Eva Longoria On Her Divorce

Every time I talk about it, I want to cry

Eva Longoria is opening up about her divorce for the first time in the new issue of Allure magazine.

The Mexican-American beauty says her split from NBA star Tony Parker has been a difficult process, but she is moving on.

“I’m kind of having to find new patterns because I’m not used to having – I’m used to always being on a plane and flying to a basketball game,” she said. “It’s been – every time I talk about it, I want to cry. It’s been hard. Very hard. I’m just trying to get through as gracefully as possible without any drama.”

But the “Desperate Housewives” star says she is looking forward to moving on and is welcoming her “transition stage” and “settling into a new routine.”

The actress says her friends have helped her move on.

“You know, some people collect plates and stamps and coins. I collect people, I collect amazing, smart, interesting women,” she said.

For now, she also has her work to keep her busy, of which she says she is very proud.

“’Desperate Housewives’ was groundbreaking for Latinos in television because the Solises were the richest people on the block – and they’re Mexican,” she said.

And the actress reveals she has come a long way from her first job at Wendy’s.

“My first job ever was at Wendy’s. I still remember the order to put things on the burger: Mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, onions, tomato, lettuce, mustard. Would you like some fries with that?”

The issue hits newsstands March 22.

Hottest Bods of Hollywood

They have captured our attention and made every bit worth the watch. Prickly prudes have accused them of "being a part of the vulgar tribe that sell sleaze". But STOP and ponder, it requires poise, confidence and the guts to let your skin linger.

Bringing you, the hottest bods of Hollywood.

Tempt yourselves 'cuz, here, innocence holds no ground.

 

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is a brand in herself. Men stormed the theatres to watch her sizzle in 'Lara Croft: Tomb raider', which bought her the ultimate VVIP ticket to Hollywood along with fame and jazz.

She is a proud winner of an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. Jolie promotes humanitarian causes, and is noted for her work with refugees as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

 

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz was partying with her friends at Hollywood when she caught the eye of a fashion photographer. Before she knew, she was travelling across the world, modelling for Coca Cola and Nivea.

Cameron auditioned for 'The Mask'(1999), and got selected hands down. What happened after that? The 'Shrek' series, 'My Sister's Keeper', 'What Happens in Vegas', 'The Holiday', 'Charlie's Angels', 'My Father's House', 'Minority report' and the names keep coming...

 

Halle Berry

Recently named the hottest mother in Hollywood, Halle Berry was introduced to showbiz only after she won the Miss Universe USA pageant 1986.

'Introducing Dorothy Dandridge' was her first applauded work after which Hollywood offers poured in. Her must watch movies are 'Die Another Day' (007), 'Catwoman', 'X-Men' and 'Swordfish'.

 

Carmen Electra

Carmen started with Prince, the 1990s musician, and danced at his night-club, 'Glam Slam'. 'Baywatch' happened next, and she became an international star overnight.

"I was watching an HBO special one night on real-life maximum-security-prison guys. I glanced up, and my poster was in quite a few cells. I was screaming 'Oh, no!'" says Carmen. Need we say more?

 

Catherine Zeta Jones

Daughter of a seamstress and a Welsh sweet factory owner, Catherine Zeta Jones is plain hot! She began on stage, and got upgraded to Hollywood with lead roles in movies such as 'The Phantom' and 'The Mask of Zorro'.

Catherine is married to veteran actor Michael Douglas, who apparently wooed her by saying, "I want to father your children." Catherine shares the same birth date with her hubby, making him exactly 25 years her senior.

 

Charlize Theron

Women's rights! Abortion rights! PETA! This activist-cum-actress wears her boldness on her sleeve. Having said NO to cheap roles in 'Showgirl' and 'Species' at the beginning of her career, Charlize Theron has surely carved her own niche with movies such as '2 Days in the Valley', 'Mighty Joe Young', 'The Devil's Advocate', and 'The Cider House Rules'.

She received an Academy Award for the Best actress for her role in 'Monster'.

