Virgin America - the way to fly
I had a wonderful opportunity of traveling in an airline that’s, well let’s just say different from the other leading airlines. I am talking about Sir Richard Branson’s well-thought out creation, Virgin America. So, what’s so different about Virgin America? Well, for one, the airplanes have a unique interior to them. It doesn’t feel like you’re entering into a regular airplane. The mood lighting throughout the airplane and the elegant seats add to the sleek interior.
Now, I am somewhat of a scaredy-cat when it comes to flying long distances [long distance for me = more than 1 hour]. I flew from San Francisco to New York and the total flight time was five hours and 25 minutes. The idea of going high up in the clouds in a big, heavy machine with so many other people inside it makes me, worried, to say the least. I wasn’t comfortable about flying this time either but since I had no other option, I decided to stay calm and focus on the positive. Much to my surprise, the take-off, actual flying time and landing were very smooth. The entertainment that Virgin America provides through the RED in-flight entertainment system added to the smooth flight as it kept me distracted and entertained. You can listen to songs from your favorite artists, watch music videos, play games, chat with friends or people on other seats and if that’s not enough, you can even enjoy 18 different channels. VA also lets you order food and drinks from the convenience of your seat. Simply choose what you’d like to order, swipe your credit card and you’re good to go. And the best part of that is that the food isn’t all that expensive. Talking about inexpensive, the fares are nominal and service is excellent, you’re sure to get a warm smile from the crew.
All in all, I had an awesome experience both ways and I’d love to fly with VA again, whatever chance I get.
Logo watch: Imthere
This is the logo of a newly launched (still in preview) mobile social network that lets members connect through events like parties, concerts, etc.
I think this logo works well with the idea of its product being a social network. It’s a very clean, simple and to-the-point logo. Through the use of arrows, it portrays a message of “coming together.” The image gives the viewer an idea of a lot of people from many places are gathering at one place, which is good because a social network does bring people together from different locations. The colors on the arrows, orange, green, blue and purple are significant to the fact that people from many different races and colors can/should participate in this social network. I also like the way “Imthere” is placed in the logo. It doesn’t look out of place, rather it fits in very nicely with the mark above it. The font used is casual yet classy. The tagline seems to fit in the logo without any problem, although, the two TM marks do bother me a little.
All in all, I think it’s a nicely done logo that gets the meaning across with ease.
ReviewMe - A review
Reviewme.com is giving bloggers an opportunity to win $25,000 by writing a review about the recently launched website, which is being given the status of “a better PayPerPost.” I, too, in the pursuit of getting a part of the $25,000, am writing this review.
This intelligent strategy by reviewme.com is a perfect example of ‘killing two birds with one stone.’ The $25,000 giveaway serves as a perfect marketing platform for a newly launched website or company, such as, reviewme.com and also gives bloggers extra cash and content for their blogs.
About Reviewme.com
Reviewme.com is a website that pays bloggers to write reviews for companies and advertisers that want to market their products. In return for writing these reviews, bloggers get paid the amount that is fixed by reviewme.com for each blogger. This amount is based on what a blog’s value is, which is determined through certain websites such as Alexa, Technorati and others. Reviewme.com divides 50% of the amount that advertisers pay a blogger for writing a review. So, if an advertiser wants to pay $40 for a review, reviewme gets $20 and the blogger receives $20 as well.
About writing a review
For writing a review, the minimum word requirement is 200 words, which I think is a fair number because if an advertiser is paying a blogger for writing a review for his/her company/website, he/she will expect the review to be detailed and well-explained, which might not be possible in less than 200 words.
Also, reviewme requires bloggers to include in their reviews that they are getting paid for writing them. This is a plus over PayPerPost, which offers a similar service, as PayPerPost does not require bloggers to reveal that the review is paid.
Another plus is that bloggers can choose to write either a positive or negative review without hesitation or fear of not getting paid by the advertiser.
About signing up
Signing up on reviewme is a very simple and uncomplicated process. All you need is some basic info like first name, last name, e-mail, password and address. It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up and start earning!
There are a couple of ways that you can choose from for getting paid. You can either choose to receive your payments by check or through paypal. I chose paypal because it’s easier for me.
About the menu
I found reviewme very easy to use in terms of where to locate things and I am sure many will agree with me on this. After you have signed up, you can accept a review that’s being offered to you, for example, when I signed up, the offer for writing this review was waiting to be accepted. I accepted the offer and got clear, easy to understand direction for how to proceed. You also get sort of a countdown of how many more hours you have until you can submit your review, I found that to be neat! Other links in the menu include: ‘Edit Account’, where you can change your account information such as your e-mail, your address, etc., ‘Submit completed review’, ‘Submit a blog’, ‘Manage my sites’, ‘Manage my reviews’ and ‘View my payments.’ It’s a nice step-by-step description of what you should do in order to earn money, at least that’s how I see it.
