By Aniqa Moinuddin
Sure; nice, simple, well-groomed nails are sufficient for a good sophisticated image. But sometimes it's just fun to get creative with your nails…jazz 'em up a bit, and by that I don't just mean painting on a colour that matches your outfit. Following are some conventional and some unconventional ways of having fun with nails:
French Manicure: This is the simplest route to chic nails. Apply white nail polish (not solid white that tends to look like white ink; softer whites) on the top part of the nail and finish with a few coats of transparent nail polish. It's a life saviour for those who have nails that easily tend to get transparent after staying in water. Additional benefit being that it goes with virtually everything!
Nail stickers: These can be found at reasonable rates in most places. However wearing them on each and every nail often looks over-done. So putting them on nails of alternative fingers might help get rid of that 'weighed down' look, particularly for small nails. Another interesting accessory that could be used like a nail sticker is a glue-on stud (you know the ones that are often used as fake nose studs, except they never stay put; using nail glue will get rid of that problem in this case) Devising a pattern with several of these should be very eye catching. However in this experiment whites are definitely safer than multi colours.
Nail pierce: First of all it's not as scary as it sounds! The extra bit of nail that is grown is pierced (a hot needle can be used and forced through in circular movements) and then a very tiny hoop is put into it, with a tinier pendant. These hoops can't be bought off the stores here and so you might need to use a part of an old earring. It sounds crazy but believe me it looks really awesome.
More than one colour: This one can hardly ever be passed on as conventionally fashionable but just works as being uniquely stylish. My friend recently decided to try 'dinosaur eggs' as a concept for her nails; black background and lime polka dots. It might not be a celebrity fashion statement, but you know what it was definitely FUN. Black and white psychedelic patterns are also interesting and to some extent less daring so can be an amateur's experiment on nail art.
But before you go crazy with the nail polish keep a remover handy …ALWAYS! As fun as crazy nails are at a café with friends, we don't want to end up in a 'biye' in a sari and dinosaur eggs for nails…or even worse: chipped dinosaur eggs (result of desperate measures).
Review by Gokhra
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| Big spiky shouldered robots, puny men with guns, lots of car chases, truck chases, robot chases and some more chases. Where’s the rickshaw? |
Cast:
Sam Witwicky - Shia LaBeouf
Sgt. Epps - Tyrese Gibson
Sgt. Lennox - Josh Duhamel
John Keller - Jon Voight
Glen Whitmann - Anthony Anderson
Mikaela Banes - Megan Fox
Robots are so cool. They define cool especially when they can turn into all kinds of useful things such as a hot yellow Chevrolet Camaro. Turning into a mobile potty on the other hand is not so cool. Luckily this movie has tons of the former and none of the latter.
Those of you who don't know much about these transforming robots don't now what you are missing. But even if you are not part of the big Transformers fan scene, this movie will not leave you clueless.
Transformers is one of the most anticipated movies this year and it is also one of the loudest and at times quite scary. Director Michael Bay did a brilliant job at turning this destructive mayhem into a spellbinding experience.
The plot:
The plot is great I bet Mood Dude would love to be part of it. It's all about a boy and his Camaro that too a classic. For those who are wondering, yes, it is a car and a glorious one at that although the one in the movie is a bit ratty looking. The Camaro is a robot, a Transformer if you may, that helps the boy win over the hottest girl in his class. And the car is a good transformer. That means there are bad Transformers. They are so bad they want to rid the world of puny humans.
The bad guys are known as Decepticons who manage to bust up the good guys (known as Autobots) pretty heavily near the opening sequence. The military obviously have no idea what to do except maybe for a bunch of no-good civilians. That comprises of a group of computer geniuses/hackers Anthony Anderson and Rachael Taylor, who understand and describe to the military what these robotic forces are all about.
The verdict:
First of all the movie is rated PG-13. Now that is a bit of a stretch as a result of which many people would think it is ok for under 10 year olds to watch. It is probably not. This is a complex, over the top, action packed movie that will engross and then stupefy you with the amount of destruction and malevolence on offer. And that's all actually a good thing.
The story line is quite brilliant but then again so was the actual cartoon series that spawned it. It's a winning formula with humans triumphing against unbeatable odds (albeit with the help of some friendly shape changing robots).
Some characters have been updated to include modern vehicles like Bumblebee becoming a prototype Camaro instead of a yellow bug. There are fights and then there are fights. It's packed with every imaginable chase scene and then there are the neatly interwoven human element stories. There is plenty of action and Transformers fans won't be left wanting. But the sight of such huge machines in intricate detail is at times quite imposing. Makes you thankful they can never be real.
