Arab flavour at film fest - The Peninsula · In the Shadow of A Man, another documentary, depicts...

Post on 20-Apr-2020

2 views 0 download

Transcript of Arab flavour at film fest - The Peninsula · In the Shadow of A Man, another documentary, depicts...

COMMUNITY

CAMPUS

HEALTH

MOVIE

TECHNOLOGY

PLUS...

P | 4

P | 5

P | 7

P | 8-9

P | 12

P |13-15

• Skills DevelopmentCentre to organise‘Winter Concert 12’

• Dell Services volunteers plant trees at Ideal Indian School premises

• Scientists identifynew risk gene for Alzheimer’s

• 10 best screen cops • Craig becomes best

paid Bond actor

• Tech Gift Guide:Video gamesfor children

• Comics, Word Puzzles, Crosswords, Hyper Sudoku, Kakuro, TV listings and more

inside

P | 11

WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 • plus@pen.com.qa • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741

The fourth DTFF is screening internationally acclaimed films from the Arab world. Twenty seven films are vying for awards in the Arab Film Competition, whose winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held tomorrow at Al Rayyan Theatre.

P | 2-3

The tale of Napoleon’ssecond wife

Arab flavour at film fest

2 COVER STORYPLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012

by Raynald C Rivera

Four Arab films exploring

very diverse themes and

genres were presented

before the media at the

Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF)

yesterday.

The films were among the 27

vying for awards for the Arab Film

Competition of the festival whose

winners would be announced at

an awarding ceremony to be held

tomorrow at Al Rayyan Theatre in

Souq Waqif.

Algerian filmmaker Merzak

Allouache delves into his nation’s

‘black decade’ in The Repentant

taking a clode look at the lingering

effects of extremism and civil war

which ended in 1999, which for him

was a chance to shed light on what

was going on at that time in his

country.

“A movie cannot change the world,

but I felt I had the obligation to the

society and this movie is part of a

more comprehensive approach to

change,” said Allouache, adding film

for his was a way of examining issues.

Although it recently won Best

Screenplay at the official competition

for feature films at The International

Film Festival in Addis Ababa,

Allouache said he was not expecting

to win at the DTFF where he is

joining for the second time.

“Arab film festivals should not

have prize because the main purpose

of festivals is for directors to interact

and for films to screen for audiences

from different countries,” he said.

Despite acclaim in other countries,

the independently produced film has

met criticisms in its own country

and has only been screened thrice

in small theatres back in Algeria.

In Playground Chronicles,

filmmaker Brahim Fritah revisits

his childhood from five to 15 years

old.

DIVERSE THEMES IN ARAB FILMS

Four Arab films exploring very diverse themes and genres were presented before the media at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) yesterday.

Director of The Repentant, Merzak Allouache, flanked by actress Adila Bendimerad and actor Nabil Asli.

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 3

Ninety percent of the story is fact and only 10 percent is fiction, which

makes it less attractive to producers since it did not have dramatic point,

explained Fritah.

“But I wanted to present something different, away from stereotypes,”

he said of his first feature film funded by the DFI. Around 200 children

auditioned for the lead role in the film which was finally offered to Yanis

Bahloul who exhibited such intelligence and intuitiveness, which fitted

him to his role, according to Fritah.

“I was not anxious at all, but just felt a bit bizarre having to acto infront

of many people,” said Yanis who was a neophyte in acting but had shown

much potential since he was four.

In France in the summer of 1980, 10-year-old Brahim is becoming

aware of the complexities of the world around him. By setting the simple

trials and jubilations of youth against a backdrop of social turmoil, the

director imagines what childhood treasures Brahim will take with him

into the future.

Algerian Documentary O My Body! looks into dance in a fresh

perspective as filmmaker Laurent Ait Benalla goes backstage tracing

the journey of Algiers’ first contemporary dance troupe whose members

were once hip-hop dancers.

“I haven’t seen any film that made me feel how it is to be new in a dance

and how it feels to be onstage for the first time,” said Benalla.

“This is not merely about dance performance but self liberation,” said

Nora Mahrossian, co-producer of the film, adding “What is important is

the artistic side of the film and its power to make people believe.

Born in 1976 to a Moroccan father and a French mother, Benalla is

one of the founders of SLAB, a Montpellier-based production centre for

documentaries.

In the Shadow of A Man, another documentary, depicts how it is to be a

woman in Egypt after recent developments the country has undergone.

Through intimate conversations, four women from different

backgrounds are transformed into unique, authentic figures, who imprint

themselves on our memories as they go through their own personal

revolutions.

The director Hanan Abdallah was born into a family of exiled Egyptian

activists in London. She graduated from Oxford with a degree in politics

and philosophy in 2010 and subsequently took filmmaking courses and

frequented journalists’ centre the Frontline Club before moving to Cairo

to document the revolution in 2011.

The Peninsula

Algerian Documentary ‘O My Body!’ looks into dance in a fresh perspective as filmmaker Laurent Ait Benalla goes backstage tracing the journey of Algiers’ first contemporary dance troupe whose members were once hip-hop dancers.

French Director Brahim Fritah and actor Yanis Bahloul

Hanan Abdallah Laurent Ait Benalla

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 COMMUNITY4

Skills Development Centre to organise‘Winter Concert 12’

Skills Development Centre (SDC), the Centre of Fine Arts and Performing Arts, is organising a Winter

Concert – a Sitar performance by Pt Sanjay Deshpande – at the Maestro Hall of SDC, on Thursday, November 22, from 7.30pm onwards.

Sanjay Deshpande is a multifac-eted and versatile Sitar player who is known for presenting a variety of music forms on his customised Sitar, right from very authentic Indian classical “Khayal”, Indian evergreen film songs and even Rock music. Disciple of Late Pt Vishnupant Harmadhikari; an Esraj (Dilruba) Exponent of Gwalior tradition. Sanjay Deshpande is one of the leading Sitar player of the younger generation. He is perform-ing Hindustani classical music and composing light music since 1979.

Being the pioneer exponent of “Khayal Ang” on Sitar, he has made major changes in his Sitar so that he can play not only Hindustani, but any music on Sitar.