About the layout
I would like to comment on the layout, colors and logo of reviewme as I am a designer and these are the first things that caught my eyes. As I entered the homepage, the main colors, blue and green gave me an impression that the website is very fresh and clean. The soft tones give you a soothing feeling, urging you to go on with looking more into the website. The logo is apt for the kind of service that’s being provided and it stands out in perfect contrast with the blue and a little green. The layout is user-friendly to a great extent. I don’t think anyone would have a problem in figuring out how the process goes with the easy to see and use links on the website.
Write a review and get paid for it! That pretty much sums up what reviewme.com is. So, sign up today and start earning bucks!
Sponsered by: ReviewMe.com
Fanaa - Movie Review
“Tere Dil Mein Meri Saanson Ko Panaah Mil Jaaye, Tere Ishq Mein Meri Jaan Fanaa Ho Jaaye.”
This dialogue is the heart and soul of Yash Raj Films’ latest venture, Fanaa. The film stars the obsessive actor Aamir Khan, the comeback actress Kajol Devgan, the yesteryear chocolate boy Rishi Kapoor, Kirron Kher, Tabu and Shiney Ahuja in guest appearances. Fanaa is directed by Kunal Kohli and marks the comeback of Kajol Devgan. This film also breaks the streak of bad films like Salaam Namaste and Neal ‘n’ Nikki that came from the Yash Raj camp. In other words, Fanaa is genuinely a good movie. There were high expectations for this film because of the film being from the Yash Raj camp, because the films had two amazing actors in the lead roles, because the film marks not only the comeback of Kajol but also the last time Jatin and Lalit work together to give music for a film. Fanaa, undoubtedly, lives up to the expectations but nothing more than that.
The film begins with the first trailer of Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (another reason to go watch the film). As the credits roll along, we hear ‘Sare Jahaan Se Acha’ in the background with beautiful snowy mountain sceneries.
Fanaa is a story of a beautiful Kashmiri girl, Zooni (Kajol Devgan), who is blind and her love, Rehan (Aamir Khan), who plays a tour guide. Zooni is quite and calm. On the other hand, Rehan is fun and vivacious. The two meet in Delhi and Zooni falls in love with Rehan and tells him how she feels about him. At this time, she notices that Rehan is reluctant in revealing his feeling about her. She pleads him to forgive him of any mistake that she might have made and finally, the two come together. Rehan and Zooni decide to get married with the blessings of Zooni’s parents (Rishi Kapoor and Kirron Kher).
Just then, they find out that Zooni can be operated and can get her eyesight back. Zooni is immediately operated and gets her eyesight back and is happy to finally see her parents and the world. But when she wants to see Rehan, he’s not there. Where is he? Is he missing or dead? Does he have another side to him that he’s afraid to reveal? The movie goes on to answer these questions and much more.
Fanaa is a kind of movie which leaves you with mixed reactions. The sole blame for this goes to the high expectations from the film. If it wasn’t expected that Kajol’s comeback film will be out of the world and the perfectionist Aamir’s film will just blow away the audience or the Yash Raj tag wasn’t on the movie, the movie would have seemed better than it did. This certainly does not mean that Fanaa isn’t a good movie, it’s just that because of the hype that’s attached to the film, it leaves the audience thinking that there wasn’t anything ‘special’ in the film or the film wasn’t out of this world, as expected.
The storyline of Fanaa is very unique and original. It doesn’t beat around the bush nor does it show pity for the ‘poor’ blind girl, as she seems content with herself and her life. Another thing that’s great about the storyline is that it has good twists and turns that are also realistic and don’t seem blown out of proportion or impractical. Everything that happens in the story is very much possible to occur and does not, in any way, appear to be simply ‘made up.’ It’s an intelligent piece of work by Shibani Bathija.
Some highlights:
- Establishing that Zooni is blind right from the first scene.
- The subtle comedy by Aamir and Vrajesh Hirjee.
- The not-so-hyped guest appearances add charm to the movie.
- Use of colors in the ‘Des Rangila’ song.
- Use of old Hindi song in certain situations.
- Aamir’s various looks – very cool.
- Kajol’s acting in the hospital scene.
- The chase scene on the snow is unique and interesting.
Kunal Kohli deserves many accolades for the beautifully designed dialogues throughout the film. Aamir Khan’s constant shayari dialogues are truly commendable. These dialogues fall right into the situation and leave a mark on your heart for a long time after the scenes are over.
The music, by Jatin-Lalit is good. Songs like ‘Chand Sifarish,’ ‘Des Rangila’ and ‘Mere Haath Mein’ stand out but also slow down the pace of the film. Despite that, they are very much tolerable.
Aamir Khan, known to have done different and challenging roles, comes through as Rehan Khan. He did complete justice to the role by playing many different aspects of it. He played this complicated role of Rehan with great ease and a lot of enthusiasm. Kajol Devgan is great. Although her make-up could have been better, she fits the role to the T. Her performance will be appreciated for Fanaa. Rishi Kapoor and Kirron Kher deliver great performances as usual. Vrajesh Hirjee is a good comic relief in the film, even though for just a little bit. Master Ali Haji is truly praiseworthy for his performance. Tabu, Lara Dutta, Shiney Ahuja and Jaspal Bhatti are good in their parts.
Fanaa is a good entertainer, it will attract many people who won’t be disappointed after watching the film, but Fanaa will not be known as one of the legendary films. Watch it once or twice and then, buy the DVD as a collectible.
Zee Cine Awards 2006 - A review
Sorry folks, I know I promised a review on Zee Cine Awards 2006 the next day, but I just didn’t have the time to write a one. Better late than never!
Well, the first thing that I want to point out is that I thought the presentation, organization and the ‘fun package’ of the Zee Cine Awards 2006 was better than that of the Filmfare Awards 2006. I think the telecast too made a big difference. I liked the fact that before the actual award show got started, there was an hour of telecast of things like stars rehearsing, the stage being built, the stars arriving at the venue in heavy rain. Among many stars and star wives, I noticed a very strange person at the red carpet ceremony, Rosa, Saif Ali Khan’s Italian girlfriend. Sajid Khan, ‘humara host aur dost’ asked Rosa a question: What do you think are the chances of Saif winning in the category of best actor? And she went blank, completely red in the face, looking at Saif and mumbling what seemed like ‘umm,’ ‘I don’t know…’ and other things that I could not gather. That was a bit strange to see because she seemed nervous beyond my imagination.
The first performance was given by a bunch of what you might call, upcoming stars. These stars included Tusshar Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Ritesh Deshmukh, Amrita Arora, Aarti Chabria and Dia Mirza. I liked their performance a lot. They danced to old songs heading towards new ones. It was nice to see Sharman Joshi fooling around on stage, especially after I’ve seen him in Rang De Basanti.
Then came “the original bad man” Gulshan Grover and along with him came his boring PJs. I really didn’t like what he was saying and I don’t think anyone else did either. Every time Grover told a ‘joke,’ the camera showed the audience’s reaction and they were just staring at the stage wondering if they were supposed to react to what he just said. The bad man’s part was boring. Dia Mirza came a while later, to host a segment with Gulshan Grover and that was kind of a relief.
I missed some of the show because I had to go to a family function but I resumed watching it right when Priyanka Chopra started her performance. And I have to say that it was impressive. I thought that was the best part of the show, despite the fact that Abhishek Bachchan was missing from that performance and Ganesh Hegde replaced AB baby. The replacement, undoubtedly, was a pleasure to watch. Ganesh rocked with his sleek moves while Piggy Chops danced alongside in her ‘Right Here Right Now’ costume. Then came ‘Boro Boro’ from Bluffmaster and we saw Ritesh D jumping to the fast paced number. He did a great job as well.
After this performance, it was Bunty Aur Babli’s turn. Of course, Bunty was still recovering from flu, so, Arjun Rampal replaced Bachchan junior. A fine replacement! Rani was dressed up in her ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ costume and danced naturally.
When Ritesh Deshmukh received his awards for the ‘Best actor in a Comic role,’ he made sure that he thanked a lot of people and also said that he would like to share his award with Abhishek. How nice!
Rekha got a Lifetime Achievement award and she won the hearts of her fans by making a speech consisting of one of Gulzar’s shers. Rishi Kapoor also received a Lifetime achievement award. He mentioned in his speech that if his grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor was alive today (the day of the award function), he would have turned 100 years of age. He also said that he will be launching his son, Ranbir Kapoor and requested everyone to bless Ranbir like they’ve blessed him, his father and his grandfather.
Akshay Kumar’s performance was jaw-dropping yet a bit boring as it progressed. I wasn’t really entertained.
Also, Arjun Rampal came on the stage to co-host a segment with Karan Johar. He gave Karan a script idea for Karan’s next movie, after Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna (KANK). He recited Karan Arjun’s story and told Karan that he should make the film and Arjun will act in it and they’ll call the film Karan Arjun. That part was hilarious.
At the end they had Shahrukh Khan give a tribute to Yash Chopra’s films and this act was done in a different way. On the screen, on the stage, they would have a scene from a popular Yash Raj film like the ‘mere paas ma hai’ scene from Deewar. After Amitji finished his dialogue (tere paas kya hai?), Shahrukh Khan turned around and said “mere paas Yashji hain.” There were more scene like that, which were digitally enhanced to make them funny.
Overall, the Zee Cine Awards 2006 was nice in terms of presentation and the quality of most jokes. But I do think that in the future, we should have something ‘different’ in our award shows. Something that would make them memorable and distinct from one another.
- Aaina.