25 things about 2010
January 7, 2011 by Trend PK
Filed under Entertainment
1. COKE STUDIO
Even in a hit-and-miss fourth season — for every Arif Lohar there was an Aunty Disco Project — Coke Studio was the only Pakistani television show you would want to schedule your day around. During the course of the show Zeb and Haniya cemented their reputation while Meesha Shafi created a brand new one for herself.
2. THE FINAL SCENE OF LOST
In its final 15 minutes, “Lost” went from a mind-bending sci-fi epic to a religious allegory about love. The transcendent ending, unfairly criticised by so many, showed that when we die all that really matters is that we are with the ones we truly love.
3. THE 18TH AMENDMENT
It took months of political bickering but the passage of the 18th Amendment showed us that democracy works. Seeing the most egregious perversions of the constitution rectified at a time when many were sounding the marital law drumbeat was the most satisfying political development of the year.
4. THE LAUNCH OF NEW NEWSPAPERS
Many argue that Pakistan has too many English-language newspapers. Rubbish. There can never be too many newspapers. The launch of The Express Tribune and Pakistan Today added more choice, more views and more information to the market.
5. AISAM UL HAQ AT THE US OPEN
What I enjoyed most about Aisam ul Haq and Rohan Bopanna’s run at the US Open was that it brought the athleticism and teamwork of doubles’ tennis to so many new fans. But I can’t deny that patriotism played its part too. Even if Aisam didn’t win any titles this year, seeing a Pakistani sportsman speak for a cause greater than his own personal enrichment was a joy.
6. MOHAMMAD AAMIR IN ENGLAND
I was too young to see a teenaged Wasim Akram burst onto the scene. Mohammad Aamir’s superb bowling against Australia was a close consolation. Let’s just ignore what came after that.
7. CONAN O’BRIEN LOSING “THE TONIGHT SHOW”
When NBC announced that Conan O’Brien would be replaced by his predecessor Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show”, despite Leno’s earlier promise that he would gracefully stand down, a hero was born. As Conan wound down his show, he took potshots at the network, spent as much of their money as he could and just had a blast. So did we.
8. VEENA MALIK
Anyone willing to denounce Mohammad Asif on live television has already contributed to an awesome 2010. By ignoring all the haters and flaunting her wit and personality on Bigg Boss, Veena Malik brightened up the year.
9. IFTIKHAR HUSSAIN’S BRAVERY
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s information minister lost his son and very nearly his own life to terrorists. The day after the attack on his family he was as feisty as ever, denouncing the Taliban vehemently. Even disillusioned, cynical hacks could see that some politicians have soul, integrity and commitment.
10. JON STEWART’S SANITY
Barack Obama’s election was supposed to end Jon Stewart’s career. Even without George W Bush to kick around, Stewart was as hilarious as ever, skewering hypocrisy and stupidity.
11. NASEEM HAMEED’S POISE
That sprinter Naseem Hameed became the fastest woman in South Asia after winning gold at the regional games is a big enough achievement. Her winning smile, which never wavered even after being besieged by the media, made her our newest hero.
12. THE SLACKISTAN TRAILER
Filmmakers’ obsession with showing the ‘real’ Pakistan has left one class unrepresented in cinema: the ultra-elite. The trailer of Hammad Khan’s Slackistan showed a bunch of young Islooites doing what they do best: nothing.
13. MUSHARRAF’S RETURN TO POLITICS
No, we don’t want him to ever rule the country again. But when insipid speeches by deadly-dull politicians made us want to gouge out our eyeballs, Mush lifted our spirits by boasting of his Facebook fandom.
14. TWITTER
Like Facebook, but without all those annoying friends and photographs and words. Say what you want, but don’t drone on and on. Twitter is ugly, often illiterate and usually unenlightening. But it’s also very addictive.
15. UTH OYE!’S T-SHIRTS
Here’s how to excel at do-gooderism. Follow all fashionable lefty causes and donate proceeds to charity and all that but also have a kick-ass sense of humour. Instead of yet another “Give Peace a Chance” t-shirt this was the year to pick up something from Uth Oye!’s latest line.
16. A MINI-RESTAURANT STREET
Since the elitist Zamzama trope is now so ingrained in us, we need to go somewhere less clichéd for our high-end dining. With Café Flo, Koel and Patio all in one street we have somewhere to go for tamarind drinks, French food and thalis without walking more than 100 yards.
