Thursday, April 22, 2010

“Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - Planet Xbox 360” plus 2 more

“Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - Planet Xbox 360” plus 2 more

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - Planet Xbox 360

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 11:28 PM PDT

Based on the Cartoon Network series and collaborating directly with Lucasfilm Animation, Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes allows players to take up arms on behalf of the noble Galactic Republic, while pursuing the mysterious bounty hunter Cad Bane and combating the all-new Skakoan super villain Kul Teska.

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes allows players to fight as both Jedi Knights and Clone Troopers through over 30 unique missions, all created incorporating the same ground-breaking, stunning visual style from the TV series. Featuring a brand-new storyline, players will get the chance to take part in the key events that lead directly into the highly anticipated second season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Jedi characters can slice and dice their way through countless enemies, commandeer droids and show off their combat prowess on foot and in a variety of vehicles. Clone Troopers fire things up with a heavy weapons armament that includes rocket launchers, thermal detonators and even jet packs in levels built specifically to take run-and-gun gameplay to exciting levels.

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Great children's books to celebrate nature and our ... - Examiner

Posted: 22 Apr 2010 12:18 AM PDT

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On Earth Day, take a moment to relax and celebrate the outdoors and our beautiful planet with these books for children.  Just as reading a book opens up a whole new world, walking down a path and discovering a crawling bug can be a fascinating discovery for a child.

From recycling to habitat stewarship, from ocean heroes to honey bees, these books all have one thing in common. They will foster in your child an interest in their surrounding nature and reinforce the message we hear more and more: we have to love our Earth. It's our planet, let's take care of it. Bedtime, nap time and down time all are perfect opportunities to dive deep into the pages of these wonderful books.

This weekend, take the experience a step further and go for a walk around your neighborhood or at your local park, visit an aquarium, spend some time in your yard. Now here comes the list of recommended reading.

Books for infants and toddlers

 With very young children, books are as much about play as they are about content, which explains why a lot of them hide irresistible play features. In My Pond is part of a new series of vibrant board books introducing several animals represented as finger puppets in their middle. As you guide your little one through the book, the fish in his pond will swim and sway on splashy blue water. Don't be surprised if you have to read the book over and over.

For budding builders learning to finetune their fine motor skills, This Is Our World (pictured above) is an interactive book where each page contains the embedded piece of a puzzle. Collect them all, read how children around the world can help protect the planet, and make two puzzles at the end.

Other books are green even before you start reading them. Don't Throw That Away! is made entirely from recycled materials and teaches the ABCs of recycling to the youngest of us in a fun way. Each page presents a different object commonly found in trash cans. Does it really need to be there though? Let your child lift the flap and she will out what else the item can be used for. See how an old jug can become a bird feeder and get ready for fun craft activities.

When you child can walk and itches to go outside to explore the world, All Around Me I See is the best preparation you can think for an upcoming hike or camping trip. Showing a little girl who discovers the magic of the woods with her parents on a camping trip, this great book has few words and beautiful images, making it the ideal combination for young adventurers. You might even be tempted into organizing a family camping trip this summer.

If you have a little gardener on your hands, Who's in The Garden? is just right for you. This Peek-A-Boo book opens on a garden growing with lush vegetables and bright flowers. Oh my, this garden is a popular spot with the local wildlife! Through a hole in each page, your child will discover a different animal peeking through. Now turn the page and find out what the animal is doing in the garden. The collage illustrations are bound to delight young and old.

Books for preschoolers

In the environmental cooking section, Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth wins all awards! Making composting fun with rhymes and slimy items that will make your children go "eeeuuuww" more than once, this book is fantastic. Did you know that teabags could be composted? What about seashells? If ever there was a hilarious educational A to Z to understand the dirt on composting, this is the one. No more excuses for tea bags!

We all know the spiritual "We've got the whole word in our hands" but with this version, the song takes on a whole new meaning. Whole World is a book and CD that  will get your toes and feet tapping on verses about the various eco-systems of our planet. If birthday parties are in your near future, the Whole World gift set is a great present packed with fun activities and the book in a reusable tote bag.

The buzz about honey bees can be found in the book In The Trees Honey Bees, a book that's as informative on our precious backyard pollinators as it is interesting to read. Yes, an average colony has 15,000 to 50,000 worker bees and yes too, you can keep savoring honey on your oatmeal because just as in Aesop's tale, honey bees are industrious insects that store pounds and pounds of honey to survive during the winter and spring months. If you're dying to know more about the honey cycle from flower pollen to wax honeycombs, don't hesitate and get the book. The back pages include references to child-friendly resources about bees. 

Books for the school set

Who can resist a poem about a forest that could keep secrets? A cloud-cat lapping with lightening tongue the moon-milk from the sky? The Sun in Me: Poems About the Planet is a compilation of poems about all the things we love about earth, written by authors from all over the world. From a poem written by the Ancient Greece author Sappho to a traditional Albanian riddle or to sonnets by the Victorian poet Emily Dickinson, these pages will inspire your child to play with sounds and rhythms in words.

Lovers of folk tales, rejoice. A Forest of Stories: Magical Tree Tales from Around the World tells the story of magical trees that shape people's lives. From the chestnut tree that provides shade and a husband to a Japanese young woman to the cherry blossom tree that was hidden by chameleons in the garden of an Indian king, the stories are unusual and enchanting. A great bedtime read to prepare for dreams about trees that talk and move.

