Concept spaceship art by Stephen Chang

changdesign blog.












Keywords: digital spaceship vehicle concept art by stephen chang professional concept artist san francisco california film video game art

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Okular Formats Follow-Up

After finding out you can read epub ebooks with Okular, I checked the list of supported formats (as of KDE 4.2): PDF PS Tiff CHM DjVu Images DVI XPS ODT FictionBook ComicBook Plucker EPub Fax. That includes OpenDocument(e.g. OpenOffice, KOffice) Writer Documents, CHM (aka. Windows Help) files, Djvu and others. I wonder what's the current list for the current 4.5.

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How Government Ministers respond to OIA requests

A good post by No Right Turn overnight, indicating that government Ministers are regularly ignoring the law when responding to requests made under the Official Information Act.

Of more than 2000 requests to Ministers under the Official Information Act between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2010, just one Minister, Chris Finlayson, responded to all requests within the statutory 20 day period. All other Ministers have failed to uphold the law.

Overall, only 71 percent of requests were answered on time, while three Ministers - Jonathan Coleman, Tim Groser, and Judith Collins - made timely responses in only 50 percent of cases. One Minister, Gerry Brownlee, responded to less than 40 percent of requests within the statutory period.

Another Minister, Paula Bennett, refused to cooperate at all, offering various excuses before ultimately claiming that compiling the data would not be in the public interest. This refusal is now the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman.

OIA responses must be provided "as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received". Just about everyone flouts that law. Ministers appear to be using the 20-day period as a deadline and flouting that, which is worse.

The survey will be repeated next year.

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Concept ships by Giorgio Pesci

010conceptdesign blog. Nice car render on conceptvehicles.




















Keywords: concept spaceship art design illustration by giorgio pesci 010 concept design blog freelance artist born in rome italy traditional digital video game concept art

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Real Life Social Networks

Paul Adams, a senior user experience researcher at Google created an extremely rich and insightful presentation looking at the challenges that real-life social networks bring to web design.

When it comes to reflecting our real life social networks into what could be considered rudimentary online networks, there is a real design challenge in terms representing how your friends, colleagues and associates inter-relate to each other.
****

Social technologies such as Facebook and Twitter have a homogenised view of friendship; they group everyone together. This typically doesn’t reflect how real friendships are nurtured and naturally creates communication challenges.

For example, not everyone will want to know on a daily basis about your fondness of cats, or wants to know about your regular eating habits.

So next time before you tag your photo’s on Facebook, Flickr or send that Tweet consider who will actually see it and do they need to?

The Real Life Social Network v2

View more documents from Paul Adams.

hattip

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Viewing Ebooks in KDE

I just discovered by accident that Okular - at least in version 4.5 - has the power to display ebooks. And it does it quite nicely, too.

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Concept hover bike ship by Andrea Susini

Andrea Susini's art blog.




Keywords: concept art spaceship hover bike render design colored in adobe illustrator software vector illustration coloring technique by from andrea susini milano italy space choppers concept

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Bugzilla

Bugzilla

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Education Ministry to educate parents on National Standards

The Ministry of Education has sent brochures to boards of primary schools for them to distribute to parents to educate them on how children can meet the various National Standards. Apparently these weren’t sent to schools, they were sent to board chairs instead – perhaps to ensure that principals unsupportive of National Standards - which appears to be most of them - didn’t throw them in the bin.

I’ve read the National Standards and the brochures. While the brochures are good and explain what children need to do to improve their learning, they fall a little short in reflecting the Standards. However they do reflect aspects of the National Curriculum. For example, in discussing reading standards at Years 4 and 5, the brochures (see Year 4 [PDF] and Year 5 [PDF] state
that to meet these Standards, children will know what they want to read, they will “read smoothly, like taking”, recognise and understand information in different kinds of books, and understand different levels of meaning.

But the actual Standards for Years 4 and 5 demands that students will read, respond to and think critically about texts. It states they will locate, integrate and evaluate information on ideas as they work at Level 2 and towards Level 3 of the New Zealand Curriculum respectively. That’s just to meet the standard.

