovers what Haden truly is, Theia's not sure if she wants to resist him, even if the cost is her soul.
Plot: 3.5 Stars
Dreams and visions are not a very unique trope in Paranormal Young Adult novels, but the complexity and terrifying details to the dreams really set this novel apart. Although Haden was the focus of the dreams, there were many other creatures that were both intriguing and revolting at the same time. Even with these dreams, Theia accepted the fact that Haden was a demon much quicker than expected. And it didn’t turn her away; instead it seemed to make her attraction to him stronger. Even when he explains the demon dimension where he was born to her, she still continues to hang onto his every word. The biggest problem with this novel is that the demon dimension was ten times more interesting than the human world, but only a couple chapters take place in the demon dimension. There are even more horrifying creatures to contend with, and there was a lot of lost potential. The majority of the twists and turns of this novel took place in this dimension, but seemed rushed due to the lack of time spent exploring this other world.
Pace: 3 Stars
The beginning of this novel jumps right in. The main character and her friends are introduced, and the reader is easily swept up into Theia’s life. Then Theia’s odd dreams begin and the plot starts to unfold. Haden is introduced and Theia is immediately drawn to him, and he seems to be drawn to her. But then he starts to push her away. This plot line would’ve been fine, if it didn’t repeat itself throughout the middle of the book. Every other chapter Haden was either drawing Theia back in, or pushing her away again. This tug of war happened for at least one hundred pages, and caused the plot to stall to the point where it seemed to be moving about as slow as molasses. As the end of the novel drew near, the whirlwind plot drew the reader back in. The twists and turns were back to turn the reader upside-down. And then it ended. Just like that. There were a number of plot elements left wide open without explanation, and the conclusion of the novel seemed a touch lacking.
Characters: 3 Stars
Theia was an interesting character. She stood out from the other kids at school, but it didn’t bother her like it would most characters. Although she was swept up by Haden, it was refreshing to read about a young adult main character who wasn’t instantaneously obsessed by the bad boy. Theia was a bit sheltered by her father, which was never explained in its entirety. He was a bit absent and distant, and it all stemmed from her mother’s death years earlier. Although he tried to explain, there seemed to be a bit missing from the recollection. Theia’s best friends, Donny and Ame, were a great contrast which made the threesome a very enjoyable group of friends to read about. The touch of New Age and psychic ideas that Ame brought to the table not only came in handy, but helped with the world-building. It allowed the world to branch out beyond just demons, without having to include vampires, werewolves, and everything else in the paranormal bag. Haden failed as the love interest of this story. Whether he was pulling Theia to him, or pushing her away, he never seemed genuine. Something about the way the character was written made him come off as a bit robotic.
Cover: 3 Stars
This is an average cover. In the world of Paranormal Young Adult, this cover blends in with the crowd. The colors are a bit muted; even the red isn’t as bright as it could be. It also doesn’t tell the person browsing the shelves much about the novel. In order to know it’s a paranormal novel based around demons, the novel must be picked up off the shelf and turned over to read the back cover. But the cover model is an accurate depiction of Theia, especially the abundance of blonde curls. The red dress and the black roses in the background are both relevant to the plot as well, which is a nice touch. It just seems as if something is missing (possibly a little detailing around the otherwise simplistic title) that could really make this cover pop.
Overall: 3 Stars
Hot Photo Vidya Balan In Saree Backless
This photo of Vidya Balan has made people sit and consider her as a symbol of ethnic Indian beauty. Draped in saree without any bra or blouse she looks sensual in the pure Indian sense.
Photos Hot Aishwarya Rai Academy Awards
Timeless beauty Aishwarya Rai looking hot at Academy Awards. This actress gets more and more beautiful with age and her popularity shows no signs of waning. A recent survey conducted by a leading news daily concluded that Aishwarya is the most preferred choice of people when it comes to seeing a beautiful woman in nude painting.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Photos Sexy Ayesha Takia
Ayesha Takia Hot Pictures
Ayesha Takia is one actress who we would like to see more on movies. And the good news is that the hot actress is making a comeback with the next movie of Nagesh Kukunoor.
Oscar Party!
The girls and I decided to blow off the Oscars this year to just stay home and have our own Oscar party. You know, to be low key ;)
Getting Bella ready for her big night...
On the super exclusive brown carpet. The paparazzi was insane!
The shoes!!
I won for Best Shoes, a new category this year ;)
We were all so honored!