This Sitar is popularly known as “Sanjaykhani Sitar” by the Sitar makers.“The encouragement from the community for ‘Winter Concert’ every year have further strengthened and motivated us to invite internationally recognised artists for this grand endeavour. The event is open to the public,” the organisers announced during the press meet. The Peninsula

‘Dream Drive with Lulu’ mega draw was held yesterday at Lulu Hypermarket, Gharafa branch under the supervision of Jassim Mohammad, Inspector from the Ministry of Business & Trade. S Preethi Prasanna (Coupon No. 1744402) and Md Nabil (Coupon No.4414116) won Mercedes Benz E-300 cars. Shaijan M O, Regional Manager, Mohammed Basheer, General Manager, Rafi, Administration Manager, and other officials from Lulu were present at the mega draw.

‘Dream Drive with Lulu’ mega draw

North Indians’ Association marks festival of lights

North Indians’ Association (NIA) celebrated festival of lights at Marriott Hotel in

grand style. The Commercialbank-Jashn 2012 night was attended by more than 300 members along with their families. The programme included song and dance perform-ances by members and their children, who had worked hard to put together a wonderful cultural show.

Popular Indian stand-up comedian

Ahsaan Quereshi kept everyone glued to their chairs till the end. Indian Idol-5 singer Shilpi Paul and TV Musical show Sur-Kshetra performer Shahzad Ali made audience dance to their tunes.

The event was sponsored by

Commercialbank, NRI and enter-prise banking. Associate sponsor was Gulf Lights and support sponsors were CDC, Domasco Watches, Marhaba Jewellery, Al Muftah and official car-rier Emirates. Various items like gold

coins, watches, mobile phones, home appliance and two returns to India by Emirates were given during Lucky draws. A silver coin was given as a gift to each NIA family.

The Peninsula

Artistes performing at Jashn 2012. RIGHT: A section of the audience.

Qatar Petroleum’s Medical Services Department, in partnership with the HSE Department of

Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLIC), recently launched a major health promotion programme to ensure the well-being of the hundreds of workers based in Ras Laffan.

The programme in Ras Laffan is specifically tailored for a multilin-gual workforce, with the presenta-tions delivered in English, Arabic, Hindi and Urdu. These are meant to ensure their understanding of various health topics, including hypertension, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, as well as proper hand washing and per-sonal hygiene. As part of the programme, the workers are also given an introduction to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) followed by hands-on training on CPR.

The programme is supported by Abdulaziz Jassim Mohd Al Muftah, Director of Industrial Cities, Dr Mahmood Abdulrahman Al Jaidah, Manager for Medical Services, and Leon Van Der Heyde, Manager for Health, Safety & Environment at RLIC. The Peninsula

The QP team with work-ers at the health promo-tion programme.

QP launches health programme in Ras Laffan Industrial City

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 5CAMPUS

Dell Services volunteers plant trees at Ideal Indian School premises

Dell Services, the information management and implementation services division of Dell Corporation, donated and delivered trees to the Ideal Indian School in an effort

to provide a greener environment to the pupils and school staff.

Dell Services, has been present in Qatar since June 2011, working on two important healthcare IT implementations.

Recognising the wish of employees to support local as well as international communities, the Qatar branch of the Dell Services group WISE (Women in Search of Excellence), launched a volunteering project for all Qatar based employees to raise funds to purchase trees and plant them in and around schools in Qatar.

Judit Cooke, Dell Services’ WISE Qatar Chair commented: “We chose the Ideal Indian School as our first beneficiary for the tree planting donation. We visited the school and were captivated by the active school life represented by the multitude of trophies at the entrance hall; the new building and the huge number of students (almost seven thousand) attend-ing the school. The school premises are quite new and the landscaping is still in progress, which gave us the opportunity to make a difference for the children. It

is great to see how people come together when they can if it is something that they care about.’

Richard Strong, a Customer Executive for Dell Services in Qatar said: “We now have a better under-standing of each other and we are looking forward to our next event together. Dell WISE is arranging a series of presentations on IT careers and this should

be a hit with finishing students, especially those in the Indian Ideal School whom are planning to study towards an IT degree.”

School officials like Hassan Kunhi MP, President, Syed Abdul Hye, Vice President and Syed Shoukath Ali, Principal were also present at the occasion.

The Peninsula

Officials of Ideal Indian School and Dell Services at tree planting programme held at IIS premises.

Forty-two students from year six and seven teachers from Doha British School headed off for a four-day outward bound adven-ture to the UAE.

As soon as they arrived at the base camp in Umm Al Quwain it was straight into kayaking, canoeing and raft building.

“The base camp was located on the beach, so all meals were eaten on the beach looking out to the mangroves and the sea, a stunning view. Day two saw the pupils travelling to Wadi Adventure in Al Ain to take part in whitewater rafting, zip wires

and testing their nerve on the high ropes course!” All pupils took to the activities with determina-

tion and all succeeded in each of the activities. On day three the pupils abseiled, climbed and

hiked at Wadi Wurayah in the East of the UAE. A refreshing swim in a natural pool at the turning around point was enjoyed by all. Day four saw the pupils once again taking part in activities in Umm Al Quwain. All pupils got to do mountain biking, archery and snorkeling. Forty-two very happy but tired pupils returned to Doha on Saturday having had the trip of a lifetime. The Peninsula

The Doha British School students with their teachers during the UAE trip. Left: Students doing rafting.

Adventure trip for Doha British School kids

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 MARKETPLACE6

THE One has started stocking up on festive goodies. “This is the season to be jolly, so bring the magic of Christmas into your home with THE One’s funky range of festive goodies, featuring bold baubles, cool Christmas trees and dazzling decorations,” said a store official.

RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) recently honoured 106 employees during its annual long-service award

ceremony for their dedication and contributions to make the company the success story that it is today.

The honoured employees included 62 people, who completed 15 years of service in RasGas and 44, who completed 10 years in the company.

Out of the total number of awardees 41 were Qatari nationals, including members of the Executive Leadership Team of RasGas.

Addressing the employees at the ceremony organised at the company headquarters in Doha, Hamad Rashid Al Mohannadi, Managing Director of RasGas said that employees are the most pivotal asset of the company and that is why “people” became one of the

strategic choices of RasGas.“RasGas has always believed that its

continued success depends upon the skills and dedication of its people. The company regards the development of its personnel as a key element in our efforts to enhance skill levels that will ensure that we have adequate competencies to run a safe, reliable and environment-friendly production facility,” he said.

Al Mohannadi pointed out that the hard work of employees continues to play a vital role in RasGas reaching new achievements in all areas of work. He added that RasGas offers challenging and rewarding work opportunities for nationals and expatriates, through its focus on Qatarization as well as on employee development.

The Peninsula

RasGas honours 106 long-serving employees

RasGas officials with RasGas officials with long-serving employees.long-serving employees.

Nearly 400 global, regional and local Internet experts will attend - iNET Qatar: ‘The Rise of the Arab Information Society’ – at

Education City on November 27 from 10am to 4pm.

The one day conference is being organised by ISOC Qatar in partnership with the Internet Society (ISOC), ictQATAR and Carnegie Mellon Qatar. This is the first iNET conference that ISOC has run in the region, following recent events like INET Madrid, INET Tallinn and INET Bangalore.

ISOC Qatar launched at QITCOM earlier this year with a vision to make the Internet in Qatar inclusive and accessible so that everyone can use the Internet to enhance their personal and professional lives.

The Qatar Chapter, which has over 300 members, is one of over 80 Chapters in 72 countries working to identify and address the challenges and opportunities that exist online. A number of these key challenges will be addressed at the iNET Qatar conference,

with participants addressing topics such as Arab businesses on the Internet, the development of Online Arabic content and how the Internet is governed in the Arab World.

Speakers at the event include ictQATAR’s Secretary General, Dr Hessa Al Jaber, Qusai Al-Shatti, Deputy Chairman of Kuwait Information Technology, Dr. Imad Hoballah, Chairman and CEO of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority in Lebanon and Khaled Koubaa, Policy Manager for Google in North Africa.

Dawit Bekele, Regional Bureau Director for Africa and the Middle East stressed the importance of the conference to helping inform ISOC’s work both in the region and globally.

“The Arab regional INET, will focus on the importance of connecting with regional Internet communities throughout the Arab region.” Registration at: http://www.internetsociety.org/inet-qatar-form

The Peninsula

Top Internet experts to attend Doha conference

FESTIVE GOODIES AT THE ONE

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012HEALTH 7

Health Tipsfrom DOCTOR

Vaccines are made in several ways. However, all vaccines have the same general goal: weaken the virus or bac-teria in a way that allows the recipi-

ent to develop an immune response without developing any symptoms of infection. Vaccines are made using the same components that are found in the natural virus or bacteria.

Weaken the virusUsing this strategy, viruses are weakened

so that they reproduce themselves very poorly once inside the body. The measles, mumps, German measles (rubella), rotavirus, intranasal influenza and chickenpox (varicella) vaccines are made this way. Whereas natural viruses reproduce themselves thousands of times, vaccine viruses usually reproduce themselves fewer than 20 times. Because vaccine viruses don’t reproduce themselves very much, they don’t cause disease, but vaccine viruses repli-cate well enough to induce “memory cells” that pro-tect against infection in the future.The advantage of live, “weakened” vaccines is that one or two doses provide immunity that is life-long.

Inactivate the virusUsing this strategy, viruses are completely

inactivated (or killed) with a chemical. By killing the virus, it cannot possibly reproduce itself or cause disease. The inactivated polio, hepatitis A, influenza (shot), and rabies vac-cines are made this way. Because the virus is still “seen” by the body, cells of the immune system that protect against disease are gener-ate. However, the limitation of this approach is that it typically requires several doses to achieve immunity.

Use part of the virusUsing this strategy, just one part of the virus

is removed and used as a vaccine. The hepatitis B and HPV vaccines are made this way. The vaccine is composed of a protein that resides on the surface of the virus. This strategy can be used when an immune response to one part of the virus (or bacteria) is responsible for pro-tection against disease

Use part of the bacteriaSome bacteria cause disease by making a

harmful protein called a toxin. Several vac-cines are made by taking toxins and inacti-vating them with a chemical (the toxin, once inactivated, is called a toxoid). By inactivat-ing the toxin, it no longer causes harm. The diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines are made this way. Just like for inactivated viral vaccines, bacterial vaccines require several doses to induce adequate immunity.

Dr. E V Kumar Specialist - Paediatrics

Healthspring World Clinic

How are vaccines made?

by Julie Steenhuysen

Two international teams of scientists have iden-tified a rare mutation in a gene linked with

inflammation that significantly increases the risk for the most common form of Alzheimer’s dis-ease, the first such discovery in at least a decade.

The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, offer new insights into the under-pinnings of Alzheimer’s, a deadly, brain-wasting disease that robs people of their memories, their independence and their lives.

In separate studies, teams led by privately held deCode Genetics and John Hardy of University College London found that people with a muta-tion in a gene called TREM2 were four times as likely to have Alzheimer’s as people who did not have the gene.

“It quadruples the risk of Alzheimer’s,” said Dr Kari Stefansson of Reykjavik-based deCode in a telephone interview.

The level of risk compares with ApoE4, the best-known genetic cause of late-onset Alzheimer’s, the form of the dis-ease that occurs in older adults.

But this new gene variant is 10 times more rare than ApoE4, which is present in about 40 per-cent of people with late-onset Alzheimer’s.

Rare or not, scientists say the discovery represents a big breakthrough for Alzheimer’s research.

“This is one of the most com-mon, most devastating illnesses in humans and we still don’t

have a very good understand-ing of what causes the disease,” said Dr. Allan Levey, director of the Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Center of Excellence in Atlanta, which helped confirm the deCode findings.

“In my mind, this is very important. It gives us another important clue as to one of the biological factors that contribute to causing the disease,” he said.

Despite numerous costly attempts, drug companies have been stymied in their efforts to develop drugs that can alter the steady course of Alzheimer’s, which affects more than 5 mil-lion Americans and costs the United States more than $170 billion annually to treat.

Current research efforts have focused on removing sticky clumps of a protein called beta amyloid that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. But several drugs that have been developed to remove these proteins have failed to pro-duce a significant improvement in patients with mild to moder-ate forms of dementia.

TREM2 is a gene that affects a protein expressed on the surface of cells in various tissues that “clean up garbage,” Stefansson said. These cells, called microglia, are often associated with inflam-matory response.

A genetic mutation that alters the function of these housekeep-ing cells could affect how well the brain deals with an excess of toxic proteins from beta amyloid, Stefansson and others said.

And that suggests that even though TREM2 is rare, the way it works in the brain may be

important for brain health.“It is certainly plausible

that TREM2 is involved in all of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Andrew Singleton of the National Institute on Aging, who worked on the paper with Hardy and colleagues at University College London.

“I think it may be very gener-alizable,” Singleton said.

For their study, Hardy and colleagues used a number of gene sequencing techniques to study 988 people with Alzheimer’s disease and 1,004 healthy volunteers.

The team also tested brain tis-sues from deceased Alzheimer’s patients, and they studied the expression of the TREM2 gene in genetically engineered mice.

For the deCODE study, researchers sequenced the genomes of 2,261 Icelanders and identified variations likely to affect protein function. Then, they looked specifically for these variants in people with Alzheimer’s and those with healthy brains, and found those with the TREM2 variant had a significantly higher risk.

To make sure the gene was not specific to Iceland, they rep-licated their findings in popula-tions at Emory University in the United States, as well as groups in Norway, the Netherlands and Germany.

“We’ve essentially found exactly the same thing,” said Singleton of the NIA, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. “In a way which you don’t often see in science, the two studies point in the same direction. Reuters

A combination image of brain scans show a normal functioning brain and one with Alzheimers.

Scientists identify new risk gene for Alzheimer’s

PLU

S |

WE

DN

ES

DA

Y 2

1 N

OV

EM

BE

R 2

012

PLU

S |

WE

DN

ES

DA

Y 2

1 N

OV

EM

BE

R 2

012

HO

LLY

WO

OD

NE

WS

MO

VIE

89

Danie

l C

raig

is

said

to h

ave r

eceiv

ed

£31m

for t

wo n

ew

Jam

es

Bond m

ov-

ies

and i

t m

akes

him

the h

ighest

-paid

Brit

ish a

cto

r, a

s w

ell a

s th

e b

est

paid

007 s

upersp

y.

The m

ass

ive fi

gure i

s alm

ost

five t

imes

the a

mount

he h

ad e

arned for h

is fi

rst

tw

o

outi

ngs

as

the s

upersp

y, r

eports

thesu

n.

co.u

k.

Craig

, 44, w

ho w

as

recentl

y s

een in B

ond

film

Sk

yfa

ll, is

now

sig

ned u

p f

or a

follow

-up fi

lm t

o b

e r

ele

ase

d b

y 2

014

, w

ith a

noth

er

one in 2

016

.E

arlier,

Craig

scooped £

1.9m

for C

asi

no

Roya

le in 2

006 a

nd t

hen £

4.4

m for Q

ua

ntu

m

of

Sola

ce in 2

008.

His

late

st s

ignin

g i

s sa

id t

o h

ave p

laced

him

in

th

e H

ollyw

ood A

-lis

t of

leadin

g

men, alo

ngsi

de T

om

Cruis

e a

nd L

eonardo

DiC

aprio

, w

ho h

ave m

ade £

47m

and £

23.3

m r

esp

ecti

vely

over t

he p

ast

year.

Craig

’s c

heque i

s m

uch a

bove p

revio

us

Bond P

ierce B

rosn

an, w

ho w

as

paid

£10

.4m

for D

ie A

noth

er

Da

y in

2002.

It a

lso p

uts

Craig

ahead o

f oth

er B

rit

ish a

cto

rs

such a

s S

acha B

aron

Cohen, w

ho e

arned £

18.9

m for h

is w

rit

ing a

nd p

roducin

g, and T

wil

igh

t st

ar

Robert

Patt

inso

n, w

ho g

ross

ed £

16.3

m.

Actr

ess

Ash

ley J

udd i

s m

akin

g

her dir

ecto

ria

l debut

wit

h a

short

TV

movie

. T

he 4

4-y

ear-

old

, a p

rom

inent

cam

paig

ner for w

om

-en’s

rig

hts

, is

makin

g a

movie

for t

he

US

netw

ork

Lif

eti

me’s

ongoin

g s

erie

s of

short

film

s.Ju

dd’s

film

Ma

ggie

focuse

s on p

rob-

lem

s fa

ced b

y w

om

en i

n t

he U

S m

ili-

tary,

and s

he s

hared info

rm

ati

on a

bout

the fi

lm a

nd t

he i

ssue d

iscuss

ed i

n i

t th

rough h

er t

weet,

reports

conta

ctm

u-

sic.c

om

.“M

y s

hort

film

is

about

PT

SD

(Post

-tr

aum

ati

c s

tress d

isorder)

result

ing

from

milit

ary s

exual

traum

a (

MS

T).

O

ne-t

hir

d o

f all U

S s

ervic

ew

om

en a

re

raped b

y f

ellow

Am

eric

an s

old

iers.

There a

re r

oughly

52 s

exual ass

ault

s per d

ay in o

ur m

ilit

ary.

And y

et,

the D

OD

(D

epartm

ent

of D

efe

nse

) sa

ys

ass

ault

is

under-r

eporte

d b

y 8

6 p

ercent

(sic

),”

she t

weete

d.

Brit

tany S

now

and J

ennif

er H

udso

n s

tar in t

he fi

lm.

Cra

ig b

ecom

es b

est

paid

Bon

d ac

tor

Ash

ley

Judd

tur

ns d

irec

tor

MA

RT

IN R

IGG

SLeth

al W

eapon (1987)

En

d o

f W

atc

h i

s b

ein

g p

rais

ed

fo

r its r

ealis

tic

dep

ictio

n o

f th

e L

AP

D, b

ut w

hat m

ake

s D

avi

d A

yer’s

actio

n-d

ram

a s

o b

elie

vab

le i

s its

two

lead

bu

dd

y co

ps,

pla

yed

by

Jake G

ylle

nhaal a

nd

Mic

hael P

ena.

It’s

a d

ynam

ic t

hat,

in a

way,

ow

es

a d

eb

t to

Mart

in

Rig

gs

(Mel G

ibso

n), a

su

icid

al l

oo

se c

an

no

n, a h

ol-

low

hu

sk o

f a m

an

befo

re h

e m

eets

by-

the-b

oo

k

part

ner

Ro

ger

Mu

rtau

gh

(D

an

ny

Glo

ver)

, w

ho

en

ds

up

giv

ing

th

e V

ietn

am

vet

the f

am

ily h

e t

rag

ically

lo

st. F

unny

and

fearless

, they’

re the b

est

bud

dy

co

p

du

o t

here

is.

CH

AN

WIN

G-Y

AN

Infe

rnal A

ffair

s (2002)

Th

e H

on

g K

on

g t

em

pla

te f

or

Mart

in S

co

rsese

’s

20

06

rem

ake,

Th

e D

ep

art

ed

, cen

tres

aro

un

d t

wo

co

ps:

an

offi

ce-b

ase

d t

raito

r se

cre

tly

leakin

g in

tel-

ligen

ce t

o t

he t

riad

s an

d a

po

lice m

ole

em

bed

ded

in

the s

am

e g

ang

. It

’s t

he l

att

er, Y

an,

pla

yed

mar-

vello

usl

y b

y To

ny

Leu

ng

, w

ho

fasc

inate

s, t

ho

ug

h.

