August.sep 2010

Aug//Sept. 2010

8 L.E.

ramadan

iphone 4 Even more

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10

2 Years of Success It’s our 2nd anniversary and thanks to our team and all our readers and clients, we are the first English lifestyle magazine with a technological edge in the Egyptian market.

Our launch was in a very critical time; at the beginning of the economical crisis, but thanks to all of you now we are heading for success.

Moreover, I’m really happy about the feedback we have received from last issue; so this issue is more focused on filling you in with the latest technological breakthroughs.

As always, we show you the latest laptops, cameras, mobiles, and a lot more... iPhone is an efficient mobile for different needs, we want new more helpful technologies to make this phone a pleasurable experience, we give you the top apps available for you to download.

As for the iPad, there are many new features for applications and software, check out the 8 must-haves.

Nowadays we like to travel and discover new places and see more and more, we help you discover the most important cities you must visit in 2010, it’s a season of vacation, summer and Eid, so get packing.

It’s Ramadan and we have no time and no energy to cook time-consuming meals, and that’s normal, so we help you get the hang of it in no time, by showing you the technology that can help you be faster.. don’t worry you will eat on time.

But don’t forget your health, read our quick summer tips.

Check out the new Stella McCartney collection to be à la mode even at the gym.

Send your feedback to info@technostylemagazine.com

foreword

Riham Fouad

Happy Ramadan, Happy Eid and enjoy the issue.

Thanks :)

Technostyle Magazine is published by Dinari 1021 Cornish El Nil St., Cairo - Egypt.

Tel./Fax: (+202) 2365 10 67 E-mail: info@technostylemagazine.com All rights are reserved to the publisher.

Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden save with the permission in writing of the publishers.

Issued under the registration no. 34013.

Printed at International Printing House (IPH).

Technostyle Magazine is distributed by Al-Ahram.

contents

8

Unveiled Grab that Gadget

18

Feature

30

Feature

34

iPhone Apps

Stuck in the City

Home Must-Have Kitchen Appliances

Fashion adidas: Stella McCartney

Cinema Inception

Food

Horoscope

Ramadan Recipes

Aug/Sept. Horoscope

38

44

60

58

TechnoStyle Team

Managing Director Editor in Chief Content Director Pr Manager Financial Manager Contributing Writers

Riham Fouad Ashraf Al. Wardani Hoda Youssef Ghada Fouad Mohamed El Mansoury Hajar Al Taweel Karim Zein Rani K. Arsanios Sarah El Etribi Sarah Kamel Mena Ghali Art Director / Designer Hoda Youssef NYC Correspondent Donia Bashir Distribution Team Ramy Akram Mohamed Ahmed

unveiled

This is our choice of gadgets that are halfway between fashion and personality, they are devices that can travel with us or be appreciated at home, and that make a point about who we really are, or perhaps the style that we want to be known by...

Grab That Gadget!

Canon Introduces The New Super-Stylish Ixus 130 and Ixus 105 – Fun Features Packed in a Sleek, Chic Design.

Slim, stylish design The two latest additions to the iconic Canon IXUS range – the IXUS 130 and IXUS 105 – offer the ultimate combination of fun, innovative features and stylish, sculptured design. The slim, smooth IXUS 130 is the thinnest IXUS to date, measuring a super-sleek 17.8mm at its thickest point. Available in four eye-catching colours, both models are ultra-chic, and ultra-portable enabling you to capture the moment, wherever you are.

IXUS 130 – key features: Ultra-slim metal IXUS 14.1 Megapixels 28mm wide-angle, 4x zoom with optical IS 6.9 cm (2.7”) PureColor II G LCD Smart Auto, Face Detection. Hints & Tips HD movies. HDMI

IXUS 105 – key features: Slim 12.1 Megapixel IXUS 28mm wide-angle, 4x zoom with optical IS 6.8 cm (2.7”) PureColor LCD II Smart Auto, Smart Flash Exposure Face Detection, FaceSelf-Timer, Auto Red-Eye Correction

See it all – shoot everything in detail Large prints are provided by an 18 Megapixel resolution and a 9-point Auto Focus (AF) system, offering extraordinary detail in every shot.

Powerful DIGIC 4 processing complements the optical excellence with both speed and intelligence, delivering vivid images with little noise, whether shooting stunning holiday landscapes or the sprint relay at sports day. A range of pre-set shooting modes also makes the EOS 550D extremely easy to operate, allowing users to focus solely on the subjects they want to capture.

Shoot in the dark Shooting in low light is made easy thanks to the advanced ISO range of up to 6400. Summer parties, weddings and barbeques can be difficult to capture when light levels drop, but the EOS 550D makes it simple to capture excellent images in the dark without using the flash.

ISO can even be extended to 12800 in the darkest conditions, allowing users to shoot evening events or dimly-lit scenes with ease.

Zoom in on The Detail That Matters: The Powershot Sx210 is Takes you Closer to the Action Get creative, and capture stunning detail in style with the new PowerShot SX210 IS Smart, stylish design and premium performance The PowerShot SX210 IS delivers the ultimate package of show-stopping looks and advanced features – including an amazing 14x optical zoom – in a sleek, compact, metal body. Available in three trendy colours – gold, purple and black – there’s a model to suit every style.

Cool without compromise Make sure all your friends fit in the frame or take crystal clear close ups with the powerful 14x zoom lens, then capture them in stunning 14.1 Megapixel resolution. Small and light enough for everyday use, the PowerShot SX210 IS also enables you to

Release your Creativity – Capture Stunning Stills and HD Video with the Canon EOS 550D

shoot high-quality HD video footage in stereo sound for the whole family to enjoy on an HDTV. Get creative – whatever your level The PowerShot SX210 IS has been designed to inspire creativity - whatever your level of photographic expertise. If you’re looking to capture high-quality pictures with minimum effort, both Smart Auto and Easy modes with Scene Detection Technology guarantee outstanding results in all condi-

tions. For those keen to develop their photographic skills, switching to manual mode gives you greater control to experiment with different settings, while the new Smart Shutter mode allows you to remotely control the shutter simply with a smile or even a wink.

PowerShot SX210 IS – key features: 14x optical zoom, 28mm wide-angle 14.1 MP Optical Image Stabilizer 7.6 cm (3.0”) PureColor II G LCD HD movies. HDMI

Canon Middle East today revolutionises the world of consumer photography with the launch of the new EOS 550D – a lightweight Digital SLR (DSLR) that enables users to broaden their photographic horizons in stills and Full HD video.

The latest addition to Canon’s globally-acclaimed EOS range, the EOS 550D is perfect for capturing memories in stunning detail and colour. Canon’s most advanced consumer DSLR to date the camera blends an extensive range of features with a compact, easy-touse body – providing users with the perfect tool to explore and develop their creative vision.

9

unveiled

Swipe Type USB Fingerprint Reader (Capacitive Sensor) UPEK The Eikon family of USB fingerprint readers provide quick and reliable biometric authentication by leveraging UPEK’s proven technology, from swipe sensors found in millions of laptops to government certified touch sensors. UPEK’s Software Development Kits (SDKs) offer flexible APIs to enable fast integration with a broad range of applications.

Original Eikon, winner of the CES Best of Innovations Award. Swipe sensor ideal for personal (single user) and cost sensitive applications. Includes Digital ID Hardware Engine for secure functions including match-on-device and OTP generation. Tacky footprint and 6’ cable ideal for desktops.

New Wii Concept Controller Control games through this headset, we anticipate a wide range of games requiring head movement. Watch out for this new technology.

Samsung Wave, First Bada Smartphone Hits The Market The Samsung Wave offers a Super AMOLED 3.3” display that makes the screen truly come alive, a Social Hub to bring you closer to your contacts and connections, and TouchWiz 3.0 for an intuitive and hugely customizable user interface. The Wave’s high-speed CPU ensures swift, smooth application experiences and multi-tasking, making the device an always-on mobile multimedia companion. The Samsung Wave has been built to offer you an unrivalled level of performance, customization and choice in how you connect with your world.

With the Samsung Wave, seeing really is believing as it features the world’s first Super AMOLED display The Super AMOLED offers much brighter, clearer, and less reflective display, featuring a high resolution WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) screen with mDNIe (mobile Digital Natural Image engine) technology. DNIe technology is proven display technology which incorporated to Samsung’s LCD TV and LED TV lineups.

Wooden iPod Dock This new stylish wave of wooden gadgets is hitting stores very soon.

Stay tuned for these must-have iPod docks.

Apple iPad All of the built-in apps on iPad were designed from the ground up to take advantage of the large MultiTouch screen and advanced capabilities of iPad. And they work in any orientation. So you can do things with these apps that you can’t do on any other device.

11

unveiled Sony eBook Reader

BenQ Mp626

Thinner, smaller and lighter than most magazines, the Reader Touch Edition™ lets you access up to 350 (or more with memory expansion card slots) of your favorite books from anywhere. The intuitive 6” touchscreen display makes navigation a breeze, letting you turn pages with the swipe of a finger.

An included stylus offers freehand highlighting and annotation. With support for multiple file formats including ePub and PDF, You can enjoy books from more places, including the Reader™ Store and over one million free public domain titles from Google Books.

3D instruction will be the latest trend in education, opening up new opportunities in teaching methods for educators and students alike. BenQ projectors and DLP Link are taking teaching to a whole new dimension of effectiveness and enjoyment…at no extra costs. And unlike the traditional 3D projector system, which requires two perfectly aligned projectors to transmit two separate video feeds in order to deliver a 3D projection, MP626 has mastered 3D display so as to require only one projector equipped with Front Project 3D DLP Link technology.

MP626 is Crestron RoomView-supported to provide IT personnel and projector managers simplified real-time, Facility-wide central access and control over a single projector or groups of projectors simultaneously via a single station.

BenQ DLP projectors use a filter-free design to eliminate the need for filter cleaning and filter replacement, which not only reduces labor for support staff, but also saves money for companies or schools.

BenQ projectors that use DLP technology are virtually immune to color decay – the yellow/green tint that some projector images develop over extended periods of usage.

