Jil Sander at Uniqlo

Over the past few years we've seen some fabulous collaborations that take place with high end designers tying up with high street brands to make fashion truly affordable for the masses. We've seen Proenza Schouler do work with Target, Vera Wang design for Kohl's and Lanvin for H&M. (I'd written a story on designer collaborations for Khaleej Times WAAAAY back in 2007 which can be found here).
One tie up that evidently went under my radar is the Jil Sander and Uniqlo one. I just saw that Vogue UK has posted pics of some of the J+ line for Spring, and I was surprised I didn't even know a line existed! Here are some pics of the collection, and I think they're quite lovely! What do you think?

I must admit however, I've never shopped at Uniqlo before and I'm a bit shocked looking at the prices. The plain red dress shown above will retail for a 100 GBP, as will the blue one, which just kinda seems steep to me for a high street brand. But I don't really know what the regular pricing of Uniqlo is, and a Jil Sander one would easily cost you upwards of ten times that price, so I guess it still makes sense to get? Am still a bit not convinced.
-

Jumbo Founder's Day Celebrations!

So every year on or around the 1st of March Jumbo celebrates Founder's Day in the Company, or what we call "Manusmriti". The 1st of March was actually my Late Father's birthday and I think it's such a special way for us to remember him and celebrate his life. We've been celebrating Founder's Day every year since his passing, and it's every year it's evolved into something bigger and better that not only Jumbo-ites, but their families too look forward to. The first year or two it was a very somber affair till my Mother decided that we should remember my Father by celebrating his successes and make it a fun-filled day with everyone getting involved. We tried having external organizers coordinating the event for us to disastrous effects till someone had the idea of handing over the organization to the fresh batch of Management Trainees that come in every year. The MT's stepped in and instead of having professional performers up on stage, opened up the floor to all the Jumbo talent we had in-house. Every year I'm always blown away by the singers and dancers we have within the company, and the video below will show you what I'm talking about! Founder's Day however is not just about the performances- we have cricket competitions, pool tournaments, quiz contests and a whole bunch of other things taking place weeks in advance, and have the awards given out on the day. Outdoors we have a place for the mini-Jumboites with a play area for kids with clowns and fancy dress competitions, etc. My favourite bit I must admit, is the show itself, and almost always is the performance by the Management Trainees themselves. Every year the MT's try and top the event done by the previous year, and although last year's was a really tough act to follow, I think the batch this year nailed it with a hilarious skit and "dance" routine if you can call it that. I took my video camera along to film my favourite bits of the show which I've sort of managed to compile together (please excuse my terrible editing skills!) but I just HAD to post the entire MT performance on here too. The skit unfortunately couldn't make it up here despite it having me in squeals of laughter... Those in attendance will know why!!
Hope you guys enjoy the performance... "Manusmriti 2011"!




-
And if you haven't visited my blog over the past few days, you might not know that you have until the 31st of March to follow 3 easy steps that could potentially make you the proud owner of the Apple iPad!!!! Go here for details- http://www.kiranscorner.com/2011/03/win-ipad-with-kirans-corner-and-jumbo.html
-

Blog corner presents Fashion Foie Gras

One of my favourite things to do everyday are read a whole bunch of different blogs. If you've been reading mine for a while, you'll know that every once in a while I like to feature one of my favourites or new discoveries to let my readers know about other cool blogs that exist out there. One of the ones that I've been following for a while is Fashion Foie Gras.
When it comes down to fashion blogs, there are a whole bunch of different types that can be found- there are the street style ones that tend to be most popular (like Garance Dore's), or there are ones where people chronicle their own styles and clothes (WishWishWish and MyFashDiary are two examples that I've written about before) and there are some that just offer the latest news on all things fashion. Recently I found some famous fashion bloggers that I loved to follow earlier have become completely out of reach as they've morphed into celebrities in their own right, and it's become almost painful to read their blogs. If you've ever read BryanBoy's blog (which unfortunately is now blocked in the UAE) you'll know what I'm talking about. I was on the lookout for some blogs that were fresh and easy and had a mix of all things fashion- bits of fashion gossip, some educational posts, a dash of celeb-styling with a few personal looks thrown in, without the attitude thank you very much! I don't know how exactly I found Fashion Foie Gras, but I love it and read it almost every day.
Emily Johnston, the Fashion Goose and person behind FFG (picture below), moved to London from North Carolina 8 years back, and started the blog only 15 months back. When I asked her what prompted her to start a fashion blog she said, "The best background for this sort of employment is an obsession with fashion and style. I've had a subscription to Vogue, and every other fashion glossy out there since I was 11 years old! Let's just say I had been preparing for this sort of role for a long time without even knowing it!"
Her "voice" is actually the best part about the blog as it's not just a run of the mill list of things happening in the fashion world, or a list of press releases printed out, but it's in places educational, in places questioning, often complimentary about a designer's work and sometimes just plain funny. Just a few days back she carried an article on a very interesting massage she went for (a Kundalini back massage) which left her transported to another world and crying. The next article was one about "Muffin Tops" and how the word has officially made it into the Oxford English Dictionary! The blog had me go from intrigued to amused in 5 minutes flat!
Fashion Foie Gras also carries some real fun to read features like one which chronicles the most interesting TwitPics posted by the celebs and a new addition called "Blackberry Tales from the Fashion Goose" which shows off Emily's latest captures on her BB. If you like reading fashion blogs, I promise you'll be as hooked to FFG as I am to Okku's Foie Gras Sushi! If you haven't already, you need to try both!

-

And if you haven't visited my blog over the past few days, you might not know that you have until the 31st of March to follow 3 easy steps that could potentially make you the proud owner of the Apple iPad!!!! Go here for details- http://www.kiranscorner.com/2011/03/win-ipad-with-kirans-corner-and-jumbo.html 
-

Few more Chanel bags!

Hi Guys, Most of you LOVED the latest Chanel bags I posted about here so I figured I'd post the newer ones as soon as I got them and not wait for a few more to come in before I posted on the whole lot together. Bergdorf Goodman's in New York has just received new stock of these gorgeous pieces so write in to them if you're interested in having one shipped to you. Don't wait too long though, as they might sell out quick. The clutch is really well priced (for Chanel that is!) but I'm so lusting after the first one!!

                                        White Tweed w/ Embroidery - $4,100

                                   Black w/Gold Hardware Clutch - $1,900 

                                 Black Lions Head w/Silver Hardware- $3,000
 

 Please contact Linda at lindamdpreston@yahoo.com for prices, reservations of purchasing of any of the products listed above.
-
And if you haven't visited my blog over the past few days, you might not know that you have until the 31st of March to follow 3 easy steps that could potentially make you the proud owner of the Apple iPad!!!! Go here for details- http://www.kiranscorner.com/2011/03/win-ipad-with-kirans-corner-and-jumbo.html

M&M's get a Kiran's Corner makeover!

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll know I'm a nutter for exclusive stuff and I HATE having stuff that other people own. Sometimes yes, made-to-order or "limited edition" things do have a hefty price tag to them, but sometimes personalizing your everyday things can cost very little, and you can transform stuff that everyone has and make it your own- like I did to my iPad and iPhone.

What do you think of these M&M's... Kiran's Corner Edition? ;)

Ok no, I wasn't approached by M&M's to custom design their chocolate (I wish!) neither did I decide that ordinary M&M's were.. well.. too ordinary for me to have! The story is this- Right before I left for the US, my sister and I were thinking of throwing a party together and were looking at fun things to do to do for it. We'd come up with a whole bunch of innovative ideas (or I thought so anyway!) and I wanted to have a few personalized touches along the way. Since napkins and coasters are all so "been there, done that" I was looking at some different things to have, and one of them were personalized M&M's. Since they only deliver within the US and I was heading over in a week or so, I went ahead and ordered them and brought them back to Dubai upon my return. You can order a whole bunch of them in different colours and can mix it up with faces, messages or logos- the other one that you see in there is my sister's personal logo and are her initials- BMG. Of course, I used my Kiran's Corner one!
Unfortunately our party never happened so we didn't decide as to whether to keep them on tables in bowls or to have them put on bite-sized cupcakes. Since my Mother's been threatening to hand them over to my little nephew, I thought I'd photograph them and show them to you guys before they got consumed. They'd make a great idea as a gift for a loved one or birthday parties don't you think?

You can get the personalized M&M's by ordering them online here
-
And if you haven't visited my blog over the past few days, you might not know that you have until the 31st of March to follow 3 easy steps that could potentially make you the proud owner of the Apple iPad!!!! Go here for details- http://www.kiranscorner.com/2011/03/win-ipad-with-kirans-corner-and-jumbo.html
-

LOVE this tune...

Not only am I totally hooked on this song, but watching this video made me laugh.. Novak fans will love it!

Theta Healing and Me- Part 2

As you may know, a few days back I celebrated my blog's one year anniversary during which I had asked people to tell me more about what the favourite parts of my blog were. A lot of people wrote in appreciating different parts of my blog and a few wrote in with requests on particular subjects (Thanks to everyone who wrote in or Tweeted by the way!). Two people asked me to go more into detail about the subject of spirituality, specifically quoting back to the article I'd written on Theta healing- "Theta Healing and Me" which was one of my first few posts upon creating this blog. While over the past year my take on spirituality has completely shifted, that will be another post for another day. Today I wanted to clear up a few things that I'd talked about in my Theta post, and my experience with this particular mode of healing only. While only two people referred back to it, my previous post is one of the first few that come up when you google "Theta Healing Dubai" and I didn't want readers of my blog or random people that were guided to it it to be misguided after reading my first post.
If you haven't read my original post, I'll give you a brief synopsis about Theta in my life- It was something I learned, fell in love with, proceeded to fly to Vegas to take a course with Vianna Stibal (the one who discovered the modality and is the Founder of Think) and then on to become a Teacher of Theta. I never intended on teaching, but I like being thorough with subjects that interest me and since I happened to be in the US a month or two after I'd learned the course, I decided to do the teacher's training while there. Momentarily, it brought my life a lot of peace and joy and I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone I interacted with. I wrote the blog post and was the biggest advocate of Theta around, intended to study it further (there are many different levels and many different courses) and was then spending thousands on Theta Healers in Dubai who had taken the higher courses than me. A friend of mine had with my permission even used my post on her blog too, which is where the second part of my story of the unraveling begins.
One day while generally surfing on the net, I came across my post on my friend's blog, which had a lot of comments below it. The first comment itself made me sit up and take notice and this is what it had to say-
Hi there, I came across your blog & had to comment. I was Vianna Stibal's daughter-in-law for 7 years, and after her son, Josh, left me pregnant w/ our 4th child (for a mistress welcomed into "THInK"), I did some research. Not only did Josh con people out of over $100,000, but ThetaHealing is a well orchestrated lie. Vianna is not a naturopath, as she claims. They've given out illegal Doctorate Degrees. (Vianna didn't even graduate from high school)And, from my research she did NOT heal herself of cancer (and it looks as though she never even had it). She is a charlatan. TH is a well orchestrated pyramid scheme, with deceit at its core. There is a major lawsuit currently... people are asking for their money back. Please just look around before you invest anymore time or money. If you still choose to use ThetaHealing, then I only wish you well! I discuss this on my blog if you care to look... Best to you in everything, Lindsey Stock 

Along with this comment, she had posted the link to her blog- donttreadontruth

I was quite taken aback with this comment and figured that this woman is obviously very disturbed and full of hate and spite to be googling random sites on Theta and posting comments with the aim of discrediting her ex- Mother in Law and must obviously have serious head issues to have created a whole blog dedicated to bringing her down! I've watched enough saas-bahu TV serials on Star Plus (or heard their story lines anyway) and figured the lady was probably just extremely, extremely bitter. Since I have Vianna Stibal as a friend on Facebook, I immediately sent her the email regarding this comment and made her aware if she wasn't already, that such a blog existed. Curiosity got the better of me and I began to check it out myself and read through a lot of her posts. I expected them to be just rants and complaints from different people for whom Theta might not have worked, or worse, from people who hadn't even tried it but were non-believers. What I found however, were some very relevant posts that asked a lot of pertinent questions about Vianna and Theta- Basic ones, that I had not even bothered to ask. Starting with the basic, How do we know for sure she even HAD cancer? (she claimed to have cured herself of the disease) to questioning about witnesses or documented scientific proof that there was some truth to Theta Healing. I felt (and feel) like a real idiot. After spending so much time, money and effort into a modality that claimed to cure cancer and HIV, turn water into juice, move physical objects and nature's elements, and TELEPORTATION (yup, that's a biggie!) I never even bothered to ask for some PROOF that any one single person who had done the highest of levels, or that Vianna herself, had had any success in performing any of these miracles. The students who had completed the highest of levels simply said they were not allowed to demonstrate these special powers, and recently a family member of mine who has gone through all the levels admits that he himself has not been able to perform (for lack of a better word) any of these, but that others in his class were. He also added that even they, despite being his classmates, were "not allowed to"show him their abilities. Back to the night I read the lady's blog, I spent a few hours going through her posts before finally relenting and going to sleep. The next morning I'd received a message from Vianna on Facebook that I'm copying and pasting here-
 Vianna Stibal

• yep shes my ex daughter in law my son left her for another woman I dont know why she pulled me in to this but hes taking her to court soon so I guess it will get interesting. You know I gave her so much money it wasnt even funny.I took her to hawaii .she was such abad daughter in law. She is as strange as she sounds she took the grand kid and moved to vagas poor little kids.

Ok so now I'm thinking, I get crazy lady who is vengeful after being left while she's pregnant with her 4th child but THIS?! This email coming from a person who is a spiritual leader to TENS OF THOUSANDS of people following her, and who has specific courses in Theta that help in getting people rid of prejudices against specific people, races and traditions (it is called Theta World Relations) and who has started a healing modality, the basis of which is "Creator's Unconditional Love"??!! From that moment on, I had nothing to do with Theta Healing again.

I understand when a lot of the Theta practitioners tried to explain to me that "she's only human" and had all different types of excuses for this message. I just couldn't help feeling like a bit of chump, given that I was looking for someone to help me grow spiritually and was paying money to people to take courses from them or go to them for "healing" while I feel I should have gone back to the basics- meditation and prayer. I today believe that meditation gives a person the same type of "high" that I was feeling during those weeks. Moreover I know a whole bunch of people who used Theta heavily for "manifestation" including using it for every day use like finding parking spots or winning at Poker to using it for bigger things like attracting their soulmates or increasing the flow of money in their lives. Most of these people that I know personally, have not seen any massive changes (if any) in their lives and in the long run, neither have I. Mind you, I don't want to receive hate mail from believers, neither am I saying that the Theta Healers are frauds. This post is just a continuation of one I'd written a year back, as I only think it's fair for me to finish the story and not have someone take a course or have anything to do with Theta only after reading my rave review. I just wanted to present all my facts and then let you make of it what you will.
-

And if you haven't visited my blog over the past few days, you might not know that you have until the 31st of March to follow 3 easy steps that could potentially make you the proud owner of the Apple iPad!!!! Go here for details- http://www.kiranscorner.com/2011/03/win-ipad-with-kirans-corner-and-jumbo.html

-

-

Latest season Chanel Bags

Pink python with silver hardware $4,700 - 13 1/2 by 9 inches & 3 inches deep
*Purple lambskin with silver hardware $4,000 - 12 by 8 inches & 4 inches deep
*Red crocodile with silver hardware $35,695 - 12 by 8 inches & 4 inches deep  

Patchwork Tote: Black/White/Grey $3,000
Glittery Fab : Silver/Green/Red $1,600 (also available in Gold/Blue)

TOP:
New Lace: Pink/Ecru/Red $3,600
Classic with Lady Bugs Embroidery $3,150
Classic with Dragon Fly Embroidery $4,300

BOTTOM:
Chic Quilt: Black $3,000 (also available in White)
Grand Plais: White/Sequins $2,500 (also available in Black)
Chic Quit Fold Over: White $3,600 

Chain Me: Shiny Black Calf w/Gold Hardware $2,500 (also available in Beige)
Chain Me: Shiny Black Calf $2,850 (also available in Beige)

I LOVE Chanel bags and think every stylish woman should have at least one in their wardrobe. The great thing about them is that they're really timeless classics and can last forever as long as they're taken care off well. I love the latest collection available at the Chanel counter at Bergdorf Goodman's in New York as they are a mix of the good ol' classics along with a modern take on the old. My favourite is the stunning Red Croc one pictured above... Judging from the price, I however won't be owning it anytime soon! 

-

Please contact Linda at lindamdpreston@yahoo.com for prices, reservations of purchasing of any of the products listed above.

And if you haven't visited my blog over the past few days, you might not know that you have until the 31st of March to follow 3 easy steps that could potentially make you the proud owner of the Apple iPad!!!! Go here for details- http://www.kiranscorner.com/2011/03/win-ipad-with-kirans-corner-and-jumbo.html

-

-

-

Win an iPad with Kiran's Corner and Jumbo!

As I mentioned earlier today, my blog, Kiran's Corner turns 1 today!! In an effort to say a HUGE thank you to all my readers I've tied up with Jumbo Electronics to give you guys a chance to win an amazing iPad!!
All you guys have to do are the following-

Step 1- "Like" the Kiran's Corner Facebook page if you haven't already which can be found here http://www.facebook.com/kiranscorner or on the right hand column of my blog under the heading, "Find us on Facebook."

Step 2- "Like the JumboWorld Facebook page which can be found here- http://www.facebook.com/JumboElectronics

Step 3- Send me an email on kiran@kiranscorner.com to let me know you've completed Step 1 and Step 2.

It really is that easy! After that, you'll go into a raffle and will have the chance to win one of the most incredible and talked about device innovations- The Apple iPad!!
Just a few things I want to clarify-
Friends of mine and Jumbo Electronics employees ARE allowed to take part. Also, we will be verifying the existence of the winner on both lists to make sure they have gone through Step 1 and Step 2. Having said that, if an email is not received by me at my Kiran's Corner email address and is sent to my work or personal account or consequently conveyed to me by word of mouth or Twitter, they will not be eligible to get into the draw.
Oh and before I get inundated with emails asking me whether this is the iPad 2, unfortunately the device has not been officially launched in the UAE yet (or any other place apart from the US for that matter) and so the one being given away is the current one available in stores.
The competition is open to anyone in the UAE and internationally too, as long as they have someone in the UAE to be able to collect their prize for them.
Good luck and please do spread the word of this exciting opportunity!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that this opportunity will be valid for 2 weeks beginning the 17th, so you have till the 31st of March to participate!! 

Kiran's Corner turns 1!!!

Dear Reader,

On this day, exactly one year back, I started this blog, Kiran's Corner. It feels like yesterday, and yet at the same time I feel, at the risk of sounding cliche, like so much time has gone by! A few of you, my friends in particular, have been readers of mine from the start, some following religiously and a few checking in sporadically. Some of you have joined along the way and out of those, a few I hear from regularly either through Email/Facebook/Twitter while most of you silently keep coming back to hear what I have to say. I'm constantly amazed with how well-informed and intelligent my readers are, and knowing that my blog is being read by you is really SUCH a humbling experience. One of my readers is a fascinating lawyer whom I hope to meet soon, one an vivacious budding fashion designer, while one is a Social Marketing Guru- None of whom I knew before, and all of whose thoughts and comments add value to my writing. Some of you have come up to me at the most random of places in Dubai and let me know you read my blog and I can promise you, by doing that absolutely make my day! It's funny how I've gone from "Kiran Chhabria from Electronics" to "Kiran of Kiran's Corner"... I love it! Either way, thank you SO much for checking back in, and for inspiring me to keep this going.

It's so weird that only one short year back the concept of blogging in Dubai was so brand new. My own Mother had no clue what a blog was and in the beginning thought it was a complete waste of my time! A lot of my friends thought it was very strange (not to mention geeky and uncool) to be a blogger and would get embarrassed when I pulled out my camera to take pictures of food or restaurants or new places we'd visit. "What's the point?" they'd often ask, not understanding my desire to put my thoughts out to the world. And then suddenly... Boom! The world of blogging exploded in the UAE and suddenly everyone wanted to either BE one or be photographed by one. Society darlings like Dipesh Depala, Ceebo Shah and Mohammed Sultan AlHabtoor made blogging stylish and suddenly my desire to maintain one just wasn't so weird to people anymore. In this one year the Ahlan Hot 100 has recognized several of the bloggers in the country and the 2011 Grazia Style Awards has introduced a new category for "Best Style Blogger." A lot of brands here now have special meet-ups for the fashion bloggers and a lot of stores are finding ways of getting them involved by having contests and shows surrounding them. In just one year, blogging truly has arrived in the UAE.


Kiran's Corner in it's blog avatar has been such a fulfilling experience for me over the last year and I feel like I've grown so much with it. While writing for a magazine, one has to be careful of their "image" and how they would like to be perceived by others as well as within their organization, and as Director of one of the largest companies in the UAE I was always very mindful about my subject matter. At the start of my blog I'd proceeded with caution at subjects I felt would show me off in a more frivolous light- like fashion and make up, and tip-toed around those for the first few posts. Taking one look at the background image I had custom designed for this blog, you'll have understood I have fully embraced by young, feminine and frivolous side and make no apologies for it! My blog constantly pushes me to be a bit more creative, while always being on the lookout for things to post on- whether it be tidbits of news, fashion info, new gadgets out or even new music. It's amazing how wanting to post on interesting and informative subjects has made me better informed (I won't claim however, to be more interesting!) and that is what I mean by it truly has contributed so much to my own individual growth.

My subject matter has remained over the past year very varied and I often have women telling me they skim through the other stuff till I do a post on fashion, and I have guys who roll their eyes at my fashion posts till I do a gadget review. I try, however, to keep the fashion posts informative and the gadget posts as non-techy as possible, and throw in a lot of restaurant reviews, book reviews and other random info to keep it interesting for both sexes. However I'd LOVE to hear from you guys what parts of the blog you most like, and maybe some different ideas on what you'd like to read going forward. I maintain the blog a 100% myself and it takes a huge lot of dedication, commitment and most of all TIME and hopefully I'll be inspired enough to keep writing till the Year 2 mark! I've also refused all the advertising offers I've received (so flattering to have been asked though!) as I felt that if I'm not shamelessly advertising my own brand, why would I allow anyone else space to advertise theirs? For that reason, despite having a few other options available, I turned to Jumbo to sponsor a small competition that was a thank you gesture from Me to You, details of which will be announced later in the day. Thanks once again, and I hope to hear a lot more from you guys in the coming future!

Regards,
Kiran Chhabria

Is the Japan earthquake the begining of 2012?

By now you would have all heard about the 8.9 (on the richter scale) earthquake in Japan and followed the news, horrified to see the massive destruction that followed the quake and tsunami it caused. In fact, since the beginning of 2011, you might have noticed that a whole host of natural disasters have occured in various parts of the world, usually to disastrous effects. I recently read online a chronicle of natural disasters within the first 12 days of this year, which I thought was quite scary:

• Earthquake magnitude 6.9 Argentina-January 1
• Earthquake magnitude 5.2 - Southern XinJiang, China-January 1
• Earthquake 7.1 magnitude Chile-January 2
• More Than 1,000 Dead Birds Fall From Sky in Arkansas-January 2
• Dead fish cover 20-mile section of Arkansas River-January 2
• Uganda yellow fever outbreak kills more than 40-January 3
• Earthquake Near Japan Triggers Tsunami Warning-January 3
• Powerful earthquake hits south-east Iran-January 3
• Earthquake 7.0 magnitude hits northern Argentina-January 3
• Hundreds of dead blackbirds found in Louisiana-January 3
• 10,000s of Birds found dead in Manitoba-January 3
• Thousands of Birds fall from the sky in South America-January 3
• Major Flood in Rockhampto,Australia-January 3
• Dead Birds Found In Kentucky-January 4
• 100 tons of dead fish wash up on Brazil's shores-January 4
• Hundreds of dead birds found in East Texas-January 5
• Dead birds in Sweden, millions of dead fish in Maryland, Brazil and New Zealand-January 5
• Shift of Earth's magnetic north pole affects Tampa airport-January 5
• 40,000 crabs found dead on England beaches-January 6
• Heavy floods leave at least 35 dead in Brazil-January 6
• Earthquake 4.5 magnitude in California-January 12
• Huge Waves Destroy Homes in E. Indonesia-January 12

(Source- Copied from here)
So much destruction has a lot of people questioning, is 2012 really the end of the world? Is all this massive destruction a sign of things to come? Is the myth of 2012 something real and not just an entertaining movie?
In my own life my introduction to spirituality came around 5 years back with my introduction to a man by the name of Dr. Yuvraj Kapadia. Yuvraj is the Founder and Head of an organization in India called the California Hypnosis Institute of India (CHII) and often comes to the UAE to give talks on various subjects and teach Clinical Hypnotherapy to eager students under the banner of Illuminations World. Over the years, Yuvraj has gone from being a teacher (I studied hypnotherapy with him and am a certified Clinical hypnotherapist) to being a friend and I often call on him to chat about life, issues or questions I may have. Since the first time I'd heard about the idea of 2012 was also from him, he was the person I wanted to call to talk about the idea of this phenomenon being a reality. Luckily for me, I found out he was coming to Dubai and I then requested if I could have him dictate his responses for a blog post to which he readily agreed. The following is his take on what it all means-

Hi Yuvraj.. You've been talking about 2012 waaaay before the movie came out. How is your take different from the movie's?
For centuries as man has evolved from the animal, we have always suffered from a hangover of animal traits in our being, which means we are still competing, feeling threatened, we still believe that power and territory are vital to our sense of self worth and the shift is prelude to moving away from the animal state in us, and allowing much more of the divine human to take charge, which in short defines 2012 as a huge shift of evolutionary consciousness. So in terms of human behavior, what we are focusing on is a shift from a fear-based existence to a love based existence. From a competitive survival environment, to a cooperative thriving environment. We are shifting from benchmarks of one upmanship to a state where we acknowledge that everybody is unique and everybody is fine the way the are.
Sine in any shift the environment and the human mind are linked together, a shift in human consciousness will necessary accompany a shift in our environment. This is unique from the movie, because the movie only focuses on the destructive elements of the environment but doesn’t focus on the shift of consciousness.

A lot of conspiracy theorists are pointing to the most recent earthquake in Japan and are looking at it as a sign of things to come for next year. What is your take on it?
The physical environment as we see it today is a manifested expression of our old consciousness. Simply because no matter how prosperous a country is in terms of its physical structure, they result of that prosperity is largely a duality of disparity. So you will see structures going through huge shifts so that a cooperative structure emerges for everyone, a win-win situation for everyone on earth. Other changes we are looking at are change of climate, the equation of water and land being realigned, where the sea will take back what man has vicariously claimed from it.
Other changes include a major uprising of governments, like in the Middle East as we have witnessed, because people are waking up to disintegrity of disparity.
The layman will not be finding himself embarking on a journey of questioning for the purpose of understanding without blindly following doctrine simply because forefathers lived by it. People are waking up to their own power which they have lost through fear, control and suppression.

How can the layman work towards these changes?
With awareness and understanding knowing that this is part of an evolutionary program which will open up into something much better, one will actually let go of the panic and look at the whole shift as a welcome change in the way of life. Should we do that, the transition will be very comfortable for everybody to handle. It is about handling change with maturity and understanding. Change is inevitable. Our response to it is always in our hand. Finally, as we observe one major destruction in a country such as Japan, you will find the world coming together to support the country in crisis, irrespective of cast greed color, which simply shows that these events trigger us to open our hearts and mind which allows us to move towards oneness, which is all what ascension is about anyway!
-
Whether we believe that 2012 is an energetic shift to something more positive like Yuvraj says, or whether it is the end of the world as foretold by the Mayan calender, we cannot deny that SOMETHING is going on to which there is no explanation.

Coming back to Japan, most of you would have already seen the video footage of the tsunami on the news, but here are some videos I found online that I thought I'd share with you-

Tsunami in Japan from Jean Labelle on Vimeo.

(Courtesy- Russia Times)
Here is a video of the buildings swaying back and forth-



Another extremely interesting link is a post I found on the Japanese Nuclear reactors and whether or not it will pose a threat to the country's safety. It is the view of an MIT research scientist and can be found here.
It has been heart wrenching for me to hear about all the destruction taking place as Japan has a very special space in my heart. It was one of my Father's favourite countries and is where his career successes began beginning from his association with Sony. My high school roommate is Japanese and my best friend is originally from Kobe, Japan. Fortunately for me, all my friends and their families are well, and I received my last confirmation from my ex-roommate earlier today, letting me know she is fine. My prayers go out for all those who've lost someone they love to this terrible tragedy.


If you're interested in learning more about ascension or want to watch Yuvraj talk about the shift taking place, he will be giving a talk later today on the "Eight Steps to Ascension." Here are the details listed below-

Intention: ‘The eight Steps to Ascension’ outlined by Dr. Yuvraj Kapadia, will bring you further clarity, purpose and enlightenment as you continue your journey during these transitional times on Earth.
Date: Monday, March 14th, 2011
Timings: 6.30pm – 9.30pm
Location: MEETING ROOM, HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AL SAFA PARK, NEXT TO GULF NEWS OFFICE
Investment: AED 250/- per person
-

"Winning," the song by Charlie Sheen!

I'm absolutely stunned with all the madness surrounding Charlie Sheen these days. I've never been a fan of his show, Two and a Half Men but if the crazy stuff he's spewing out of his mouth is anything to go by, I need to go buy back episodes to watch him in action TODAY. While it's really sad to see celebs go out of control, it's entertaining in a sick voyeuristic way to watch them spiral.. I mean really, was Lindsay Lohan ever as entertaining on reel as she is in real life?
I caught this "song" on YouTube with someone Auto Tuning one of Sheen's recent interviews, and it's actually quite brilliant!-


Do you remember the time another celeb, Christian Bale, was better known for his crazy outburst than for his Oscar-winning performance?! I'm sure he's glad he's been able to put that behind him. For those who don't remember his crazy behaviour, here's a lyrical reminder of it. Its hilarious, and actually makes for a great song!

Why it's been a STRANGE week for Fashion!

(Image courtesy of Tommy Ton)


You would have definitely heard of the drama surrounding all things Dior and John Galliano by now. Suspended! Fired! Anti-Semitic remarks! Hidden video tapes! Was it orchestrated? Was he on his way out? Was it fair? Not? The internet has been abuzz with rumours, conspiracy theories and if Facebook is anything to go by, almost EVERYONE has a view on this situation.

But other than Dior, there has also been some other stuff taking place behind the scenes, which really makes me wonder- What on earth is going on with the Fashion industry?
The most recent Designer to come under the spotlight is Christophe Decarnin of Balmain who was noticeably absent from their showing in Paris earlier this week. Immediately the Fashion Twitterverse was put into overdrive with people exchanging stories and rumours they'd heard about his absence. Apparently Decarnin was said to be in a mental hospital since January and had no part in the collection showed. That story was later refuted by the WWD that clarified that the Designer had been recently hospitalized for depression, but that he did "have a say" in the collection.

Another rumour doing the rounds was that Hannah MacGibbon from Chloe was going to be replaced at the end of her contract and that several Designers were already being interviewed for the position. However, a statement given to Vogue.co.uk by Chloe, clarified that they were no such plans for her replacement or her exit at the end of the season. While she may not be moving anywhere, people are wondering who will be filling the large shoes at Dior that Galliano has left behind. Most believe it will be Riccardo Tisci (currently at Givenchy) who will take the role, with a new story emerging that he might head the fashion house along with Carine Roitfeld  as the Brand's stylist!! Speaking of Roitfeld, I read a very interesting interview of hers on the style.com website here... Definitely worth a read.

And in other news, I'd reported a few months back about a possible hostile takeover with LVMH trying to buy out Hermes. However, out of nowhere today the news is that LVMH has bought out 51 percent of Bulgari for $3.4 Billion. Yup... BILLION! While Bulgari till now has been mostly owned by family members, they will step back and have less control about what goes on in the company, while gaining two spots on the the LVMH board. Furthermore, the Bulgari CEO will handle the entire watch and jewelry division in the second half of 2011.
All in all, quite the adventurous news-filled week in the Fashion world!
-

Book Review- The Secret Daughter

The Secret Daugher is the most recent book I read, and is written by a first time authour, Shilpi Somaya Gowda. This is the third book in a row that I've read by an Indian authour, (my book reviews for A Fine Balance and Immortals of Meluha can be found online) and I'm really enjoying their varied style of writing as well as the subject matters. All three books have focused on completely different subjects, but yet have India as an integral part of the story. A Fine Balance tells the story of various people around the time of Indira Gandhi's Emergency in India, The Immortals of Meluha talks about Hindu Mythology and how Lord Shiva came to be, whereas The Secret Daughter talks about the story of a young girl, Asha, and how her life pans out after her mother hands her over for adoption to a small orphanage in India.
For most cultures, the idea of female infanticide, the killing of female babies after they are born, is unthinkable and inhumane. Unfortunately for Indians, the idea that males are superior to women and that female babies are unwanted are extremely commonplace, more so (but not limited to) amongst the illiterate in the slums and the villages. Gowda manages to tackle this subject beautifully, as she does the subject of adoption, the feelings of the mother giving up her child, the emotions of the Mother adopting one as well as those of the child involved. For a simple book that is a very quick read, Gowda in fact does a remarkable job tackling a lot of emotional issues in the book that really make you feel for the characters. Apart from a few certain instances, the story line is completely believable and flows quite smoothly.
I am reluctant to get into the details of this book as I don't want to give too much of the story line away. I can tell you this much though- the story follows Asha, Asha's birth mother, and Asha's adoptive family through a span of over twenty years, and beautifully wraps up at the end with a tearful ending- Yes, the book did succeed in making me cry, which in itself is quite a feat. In a review for the book, I read someone describe the book as "Mom-lit" which I guess is probably a good way to describe it- Mothers will love this book. But to classify it as "chick-lit" will be unfair for all the men who might want to understand more about the culture of India in general or even about adoption.
All in all, The Secret Daughter is a great book, a fairly quick read, and I highly recommend it.
-

Lady Gaga walks the ramp for Thierry Mugler in Paris

On Wednesday evening, my inner chic came head to head with my inner geek as I had to pick between a Steve Jobs launch of the iPad 2 and the live streaming of the Thierry Mugler Paris show that Lady Gaga had announced she would be walking for. You may have guessed by reading this post (or the post on the iPad 2 only moments after it was launched) that my love for gadgets superseded my love for fashion and I spent the entire evening following bloggers as they played with the latest toy. iWant!
A few thousand miles away however, the fashion world was blown away with an incredible fashion show by Thierry Mugler, which is all set for a big revival after it's appointment of Nicola Formichetti as it's creative Designer for the brand in September. Formichetti is also Gaga's stylist, and the two are supposed to be extremely close. The singer didn't only walk the ramp for the show, but did it while smoking a cigarette and baring her teeth to the crowd, while a yet-to-be released track of hers, "Government Hooker" played in the background. Walk, walk, Fashion Baby...

Anna Dello Russo on Net a Porter

The most kookiest Queen of Fashion, Anna Dello Russo, was asked by Net a Porter to do a photo shoot for them, where she modeled some of the sites more crazy, zany outfits. Below is a video of the shoot and also another one where they ask her, what her 5 rules of style are-




For those who don't know who she is, or those who do and want to catch a glimpse of her insane wardrobe, watch the video below. What really shocked me about her passion for fashion, is her answer to the obvious question, how on earth does she afford her manic wardrobe?! She said in an interview recently, "I am a real big spender in terms of fashion, i always was. i don’t have kids, i don’t have a family, so all my money went and still goes to the designer’s shops. of course sometimes they lend me pieces, but most of the outfits i’ve worn belong to me. that’s why i had to rent an extra apart- ment just for my clothes!" Damn!