17. SALMAAN TASEER’S SENSE OF HUMOUR
Whether sounding off on Twitter or embarrassing the PML-N at impromptu press conferences, the Punjab governor’s only job seems to be to make us laugh. Sample quote: “In May I will complete two years as governor Punjab. Please send your flowers, gifts etc to Raiwind to thank the Sharifs for their love and support.”
18. ROGER FEDERER AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN
In the twilight of his career, the greatest tennis player of all time (that is a fact, not an opinion) cruised through the first grand slam of the year. Despite losing a tiny bit of speed and control, the Swiss maestro was in command throughout, showing he is far from a spent force. Shame about the rest of the year.
19. THE ASHES
At a time when Test cricket’s popularity is waning, the Ashes have come as a delight to cricket purists for two reasons. It shows that Tests produce cricket that is exciting, high-quality and unpredictable. More importantly, it provides evidence that fans will still turn out for five-day matches given sporting wickets and impassioned players.
20. JAMES FRANCO’S CAREER
Franco turned in two of the year’s most devastating performances in 127 Hours and Howl. He also painted, wrote short stories and studied at an Ivy League university. The Renaissance Man is alive and well and is trapped in the body of a twenty-something Hollywood heartthrob.
21. CO SHAHID AFRIDI’S RETIREMENT PRESS CONFERENCE
When Pakistan’s then-Test captain was asked when he had decided to retire from Test cricket, he replied “When I got out” (playing a ridiculous shot). The comic masterpiece of the year belonged to Boom Boom. He showed that his talking is as extemporous as his batting. In a year where there were few laughs for Pakistani cricket fans, Afridi was the only source of amusement.
22. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN’S CONTINUED GREATNESS
Scottish band Belle and Sebastian burst onto the music scene nearly a decade-and-a-half ago with geeky songs about love and books. As their latest album, Write about Love, shows, they just get better with age.
23. NAKED TYRANT
Pakistani society is often so ridiculous that it can be hard to distinguish spoof from reality. Yet Naked Tyrant Productions, a trio of satirists, posted hilarious online videos mocking society magazines, our difficulty in procuring contraceptives and much else besides.
24. THE RISE OF MATHIRA
Equal parts reviled and lusted after; VJ Mathira does what she wants without regard for society’s niceties and mores. When so many others are happy to self-censor to appease the moral scolds, that alone is enough to make Mathira one of the bright spots this year.
25. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Lets admit it: we live in the Facebook age. Most movies that seek to ride on the crest of the zeitgeist end up being dated as soon as they are released. As realistic as our online personas, The Social Network, which purports to show the founding of Facebook, was the movie event of the year.
Julia Roberts’ Paparazzi Dust-Up Shows Need for (Self) Regulation
Julia Roberts’ dust-up with paparazzi who were swarming her and her children during an outing the other day points up — again — the need for some sort of regulation regarding overzealous photogs. It’s time. It’s years past time, in fact.
Best of all would be self-regulation, in the form of a pact between the celebrities’ camps and the agencies who rep the camera-wielding hordes. Buyers, from the tabloids to TMZ and other online and TV outlets, would then have to do their part by purchasing pictures and video only from signers of the agreement. And if they didn’t, they, and their parent companies, networks, or production entities would be barred from having any celebrity access — and from film/TV/music advertising involving stars.
Items to be included: discretionary distance when children are involved.
Roberts’ encounter is just the latest in a string of messy, even scary episodes involving paparazzi and celebrity children.
Pamela Anderson recalls cameramen swarming her car to the point she and her then-young sons could not escape without her driving over a photographer(perhaps she should have.
Heidi Klum recalls the incident in Central Park awhile back when paparazzi swarmed her and her children — and other parents on the scene took matters into their own hands and started pelting the offending photogs with water balloons.
“It sounds like fun when you read it maybe in a newspaper somewhere, but in reality, it’s not so much fun when there are children involved,” she told us at the time. “My children are screaming, ‘What’s going on?!” I don’t think that people should start fighting over it. I don’t want people to get hurt … I’m like, ‘Let’s just go away.’
European Commission opens Google antitrust probe
December 1, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
The European Commission announced Tuesday that it has opened a formal antitrust investigation into Google Inc., setting up what could be the first major test of whether the online search giant abuses its dominance to enrich itself and elbow out rivals.
The panel in Brussels, which represents the 27 nations in the European Union, said it will explore a number of specific allegations by competitors. If they are found true, it would show a pattern of Google exploiting its market power to bolster its advertising business and quash competition in other online services.
