Latest news about arts and humanities and books and more

With not much space outside for kids to play, the kids should not limit their physical activity. With such a wide range of products available today you can design a perfect getaway for your kids in a separate room.

There are online stores which offer game tables which you can keep in your game rooms, these also supply home fitness equipment. Your kid’s room can have game tables for air hockey, pool, shuffle board, table tennis. There are 3 in 1, 4 in 1, 9 in 1 and also 14 in1 multi game tables also. These game tables have pool, table tennis, push hockey, football, bowling, chess, backgammon, shuffle board, and draughts with all the accessories included.

While buying, care should be taken to ensure that these are of good height and ergonomically designed otherwise these are bad for kids posture when he will be spending much time on playing games. Stores selling home fitness equipment also keep these game tables. These game tables will liven up your game room and kids will be happy spending hours inside the room. The game room can have kid games like board games, strategy games, and RC toys, classic games like monopoly, scrabble, and trivial pursuit. Even adults can play these games with kids which teach them very important lessons of life.

I seem to be getting so many invitations at the moment. I love going out to places but sometimes wonder how, in this time of economic crisis, how people can afford to have parties and celebrations. I am not begrudging them, I mean it is nice to have something else to think about rather than the state of the world economy and one`s own bank balance but by throwing a party you are likely to be worrying about it even more in the future. I have received two party invitations just this week and I am worrying about the expense of buying a present and a new outfit – goodness know how the people throwing the party will afford everything that they will need.

I guess I should just decide to enjoy it and not worry about that sort of thing for them. I am hoping that I can get a new outfit that will suit both of these parties. I have also received a graduation invitation and if I decide to go, I am hoping that it will be suitable for that as well. Goodness there is so much going on lately and so much socialising to do, it should be great fun!

I am looking for a DVD player to buy for my husband for his birthday. Ours has been ruined by the children stuffing all sorts of things in to t and it makes a nasty noise when it plays DVD’s which is not good. I figured that rather than tell him that the children have broken it, I will buy him a Taiyo Yuden DVD which is one that he has wanted for ages and pretend that it was a special treat to replace the cheap one that we bought before because we were skint.

Hopefully he will not see through my plan and will be so overawed by the DVD Yuden that he will not even bother about chucking the old one away. I will have to make sure that the children look after the new one or perhaps that they are not allowed to touch it at all. Although I can be a bit heavy handed with things myself – maybe I should keep the old one for me and the boys and let my husband be the only one allowed to touch the new one!

In her Bollywood career spanning almost eight years, actress Kim Sharma has managed just one hit - ‘Mohabbatein’ - and she has no qualms admitting that it might be a result of her wrong selection of films.

New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) ‘I have possibly made wrong choices in the films that I’ve done. But I feel as an actor, I can only do my job. I can’t control people’s reactions. And I don’t spend any time wondering why a certain film goes wrong. It’s okay,’ Kim said.

After making her debut in Aditya Chopra’s ‘Mohabbatein’ in 2000, Kim followed it up with films like ‘Tumse Achcha Kaun Hai’ (2002), ‘Fida’ (2004) and ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’ (2006). But these were not well received at the box office.

The model-turned-actress is, however, positive about her acting career.

‘I’m not unhappy with my career. I am a practical person and I do understand that it is all a part of learning. Whatever I’ve done till now, I’ve done it on my own without anyone’s help and I’m well aware of the mess-ups I have made in my career,’ she said.

Home entertainment trendsetters Netflix Inc. and TiVo Inc. are finally joining forces to deliver more movies and old TV episodes to their mutual subscribers, consummating a relationship that was supposed to come together four years ago.

Under the partnership announced Thursday, the latest generation of TiVo’s digital video recorders will be able to beam selections from 12,000 movies and TV shows offered through Netflix’s streaming service, which must be piped over high-speed Internet connections. TiVo’s DVRs will start catering to Netflix subscribers in early December.

