Such a disappointment! The vuvuzelas, Waka Waka, soccer anthems and star jerseys just don't interest anymore. Gradually, the world has become dull and gloomy.

Well, it's no doomsday prophecy or thse Judgement Day. But it's no less depressing. As Germans surge further towards being the world champions and Spain have their eyes set on their debut championship title, FIFA has ended for most of us (read girls). With no Ronaldo, Kaka and now Messi, the loss is just too heavy for us to bear.

Okay, lets come back to our senses now, cut the drama and make a point. The three good looking men in the game made to cry, pack their bags and get going wasn't exactly what the majority expected. And now, the three hunks share more than the title of FIFA player of the year — a shocking exit after a humiliating defeat. Is the glamour of the game lost or have we found new interests?

"What else was there to FIFA than Messi and Kaka?" says Sonal Malik, a city based fashion stylist. And we thought the game just got interesting! "I am not a soccer fan, I only saw Brazil and Argentina's matches. Now that the two teams are out, I don't have a reason to cheer." And no excitement over who lifts the cup? "May be I'd like to read the headlines the next day," she adds.

Model Amanpeet Wahi shares similar sentiments: "I have absolutely lost interest in the World Cup. My husband and me were supporting Argentina and their exit really disappointed us. Watching Messi and Ronaldo play was such fun, which is no longer there." Though she will not be catching minute-to-minute details now, she definitely plans to take revenge against the Germans. "I'll be supporting the team who plays against Germany."

But for some smart Alecs, the mantra is - if you can't accept the defeat, change loyalties. Move over Ronaldo and Messi, Klose is the new hero. "Germany has really played superbly. Argentina shut down without Messi and big names like Ronaldo, Kaka, Rooney failed to deliver, but Ruben, Klose and Mueller have really played superbly. I am hoping to watch them battle it out in the finals," says Manisha Nagi, an IT professional working in Mohali.

FIFA might have lost some of its sheen but not its thrill. Tejinder Kumar, senior coach, Chandigarh Football Academy. "Eventually, whoever plays the better game, will win. But more than any individual stars, the team as a unit makes the difference. Argentines relied too much on Messi. Our expectations from the big names were too much. Maybe even more than their capability." His favourites? "Germans. Klose has been at his best and Mueller is an added advantage."

Ozel, Schneider, Ruben and Mueller are the new favourites for Mikhil Kapoor, an engineering student from the city. "From Spain, David Villa and Casillas are the best. But against a German counter attack, Spain has little chance. The final is sure to be a thrilling affair." Well, talk of nail-biting finishes at FIFA and we are already short of nails!

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Let's accept; we cannot undo what has been done. We would no longer see Lionel Messi and Kaka in action at the FIFA world cup. Sob sob! The wounds will take some time to heal. Till then we try and find solace in the cool showers that have hit the city. It's time to rejoice, soak in some fresh moments and a stroll down memory lane, talking about the good and bad memories of the splash.

His World Cup song Wavin' Flag has arguably become the most downloaded international song in India and Somali rapper K'Naan's hopes his creation captures the feeling of "unity and celebration" that the footballing extravaganza has come to epitomise.

"My anthem is the official World Cup song for Coca Cola. It's great to have a hit song in all four corners of the world. Wavin' Flag is a beautiful, uplifting song and I hope it captures the feeling of unity and celebration the FIFA World Cup brings to people all across the planet," K'Naan said.

The song was released by Universal Music and the label says Wavin' Flag has set a record of sorts with over 150,000 downloads in India. Football enthusiasts are setting it as their caller tunes and it is repeatedly played several times over on TV and radio, as also in clubs and other places.

"I am really glad that Coca Cola and Universal Music made this happen," said the rapper, who now lives in Canada.

The track is a remix of Wavin Flag, which originally appeared on K'Naan's 2009 album Troubadour. The singer reworked the song for the Coca-Cola campaign, which invited football fans to express their optimism and passion for the game through dance celebrations in the run-up to the World Cup in South Africa.

"The single has been released in more than 150 markets around the world and is used as the anthem for all elements of the global Coca-Cola campaign in support of its FIFA World Cup sponsorship in more than 160 countries," said K'Naan.

Even Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan tweeted about the song, saying: "My kids love Wavin' Flag."

