The King of Pop takes his final bow on the stage of life…

Most of us in this part of the world awoke to the shocking news of the untimely demise of one of the world’s most famous men – Michael Jackson. Though not a real music buff, the headlines reporting MJ’s death did not leave me unaffected.

I fondly recall how in school we use to try to emulate his complicated dance techniques – the most fascinating one being the moonwalk. His highly stylized music videos such as Black or White were the highlights of watching MTV in the 90s. The hugely popular number written by him, ‘We are the World’, is still an all time favorite.

Majority of my growing up years were spent discussing the colorful persona of MJ and the latest scoops. I remember having long serious deliberations with friends and family on his cancelled tour to India - his plastic surgery, the bleached skin - the reason behind it – an attempt to hide his African-American origins or the self-confessed condition of vitiligo, his family history, his childhood years, his marriage to Elvis Presley’s daughter and ofcourse the much talked about accusations of pedophilia slammed at him from multiple quarters.

The loss of this icon to the world of music is undeniable. His distinctive musical sound has, over these glorious five decades, positively influenced so many genres of music including hip hop, pop, R&B and soul music. He remains the greatest entertainer of all times and I am sure millions of fans worldwide echo my sentiments of disbelief and denial at the exit of this star who was raring to make a comeback that was destined not to happen.

May his soul rest in peace.

Michael Jackson Dead Of Heart Attack At Age 50 - Last Photo

Pop star Michael Jackson has died. He was 50 years old.

The singer was found unresponsive at his home in California Thursday afternoon. He was rushed to the UCLA medical center but could not be revived. A Los Angeles Fire Department source told reporters that Jackson was in full cardiac arrest when rescue units arrived on scene.

Aides told a doctor that Jackson collapsed after receiving a shot of the drug Demerol. His breathing grew weaker and weaker and suffered a heart attack. Police have opened an investigation into the arrest but stress they do not suspect criminal activity.

His mother, sister Janet Jackson, and other family members rushed to the hospital. This sad news comes the same day we learn that actress Farrah Fawcett has passed away.

Michael was best known for his signature moon walk, thriller video and album, the smash hit song Billy Jean, massive plastic surgery, and his encounters with law enforcement for suspected child molestation at his now famous Neverland Ranch.

Jackson was planning to appear in a sold-out series of concerts in London next month that would have run until March. Promoters of the concerts had recently said that the singer had passed a physical examination to remove any concerns about his health.

Michael is survived by his three younger children, Prince Michael Jackson, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, and Prince Michael Jackson II.
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Sizzling hot and more…

What can be worse than 44 degree Celsius blistering heat that slaps your face 24 hours a day?
A viral attack.

Sweltering temperature outside, frequent power cuts and a bout of viral fever with sore throat and cough – does that sound like the perfect vacation? Well, I just had one :(.

Weather, health and the electricity board - all conspired to play spoilsport during my brief sojourn home – the meticulously planned get-togethers with friends and family were jeopardized, the much awaited shopping trips were truncated, and the staple summer indulgence of ice creams and golas (crushed ice) and colas was forbidden.

On the brighter side, I did get to spend “quality” time with my folks – imagine locked indoors all the time for 7 days ;). Mom baked some awesome cakes – her proprietary date and walnut cake remains unparalleled. I also managed to steal a few short trips to GK–N Block, Noida-Sec 18, Khan Market and Shipra Mall and was able to clinch quite a few good deals – God was very benevolent and went out of His way to reward me considering the fact that I was out shopping with a temperature of 101 degree Celsius.

But, seriously, I have come to the conclusion that I hate summers – I cannot take the god damn sun shining down, dissipating its heat as if there was no tomorrow – searing your skin, damaging your hair, smoldering your eyes.
Everything’s better in winters – falling sick too!

"Year One" - Review And Trailer - Jack Black And Michael Cera

Summer is here and school is out. That means the beginning of the summer movie blitz - starting with Apatow's "Year One."

Starring Jack Black and Michael Cera you can imagine the type of humor in store. Directed by "Ghost Buster's" Harold Ramis, this film explores what happens when two cavemen are kicked out of their tribe.

In year 1, Zed (Jack Black) and his caveman friend, Oh (Michael Cera), are two bungling cavemen just trying to survive. Zed is a bad hunter with no skills, and Oh is a plant gatherer. Zed is thrown out of his village after he eats the forbidden fruit, and Oh decides to travel with Zed on his heroic journey to the end of the earth.

They find a much different world outside of their prehistoric village. They find themselves wandering in Bible country meeting Cain, Able, Abraham, and other Bible people along the way, and are sold into slavery ending up in Sodom.

There is a definite "Monty Python" look and feel to the film, and the jokes seem to come at breakneck speed at times. Most are funny. Some take a minute to sink in. And others are downright sacrilegious.

You can imagine what happens when they encounter Adam and Eve (Harold Ramis and Rhoda Griffis), Cain and Abel (David Cross and Paul Rudd), and Abraham (Hank Azaria).