This movie tops the scale graphically, aurally and story wise. Can't get any better.
By Mood Dude
Vroom!
Every console has one driving game that becomes the must-have title for car freaks all over the world. PlayStation has Gran Turismo and Xbox has Forza Motorsport. What's PC got? Need for Speed. Admittedly it's a game available for all consoles but the PC is where it started.
Needless to say there is yet another one coming in a few months and hands are already itching to hit the accelerator button. EA announced Need for Speed™ ProStreet where go head to head against the hottest racers from all over. Bet that sounds familiar but it's quite different.
ProStreet takes on the familiar gaming cues along with an introduction of something missing since the fifth in the series damage modeling. Dents, scratches and pitted body panels show off your aggression or lack of driving finesse. Parts do go flying. Checkout the trailer in www.youtube.com and salivate for a while.
The game will also make extensive use of Autosculpt™ technology to not just modify the looks in any which way but also this time tweaking the styling will also directly impact the car's performance. And best of all, it will be available on just about every single platform.
The list of over 40 cars is quite drool worthy. The Nissan GT-R prototype makes a first time appearance in a game as well as 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer EVOLUTION IX MR-edition,
True classics include muscle such as 1970 Plymouth(r) Hemi(r) Cuda and my personal favorite iconic 1986 Toyota Corolla GTS AE86. You'll see the 1995 Mazda RX-7 in the trailer. It's a mix and match of old, new and exotic.
Feed the need for speed
PC gamers would need a lot of juice to run the coolest games coming up soon. The latest hot stuff on the market is Diamond's Radeon 2900 XT with 1GB memory. That's the max amount of memory for a graphic board so far.
That is in consideration that even 512MB cards aren't the majority yet. Most people make do with 128 or 256MB. Based on the Radeon HD 2900 XT chipset, this card packs a whopping 1GB of GDDR4 memory. Last I checked, Nvidia had a 1GB desktop card but that used two GPUs. Single GPU cards maxed at 768MB.
It's the bets for those demanding the best. At least till next week or so when it becomes last weeks news. .
By Reggie, Khaled Chowdhury and Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
Imagine. It's a dark night. Not a moonless one, but you can't see the moon because it's hidden behind the clouds. You're tired, of life, of its demands and with what it has made out of you. Your bus is silently passing by the typical slums, serene countryside and sleepy tin-shed houses. Occasionally, the bright headlights from a honking truck blind you, but otherwise, the soft breeze on your skin feels like silk. You lie back, switch on your mp3 player and close your eyes, while soul-searching, soothing music hums to your ears.
This week, in Music Mantra, we bring you songs that you can play while travelling at night.
The best music to listen to for long trips is slow, easy paced music. U2's classic, “I still haven't found what I am looking for” will set you in the mood for a long soul searching journey. Follow it up either with “One' or a “Beautiful Day” both U2 songs. For something a little more nostalgic, tune into Poets of the Fall's “Late Goodbye” which even has the perfect chorus: “And we keep driving into the night…Its a late goodbye…” Poets of the Fall is an alter-rock band from Finland which is creating a lot of buzz. Try to get their entire album, Signs of Life, while you are at it. It's brilliant!
Follow it up with the country-rock band, Train's “Drops of Jupiter”; a song that talks about a girl symbolically traveling across the solar system. It's a song which will awaken the intergalactic spacemen in you! Our next pick is Sarah McLachlan's “Worlds on Fire” or “Forget It” by Breaking Benjamin. These songs don't really fit into our traveling theme, but it's soothing and relaxes your mind. These songs are a pleasure to listen to while gazing out through the bus window watching everything whiz by. Our last pick for your travelling night's playlist is Brian Adam's “Open Road”.
Moving onto some Bangla songs, giving a switch of beats and lyrics on the same playlist (or, a different one, considering personal preferences). You've listened to it a million times; whether be it with a wounded heart or on a lonely night, or sung with friends tapping an acoustic guitar. Doubtlessly, for this generation, Artcell's “Pothchola” is a number that have won hearts. With soulful lyrics complementing a mind-blowing composition, this is our next pick for the night.
Nemesis is up next, with “Na Ghumder Dol” bringing a different edge to your night. Follow it up with Cryptic Fate's “Shesh Train”, a number that says everything in a few words. Tune into the fusion-rock band, Ajob's “Bhoboton'e” for a change of mood.
Yaatri somehow fits into the feel of night with most of its numbers. Our choices are “Ke Daake” or “Jatri”, both taking you on an endless journey. With the essence of soul, combining with tapping of a flute; Yaatri's album “Daak” is a must-buy for everyone who wants experience nostalgia on a moonless night.
