This one was a good read!

A Case of Exploding Mangoes, by Mohammed Hanif

Mangoes meet mullahs in a fine political satire

Hanif's novel is really a series of darkly comic vignettes about the investigation of Obaid's disappearance and the preoccupations of General Zia and his generals. There are sharply observed sketches of toadying ministers, mindlessly efficient security chiefs, filthy prison cells, sex-mad Arab sheikhs and erudite communist prisoners (who hate Maoists more than mullahs).

Zia's limited intelligence and unlimited paranoia are portrayed with great glee. The only women of any significance are Zia's wife (who, after seeing a picture of her husband gazing into the cleavage of an American journalist, declares that he is dead to her) and a blind prisoner, sentenced to death by stoning because she had been raped. There is also a rather interesting mango-loving crow, who might have had something to do with several events.

Although framed as a mystery and ending with rational explanations for Obaid's disappearance and Zia's plane crash, A Case of Exploding Mangoes is less Le Carr (who praises the author's "lovely eye... and even better ear") than Private Eye. The tension does not build up until the final chapters and is then released far too quickly. The novel spends far more time exposing the stupidity, brutality and hypocrisy of Pakistan's military rulers. Whether such revelations can shock any longer is, of course, doubtful but as a piece of political satire,

A Case of Exploding Mangoes deserves a high mark.

No problem if ur cell phone is lashed with water.... :)

Hey guys... if your cellphones are a victim of rain water and have stop workn, do just worry about it i ll be tellin u some steps to get them back to life.

Following are da steps to be taken rite after its wet.

1. Dont panic take it out form da water asap.

2. Remove da phone's battery with in no time so that u can save it form any short circuit and after that remove da sim card, memory stick and da casing of your cellphone step by step.

3. Dry your cellphone with a help of towel but keep in mind dont shake it cause shaking can make water go to those areas where it havnt reach.

4. Now take a air proof pastic bag with some uncooked rice, leave ur cellphone in it, covering da cellphone wid rice and close da bag asuring tht air has escaped. Leave it for lyke over night or around 24 hours. Actually rice is a good absorbent of water, so it will absorb all da water form your cell phone.

5. Now check your cellphone, if its nt working properly then repeat da steps and it will be recovered.

Or if it doesnt start up check da battery cause its da most common problem by water damage

Thanks :)

I read books too :)

Songs of Blood and SwordWritten by Fatima Bhutto

In September 1996, a fourteen-year-old Fatima Bhutto hid in a windowless dressing room, shielding her baby brother while shots rang out in the streets outside the family home in Karachi. This was the evening that her father Murtaza was murdered, along with six of his associates. In December 2007, Benazir Bhutto, Fatimas aunt, and the woman she had publically accused of ordering her fathers murder, was assassinated in Rawalpindi.

It was the latest in a long line of tragedies for one of the worlds best known political dynasties.

Songs of Blood and Sword tells the story of a family of rich feudal landlords the proud descendents of a warrior caste who became power brokers in the newly created state of Pakistan. It is an epic tale full of the romance and legend of feudal life, the glamour and licence of the international political elite and ultimately, the tragedy of four generations of a family defined by a political idealism that would destroy them.

The history of this extraordinary family mirrors the tumultuous events of Pakistan itself, and the quest to find the truth behind her fathers murder has led Fatima to the heart of her countrys volatile political establishment.

It is the history of a nation from Partition through the struggle with India over Kashmir, the Cold War, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan up to the post 9/11 'War on Terror'. It is also a book about a daughters love for her father and her search to uncover, and to understand, the truth of his life and death.

It is a book about a family and nation riven by murder, corruption, conspiracy and division, written by one who has lived it, in the heart of the storm. Songs of Blood and Sword is a book of international significance by a young woman who has already established herself as a brave and passionate campaigner.

A new look horror flick

Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity takes a Blair Witch Project-style approach to storytelling, using 'footage' found after an event to reveal what took place. But while the Blair Witch Project filmmakers opted to keep the actual action (other than rock piles) off camera, Paranormal Activity shows us the goods.

What scares the participants also scares the audience.
Whether you're going to find Paranormal Activity a complete waste of time, a decent horror film, or the scariest movie ever depends on whether you think there's enough revealed by the time the film ends.

I'm plopping Paranormal Activity into the decent category. It didn't live up to all the prerelease hype; it's not the be-all, end-all of horror movies. But for what Oren Peli was able to accomplish with an $11,000 budget, Paranormal Activity should definitely be applauded. Peli wrote, produced, directed and edited the film and shows real talent and flair for storytelling, signaling the man's got quite a future in filmmaking (if he chooses his follow-up project wisely).

Illegal advertising in Pakistan

Pakistan (Islamic Republic of Pakistan) was established with great efforts and was attained after loss of valuable lives…the ideology was to gain a separate entity for Muslims (true believers of the religion, Islam) which condemns all illegal business practices. The reason behind quoting this from the Quran is to make us understand how unlawful and unethical business practices or illegal advertising can be! The modern era has forgotten most of the Islamic beliefs and we have moderated our values in our own benefit and this is what most of today`s companies’ have done to advertise their products or brands; in a manner that they forget the legal practices or legal ways to be followed.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has described a rather detailed code of conduct, for advertisers, cable operators and other such persons; according to which they must follow certain rules and regulations. These rules and regulations and the details of the ordinance can be viewed from their website. When I started my research for this article I came across the ordinance and was very much amazed that the content of certain ads and programs is illegal. Even I couldn’t believe that companies of such high repute are also very likely to indulge in illegal advertising. To make this whole article very clear let me first share the definition of an Advertisement as described by PEMRA. “Advertisement” means a set of visual and audio messages for the projection of a product, service, or idea with the object of propagating sale, purchase or hire of the product, service or idea and for creating other related effects.