 

Christina Aguilera

At the age of 12, Christina appeared on the TV series, 'The All New Mickey Mouse Club', along with a young Justin Timberlake.

The heartthrob of pop-lovers and a style icon for teenagers, Christina was adjudged the world's best-selling Latin female artist at the World Music Awards. She has her own range of perfumes and jewellery, named after her.

 

Cindy Crawford

Considered one of the world's most beautiful women, supermodel Cindy Crawford has just about endorsed every product on the planet!

Crawford also owns a piece of the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain.

 

Drew Barrymroe

A synonym for on-screen charm, Drew shot to fame as a child artiste, with Steven Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'.

Drew's hits include 'Music and Lyrics', 'Fever Pitch', '50 First Dates', 'Lucky You', 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind', 'Batman Forever', 'The Wedding Singer' and 'He's Just Not That Into You At all' and 'Poison Ivy'.

 

Gwenyth Paltrow

Gwenyth Paltrow was a little known actress in Hollywood, until that Oscar-winning performance in 'Shakespeare in Love'(1998).

She has been appreciated for her performances in 'Sylivia', 'Infamous' and 'Ironman'.

 

Jessica Alba

This one runs a trivia bank! She was adjudged the Most Desirable Women of 2006, by AskMen.com. On E's "101 Sexiest Bodies", she was placed at 3rd, behind Brad Pitt in 2nd and Angelina Jolie in 1st. She was named the "Sexiest Woman Celebrity" by Victoria's Secret. (2007).

Was ranked #2 on Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100" of the year lists, two years in a row (2006 and 2007). Was named the "Sexiest Woman Celebrity" by Victoria's Secret (2007). Was ranked #2 on Wizard magazine's "Sexiest Women of TV" list (March 2008).

 

Jessica Biel

Jessica posed semi-nude for a photoshoot for 'Gear' magazine while still underage. With this, her career took a 180 degree turn. And the rest is her-story!

We've seen her shine in movies such as 'The Summer Catch', 'The Illusionist', 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry', 'Family Guy', 'A-Team' and 'Valentine's day'.

 

Kim Kardashian

Kim is widely known for her role on the E! reality series.

She sued Vivid Entertainment for ownership of an alleged sex tape featuring her and ex-boyfriend Ray J, but later dropped the suit. As of now, she is reported to be dating Miles Austin.

 

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan began her career at age three. She was a Ford model and also made appearances in over 60 television commercials, including spots for The Gap, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, and Jell-O (opposite Bill Cosby).

If ever there would be an award for an unofficial brand ambassador for Disney, it has to be her. 'The Parent Trap', 'Freaky Friday', 'Life Size' (TV movie), 'Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen' are all Lohan starrers produced by Disney. Her 'Machete' released on September 3, 2010. Isn't that today?

 

Monica Belluci

She is a bold mother. Period. Bellucci posed nude, while pregnant, for an Italian Magazine, in protest against Italian laws that prevent the use of donor sperm.

Her fans worldwide adore her for her roles in 'Malèna' (2000), 'Irréversible' (2002) 'Tears of the Sun' (2003), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and 'The Passion of the Christ' (2004).

 

Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton shot to limelight way before Kardashian, when her sex tape was leaked in 2003.

Paris spells hotness with boldness and élan unmatched by her peers.

 

Penelope Cruz

Rated among the 20 hottest women in the world, Penelope Cruz was first seen on TV at the age of 16, and then in her first feature film, 'Jamon, Jamon', in 1992.

Her most notable movies to date are 'Volver' (2006), for which she earned the Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, and 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' (2008), for which she received an Academy Award.

 

Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek is a Mexican movie actress, director and producer. She started her career at 23.

Hayek gatecrashed Hollywood with 'Desperado' (1995), opposite Antonia Bandares. There has been no looking back ever since.

 

Scarlett Johansson

This super-siren makes men drool. But quality film roles seem to be her top priority. Scarlett has delivered memorable performances in movies such as 'An American Rhapsody', 'Ghost World', 'Lost in Translation', 'The Horse Whisperer' and 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'.