Mohit Chauhan said: "K'Naan's Wavin' Flag has got the right spirit and drives home the exact message that be it life or soccer. It's a beautiful game! Apart from the tune being immensely catchy, the beats of the track really caught my attention. Long live Soccer!"

Deepika Padukone too praised it saying: "The best thing about this song is that it makes me want to sing along every time I listen to it and that is the mark of a great track. Wavin' Flag sure is making waves all over."

While Indians are going gaga over Wavin' Flag, the rapper has returned the compliment, saying he loves Indian music maestro AR Rahman's compositions.

"I have heard and liked Indian music, but cannot recall many names. One person I remember is AR Rahman. I like his music a lot and he is very good," he said.

When asked whether he would like to collaborate with Rahman, the 32-year-old said: "I am always open to explore new things."

Being originally from a strife torn area, K'Naan was asked if his songs reflect the pain he went through. He replied: "Storytelling has been a part of the culture I have been brought up in. I love songs that take you back into a place you are not in. I was born in Somalia and spent my first 14 years there."

"At the age of 11 the civil war broke out. It was a very difficult and emotional time, time for survival. All my songs are personal and have been influenced by my life." — IANS

Mugdha Godse is psyched about her upcoming film Help where she plays a woman possessed by a demon and the former model says that the role will establish her credentials as an actress.Mugdha, who debuted in Bollywood with Madhur Bhandarkar's hit Fashion, said that the audience will see 'many Mughdas' in the film."There would be a lot of shades that would be seen in my character. In a single film, there would be different Mugdhas that the audience would get to see," the actor.

The 28-year-old plays Bobby Deol's wife in Help which follows a married couple through a series of bizarre incidents that wrecks their relationship.The film directed by Rajeev Virani, brings together 'science and fiction', says Mugdha who is sure that the film will shock and scare the audience."My character does get possessed in the film. Also, there are lot of other things that happen to my body. While Help stays true to science and reality, there is also an element of fiction," said the actor who is three-films-old in Bollywood.If Mugdha plays a central character in the film, where does that leave the lead hero Bobby Deol? "Of course, both Bobby and I are in parallel roles. He definitely has a major part to play. If one character is possessed then another has to do something to help her out.Even though our characters are shown to be going through problems, the incidents only bring us closer," said the actor.She is confident about the prospects of Help which, she says has been shot uniquely by Virani. "Most of the horror films are a little slow because the director wants to build up the suspense with sound, camerawork and some spooky frames. On the other hand ours is a fast paced film. 

This is something unique because normally, we don't see a pacy horror film," said Mugdha.Meanwhile, Madhur Bhandarkar, who launched her in Bollywood is currently casting for Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji. When asked whether she has been approached for the film, Mugdha replies in the negative."Whatever information that I have about Madhur's next film is only through newspapers. Though I don't have any qualms reaching out to filmmakers, I know that I don't have to do that when it comes to people I have already worked. They realise my potential and if they feel that I suit a particular role, they will in any case reach out to me. I would always be ready for them," said the actor. — PTI 

Singer-actor Jennifer Lopez has for the first time spoken out about her failed romances with Ojani Nao, Sean Combs, Cris Judd and Ben Affleck and how these affected her.

Lopez's first marriage was to Cuban-born Ojani Noa (in 1997) which lasted for less than a year before the union fell apart at the start of her career and the couple divorced in 1998.

Lopez next had a two-and-a-half-year relationship with hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, but admits their relationship "did get sordid" after she was pulled into his infamous trial on a charge of felony gun possession. Combs was later acquitted.

Lopez then married back-up dancer Cris Judd, but the romance was doomed and the couple divorced in 2003.

The 40-year-old claims romance with actor-director Ben Affleck was really life-changing and admits being dumped by the actor just days before their wedding in 2004. This left her completely heartbroken.

"I don't think I had ever been heartbroken in that way before - had so many hopes and dreams on something. This was the first time and it was tough," she said.

"When you go through that kind of heartbreak in front of everybody you are not quite the same person you were before."

"I always wanted that fairytale. It just didn't work out. But I kept trying - you can't blame a girl for trying," she added.

Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie has added two new swirly bits of ink around an old Roman numeral tattoo on her left arm. The Salt star, who had the Roman number 13 inked on the arm, showed off the new set of tattoos at the premiere of her latest movie in Mexico.

