Lindsay Lohan Dismisses Dating Rumours

Lindsay Lohan has laughed off reports she has a new man in her life - insisting she's just "friends" with her latest rumoured love interest.

The Mean Girls star, who split from her DJ girlfriend Samantha Ronson earlier this year (09), has fought off a string of dating rumours in recent weeks after she was linked to Jason Segel, Entourage star Kevin Connolly, and Gerard Butler.

I'm not dating my friend, people are nutso (sic), and it's not a way to start off the new year with rumours.

She was most recently rumoured to be involved with model Adam Senn, but Lohan is adamant she's still single.

In a post on her Twitter.com page, she writes, "I’m not dating my friend, people are nutso (sic), and it's not a way to start off the new year with rumours."

Robert Plant's Womanly Celebration

Robert Plant wants to spend New Year's Eve (31.12.09) in the arms of a woman.

The 61-year-old rocker - who has famously lived a life of sex, drugs and rock n roll excess - admitted he will be looking for love over the holiday season.

He said: "Where would I like to welcome in the New Year? In some warm, tantalising arms."

Although he is looking forward to celebrating New Year's Eve, the former Led Zeppelin singer isn't looking forward to the next decade because all it holds for him is "more attention to bladder control".

Where would I like to welcome in the New Year? In some warm, tantalising arms

He added: "I don't think I've aged gracefully. When you can feel the breeze of the Grim Reaper, there's nothing graceful about that fear, because I'm only a third of the way through the adventures I want to have."

However, the star has made some New Year's Resolutions - to improve his driving.

He explained: "I park my car by touch, using the wheels as a guide to when I've hit the kerb."

Rihanna asked to dress conservatively for New Year bash

Singer Rihanna is upset as she won't be able to do her usual raunchy stage show in Abu Dhabi on New Year's Eve because the organisers have told her to dress "conservatively".

"Rihanna is tearing her hair out over what to do. She wanted to put on her most eccentric and provocative show here. A huge part of her show is her sexy stage gear.

"But the dress code in Abu Dhabi does not encourage excessively revealing outfits," contactmusic.com quoted a source as saying.

Now Rihanna, 21, and her team are busy devising a new show complete with modest outfits which don't show off too much of her body and won't offend audiences in conservative Abu Dhabi.

I love a good snout! (dog & cat pix)

(Time to clear out my camera's card.) Some photos from around the house this weekend:

I love a good snout!

My, what big TEETH you have, mr. white wolf.

Tycho gives me a sidelong glance. Um, what are you doing??
(with my camera all up in his face)

Laughing sammy - samoyeds are known for their wide smiles.

Tycho helps me unwrap.

Aaand it was a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Nice.

Free cat! Anyone want?? She's REALLY affectionate, as you can see. (lol!)

the aftermath

So you remember the pix of household wreckage I shared? And how I had only one day to overhaul the entire house? Well, we rocked it. But only at the very last possible second!

5pm Christmas day, I stood, wild-haired, in front of the washer feeding copious amounts of bedding into its yawning mouth, wondering, "WHEN is my dad going to call?"

I'd asked him to call me when he crossed over the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Only I didn't say it like that. I said, "Call me when you get over the bridge so I have enough time to start dinner."

At dinnertime, the lightbulb went off. Oh no. Maybe he's *not* heading down I95? Maybe he thinks I meant the Chesapeake Bay Bridge? Which means the two-hour lead time I'd requested would effectively be whittled down a third.

I texted him. "Are you taking 95? Or eastern shore?"

He immediately called. "Yeah, we're going down the eastern shore. We're almost at the Bay Bridge!"

I choked. Guests would be arriving in a little over half an hour and here I was unshowered, the house wasn't done and parts of dinner were still frozen.

I thundered up the steps. "He's almost at the Bay Bridge!" I yelled and hurled myself into the shower while husband began frantically throwing potatoes in the oven.

Inevitably they arrived too early. So we just cooked while they were here.

I'm a crappy hostess. I cannot effectively hold a conversation while stirring a pot. But they love me anyway, even when I am crazed. Now I am recovering from the frenzy! (Note to self: next time I'm expecting to host Christmas dinner and sleepover guests, maybe don't take on enormous task of painting room. Just make the damn bed!)

