Author Archives: A N N A

Our Bombay slugger as Cupid: who knew?

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jumping the broom not the shark.JPG Here. 🙂 Enjoy some light wedding fare:

AS the sun started to set over Miami Beach on March 19, Rita Nakouzi, a consultant on fashion and lifestyle trends, and Touré, a writer and pop culture commentator, were married on the sand behind the Raleigh Hotel in the South Beach area.
“O.K., who’s got the bling?” asked the Rev. Joseph Simmons, a Pentecostal minister, who was looking for the couple’s wedding bands. Also called Reverend Run, he is best known as a member of the pioneering rap group Run-DMC. The crowd of 120 included his brother, the hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; the CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien; and members of Miss Nakouzi’s family, who had flown in from Beirut, Lebanon, where the bride was born.
…”We fit very well together,” said Touré, a correspondent for CNN and a contributing editor to Rolling Stone magazine. “She’s somebody who can go with me from a 50 Cent concert to a Toni Morrison reading and be equally comfortable in both places.”

Wait, wait…don’t tell me. I know what you’re thinking– why should you care? Aside from the fact that Reverend Run is cool, that’s a fair question. Heck, why does the Mutiny care?

The answer lies within the story of how they met, during one magical night at a Lenny Kravitz video shoot at Limelight NYC: Continue reading →

Tragedy in Virginia- updated.

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In one of DC’s outlying suburbs, 52-year old Kiran V. Kadian was murdered yesterday.

Her husband, Dr. Rajesh Kadian–who has written books about India, Pakistan and Kashmir, angered Gurmit Singh Aulakh, lobbied on behalf of India and appeared on TV for his subcontinental expertise– found her body when he arrived at their home. Kadian was described by neighbors as “a lovely woman, a very devoted mother. She was very religious, spent a lot of time going back to India in the summers.”

From WaPo:

Kiran Kadian was stabbed several times in the upper body, Fairfax police spokeswoman Mary Mulrenan said last night. The couple has lived in the brick house on Thompson Ridge Court, just off Walker Road, since 1992, according to land records and neighbors, and they have two daughters and a son.
The daughters, both college graduates, do not live with their parents, but police said their brother, Jayant, does. Mulrenan said police were looking for the son to be sure he was safe. But the homicide detectives huddled outside his house last night were hoping to ask him questions about more than just his health.

A news report mentioned that there is some concern that Jayant Kadian might “harm himself”, adding to the urgency regarding finding him. The same neighbor who praised Mrs. Kadian stated that she had been trying to secure help for her only son’s mental health.

Police described Jayant Kadian as 6 feet 1 inch tall and 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. They said he may be driving a black 1994 Geo Prism with Virginia license plate ZHL-1262.

Continue reading →

Come join the Warner Brothers and the Warner sister Dot.

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24night.jpe Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan (better known by his first initial and/or his chosen middle name “Night”) has fled the magic kingdom.

Walt Disney has lost one of its brightest directors, M Night Shyamalan, to Warner Bros. Shyamalan was also one of its biggest moneymakers. His four films in a row for Disney have grossed?over $2 3 billion worldwidein theatrical receipts and video sales.
Creative differences over Shyamalan’s new project, Lady In The Water, led to the parting, Hollywood’s trade papers reported.

The uber-talented Philadelphian is a unique force in Hollywood; even his…um…critic-deemed flops (ahem, “The Village“) earn almost a quarter of a billion dollars worldwide. Speaking of that paranthetically mentioned flick, no major stars lent pixie dust to that production. As the linked article notes, it was our boy Manoj who drew moviegoers in, and that’s something that deserves props.

Shyamalan has steadily built a reputation for making films on medium size budgets of $50-$75 million by offering the stars part of the film’s gross. There was speculation last year that Fox had offered him to direct the Booker Prize winning novel Life Of Pi the studio had acquired about three years ago.

Perhaps he’ll cast someone vaguely Asian-looking to play pool-named protagonist Piscene Molitor Patel. One fervently hopes. After all, that comment thread is FUN.

I’ll close by enclosing the following priceless tidbit; apparently Rediff knows something about Pennsylvania that we don’t.

Shyamalan’s first film, a coming of age cross-cultural story, was shot in India. His subsequent films have been made in his home state of Philadelphia. The new movie would also be shot there. But if he takes up Life Of Pi, which has some of its crucial sequences set in India, he might have to visit the country of his birth and shoot there after nearly 14 years.

Hey, that’s fine with me. Philly’s the only part of PA I go to… 😉 Continue reading →

I could get high off this La.

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cover2.jpeOooh La La La…It’s the way that they rock when they’re doing their thang, oooh La La La…it’s the natural La that the Refugees bring…oooh La La La La La La Lalala La Lah…

In Kuala Lumpur, it was a sweet thing:

Former Fugess Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean reunited onstage on Friday at a concert in Malaysia to raise money for tsunami-devastated communities.

