Pricless Information about Environment, Family And Relationships And More

Pinks and blues, bottles, booties and babies; are the stuff we relate with babies. Baby shower invitations set the mood for the party and you can get almost anything which is cute and stylish to suit your taste. If you are creative, then you go design your won invitation cards. You can have casual hand written cards or have printed ones to invite your guests. Baby showers are usually hosted by a friend of the mother-to-be and it should be clearly stated if the gifts are not desired. Also, the note should include if this party is a “surprise” for the mother-to-be. The baby shower invitations can also have themes if the party is going to have a theme.

Birthday invitations for kids are the most fun to receive and create. You can get a wide range of themes to plan and design invitation cards. So go for a Jungle theme, Disney theme, adventures of the sea, fairytale land and many more! If you want to get the cards printed from home, then you can even download theme cards from card sites on a good photographic paper. Name, date, venue and time with the RSVP number, name and date are a must for all party invitations. The invitations for any occasions should be sent at least a week or two in advance to let people plan accordingly.

‘Dance has always been my passion’Veteran actor Asha Parekh comes back to television, this time as a judge

She’s worn many a hat before, but this is a brand-new one. After a long sabbatical, veteran actor Asha Parekh is on screen again. This time on the all-new channel 9X that sees Parekh step into the shoes of a judge on the show ‘Tyohaar Dhamaaka’. “The concept appealed to me instantly and I didn’t take too long to say yes,” mentions Parekh, speaking to us from Mumbai where she’s currently shooting. Here, she’s referred to as ‘Mahaguru’. “Television has changed so much over the years and when I heard they were putting together a show that would showcase major festivals of India along with Indian classical dance forms, I was impressed,” mentions the Bollywood queen of the ’60s, revered for her dancing skills. Interestingly, while she’s directed many soaps for television, not many are aware that she runs a dance academy back home. “Yes, it’s nice to work with young people. There’s so much talent in the country and equally large number of reality talent shows on television. It’s a great way for aspirants to make a mark,” tells Parekh, who is to date best remembered for her directorial venture Kora Kaagaz, a weekly that ran to a full house on Star Plus. “And that was much before the daily sagas of today. Even I had a saas and a bahu in my script but the treatment was so different,” the director makes her point. On why she decided to take a break, the answer’s equally blunt. “There’s a time for everything. Kora Kaagaz had a beginning and an end. As for me, I wanted to give direction a break,” says the former Censor Board Chairman who is taking her time to get behind the camera once again. “Whenever I do, I will tell a woman’s story again,” she puts across firmly.

But before that she’s happy to be sitting in the judge’s seat. “Dance has been my passion. I am so glad that I will get to see traditional dances on television and performances by some of the best actors of TV today,” she sums up. As for the show, produced by SOL Productions, it will pit TV stars in teams from four zones. The four teams will compete on different festive themes, and the best team will be crowned by Parekh. While Parekh is the judge, the show is hosted by actor-dancer Sudha Chandran. ‘Tyohaar Dhamaaka’ will air Mondays to Thursdays at 8.30 pm.

Sanjay Gandhvi, who’s ready with his latest release ‘Kidnap’, might have parted ways with Yash Raj Films after the successful ‘Dhoom’ series, but the director says he owes it all to the Chopras, for whom he will hold a special screening of his new film.Gandhvi is upbeat about the Imran Khan starrer ‘Kidnap’ and wants to show the film to his mentor Aditya Chopra.

‘After the screening for the cast and crew I’ll hold a special show at Yash Raj Studios for Yashji and Adi. And as a sign of respect I also gave the first CD to them. I am what I am because of them. I go to the Yash Raj office every fortnight to have lunch and hang around. They send me CDs of all their films. I’m in touch with Uday and Aditya,’ Gadhvi told IANS.

Releasing Thursday, the film also stars Sanjay Dutt and Minissha Lamba.

Gadhvi’s ‘Kidnap’ will clash with Abhishek Bachchan’s ‘Drona’, an actor who many feel got a raw deal in ‘Dhoom 2′. Much water has, however, passed under the box office bridge since then and Gandhvi feels that there is room enough during the festive season for two biggies at the box office.