Because DLP projectors enjoy a technological advantage in protecting against color decay, they offer an extended lifespan – lasting year after year!

HP Envy 14 Laptop Discrete graphics and Intel i-core processors for great gaming, multimedia, and creative projects, plus premium support. Beats audio, An eye-popping display, a precision-etched metal alloy case. It’s all in our Envy 14 series, one of the world’s smallest, lightest laptops.

F8021N, LG’s Leading Digital Photo Frame, Scoops a Prestigious Reddot Design Award Designed to blend seamlessly with home or office decoration, LG’s award-winning F8021N completes its slim look with a printed circuit board (PCB) innovatively placed in the stand. With its sleek and modern deep-black frame, the F8021N excels equally when playing slideshows, music and video footage.

This versatility means that LG’s premier digital photo frame is ideal not just for home use, it is also the perfect tool for retailers looking to market products with eye-catching in-store demonstrations.

Specifications F8012N Screen size 8” LED Aspect ratio 4:3 Native resolution 800x600 Brightness 250nits Contrast ratio 500:1 Response time 20ms Image JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG Music MP3 Motion Image

Motion-JPEG, MPEG1/4 Speaker 0.5W Mono WiFi(802.11bg) / Bluetooth Internal memory 2GB Memory card SD, MMC, xD, MS, MS-Pro Interface USB cable, Audio Out Secondary monitor Yes Remote control Yes

13

unveiled

iphone 4

Impressive or Not By: Karim Zein

Ever thought about communication being so advanced and so intricate? I have no idea where the world is heading next but I believe that the coming years will witness great changes not only for the communications field but for everything.

Apple sure knows how to play the communications game and it proved that when it introduced the iPhone to the market. Generation after generation the iPhone has captured the hearts of many and among them, I was its easiest prey. With a huge media budget the iPhone 4 has been thoroughly marketed for online but to be honest I’m not that impressed.

The iPhone 4 looks different than its predecessor with a new body shape and 2 cameras, one on the front and the other on the back with a stainless steel band wrapped around its body protecting it and also acting as its antenna. It boasts 940 pixels by 640 pixels screen with the highest resolution ever to be on a mobile phone.

For the first time on an iPhone, users will be able to talk face to face with their friends or acquaintances, thanks to the camera on the front

of the phone and the FaceTime feature. You can talk to whoever you want over Wi-Fi with just a tap which is really good because if your internet speed is fast you won’t find video lags or connection problems that we’re all used to with 3G networks. With FaceTime you can also switch between front and rear camera so that you can show your contact anything without having to flip the phone.

The phone has a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and HD video capabilities with video editing but I’m kind of disappointed with that.

We’ve seen phones in the market with 8 and 12 megapixel cameras so I think on the camera side, iPhone 4 is a little bit ahead and behind. Its video editing features sets it on top of competition yet its dragged down by its low pixel camera.

What is really good about iPhone 4 is its ability to multitask several apps without any sluggish performance powered by an Apple A4 processor. With such a high resolution display you’d get seamless processing so that you’d enjoy multiple applications without slow performance..

You’d still get the unique applications, Ipod, Ibook, Safari and lots of others so it doesn’t differ much from its predecessor except in the new camera capabilities, the FaceTime feature and its powerful A4 processor.

I would have spent a lot of time talking about the iPhone 4 but it gave me no room for praise. I think iPhone 4 is mainly targeted to owners of previous generations of iPhone because if it intends to attract new customers, there are several phones out there that boast high resolution displays, multitasking and nice cameras.

The new features might only matter then to owners of iPhone 3G or 3GS who haven’t had seamless multitasking, a nice camera and video call.

Lastly, I’ve heard about its signal problems and constant loss of network coverage due to weak antenna. So it might be the first time for me to say it but Apple you’ve disappointed me this time.

15

Top 8 iPad Apps

With iPad sales hitting the 3 million mark in only 80 days, we decided to have a look at the top apps for this beauty. Here is a list of 8 must have applications for all lucky iPad owners.

WeatherBug

Category: Weather Size: 1.8 MB This is another popular application of Mac which has been introduced for the iPad. WeatherBug provides the user with in depth weather forecasts from the powerful WeatherBug network. Its data stream includes satellite imagery and live CCTV cams. With this application by your side the weather will never be able to surprise you again.

Taptap Radiation Category: Games Size: 20.2 MB

Although iPad is in true essence a productivity tool but this doesn’t means that you can’t have fun with your device. The touch screen system has unleashed a whole new gaming genre. Tap tap radiation is one such addictive game. Based on a previous game called tap tap revenge, the game allows to tap away your favorite soundtracks on the iPad. The game includes fifty tracks from the likes of Mos Def, Lady Gaga, Pink, David Guetta and others.

Yahoo Entertainment Category: Entertainment Size: 16.6 MB

Yahoo entertainment is undoubtedly one of the most appealing application of the iPad. This app caters to all your needs from news, sport, entertainment, technology, culture, comics, reviews, letters to other content in an iPad-friendly format. Yahoo’s app opens to a lounge room with live objects scattered throughout. This application is an eye candy for your iPad.

BigOven

Category: Lifestyle Size: 2.6 MB

This application is a must have for all the iPad users especially food lovers. Just enter the ingredients available with you and BigOven will provide the most delicious recipes for you. With access to a vast library of over 170,000 recipes your taste buds will never get tired of this virtual cook book. Other features include uploading of your own favorite dishes and rating the recipes you try.

Desktop Connect Category: Productivity Size: 7.0 MB

This application brings your desktop PC to iPad. View and control the connected device with your iPad. Desktop Connect 2.0 with 3G offers automatic discovery of your computer using Google and Easy Connect. All you need to do is to sign in to Google and your computer automatically appears in desktop connect. This application offers a quick and smooth integration of your personal devices.

Keynotes

Category: Productivity Size: 52.9 MB This popular Mac application has been totally revamped for the iPad. Keynote is your one stop for making stunning and complex presentation at the touch of your fingers. It also provides useful visual display tools such as charts, tables and animations.

Twitterific

Category: Social Networking Size: 4.4MB

This award winning twitter client provides complete functionality of twitter at your fingertips. Tweeting is made easy and fun with this simple and elegant app. This third party application boasts super fast scrolling and easily absorbs the workflow.

iBooks

Category: Books Size: 15.9 MB

A lot of people swapped their plans for Amazon Kindle with the iPad. This application makes that decision worth every bit. iBooks brings e-book reading closer to reality than ever. Its allows the user to download and read books of their choice from the iBooks store. The available titles are presented on a beautiful shelf to choose from. Other functionalities include bookmarking and adding notes to your favorite passages.

feature

iPhone Apps

it’s getting better and better By: Karim Zein

There are phones that are made to be slick and straight forward business phones, phones that are made for media usage and phones that mix the beauty of both worlds together. iPhone has had the privilege of being a phone that does not only provide entertainment, it does it right.

Developers have created thousands and thousands of applications to be installed on your beloved iPhone ranging from shoot-em-up games to where you should be eating tonight.

Because there are zillions of iPhone applications it would take years to review them all so I’ll review the ones I found most interesting and most engaging.

To all the business executives out there who still find it hard to tie their ties to work there’s a free application called vTie that helps you tie your tie with illustrated graphics. It has different types of ties and even has bow-tie instructions.

Still on the business side and mixing design with business CardDesign is an application that allows you to choose your own card design from about 53 different designs. It works nicely if you don’t have the time to brief a graphic designer for your cards. iPhone apps can also get a little bit trivial with the anti aging apps and others so I am not going to review these because there’s nothing in it for the consumer really and it usually gets boring by time. But for anyone out there who really wants to know about these short-paced entertaining apps, try the Avatar Yourself application where you can make an Avatar character of your own picture. It’s still pointless guys, come on!

Moving on to games, you’ll find a lot of games that cater to a lot of different tastes so if you’re into the action/adventure platform Splinter Cell Conviction is one of the best in terms of graphics and game-play, featuring high quality graphics and interesting storyline. It will definitely keep you entertained for long. Archetype is another really interesting game that features multiplayer capa-

bilities and intense game-play. I was impressed when I saw the graphics on that game and the multiplayer on iPhone makes it insanely entertaining. It is the Counter Strike of the iPhone. For Assassin’s Creed lovers, you can get that on the iPhone for 5 dollars, really nice game-play yet don’t be too judgmental on the graphics it is never going to be like the PlayStation 3 version.

One of the most interesting racing games was launched by VolksWagen to promote their GTI line. It is called Real Racing GTI, one of the most realistic racing games I’ve seen on the iPhone to date. You get to play with the VW GTI in intense races and as a promotional incentive by VW, six players in the U.S will each win one of six customized GTI cars. If you want a bigger diversity of cars, you can download the Real Racing instead and get similar graphics.

Ramadan is nearly here so Happy Ramadan everyone and to all fellow Muslims out there, there’s a really interesting App on the iPhone. It is called Find Qibla & Masjid. It enables you to find the Qibla and with a touch of a button you can find the nearest Mosques to your location on the map. It is a very useful app if you’re out of town.

Speeders out there can download Alert Radar, an application that beeps when you exceed the speed limit. Considering the fact that I got a ticket two weeks ago for speeding, this is a real savior.

With Live Cams you get a view of several fixed web cameras around the world where you can pan, tilt and zoom onto the scenery. Very entertaining if you’re bored and want to know what’s going on around the world.

Last but not least is the What’s App application that you install on iPhone and is compatible with most devices, it enables seamless chatting between the iPhone, BlackBerry and other devices which makes communication much better and wider.

I honestly found it really hard to write such an article because of the amount of applications available on the market but I’ve got the ones I found really interesting and useful. The iTunes store features millions of free applications for you to download but trust me don’t load your iPhone with application that won’t do you any good! I hope I reviewed apps that would interest you guys =)

19

feature

Many people, within various age groups, impatiently look forward to the summer season from year to year. Reasons for that may vary from one person to another, but some are certain; swimming and tanning in the morning, clubbing at night, and meeting summer friends. The biggest motive though, especially for teenagers, is ‘summer flings’.