She has been nominated for four Golden Globes and has won 15 statuettes in all.

 

Sharon Stone

Sharon Stone is (still) remembered for that killer performance in the erotic thriller ,'Basic Instinct'.

For her performance as the drug-crazy housewife in 'Casino', Sharon won Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.

Source: India Syndicate

Image Source: Santa Banta, AP

Rebecca Black's 'Friday' Worst Song Ever?

New Delhi: The 13-year-old American eighth grader Rebecca Black rose to fame over the weekend, giving the Tsunami a stiff competition for a place on Twitter trends.

She literally became an overnight sensation when Comedy Central posted her single Friday on their blog under the title 'Songwriting Isn't For Everyone'.

In the following hours more than 2.5 million people checked the video on YouTube, and declared Rebecca's anthem as either a work of satire or the worst song ever recorded. The song is basically based on the life of a teen who can't decide whether to sit in the front or back seat of her friend's car.

Well, to say the least the song has got all the attention in the Twitterverse. One of the tweeters says, "I think my ears just bled to death Rebecca Black", and millions of similar reactions doing rounds on the internet.

Like her, love her , hate her! One thing is for sure you cant ignore her!

Watch the video of the much talked about song below and decide for yourself.

Mizo Poets' Square Gets Four New Inductees

Aizawl, Mar 16 : Four tall Mizo literary figures will have their names immortalised at Mizo Hlakungpui Mual (Mizo Poets Square) on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the literature 'walk of fame'.

The names of popular song writers P S Chawngthu, Zirsangzela Hnamte, Rev Thangngura and Nuchhungi Renthlei will add glory to the already inducted 33 names of Mizo poets, song writers and writers at the Poets Squares located Khawbung village in the eastern most part of Mizoram.

Seminar on the lives new inductees and their work will be part of the silver jubilee celebration to be held at the Poets’ Square during April 6-7 which will have Art and Culture Minister P C Zoramsangliana as the chief guest.

As early as 1983, Khawbung branch Young Mizo Association conceived the idea of building a memorial for prominent Mizo poets and writers.

The dream came to reality in 1986 when the skeletal remains of two great poets, Patea and Damhauha, both natives of Khawbung village, were retrieved from their original burial places and reburied at the site.

In due course, on the Poets’ Square’s anniversaries, new names were inducted, making a list of 33 poets and writers till today.

Jhum Smoke Causing Flight Cancellations in Mizoram

Aizawl, Mar 16 : Many jhummia families in Mizoram today torched their jhums on the last day for burning of the jhums as fixed by the State Government while forest fires broke out in many places.

Officials estimated that around half of the cultivators were yet to burn their jhums till yesterday due to sporadic rainfall during the past two and half months and also due to late disbursement of money to the beneficiaries of the New Land Use Policy (NLUP), the flagship programme of the Congress Government as the farmers cleared their lands belatedly and were not dry enough for burning earlier.

Jhum burning not only resulted in destruction of forests and increase in pollution, it also caused frequent cancellations of flights in the lone Lengpui Airport as smoke created massive problems in landing of the aircrafts.

Authorities instructed the jhummias to burn their jhums after 3 pm every day to ensure smooth operation of flights in the State this time around.

Workshop on Bibliographies on Northeast Languages

Itanagar, Mar 16 : A three-day workshop-cum-training programme on compilation of bibliographies on North East Indian languages is being conducted by the Department of Public Libraries under the aegis of the Arunachal Pradesh government here.

The programme is being sponsored by Central Reference Library, Kolkata.

While attending the programme as the chief guest, Information Commissioner Y D Thongchi urged the participants from the district to make full use of the workshop.

He said the North East Indian languages is of great interest.

Arunachal Pradesh has 26 official languages but off the record it has many more which undocumented, he said.

He further said time has come to identify all the languages in the state and record as the younger generation are forgetting their own languages.

Earlier, Director of the State Library J Borang, while welcoming the guests, highlighted the importance of the listing and documentation of the languages.