Imm

ers

ed

fo

r 1

0 y

ears

in a

triad

cu

ltu

re o

f vi

ole

nce

an

d c

rim

inalit

y, h

e h

as s

acri

ficed

his

life t

o fi

gh

t m

on

sters

, ye

t fa

ces

the p

rosp

ect

of

beco

min

g o

ne

him

self.

As

his

crisi

s o

f id

en

tity

deep

en

s, h

ow

eve

r,

so d

oes

the d

an

ger

of

bein

g c

au

gh

t.

AX

EL

FOL

EY

Beverl

y H

ills

Cop (1984)

Detr

oit’s

str

eetw

ise, s

harp

-talk

er

Axe

l Fo

ley

is the

ultim

ate

co

med

y co

p.

Yet

wh

ile h

e b

ecam

e E

dd

ie

Murp

hy’

s si

gnatu

re, i

t co

uld

so

easi

ly h

ave

been fi

rst

ch

oic

e S

ylve

ster

Sta

llon

e,

wh

o w

ou

ld h

ave

slu

rred

th

roug

h the ro

le li

ke a

dyi

ng

tra

cto

r. T

hankf

ully

, what

we g

ot is

Murp

hy

at his

fast

, filthy,

funny

best

- p

ow

-ering

the e

ntire

fish

-out-

of-

wate

r p

lot (w

hic

h is

flim

sy,

at

best

) th

rou

gh

sh

eer

ch

ari

sma.

It’s

th

is n

atu

ral,

imp

rovi

sed

ch

arm

th

at

allo

ws

his

ch

ara

cte

r to

lie

, ch

eat

an

d p

ose

so

co

nvi

ncin

gly

. P

lus,

he h

as

an

ace t

hem

e t

un

e.

MA

RG

E G

UN

DE

RS

ON

Farg

o (1996)

Fra

nces

McD

orm

an

d’s

Marg

e G

un

ders

on

is

no

t lik

e o

ther

co

ps.

Sh

e d

oesn

’t h

ave

a d

rin

k p

rob

lem

, sh

e i

sn’t

a w

isecra

ckin

g h

ard

-co

p w

ho

wo

n’t

pla

y b

y th

e r

ule

s -

hell,

sh

e’s

no

t eve

n a

day

fro

m r

etire

-m

en

t. In

stead

, th

e C

oen

bro

thers

’ g

reate

st c

reatio

n

is a

po

lite, p

reg

nant p

olic

e c

om

mis

sio

ner

who

neve

r lo

ses

her

head

beyo

nd

a s

imp

le “

aw

, je

ez”

. E

ven

in

the fi

nal a

ct,

when talk

ing

to

a m

an a

rrest

ed

for

killi

ng

si

x p

eo

ple

, sh

e a

do

pts

th

e g

en

tle to

ne o

f a teach

er:

“T

here

’s m

ore

to

life

than a

litt

le m

oney,

yo

u k

no

w?”

Sh

e’s

no

t an

gry

- ju

st d

isap

po

inte

d.

RO

BO

CO

PR

obocop (1987)

Insp

ired

by J

ud

ge D

red

d a

nd

Bla

de R

un

ner,

Pau

l V

erh

oeve

n’s

Ro

bo

co

p -

a s

up

er-

cyb

org

- is

a

satirical r

eactio

n to

eve

ryth

ing

the c

onse

rvative

co

p

genre

ho

lds

dear.

Bill

ed

as

“part

man, p

art

machin

e,

all

co

p”,

he i

s w

hat

rem

ain

s fr

om

th

e b

ruta

l m

ur-

der

of

po

lice o

fficer

Ale

x M

urp

hy,

wh

o,

than

ks

to

Verh

oeve

n’s

use

of

Ch

rist

ian

sym

bo

lism

, is

resu

r-re

cte

d a

s a v

iole

nt

Ro

bo

Jesu

s. R

idic

ulo

us?

Well,

ye

s, b

ut

he d

oes

serv

e a

s a v

ess

el fo

r n

ot

on

ly t

he

film

’s them

es

of cap

italis

m a

nd

masc

ulin

ity,

but als

o

the e

xis

ten

tial q

uan

dary

of

hu

man

iden

tity

.

JOH

N M

CC

LA

NE

Die

Hard

(1988)

Befo

re h

e s

tart

ed

talk

ing

to

ch

airs,

Clin

t E

ast

wo

od

’s

Dirty

Harr

y w

as

the e

pito

me o

f th

e trig

ger-

hap

py,

catc

h-

phra

se c

op

. Yet o

ut o

f his

leg

acy

cra

wle

d J

ohn M

cC

lane

- b

loo

die

d, b

ruis

ed

and

pro

bab

ly w

earing

a v

est

. Alw

ays

“t

he w

ron

g g

uy

in t

he w

ron

g p

lace a

t th

e w

ron

g t

ime”,

h

e is

th

e f

ou

l-m

ou

thed

, N

ew

Yo

rk m

ave

rick w

ith

a m

ar-

riag

e o

n t

he r

ocks,

a d

isre

gard

fo

r au

tho

rity

an

d a

loo

m-

ing

ad

dic

tio

n t

o a

lco

ho

l. E

ven

so

, fo

r all

his

clic

hed

ch

ara

cte

rist

ics,

no

oth

er

co

p i

s h

alf a

s sh

arp

, fu

nn

y o

r en

tert

ain

ing

as

Bru

ce W

illis

’s M

cC

lan

e.

Yip

pee-k

i-ya

y,

mo

ther

read

er.

VIR

GIL

TIB

BS

In t

he H

eat

of

the N

ight

(1967)

Virg

il T

ibb

s is

, b

y fa

r, t

he m

ost

cu

ltu

rally

im

po

rtan

t d

ete

cti

ve o

n t

his

lis

t, I

n t

he H

eat

of

the N

igh

t h

avi

ng

b

een

rele

ased

th

ree y

ears

aft

er

the C

ivil

Rig

hts

Act.