This is nearly a certain issue, something not many people argue about.

Whether these flings end successfully or not is doubtful and vague.

It depends upon the two people involved in this ‘relationship’. Most of the time, these flings don’t work out; for many causes.

First off, summer fling couples may never see each other again, and all they could have would be a longdistance relationship; their contact would only be over the internet. In most of the cases, these types of relationships never really work out

because there is no physical interaction between the couple, they never get to go out together or see each other as much as much as they’d want.

Another problem is trust. You can never fully trust your long-distance partner because you don’t know the people he/she hangs out with, and you never see his/her daily life.

If there is no trust in a relationship, it would hardly work out; lots of problems will rise and disputes that can never be entirely solved.

The problems don’t end here; because summer couples can have pure luck on their side, and they can be living together in the same country - this type might be more successful than others. That doesn’t mean they’re 100% victorious though.

halts by the end of summer. People are never completely serious about it and they only get involved because they think it is fun to have a partner in such a season. Someone to spend the day with in the morning on the beach, someone to take to parties at night; they think having a partner during the summer is something to brag about in front of their friends who don’t.

At the end of the day, we all know that it’s highly unlikely for summer flings to be wholly or utterly successful. I’d rather be lead to believe that cows can fly rather being fooled and told that a summer fling is lasting successfully. But that’s only my own opinion. :)

The reason this relationship is called a ‘summer fling’ is because it mostly

Is it the real thing? or is it just

a summer fling?

By: Sarah El Etribi

21

travel 1. Sri Lanka For a quarter century, Sri Lanka seems to have been plagued by misfortune, including a brutal civil war between the Sinhalese-dominated government and a separatist Tamil group. But the conflict finally ended last May, ushering in a more peaceful era for this teardrop-shaped island off India’s coast, rich in natural beauty and cultural splendors.

The island, with a population of just 20 million, feels like one big tropical zoo: elephants roam freely, water buffaloes idle in paddy fields and monkeys swing from trees. And then there’s the pristine coastline.

The miles of sugary white sand flanked by bamboo groves that were off-limits to most visitors until recently are a happy, if unintended byproduct of the war.

Among the most scenic, if difficult stretches to reach, is Nilaveli Beach in the Tamil north. While a few military checkpoints remain, vacationers can lounge on poolside hammocks under palm trees or snorkel in its crystal-clear waters. Or they can order cocktails at the Nilaveli Beach Hotel (www.tangerinehotels. com/nilavelibeach), a collection of recently renovated bungalows with private terraces.

An international airport in Matara, on the island’s southern shore, is under construction, which will make the gorgeous beaches near the seaside village of Galle easier to get to. Decimated by the tsunami in 2004, the surrounding coastline is now teeming with stylish guesthouses and boutique hotels.

Unawatuna, a crescent-shaped beach a few miles south of Galle, may be furthest along. Higher-end hotels there include Thambapanni Retreat (www.thambapanni.biz),

which features four-poster beds, yoga and an ayurvedic spa. The Sun House (www.thesunhouse. com), in Galle, looks like a place where the Queen of England might stay, with its mango courtyard and colonial décor. One stylish place tucked within Galle’s city walls is the Galle Fort Hotel (www.galleforthotel.com), a refurbished gem merchant’s house run by a couple of Aussies.

10 places to be in 2010

2. Seoul Forget Tokyo. Design aficionados are now heading to Seoul.

They have been drawn by the Korean capital’s glammed-up cafes and restaurants, immaculate art galleries and monumental fashion palaces like the sprawling outpost of Milan’s 10 Corso Como and the widely noted Ann Demeulemeester store — an avant-garde Chia Pet covered in vegetation.

And now Seoul, under its design-obsessed mayor, Oh Sehoon, is the 2010 World Design Capital. The title, bestowed by a prominent council of industrial designers, means a year’s worth of design parties, exhibitions, conferences and other revelries. Most are still being planned (go to wdc2010. seoul.go.kr for updates). A highlight will no doubt be the third annual Seoul Design Fair (Sept. 17 to

Oct. 7), the city’s answer to the design weeks in Milan and New York, which last year drew 2.5 million people and featured a cavalcade of

events under two enormous inflatable structures set up at the city’s Olympic stadium.

3. Mysore You’ve completed 200 hours of teacher training, mastered flying crow pose and even spent a week at yoga surf camp. What’s next?

Yogis seeking transcontinental bliss head these days to Mysore, the City of Palaces, in southern India.

The yogi pilgrimage was sparked

by Ashtanga yoga, a rigorous sweat-

producing, breath-synchronized regimen of poses popularized by the beloved Krishna Pattabhi Jois, who died at 94 in 2009. Mr. Jois’s grandson is now director of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (www.kpjayi. org). First month’s tuition is 27,530 rupees, or $600 at 46 rupees to the dollar. Classes generally require a

one-month commitment.

Too much time or money? Mysore’s yoga boom now has shalas catering to every need. Off the mat, the yoga tribe hobnobs at Anu’s Bamboo Hut or the Regaalis Hotel pool, studies Sanskrit, gets an ayurveda treatment or tours the maharaja’s palace.

By: Donia Beshir

23

travel 4. Koh Kood Is this the next Koh Samui? The Trat islands are emerging as Thailand’s new luxury outpost. Inaccessible for many years because of tensions with neighboring Cambodia and a poor transportation infrastructure, islands like Koh Kood are starting to draw venturesome paradise seekers, thanks in part to new direct flights

to the port city of Trat. The recent opening of Soneva Kiri, a 42-villa suite retreat by the Six Senses brand (www.sixsenses.com/Soneva-Kiri), definitely ratchets up the high-end quotient on this Robinson Crusoelike island. Coming soon: X2 Koh Kood (www.x2resorts.com), a designer eco-resort with 14 pool villas.

5. Cesme The next Bodrum? While revelers continue to descend upon that seaside retreat, another corner of Turkey’s Aegean coastline has begun to emerge as a stylish alternative: the once-sleepy villages of the Cesme Peninsula. The main draw is Alacati, a sheltered beach town that last summer was the site of the Profes-

6. Minorca While the beat of disco pounds in Ibiza and Majorca, their quiet sister Minorca offers a tranquil contrast to the glitz next door. The entire island is a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, so the Spanish megahotel development frenzy of the last decade has largely skipped over this patch of the Mediterranean. That means miles of beaches —some 120 of them, in fact, like the northern sweep of crystal-clear swimming waters in the coves called Cala d’Algaiarens, with fine sand and rolling dunes. And Minorca’s eco-diversity extends well beyond the coasts: forests, deep gorges, wetlands, salt marshes and hillsides covered in lush green-

ery that sometimes look more New England than Mediterranean.

Even the island’s sun-bleached towns — Mahón and Ciutadella, each combining elements of their British colonial heritage, Moorish roots and modern Spanish identity — are more peaceful than their Majorcan equivalents.

The ideal visit to Minorca celebrates islanders’ emphasis on agritourism — sleeping in rural establishments like Ca Na Xini (www. canaxini.com), a dairy farm that offers an eight-room temple to modernism inside the shell of a century-old manor home. It’s like spring break for eco-conscious adults.

sional Windsurfers Association Slalom World Cup. Scheduled to open in the spring, the seven-room Hotel Nars Alacati (www.nars.com.tr), set in a converted 19th-century mansion, promises to become the popular weekend gathering spot for Istanbul’s smart set, along with the adjoining garden restaurant, Mesa Luna.

7. Antarctica This may be the last year that Antarctica is open to mass tourism — not because the ice is melting too fast (though it is), but because of restrictions that would severely curtail travel around the fragile continent.

Until recently, most vessels passing through Antarctica were limited to scientific expeditions, but an exploding number of tourists now flock to what is arguably the world’s last great wilderness. The tourism boom, scientists argue, poses a major environmental threat. Indeed, several passenger ships have run aground in recent years.

Countries that manage Antarctica are calling for limits on the number of tourist ships, for fortified hulls that can withstand sea ice and for a ban on the use of so-called heavy oils. A ban on heavy oil, which is expected to be adopted by the International Maritime Organization later this year, would effectively block big cruise ships.

With the new rules taking effect within two years, tour operators are

promoting 2010 as the last year to visit Antarctica, while, at the same time, procuring lighter vessels that would be permitted. Abercrombie & Kent, for example, is introducing a new ship, Le Boreal (www.abercrombiekent.com), which its public relations firm argues “meets all the environmental regulations, so ac-

cess to Antarctica via A&K will not be affected.”

Launching this year, the compact luxury ship holds 199 passengers and features an outdoor heated pool, steam rooms and private balconies that offer intimate views of some of the world’s remaining glaciers.

8. Leipzig In 2010, Leipzig, a small industrial city in the former East Germany with an illustrious past, will be marking the 325th anniversary of the birth of its former resident Johann Sebastian Bach and the 200th birthday of Robert Schumann with concerts, festivals and a reopened Bach Museum (www.bach-leipzig.de).

But the city’s cultural high note is likely to be the Neo Rauch retrospective opening in April at the Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts (www. mdbk.de), a show devoted to the

father of the New Leipzig School of artists, a scene that for the past decade has been the toast of the contemporary art world. The art cognoscenti will also make their way to the Spinnerei (www.spinnerei.de), a former cotton mill that is home to 11 galleries, a cafe and a quirky new pension called the Meisterzimmer (www.meisterzimmer.de), with rooms starting at 50 euros, or $70 at $1.40 to the euro.

The city is also making a splash on the musical front. Moon Harbour

Recordings and Kann Records, two indie labels producing innovative electronica from D.J.’s, are based here. Sevensol and Matthias Tanzmann will undoubtedly be lugging their laptops to Leipzig Pop Up (www.leipzig-popup.de), a trade fair and music festival taking place in May. Otherwise, gigs can be heard year-round in the city’s underbelly of abandoned factories and squats that look a lot like Berlin — maybe 10 years ago.