The commission’s move follows years of growing scrutiny of Google’s business practices among rivals, public policy groups and governments, but there have been few concrete actions among US regulators.
Rousseff extends lead as Brazil runoff vote nears
October 22, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
SAO PAULO:Ruling party candidate Dilma Rousseff is pulling ahead in Brazil’s presidential race, gaining momentum as the focus of the campaign shifts away from social issues and back to the economic gains of recent years.
Rousseff extended her lead over opposition challenger Jose Serra to 10 percentage points in a new opinion poll released on Friday. It was the third poll this week to show her gaining ground after a rough few weeks in which a re-energized Serra narrowed the gap.
The survey by polling firm Datafolha showed Rousseff with 50 percent of voter support versus 40 percent for Serra, according to the online edition of Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, which commissioned the poll.
Rousseff, the Workers’ Party candidate who is backed by the hugely popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, had 47 percent in the last Datafolha poll on Oct. 15 versus 41
Japan vs Argentina Live Stream
Japan vs Argentina Live Stream, It’s Japan vs Argentina at the Saitama Stadium 2002 on the 8th October 2010 in what promises to be an exciting international friendly football match.
The Japanese side, managed by Italian Alberto Zaccheroni, reached the 2nd round of the 2010 World Cup, bowing out to Paraguay after penalties.
The Samurai Blue got some revenge on the 4th of September when the two teams met in a friendly, when a Shinji Kagawa goal gave the side a 1-0 win.
They are ranked 30th in the world by FIFA, and Keisuke Honda leads the scoresheet for 2010 with three goals from eight appearances.
After almost missing out on qualifying for the World Cup, the 5th ranked team in the world reached the quarter-finals at South Africa before being comprehensively defeated 4-0 by Germany.
Since then, Argentina, now coached by caretaker manager Sergio Batista, have bounced back well with a 0-1 win over Ireland, and a massive 4-1 victory over world champions, Spain.
Gonzalo Higuain leads La Albiceleste with six goals from eight appearances this year, whilst Carlos Tevez has contributed four from seven.
Jersey Shore Season 2 Episode 11
Jersey Shore Season 2 Episode 11
Channel: MTV
Genre: Reality
Premiere: December 3, 2009
Theme: Italian American
Length: 30MinWatch: Jersey Shore Season 2 Episode 11 Online Previews
Preview:
It’s that the time of week again when all the Jersey Shore fans will sit in front of their TVs tuned to MTV for a brand new episode of their favorite programs. Whether you are interested in the preview of the episode, or your ability to legally see the Jersey Shore season 2 episode 11 online download, stream or on TV, and then read on ahead.
Jersey Shore may be in the second season, but it’s still in the discussion as one of the best Italian American reality shows on TV today, and the last episode “Girls Like That” will build on it. Snooki and J- Woww to make amends with Sam, Vinny pursuing two groups of girls. Mike’s antics annoy Snooki Without revealing too many spoilers; see this as an episode worth watching.
British newspaper alleges Shoaib Akhtar of ball tampering
A British newspaper again alleges Pakistani speed star Shoaib Akhtar of ball tampering in the 5th ODI.
Pictures brought on screen by the Daily Mail Online, showed that Shoaib tried to tamper the seam with his left hand thumbnail in the 41st over of the match as he prepared to bowl to Collingwood. Then he polished the ball against his thigh, but instead of holding the ball between his thumb and forefinger, he dug his nails into the seam and then dropped it on the ground. Then he stood on the ball.
Shoaib bowled brilliantly and quite economically in the last ODI sending three English batsmen back to pavilion including captain Andrew Strauss.
Four years ago he was filmed by Sky cameras flicking at the ball with his thumb during a one-day international here against England.
jose manuel figueroa
June 12, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Graduation Class of 2010 Hayward High Hayward Hayward High School, 326 students graduated on June 10. The farewell was Maxwell Eady. The salutatorian was Jose Manuel Figueroa Jennifer DeVetter.AFrancisca, showman and coupling in Cuernavaca and Guerrero arrived at noon at the funeral home where the facts clarified and noted that his brother’s body will be moved to the United States.