P

laye

d b

y S

idn

ey

Po

itie

r, t

he fi

rst

bla

ck a

cto

r to

win

an

O

scar, T

ibb

s is

th

e s

mart

, st

raig

ht-

talk

ing

Ph

ilad

elp

hia

d

ete

cti

ve in

vest

igati

ng

a m

urd

er

in a

racis

t M

issi

ssip

pi

tow

n.

His

defin

ing

mo

men

t co

mes w

hen

sla

pp

ed

by

wh

ite s

usp

ect

Eri

c E

nd

ico

tt.

In t

he b

oo

k f

rom

wh

ich

th

e fi

lm i

s a

dap

ted

, T

ibb

s d

oesn

’t s

lap

him

back.

In

19

67

, h

ow

eve

r, t

he r

esu

ltin

g c

han

ge m

ay

as

well

have

b

een

a g

ren

ad

e.

CL

AR

ICE

STA

RL

ING

The S

ilence o

f th

e L

am

bs (1991)

Han

nib

al

Lecte

r m

ay h

ave s

tole

n (

an

d e

ate

n)

the

sho

w b

ut

Jo

die

Fo

ster’s

Cla

rice S

tarl

ing

was

the t

rue

co

nd

uit f

or

ou

r h

orr

or, m

akin

g u

s fe

el ju

st a

s o

ut

of

ou

r d

ep

th a

s sh

e is.

A t

rain

ee F

BI

ag

en

t (s

o t

ech

nic

ally

no

t p

olic

e), s

he’s

task

ed

with

gath

erin

g i

nsi

gh

t in

to a

n a

t-la

rge m

urd

ere

r b

y an

aly

sin

g L

ecte

r (A

nth

on

y H

op

kin

s),

a c

an

nib

alis

tic s

eri

al

kill

er

wh

o a

naly

ses

back.

As

she

unw

isely

op

ens

up

to

him

, w

e g

et a la

yere

d g

limp

se in

to

som

eo

ne w

ho

is n

ot o

nly

ten

acio

us

bu

t to

rtu

red

to

o. It

’s

a m

ix m

ast

erf

ully

pu

lled

off

by

Fo

ster, w

ho

was

perf

ect

for

the r

ole

.

JAM

ES

GO

RD

ON

The D

ark

Knig

ht

trilogy (2005-2

012)

Pre

-Ch

rist

op

her

No

lan

, C

om

mis

sio

ner

Go

rdo

n w

as

little m

ore

than B

atm

an’s

bud

dy.

The D

ark

Knig

ht tr

ilog

y,

ho

weve

r, c

ast

s h

im a

s a c

op

co

nflic

ted

betw

een

wh

at

is r

igh

t an

d w

hat

is n

ecess

ary

, w

heth

er

that

mean

s n

ot

ap

pre

hen

din

g a

mask

ed

vig

ilan

te o

r p

erp

etu

atin

g a

lie

. It

’s a

mo

ral

dile

mm

a t

hat

No

lan

deve

lop

s fr

om

Fra

nk

Mill

er’s

Year

One c

om

ic, w

hic

h d

eals

with h

is fi

rst ye

ar

in

a c

orr

up

t G

oth

am

, ye

t is

giv

en a

sense

of d

ep

th b

y G

ary

O

ldm

an’s

po

rtra

yal o

f a d

ecent m

an in

an in

decent tim

e.

Fo

r G

ord

on is

the real g

uard

ian o

f G

oth

am

City,

one w

ith

no

mask

to

hid

e b

eh

ind

.

VIN

CE

NT

HA

NN

AH

eat

(1995)

At

the e

ver-

bu

rnin

g h

eart

of

Heat

is A

l P

acin

o’s

th

e-

atr

ical,

wild

-eye

d L

t V

incen

t H

an

na,

an

LA

PD

ho

mic

ide

dete

ctive

who

se d

evo

tio

n to

the jo

b h

as

left

his

pers

onal

life i

n r

uin

s.

No

t o

nly

is P

acin

o f

ero

cio

usly

en

tert

ain

-in

g,

bu

t H

an

na’s

relu

cta

nt

resp

ect

for

the c

rim

inal

Neil

McC

au

ley

(Ro

bert

De N

iro

) m

akes

for

a s

ho

wd

ow

n o

f u

np

ara

llele

d g

ravi

tas

an

d s

usp

en

se.

It’s

th

e fi

rst

tim

e

Pacin

o a

nd

De N

iro

ap

peare

d o

n s

cre

en to

geth

er,

resu

lt-

ing

in a

cla

sh t

hat

reach

es

its

peak w

ith

th

at

mem

ora

ble

sc

ene in

the d

iner.

As

Hanna s

ays

: “B

roth

er,

you a

re g

oin

g

do

wn

.”

The

Gua

rdia

n

Lady G

aga’s

dress

, w

hic

h h

as

her b

lood

stain

, is

bein

g p

ut

up f

or s

ale

. T

he

dress

is

said

to b

e e

ven

more g

rue-

som

e t

han h

er s

teak f

rock, reports

thesu

n.

co.u

k.

The E

ddie

Gavriilidis

Ecst

asy

gow

n w

ill

go u

nder t

he h

am

mer a

t Ju

lien’s

Aucti

ons,

B

everly

Hills

, on D

ecem

ber 1

. It

is

expecte

d

to f

etc

h m

ore t

han £

7,000.

The g

uid

e s

ays

it “

com

bin

es

tan a

nd g

old

pyth

on l

eath

er a

nd n

ude m

esh

”. T

he f

rock

als

o “

bears

a s

mall b

lood s

tain

- t

he r

esu

lt

of

a s

cratc

hed a

rm

suff

ered a

t th

e h

and o

f an o

verly

enth

usi

ast

ic f

an”.

Gag

a’s

bloo

d-st

aine

d dr

ess

on s

ale

10 b

est

scr

een c

ops

BO

LLY

WO

OD

NE

WS

Juhi

, Mad

huri

tog

ethe

r in

Gul

ab G

ang

Aft

er ropin

g in

M

adhuri

Dix

it fo

r G

ula

b G

an

g,

now

fi

lmm

aker

Anubhav S

inha h

as

cast

Juhi C

haw

la for t

he fi

lm a

nd s

ays

it w

ill be

great

to s

ee t

hem

togeth

er f

or t

he fi

rst

tim

e o

n b

ig s

creen.

“Actu

ally,

there w

ere t

wo r

easo

ns

to c

ast

Juhi C

haw

la f

or t

he fi

lm. T

he

very fi

rst

thin

g i

s th

at

it w

as

a c

reati

ve d

ecis

ion t

aken b

y a

ll o

f us.