In an interview with MTV, Cera described it as a comedy set in Biblical times with Black's character, Zed, looking for some kind of meaning for his life.

Overall, Black and Cera pull it off, and seem to have a summer smash hit on their hands - and probably a cult following.

The movie is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, brief strong language and comic violence. This is a last minute change as the original rating had been "R".

Watch "Year One" Movie Trailer


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Phil Spector Bald Mug Shot

What do you get when you take the wigs off of flamboyant killer Phil Spector?

A creepy looking 69-year-old killer ready to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Spector was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2003 death of actress Lana Clarkson at his castle in Alhambra.

He is being processed and evaluated at North Kern State Prison before being sent to his final prison destination. Regulations prohibit wigs and hairpieces unless they are deemed medically necessary.
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Racial Bias – A constructed narrative or an ugly reality?

The recent attacks on Indian students in Australia have refocused attention of world media and politics to the complex issue of shrinking geographic boundaries and coerced intermingling of cultures and ‘races’.

We are still debating whether the attacks in the Land of the Kangaroos are racial in nature or not. Yes, most seem more opportunistic than planned combat against an entire people, but the obvious racial overtones cannot be undermined. Having said that, we also need to factor in that what we see is through the eyes of media, that is not always unbiased. The pattern in which facts are strung together make a story. Indians were attacked – Indian students who were soft targets were attacked. Indian corporate honchos and business tycoons were not.

These so called racial attacks actually pose a much larger problem for the Australian government than mere intolerance for our gold ol’ desis – it is a problem of accelerated crime rate that needs to be checked sooner than later for its own good.

Here, I wish to zoom out from the pressing current to a more panoramic view that cuts across history and continents. Before I get lost in the maze of my warped mind, trying to write as fast as I think and change opinions (:)), just one clarification – whatever I write is within the basic premise that I abhor any kind of bias – be it on the basis of race, color, origin or gender and I strongly feel that such behavior should be dealt with in the firmest manner possible with the most stringent of punishments given to ensure nobody ever dares to repeat the act.

History is replete with narratives of hatred within people – Let’s face it, we, human beings, homo homo sapiens, are a biased lot with umpteen prejudices. Caste, creed, religion, country, economic background – we are a divided people. There cannot be a more ironic phrase than Unity in Diversity. We are constantly in the Us versus Other comparison mode.
The Other is the Australian aboriginal whose existence was systematically wiped out from his motherland, the Other is the Red Indian who was pushed to the periphery of his own American continent, the Other is the Jew who got caught in the Nazi era, the Other is the African who was forced to subservience thanks to the theory of the white man’s burden.

To observe how racial stereotyping works in a fanatical society, we needn’t go very far. India, the singular form is so deceptive, the many Indias, we inhabit is a glaring example of a xenophobic social order.
We cry hoarse when frustrated mobs in Australia beat up our students, when overwhelmed with the financial downturn in Europe, the government sends permanent residents packing back home and when a distraught American economy explores ways to cut down on Indian immigrants.
But, we forget that in our own country when we fight over the superiority of the Aryans over the Dravidians, when we label the north eastern student in our University campus in Delhi a ‘chinky’, when we beat up a dalit for drinking water from the landlord’s well, when we equate Islam with terrorism, and in our post colonial obsession with ‘all that is white is right’, post ads for a gori (fair) girl in the matrimonial sections of the newspaper, we are being racist. This kind of racial slur is even more dangerous because it goes unnoticed most of the times.

I have always wondered what could be the reason for such extreme abhorrence between two people who have never known each other. Before I get into that, I want to answer the question I set out with. Is racial bias a constructed narrative or an ugly reality? Racial bias IS an ugly reality. There cannot be a second opinion to that. However, it is a much larger issue than media folk-lore. Media constructs narratives that sell to its advantage. That paradigm limits our understanding of issues of race and culture in the context of rapid globalization and the resulting mélange.

So what makes an ordinary person like you and me detest another human being who we have never met.

• The Economics of it – With economies world over crashing and the dismal scene at the job market, it irks me if I, being a native citizen of the country, am sacked while an immigrant with the same skill set and half the age of my total experience is hired for the much talked about “cost advantage’. Yes, I am talking about “outsourcing”. I forget that the decision has not been made by the actual guy who has taken over my position but both of us are victims of the larger game, involving disgusting amount of money, played by citizens of my own country. Someone in my country is making a lot of by having a worker from a different country work here or back home at almost half the wages if not lower. It is still ‘yes to Bangalore and no to Buffalo’. And thus, I make a Frankenstein of this guy who is the epicenter of all my anger.

• Cultural Differences – And I don’t just mean Cricket vs. Football, Brad Pit vs. SRK. There are subtle differences between different cultures and we need to be sensitive to these. People argue that there is a conflict between asserting your individual identity vs. becoming one of them. Well, to me it is a choice between ghettoization and cultural integration. There are positives in each culture and if you have had the opportunity of closely interacting with another ethnicity, I see no harm is assimilating the best of both the worlds.