Bella couldn't contain her emotion
Leah, usually reserved, shed tears of joy!
And I'm a total ham.
Damien, Leah's very talented son, made our awesome Oscar statue but wanted nothing to do with our silly girly photo sesh.
Thank you, and goodnight!
Getting Bella ready for her big night...
(i have a treatment in my hair, that's why it looks so greasy)
On the super exclusive brown carpet. The paparazzi was insane!
(my dress is Lanvin for H&M, Leah's is vintage)
The shoes!!
(YSL, Bordello, DSquared2)
Leah took home the Oscar for Best Hair and Makeup
I won for Best Shoes, a new category this year ;)
Bella (8) swept the Oscars with Best Actress, Best Director, Best Song, Best Cinematography, and Cutiest Cutie Pie. Congrats!
We were all so honored!
Bella couldn't contain her emotion
Leah, usually reserved, shed tears of joy!
And I'm a total ham.
Damien, Leah's very talented son, made our awesome Oscar statue but wanted nothing to do with our silly girly photo sesh.
Thank you, and goodnight!
Wanted: A Survival Guide to Online Narcissism and Incivility
Fast forward to today. Blogging is still popular but other forms of social media have also boomed and one need not go to that much trouble to find friends and relatives on Facebook and Twitter. My mom still doesn't know what a blog is, but she has a Twitter account.
The bigger the Internet community gets, the more extreme the behavior gets and I find myself dwelling more and more on what motivates me to continue to blog in an ever growing environment in which blogs like mine, rather than growing an audience, are losing steam as everyone jumps on the bandwagon in search of significance in whatever arena they choose. Remember when mommy blogs first started popping up? They used to consist of moms talking about their day while posting a few pics of the kids at preschool. Cute and harmless mostly. Now mommy blogs seem to have developed a hyper-competitive edge, at least in some quarters, and if there aren't multiple tabs for recipes, videos and giveaways, you're just not keeping up with the Joneses (pictures of the BMW in the driveway are optional but recommended).
And yes, the same seems to be true among book bloggers. I have tabs and giveaways.... What is happening to me?
Well, according to a Dr. Strenger of the Tel Aviv School of Psychology I may be suffering from a fear of insignificance brought on by the global information network and celebrity culture. Now that's a mouthful. In other words, television and the Internet have given us the means to compare ourselves to the most "significant" people in the world-- and we desperately want to be like them.
I don't even think this is a debatable point. Or a new one. When you look at the myriad of ways we can put our personal life on display, from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and weblogs, it's undeniable that a lot of us may be searching for our fifteen minutes of fame and we've been doing it for awhile. And if that was all that was going on with the glut of public displays of personal information it would be easy to shrug off. But the fact is, the culture has gotten mean. Really, really mean.
This also isn't a new issue. We've all seen Internet trolls attempting to stoke the anger of readers on various sites for their own entertainment and I think we're all savvy enough to know when we're being baited and not to "feed" the trolls. But trolling is moving moving beyond harmless flame-wars and seems to be taking on a life of its own.
Trolling, in my opinion, has a few different categories. I think deliberately inflammatory blog posts, like the now infamous (at least amongst our community) one posted by Leo Grin that stated that modern fantasy is nihilistic and pointless are a trolling of sorts. If you look at the post, as a whole, it isn't built on much an argument in that it only cherry-picks a few authors to make the point-- most notably one successful author in particular who was bound to be noticed. And Grin's idea of why he is qualified to make the argument seems to rest on replies that consist of little more than I know more than Robert Howard than you so there. I debated on arguing the point here for awhile, but then I thought why bother? The author used to drum up attention already addressed the issue far better than I could and any commentary on my part is really just background noise. But what really decided me in the end was that I couldn't find the motivation to care enough about what one guy had to say about this particular issue. One guy.
We love controversy don't we? I read a lot of interesting replies to that particular post. Very erudite, well thought out replies that nonetheless took the opportunity to stir-the-pot as well-- which is all fair in this particular game. And no, I don't think the replies count as trolling. It's that first traffic-seeking commentary that catches my attention. This is a phenomenon I see a lot these days, especially among new bloggers. Not too long ago I wrote a post about a newbie blogger who decided to take the well-worn path of revisiting what rules we reviewer-bloggers should be following-- and it worked. Anger, controversy and blog-hits ensued. So--bravo to that guy. I'm am forever amazed at how people with no particular track record of achievement set out to declare that they are the new trend setters. Who are any of us who randomly set up a blog in any way qualified to tell anyone else what they ought to be doing? I can get on-board when a successful author, who has proven themselves in their chosen specialty, gives their thoughts on the genre. Though I will admit the politics can drive a wedge between us if I'm told I'm a mouth-breathing, flat-earther if I don't subscribe to a certain sets of beliefs. You'll forgive me if I don't buy your books in that case-- right?