Conan presents the iPad 2

Here are Conan O'Brien's view on the Apple video presenting the iPad2. Hilarious!

And the iPad2 is revealed!!!

If I ramble through this post it's because Steve Jobs is still on stage launching the Apple iPad2  as I type. My browser is furiously refreshing and following the launch in the other window as I'm trying to keep up, drool and post at the same time!
So without further ado let me answer the two most important questions- What's different and when can I get one?!
The iPad2 is thinner- 33% thinner in fact, which is quite a feat considering how bloody thin the iPad is to begin with. It has dual core processors which means it's twice as fast, and has 9 times faster graphics and uses the new Apple A5 chipset. The battery life unfortunately will be the same, with a 10 hour battery life. Oh and it'll have two cameras- one front facing and one rear camera. And as you can see from the picture above, it will come in black AND white (from the first day itself).
And for question number 2... it will be available in the US on March 11th! Will be available in "26 more countries" March 25th. I will let you know as soon as I know, if the UAE is part of that first batch.

Accessories-
There is an HDMI output cable now available for the iPad2-

 

The new cases are also called "Smart cases" as they supposedly don't add bulk and weight to the iPad as the older one did. The case is made in polyutherane- the same material used to make space suits. It is thin and light and can be bent to use as a kickstand for a keyboard or folded to watch video. It is held in place using magnets, and switches on the iPad when you open up the case and turns it off when you shut it! 

The cases come in a variety of colours- 5 in polyutherane and 5 in leather!

New Operating System- OS 4.3-
The new iPad2 is coming with a brand new OS 4.3 which has a significantly better performing Safari browser and has improved AirPlay abilities. Like the new Android devices, the iPhone 4 using OS 4.3 will also be able to share their 3G capabilities with other devices by becoming a personal hotspot- this is quite a cool addition!
Photo Booth is also coming to the iPad which uses the Front-facing camera to allow you to take pictures of yourself. It also has 9 built in transitions you can use to play around with.

And of course!! FaceTime is also going to be built in which now allows you to chat face-to-face with your friends world over! Now you can chat from your iPad with your friends using FaceTime on their iPads, Macs, iPhones or iPod Touch devices!

2 New Apps!
iMovie for iPad- It has a precision editor, multitrack audio recording, new themes, AirPlay to Apple TV, and the ability to share your videos in HD. It’s also a universal app, so will run on the iPhone too.
Will be available for $4.99 on March 11th.

GarageBand- Ok I don't really use this on my Mac so don't know too much about the technology on here. Just know that you can learn to play new instruments using the Smart instrument feature, and that the accelerometer on the iPad recognizes the pressure applied on the instruments. And you can also use the record feature to record your songs. I'm sure we're going to see a lot of GarageBand bands popping up in high schools and colleges everywhere! Also available for $4.99 on March 11th.

Unfortunately the cameras in the iPad seem like they're the same cameras used in the iPod Touch, not the 5 megapixel ones used in the iPhone 4. I wonder why they'd do that?!

Anyhow, that seems it for now! Will post more tomorrow when all the tech blogs get their hands on  the device and get to play with it, and of course will have my own long in-depth review when I get my hands on my own device. March 11th cannot come around fast enough!!
-

John Galliano Declares, "I love Hitler!"

In a truly shocking video posted by The Sun Newspaper, the Head Designer of Christian Dior, John Galliano is filmed slurring racist and Anti-Semitic insults at a group sitting at a Cafe in Paris. Incidentally, it was at the same Cafe where Galliano allegedly launched into yet another verbal tirade towards Jews, which subsequently got him taken to the cops, and then suspended from Dior. The internet was abuzz with theories about Dior's motivation for the suspension, and what most (including yours truly, in my post about the situation here) thought was too harsh a punishment for someone not even proven guilty! There were talks about Galliano being on his way out in Dior, and for them looking for an easy exit-option with him, looking for a way to negate his surely iron-clad contract. Looking at the video though, I wonder whether they were aware of his racist attitude and figured it was only about time till the World became aware of it as well? Watch the video on the Sun's Website here and be prepared to be shocked, saddened and horrified!
At the Oscars no celebrity dared to brave a Galliano or Dior dress with the exception of Nicole Kidman who wore a Dior Spring 2009 Couture gown to the event. Unfortunately for her, not only was she trashed by the public for her politically incorrect choice of Designer to wear, but the dress in itself was deemed as being quite awful and won her quite a few Online "Worst Dressed Celebrity" awards that night.

Natalie Portman, who is the face of Miss Dior Cherie, has spoken out about her thoughts on the video saying, “I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments that surfaced today. In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way. I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful."
I wonder if she'll renew her contract with Dior going forward.  
(The Oscar Winner is pictured with the Designer, below)-

Oh and as for John Galliano, needless to say the Sun's video was the last straw that broke the camel's back and he has since been fired from Christian Dior.
-