It is unclear why the Ministry wants to communicate to parents on National Standards without reference to documents like this [PDF] that attempts to explain what the Standards actually are. It is also unclear why the Ministry does not appear interested to advise parents what children need to do to exceed these standards. It is also unclear what the Ministry is expecting schools to do, because the leaflets say one thing, the Standards another, the Minister, something else altogether.As this indicates, Anne Tolley is deluded.

Meanwhile schools are grading kids as either “meeting” “working towards” or “exceeding” National Standards when they are not even required to grade kids in this way for the purposes of reporting to parents.

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Grünes Gemüse - Ihr Schutz vor Diabetes

Grünes Gemüse - Ihr Schutz vor Diabetes

von Dr. M. Hahn-Hübner
Essen Sie gern Gemüse? Am besten noch grünes Blattgemüse? Dann legen Sie sich noch eine Portion auf den Teller - und schützen Sie sich so vor Typ-2-Diabetes. Das haben Forscher der Universität Leicester herausgefunden, die sich mit der Auswirkung von Gemüse und Obst auf das Diabetes-Risiko befasst haben.

Die Wissenschaftler untersuchten Patienten, die viel Obst oder Gemüse aßen, um herauszufinden, ob das Diabetes-Risiko dadurch ähnlich gesenkt würde wie das von Herzerkrankungen und Krebs. Das Ergebnis: Bei denen, die viel grünes Blattgemüse aßen, konnten die Forscher immerhin eine Risikosenkung um 14 % nachweisen, wenn nur 1,5 Portionen mehr verzehrt wurden.

Dagegen hat Obst keine Auswirkungen auf das Diabetes-Risiko, genau so wenig wie eine gemischte Kost aus Obst- und Gemüsesorten.

Grund für das verringerte Risiko durch grünes Gemüse, so die Wissenschaftler, könnte der Antioxidantiengehalt dieser Lebensmittel sein. Zudem enthalten sie viel Magnesium, das sich ebenfalls positiv auf das Diabetes-Risiko auswirkt.

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Francis Tsai concept ships

Art of Francis Tsai. Francis' WEEKLY HEADER. Check out Francis' book Extreme Worlds.








Keywords: digital concept spaceship art portfolio from by francis tsai freelance illustrator concept artist for the entertainment industry extreme worlds book teamgt.com

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Gnash 0.8.8 with VAAPI support out

But don't get too excited yet. It does not seem to be as fast as hoped in many cases and there are no Ubuntu packages yet except for the still unstable Maverick release. If you run that with VAAPI, try deb http://www.getgnash.org/debs/ubuntu maverick main.

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Fruchtbarkeit Diät

Fruchtbarkeit ist die Fähigkeit der Vorstellung der Nachkommen. Der Mensch wird fruchtbar, wenn sein Körper Sexualhormone aktiv werden während der Pubertät. Heute, mehr und mehr Paare kämpfen mit Unfruchtbarkeit. Es hat viele Ursachen.

Bei Frauen sind dies: Eisprung Störungen, PCOS-, Eierstock-Zysten, Endometriose, Ovarialinsuffizienz, hiperprolaktynemiachoroby Schilddrüsenkrebs, Radio-und Chemotherapie, systemische Erkrankung, sowie Medikamente.

Bei Männern kann die Ursache von Unfruchtbarkeit sein: unsachgemäße Bau von Spermien, Hoden Schäden, unsachgemäße Bau des Penis, hormonelle Störungen, schweren systemischen Erkrankungen: Krebs, Hypophyse Versagen, Multiple Sklerose, Typ 1 Diabetes, Bluthochdruck, Drogen, Alkohol und Drogen : Marihuana, Steroide, Arzneimittel gegen Bluthochdruck, genetische Krankheiten: Klinefertera Team.


In den letzten Jahren ist jedoch zunehmend deutlich, dass dieses Problem das Ergebnis niesprzyjającemu gesunden Lebensstil, einschließlich schlechte Ernährung ist. Immer häufiger vorkommende Ursache für Übergewicht ist überschüssige Produktion von Östrogen. Nährstoffe sind für viele Körperfunktionen: build Gewebe bilden Enzyme Zustand die ordnungsgemäße Durchführung der vielen biochemischen Prozessen des Systems. Deren Mangel verursacht eine Reihe von schweren gesundheitlichen Problemen.
Besonders wichtig für die Fruchtbarkeit Nährstoffe sind:
- Antioxidative Vitamine A, Beta-Carotin, E, C,
- B-Vitamine: vit. B1, Vitamin. B2, Vitamin. B6, Vitamin. B12, Pantothensäure (wit.B5), Folsäure (ein Zustand der ordnungsgemäße Ablauf des Eisprungs, den Bau von Sexualhormonen, die Synthese von Nukleinsäuren: DNA und RNA und die Entwicklung der Gebärmutterschleimhaut),
- Eisen (Anämie hypochrome zu verhindern)
- Zink (verantwortlich für die Erstellung der korrekten der Eizellen, und als Antagonist Wirkung von Schwermetallen hat odtruwajace)
- Selen (bestimmt die Qualität der Spermien),
- Magnesium (seinen Mangel verursacht abnormale Menstruationszyklus)
- EFA-essentielle Fettsäuren (normale Zustand des Kindes die Entwicklung des Gehirns).


Um so richtige sexuelle Funktion und verhindern, Unfruchtbarkeit infolge einer unzureichenden Ernährung, sollten angemessen ausgewogenen Ernährung verwendet werden, liefert diese Nährstoffe in angemessenen Mengen und Proportionen. Lebensmittel, die besonders reich an den "Komponenten der Fruchtbarkeit sind, sind:
- Grünes Blattgemüse (Folsäure),
- Getreide: Vollkornbrot, Müsli, braunem Reis und schwarzen Nudeln, Hülsenfrüchte, Erbsen, Sojabohnen, Linsen, Bohnen, Nüsse (Magnesium, Pantothensäure, Zink, essentiellen Fettsäuren, vit. B1)
- Gemüse: rot, orange und grün, wie Paprika, Tomaten, Karotten, Kartoffeln, Kürbis, Spinat (Beta-Carotin, Vit. B6, Vitamin. C)
- Fische, vor allem fettige Fische des Meeres (EFA, Zink, Selen, Eisen, Pantothensäure, Jod, Vitamin. B12)
- Geflügel, Eigelb, Fisch, Gemüse, Getreide, befestigten (Eisen, Vitamine Gr. B)
- Milchprodukte (Vitamin B12, vit. B2)
- Bananen (Selen, Zink, Folsäure).

 Neben Ernährung ist sehr wichtig, um aus der Nahrung Drogen, wie Alkohol und Zigaretten zu beseitigen, weil sie die körpereigene hormonelle Gleichgewicht, negative Auswirkungen auf die Fruchtbarkeit, sowie die Entwicklung von Kindern stören. Alkohol kann die Ursache des FAS oder fetale Alkoholsyndrom, die unabhängig von der Anzahl und der Häufigkeit des Alkoholkonsums kann von der Mutter während der Schwangerschaft bekannt gegeben werden. Jede Frau, die eine Schwangerschaft planen sollten drei Monate vor der Schwangerschaft, Folsäure als Nahrungszusatz einzunehmen von 0,4 mg pro Tag. Es ist sehr wichtig, um die ordnungsgemäße Entwicklung des Nervensystems zu gewährleisten und verhindern, dass unsere Kinder Neuralrohrdefekten, rozszczepowi Wirbelsäule. Ergänzung ist auch für Männer empfohlen, und jede Frau im gebärfähigen Alter, die wegen der Möglichkeit, zu einer ungewollten Schwangerschaft zu leben. Bitte beachten Sie, dass die gestiegene Nachfrage nach diesem Vitamin bei Frauen auftritt, die zazywaly hormonalen Kontrazeptiva.

Die richtige Ernährung zu beginnen ein paar Monate vor der Schwangerschaft, hatte eine Frau der Körper eine ausreichende Versorgung mit allen wichtigen Nährstoffen zu speichern, um die ordnungsgemäße Entwicklung des Kindes zu gewährleisten und verhindern, dass die Mangelerscheinungen bei der Mutter.

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DVD Backup with Mencoder and dual audio Matroska

Three easy steps:

1. mplayer dvd:// -vf cropdetect -ss 1200
2. mencoder -alang en -oac copy -ovc x264 -x264encopts crf=23:trellis=1:ratetol=inf:frameref=2:bframes=2:8x8dct:ssim:psnr: -o main.avi (add interlace to x264encopts if necessary)
3. mencoder -oac copy -alang de -o tempaudio.avi -ovc frameno dvd://
4. mkvmerge -v -o "Main en de ac3.mkv" --title "My Big Backup" --language 1:eng main.avi --language 0:ger -D tempaudio.avi

Add subtitles to your gusto, mix and enjoy!

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Concept ships by Danny Gardner

I missed Danny G's Syd Mead entry somehow so... Here it is:)








Keywords: digital concept spaceship art design renders illustrations from danny gardner dannydraws.com syd mead style painting hovering ship in front of architecture audi racing ship

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Concept ships by Thang Le

Thang has some art in the new BATTLE MILK 2 book from Design Studio Press.











Keywords: digital spaceship environments concept art illustrations by thang le art center college of design transportation major worked on lucasfilm clone wars series

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Switching the XV area between different screens

Very easy once you know the command: xvattr -a XV_CRTC -v 1 for screen 1, xvattr -a XV_CRTC -v 0 for screen 0, etc. Check this page for more.

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1 in 96 chance of getting pregnant says study

The average couple has sex 96 times to get pregnant a new study by First Response has revealed.

It takes a woman just six months to conceive her first child, but is having to ‘do the deed’ over four times a week. The poll of 3000 mothers was commissioned by family planning brand First Response which also revealed that two thirds of women conceived much quicker than they expected.

One in 10 women have been so eager to get pregnant they have called their husband home from work when they were ovulating. And a further, pushy 10 per cent said they then jumped on their other half as soon as he walked through the door.

Despite this, 70 per cent of those polled said they wanted their baby to be conceived during a loving and spontaneous sex session rather than going through the mechanics. In order to woo their other half, a persistent 35 per cent of girls said they made more effort to look sexy when trying for a baby.

But it’s not all fun and games - nearly a quarter of women admitted that sex got really boring when trying to start a family, while 11 per cent of men complained at the amount of sex their wife or girlfriend was demanding and admitted to feeling completely used.

First Response said: ‘’Having sex 96 times before falling pregnant does sound rather a lot, but as they say practice makes perfect. However, for those not trying to conceive it’s very important to remember that many couples may also fall pregnant first time so if you are not trying for a baby please still use the necessary precautions.‘’Trying for a baby is a very exciting time for a couple and many try to have sex at every opportunity in order to get pregnant. Couples who are having problems conceiving can visit www.tellsyoufirst.co.uk for practical expert advice and handy tools by London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston to help set you on the right path

Some women are so eager to find out the happy news more than one in 20 women did a pregnancy test in work and four per cent used a testing kit in the public toilets at the shops.

First Response spokesperson added: ‘’It’s an extremely anxious time and many women want to find out whether they are expecting a child as soon as possible.”

The First Response Early Results Pregnancy Test is the only test in the UK that can accurately let you know if you’re pregnant up to six days before a missed period - two days before other at-home tests. This test is accurate and simple to use and the sooner you discover you are pregnant, the sooner you can begin to make the lifestyle changes required to give you the best head start to a healthy and happy pregnancy.

Another big surprise was that as much as nearly one in 10 females told their parents before telling their partner that they were expecting a child.

First Response

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Local body candidates for Wellington

This link has the names of all candidates seeking office in 2010 in Wellington. Find out what you can about them and vote. I`ll be posting a bit about the candidates between now and the election.

Those standing for the Ohariu Community Board, the Eastbourne Community Board, the Porirua Community Trust or the Otaki Community Board, will all be declared elected, as there are the same number of candidates as seats.