‘We have a four-day weekend starting with Thursday when we’re both releasing. And then they’re two completely different kinds of films. Earlier, we’ve had two films on the same day doing well — ‘Gadar - Ek Prem Katha’ and ‘Lagaan’, for example. Besides it’s Eid. Everyone releases films on Friday. We’re releasing on dry day. We were supposed to release in August but were pushed forward,’ Gadhvi said.

Minissha was cast in Yash Raj’s ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ after she started shooting for Gadhvi’s ‘Kidnap’.

‘I was at Yash Raj’s office once. And Adi asked me how she was. The next thing I knew she was cast in a Yash Raj film,’ said Gadhvi.

After the release of ‘Kidnap’, Gadhvi intends to take a break. ‘I feel burnt out. I haven’t had a break in 19 years. I live with my parents. I’ve a wife and kids. The children are not brats, fortunately.’

Gadhvi’s father is a Gujarati filmmaker.

‘He has made two Gujarati films both with music by Kalyanji-Anandji. I grew up in their house with Kalyanji bhai’s son Viju Shah. We Gadhvis are a community of storytellers. I hope I’ve done a good job of it in ‘Kidnap’.’

Nice try with the new phone, Google. Better luck next time. That’s what some seem to be saying about Google Inc’s (GOOG.O) first foray into the world of cell phones. But while it may not attract long lines like Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iPhone, it offers much to those looking to use their phones for more than talking.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wireless chipmaker Broadcom Corp (BRCM.O) won a patent battle on Wednesday, as a U.S. appeals court affirmed that Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) infringed two patents used to make some of the world’s most sophisticated cell phones and upheld an injunction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in Qualcomm’s favor on Wednesday in one of the three patents at issue, technology used in video compression in cell phones. It ruled that the patent was invalid and, thus, not infringed.

Nokia’s Ollila says financial crisis near peak

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Jorma Ollila, the chairman of Nokia (NOK1V.HE) and Shell (RDSa.L), said on Wednesday the financial market crisis was near its peak, but there was no clear solution to the situation. “We have approached the peak, if we are not there yet … but there really is no clear way out from this complicated situation and that is what’s causing the uncertainty,” Ollila told Finnish national broadcaster YLE.

Sprint to address iDen court ruling in “coming weeks”

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N) said on Wednesday it would “take steps in the coming weeks” to address the Illinois Supreme Court’s refusal to hear its appeal of a 2006 ruling requiring it to divest its Nextel iDen network in the markets where affiliate iPCS Inc (IPCS.O) operates. Matt Sullivan a spokesman for Sprint, which has been looking at alternatives for its iDen network, declined to elaborate on whether such steps could involve a deal with iPCS or a divestiture of the iDen network.

Synaptics wins deal for first Android phone

HELSINKI (Reuters) - U.S. technology company Synaptics (SYNA.O) has won a deal to provide touchscreen sensors and chips for the first phone model using Google’s (GOOG.O) Android software, a Synaptics spokeswoman said on Wednesday. T-Mobile (DTEGn.DE) and HTC Corp (2498.TW) on Tuesday unveiled the G1 phone, which has a touch-sensitive screen, a computer-like keyboard and Wi-Fi connections.

Yahoo clears path for AOL talks: report

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc’s (YHOO.O) new board on Tuesday approved a new round of discussions with Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) over the future of its AOL unit, the Financial Times said, citing a person familiar with Yahoo’s thinking. The green light for the talks came as Yahoo’s directors met for the first time since activist investor Carl Icahn was granted access to the boardroom, the paper said.

Digg takes $28.7 million in funding

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Digg Inc, the leading news sharing site, has taken a new round of $28.7 million in funding that will allow the company to expand internationally and help it weather tighter economic times for Web businesses. Chairman Jay Adelson said his company received the Series C investment led by Highland Capital Partners to finance Digg’s international expansion and translation into other languages besides English. The round includes previous investors Greylock Partners, Omidyar Network and SVB Capital.

Microsoft cuts prices in China to fight piracy

BEIJING (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) has cut the selling price in China of one of its software products by over 70 percent to counter rampant piracy. It is the first special offer since Microsoft entered the Chinese market in 1992, the company said.

FCC chief would cut minimum bid on D block airwaves

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. communications regulator will propose halving the minimum opening bid on a piece of potentially valuable wireless spectrum, after an earlier auction failed to attract industry interest. The Federal Communications Commission will likely vote Thursday on a plan devised by agency chairman Kevin Martin, cutting to $750 million a prior $1.3 billion minimum bid, and easing other requirements.

Sony Ericsson boss says studying Android system

LUND, Sweden (Reuters) - Sony Ericsson is studying Google’s Android mobile operating system, but was not able to embrace it yet, President Dick Komiyama said on Wednesday. “We are certainly studying this opportunity, although we’re not in a position to do this at this moment,” Komiyama told journalists at a media event in the southern Swedish city of Lund, where the company has a research and development site.

Former skipper Habibul Bashar has protested Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) decision to ban him and 12 other fellow players for 10 years for joining the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).Bashar, who will be leading the newly-formed Dhaka Warriors team, said: ‘I did not really expect it. I thought the board would ban us for the period we will be playing in ICL. But now what happened, it has been very harsh for us.’

‘The ICL was never a banned tournament. It just did not get the sanction from the BCCI. But that doesn’t mean the players who will play in it have to banned. It is injustice,’ he told New Age newspaper after his return from New Delhi where he signed the ICL contract.

The 13 cricketers reportedly signed for an amount of $200,000 for a period of three years.

‘One can expect a ban of this extent for a player who is linked to match-fixing or something like that. But we did noting like that. We did not do any crime and joined the ICL to play cricket,’ said Bashar, the most successful Bangladesh captain with one Test and 29 ODI victories.

Bashar cited the example of Irish cricketer Nial O’Brien, who played in the first edition of the ICL, but did not continue further.

The ICC not only allowed him to play for the national team after severing ties with the ICL, but also nominated him for the ICC’s Associate Player of the Year award this year.

‘If O’Brien can resume his international career after playing in the ICL, why will we not be allowed to do the same?’ argued Bashar, adding that the ICL would never restrain them from playing for the national team.

‘We were promised by the ICL authorities that they would never stand in our way if we get a call in the national team. So we expected a more sensible decision from the BCB.’

Asked how they will continue practice in the off-season because the BCB decided not to allow them to use its facilities, Bashar said they would leave the issue to the ICL authorities.

‘The ICL has roped us in and we hope they will look after it,’ he said.

Along with Bashar, three other cricketers - Shahriar Nafees, Alok Kapali and Dhiman Ghosh - were present at the launch of the team at a five-star city hotel in India.

The other nine cricketers are Aftab Ahmed, Farhad Raza, Manjural Islam, Mabud Chowdhury, Mohammad Rafique, Mahubul Karim, Mohammed Sharif, Mosharraf Hossain and Tapash Baisya.

News Corp plans to launch another satellite television channel in Japan by 2011, according to a Nikkei report that cited no sources.

A News Corp spokeswoman was not immediately available.

News Corp currently operates several channels in the region, including Fox Channel, which airs dramas.

News Corp, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, is considering setting up a wholly owned subsidiary through its News Broadcasting Japan Co unit and apply for a license for one of the new channels.

The “Unforgettable” tour, which will kick off its UK leg from Aug 24, has offered Bollywood’s first family, the Bachchans, a great chance to spend time together.

Besides many other stars, the tour, of course, includes The Bachchan clan, which comprises of Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek Bachchan, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Amitabh, or Big B, as he’s famously known, admitted that in their native land, India, the whole family gets no chance of sitting together, courtesy their hectic lives.

However, the tour has provided them the golden opportunity to spend quality time with each other.

“In Mumbai we don’t often get the chance to spend time with each other, because of our shooting schedules,” BBC quoted Bachchan senior, as saying.

“So it has been a wonderful experience to travel together, to perform together and to sit and laugh together when the show is over,” he added.

“This tour is extremely special because it is my first tour with my husband, the love of my life,” agreed Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who married Abhishek Bachchan in April 2007.

“It’s very special to have my father-in-law here too. I’m so glad Pa agreed to be a part of this - he is a legend,” she added.

“There never will be a tour like this,” said Preity Zinta, star of such hits as Salaam Namaste and a former BBC News website columnist.

“Most of the tours I’ve done have been with my contemporaries. It’s a different experience to stand on stage with Mr Bachchan,” she added.

Abhishek on his father: “He is the star. Whenever he’s on stage, everybody leaves what they’re doing to watch him perform.”

Since the Unforgettable tour began in July, Bachchan and company have re-enacted songs and scenes from their movies in Canada, the US and Trinidad and Tobago.

Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty will also appear at the London concert.

Rosanne Cash is tired of people using her late father’s name to further their own political agendas.

The singer-songwriter released a statement on her Web site after country star John Rich invoked the name of Johnny Cash at a recent Florida rally for presidential candidate John McCain.

“It is appalling to me that people still want to invoke my father’s name, five years after his death, to ascribe beliefs, ideals, values and loyalties to him that cannot possibly be determined, and to try to further their own agendas by doing so,” Cash said on her Web site.

According to media reports, Rich told the crowd: “Somebody’s got to walk the line in the country. They’ve got to walk it unapologetically. And I’m sure Johnny Cash would have been a John McCain supporter if he was still around.”

Rich then sang Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line.”

“I knew my father pretty well, at least better than some of those who entitle themselves to his legacy and his supposed ideals,” Rosanne Cash said on her site, “and even I would not presume to say publicly what I ‘know’ he thought or felt. This is especially dangerous in the case of political affiliation.

“It is unfair and presumptuous to use him to bolster any platform,” she continued. “I would ask that my father not be co-opted in this election for either side, since he is clearly not here to defend or state his own allegiance.”

A U.S. court was wrong to award rights to some of John Steinbeck’s best-known novels, including “The Grapes of Wrath,” to his son and granddaughter, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.

The appeals court said Penguin Group, a unit of Pearson Plc, can retain publishing rights to about 10 early works by the author. The case has been seen as having ramifications for heirs of other artists seeking to control future use of famous works.

Other Steinbeck books affected by the ruling include “Of Mice and Men,” “Tortilla Flat,” and the author’s first published novel, “Cup of Gold.”

Steinbeck, who set many of his books in his native California, received both a Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in 1968.

The appeals court decision overturns a 2006 ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Owen in New York that had granted the rights to several classic books by the author to Steinbeck’s son, Thomas Steinbeck, and granddaughter, Blake Smyle.

Owen had found that heirs could terminate contracts under copyright laws to allow artists or their descendants “appropriate reward for the artistic gifts to our culture.”

While the family members had sought to end a 1938 agreement with the publisher by serving a notice of termination in 2004, that notice was not valid, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said on Wednesday.

It said Steinbeck’s third wife, Elaine Steinbeck, had entered a new publishing agreement in 1994 whose terms should stand. When she died in 2003, she left her copyright interests to her children and grandchildren from a previous marriage, excluding Steinbeck’s two sons and their heirs.

“We conclude that the 2004 notice of termination is ineffective,” a three-judge panel of the court wrote. “The 1994 agreement remains in effect.”

Penguin sued Thomas Steinbeck and Smyle in 2004, while Elaine Steinbeck’s estate brought a similar case.

Mark Lee, a lawyer for Steinbeck’s son and granddaughter, said in a statement that “while we’re disappointed with this result” they plan to continue to pursue damage claims against Elaine Steinbeck’s estate and other defendants in court.

“My clients are still weighing their options with regard to further appellate action,” he told Reuters.

Penguin said in a statement that “as John Steinbeck’s publisher for over 60 years, we are tremendously gratified by the Second Circuit’s decision.”

I was browsing wikipedia when I saw this:

“In Japan, anime is not as widely accepted and mainstream as manga…”-en.wikipedia.org <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku >

What is the reason behind this? I live in USA, and thought In japan, Anime is VERY popular.

In Japan most anime is created after the manga version. So as you can see when someone creates a manga like an author and if it becomes a really good book a director who wants to make an anime version of the manga goes to the author who is the owner of the name of the manga to get permission and make a deal. Which ends up with buisness to take care of and then approval and Ta da a new anime. That is why that in Japan people look at manga in a different way since it’s the original story, because as many of us know the anime is a bit different or a lot different than the the original (manga). Besides haven’t you seen in the internet when people say that the manga is way better than the anime. Anime is cool but sometimes they cut out scenes or characters who are in the manga or sometimes they make new character in the anime. Well I hope that explains it. =D