Here are some before & after pix, since some of you asked. A good "before" one of the wreck that I called a bedroom:

More:

before & after

office before / after

Another view of the office, after. Ok, so we don't have the fanciest furniture. But it works!

Dakota Fanning Pays Tribute To Brittany Murphy

Dakota Fanning has paid tribute to tragic actress Brittany Murphy, her co-star in 2003 movie Uptown Girls.

Fanning was just nine when she lined up alongside Murphy, who played her childlike nanny in the comedy.

But she remembers the experience well, and cherishes the time she spent with the late star.

Fanning says, "My thoughts go out to her family and friends. I am just very grateful that I had the chance to work with her."

Murphy died from a cardiac arrest at her Los Angeles home on Sunday (20Dec09). She was just 32.

laughing this Christmas (have a merry!)

"The one thing women don't want to find in their stockings on Christmas morning is their husband." Joan Rivers.

"Christmas at my house is always at least six or seven times more pleasant than anywhere else. We start drinking early. And while everyone else is seeing only one Santa Claus, we'll be seeing six or seven." W.C. Fields

"I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included." Bernard Manning.

"Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth of the next year." P. J. O'Rourke

"Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year." Victor Borge

This year, in our household:

Happy holidays, everyone!!

Angelina Jolie seems to be breaking up all the concepts regarding her relationship

Angelina Jolie seems to be breaking up all the concepts that have been on people’s minds regarding their relationships.

In a recent interview that she gave to a German magazine, she came out with an explosive theory of her own, something that is not likely to be echoed in many quarters: that it is not important to be absolutely loyal to one’s partner in order to maintain a perfect relationship.

When asked if she maintained her relationship with Brad Pitt based on that principle, the Changeling and Tomb Raider star commented that she did not believe in restricting anyone’s life on the basis of some principle. She feels that it is important to provide ample space to one’s partner, even if that extends to compromising on one’s fidelity. She claims that though she has been in a pretty long relationship with Brad Pitt, they have never encroached on each other’s personal space.

It is normal and even healthy, to have occasional arguments with one’s partner, believes the actress who is rumored to have a notorious temper. It is worse to break up and then slander one’s partner than to be an infidel, according to the attractive brunette.

She does not believe that being in a relationship means that they have to be bound to each other all the time, and that it is okay to wander now and then. This sort of explains why, despite being dogged by numerous rumors of being on the verge of splitting, the couple has been going strong over the years. The secret, as can be gleaned from Angelina Jolie’s candid confession, lies in their open relationship.

I. Am. Freaking. Out.

My dad is coming Christmas day. That means I have exactly ONE day -- tomorrow -- to deal with:

1. Fridge wreck. I need to fill the fridge so there's more than hummus and mustard (neither of which go particularly well together).

This also means that I should figure out a Christmas menu. Aren't I supposed to make a ham or something?

2. Gift wreck. I have not started my Christmas shopping yet. It will all have to happen tomorrow. This means I'll be bringing things home which will need to be wrapped and THAT will require that I waste $10 of gas shlepping to a store 30 minutes away to retrieve a $10 roll of wrapping paper I bought last week and instantly forgot. I refuse to buy a new roll when a store in Riverdale, Maryland has a silver snowflake pattern with my name on it.

3. House wreck.

I need to clean. Not your typical "ohhh the DOGhair!" lament, but instead an overhaul which will require that I play a particularly intense and long-winded game of "which of these things does not belong?" while running up & down the steps 7,000 times to return each odd item to its place.

Witness this wreck of a bedroom.

It is supposed to be clean, crisp, restful and smell nice for guests who will arrive weary on their way to Florida from NJ on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

They will want to fall into bed immediately after dinner. And they will not want to trip over an exercise bench, a pile of curtain rod rings (with sharp drapery pins mocking their bare feet), or a new rug meant to replace one defiled by feline fecal material (just last week):

3. Room wreck #2: still finishing touch-up paint in the room across the hall (now the office but also where we'll be sleeping). The furniture is in complete disarray and painting tools are strewn everywhere:

Have you ever seen an uglier floor?

4. Hallway wreck (between these two rooms):

The bookcase belongs in the closet but will not fit until cleared. Meanwhile, paper and office supplies claim ownership to half the floor in the living room.

Also, we need to throw out 5 garbage bags full of painter's tape and other prep detritus but a snowdrift still blocks side access to the trash. So now they are hanging elegantly from the banister.