.. a

nd

we t

hought

it w

ould

be g

reat

to s

ee t

wo iconic

sta

rs

- M

adhuri and J

uhi -

togeth

er in t

he fi

lm,” S

inha, w

ho is

producin

g t

he fi

lm, sa

id.

“I c

ould

n’t

have p

ulled o

ff a

bett

er c

ast

than t

he t

wo m

ost

iconic

fem

ale

st

ars,

Madhuri

and J

uhi, t

ogeth

er f

or t

he fi

rst

tim

e o

n I

ndia

n s

creen,” h

e

added.

Insp

ired b

y S

am

pat

Pal-

led G

ula

bi G

ang in B

undelk

hand, U

ttar P

radesh

, w

hic

h fi

ghts

for t

he r

ights

of w

om

en in t

he r

egio

n, th

e fi

lm w

ill be d

irecte

d

by

Soum

ik

Sen

. F

ilm

ing

wil

l sta

rt

in

Decem

ber

an

d

the

“first

schedule

will

be s

hot

in

Bom

bay,

” S

inha s

aid

.“W

e w

ere w

ork

ing on

th

e

looks

of

the a

ctr

ess

es,

now

we

are r

eady t

o r

oll. S

ince t

he fi

lm

is b

ase

d i

n r

ural

India

, both

of

them

will

be s

een i

n a

de-g

lam

avata

r a

nd w

ill

have a

rusti

c

look,” h

e a

dded.

Earli

er,

th

e pla

ns w

ere to

rele

ase

Gu

lab

Ga

ng o

n W

om

en’s

D

ay,

but

Sin

ha s

aid

that

“thin

gs

got

a l

ittl

e d

ela

yed a

nd n

ow

I

feel

the fi

lm w

ill

rele

ase

aft

er

March”.

Gu

lab

Ga

ng a

lso s

tars

Mahie

G

ill and S

hilpa S

hukla

.

SR

K d

enie

s pa

tch-

up w

ith S

alm

an

Superst

ar S

hah R

ukh K

han d

enie

d t

he h

ighly

-publicis

ed n

ew

s of

his

patc

h-u

p w

ith S

alm

an K

han a

t th

e p

rem

iere o

f Ja

b T

ak

Ha

in J

aa

n.

“This

is

a v

ery o

ld q

uest

ion

. It

’s b

orin

g,”

Shah R

ukh K

han

told

reporte

rs

durin

g t

he launch o

f K

idZ

ania

sto

re R

Cit

y m

all, G

hatk

opar.

When a

sked a

bout

Am

itabh B

achchan’s

tw

eet

about

their

patc

h-u

p, he

said

: “I

f A

mit

ji h

as

tweete

d i

t th

en y

ou a

ll a

sk h

im. T

here i

s no p

atc

h u

p.

I read a

bout

in n

ew

spapers.

Don’t

believe it.”

The a

cto

r, h

ow

ever,

is

happy t

hat

Jab

Ta

k H

ain

Ja

an h

as

done g

ood b

usi

-ness

world

wid

e.

Shah R

ukh s

aid

: “I

am

happy t

hat

the fi

lm is

doin

g w

ell w

orld

wid

e. T

his

is

a v

ery s

pecia

l film

for m

e, K

atr

ina K

aif

and A

nush

ka S

harm

a. D

esp

ite

som

e iss

ues,

the fi

lm h

as

work

ed. I

am

thankfu

l to

everyone.”

Shi

lpa

take

s so

n on

firs

t fo

reig

n tr

ip

Ahead o

f her t

hir

d w

eddin

g a

nniv

ersa

ry,

actr

ess

Shilpa S

hett

y h

as

taken h

er s

on V

iaan o

n h

is fi

rst

inte

rnati

onal tr

ip t

o B

angkok.

Shilpa is

on a

work

-rela

ted t

our,

but

she is

excit

ed a

bout

havin

g

her s

on’s

com

pany.

“Hey t

weeto

s, i

n B

an

gkok f

or a

n a

d s

hoot.

Via

an

Raj

Kun

dra’s

first

in

ternati

onal tr

ip. S

o m

uch p

ackin

g, nearly

carrie

d w

hole

house

!!! P

hew

,”

Shilpa p

ost

ed o

n T

wit

ter.

Shilpa m

arrie

d b

usi

ness

man R

aj K

undra in 2

009. T

he c

ouple

had t

heir

first

child in M

ay t

his

year,

and t

he a

ctr

ess

is

lookin

g forw

ard t

o c

ele

brat-

ing h

er t

hir

d a

nniv

ersa

ry a

broad t

oo.

“Com

ple

ting t

hree y

ears

of

marria

ge o

n N

ov 2

2, so

thought

this

would

be a

nic

e b

reak. T

ravellin

g o

ut

of

the c

ountr

y a

fter a

year! F

eels

so g

ood,”

she a

dded.

Juhi

Cha

wla

Mad

huri

Dix

it

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 FOOD10

BY TIM CARMAN

The bright red pepper has a shriveled appear-ance, as if a bulbous clown nose had some-how wilted into a long, twisted witch’s beak. Between its wrinkly complexion and

its nasty reputation, the Bhut Jolokia, better known as the ghost pepper, generates fear and fascination. YouTube is littered with videos of bros pumped up enough to eat a whole one — only to crumple to the floor, pounding down milk.

When I cut into my first ghost pepper recently — while wearing food-safe gloves, at the urging of practically everyone who has an opinion on the sub-ject — I was first struck by the aroma. My kitchen was filled with the sweet, tropical fragrance of pas-sion fruit. You quickly learn that the aroma is a trap, designed to entice the innocent and ignorant into tasting the pepper. You will almost certainly regret any attempt to eat the fiery fruit straight up, with seeds and ribs.

I tried a small seedless dice of the pepper, approxi-mately the size of a pea, and within seconds, my right eye was streaming tears down my cheek, my nostrils were dripping and, worst of all, I began to hiccup uncontrollably. It was as if my head had become a wood-burning oven, lighting up my tongue and the interior of my skull. Milk provided little relief, until the burn began to subside on its own some 10 min-utes later.

The Bhut Jolokia is one of a rare breed of peppers: The nonprofit Chile Pepper Institute in Las Cruces calls them, without any whiff of comedic hyperbole, “super-hot” peppers. Believe it or not, these freak-show specimens are slowly creeping into some farm-ers markets.