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9000 sickness beneficiaries can work

Minister Paula Bennett says that 9000 sickness beneficiaries have been medically certificate as being able to work part time, and they are going to be work tested.

I wonder how many of these 9000 actually work part time at the moment? We don't know if the Minister knows or not because the media didn't ask her.

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Golden Gate Park: 32 rose plants in Golden Gate Park vandalized

32 rose plants in Golden Gate Park, leaving behind all the trimmings, including the blooms.The Rose Garden destruction, found by a dog walker early Thursday morning, has left park officials baffled and wondering if the work was that of a serial flora killer in San Francisco's most famous park.

After nearly four dozen trees have been deliberately destroyed in Golden Gate Park and Lincoln Park since May.Officials don't know if the tree and rose incidents are connected, but they haven't discounted a link.

Elton Pon, spokesman for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, said Friday. Authorities have no suspects. A $2,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the tree slayer. Officials are considering extending the offer in an attempt to catch.

32 hybrid tea rose plants in three adjacent beds were severed, said Michael McGoldrick, the gardener assigned to the Rose Garden. The plants, which were in full bloom, were well-established, probably 15 to 20 years old.For the most part, he said, the cuts were clean, probably the work of someone using loppers or hand shears.

Who serves on the San Francisco Rose Society board, whose members volunteer to help tend the public beds, "a lot of the cuts were in the wrong place. This was not pruning we're talking about. This was destruction.Dowling, who has surveyed the damage firsthand, said the plants probably will survive.

His heart fell and his anger rose when he saw what had happened. "This was deliberate and malicious," he said.I am just glad they stopped at three beds.The Rose Garden, on the north side of the park, is located between John F. Kennedy Drive and Fulton Street, just east of Park Presidio Boulevard. There are more than 60 English-style beds in the fragrant garden.

The Struck three varieties: Perfect Moment, Broadway and White Delight. The gardeners planted a stake in the middle bed with a hand-lettered sign that says, Roses have been vandalized.Occasionally, individual flowers in the Rose Garden are stolen, but park gardeners don't remember something on this scale.

Park rangers and city police will step up patrols, but there are no plans to set up surveillance cameras. Between the damaged trees and roses, the locations have been scattered.Golden Gate Park alone is 1,017 acres.McGoldrick, summoned to the scene by colleagues who got there first, said that given the amount of cutting.

There are no lights in the garden, which is tucked away from the busy streets and pathways.The Rose Garden is something for everybody to enjoy," McGoldrick said.

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Actress Betty White scores Emmy win for 'SNL' hosting gig

Betty White phenomenon keeps getting bigger.White won an Emmy Award for best guest actress in a comedy series for her turn as "Saturday Night Live" host.The trophy is the fifth prime-time Emmy received by the 88-year-old White, according to the TV academy. Her previous honors came for classic sitcoms including.

White made a splash with the new TV Land sitcom "Hot in Cleveland," scored with a clever Super Bowl commercial and played a mad librarian on ABC's sitcom "The Middle."She did not attend Saturday's ceremony, which included presenters Jane Lynch of "Glee," Elizabeth Mitchell of "Lost" and Christina Hendricks.

He was a presenter and winner, taking the trophy for best guest actor in a comedy series for his appearance on "Glee." The guest acting trophies for drama series went to John Lithgow for "Dexter" and Ann-Margret for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," which has won Emmy acting honors for six consecutive years.

"How I Met Your Mother," shared in another award. The Tony Awards show, which he hosted to critical acclaim, was recognized as best special class program.The top network winner was HBO with 17 trophies, followed by ABC with 15 and Fox with nine. CBS, NBC and PBS each claimed seven. "The Pacific," HBO's World War II miniseries.

"Disney Prep & Landing," an animated Christmas special. Other big winners, with three trophies each, were freshman sitcom "Modern Family," "Saturday Night Live" and "The 25th Anniversary Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Concert."

Senior vice president of awards, received the Syd Cassyd Founders Award for his service to the TV academy.The creative arts ceremony will air Friday on the E! channel. Next Sunday's 62nd annual prime-time Emmy ceremony, with Jimmy Fallon as host, will air live on NBC.