The programme was attended by resource persons from Kolkata, participants from Mizoram and all the districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

War And Love in Kohima

By Gargi Gupta



New Delhi Mar 16 : It is not widely remembered in India today, but Kohima was the scene of an Allied victory in the World War II, a victory so decisive that it changed the contours of the war in Asia. The Japanese who had been advancing steadily into Asia after the success of their Burma campaign in 1941-42, and had got dangerously close to British-ruled India, were beaten back so convincingly, and so broken down by disease and hunger from the battle in the Naga Hills that they lost the initiative.

The “Battle of Kohima”, as it is now known, was a bloody affair. It lasted for three months, from April to June 1944, and left over 10,000 dead on both sides. The entire area, once a small, sleepy British outpost, was devastated, and the lives of its people turned upside down.

Easterine Kire’s Mari harks back to those turbulent war years. It’s a story of love in the time of war, in the well-trodden tradition of novels and films such as Farewell to Arms and Casablanca. The lovers here are Mari, short for Khrielievu Mari, the 17-year-old daughter of a treasury officer in the district commissioner’s office in Kohima, and Staff Sargeant Victor (Vic), a British soldier in the India army. The novel is in the first person, a semi-fictional autobiography written from the stories that Mari told Kire, her niece, about those momentous years of her life, and from a diary that she kept in those years.

It’s a simple, universal story, naively and delicately told, of a young girl, falling in love — the meeting, the pursuit, the courtship and consummation. Kire expends considerable prose in building up the idyllic pre-war setting — the extended family of seven who live in a two-storey house called Bamboo Villa, surrounded by terraced herb patches, fruit trees, a vegetable garden and flower beds; the town itself with its neat bungalows and streets a riot of colours from blooming daisies, rhododendron and pink bohemia and scarlet Flame of the Forest; the rhythms of a peaceful life punctuated with a holiday in the fields, or gathering herbs in the garden — the better to drive home its later desecration during the war.

The war intrudes on this pastoral life, first through the radio, which brings news of faraway events such as the bombing of Pearl Harbour; and then, closer home when fighter planes start flying overhead — creating immense excitement initially with villagers running out to see them —and later, when hordes of “starving, diseased” refugees start pouring in from the Burma border.

Kohima-based Kire, who has written several books and collections of short stories and poems in English besides the first published Naga novel, and translated oral poems from Naga into English, builds up the mood of impending tragedy well.

The two plot tracks play out simultaneously. As the romance comes to a head, with the much younger Mari slowly overcoming her inhibitions towards her considerably older (Vic is over 30) suitor, and her family agrees to their marriage, the war too draws closer to Kohima, and takes over the lives of its residents. The family is parted — Mari’s father leaves for Shillong, and Mari’s young sisters are packed off to a nearby village, Chieswema. War, and the looming shadow of death, makes conventional codes of morality irrelevant and Vic moves into Mari’s home and bed, with the blessings of her family. But the lovers are soon parted when the Japanese overrun Kohima, sending Mari and her family fleeing to Chieswema and Vic to his post on Garrison Hill.

Mari, though, is no war hero, she is only a romantic protagonist. Most of the Naga tribes sided with the British in the war and there was an active local resistance movement, guiding the Allied forces through the hills, carrying messages and spying on the Japanese. But Mari takes no part in this. Over the next two months, she joins the hundreds of other displaced inhabitants of the Naga Hills in wandering through the hills and valleys, running from village to refugee camp to escape the advancing Japanese. It’s a perilous time, especially when Mari discovers she is pregnant, with bullets flying everywhere, the Japanese raping and pillaging their way through the countryside and food in such short supply that even the forests run out of herbs. Sometime around May, Mari finds out that Vic has been killed in the war. Grief stricken, she’s left to pick up the pieces — only 18 and expecting a child.

The rest of the book traces Mari’s life as she attempts to rebuild her life. She tries to find love again with another British soldier, Dickie, and even has a child, a daughter, by him. But this romance too leads nowhere. Dickie is transferred out of Kohima and Mari stays back, unwilling to leave her family. She then decides to complete her education, trains as a nurse and finds a job in Digboi. Here she meets Pat, a tea planter, falls in love and marries him, finding the security and peace that had been denied her by her earlier lovers. Kire skims over this last part of Mari’s life in three chapters, pausing only to record important events such as the deaths of Mari’s parents and the marriages of her daughter. It’s as if, for Mari, the war and the ravages of it were the only enduring memories — the rest was merely a post-script.

---

MARI
Easterine Kire
HarperCollins
172 pages; Rs 250

‘Maybe Myanmar is Our Pakistan’

By Nirupama Subramanian

U.S. pushed India on democracy; India was firm about engaging the junta.

Long before U.S. President Barack Obama publicly asked India to use its influence to do more for a return to democracy in Myanmar, U.S. officials were quietly, but unsuccessfully, pushing New Delhi to take a tougher line against the military junta.

At each push, Indian officials told the U.S. that while New Delhi also wanted to see a democratic government in Yangon, it believed this could be better done by engaging with the junta rather than cutting off ties with it. Moreover, India had its own important geopolitical reasons to develop ties with the military regime.

More than 40 U.S. Embassy cables classified from New Delhi and Yangon, spread over the period from 2003 to 2009 and accessed by The Hindu through WikiLeaks, confirm the reality that in diplomacy, national ideals are no competition to that thing called “strategic interest.”

India had no problem dumping old friend Aung San Suu Kyi (‘ASSK') to romance Myanmar's generals. The cables reflect U.S. frustration over the years at New Delhi's flat-out refusal to toe its line on Myanmar because of India's own concerns about growing Chinese influence in that country and safe havens in Myanmar for insurgents operating in north-eastern India.

In the cables, the U.S. comes out all for democracy in Myanmar – and for “ASSK.” But significantly, in the same time frame it was working behind the scenes to arrange an agreement between Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan People's Party leader Benazir Bhutto in order to give the military leader a democratic look.

Imperative for several reasons

One notable conversation between Ted Osius, Political Counselor at the New Delhi Embassy, and Mohan Kumar, MEA Joint Secretary dealing with Myanmar, is reported in a cable sent on February 20, 2007 (97303: confidential).

Mr. Kumar told the American diplomat that engagement with the Myanmar junta was an imperative for India for several reasons.

“The ULFA guys hiding in Burma are screwing the hell out of us!” he said, noting that “Burma is the only one helping us” to tackle the northeastern insurgency. “Tell Bangladesh to co-operate and I am happy to say bye bye Myanmar.”

India was also trying to deal with the insurgency by creating economic opportunities in the northeastern region, and Myanmar was crucial for this, too.

“Bangladesh's stubbornness in allowing access to transit routes for trade leaves us with Burma as the only alternative to connect the northeast to ASEAN markets,” and provide an economic incentive for the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to lay down arms.

Mr. Kumar commented that the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China maintained close ties with Myanmar but did not face the same pressure from the U.S. to refrain from engaging with it. “Do you want us to connect through China?” he asked. Tit for tat, he asked Mr. Osius why the U.S. was not pushing for democracy in Pakistan. “Why not pick on Musharraf? Where is democracy there?”

He compared India's policy in Myanmar with the U.S. policy in Pakistan. “Maybe Myanmar is our Pakistan,” he is quoted as saying in a dubious, though memorable, formulation.

But Mr. Kumar also allowed that India had not given up on democracy altogether, stating that the government “continues to push them at every opportunity.”

One such opportunity apparently presented itself during an October 2004 visit of Senior General Than Shwe. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Joint Secretary Mitra Vasishtha told Political Counselor Geoffrey Pyatt on November 2, 2004 (22299: confidential) that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had raised the issue of democracy with the General “in a much more intense way than could be expressed in the media,” despite the potential for a negative fallout on the bilateral relationship.

She said New Delhi had battled for the inclusion of a paragraph in the joint statement that expressed India's support for “national reconciliation and an early transition to democracy in Myanmar,” and described it as a “coup for India.”

