Reality Bites

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Every once in a while, you hear one of those stories which halts you in your tracks and spins you right out of summer's easy living. This one stood out from all the headlines about the state of the economy and the health care reforms debate. Last week, an unlikely real life hero emerged from NYC. Charles Augusto 'Gus' Jr was in his office when four gun men stormed into his Harlem store on a sleepy afternoon in a hold-up attempt. And in a New York Minute, it suddenly changed -- the 72-year old Gus pulled out his own gun and fired -- two thugs died, and while the other two ran out, seriously injured, leaving a trail of blood. For a generation of city slickers fattened on a diet of re-runs of Survivor or Man V/S Wild, this one socks you in the guts. Gus shot because....

Reality Bites

0

Tweet

Every once in a while, you hear one of those stories which halts you in your tracks and spins you right out of summer's easy living. This one stood out from all the headlines about the state of the economy and the health care reforms debate. Last week, an unlikely real life hero emerged from NYC. Charles Augusto 'Gus' Jr was in his office when four gun men stormed into his Harlem store on a sleepy afternoon in a hold-up attempt. And in a New York Minute, it suddenly changed -- the 72-year old Gus pulled out his own gun and fired -- two thugs died, and while the other two ran out, seriously injured, leaving a trail of blood. For a generation of city slickers fattened on a diet of re-runs of Survivor or Man V/S Wild, this one socks you in the guts.Gus shot because....

No Entry

1

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Only the paranoid survive. But our Bollywood stars don't always get it--living in la la land most of the time, coddled by adoring fans and a fawning entourage, only to hit the ground after a little dust-up with those big bad meanies at the airport. The film star, for once, had to go through the same interrogation routine many other regular travellers face at the airport. Those baddies had the audacity to question a star who must not be held in the same interrogation room as other citizens of the world? They didn't recognise the Badshah of B-town? Tch, tch. How would they? It's tough enough keeping track of the season's American Idol star. So after Shah Rukh Khan's name triggered off an alarm in the system -- the guy at the desk was just doing his job, and being slightly paranoid kinda comes with it. Now if only SRK....

No Entry

0

Tweet

Only the paranoid survive. But our Bollywood stars don't always get it -- living in la la land most of the time, coddled by adoring fans and a fawning entourage, only to hit the ground after a little dust-up with those big bad meanies at the airport. The film star for once, had to go through the same interrogation routine many other regular travellers face at the airport. Those baddies had the audacity to question a star who must not be held in the same interrogation room as other citizens of the world? They didn't recognise the Badshah of B-town? Tch, tch.How would they? It's tough enough keeping track of the season's American Idol star. So after Shah Rukh Khan's name triggered off an alarm in the system -- the guy at the desk was just doing his job, and being slightly paranoid kinda comes with it. Now if only....

MJ@Twitter

3

Tweet

Michael Jackson--the first two English words I eva spoke. The future sucxs! That was artiste M.I.A's tweet on MJ's death. Twitter was awash with messages like these, slowing down Twitter for a while with the volume of traffic. Where were you when Kennedy died -- is the one question that every American a generation ago was inevitably asked. And now with Michael Jackson's death, the Twitter generation didn't need to ask that--you just knew, in an instant, wherever you were, in the subway, in the bus, or at Times Square where people traditionally gather for every occasion, or even no occasion really. Hey it didn't even matter where you were--MJ's death was all over the place even before the news came in--thanks to online sites, blogs and tweets. If you couldn't make it to Harlem's Apollo Theatre, where fans spontaneously gathered on hearing of his hospitalisation Thursday evening,....

MJ @ Twitter

0

Tweet

Michael Jackson -- the first 2 English words I eva spoke. The future sucxs! -- That was artiste M.I.A's tweet on MJ's death. Twitter was awash with messages like these, slowing down Twitter for a while with the volume of traffic. Where were you when Kennedy died -- is the one question that every American a generation ago was inevitably asked..And now with Michael Jackson's death, the Twitter generation didn't need to ask that -- you just knew, in an instant, wherever you were, in the subway, in the bus, or at Times Square where people traditionally gather for every occasion, or even no occasion really. Hey it didn't even matter where you were -- MJ's death was all over the place even before the news came in -- thanks to online sites, blogs and tweets. If you couldn't make it to Harlem's Apollo Theatre, where fans spontaneously....

Knocked Up

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You know the country's in trouble when the biggest topic of the day is about someone getting knocked up. Ok, so we've known that for a while now, but there's a new bun in the oven when it comes to wee problems jabbing at the nation. America's knocked up in so many ways that the best thing to do is to focus on the little problems, so that the bigger ones will magically disappear. So forget about the seriously knocked up economy, what's getting everyone's goat here is Sarah Palin's feud with talk show host and comedian David Letterman, who made a joke about the Governor's daughter getting, yes, knocked up by sports star Alex Rodriguez on their visit to a Yankees game in New York City recently. This war of words took on a new turn with Palin who suggested that her daughter would not be safe near the....

Obamas' Night Out

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It's the date that had one chaperon too many. US President Barack Obama's official date night with his lady, was a night out in New York--watched on by America, some shaking their heads disapprovingly like any well-intentioned parent would. Here in the Big Apple, Broadway was cordoned off and the normally blase New Yorkers cheered as the presidential motorcade made its way through. So as the First Couple's night in town--dinner at the Blue Hill Restaurant in Greenwich Village (locally produced organic food only, now that's an educated and very politically correct dining choice, only to be expected from the Os) followed by a Broadway play (Tony-nominated, nothing less) should have have had all groups smiling on, but oh no. As with everything, it's all about timing. Some naysayers have spoilt the O party by asking whether it was the right thing to do, with General Motors' bankruptcy....

Obamas' Night Out

0

Tweet

It's the date that had one chaperon too many. US President Barack Obama's official date night with his lady, was a night out in New York -- watched on by America, some shaking their heads disapprovingly like any well-intentioned parent would. Here in the Big Apple, Broadway was cordoned off and the normally blase New Yorkers cheered as the presidential motorcade made its way through. So as the First Couple's night in town -- dinner at the Blue Hill Restaurant in Greenwich Village (locally produced organic food only, now that's an educated and very politically correct dining choice, only to be expected from the Os) followed by a Broadway play (Tony-nominated, nothing less) should have have had all groups smiling on, but oh no. As with everything, it's all about timing. Some naysayers have spoilt the O party by asking whether it was the right thing to do,....

Luck By Chance

10

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It's not often that a reporter covering showbiz gets to ponder on the loftier ideals of life because some things, like red carpet chatter, are best left unexamined. But when faced with the unthinkable - like Paris Hilton getting the lifetime achievement award for saying, "That's hot," or Akshay Kumar getting presented with the Padma Shri, it gives us all a chance to toss the popcorn for a second, and think about the state of the nation and other such terribly important issues. Truth can be stranger than a Bollywood film without a script. First Kumar gets presented with an honorary Phd, then gets nominated for the best actor award. In industry-speak that would be called 'luck by chance.' Or in the real world, it would be an indication of how much we're enamoured with the circus that is Bollywood. Where a strange phrase on the back of....