The 35-year-old actor had later added V MCMXL to the end of the '13' tattoo to signify the date of Winston Churchill's famous speech on May 13, 1940 in which he said, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." Jolie's new addition could be a Tibetan 'heading' swirl, which acts to accentuate the importance of a character.

It sits over both halves of the Roman numeral tattoo which could mean the actress simply wants to underscore its meaning.

The actor has reportedly been collecting tattoos since she was a teenager. Among her body art is a Buddhist Pali incantation, Arabic script, a Latin phrase and the geographical coordinates of where each of her six kids was born.

Hollywood actor John Travolta has promised to treat his fans in his adopted hometown of Ocala, Florida, with snacks after they campaigned to have his classic film Grease shown in their local movie theatres.

The 1978 musical has been re-released in the US as a sing-a-long version, but film fans in Ocala were left fuming when they found out the picture starring their most famous resident would not be appearing locally.

An online competition was launched, with organisers promising to show the film in the city with the most votes - and residents in Ocala flooded the site. They won the contest and Travolta has thanked them for their support by promising to buy popcorn, soda and candy for every local who sees the film.

"I want to thank you, my hometown, for showing your support for the 'Grease Sing A-Long' and bringing it to the Regal Hollywood 16 in Ocala. I am so impressed that show times sold out, I would like to treat each 'Grease Sing A-Long' ticket holder to a popcorn, soda and candy item when you attend the movie on July 8, 9 or 10," Travolta said. Travolta and his family moved to Ocala in 2003. — IANS

Researchers studied the association between adverse childhood experiences and drunkenness among 9,189 adolescents aged 12-19 years living in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda. Caroline Kabiru and a team of researchers from the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), Nairobi, conducted the study.

They said: "Overall, nine percent of adolescents reported that they had been drunk in the 12 months preceding the survey. "In general respondents who had lived in a food-insecure household, lived with a problem drinker, been physically abused or been coerced into having sex were more likely to report drunkenness," the study said. There has previously been little research into the determinants of alcohol use among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa, said the study, published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health.

The researchers' work is supported by similar studies in other parts of the world, which also draw a link between adverse childhood experiences and future drinking, according to a APHRC statement. Kabiru said: "Early treatment for traumatic childhood experiences may be an essential component of interventions designed to prevent alcohol abuse among adolescents." — IANS

These days, kids view more TV ads for fast food than sweets and beverages, says a new study. Studies have already indicated that television advertising influences the short-term eating habits of children age 2 to 11.

The new study conducted by Lisa M. Powell, and colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago found that between 2003 and 2007, ads for sweets became less frequent, with a 41 percent decrease in exposure for 2- to 5-year-olds, 29.3 percent for 6- to 11-year-olds and 12.1 percent for 12- to 17-year-olds. Beverage ads also decreased in frequency.

However, the team found an increase in viewings of fast food ads across all age groups between the same time periods.

The racial gap in advertising also increased in this time period. By 2007, African American children saw 1.4 to 1.6 times as many food ads per day than white children, depending on their age.

"Continued monitoring of children's television food ad exposure along with nutritional assessments of advertised products will improve understanding of the extent to which self-regulation can translate into a reduction in the promotion of unhealthy food products," the team concludes. The study appears in Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. — ANI

If you believe playing video games instead of watching TV is less harmful for your child, think again, as a new study has claimed too much video games can sap a child's attention just as much as the idiot box.

Researchers at the Iowa State University in Ames found that children who spend more than two hours daily in playing video games are 67 per cent more likely to suffer from attention problem compared to those who don't play less.

According to them, watching TV and playing video games appear to have roughly the same link to attention problems, even though the latter is considered a less passive activity. Edward Swing, the lead author of the study, said: "Video games aren't less likely than television to be related to attention problems." "They were at least as strong as television at predicting attention problems," Swing was quoted as saying by a news channel.

However, the study doesn't prove that video games directly cause attention problems. It could be that kids who have short attention spans to begin with might be more likely to pick up a joystick than a book, said the researchers. The relationship between video games and attention is probably a two-way street, Swing said.

"It wouldn't surprise me if children who have attention problems are attracted to these media, and that these media increase the attention problems." Swing and his colleagues followed more than 1,300 children in the third, fourth, and fifth grades for a little over a year. The researchers asked both the kids and their parents to estimate how many hours per week the kids spent watching TV and playing video games, and they assessed the children's attention spans by surveying their schoolteachers. By looking at video-game use as well as TV watching, they were able to show for the first time that the two activities have a similar relationship to attention problems.