Blogging isn't without its risks.
Unfortunately trolling doesn't stop at looking for blog hits. In fact the newest forms of trolling are so vile that it won't be long before we're nostalgic for the days of cheap shots aimed at us via other blogs. Facebook-- which appears to have the largest audience these days-- seems to also be the favored troll hunting grounds. I was very slow to pick up on this because I naively thought the "friending" process would weed out the riff-raff. Oh silly me.
The need to share personal information has gone from talking about what one is having for dinner to putting up memorial pages for lost loved ones. And I'm not talking about fluffy the cat. To some extent I can understand putting up information to share with family members regarding grandma's funeral, but I admit I'm not one who would put up a public page as a memorial. That's just me. But other well-intentioned individuals have taken to doing this and, sadly, have learned that nothing is sacred in the forum of public information-sharing. Unbelievable as it sounds people now troll memorial pages for attention. I won't go into detail here, but suffice it to say that the anonymity of the Internet has not brought the best out in people. At all. Clearly these nuts subscribe to the theory that negative attention is better than not attention at all.
It's not really shocking in a society that makes celebrities out of people who do little more than get drunk and punch each other on camera that people are becoming less and less civil to each other. When you think about it, it's hard to find examples of civility anymore. According to what I've read the main culprits of this kind of behavior are 20-something young men. I know a lot of people are going to tell me not to fret over the younger generation; that every generation looks at the one behind it and shakes their head. But in this case-- I think we might need to start worrying. A simple Google search on "narcissism" brings up many articles on the particular phenomenon of net narcissism and our collective penchant for perpetual status updates and Googling our own name.
And no. The irony is not lost on me that I have a blog as well as both Facebook and Twitter accounts. My kids, however, do not. I wonder if Narcissistic Personality Disorder has been pulled from the DSM because it's now just so darned common?
I'm not gonna lie. I'm finding it harder and harder to negotiate the online world. I'll occasionally post my thoughts in posts like this but it's a little like walking on eggshells. I'm a small fish and don't generally get too much attention-- on a good day-- so I don't get much troll traffic. And I'll be the first to admit I'd delete it if I did. Who needs that garbage? I don't want the angst. I'm not someone who can shrug off the snark and, I hate to say it, but even anonymous hate will give me an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Maybe I read too much into things, but I also wonder if our collective online obsessions aren't sucking the soul out us. I can waste a whole day online and I'm not proud of it. And I ponder, more and more frequently, the merits of getting a real life. One that doesn't consist of me sitting at my computer and setting a bad example for my kids.
Like I asked before-- why am doing this? It's not a job. I don't make any money. I do get the occasional blurb in books I review-- so that feeds the ego which in turn feeds the blog. But is that reason enough to keep doing it? I don't ask these questions because I want people to tell me to keep blogging; though I would have looked for that at one time. I ask because I am starting to wonder if being plugged in is actually making us more disconnected than ever. How good can it be when people are getting into car accidents because they can't quit texting long enough to drive to work? The answer to that is pretty obvious.
I think the real lesson though is that no one is paying as much attention to us as we are to ourselves. No one else cares about the status updates. Nor or they monitoring our blogs to see if we post everyday. The good news there is that I'm pretty sure I can find a real life and no one will know the difference. Did I tell you that I joined a real-life book club? You know, the kind that meets in person? Yep. I actually get more than one or two comments when I make an observation about a book these days. It's awesome.
I haven't reached the point at which I feel the need to walk away and stop blogging altogether. But I have decided it's time to be more productive offline because the online world is sucking me into a vortex of self-involvement that can only get more and more unhealthy. I don't have the wonderful ability to not care about the ugliness that seeps into my world via my computer; though maybe I should consider that a good thing. So I'm giving myself permission to chill out. To go slow and post only when I feel like it; not because I feel a weird obligation to post every day. Who knows. Maybe my next radical step will be to delete the Facebook account.
Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.
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