On the set list: hits like “Killing Me Softly,” “Ready or Not” and “Fu-Gee-La.” When I read the line-up of acts, I was reminded of last year’s Coachella; a reunited Pixies dominated the buzz there, I can see the Fugees doing the same at this show.

The pair joined performers including actor Jackie Chan, the Backstreet Boys, Black Eyes Peas and Boyz II Men before 15,000 fans at the seven-hour Forces of Nature event.

“Forces of Nature” raised $2.6 million dollars for tsunami-affected nations like Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India. Take a lesson, jack-asses at Hot 97.

…During an emotionally charged gig, Jean lead the crowd in a chant of “We’ll never forget the tsunami victims” and instructed the stadium lights to be turned off while crowd members waved lighted cell phones.

From his lips to our ears. Continue reading →

Begin the begin.

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a shrine to a stolen family building a fenceThe BBC has another series of excellent photographs that may be of interest to you. Unlike the last series I brought to your attention, the subject matter isn’t as joyful; these pictures depict life in a Tsunami camp.

To the left, a shrine that a fisherman created for his lost loved ones. To the right, 40-year old Parameswari builds a fence around her new home. She is the only person in her family to survive the tragedy.

Click either photograph to see the original story. Continue reading →

Beware Hail the size of cricket balls.

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I am a nerd. Due to this immutable fact, I love checking the Wikipedia main page on a near-daily basis.

Today, under the “Did you know…”/newest articles section, the following blurb immediately owned my attention:

…Skeleton Lake in India is named after the remains of approximately 600 people who died there in a sudden hailstorm…

Skeleton Lake?

Skeleton Lake is a lake in Roopkund in Uttaranchal (itself formerly part of Uttar Pradesh, India), the location of about three to six hundred skeletons in the Himalayas. The location is uninhabited and is located at an altitude of about 5,029 metres. The skeletons were discovered in 1942 when stumbled upon by a park ranger. At that time it was believed that the people died from an epidemic, landslides or a blizzard. The carbon dating from samples collected at that time in the 1960s vaguely indicated that the people were from the 12th century to the 15th century

Continue reading →

Aish to haters, “SUCK IT!”

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yeah i said suck it.jpgOkay, so she never said that. But as her self-appointed advocate, I’m going to brazenly make that statement on her behalf. Oh, whatever. Just read it.

She’s very happy and flattered by the attention she’s getting in the US for Bride, especially after the bashing the film and Ash got back home. “But we all know that was premeditated. Now, after seeing the response in the US, I feel like I’m back to where I was when I was starting out as Miss World ten years ago — the same attention and the unbiased critical overview. It feels wonderful and comforting.
“…The US has been wonderful. When I landed there for the promotion of Bride, everything happened so quickly! I was on David Letterman’s show, and then in Chicago recording for Oprah Winfrey.
“They wrote about my clothes and appearance, but not about my giggling which a part of the Indian press seems to be obsessed with. Honestly, this is how I’ve been all along!In fact, (photographer) Gautam Rajdhyaksha wrote about my giggling habit in his book several years ago. So it isn’t an overnight affectation which I’ve acquired as part of my image. Please! Grant me more substance than that!”
Substance is what Ash is looking for in her roles as actress and brand ambassador. Does it feel good to be carrying Bollywood to the West? “It sure does! But wasn’t I doing that all along, even when I was a model and Miss World?”

Of course you were, Aishu. Do your thang, girrrl, do your thang. Continue reading →

Let sleeping Moghuls lie…PLEASE.

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Taj

My initial reaction was, “you have GOT to be kidding me.”

An Indian Muslim charity has laid claim to the ownership of the world’s most famous monument to love, the Taj Mahal.
The Sunni Waqf Board controls all Muslim graveyards in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where the spectacular marble monument is located.

Since Muslims who AREN’T royals are buried at the Taj AND it contains a Mosque, the Sunni Waqf Board has a reason to pursue this obviously innocent and well-intentioned claim.

Whom can we blame for this latest bit of eye-roll-inspiring controversy? Wait for it…

The Sunni Waqf Board (SWB), a Muslim trust, was given ownership of Uttar Pradesh’s Muslim graveyards by the Indian government itself.

Right.

There wouldn’t be some financial motivation for this surprising development, would there? Noooo. Couldn’t be.

Mr Usman said once the ownership issue had been decided, the board would demand that 7% of the total earnings from tickets should be transferred to its coffers.

Here’s my favorite part:

He said the board did not stake a claim to the monument earlier as it had not wanted to enter into any controversy.

They were correct! There is no controversy at all. My ocular muscles (and my potential for disbelief) are taxed. Oh, Shah Jahan…what has your legendary love wrought? Continue reading →