The collaboration fulfills a promise made in 2004 when DVR pioneer TiVo and online DVD rental trailblazer Netflix set out to develop a system for delivering video directly over the Internet. But they got sidetracked after Netflix couldn’t work out licensing deals with movie and TV studios.

By the time Netflix cleared the licensing hurdle and launched its Internet streaming service 21 months ago, the two companies had decided to pursue other partners.

But a reconciliation was inevitable, according to the leaders of Netflix and TiVo, whose Silicon Valley headquarters are about 18 miles apart.

“It’s just a natural pairing and we are thrilled to finally be working with them,” said Reed Hastings, Netflix’s chief executive officer.

“I don’t think there is any question we have gotten more frequently than, `What about TiVo and Netflix working together?’” said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers.

Coming off the first back-to-back quarterly profits in its 11-year history, TiVo is betting its ties to Netflix and other content providers like Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc.’s YouTube will help distinguish its $299 DVRs from the generic recorders peddled by cable TV providers.

Alviso-based TiVo ended July with 3.6 million subscribers and Los Gatos-based Netflix ended with 8.7 million subscribers. The streaming service is available at no extra charge to any Netflix subscriber paying at least $8.99 per month for DVD rentals — a prerequisite that most customers meet.

TiVo will join other companies that sell devices that make it easier for Netflix’s streaming service to be shown on a TV set instead of a computer.

Since Silicon Valley startup Roku Inc. introduced a $100 player tailored for Netflix’s streaming service five months ago, Microsoft Corp. has agreed to tweak its video game console, the Xbox 360, so it can draw from Netflix’s Internet library beginning next month. And both LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics are selling Blu-ray DVD players compatible with Netflix’s streaming service.

Netflix eventually hopes to have its streaming service on dozens of devices, including TVs with built-in wireless connections to the Internet.

The growing selection of streaming devices could help boost Netflix’s profits by causing subscribers to request fewer DVDs. Each DVD rental makes a round trip through the postal service that costs Netflix 84 cents, so fewer requests will lower expenses — just as management is striving to save money to offset slowing revenue growth.

Netflix still has to pay movie and TV studios licensing fees for the streaming rights, but that doesn’t cost as much as mailing DVDs, said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter.

“Netflix has really stumbled upon something that’s pretty clever,” Pachter said. “It’s kind of a win for everyone because the customer gets the instant gratification of watching a movie over the Internet, studios get more licensing fees and Netflix saves money.”

As one sits through a fashion show, one might become more fascinated by the sound of music on the runway than the bodies parading clothes. Show music is not just a boredom-buster; it is often highly strategic, used by designers to let the audience know where they’re headed.

Runway rhythm helps in understanding the philosophy and aesthetics of a designer. The thump, thump, thump in the background often conveys as much meaning as the cut or colour of a dress.

Like the fashion it supports, the music, too, has a trend. On the global runways, we have seen the music changing from the usual electronic stuff to more retro sounds.

Our designers at the Delhi Fashion Week (DFW) and the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) are in tune with the changes. Designer Prashant Verma explains it best: “I am using John F Kennedy’s speech on the moon mission where he talks about the challenges of space.

Then I am adding the opening sequence of BR Chopra’s Mahabharata - ‘Main Samay Hoon’ - and a narrative that strings together man’s thirst to conquer when all he needs is love.” Edgy music for edgy designs.

Top choreographer Aparna Bahl, who is doing 20-plus shows in WIFW, says, “We are using a blend of vocal retro or pop, interspersed with electro sounds.” She emphasises that choosing music is done in tandem with the designer.

“A blend of classical with new sounds, which is breezy, light and happy, is my choice of music this season,” she states. Designer Gaurav Gupta’s pick is experimental IDM (intelligent dance music).

“It is nostalgic, light and quirky. It’s reflective of my collection and DJ Jayant is brilliant at it,” he says.

DJs Jayant and Gaurav do most of the music at the fashion weeks. And the two have provided lots of African percussion beats for Ranna Gill’s show.