5. Bathroom wreck: the bathroom, the only one available right now (because roommie uses the other), busted a handle. Flushing the toilet has now become a major ordeal.

Behold the joy of flushing the toilet:


(zooming in to show water streaming out the top)

Note how water sprays out? This is me, demonstrating for you (because I love you so much) exactly what my life is like 10x a night. How I get to heave off the heavy lid and paw around the nasty water to find and yank the flapper valve chain.

This is a BLAST, especially at 4:00 A.M.

Note also the added joy of doing this if you are a germ freak like me. At the faintest tug of nature's whisper, an internal struggle of cleanliness vs. practicality begins. The Howard Hughes center of my brain is quickly bludgeoned by primal need to not wear a diaper or pee like the dog on a fire hydrant outside, and so I must end every session maniacally washing my hands like a mental patient.

This dialogue is best represented by a comment from There I fixed it: Epic Kludges and Jury Rigs about this very awkward request in a public restroom:

The sign says "Please push to flush."
One of the commentors aptly responded,
"The brain knows it's clean but the hand isn't so sure."

I tried to buy a handle but the local hardware store only sells front-facing handles, not side ones. And so it does not fit! I ordered one online last week but because of holiday shipping madness, it has not arrived yet!

So, my life is a wreck. My house is a wreck. I have no food or presents, and somehow this is all going to change tomorrow. Even though I've only had 4 hours of sleep last night!

Olivia Newton John in a bunny suit??

I found this note on my bedside table written after a dream last night (now forgotten):

Dear subconscious,

That was not cool. The next time you decide to throw in a tornado, a 2-yr old, the underground railroad, blood transfusions and Olivia Newton John in a bunny suit, please warn.

Me

What in the world was I dreaming about??? I remember it only vaguely now, but I do recall trying to analyze it for quite some time at 4am!

why do we have a spleen? (article in NY Times)

An article just for me! lol

Finally, the spleen gets some respect, from the NY Times.

"Scientists have discovered that the spleen, long consigned to the B-list of abdominal organs and known as much for its metaphoric as its physiological value, plays a more important role in the body’s defense system than anyone suspected.

"Reporting in the current issue of the journal Science, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School describe studies showing that the spleen is a reservoir for huge numbers of immune cells called monocytes, and that in the event of a serious trauma to the body like a heart attack, gashing wound or microbial invasion, the spleen will disgorge those monocyte multitudes into the bloodstream to tackle the crisis.

"“The parallel in military terms is a standing army,” said Matthias Nahrendorf, an author of the report. “You don’t want to have to recruit an entire fighting force from the ground up every time you need it.”"

May your spleen be rich!

Nicole Scherzinger's romance with racing driver Lewis Hamilton is reportedly on the rocks

The Pussycat Dolls singer has been dating the British Formula One ace for nearly three years, but they have reportedly not seen each other in three weeks and shelved plans to spend Christmas together.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Lewis and Nicole have had a few problems for a while now. They love each other dearly but have incredibly busy schedules.

"Nicole was in London last week and was desperate to hook up with Lewis but she was busy in the studio while he is on a European training camp and couldn't come back.

Lewis and Nicole have had a few problems for a while now. They love each other dearly but have incredibly busy schedules.

"Hopefully after a month apart, they will come to their senses and give things another go."

Despite the claims, a spokesperson for Lewis insisted the couple are "perfectly fine".

Meanwhile, Nicole recorded the theme song to forthcoming musical 'Love Never Dies' - the sequel to the hugely popular 'Phantom of the Opera', by composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber - while in London.

A source said: "Andrew is a huge fan of Nicole and her voice. He has always said she could become one of the biggest stars on the planet with the right songs."

Lady Gaga strips naked for sexy photoshoot

Popstar Lady Gaga stripped naked for a sexy new photoshoot with rapper Kanye West. In the candid new photographs taken by acclaimed photographer David LaChapelle, GaGa, real name Stefani Germanotta, is seen lying in the rapper’s arms with one hand covering her breast, as West stares zombie-like into the distance with a raging volcano behind.

Other photos show her standing on crutches over sleeping naked people, dressed in an android-esque two-piece with matching helmet and arms, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The series also shows her fallen from the wheelchair, on a mirrored floor in a doll-like pose, with pink afro hair surrounded by pink flowers and a blue sky.

Meanwhile the Poker Face hit maker is this year's most listened to artist online, according to a leading music site Last.fm. The company, that reviewed tracks from full-length albums which had been streamed by visitors on the site to come up with their top ten, said tracks from Gaga's album The Fame were played more than 18.5 million times by the site's 35 million-strong community.

The 23-year-old singer had her songs played six million times more than her nearest rivals The Killers.

hammered by snow!

DC is getting hit with the worst snowstorm in years. It started snowing around 9 last night. By 6pm there were 16 inches and the storm is only HALF over. It's supposed to stop around 6am tomorrow.

I would just like to ask the universe... couldn't you have done this just a wee bit earlier? Like on a weekday?

But I love snow. (Driving in it and shoveling not so much.)

View from the street

Taking the dog out for a walk. You can't see his legs, they're buried!

Snow dog ready to catch a snowball.

Tycho and Dan horsing around in the street.

Tycho's prize! He loves to carry around snowballs.

I started shoveling off my car (YES, I said shoveling... it was too deep for anything else) when I thought wow, I need to see exactly how much is piled on it. I ran inside for a measuring tape: 16 inches!!

Another view from the street (somewhat obscured by the big thick flakes caught by the flash).

1 minute video of Tycho plunging into the snow depths!

we all look out for eachother.

photo from TubaPants

Actual conversation:

coworker: Hey blogrollandroll, I hate to leave stuff in your box while you're out but this came in. I thought maybe it was better to leave it with you, esp. as it didn't appear to be time sensitive. If it's any consolation I will refill the M&M jar when you get back.

me: haha. Yeah, any of that stuff, just leave for me. You thought correctly. Can you lick each M&M before filling the jar? Then maybe I will stay away. This time of year wreaks havoc on my willpower.

coworker: I have licked one M&M and put it back -- how's that for a disincentive?

me: Don't forget to hit up M's candy jar. The task won't be really complete until then.

coworker: I have already opened, sneezed on, re-wrapped and returned one piece of candy which I will not identify.

Thanks, man. What would I do without you?

--> This brought to you by MY office,
but if you want more, visit Overheard at the Office -->

Fergie suffers wardrobe malfunction on Nine set

Black Eyed Peas' vocalist Fergie is said to have accidentally flashed the cast and crew of musical movie Nine when she kept flying out of her corset while doing a saucy dance routine.

Fergie, 34, real name Stacy Ann Ferguson, plays the part of vampish prostitute Saraghinain in the Rob Marshall movie, and she has to perform a vigorous all-singing all-dancing routine in the film.

According to WWD.com, Fergie's skimpy outfit could barely contain her assets, and the movie's costume designer Colleen Atwood was forced to rethink the star’s clothing after the embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.

"Fergie's dance was all about keeping Fergie in the corset. It was a really tiny corset and (it) didn’t have straps," the Daily Express quoted Atwood as saying.

"We had to add them in the end because, with all that dancing, she was just flying out of it," she added.

Philanthropy Friday: today featuring the Center for History of Physics

The sun, shown in the invisible infrared light emitted by hydrogen.
(From the History of Early Cosmology web exhibit)

I've been toying with the idea of using Fridays to feature a good nonprofit. But my reason for doing this is less of a "donate money!!" take (because everyone needs money and there are so many worthy organizations out there) and more of a "here's what they offer" and "what you can do to help (even if you are broke like me)."

Today's Philanthropy Friday star:

The Center for the History of Physics (part of the American Institute of Physics).

What they do:

An organization dedicated to the history of physics! On their website, you can:

• Hear Einstein talking about nuclear weapons and world peace
  
  
• Read about Marie Curie's tragic loss of her husband
  
  
• Read Einstein's most famous essay, "The World As I See It" (one of my favorite essays - I have this hanging in my cubicle at work)
  
  
• Teach your kids about Marie Curie in the short child's version exhibit
  
  
• Learn whether Ptolemy was a scientist or a fraud , Galileo's views on theology, and how cosmology and religion were viewed during the dark ages
  
  
• Read about the history of global warming (a hot topic these days! ;)
  
  
• Teachers, use syllabi and books & other teaching resources in your classes
  
  
• Research using the International Catalog of Sources -- a database containing one of the largest repositories of physics history around the world (including over 9,000 archival & manuscript collections from over 900 organizations & institutions worldwide)
  
  
• See photos of figures in physics, astronomy & the sciences - over 30,000 online in the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives.
  
  
• Check out the cool science books and journal articles that were published this year
  (scroll down to "Journal Articles" and "Books" to see the latest compilations)
  
  Examples: some books published in 2008 include:
  
  
  • Why Beauty is Truth: a History of Symmetry by Ian Stewart
  • The Curious History of Relativity: How Einstein’s Theory of Gravity Was Lost and Found Again, by Jean T. Eisenstaedt
  • Einstein for the 21st Century: His Legacy in Science, Art, and Modern Culture by Peter Galison, Gerald Horton, and Silvan Schweber.
  
  Books are arranged by topic for easy finding.
  
  
• Are you studying the history of physics? Apply for a grant to fund your research.
  
  
• Want to learn more about physics, especially how it developed?
  
  -- See online web exhibits on Marie Curie, Einstein, the history of scientific cosmology, the discovery of global warming, and much more.
  
  -- Explore a very good list of links to additional websites & resources about physics history and related fields of science and math.
  

That's just a glimpse of what they offer!

How you can help:

• Become a fan on Facebook
  
  
• Sign up for the email list: stay updated on the Center for History of Physics' work (they're very good about not sending too much email - maybe once every couple of months)
  
  
• Donate money or stock or sponsor a book (your name will be inscribed on a bookplate in the Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD)
  
  
• Donate books, photos, or other historical physics materials
  
  
• Send them a note telling them how much you appreciate their resources. Feedback helps organizations measure the kind of impact they have and encourages them to continue their good work. There is no cost to send an email!

Want to join Philanthropy Friday? Feature a nonprofit on your blog on a Friday (doesn't have to be every Friday -- it can be once a month, say). Together we can raise awareness for great organizations in a noncommercial way. Try to include info on how your readers can help with commodities other than money, like feedback, donation of goods or services, volunteer time, etc. -- concrete things people can do to support your cause. Have a great weekend!

The ass is out of the bag. (TMI Thursday)

Today's TMI Thursday comes from an anonymous guest blogger:
................................

Back in college, I had a semester that almost crushed me. Classes rung me out until I was nothing but a burger-eating husk. I ate nothing but red meat and ramen. Not a single vegetable or molecule of fiber passed my lips. Fluids? I was too cheap to pay for water and so, like a specialized desert mammal, I derived all necessary moisture from food. (This is what happens when I'm under stress -- I put myself absolutely last on the "To Do" list.)

And so one day I was in the john and suddenly realized with alarm that it looked like a shark attack had occurred in the toilet. I immediately called the doctor.

After a very uncomfortable exam in which my ass was ripped open for optimal viewing, a followup colonoscopy was scheduled for a deeper look.

My unsympathetic employer required a doctor's note for any time off, no matter how little. And so I asked the office to fax the note over and went for the test.

Everything was fine. I was just eating like an idiot. (Note: fluids, fiber, and abstinence from red meat are your friend.)

I got to work for my next scheduled shift a week later and five people accosted me as I walked through the door. "OMG! Are you OK?? What's wrong??" I blinked. "Um, nothing, why?" "Well, we got your NOTE. And we were soOO worried about you."
"What note?" I asked (having suppressed the previous week's ass trauma deep into my subconscious).

We looked at each other for a moment.

Now, I worked in a very small and intimate office where everyone knows EVERYTHING about eachother... except maybe who's ass is bleeding.

Until now.

They showed me the note.

Faxed into the company machine in the most public area of the entire office is this:

To Whom it May Concern:
Re: me

Please be advised that [me] is under my care. She was referred by me to Shore Gastroenterology for treatment of rectal bleeding.

Sincerely,

Richard A. IjustThrewMyPatientUnderABus


The cat was out of the bag. Or maybe I should say the ass was out of hiding!

____________________________
Whew. More TMI Thursdays, this way:
My TMI Thursday archive -->
LiLu's TMI Thursday hub -->

If you want to guest post a TMI Thursday entry, email me at blogrollandroll@yahoo.com!

Let's talk about food, bay-bay

More food photos.

We had our office holiday party yesterday and I found myself once again hulking over the shrimp. And dip. Dip is something I never allow myself to eat in real life* (obviously at parties I am in my fake life) but will eat gobs of if no one stops me.

I am like this with eazy-cheeze too, (sp?) that cheese-colored viscous fluid in a whipped-cream-style can. Last time I ate it may have been high school but wow. It makes every salt & fat screaming neuron of mine fire on sight.

To stop myself from overeating, I ran around taking pictures of the food:

Veggie tray (with "palette knife" Photoshop filter applied)

I just learned veggie trays are also called "crudites" (and not pronounced "crude" "ites" as in rhyming with "mites" but the more elegant French "croo deh tahys"). I am very high class now. (Having rejected all attempts at socialization with the elaborate knives and utensils associated with sophisticated place settings, it makes perfect sense that I, a full-grown woman, am only now learning how to eat in public. If you are six and happen to be reading this, pay attention to your parents. Especially in boring fancy restaurants. You will be glad many decades later.)

pumpkin loaf (palette knife filter also applied)
(hey, I was having fun)

Gum drops. What good is a holiday party if it doesn't give you cavities?

Fruit! (Palette knife filter applied)

Deviled eggs.

What are your food weaknesses? Do your knees get weak at the sight of certain dishes or treats?

Animation Movie Avatar Starts Long March Toward Profitability

"Titanic" director James Cameron releases his first dramatic feature in 12 years this weekend, and there's almost as much buzz about its costs as the film's groundbreaking motion-capture animation.

Distributor 20th Century Fox first claimed that its costs on "Avatar" totaled $237 million but more recently refused to confirm any number. Most industry observers believe the picture cost a minimum of $300 million to produce.

Even at the lower studio figure, that's a lot of green stuff to expect to make back from a mostly animated picture populated by blue aliens.

Cameron appears unfazed by such pressures.

"I don't think it means jack s--t," Cameron said. "To be perfectly honest, I think the studio has generated the myth about its costs to help in the selling of the movie. I have seen this happen with 'Terminator' and 'True Lies' and 'Titanic,' and it helps the film become a must-see film. By the way, doesn't that mean it's a bargain to see such an expensive film for the same amount it costs to see any other film? It's the deal of the century!"

So just how much can "Avatar" ring up during its all-important opening weekend? Broad consensus has the sci-fi actioner -- starring Sam Worthington ("Terminator Salvation") and Sigourney Weaver -- fetching $80 million or more through Sunday, though Fox has been floating much lower figures to tamp down expectations.

Toting a running time of 2 hours and 36 minutes, "Avatar" starts its long march toward profitability with 12:01 a.m. Friday performances set for more than 2,000 mostly 3D locations. For the rest of the weekend, "Avatar" will play in some 3,400 theaters boasting almost 3,000 3D screens and roughly an equal number of 2D auditoriums.

"Avatar" debuts simultaneously this week in most foreign markets, with more than 5,000 3D screens in place internationally for the release.

"Avatar" is likely to draw best among male moviegoers, but it will bear watching how it skews in the age demo. Heading into the weekend, prerelease tracking surveys indicate a good chance the film will draw well among both younger and older males.

Rocket Singh Making great profil in US

Bollywood's latest offering "Rocket Singh - Salesman Of The Year" is going great guns in the US with its review currently the number one most read movie story on the New York Times site.

The Times review, beating stories on the Golden Globe nominations and reviews of all US films, calls "Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year," with Ranbir Kapoor "a smart, focused Bollywood movie".

Shimit Amin, "who directed the delightful 'Chak De! India', about a girls' hockey team, dispenses with Bollywood's normal tangle of subplots and mashup of genres", it says. "There's music, but no big production numbers. Even romance is back-burnered. Instead, Mr. Amin sticks to the story at hand."

"Kapoor, a heartthrob who has quickly become a star playing cads, turns in a skilfully understated performance," says the review. "His Harpreet is an old-school hero: solid, righteous, compassionate. You can't help cheering for him."

In an equally flattering review, Film Journal International says: "David-and-Goliath workplace drama from India goes unexpected places, and hits satisfying chords."

The posters for the Bollywood import "promise a workplace satire or a light-hearted employee caper" it says. "Instead we get a sharply observed drama of an honest man trying to survive in the usual business world."

"In the exploding modern India, it's a very American story: How do you succeed in business without really trying to compromise your ethics?"

"Not all Bollywood movies are big, colourful musicals, of course, and this one offers only a couple of plot montages set against songs, it says, "But with uniformly excellent performances-particularly by (Naveen) Kaushik and (Shantanoo) Bhagyaraj as the conflicted and not-so-conflicted antagonists, respectively."