Today however companies have started to use advertisements as a means of defaming each other. For example, the Jazz Ramadan offer ad, in which Azfar and Mani openly criticize Ufone’s similar offer. The ads of cellular companies are very fast moving and show ups like these leave a bad taste in the viewers’ minds. However this mal practice does not end here in fact it extends to the whole of the world, as not only local Pakistani companies but international companies of high repute are also indulgent in this menace.

In Section 20 of this same Ordinance now known as an Act, the authority has described a very clear and concise code of conduct especially for media advertisers. Following are some of the rules they have specified:

(a)    Ensure preservation of the sovereignty, security and integrity of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;

(b)   Ensure preservation of the national, cultural, social and religious values and the principles of public policy as enshrined in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;

(c)     Ensure that all programs and advertisements do not contain or encourage violence, terrorism, racial, ethnic or religious discrimination, sectarianism, extremism, militancy, hatred, pornography, obscenity, vulgarity or other material offensive to commonly accepted standards of decency.

(d)   During a regular program a continuous break for advertising shall not exceed three minutes and duration between two such successive breaks shall not be less than fifteen minutes.

With these three rules in mind there are a couple of ads that I may discuss here as examples of illegal advertisements.

Nowadays a lot of developmental projects are in progress and every now then we can see ads of these projects as well. Where can we see these ads; is a question that a few may ask; well nowadays every common household has Cable Channels and each of these channels show these ads. These ads are very vulgar and indecent however they are never protested against and go on running as long as the cable wishes to run them.

Similarly the ordinance prohibits discrimination of all sorts, however we still see ads of fairness creams, which not only openly discriminate against people with dark skins but also shape peoples’ perception of beauty which is rather illegal as well as unethical. No individual or company has the right to shape viewers perceptions, neither do they have the right to typecast and degrade people.

In this context I would also like to discuss the emerging trend of sanitary pads ads and ladies hair removing creams’ ads. Pakistan is an Islamic state and also the PEMRA Ordinance suggests that no vulgar, indecent and obscene ad should be shown on television. However it looks to me like advertisers and television channels either do not consider them obscene or they just want to indulge in illegal practices. Both of the forth mentioned products are girls only and their appearance on TV is discomforting for them; also these ads do not comply with Islamic values.

Also according to the PEMRA ordinance an advertisement should not be a means of false claims regarding a product. This practice of false claims is not new however advertisers often tend to use it for commercials of beauty soaps, detergents, anti bacterial soaps, cleaners etc. In these commercials, particularly those of anti bacterial soaps, companies claim to have conducted surveys of which no number is ever specified. Certain ads picture doctors recommending the advertised soap which is illegal not only in the profession of advertising but also in the profession of medicine. No doctor is allowed to prescribe soaps and even medicines of particular brands or companies.

Similarly the ordinance also says that during a program a continuous advertising break shall not exceed three minutes, and the minimum time interval between two breaks should be at least fifteen minutes, both these rules have been put aside by advertisers and television channels. Whilst watching a program it is very annoying to tolerate these ads.

I am not against advertising however they way advertising is being used in our country is very disturbing. Apart from government inaction we viewers are also suffering from self inaction and laziness. It is our right and duty to report such matters and take charge against this violation of rules, regulations and rights. Is it perfectly alright to criticize, ridicule and discriminate against dark skins? Can’t companies create awareness regarding the use of sanitary pads and hair removing creams without showing their ads on TV? Can’t companies just advertise their own product without criticizing their competitors? Can’t TV channel shorten the span of advertisement breaks? Can’t soaps, detergents and cleaners be used without doctor recommendations? The answer to all these questions is yes. However it is our laziness, inaction and ignorance that has let advertisers, companies and television channels take advantage and keep practicing their illegal practices. Even today if we want to stop them we can do so by lodging complaints with the PEMRA in the manner prescribed by their ordinance. It is never late than ever.

I find this very interesting and informative

For the love of arrogance

Up in the air

Up in the air is so much more than just a film. It is a reflection of the modern day society we live in. It is a realization of how inhumane and cold we’ve become under the pretext of being progressive, practical and professional. The film aptly uses irony to bring to our notice where the rat race and herd mentality can lead us to. Up in the Air is a film that defines the kind of people we’ve become today... how numb we have become towards our surroundings and thus the people surrounding us! It questions our philosophies and relationships in life in the wake of the current economic crunch.

Up in the Air is by far the most relevant film ever made on ‘life’ as we see it today.

Filmmaker Jason Reitman gives you a dose of reality by making you analyse your life through the eyes of Ryan Bingham (Clooney), a man on the move who believes in travelling light. Ryan is a man whom companies hire to fire their people because their bosses have no courage to do it. Ryan fires other people for a living but believes he does it with dignity. When Ryan is not depriving people of their jobs, he becomes a guest speaker and gives motivational speeches on ‘empty backpack’ to corporates.

Reitman impressively uses Ryan’s ‘empty backpack’ as a metaphor which deciphers Ryan’s real life, isolated from people and any kind of attachment to anything.

Based on the 2001 Walter Kirn novel of the same name, Up in the Air is a poignant tale on people, their beliefs and the choices they make. What makes this film stand out is its superb execution. The filmmaker uses comedy to bring out the most harsh tragedy of life (read, Anna’s beau dumps her through a text message which she finds horrible, but doesn’t realize how bad firing people could be!).

Unlike most romcoms, the film does not show Ryan as someone forced to live an isolated life. He is not a victim of dire circumstances or traumatised past. He is what he is and he does it by choice and in fact enjoys his lonely life until he falls in love...

Up in the Air is a must watch... real life, real people, real circumstances weren’t captured better on reel screen before.