And after several hours of confusion, the Office Morelos José Manuel Figueroa and confirmed that a man who died in an attack outside the Grand Hotel in Cuernavaca nightclub in the early hours of Saturday, Johann Sebastian c is Gil Figueroa, 32, younger brother of Jose Manuel, the son of two singer-songwriter Joan Sebastian Jose Manuel Figueroa merchandises are available for a very low price at the online store to shop for Jose Manuel Figueroa albums (CD, MP3, Vinyl) and other Jose Manuel Figueroa-related products.
Aid ships head to Gaza as Israeli warships gather
May 30, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
GAZA CITY: A flotilla of ships carrying aid for the blockaded Gaza Strip on Sunday finally steamed south from Cyprus, heading for a fleet of Israeli naval vessels determined to stop them.
The ships, carrying more than 700 passengers, are on the last leg of a high-profile mission to deliver some 10,000 tonnes of building and other supplies to Gaza, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007.
Huwaida Arraf, chairman of the Free Gaza Movement, told a foreign news agency by phone from the boat Challenger 1 that the ships had started towards Gaza on Sunday afternoon.
“Israel is blocking an area about 20 nautical miles out from the Gaza coast and we expect to hit that area in the late morning or early afternoon” on Monday, she said.
In the Gaza Strip, anti-siege activists called on the international community to ensure the protection of the so-called “Freedom Flotilla” which had been aiming to arrive on Saturday but was repeatedly delayed.
“I am asking the international community to protect these boats from the Israeli threat,” independent Palestinian MP Jamal al-Khudari said during a press conference on a boat anchored just outside the Gaza port.
“If Israel blocks them, they have a strategy for getting here,” said Khudari, who heads the Gaza-based Committee to Lift the Siege. He did not give any further details.
With the flotilla expected to approach at some stage over the next 24 hours, Gaza fishermen took to the sea flying Palestinian flags as well as those of Greece, Ireland, Sweden and Turkey — all of which sent boats.
Demonstrators also released scores of balloons with pictures tied to them of children who were killed during Israel”s massive 22-day offensive against Gaza that ended in January 2009.
Israel has slammed as “illegal” the convoy”s attempt to break its blockade on Gaza, and has naval forces at the ready to intercept the ships, tow them to its port of Ashdod, and detain the pro-Palestinian activists.
As tensions mounted, several Israeli warships could be seen off the Gaza coast.
Khudari said the convoy, which is carrying hundreds of civilians and a handful of European MPs, would stop outside Gaza territorial waters before attempting to make landfall.
It will travel “in two stages,” he said: “First they will stop in international waters at 30 nautical miles (from Gaza), and tomorrow (Monday) they will reach the shore.”
Earlier, Audrey Bomse, legal adviser to the Free Gaza Movement, had said the convoy of boats was likely to avoid a confrontation with the Israeli army during hours of darkness.
She also said the activists were considering sending “a second wave” of boats later this week.
Israel has called the convoy a media stunt, insisting there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza despite reports to the contrary from aid agencies and offering to deliver the supplies through its own land crossings.
“This is a provocation intended to delegitimise Israel,” Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said late on Saturday.
“If the flotilla had a genuine humanitarian goal, then its organisers should have transferred something for the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit as well,” he said of the Israeli snatched by militants in 2006 and held by the Hamas Islamist movement which runs the enclave.
The activists responded on their website that they had offered to take in a letter for Shalit from his family but received no response from their lawyer.
Hamas”s refusal to release him is cited by Israel as one of the main reasons for imposing the economic blockade on Gaza in 2007 in the wake of the group”s violent takeover of the territory.
The confrontation with the flotilla could cost Israel tens of millions of dollars as it detains the activists, pays for docking the ships and transports the aid to Gaza, the online Israeli business magazine Globes reported.
It said the detention facility alone had cost three million shekels (780,000 dollars, 640,000 euros) and that the costs of holding the activists would mount if they refuse to accept Israel”s offer to buy them tickets home.
Pro-Palestinian activists have landed in Gaza five times, with another three unsuccessful attempts since their first such voyage in August 2008. The latest is their biggest operation.
watch jimmy with jimmy
May 29, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
A new episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon awaits us today on NBC. If you’re interested to know how to watch Late Night with Jimmy Fallon season episode online or looking to get a sneak peak of the new episode named ‘Ice Cube / Gemma Arterton / Stars’ – then read on.
Watch Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Season Episode Online
Your favorite Celebrity Talk Show is back for episode number of the new season and once again you will need to tune in at 00:35 ET on NBC to watch it on TV. Here’s a short preview of Ice Cube / Gemma Arterton / Stars:
