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H
e is nearing the big 50, but Hollywood heartthrob Tom Cruise is still very much an adrenaline junkie. The actor jumped from the top of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, while shooting the fourth film in the Mission: Impossible franchise. The 48-year-old dangled almost 2,717 feet in the air while shooting Death Protocol, reported a leading UK newspaper. Cruise was snapped hanging precariously from the observation deck of the building, which is 124 floors high, as fans watched in awe and terror from the street below. Dressed all in black, Cruise ran across the windows of the tower as technicians and film crew watched nervously from an open window above him. Another actor hung alongside him for the scene, which saw Cruise jumping over him during a chase round the exterior of the building. A helicopter hovered just ten feet away from the building as crew inside filmed the scene for the movie, which will be released next year. And even by his standards, this weekend’s stunt was Cruise’s most dangerous yet. The actor is well-known for doing his own stunts in all his movies, especially the Mission: Impossible films.
Paris’ Halloween Costume Malfunction
Tourism
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Wednesday, 3 Nov 2010
Tom Cruise dangles from the World’s Tallest Building
Travel
Parenting
Pg4
Narmada to debut with Romantic Comedy
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ovinda’s daughter Narmada Ahuja, whose debut film has been delayed, says the script has been finalised and the project will hit the production stage early next year. “We have finalised the script. Everything is done and we are now working on it. Most probably the first schedule of the film will go on the floor in January, latest February,” Narmada, 20 years, said. The daughter of Bollywood’s popular funny man Govinda, Narmada too will start her acting journey with a romantic comedy. “The film is a young, fresh romantic comedy. Even the production house is not new, but they are coming out with a film after a gap of a few years. That’s what made me keen on doing this film. I already have another film lined up after this,” said the youngster who learnt the ropes of acting at the London Film Institute. When asked about her co-actor in the film, Narmada said, “All I can say is that my co-star in the film is not a new comer. Nothing else can be revealed.” She says her father’s suggestions helped her in making up her mind about her career. “Every father gives tips to their kids before they start their profession. My father too gave me a couple of tips. The most important thing that he told me was that no matter what
you do, do it with your full heart; give it your 500 per cent; and do it only if you are passionate about it because it shows on camera if you are not really into your work. That’s one thing that really made me focused and a whole lot more professional,” she added. Since she will be working in a romantic comedy, does she have her father’s comic timing? “I really can’t judge that right now because I have not started shooting. But you never know, I might come up with something like he does, once we start working on the film,” said Narmada who enjoys her father’s hits like Deewana Mastana, Swarg, Hero No 1 and Partner. Narmada also defies the notion that star kids get things easily in Hindi filmdom. “I don’t think it’s easy for us to enter the industry. At least it was not easy for me because I myself didn’t want to get into the industry without any preparation. Once you know that you are well groomed and you’re sure you can deliver, only then you should go for it. That grooming part is not v e r y e a s y, ” c o n cluded the upcoming actress.
Kaakha will be John’s rebirth as action star: Vipul Shah
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otel heiress Paris Hilton had a wardrobe malfunction during a Halloween bash. Her skimpy outfit slipped to reveal more than she intended. The reality TV star was dressed in a fringed bikini and feathers in her interpretation of an Indian warrior princess, but as she made her way to the bash her low cut top slipped down. The moment was captured by the horde of paparazzi assembled outside the venue and the blonde beauty quickly covered her self up. Meanwhile her younger sister Nicky dressed up as Minnie Mouse, while their parents, Rick and Kathy Hilton came as a pair off police officers, with Kathy in a pair of patent leather knee boots and gun holster belt.
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ohn Abraham has been sweating it out in the gym for his role of a tough cop in the Hindi remake of Tamil hit Kaakha Kaakha and producer Vipul Shah promises that it will be John’s rebirth as an action star. John’s last outing as an action hero was in Dhoom where he played the villainous role of Kabir. The 37-year-old actor, who started his Bollywood career with Jism, is best known for playing the lover boy in movies like Garam Masala and Dostana. Shah, who is currently busy with his upcoming release Action Replayy, says the new film will show a different facet of John’s personality. “This film will be a rebirth of John, in an action avatar. He was last seen in Dhoom, which was quite a hit. With this film however we are taking the action a couple of notches higher. It is a fantastic
film to remake. He is currently shooting it. We are planning to release the film mid next year,” said Shah. The original film starred Surya, Jyothika and Jeevan in the lead roles. The film helped cement Surya’s superstar position in Tamil cinema. Nishikant Kamat of Mumbai Meri Jaan fame is adapting the movie in Hindi while John replaces Surya in the Hindi version, Shah informs. The female role is yet to be cast for the upcoming movie. John was recently seen in Abbas Tyrewala’s romantic-comedy Jhootha Hi Sahi where he plays the role of a lovable loser Sidharth.
Microsoft raises Bet on Motion-sensing Tech
M
icrosoft has acquired Canesta, which designs microchips that it says enables computers to see images in three dimensions, according to the privately-held Sunnyvale, California-based company. The purchase comes as Microsoft prepares to launch its Kinect motion-controller next month, hoping to spark sales of its XBox video game consoles. Buying Canesta, whose technology focuses mainly on consumer applications, suggests Microsoft is already eyeing more and better movement-recognition products down the line for its video game system as well as other applications. Kinect’s camera-based system, built into cameras, lets players control games with body and hand gestures, letting gamers ditch the hand-held controllers they have been tied to for decades. Canesta says its CMOS 3-D chips gives everyday devices 3-D perception better than competing technology. “Products based
on this capability can then react on sight to the actions or motions of individuals and objects in their field of view,” Canesta says. Honda has invested $5 million in Canesta to develop 3-D technology to help drivers park their cars and avoid collisions. Hitachi is using Canesta’s technology to create a television controlled by hand gestures instead of a remote control. Its technology excels at differentiating game-players from their background, Canesta says. Canesta didn’t reveal what it sold for, but the company had received $60 million through four rounds of funding from venture capital groups. Over a year ago, Microsoft announced it was working on Kinect but it remains to be seen how well it will be accepted by consumers.
Decline in Quality of Sperm Count
Socialising can cause Sleep Problems
After exposure to Plastic Chemical BPA
B
isphenol-A, a chemical used for decades to make plastic food containers and baby bottles, was linked to lower sperm quality in men, researchers said. A five-year study of 514 Chinese workers compared those with detectable levels of BPA in their urine, ranging from high to low, to those with undetectable amounts, according to results appearing today in the journal Fertility & Sterility. Men with measurable levels had two to four times the risk of lower sperm concentration, sperm count, vitality and motility. This is the first human study to show a relationship between semen quality and BPA levels in urine, after animal studies showed similar associations, said DeKun Li, an epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente’s division of research in Oakland, California. The US Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration said earlier this year that they will study the potential health effects of BPA. Interestingly, on October 14, Canada had declared the chemical a toxic substance. “BPA damages your sperm, that’s the very obvious message,” Li said in a telephone interview. “Sometimes people may not care about semen quality, but they should as it may lead to birth defects and infertility.” The US National Toxicology Program lists BPA as presenting a “negligible concern” that exposure will cause reproductive effects in adults who aren’t vulnerable to it because of their jobs. The NTP also has “minimal concern” that workers exposed to BPA will show effects, according to the agency’s website. Ed Kang, a spokesman for the federal program, did not respond to a phone call and an e-mail requesting comment. Editor –in-chief: R F Fernandes. Editor: Ashwin Tombat. Chief Editor-Features: Christina Viegas.
P
eople who regularly socialise are more likely to suffer sleep problems, suggests a new research. Researchers have found that extroverts who regularly socialise for half their day are more vulnerable to sleep deprivation than introverts or those in isolation. The study, which looked at 48 people, suggests that, waking experience affects sleep quality. The volunteers were assessed for personality type and then half were put into a socially enriched environment and the other half into isolation. Their quality of sleep was then observed by the researchers from the centre for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland. “Extroverts exposed to socially enriched environments showed greater vulnerability to subsequent sleep deprivation than did extroverts exposed to an identical but socially impoverished environment,” said lead author Dr Tracy
Rupp. “The ability of introverts to resist sleep loss was relatively unaffected by the social environment. “Overall, the present results might also be interpreted more generally to suggest that waking experiences, along with their interaction with individual characteristics, influence vulnerability to subsequent sleep loss." The findings were published in the journal, ‘Sleep’.
(Trends courtesy: Agencies)
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