The designer says, “Music for my show is very sexy, very Nirvana!” Gauri and Nainika Karan, the designer duo, are using Western classical by Vivaldi, Rachmaninov and Mozart, reinterpreted by DJ Gaurav Raina. Vineet Bahl is using 80s tracks from Pet Shop Boys, Jimmy Somerville and Prince to create a sound that’s alive and fun.

Aravind Adiga’s Booker Prize-winning tale of the son of a rickshaw puller who dreams of escaping poverty rings true in India, where 800 million of its billion-plus population live on about 50 U.S. cents a day.

But for young, urban Indians, perhaps even more compelling is his real-life story of trying to find an apartment in Mumbai, notorious for its high rentals and finicky landlords who detest pets, meat-eaters and, in particular, says Adiga, single men.

In a widely-read column in the Guardian newspaper recently, Adiga, 33, who won the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday for his debut novel “The White Tiger”, wrote of the travails of a bachelor in Mumbai, or one who did not work for a big multinational or had a wife in some distant city to lend him a veneer of respect.

“Making things worse is that I describe myself as a “writer”, a category that doesn’t mean anything to the landlords of Mumbai,” wrote Adiga, who found an apartment in a neighbourhood that he did not particularly like after two weeks of hunting.

Adiga, who was born in Chennai and grew up there and in Mangalore before he emigrated with his family to Sydney, will now be able to afford a fancier pad with the 50,000-pound ($87,000) cheque he received on Tuesday.

“This will transform his life,” said Karthika V.K., chief editor of Harper Collins, which published the novel in India, speaking by phone from the book fair in Frankfurt.

It is a “powerful story of the darker side of contemporary India”, Karthika said, describing Adiga as “quiet, reclusive”, someone who shunned elaborate launches and public readings for the book, opting instead to do just a few interviews by e-mail.

“It was all about the book,” Karthika said.

NO STOPPING

“The White Tiger” is the story of Balram Halwai, the son of a rickshaw puller, whose dream of escaping the poverty of his village takes him to the bright lights of Delhi and Bangalore.

“I felt a jolt of recognition when it arrived as a manuscript … it spoke directly to me,” Karthika said.

“And the writing is also the sort that walks off the page.”

The hardcover book had already sold about 20,000 copies in India, she said, making it a best-seller in a country where sales of English-language books are still miniscule.

“Now there will be no stopping it,” she said.

Adiga, a former Time magazine correspondent, was the bookmakers’ favourite to win the prize, whose shortlist also included India’s Amitav Ghosh for “Sea of Poppies”.

Adiga, who wanted to be a novelist since he was little, graduated in English Literature from Columbia University and then went to Magdalen College, Oxford, on a scholarship for an M.Phil. in English literature.

He began his career as a journalist with the Financial Times, working in Washington D.C. and New York, returning to India in 2003 as a correspondent for Time. He then turned freelance.

It was only the third time in the Booker’s 40-year history that a debut novel had won the award; India’s Arundhati Roy had won in 1997 for her “God of Small Things”.

Adiga is also one of the youngest winners of the prize for the best novel each year by a writer from Britain, Ireland or a Commonwealth country, and may open the door further for aspiring writers in India, where English is still regarded as the preserve of the middle and upper classes.

“There is a certain parity now between writing from India and writing from elsewhere,” Karthika said.

“It’s no longer regarded as exotic, and that’s a recognition of the range and the depth of writing from India now.”

Amitabh Bachchan turns 66 this Saturday but he spent his birthday in unfortunate circumstances in Mumbai.

Big B has been taken to Mumbai’s Nanawati Hospital after complaining of stomach pain. Abhishek and Aishwarya were with him in the hospital.

Bachchan at 66

The living legend, currently shooting for ‘Teen Patti’ directed by Leena Yadav, took a break from shooting to spend the day with his grand children who have come over from Delhi for their Dussehra-Diwali vacation. Bachchan has completed the shooting for ‘Alladin’ and ‘Shoebite’.