Other winners at the creative arts Emmys, which honor technical and other achievements, included:Host, reality or reality-competition series: Jeff Probst, "Survivor," CBS.Voice-over performance: Anne Hathaway, "The Simpsons: Once Upon a Time in Springfield," Fox.

Reality program: "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," ABC.Commercial: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like: Old Spice Body Wash.Animated Program: "Disney Prep & Landing," ABC.Nonfiction series: "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," PBS.

Writing for a variety, music or comedy series: "The Colbert Report: 5076 (in Iraq)," Comedy Central.Music composition for a series (original dramatic score): "24: 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.Music composition for a miniseries, movie or special: "Temple Grandin.

Choreography: "So You Think You Can Dance," Fox.Casting for a drama series: "Mad Men," AMC.Casting for a miniseries, movie or a special: "The Pacific," HBO.Casting for a comedy series: "Modern Family," ABC.Costumes for a miniseries, movie or a special: "Return to Cranford (Masterpiece), Part 2," PBS.Costumes for a variety-music program or a musical (more than one award possible): "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Episode 09-1266)," ABC; "So You Think You Can Dance (Top 12 perform)," Fox; "Titan Maximum: Went to Party, Got Crabs," Cartoon Network.Costumes for a series: "The Tudors: Episode No. 408," Showtime.

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WASHINGTON - Michelle Obama portrait debuts at Smithsonian

Martha Stewart and Michelle Obama are getting space in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington for the first time.Featuring famous names from science, business, government and the arts.President Barack Obama and the first lady are among those portrayed.


It's the first time Michelle Obama's individual portrait has been shown.The collection also include actor Tom Hanks and music artists Willie Nelson and LL Cool J. Video portraits in the exhibit feature late-night comedians Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and David Letterman, as well as actor George Clooney and NBA star LeBron James.The portraits are on view through July 2011.

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Sexy bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra to play Indira Gandhi?

Super hit bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit backed out from the project on personal grounds, Indian origin US filmmaker Krishna Shah is now considering casting Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra in the lead role in a biopic on late prime minister Indira Gandhi.

It will be a big-budget two-part movie on the life of the Indian leader who was known as Iron Lady. Shah is working on the casting with Academy Award winning make-up artiste Jenny Shircore.After going through the photographs of many Indian actresses, Shircore believes that Priyanka is the only Bollywood actress whom she can make look like Indira Gandhi after some prosthetic work on her face.Priyanka is the one who can fit in the character of Indira, but it will be too premature to talk about casting as we have not approached anybody as yet," Shah said in a statement.Shah is reportedly also in conversation with other actors like Albert Finney, Emily Watson, Tom Hanks and Tommy Lee Jones to play other characters in the film.

The movie will be based on Indira Gandhi's life till the 1971 war, while part two will look more into her personal life as a mother to her sons -- Rajiv, who succeeded her as the prie minister.The script of the movie has also undergone changes.The script has been reworked after I got my hands on Richard Nixon’s personal tapes related to the 1971 Bangladesh War. My research has changed the script a lot and now we are looking at casting an appropriate face for Indira Gandhi’s character," said Shah.

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Miss USA first Muslim winner Rima Fakih

Rima Fakih the first Muslim crowned Miss USA spoke out against the planned mosque near Ground Zero yesterday, saying the project is insensitive to 9/11 victims.We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion.

Miss USA Rima Fakih, who was born in Lebanon but raised in Dearborn, Michigan.I totally agree with President Obama with the statement on Constitutional rights of freedom of religion, Fakih told Inside Edition.I also agree that it shouldn't be so close to the World Trade Center.

13-story community center and mosque two blocks north of Ground Zero, Park51 mushroomed into a national controversy last week after President Obama spoke in favor of the project.

She told the Detroit Free Press on Tuesday she's fasting from sunrise to sunset for Ramadan.The former Miss Michigan became the first Muslim to be crowned Miss USA in May. She dazzled judges when she took the stage in a skimpy red.

She would also be the first Muslim to be crowned Miss Universe.Fakih commissioned a flashy gold and silver eagle costume for the competition that she calls a tribute to Obama.