• Stereotyping – Just because your Indian neighbor creates a ruckus every night post 9 PM, every Indian is not like that. Similarly, if the lady at Walmart cannot calculate the change you must get for the 100 dollar bill you paid for groceries worth $87 without using a calculator, not all Americans suck at math!

• Inherent Superiority and Inferiority complexes – All that is white is not always right. Like my gender does not make me a good or a bad driver, my color should not be a basis for my acceptability in any society.

• Black sheep on both sides – And finally, there are the occasional buggers in all cultures, races, countries. You need to take in your stride the desis who embarrass you by blaring the dard-e-disco number on their car stereo at the crossing and shouting loudly at each other in their native tongue in the elevators, just like you need to ignore the firang who knits his brows together at the mere sight of you.

To conclude on a lighter note, here's one of my favorite quotes that aptly summarizes my stance:

“A group of white South Africans recently killed a black lawyer because he was black. That was wrong. They should have killed him because he was a lawyer.”
- A. Whitney Brown

Adam Lambert Admits He Is Gay

American Idol runner up Adam Lambert has finally come clean with what most of us already suspected - he is gay.

Lambert tells Rolling Stone Magazine:

"I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear I'm gay. I've been living in Los Angeles for eight years as a gay man. I've been at clubs drunk making out with somebody in the corner."

As for the scandal over photos of him in drag that appeared on the Internet this spring, he says he forgot to take down photos from his profile on a social network for the Burning Man festival in Nevada. He admits, "I've only dressed in drag three or four times. ... I don't tuck and wear breasts, that's not me."

Lambert also told the magazine that at age 21 he was in a European tour of Hair for six months. That was when he dyed his hair black and started smoking pot and doing Ecstasy. But he says he does not like cocaine.

Ah yes, a good clean American boy.
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Steven Colbert Shaves His Head For Iraq Shows

Comedy Central comedian and funnyman Steven Colbert is off to Camp Victory in Baghdad this week to tape his shows and entertain the troops.

After weeks of super secrecy, a little bit of news has leaked out - the host of "The Colbert Report" has shaved his head military style!

That's right. The ultra conservative comedian, wearing a camouflage suit, had General Raymond Odierno shave his head during the first show.

The four shows are being taped in the domed marble hall at Saddam Hussein's former Al Faw Palace will air this week starting Monday.

Colbert has promoted the trip for weeks, but only vaguely because the military urged caution and would not let him divulge much information.

Instead, he introduced segments with the theme: "Where in the World and When in Time is Stephen Colbert Going to Be in the Persian Gulf?"

The shows are the first ever cable comedy show to be broadcast and transmitted from a war zone.

Way to go Steven!
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Actor David Carradine Dead In Thailand

Update: It is looking more and more like David died by accident either from a bondage fetish, or an auto-erotica asphyxiation session.

His third wife, Gail Jensen, has come forward telling the press the actor was into some strange things:

"David was pretty strange. He liked to get tied up. He would tie himself up and I would walk in and see him and say 'Oh my God, David, you got to be kidding me - and I would turn around and walk out.

I would leave him to his own sexual devices. He liked to be tied up. And he could tie himself up ... He spent days planning a different feature. He would go to a hardware store and buy the stuff."

Last week, a Thai publication called Thai Rath published what it said was the death photo taken by officials at the scene. The death picture showed a man hanging by his neck with his hands tied above his head. It is noy clear if the man hanging in the picture is Carradine.


Actor David Carradine Found Dead In Thailand - Hanging In A Closet

Kung Fu actor and celebrity David Carradine has been found dead in a Thailand hotel - naked with a rope around his neck.

An autopsy has been scheduled for Friday.

Carradine, 72, who was in Bangkok filming his latest movie, had commented back in 2004 that he had thought about suicide. But everybody around him on his current film project said he was in great spirits and in a good mood over the last days and weeks.

David had been staying at the Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel in Bangkok.

Reports have surfaced that a hotel maid found his naked body hanging inside a closet with a rope around his neck. Officials say he had been dead for at least 12 hours.

The actor had been busy, with no less then seven projects in their final stages of production, including "Night Of The Templar", about a Medieval Knight who is resurrected to fulfill his vow and bestow a blood-thirst vengeance upon the kindred spirits of those who betrayed him long ago.

According to an IMDB list of his projects, the actor has appeared in over 200 movie and television projects since 1963, becoming famous for his roles in "Kung Fu" and the Quentin Tarantino "Kill Bill" franchise.

In "Kill Bill - Vol. 2," (2004), his character comes face to face with Bill himself. The role brought Carradine a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor.

Carradine was a leading member of a respected Hollywood acting family that included his father, John Carradine and brother Keith.
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