Ms. Vasishtha told the American diplomat that New Delhi decided to proceed with the visit even after the ouster of Prime Minister Khin Nyunt because India did not view his replacement as an indication of “which way the dust would fall” on democracy. Rather, it was an “internal struggle,” she remarked, speculating that the junta might be somewhat fragile.

As evidence, the Joint Secretary offered the interesting observation that “Than Shwe travelled with the wives of two other powerful generals, Thura Shwe Man and Soe Win, who she mused may have been used as ‘hostages' to ensure tranquillity among the generals in Rangoon during Than Shwe's absence.”

Reflecting the Indian worry about China's influence in Myanmar, Ms. Vasishtha commented that “what you hear about the PLA [the Chinese People's Liberation Army] in Burma is only the tip of the iceberg.” She added that U.S. intelligence must surely know this. She said China took Myanmar for granted and this was why Myanmar wanted to engage with India.

Confirming a $20 million Indian grant to the junta for the development of energy and gas infrastructure, Ms. Vasishtha said the funds would be given “only if they do certain things.” She projected this as part of New Delhi's people-to-people strategy to encourage democracy.

Ms. Vasishtha was of the view that the world had made democracy in Myanmar synonymous with Ms. Suu Kyi, and predicted this could “backfire.” She described the Nobel laureate as someone whose “day has come and gone.”

A cable sent on March 30, 2005 by the U.S. Embassy in Yangon (29750: confidential) is headlined “All Smiles: Indian Foreign Minister's Visit to Burma.” It is an account of Natwar Singh's March 24-27 trip.

“FM Singh knows Aung San Suu Kyi personally and, according to the Indian Embassy, ‘holds her in high esteem'. However, Singh made no reference to her or the democratic opposition during his four-day visit, an Indian pattern of engagement with the regime that sticks to platitudes and doesn't rock the boat.”

The cable noted: “FM Singh achieved his dual objectives of maintaining dialogue with Burma at the political level and pushing for certain development projects of benefit to Mizoram, including the Kaladan multi-modal transport project (Rakhine State) and a GOI-funded road project to improve access to a border-trade crossing opened in January 2004 (Chin State).”

The author of the cable, Embassy Chief of Mission Carmen Martinez, commented that India's “pragmatic” approach was “a severe blow to the leaders of Burma's beleaguered democratic opposition, most of whom draw their inspiration from India's historic struggle for independence and democracy.”

At one point, the Americans tried to push New Delhi to make a public declaration of its ban on arms sales to Myanmar, in a cable sent on November 7, 2007 (129067: confidential). Joint Secretary T.S. Tirumurti acknowledged that a Myanmar request for military equipment had been turned down, but when Political Counselor Osius suggested the government go public with this, he offered no response.

Instead, he noted that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had sent a letter to the junta's acting Prime Minister to give UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari “maximum broad-based access” to leaders in Burmese society, reminding the regime that national reconciliation must be “broad-based.”

India did once give a glimmer of hope to the U.S. on Myanmar. Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Blake cabled on December 15, 2005 (47761: confidential), noting a shift from “months of wishy-washy Indian posturing on Burma” in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's public call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Dr. Singh made the appeal on his return from the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, where he also said after a meeting with Myanmar Foreign Minister Soe Win that India “favors national reconciliation and the movement towards democracy, respect for fundamental human rights and allowing political activities to flourish.”

Mr. Blake commented that this is a “strong departure” from New Delhi's “recent tactic of downplaying democracy concerns with the GOB [Government of Burma] in return for greater cooperation in energy and counter-insurgency operations near the shared border, and signals a greater Indian willingness to put public pressure on Burma's military junta.” He described this as a “welcome development.”

But when Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in 2008, it was India's influence with the junta that the U.S. fell back on (dealt with in cable 153452: confidential, sent on May 12, 2008) in order to reach international aid to the country. It is now known that very little of that aid actually reached the victims of the cyclone.

source: The Hindu