Eager to catch a glimpse of their matinee idol, hordes of fans from all over the country stationed themselves outside his bungalow ‘Jalsa’ in suburban Mumbai while the television media was also present in the area for sound bite and stories. Over the years on his birthday, the Bollywood superstar comes out of his house to greet the fans.

This year has been an eventful one for the Big B. He had releases like ‘Sarkar Raj’, ‘God Tussi Great Ho’, ‘Bhootnath’ and ‘The Last Lear’. Besides, ‘The Unforgettable Tour’ was his biggest world concert in several years in which he was accompanied by his family - son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya.

The tour, spanning over a month, covered the US and Europe. But, the highlight was that the Big B turned blogger. His blog has been the most visited and read with keen interest

by the media and fans. Controversies and criticism had their fair share in Bachchan’s life. He was accused of illegally acquiring agriculture land in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, by claiming to be a farmer.

He, however, later got a clean chit from the Allahabad High Court. Bachchan was also embroiled in another land row in Maharashtra.

Bachchan became the prime target of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s tirade against North Indians living in Mumbai and other parts of the state.

Raj accused the superstar of being more inclined towards Uttar Pradesh, where he was born, than Maharashtra, where he achieved stardom.

He also criticised the Big B for setting up a girl’s school, named after Aishwarya Rai, in Barabanki. Bachchan avoided making any comments against Raj, but, his actress-MP wife Jaya Bachchan took potshots at the MNS leader.

Last month, Jaya Bachchan faced the MNS ire for speaking in Hindi at the music launch of her son Abhishek’s film ‘Drona’ in Mumbai. Big B later apologised to end the controversy arising out of Jaya’s remark at the function.

An Australian academic claims to have found evidence to suggest that the wife of Johann Sebastian Bach wrote several of the German composer’s acclaimed pieces.

With over 30 years of research and applying more recent training from forensic police, Associate Professor Martin Jarvis says he can clearly show that Anna Magdalena Wilcke, Bach’s second wife, wrote several of the manuscripts previously credited to her famous husband.

“I don’t doubt that the ‘cello suites’ are not written by Johan Sebastian,” Jarvis, who is also conductor of the Darwin Orchestra, told Reuters.

The self-styled music detective became suspicious about Bach’s work when he was a teenaged student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. While playing Bach’s “cello suites” he became convinced there was something wrong.

“In 2001, I deconstructed the ‘cello’ pieces and came up with 18 reasons why they weren’t written by Bach,” Jarvis said.

Over the years, he said he found two famous 1713 Bach manuscripts in Anna Magdalena’s handwriting.

“When you consider I found manuscripts that pre-date by seven years when she was supposed to have met him, you have to ask yourself what’s going on here,” Jarvis told Reuters.

His final breakthrough came when he obtained a copy of a manuscript. Applying forensic analysis, he examined it thoroughly and found the inscription “Ecrite par Madam Bachen” on the manuscript’s cover in the handwriting of a musician friend of Bach’s. The word means “written by”, not “copied by”.

“When you are looking for a fingerprint, to put it in a forensic sense, of how you might identify somebody, I found them,” Jarvis said.

“So you bring all these bits together and there seems to be overwhelming evidence that she was involved,” Jarvis said.

Bach married Anna Magdalena in 1721. He died in 1750.

Hollywood actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood says superstar Angelina Jolie’s good looks have ruined her career.

The veteran said her skills were sometimes overlooked despite her talent because of people’s concentration on her sex appeal instead, reports dailymail.co.uk.

“I’ve always admired her talent. She’s somewhat hampered sometimes by having the most gorgeous face on the planet,” Eastwood said.

“She’s on covers and all that stuff. But she is a great talent, and it would be easy to overlook that, except after seeing it you realise that she is this great, talented person,” he added.

Jolie stars in Eastwood’s latest film “Changeling” - 1920s Los Angeles-based drama.

She plays a mother whose nine-year-old son is kidnapped.