"A child who is capable of playing a video game for hours on end obviously does not have a global problem with paying attention," said Green, who was not involved in the current study. — PTI

A few allegations and the popularity of the show multiplied overnight. All that Monica Bedi claimed was, “The three finalists bribed the villagers with alcohol and the editing was done in a manner that projected my negative side.” The intention was to damage the show; instead, it made the audience all the more curious to know who would win Desi Girl out of the three finalists — Ishitta Arun, Kashmira Shah and Roshni Chopra. The reality show that lasted for seven weeks was shot at Sailba Majri village near Chandigarh.

Bickering, backbiting, conspiracies and controversies, Desi Girl has it all in abundance and the winner of the show, Roshni Singh, affirms it. First things first; Roshini take on Monica Bedi, “She probably hasn’t learnt how to accept defeat gracefully. The villagers gave the same treatment to every contestant, be it the very popular ones like Kashmera Shah and Monica Bedi or lesser-known actors like Aushima Sawhney or me.”

Next comes the issue of editors being partial. “Nobody prompted Monica to say things like I will hit Roshni with a shoe. One should own responsibility of what one has said.”

Unlike Monica, Kashmera or Sambhavana Seth, Roshni wasn’t an experienced reality show participant. So how did she cope up with all the back-biting? “I entered the reality show without any pretense. You can’t make a fool out of people when your actions are being recorded 24x7. Those who faked were voted out by the villagers.” And winning the show, she says is the official stamp of the love she received from the villagers and the audience.

Understanding the lifestyle and values of localities, she says, helped her win the show. “It doesn’t matter to them which celebrity came with what baggage of popularity. For people like them, dignity counts the most. Moral values still hold a lot of importance and I behaved well on the show to win it.”

Roshni is now richer by one crore, a bit of which she plans to spend on making the civic amenities better in the village. “Living in a rural Indian village for seven weeks has been an eye-opener. Contributing in the development is a way to pay back.”

Roshni made good friends with Aushima Sawhney. Also, she feels that Kashmera and Ishitta played fair on the show, “You praise people even at their back when they are right. And people who are wrong have no option but to crib, criticise and cry hoarse about just everything.” We know the target and think the target knows it as well!

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Monica Bedi
Roshni played politics to win the show. She used people to her advantage well. The credit of her win doesn’t go to hardwork or sincerity.

Ishitta Arun
I am a little concerned about how the vote count was done. Anyways, I want to congratulate Roshni. A loss or win is no barometer to judge the love and respect I have got from the villagers. I have accepted the results. 

Creativity comes from the most unpredictable sources, but fits in at the most common areas. When talking inspiration, which is how we usually describe creativity, simple things in life inspire complex experiments. Whether it’s with life or your clothes.” Deviations aside, clothes are the topic of discussion here and Sabah Khan is the one giving us an insight into what inspired her collection — No Class.

One of the GenNext category at the Lakme Fashion Week, Sabah’s collection had slums of Dharavi on runway, with all their colour and gothic glamour. “I used to see these slum kids selling stuff at the traffic lights or roadside; toys, balloons and so many other things. The fact that they were selling some fun and colour to others while living non-existent lives captured my imagination.” So, pictures of these kids embellish her clothes, lots of patchwork and colour blocking. “It’s a combination of colour and culture. More than that it’s like doing something meaningful with creativity,” says Sabah. Her’s is a fusion collection, in sync with Gen-next. “That’s what the youngsters prefer today.”

And isn’t being young an added advantage in an industry where young designers have a selling point in their ‘fresh’ appeal? What sells most, the concept or the clothes? “It’s a combination of both. The designer has to strike a balance between experimentation and saleability of the collection. To get appreciated you need to be at least three seasons old. Till then you have to establish yourself.” But even that’s been made easy with the regional fashion week concept. “I think there is enough space for everybody to fit in and a couple of shows would ensure a good market share. It’s important for budding designers,” she shares.

Though young, this designer sure has an advice or two for our celebrities, “When representing their country at the international stage, they should go in for traditional designs. After all they have the power to represent their culture in the best possible manner.”

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