This costume is a tribute to your work to bring peace to the world," Fakih said of the winged outfit in a promotional video for Miss Universe.The amazing costume I will wear during the Miss Universe pageant represents the celebration of life.

Fakih hit a rough patch in May when TMZ.com posted photographs of the beauty competing in a "Stripper 101" competition at a Michigan bar.She was crowned pole dancing champion at the event.

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Twitter Followers: Lady Gaga Close to Beating Britney Spears in Twitter Followers

Britney Spears has the most Twitter followers out of all Twitter users. Including President Obama. But Lady Gaga is getting close. So close. And we have a feeling she'll soon beat Britney.


More pics of Britney Spears looking good on Glee set- HollywoodLife. Whitney Port is getting sexy in Maxim.Can you believe Macaulay Culkin is going to be 30? Will Lady Gaga beat Britney Spears in Twitter followers?

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Jennifer Aniston: Jennifer Aniston Calls Hair Stylist Scam "Not Cool"

She said that she lost some money to her former hairstylist, Maria Gabriela Perez, who has been accused of stealing from multiple high-profile clients, like Liv Tyler and Anne Hathaway.

That was not cool so I just stopped going to her," Aniston said. "I knew something like this would eventually happen because there's no way you can get away with that.

Who faces up to 25 years in jail, went to federal court on Thursday. The cards at Chez Gabriela Studio mostly weren't swiped, with the numbers of cards being entered manually.

$214,000 was allegedly charged to two of Liv Tyler's American Express cards, and there were also $68,000 worth of charges on jewelry designer.

Jennifer Aniston also hit the news yesterday for saying "retard" on Regis & Kelly.

Jennifer dressed up like Barbra Streisand in Harper's Bazaar, and when Regis asked her about it, he said "You're playing dress up," with her responding "Yes, I play dress up.

Jennifer's joining the ranks of criticized "r-word" celebs like Lindsay Lohan and Howard Stern.

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Wellington City Council to give middle finger to ratepayers, telling them they are ignorant.

Yesterday, a commissioners report was posted on the Wellington City Council’s website regarding amendments to the District Plan. District Plan Change 72 will provide high-density housing in suburbs like Johnsonville and Kilbirnie as part of an urban development strategy for growth. But at the same time the Council has not made any associated plans to upgrade infrastructure to ensure these plans are successful.

Most ratepayers oppose these changes, and much of the report discussed spinning out such opposition. As the Council had “embarked on a path of intensification, the Commissioners have reported that it must continue to commit to that direction”. In other words, consult, but summarily disregard most ratepayer opposition to that direction.

More than 300 submissions were received after the plan was notified, which is an extraordinary high number. Most of these submissions were from Johnsonville ratepayers, concerned that high density housing will lower property values, and undermine the character of the suburb, which is already stretched. Johnsonville makes up six percent of the Wellington population but has been asked to accommodate 75% of the burden for growth in the Wellington area. The Council is expected to rubber stamp the changes in a few days.

The committee who wrote the report believes that many of the submitters did not understand what they were submitting to, and that “the rules proposed were not fully understood”. Some may well not have understood, because the Council is not particularly good at communicating its plans. Others who have done research on these issues have a clearer idea of what the Council intends to do and have come out more strongly against the proposals than those whom the Council claim are ignorant.

The committee also said that there was a “ demonstrated relationship between quality public transport services.. and proximity to public transport routes”. Trouble is that there is not a quality public transport system as the antiquated trains don’t turn up on time and they break down consistently, which is why passenger levels are declining.

The committee maintains that recommended changes will encourage commercial investment. In order for that to happen there needs to be development in an already crowded area. The Council believes that the proposed plan will “ encourage more comprehensive development” but says it is “ unlikely to occur.. without site amalgamations”, implying that it is doubtful that the plan will achieve its aims in that area.

If Northern Ward Councillors vote for this change to the District Plan, based on the Commissioners’ report, it gives ratepayers another good reason to turf them out in October.

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Concept ship design by Miguel Lopez

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