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9. Los Angeles Visitors love to bemoan the lack of an old-fashioned cultural neighborhood in Los Angeles. In truth, the city has as many thriving art spots as it does ZIP codes. Last October, the pioneering Culver City gallery Blum & Poe (2727 South La Cienega Boulevard; 310-836-2062; www. blumandpoe.com) inaugurated an airy 21,000-square-foot space; in July, the veteran local dealer Thomas Solomon (427 Bernard Street; 323-427-1687; www.thomassolomongallery.com) opened a space in Chinatown. And the powerhouse New York galleries L&M Arts and Matthew Marks are scheduled to open prominent spaces in 2010.

Local museums, many of which struggled financially in recent years, are back afloat. The Museum of Contemporary Art (www.

moca.org) is celebrating its 30th birthday with a huge exhibition of 500 highlights from its outstanding collection of postwar art. In October, the vast Los Angeles County Museum of Art (www.lacma.org) will get even bigger when it unveils a Renzo Piano-designed addition

to its multiacre mid-Wilshire campus. And the billionaire collector Eli Broad, who has been both savior and villain to just about every major museum in town, is now looking to plant his own museum in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica or a third unnamed location.

10. Shanghai To many, the idea of a World Expo might seem like a dated, superfluous throwback from some preglobalized age. (Remember the one in Aichi, Japan? Enough said.) But tell that to the 70 million who are expected to attend Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

This is China, after all. And following up on Beijing’s spectacular Olympics, Shanghai is pulling out all the stops. From May 1 to Oct. 31, more than 200 national and other pavilions will straddle the city’s Huangpu River, turning a twosquare-mile site into an architectural playground: Switzerland will be represented by a building shaped like a map of that country, complete with a rooftop chairlift, while England is in the celebrated hands of the designer Thomas Heatherwick, who is fashioning what looks like a big, hairy marshmallow. Other attention grabbers include Macao, taking the

form of a walk-through bunny, and the United Arab Emirates, which hired Foster + Partners to build a “sand dune.” (By contrast, the United States pavilion might be mistaken for a suburban office park.)

In the run-up to the Expo, Shanghai seems to have taken this year’s theme, “Better City,

Better Life,” to heart, spending tens of billions of dollars to upgrade the city. The riverfront Bund promenade is getting a makeover with parks and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, while the subway is being dramatically expanded — including several new stations serving the World Expo site.

feature

When Advertising

Goes Techy!

By: Karim Zein

Advertising is one of the greatest tools to market for a product but when it goes out of the box and sells these products through innovative ways, it causes the greatest impact. I’ve been in the advertising field for 3 years now and I haven’t seen a single thing in Egypt that caused that Impact. However, globally agencies have gone the extra mile to communicate how their brands are the perfect choice.

I’ll take you through three of the most mind-blowing ideas I’ve ever seen and yes my jaws were on the ground when I saw them.

First, Nike the prominent brand associated with sports. Lance Armstrong announced that he’s going back to cycling after his struggle with cancer and he’ll be doing it to support people against cancer.

Nike decided to sponsor the event with the Live Strong campaign.

What they did was outstanding; the ChalkBot. The agency behind that campaign decided to do something smart. They created a device that printed graffiti on the streets of France where Armstrong would be cycling. That’s not it though, people could log on to twitter and write messages to the Chalkbot and it has a server that organizes the messages and prints them one by one on the streets of France. So if you wanted to say “I Love You Honey” all you have to do is type it on the Chalkbot twitter page and the Chalkbot cruising the streets of

France would print it for you. You could then request a satellite image of your post to be sent to you with the exact location of the graffiti. Isn’t this outstanding?

Next is something that made me feel so dumb and so primitive. The Philharmoniker Hamburg is the orchestra of the Hanseatic city. They felt that people do not appreciate symphony anymore so they decided to engage people and empower them to become composers. What they did was install web cameras around the city and they got composers to stand in the location of the web cameras and compose musical notes with various instruments according to the movement of objects. For example if it is a square that the camera is viewing, each car that passes and each pedestrian would have his own instrument and own musical notes. You can mix and match cars, pedestrians and even boats to create your own symphony. It is using real time streaming with a twist. It is really hard to explain, you have to experience it yourself and because I really hate it when someone tells me something interesting and doesn’t allow me to experience it myself here is the link for it: www.soundsof-hamburg.de but it requires really fast internet connection.

Last but not least is the beloved mobile phone manufacturer Nokia.

They found out that people do not rely on Nokia phones for naviga-

tion so they decided to increase people’s interest in the Nokia navigation capabilities by an interesting solution. The agency behind this project used the signpost in the streets as a medium and they created the world’s largest digital signpost hung on a crane.

The signpost has an LED screen that posts names of streets and distance from the location of the signpost. Pedestrians could send text message including where they want to go to the signpost and it rotates automatically where the arrow points at the location you requested and you find your location written on the screen with the exact distance from where you are.

This is an outstanding idea to sell Nokia Navigation by making it live and interactive.

This is just a little sample of the thousands of great innovative ideas utilizing technology that are out there. I won’t leave you without giving you a little bonus, go to Youtube and type, “choose a different ending” in the search bar. What you’ll get is an interactive movie where you get to choose what happens next. It is a brilliant campaign to stop knife usage utilizing YouTube as a medium. Enjoy!

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What to do when you’re

stuck in the city for the weekend By: Sarah El Etribi

There are pros and cons for most of the things in our lives, and being stuck in the city for the weekend is undoubtedly one of those things. Many people might not see the advantage in staying alone in the city while all your friends are off to some different summer destinations, but that doesn’t mean the advantages are inexistent.

Boredom and loneliness can trigger many various characteristics about you and your personality; generating talents and hobbies you never knew you possessed.

Sometimes because you literally have nothing to do, you plan for events that you never attended, plan to go to places you’ve never visited before. You might even make arrangements with people you haven’t been with for quite some time, or people you aren’t really close to.

If you’re stuck in the city in a season like this, when most, if not all, of your friends are off to the North Coast, or some other exotic country, grab a pen and paper and plan for the wildest things you can do.

‘Wild’ doesn’t necessarily mean

jumping off a bridge or swimming in the Nile. In this case, I mean doing something you’ve never done before. Such plans may vary, and if you’re one of the people being referred to in this article, here are some things you can do while being stuck in the city in the weekend ;) 1. Visiting the Opera House can be very entertaining; you can always enjoy a professional ballet concert, a foreign play, or some other shows at any time of the week. Visiting Egyptian monuments and historical spots is a very interesting thing to do, especially that we Egyptians never really think about doing such plans.

2. Going to any sporting club in the morning for a run and a refreshing drink can be extremely invigorating especially at this time of year.

4. Visiting old friends or family would be a great idea if you’re stuck alone. Reunions, no matter how small, are always a pleasure, and you can make plans with other people instead of being alone.

5. If you’re the lazy type and prefer staying at home than going out alone, you can always download new hit movies and watch them alongside a big delicious bowl of popcorn with all its different flavours.

Next time you’re stuck in the city, don’t whine about it, but try to enjoy it as much as you can. Sometimes, we really need some time alone, to think, or to rediscover our internal inspiration, to learn more about ourselves and to enjoy places in our city that we never knew existed.

3. Doing volunteer work is incredibly rewarding, both psychologically and physically. You can work at some Senior Citizens’ house, helping old people heal, taking them for walks, feeding them, entertaining them, etc.

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Quick Summer tips By: Mena Ghali

is Killing The Internet By: Donia Beshir

Summer food and drinks loading your fat stores, yes I know. Well, you should have worked out more throughout the year for that time to at least reduce the damage.

Yes told you, you should have worked out. Enough of that, here are some more summer fine tuning tips for you to help you burn fat fast and show some more definition for the beach: Tan up – the darker your skin, the more defined you look.

Drink up – Have atleast 4 litres of water throughout your day. If you will be doing heavy drinking at night, eat before, never after and increase your water consumption to 6 or 7 litres. I repeat you should not eat after drinking, your body will prioritize what to get rid of first,

and unfortunately it’s the alcohol, and there goes all the fat in your food directly to storage. Drink half a litre when you wake up, it will boost your metabolism and keep you hydrated for the rest of the day.

Shape up – Try hitting the gym at least 4 days a week. Change your exercise plan for more fat burning rather than gain. Try 6 sets 20 reps with 20% of your maximum weight for each exercise you do. Exercise with minimum rest between sets.

Jog or walk with weights. Simply hold a dumbbell while you walk on a treadmill and do some curls, shoulder presses or any other movement. This increases the calories you burn by almost double the amount if you walk or

job without that extra weight being moved. You are now working your upper and lower body.

Try having complex carbs in the mornings of weekends to keep your body’s energy high and keep you feeling full for some time. This can save you from a couple of unhealthy burgers. Keep some nuts around too, like almonds which are a good choice for a midday snack.

Swim up – Do it seriously, swimming is an excellent workout for your whole body. If you’re on the seaside, manage 20 minutes for serious swimming.

Next time try to get enough exercise before bikini season, no more excuses.

At Motley Fool, the investor site, Seth Jayson, says he “occasionally entertain[s] the thought that Google has, in fact, destroyed the Internet.

Well, not the physical Internet, mind you. Just the whole ‘looking for data’ part of it that’s key to Google’s (alleged) information-based mission.

The part that’s held the key (so far) to its financial success.”

Any of you try searching lately?

Notice the astounding lack of quality across the board, even at revamped competitors like Yahoo! and IAC/InterActiveCorp’s Ask.com? I feel your pain. I, too, have spent hours stuck in the revolving door of link farms, splogs, and scraper sites. These sites look like they contain content, but when you see the results page, often it’s not there (because of tricks like keyword stuffing and cloaking).

If it is there, it’s often recycled material from other providers, compiled by an automated process.

The jokers who create these sites have one goal: Trying to get you to click on a Google AdSense link.

Google search is being spammed to hell, but Google is making money out of it, so why should it care? In any case, Jayson doesn’t believe Google can stop it: I think when you pit a few hundred Google Smarty Pantses -who are getting fat on stock options and gourmet meals at the Big Goo campus -- against many thousand enterprising schemers on the Internet, the battle will go to those hungry schemers every time.

Meanwhile, says the story, Google just keeps its inflated stock price in the air by announcing “doodads that no one needs, like an online spreadsheet”, even if they have little chance of making any money.

That’s not much of a concern for the press out there, which is bliss-

fully unaware of its prime position as Most Likely to Be Head Dupe in Google’s hype machine. All the newsroom knows is that Google is prime headline fodder, and more importantly, it’s not Microsoft, so everything it does must be worthy of ink.

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Delicious recipes for

ramadan

Spicy Pakistani Zucchini

Black Glutinous Rice Porridge Ingredients: 1) Water - 1 2/3 cups 2) A pandan leaf 3) Black glutinous rice - 3/4 cup.

4) Brown sugar - 1/2 cup.

5) White sugar - 1/4 cup.

6) Coconut milk - 2 cups.

7) A medium-sized saucepan.

Instructions: 1) Put all the ingredients properly in the pan of the bread machine in the order advocated by the manu-

Also needed: 1) A skillet, 2) A ladle (to stir).

Instructions: 1) Peel the zucchini, take the seeds out and cut into semicircular pieces.

2) Pour oil into the skillet and heat in medium temperature. Add in onion and sauté for about 5 minutes or until golden.

3) Next, pour in all the other ingredients and stir with a ladle. Turn down heat to LOW and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Instructions: 1) Pour water into the saucepan.

Add the water and the pandan leaf.

Bring to a boil.

2) Add rice to the mixture. Stir with a ladle. Turn down heat, put a cover over the pan and simmer for 20 minutes.

3) Take out the pandan leaf. Add in brown sugar and white sugar. Stir with the ladle and cook for 5 minutes.

4) Add in the coconut milk. Take away from heat. Serve hot.

Syrian Bread Ingredients: 1) Water - 1 cup and 2 tablespoons.

2) Vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons.

3) White sugar - 1/2 teaspoon.

4) Salt - 1 1/2 teaspoons 5) All-purpose flour - 3 cups.

6) Active dry yeast - 1 1/2 teaspoons.

7) A bread machine.

8) Kitchen knife.

Ingredients: 1) Cooking oil - 1/4 cup.

2) Onion - 1, thinly sliced.

3) Zucchini(Small cucumber-shaped vegetable marrow) - 6, peeled, seeded and cut into semicircles 4) Salt - 1/2 teaspoon.

5) Water - 2 cups.

6) Chili powder - 2 teaspoons.

7) Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon, grounded.

8) Garlic powder - 1/2 teaspoon.

9) Coriander seed - 1 teaspoon, grounded.

10) 3 whole cloves 11) Whole peppercorns - 6 or 7.

12) Tomatoes - 4, chopped.

13) Plain yogurt - 2 1/2 tablespoons.

facturer. Choose Dough cycle and push on the Start button.

2) Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).

3) When the dough rises, take it out and spread onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out and cut into eight equal pieces.

4) Roll and form the dough pieces into smaller dough bits. Cover these with a damp cloth and keep aside for sometime.

5) Now spread and roll the dough bits

into thin flat circles of about 4” radius.

6) Place the dough circles (two at a time) on preheated baking sheets/ baking stone. Cook for five minutes, or until they puff up and turn golden brown. Cook all the remaining loaves in similar manner. Serve hot.

Jarjeer Salad Ingredients: 1) A bunch of arugula.

2) Onion - 2, thinly sliced.

3) Mushrooms - 1 cup, chopped finely.

4) Tomato - 1, diced.

5) Refined olive oil - 1 teaspoon.

6) Lemon - 1/2, juiced.

7) Sumac - 2 teaspoons.

8) Salt to taste

Instructions: 1) Wash the arugula leaves and dry thoroughly.

2) Place the leaves on the plate.

Place onions, mushrooms and tomato in layers on top.

3) Add in olive oil, lemon juice and sumac. Whisk together with a spoon.

4) Add salt for taste. Serve with other food items.

Also needed: Kitchen knife, a large plate.

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food Fig and Lemon Chicken Chicken thighs roasted with figs and lemon slices in a lemon, vinegar and brown sugar glaze. Yet it’s easy and delicious.

Ingredients 12 chicken thighs 2 lemons, 1 sliced, 1 halved 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup white vinegar 1/4 cup water 1 1/2 pounds dried figs salt to taste 1 teaspoon dried parsley 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley Instructions: Preheat the chicken thighs in oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Squeeze juices from halved lemon

Beef Meatballs Ingredients: 1/2 lb ground beef 1/4 teaspoon oregano 2 tablespoons grated Italian cheese (Parmesan and/or Romano) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1 egg 1/4 cup cool milk 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

into a small bowl, then stir in brown sugar, vinegar and water; set aside.

Place figs and sliced lemon segments in the bottom of an 11x16 inch baking/roasting dish. Arrange chicken thighs on top, then pour vinegar mixture over chicken. Finally, sprinkle with salt and dried parsley to taste.

Bake/roast at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 50 minutes, basting frequently (turn figs if they begin to brown).

With a slotted spoon, remove chicken, figs and lemon slices from baking dish and place on a warm platter. Skim fat from cooking juices, then pour over chicken as sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Instructions: Mix ingredients in given order one by one. After completely mixed by hand, let stand for at least 20 minutes. Form into meatballs (golf ball size) and fry slowly until golden brown. Do not turn until completely done on one side and do not crowd pan. If not using teflon pan, cook in 2 tablespoons oil.

SOUP Nutritional Lentil Soup Ingredients 2 onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 6 cups water 1 cup red lentils 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained 1 (19 ounce) can cannelloni beans 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes 1/2 cup diced carrots 1/2 cup chopped celery 1 teaspoon dried mixture of cloves and cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions: In large pot sauté; the onions, garlic, and ginger in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Add the water, lentils, chick peas, white kidney beans, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, clove, bits of cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne pepper and cumin. Bring to a boil for a few minutes then simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or longer, until the lentils are soft.

Puree half the soup in a food processor or blender. Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir and enjoy!

This is a highly balanced food with protein, minerals, and fiber.

Makes 6 plus servings.

DESSERT Fresh Fig Cake Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 egg 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup evaporated milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup chopped fresh figs 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup water 2 cups chopped fresh figs 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with vegetable oil spray.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with the sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add flour mixture alternately with the evaporated milk.

Fold in vanilla and almond extracts and chopped figs.

Divide into two prepared 8 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 min-

utes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.

To make the filling: In a saucepan, combine 2 cups figs, brown sugar, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes. Spread thinly between layers of cake and on top.

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Must-Have Kitchen Appliances Whether you›re setting up a new home or simply taking stock of what you already have, how can you tell what kitchen appliances are essential for a well-equipped kitchen? Use this checklist to determine which countertop appliances are essentials in your kitchen, and which appliances you might also need depending on your cooking habits. Once you obtain everything on this list, you can move on to the more specialized appliances.

Blender A blender is essential for making smoothies and other frozen drinks, pureeing soups, mixing custards, chopping soft ingredients and achieving other chopping and emulsifying tasks.

Choose one with a powerful motor (500 watts or more should be good for most tasks) and a sturdy jar made of glass or heavyduty polycarbonate. Make sure the jar is big enough for the volume of recipes or drinks that you think you›ll normally be making; if you often entertain or cook for a crowd, you won›t want a blender jar that is so small you›ll have to make everything in batches.

Food Processor A food processor can chop, slice, grate, blend, knead dough, puree, emulsify and so much more. You can save lots of time in the kitchen if you use your food processor for everyday tasks, such as grating cheese, chopping onions, slicing vegetables and kneading biscuit dough.

A food processor is among the most expensive countertop appliance you can buy, but investing in a high-end version means you›ll have a more powerful motor, a larger-capacity bowl and a sturdier design, as well as some useful accessories, such as grating disks or emulsifying attachments.

Toaster Oven Sure, it takes up more space than a regular toaster, but a toaster oven is far more useful. Toast or heat thicker, stickier items like homemade bread, oversized bagels, French toast or waffles, or melt cheese, broil a sugar topping or brown breadcrumbs. You can also use a toaster oven to cook small quantities of food, such as a few cookies or a mini pizza, without having to waste energy

and heat up the house with your conventional oven. Some toaster ovens even can double as a microwave, but as long as the toaster oven you choose has a toast setting, a temperature-adjustable oven setting, and a broil setting, you›ll have all you need.

Invest in a couple of extra baking sheets and broiler pans that fit inside the oven – you›ll find yourself using them frequently.

Countertop Grill Whether you have an outdoor grill or not, a countertop grill is still one of the handiest appliances ever for making a quick and healthy lunch or dinner. Use it to cook burgers, fish, steak or chicken breasts, or to toast panini-style sandwiches. Features to look for in a countertop grill include a «floating» hinge to evenly cook thicker foods without compressing one side, removable grill plates for easy cooking, or even plates that interchange with smooth plates to convert the grill into a griddle. You might also want to make sure the grill you choose opens flat.

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4. 4-inch Utility Knife This small knife does everything a paring knife can do, and then some. Use it to mince shallots and garlic, hull cherries, slice mushrooms and avocados and peel fruit like apples. Henckels› Twin Four Star II knifes are forged from highcarbon stainless steel and have a sturdy polypropylene handle.

Bonus tip: Buy a plastic shield for this knife, or keep the cardboard sleeve it comes with, and tote it along on a picnic for slicing cheese or pate.

Kitchen Gadgets and Kitchen Tools Every Cook Needs

There are certain kitchen tools or kitchen gadgets that you›ll reach for again and again. Whether they›re a classic design or an innovative invention, these tools are ones that will make your work easier, your cleanup faster, your results better and more professional. Here are 10 kitchen gadgets that your kitchen shouldn›t be without.

1. Microplane Grater This now-ubiquitous kitchen tool was originally adapted from a woodworking rasp. But now, savvy cooks know that it›s the best way for grating hard cheeses, chocolate, ginger and nutmeg.

Bonus tip: Use it to grate cloves of garlic for any recipe that calls for minced or finely chopped garlic.

2. Color-Coded Flexible Cutting Mats Practice good sanitation in the kitchen by using a different color mat for different cutting tasks: blue for fish, yellow for poultry, green for vegetables. Best of all, it›s easy to transport cut-up food to a bowl or pan; just hold the mat by the edges and tilt to funnel the food into the pan or bowl. A set from Progressive International comes with four different colored mats, plus 2 white mini mats for small chopping jobs like garlic.

Bonus tip: Use the reverse side of the green (vegetable) mat as a pastry mat for patting out biscuit dough.

3. KitchenArt Adjust-a-Cup Measuring Cup For baking and other tasks that require numerous carefully measured ingredients, this clever adjustable measuring cup will replace your entire stack of dry and liquid measuring cups. A twist of the base adjusts the cup to the proper measurement line, and you can push the base up to remove sticky ingredients. The cup has measurement markings in cups, ounces and milliliters. The company makes 1-cup and 2-cup sizes and even a mini size that measures tablespoons and teaspoons.

Bonus tip: Measure dry ingredients first, then liquid ingredients, and you won›t have to wash the cup between measurements.

5. Silicone Spoon Spatula This utensil may very well replace all your other spoons and spatulas; it›s the only one you›ll need for stirring, sautéing, scooping, scraping and more. Made by silicone kitchenware specialist iSi, the tools are heat resistant up to 600˚F, and have a springy steel core extending through the handle, which makes them strong yet flexible.

Bonus tip: While most silicone tools come in different colors, consider buying a red one—it won›t show stains from using with strongly pigmented ingredients like tomato sauce.

6. Kitchen Shears Keep a pair of shears in a kitchen drawer exclusively for cooking use.

From snipping twine to cutting open packages to trimming vegetables and meats, a sharp pair of shears are indispensable. Chicago Cutlery›s Insignia2 Kitchen Scissors have a few bonus features—the ends of the handle have a bottle opener on one side, a screw driver/ box opener on the other, and a row of teeth between the handles can grip bones or crack lobster or crab legs.

Bonus tip: Instead of chopping herbs with a knife, use a clean pair of kitchen shears to easily snip them straight into the pot.

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7. Granny Fork A granny fork is an old-fashioned tool (with an equally nostalgic name) that deserves a Renaissance. With a no-slip wooden handle and tines that are sharper than a dinner fork, you can use it for beating eggs, whisking liquid or dry ingredients, or spearing a piece of meat. Cutlery company Lamson & Goodnow makes versions with two and three tines, and in different sizes.

Bonus tip: A granny fork makes a cute, rustic serving utensil for a platter of cheeses or cold cuts.

8. Small custard cups Professional chefs keep their cool by using a practice called mise en place (translation: set in place). It means that before they start cooking, they prep and measure all of their ingredients so everything is ready and within reach when they fire up the stove. A set of glass custard cups, like these Pyrex6-ounce versions, can organize measured quantities of minced garlic, chopped herbs, olive oil, vinegar and other small amounts of ingredients. You can also use them for serving crème brulee or puddings, or for holding condiments at the dinner table like dipping sauces, flaky sea salt, or grated Parmesan cheese.

Bonus tip: Inverted, a custard cup is just the right size to punch out rounds of biscuit or cookie dough.

9. Dual Kitchen Timer With a reliable kitchen timer, you›ll never again burn a tray of cookies. And even though most microwaves and ovens now have timers that can be used independently, a separate timer can be carried into other parts of the house, or can be used even when the microwave is being used for other tasks. West Bend›s Dual Timer allows you to time two different dishes at once, and also has a memory feature to recall previous times—good for baking batches of cookies.

Bonus tip: Use your portable timer outside when you›re grilling to ensure you don›t burn that steak.

10. A Good Pepper Mill Freshly ground pepper tastes much better than the preground kind you can buy at your supermarket. The Chef›n pepper ball allows you to grind pepper one-handed, a boon if your other hand is wet or if you›re using it to stir a pot of sauce. It›s easy to refill, and the coarseness of the grind can be adjusted with a dial at the base of the mill.

Bonus tip: Buy two pepper mills and keep one filled with black pepper, one with white pepper. White pepper can be used in mashed potatoes, cream sauces and other light-colored recipes.

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adidas

stella mccartney

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news

TechnoStyle News 1st Edition

August 2010

1st Edition Kids Go Techno at Alexandria City Centre this Summer

August 2010 Long-Service Awards Celebration at Conrad Cairo

LG & Red Bull Racing Join Forces in Etisalat Egypt, Nokia, Raya launching New Formula 1™ increased in a sport with one of the

Cairo, 26 July 2010 - LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, has become a Team and Technology Partner to Red Bull Racing in the FIA Formula One World Championship™.

The new multi-season partnership extends LG’s successful ongoing relationship with the series.

A Global Partner and a Technology Partner of Formula 1™, LG’s brand presence has significantly

You Shop.

We Clean It Holiday Inn Cairo Citystars has recently celebrated the soft opening of Stars Laundry.

Now you can do your laundry while you enjoy shopping in Stars Center, one of the biggest shopping centers in the Middle East.

At Stars Laundry, your laundry will be handled with care and attention.

largest regular global TV audiences.

While LG will supply Red Bull Racing with its latest products at track and at the team’s headquarters, the close working partnership will offer the electronics’ giant further opportunities to raise brand awareness to a broad consumer audience across the globe.

A championship favourite with five wins so far this season, Red Bull Racing and its drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, achieved unprecedented success in 2009, finishing runner-up in both the Drivers’ (Vettel) and Constructors’ world championships. The team is now third in the Drivers’ (Webber) and second in the Constructors’ world championships for 2010.

“We are delighted to welcome LG as a partner to Red Bull Racing,” said Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Principal. “LG Electronics is an extremely innovative company that aligns well with the creative innovation that is demonstrated within Red Bull Racing. This partnership shows Red Bull’s appeal to like-minded partners and signifies the progress the team has made in the short space of time to attract premium brands like LG.”

Nokia 5800 Amr Diab Edition

In a huge press conference where Amr Diab, the International Egyptian singer had a special appearance, Etisalat, Nokia and Raya announced the launch of the new Nokia 5800 Amr Diab Limited Edition in an amazing press event.

The cooperation is dedicated to offer the best services for customers of Etisalat, Nokia and Raya: latest technologies from Nokia, best offers from Etisalat Egypt, through the vast network integrated services of Raya.

Etisalat will offer with every Nokia 5800 special edition a free line with free internet package for three months up to a maximum of 100MB per month a free line from Etisalat with 3 months free internet account with a maximum of 100 MB per month.

Raya will also release the new Nokia 5800 through its e-trade website www.rayashop.com that allows its customers to order the phone online and receive it through a home delivery service free of charge. Tthe commercial website also is going to publish the phones online on www. rayashop.com in order for the client to buy it easily online and then it will be home-delivered.

Alexandria City Centre is calling for all budding scientists and innovators this summer as the mall prepares to host the ‘Techno Innovation Competition’ between the 25th July until the 8th August 2010.

Held in conjunction with TechnoKids Egypt, the worldwide competition is free to all children aged 9-17 years, and aims to uncover the brightest technology minds of the future and set them on the road to discovery.

The initiative provides a stage on which the region’s youth can air their ideas and creative solutions across the fields of environment, engineer-

ing, medicine, chemistry, mathematics, computers and the science of plants and animals.

Alexandria City Centre in cooperation with TechnoKids Egypt, is supporting the regional competition, to encourage students from their local community to enter and help prepare them for the international competitions.

Omar Gaafar, Mall Manager of Alexandria City Centre, said: “We are always looking for ways to nurture the next generation, and the ‘Techno Innovation Competition’ is the perfect way for us to support our community’s rising technology stars.

In recognition of the vital role of appreciating team members loyalty, the Conrad Cairo celebrated their monthly long-service & loyalty awards event.

The Human resources department organised this celebration to honour team members with awards for service devotion, long-service awards and also honesty awards.

Chef Gianfranco Chiarini at Maestro Restaurant in InterContinental Cairo Citystars

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Bajaj Auto Ltd. Confirm Progress on Development of New Vehicle

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Bajaj Auto Ltd. announced their intention to partner on the development of an innovative new four-wheel product for the Indian and other emerging markets.

Today the project took another

step forward with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two partners.

The signing of the MOU follows discussions between both partners to define the product, manufacturing plan and distribution agreements.

As InterContinental Cairo Citystars is always known for exclusivity and excellence, the hotel hosted Michelin star awarded celebrity Chef Gianfranco Chiarini, he grew up between Venezuela and the U.S. and later decided to join the Instituto de Alta Gastronomia de Caracas in the early 90’s and graduated as an International Chef.

Chef Gianfranco chose Maestro to delight guests with his Italian Middle Eastern fusion creations and the restaurant’s elegant Italian atmosphere.

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news 1st Edition Procter & Gamble (P&G) lays the cornerstone of its new manufacturing plant in 6th of October City

Dr. Fathi Saad, Governor of 6th of October, laid the cornerstone of P&G’s new diapers manufacturing plant in the city, with total investments exceeding one billion Egyptian pounds, to become P&G’s second manufacturing plant in Egypt.

The plant is being erected inside Polaris Industrial Park in 6th of October City on an area of 256 thousand square meters, equivalent to twice the size of P&G’s existing plant in the 4th industrial zone of the City, built upon the Company’s entry into the Egyptian market in 1986. The new plant is expected to provide more than 500 job opportunities over the next three years. It will enter into production by the end of next year, in conjunction with the P&G’s celebration of 25 years of presence in Egypt. Upon the completion of its construction by 2020, the new October 6th Plant is expected to become one of the three largest diaper plants for P&G around the world.

The new October 6th Plant will allocate 40% of its production to meet the domestic demand, and gear the remaining 60% towards foreign export markets in Africa, Asia and Europe. The new plant will contribute to increasing P&G’s exports of diapers to foreign markets by 50%. This will further establish P&G – today Egypt’s 11th biggest exporter of non-petroleum goods – as one of the leading exporters of the country.