In addition, there is "a no-nonsense pace and storytelling sense by director Shimit Amin, and a truly universal and credible office mise-en-sc?ne, 'Rocket Singh' is instantly accessible to any stateside audience," the Journal adds.

Harpreet Singh, the protagonist, "may be a prisoner of the system, but he can proudly say, 'I am not a number. I am a free market'." it says.

English actress Keira Knightley poses nude for artist

English actress Keira Knightley has reportedly stripped off to pose naked for an acclaimed artist.

The Pirates of the Caribbean actress, who bared all to film a bath scene with Sienna Miller in their 2008 movie The Edge of Love, has allegedly been shedding her clothes during sessions at London's Halcyon Gallery for Mitch Griffiths, reports heraldsun.com.au.

"It's considered a great honour to be painted by Mitch. He is a highly respected nude painter and is painting a number of subjects for an exhibition next year. He is delighted Keira agreed to take part," said a source.

Where can I get a good salt lick? (on food and random photos)

I read somewhere that when you get older, your taste buds get duller and you start to crave more intense flavors.

Maybe that explains why I've been devouring hot & sour soup and running low on my salt lick.

Or why I need to make such rich chocolate milk:

Making a chocolate milk treat in my cubicle at work

What?? I'm just following directions. The label says "heaping tablespoon" -- anything less would be blasphemous!

So, speaking of food, do you live in Maryland? I had the most amazing seafood stew at Rustico in Stevensville (across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge).

Seafood stew at Rustico, an awesome
Zagat-rated Italian restaurant & wine bar.
(Stevensville, MD)

It's worth the drive.

Before the stew, I nearly had an out-of-body experience when I tasted their bruschetta. (Yes, I just discovered bruschetta. Never had it before.) I thought I loved salsa but when you meet your soul food mate, you know it in your bones. (Or maybe I should say buds.)

Bruschetta is like salsa except not spicy -- no jalapenos. And basil instead of cilantro. I ate it straight with a spoon. Bread only dilutes it. It was so damn good that on the way home, I picked up half a pound of tomatoes and made a huge batch immediately upon walking in the door.

me outside Rustico (a couple weeks ago).

Some other random photos:

I spent this past Saturday night hulking over a fancy crystal bowl of marinated shrimp hoping no one noticed that I ate about 7 pounds worth.

S threw an amazing party and prepared all the food herself
(including said addictive shrimp) (Oh! And rum balls!)

Her kitty approved!

What's your favorite food or treat? Is it different this time of year than usual? Most importantly, what do you think of FRUITCAKE??

it's your birthday, it's your birthday!! (cue incongruent but earnest white rapping)

He's not sure which to open. What came first, the chicken or the egg?

And the tiniest present came last!

I also tried to surprise him by entering a photo into the art auction 140hours. Here's how successful my surprise was:

me: "So can you send me a high-res version of that red photo with the starfish?"

him: "sure, why?"

me: "um. I just need it, that's all."* (*I suck at lying)

him (curiosity piqued): "For what?"

me (stalling): "Just to try an experiment."

him (Jedi radar instantly lasers into my brain, dismantling flimsy hidden motive): "You're not putting it in that art auction, are you?"* (the thing I have been talking about nonstop for 2 weeks .) (Note to self: that was not great forethought for the reconnaissance birthday mission.)

me (instantly caving): "um. Yes."

Anyway, here's the photo, online:

(visit auction)

Brittle stars on top of a brilliant red sponge

"Earth and sea are polar opposites. The Mayan pyramids were devoured by the jungle, a relentless verdant wave of plant life. In the sea, the roles of plants and animals are inverted; animals cover all. Everything you see in this image is an animal. The red background is a sponge, the multi-armed creatures are brittle stars, and everything else is coral in its diverse forms, from rocklike to delicate fernlike structures.

"The animals in this photo were found on the hull of a large tropical wreck at a depth of 80 feet. The brilliant colors are not normally visible; at this depth, the color becomes a drab camouflage unless illuminated with manmade light. The inverse nature of land and sea is complete; neon colors become uniform shades of obscure blue."
(see Dan's blog-->)

The auction ends tomorrow, but the birthday celebration shall last the rest of the year. :)