Do you have an active child who loves to do things, solve mysteries and go through activity books? Simple Steps Toward a Healthier Earth is the perfect companion to a green-minded day, packed with activities that will educate as well as entertain your young activists. If your child can read, he will enjoy deciding which school lunch is the best choice or matching stickers (included) with labels. Otherwise you can bring the book along to the grandparents' so they can have an environmental blast together.

Global Warming is the ultimate introduction to a subject that still puzzles and concerns scientists all over the world. Written by award-winning science author Seymour Simon in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, the book explores what we know about global warmng and what we can do about it. A great non-fiction book, Global Warming will inspire lively discussions at home at dinner time or in the car.

We all need heroes and children just as much as (if not more than) adults, especially if they are starting to forge their personality and discover who they really are. The Earth Heroes series talks about the people who make things happen, the behind-the-scenes life experiences that draw the public's attention on little known facts of universal importance. Earth Heroes: Champions of the Oceans is one the books that could turn your child's life around, creating a lifelong passion for the environment .. and maybe a new career path too? Some heroes are world-famous like Jacques-Yves Cousteau, but others like Eugenie Clark the shark lady deserve a spotlight to showcase their incredible work and dedication.

 If you know of any great books for children to celebrate nature, email the author of this article or leave a comment below to share your books with others. On that note, happy reading!

 

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Sendhil apprehensive about mouthing Hindi in Bollywood - Real Bollywood

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 11:28 PM PDT

April 21, 2010: This week when American NRI actor Sendhil Ramamurthy flew down to Mumbai he was in for a real shocker. His debut film in the Indian film industry, It's A Wonderful Afterlife is being dubbed in Hindi.

Sendhil's thick but gracious American accent is a dead giveaway. He is not at all familiar with our national language and yet he will be seen spouting rapid fire Hindi dialogues in It's A Wonderful Afterlife.

Sendhil doesn't hesitate in expressing his displeasure. "I just heard about the dubbed version. I kind of hate it. I was clueless that there was going to be a Hindi version. I'm boggled and not too happy to hear that I will be speaking in Hindi. I've heard myself speak French, Japanese, Polish and many other languages that my TV series Heroes was dubbed in. It sounds weird and takes away from the performance. Now I'm about to hear myself in Hindi. I wish they had just inserted Hindi sub-titles."

The actor's maiden Bollywood film Shor, produced by Ekta Kapoor, has him verbalizing in English. "My character is supposed to mouth a smattering of bad Hindi in Shor. I have exactly fifteen words in Hindi in Shor. Trust me, I've counted them. In fact I even tried to cut it down. I had thirty Hindi words to begin with and I campaigned to get them reduced by half. I must be the only actor in the world who has actually asked for my lines to be cut."

Sendhil says he doesn't see any incongruity in being a Bollywood actor who can't speak Hindi. "When I was here the last time my producer Ekta Kapoor had thrown a party for me to meet the Bollywood actors and actresses. When I apologetically confessed that I can't speak in Hindi they said, 'Neither do we.' I've to be realistic about what I can expect from my so-called Bollywood career. I can't play a fluent Hindi-speaking hero. I wasn't born and raised in India. So a full-fledged Bollywood career is out of question. However, there so many genres of films being made in Bollywood."

Sendhil's second language is Kannada since his father is from Karnataka. "My mother is a Tamil and my dad is a Kannada. I can barely manage the latter and I don't know Hindi at all. For those 15 words in Shor, I had a Hindi tutor. I memorized them on my iPod while on my treadmill or driving."

Speaking about the extensive media exposure, Sendhil says, "I do have a responsibility to promote a film when I am in it. I've to rush back to commence work on a new American television serial, Covert Affairs from April 20. I wouldn't be in India for the premiere of Gurinder's film and that disappoints me. I wanted to be here for the premiere. I did try to accommodate it."

Talking about Covert Affairs, where Sendhil essays the protagonist, he says, "I get to play a character very different from what I play in Heroes. It's a childhood fantasy come-true. I'll be running around shooting guns. I don't only get to play out an action fantasy; I even get paid for it. I'm excited because I play an American CIA agent. It isn't an Indian character. I'm trying not to do culture-specific roles which are very difficult.

Coming back to It's A Wonderful Afterlife Sendhil says, "It's a fun film. I hope people enjoy it. Nobody can accuse Gurinder of making the same film twice."

Sendhil is all praise for his co-star Shabana Azmi. "Shabana and I have kept in touch post shoot. My parents are her huge fans. When I was shooting with her in the UK they actually flew over from the United States to meet her. Shabana was so warm and generous with my folks."

Sendhil is married to actress Olga Sosnovska. "I met her in London at a drama school. She's a British-Polish. We have two children. I make sure the family travels with me when I'm shooting outside the US. They were with me throughout in the UK while filming Gurinder's film. It's difficult to co-ordinate their schedules with mine. Luckily I've the means to fly them wherever I can."

Sendhil is pleased with his children's cosmopolitan upbringing. "They speak Polish with my wife. They attend a French school and my parents converse with them in Kannada. So either my children are going to be amazingly cosmopolitan or they'll just be confused. I'll let you know."

– Subhash K Jha / Sampurn


Categories: Bollywood News and Gossip

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