August 2010 Global IT security spending estimated to rise to US$ 60 Billion, as cybercrime continues to grow

As the online threat landscape continues to evolve and grow, global spending on IT security is estimated to rise to US$ 60 billion, according to market research company, RNCOS. The study also shows that IT security in the Middle East is projected to grow by 12% over the next three years, as governments and financial institutions adopt advanced security solutions.

During GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 2010 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from 17-21 October 2010, leading vendors will showcase a range of the latest security products including IT security appliances, services and software.

Trixee Loh, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of GITEX said: “Security is a key focus area at this year’s GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK and will address the growing need for a safe and secure technology environment. The event attracts leading vendors such as Kaspersky, Trend Micro Middle East and Symantec who will showcase the most advanced IT security solutions to protect consumers and businesses in the region. The event also provides a strategic platform to discuss issues relating to security and keep businesses informed of the latest security technologies and trends.”

In June 2010, Kaspersky Labs reported that a total of 327,598,028

attempts were made to infect users’ computers worldwide, 26.8% higher than the previous quarter. There is an exponential growth of online security threats as technology advances and online use increases. As online fraud and identity theft rises, industry experts advise that security should be top priority for businesses and individuals. Without it, companies are vulnerable to attacks and identity and data theft.

Tarek Kuzbari, Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab Middle East said, “Everyone needs to be better educated about online threats and how to defend against them. This includes IT professionals defending today’s networks and the software developers who work alongside them. This year, at GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK we will be showcasing a suite of advanced security solutions that will help protect customers and provide them with a more secure, private and reliable computing experience.”

GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK, the region’s largest and most established ICT trade event, will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from 17-21 October 2010.

To register or for more information please visit www.gitex.com

1st Edition

August 2010

Nokia Welcomes Ramadan 2010 with tailored applications for the Holy Month Nokia announced the launch of a new range of mobile applications and content tailored for the holy month of Ramadan. The new range of Ramadan applications 2010 have now become available on Ovi Store, the updated mobile applications tailored for the Holy Month can now be downloaded on the compatible Nokia devices for free directly from Nokia’s Ovi Store.

“The overwhelming response and feedback that we received from last year’s offering and the number of downloads that exceeded a million, allowed us to improve and expand this year’s application offering. Nokia users have now a single and easy access to many of the cherished

experiences that Muslims like to be close to, and keep them connected to the Holy Month.

Nokia 2010 Ramadan Applications include the following: The Holy Quran: allows users to read, search, bookmark and listen to Quran recitation Prayer Times: provides prayer timings and Qibla direction for 1000 cities in 200 countries, along with the ability to add, remove, update and edit any location using the GPS Hadith: gives an easy and convenient way to read the Honorable Hadeeth from Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Riyad us-Saliheen, Holy Hadeeths and Arba’in An Nawawi Boyoot Allah: helps Muslims locate

the mosques in different cities using Ovi free maps around the world.

Arabica: helps non-Arabic speaking Muslims to read and understand Quran, Hadeeth and Dua in Arabic by self-learning or with the help of online teachers through their mobile.

Makkah and Madinah: offers a mobile guide with multimedia content and the most famous places that people can visit during Hajj and Umrah Mozzaker: allows mobile users to listen, search and translate a large collection of of daily Azkar and selected supplications. People can also download more Azkar and share via SMS and MMS with friends and family

Life Taste’s Good Championship, LG SolarDom Allows you to be Creative in Cooking LG Electronics is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances employing more than 84,000 people working in 115 operations including 84 subsidiaries around the world. LG is always keen to innovate new concepts and devices to satisfy all its existing customers and to gain the confidence of the new customers.

LG home appliances department always provides customers by the newest home appliances ever based on high technology and energy saving thus the customers totally trust in LG name.

LG held a competition; Life Taste’s Good Championship. Life Tastes Good Competition is a unique cook-

ing competition by using a new innovative microwave “SolarDom”.

It’s a special microwave oven which is totally different from any other ordinary microwaves. SolarDom can give you a fantastic cooking result, as it is not only de-freezing or heating device like other microwaves it’s a full cooking experience device.

The competition was held at Semeramis Intercontinental Hotel between 10 individuals and 5 team’s contestants. The judges committee consisted of Mr. Ken Lee Marketing Manager of Home appliances products in Egypt, Chef Ibrahim Ata and Mrs. Renee Bedrosian from Audience.

The winner was Ms. Basma Ahmed in the individual’s category and Mr. Sherif El Hotaiby and Ms.

Salma Sarhan in the team category.

Those lucky winners will travel to Dubai for the second phase.

Chef Ibrahim – judgment committee member - said: “this innovative competition from LG showed the cooking creativity from the Egyptian people with a unique device”.

“After this completion SolarDom proved that the life is easy and tasty with LG. My advice for all who care about cooking, you should have SolarDom at your houses to have a tasty food within few minutes”. – Chef Ibrahim added.

At the end of Life Taste’s Good Championship Mr. Ken Lee thanks all the contestants and all audience for sharing joy with LG and promising them to present more innovative activities in the near future.

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1st Edition

August 2010

adidas Launches their Lightest Ever Football Boot F50 adiZero – the Lightest, Fastest adidas Boot in History Cairo, July 2010 — adidas proudly presents the lightest football boot it ever produced, the F50 adiZero.

The revolutionary new boot weighs an astonishing 165 grams* and features industry-leading technologies, making it the lightest and fastest adidas football boot ever made.

On this occasion, adidas launched the new F50adiZero in Egypt by the river Nile, where sports media representatives and prominent figures of the industry were brought together to watch and experience the excitement of the World Cup Semi Final game between Germany – Spain.

Lionel Messi has been the first player to wear the distinctive chameleon purple, white and electricity colourway during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The FIFA World Player of the Year said “I am amazed at how light the new F50 is; I can barely feel them on my feet. Speed on the pitch is a really important part of my game and wearing the world’s lightest boot has made me faster and enhanced my performance during the most important games of the year!”

The need for speed in modern football has never been greater, where millimetres or a fraction of a second can make the difference

between winning and losing. adidas has responded to this athlete request by reinventing the rules of speed and turning the iconic F50 boot into the lightest adidas boot ever made.

Aubrey Dolan, Senior Product Manager for adidas Football comments “Players like Lionel Messi consistently told us they wanted boots that would enable them to be faster. Players wanted to be first to the ball, so we decided that the best way forward was to make a lightweight product which could be used at the highest level.”

The F50 adiZero is being worn

by players during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The chameleon purple, white and electricity boot is worn exclusively by Lionel Messi with Steven Pienaar (South Africa), Jozy Altidore (U.S.A), Shunsake Nakamura (Japan), Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast), Arjen Robben (Holland) and Lukas Podolski (Germany) wearing the sun, black and collegiate gold colourway and David Villa (Spain), Jermain Defoe (England) and Johan Vonlanthen (Switzerland) wearing the black and sun version. The boot will be available soon in all adidas Sport Performance stores in Egypt.

A Journey of Discovery, Canada, Journeys of Struggle, Journeys of Hope.

Written by Murad Al-Sabi When evening comes, fear hides beyond sensors of hope while the bird standing by the doorway is wet from the rains, shaking off its wings, getting ready to fly again without the load of burdens carried by its predecessors.

Talfazat TV a NeuLion Inc company is a leading Arabic live and on-demand TV provider in North America; they state that a part of their mission is to help connect the Arab Diasporas with home.

It’s true that they provide a social

service to the community through their TV platform but their commitment to helping Arab communities integrate into Canadian society is what really impressed me. As part of their grassroots efforts they have sponsored this tour organized by the Arab Community Centre of Toronto for newcomers from the Iraqi community. Such a tour is but a small attempt to help integrate newcomers to their new more system driven environment.

horoscope

Horoscope Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Be the change you wish to see in the world Ghandi

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

Libra (September 23 - October 22)

Taurus (April 20- May 20)

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)

You could have some limits with your social life as entertainment activities could be causing you some restrictions with your outside financial resources. Help from your home base could be reaching you and helping you to smooth things out in this area as you are getting much love and support from your home. You will be giving much thought to plans for your future, and luck seems to be riding with you. There is the need to be aware of the company that you keep as glamour could be veiling deceiving circumstances.

This month you will find yourself dealing with many responsibilities at home, and these responsibilities are giving you much mental anxiety. There are many fast adjustments that will have to be made. Your lines of communication are open in a very harmonious and favorable way and this will facilitate for you all the changes that you need to make. All of these changes will bring to your life unexpected gain. Your career and ambition in life are surrounded with many doubts. All you need to do is ask questions in order to get a clear picture.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

Communication is the key word for you this month. There is the need for restraint in what is spoken and to listen in order to learn as there is a lesson hidden here for you. You are having much anxiety connected to your relationship with your mate or partner as it is hard for you to cope with slow changes that are happening here. This is also connected to your goals for the future. Money wise your prospects seem bright at this moment for your immediate future. Go with the flow as changes might be for the better.There are some adjustments that are required to be made with your shared sources of income as there is a need to find the way to smooth this area.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

Your area of personal income and values is in the spotlight for you this month. Your perception of your future is surrounded with much anxiety and worries as you are going through many changes connected to your outlook on the future. All the changes seem to be intellectually very favorable for you as they could bring to your life some sources of investment or speculation. You might do some far away travel connected to this, but not necessarily in a physical way as there is a way to communicate with far away places with all of the modern technology.

Leo (July 23- August 22)

Your life right now might be full of restrictions and hard lessons that will be very useful to you in the future. This is going to be bringing you many unexpected changes with your joint financial income. Learning this lesson will be to your advantage as this could bring much gain to you in the near future. You could get plenty of ideas to sweeten the pot in spite of some ambivalent feelings that you are keeping to yourself in relation to your mate or partner. Changing your place of residence is one of the main thoughts that could be going through your mind as the possibility for this to happen is great.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22)

There are many restrictions that you are putting upon yourself that could make you do some fast changes with your relationship with your mate or partner. You are seeing the future with rose colored glasses and you could be surprised that this is actually the real color for the future with your partnership issues. There are some adjustments that you have been making at your home base and this can cause you some worries and concerns as you see these obstacles in your future dealings with your mate or partner, but your lines of communication are harmoniously open and you seem to be in accord with what your business and profession should bring to your life.

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces

You could be having some social contacts that you might not be too happy about as you will have to make some unexpected changes at your work place in order to address them. You also will have to make some adjustments at home. Communication that you are having through these social contacts and activities could cause you much anxiety. Your area of personal income and values is very bright right now, and your ambitions and desires in life might be closer to being fulfilled than you think.

Your area of career, promotion and financial reward is in the spotlight for you this month. You could be very well rewarded if you have done the correct thing in the past; otherwise, some restrictions might accompany any offering that you may receive in connection with your career. There are some adjustments and some reorientation that will be necessary in connection to an investment, and this could be connected to new technology. You might be in communication with someone in a far away place in connection to this. This could look like a lucky thing for you.

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)

Your philosophical outlook in life could be going through some hard lessons that might cause you some anxiety and worries. There are some lessons that might come to you in regards to this as a good, unexpected learning experience. Your future in connection to your shared and outside sources of income looks very bright right now and you are putting many of your thoughts into this area of your life. Someone might come to you with a proposal for an investment and there could be many details hidden in all of this. You need to ask many questions, and do not let yourself be deluded into something that you might regret.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)

There are many issues connected to your area of joint financial interest as there are some restrictions here for you, and this is causing you some agitation which you are keeping bottled up. You could have the tendency to speak faster than you should on these issues. There is the need to hold back and use some prudence as the necessity for reorientation is needed here. You are going through a period of self healing on many money issues that you have with your mate or partner as you become more aware of the mutual difference of opinion. There could be some emotional obstacles that need to be reconciled in a constructive way.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)

Matters concerning your marriage and partnerships are on the forefront this month for you. You might be having some restrictions connected to fast changes with your personal sources of income, and there are some adjustments that could be required. Your future at the work place seems to be pointing towards very favorable circumstances which could bring you some future monetary gains. There is a strong possibility that you might reach some of your fondest desires in life as you could be reaching some station connected to your career undertakings.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20)

Your life could be centered this month on your area of work.This is a place that will be very busy with extra tasks and responsibilities put upon you as innovation could be present, and this will require many adjustments on your part as you learn how to handle all these new things. Worries and concerns and some anxiety could be present as you see your future goals changing, but this will always be for the better. You need to use your communication skills in order to find out all that you need to know in order to make some adjustments in your life.

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cinema

By: Sarah Kamel

Inception Is a new blockbuster movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It has been dubbed a Science – Fiction action thriller but it may be more appropriate to call it a Psych – Fiction action mystery movie. The basic premise of the movie is that technology has made it possible to share dreams, and not always by choice. Any technology created by man will find a nefarious use and this technology is no different. DiCaprio is Dorn Cobb, an ‘Extractor’, a modern day bank robber with the exception that he robs information or thoughts out of people’s subconscious by invading their dreams. I did not fully understand the methodology of how the dreams were actually invaded except that computers and psychotropic drugs were employed for this purpose in the movie. There are plenty of car chases, big explosions, and some fantastical landscapes and cityscapes; it may be more accurate to term these dreamscapes since they are not to be found in the real world.

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unveiled

The movie holds one’s attention well enough and does raise some interesting questions about dreams and reality, and consciousness, to qualify it as a thinking movie rather than a mere adrenalin rush for two hours to be forgotten immediately thereafter.

Like The Matrix, Inception is a movie that will be much talked about, and analyzed for some time to come. The basic premise of the movie is that a person’s mind can be accessed by external sources by invading their dreams. This allows the invader to access areas of the person’s mind where their secrets are hidden (the subconscious.) The technology employed in this process is not entirely explained by the moviemakers but it is a technical process using computers and psychotropic drugs. The Leonardo DiCaprio character named Cobb is an ‘extractor’, a person who enters another person (the subject’s) mind to extract information from it, which is how he gets paid. Those of us who are familiar with mind altering and mind invading experimentation in the real world, such as the research of the Nazis before and during WWII, and MK (Mind Control) programs such as MK Ultra are well aware that those who mess with the mind are not sympathetic characters, like Dr. Mengele or Dr. Ewan Cameron, for instance. The very thought of going into someone

else’s mind without their knowledge, is an invasion, little different than a rape of the body, and therefore the perpetrator can hardly be thought of as a kind or sympathetic human being. As an aside, pharmaceutical drugs are used by the ‘extractors’ in the movie to sedate their victims, which in my view is comparable to giving a woman a date rape drug before assaulting her body. It is a well known fact that LSD and other drugs were used by MK experimenters, the most renowned of whom, Dr. Ewan Cameron, used it even on children in his MK Ultra experiments. Viewers ought to keep these facts in mind when watching the film, that despite the beach with blue waters, the cities with French cafes and other visually appealing settings, invasion of a mind is a traumatic experience, which is the reason why the victim needed to be sedated before the invasion began.

This is one of the major flaws in the film that it portrays these technologies as victimless in a very nonchalant way; the extractors come and rob the victim’s mind, leaving it undamaged without any long term negative effects.

The extraction process in the movie involves making the person dream, the dream is the avenue through which the extractor enters the subject’s subconscious mind and extracts whatever secrets his

client is paying him to extract. Unlike The Matrix, in which the process of ‘unplugging’ is well defined, this movie leaves out the details of the technology employed to create and share the dream with another individual or individuals. The technology where multiple individuals can share the same dream has to be very sophisticated but is portrayed rather simplistically in the movie, with all the necessary equipment fitting into an aluminum briefcase.

Those of us viewers who enjoy Science – Fiction would have appreciated more detail on the technology that made it possible for dreams to be shared. From that aspect the movie is more of a psychological thriller than Science – Fiction. It may be compared to DiCaprio’s movie from earlier this year title Shutter Island. Since Inception will inevitably be compared to that movie, I would say that Shutter Island was a better acted movie, and was overall a better, more well rounded film than this one. Ultimately Shutter Island is an endorsement of modern day psychiatry, and therefore, in my opinion, a propaganda movie, which viewers ought also to keep in mind if they have seen or plan on watching that particular film. Shutter Island Trailer.

The title of the movie, INCEPTION, rather than Extractor, is based on the plotline that the Cobb character is forced to plant an idea

in a subject’s (victim’s) mind rather than steal something from it. In my opinion, Conception might have been a better title but I suppose there is too much religious imagery associated with the word, which is probably why Chris Nolan, the writer / director chose to name it ‘Inception’. The word Inception means the beginning or commencement of something, which in a manner of speaking, is what the characters were attempting to do in this movie but it does not accurately convey the idea of planting, which was the goal in the film.

The catchphrase on all the promo materials for the film reads: YOUR MIND IS THE SCENE OF THE CRIME! Therefore the person that commits the crime of stealing the victim’s thoughts is a criminal (the victim is cleverly misrepresented as ‘Subject’ in the movie, and is even cleverly made to participate in the crime). However the main character, Cobb is portrayed as anything but a criminal and the morality, or rather immorality, and the ethics of the crime are not discussed.

The clinical nature of the deeds of these modern day Ewan Camerons makes the sympathetic portrayal of Cobb as deceptive, for in real life he would have been a cruel, cold hearted, and merciless clinician like Mengele not a soft hearted thief like the Humphrey Bogart character, Rick Blaine, in Casablanca. By the way, this was also true in Shutter Island, where the crimes of Freudian psychiatry were cleverly covered up, and portrayed as good and beneficial for the victims (the subjects).

Even though the horrors of modern psychiatry were alluded to, in the end were all shown to be justifiable, even lobotomies, such as shown in the brilliant Jack Nicholson film, One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest.

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Shakira’s World Cup Anthem

Makes Global Impact Following an explosive performance at the inaugural FIFA World Cup Kick-Off concert at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on June 10, Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” is making an impact on international charts.

The official FIFA World Cup song, recorded with South African band Freshlyground, was held to No. 2 on the new Billboard European Hot 100

by Coca-Cola’s rival World Cup song “Wavin’ Flag” by K’Naan. But Sony Music has heralded the success of the Shakira song around the world.

According to a statement by the major, the song’s music video, featuring several top-drawer football players including Argentina’s Leo Messi, Mexico›s Rafa Marquez and Cameroon›s Carlos Kameni, has been viewed around 2 million times a day since June 10, taking its total to over 15 million views on YouTube.

The label says the song has held the No. 1 spot on the Mexican chart for five weeks in succession and is No. 1 in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Finland,

France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and host country South Africa.

“Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” is featured on the official World Cup album “Listen Up!” and may make the tracklisting of Shakira’s next album,the follow-up to “She Wolf.”

Speaking to Billboard at her Johannesburg hotel, Shakira said the asyet-unnamed bilingual album, due September, is a return to her roots.

“I see it [the new album] as having two currents,” she says. “One is a lot about love and love experiences and emotions. And the other side of it is very joyful, and upbeat.”

Shakira also revealed that the music on her upcoming set would reflect influences from both the Dominican Republic and Colombia.

“It’s a little more Latin on one side and a little more rock‘n roll on the other side,” Shakira says.

Meanwhile, since the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11, music has played a supporting role to football with multiple gigs taking place daily in the country’s major cities.

Driving this upsurge in live performances are the FIFA Fan Fests and official city public viewing areas-free public viewing areas in all nine host cities, which use music performances between screening all 64 games in the tournament.

Artists are using the platform to showcase their music to an international and local audience in South Africa for the World Cup which is estimated to total 450,000.

Several country-themed events are also making their presence felt throughout the country. One of these is Cool Britannia,which has based itself out of the Cape Town International Convention Centre in the city. The month-long party is in association with the U.K.›s Football Supporter’s Federation and is the official base for English football fans in Cape Town. A daily lineup of music events along with the screening of matches on a big screen are on offer.