I’ve seen super-hot chilies at DC area markets, where heat seekers sometimes treat the peppers more like schoolyard dares than take-home produce — just the latest example of that seemingly never-ending human desire to try to eat fire.

Lana Edelen, co-owner of Homestead Farm in Faulkner, once had a customer approach her stand at a market and stare at the colourful carnival of hot peppers for sale — not just Bhut Jolokias, but their cousin, the similarly piquant Dorset Naga, as well as Trinidad Scorpions, Jamaican Hot Chocolates and Habanero Caribbean Reds. “He said nothing was hot-ter than a habanero,” Edelen recalls. You can almost hear her sigh over the phone at the man’s arrogance.

So Edelen cut open one of her flame throwers and offered a piece to the man, but with a neighbourly warning. “It’s hot,” she told him. “I’m telling you beforehand.” He popped a piece into his mouth and told Edelen, “It ain’t too bad. There ain’t no heat yet,” she remembers.

“Then all of a sudden he was looking for something

to eat,” she adds. An hour later, she spotted him again and “his teeth and lips were still on fire.”

To some, Edelen’s anecdote would be a cautionary tale. To others, it’s a come-hither “Body Heat” signal of seduction, much like those hot sauces with the orifice-oriented names (think: Sphincter Shrinker XXX, Colon Cleaner) were in the 1990s and 2000s. But before anyone attempts this new daredevil stunt, they should know something important: Some of these super-hot peppers can be twice as fiery as the habaneros and Scotch bonnets often used in hot sauces.

To join the elite class of super-hots, peppers must register an average level of 1 million Scoville heat units in replicated, scientifically controlled trials. To give you some point of comparison, a common jalapeno tops out, depending on what source is cited, at 10,000 SHUs. Habaneros and Scotch bonnets can range from 100,000 to 350,000 SHUs.

At present, only a handful of peppers are mem-bers of the super-hot class. Aside from the ghost pepper (an average of 1,019,687 SHUs), the other ultra-hotties include the Trinidad Scorpion (1,029,271 SHUs); Trinidad 7-Pot Jonah (1,066,882 SHUs); Douglah Trinidad Chocolate (1,169,058 SHUs); and the mother of all tongue-destroying peppers, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion (1,207,764 SHUs), accord-ing to a recently published Chile Pepper Institute sci-entific study. Two Trinidad Moruga Scorpion plants in the study topped 2 million SHUs.

The reigning Guinness World Record holder, the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T, grown by the Chilli Factory in Australia, was not included in the Chile Pepper Institute study, despite being tested at 1.46 million SHUs in March 2011. There’s a simple reason for that, explains Danise Coon, a senior research specialist for New Mexico State University and pro-gramme coordinator for the institute. The owners “would not send us seed,” Coon says. “We’d like to be nice and say they didn’t have any more seed. I really can’t draw any conclusions.”

But without the ability to test the Butch T pep-per under scientifically controlled conditions, the Chile Pepper Institute noted in its study that the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion “can be considered the world’s hottest known measured chile pepper.” Still, as the organisation points out on its site, “the Bhut Jolokia pepper remains the hottest pepper that is commercially available.” It was the first pepper to reach 1 million SHUs and was once the Guinness record holder.

This desperate chase for the world’s hottest pep-per — and whatever commercial applications it may hold for the record holder — is a separate issue, of course, from the people who want to consume them. You might be shocked to learn that not all consumers are heat junkies looking for their next starring role

as a human test dummy in a YouTube video.The reason Homestead Farm entered the hot pep-

per market was pure and simple consumer demand, which is interesting because other area farmers have said they’re not so hot about these plants, given that customer interest is marginal at best. “They’re very hard to make any profit on, because people don’t buy very many of them,” co-owner Moie Kimball Crawford says about the hot peppers grown at New Morning Farm in Hustontown. Zach Lester, co-owner of Tree and Leaf Farm in Unionville, says flat-out that super-hot peppers “don’t mix in with the food I’m selling and the recipes.”

But since 1992, Homestead Farm has tapped into an African market that desires foods from back home. Almost every day, Edelen says, customers come to pick sweet potato leaves, “garden egg” fruits, jute leaves or hot peppers. At first, Lana and her hus-band, Joseph, started planting more moderately spicy varieties, such as cayenne and jalapenos, before grad-uating to Scotch bonnets. Nothing was hot enough for their African customers, however, until the cou-ple began planting ghost peppers and Jamaican Hot Chocolates and even Trinidad Scorpions.

“I have people from Africa who buy them,” she says. “I have people from Jamaica who buy them.” Even some chefs are searching out Homestead Farm’s pep-pers, though Lana Edelen is hard-pressed to recall a name. She sells ghost peppers for $1 apiece and the other bombs for 75 cents each, but for customers who want more than a single conversation piece or a brief flirtation with capsaicin pain, she’ll also sell the peppers for $9 a pound.

Which brings us back to an issue that Lester raised: Do these carpet bombs for the mouth fit into dishes that are actually consumed by people with functioning palates? Coon with the Chile Pepper Institute thinks “some of these are completely ined-ible. . . . They’re not for food consumption, that’s for sure.” Then again, Coon notes that the institute sells a brownie mix, Dr. B’s Bhut-Kickin’ Brownies, made with ghost peppers. You can buy the product online.

Coon says the brownie mix includes only about a teaspoon of ground Bhut Jolokia powder, which is key. To use these peppers in the kitchen, you have to temper their heat and find a way to emphasise their other qualities, like the floral, fruity aromas of the ghost pepper.

My instinct was to push the ghost in the same sweet direction: as a heat and flavouring agent in a pear jam. The resulting spread was chunky and slightly sweet, with a long, hot and strangely cooling finish that tasted as though someone had crossed passion fruit with Sichuan peppercorns. It was, I’d say, about 1.019 million times better than eating a ghost pepper raw.

WP-Bloomberg

Frightening heat ...

... in a super hot pepper

FROM LEFT: Fatalii and Hot Mama (smaller yellow), Dorset Naga, Habanero Caribbean Red, Jamaican Hot Chocolate and Bhut Jolokia or ghost pepper.

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012BOOKS 11

by Elaine Lies

Marie-Louise is 18 years old in 1809, the cherished daughter of the Austrian king, when she is forced

to make a horrible choice - leave her nation to become Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, or see France attack her country.

So begins The Second Empress by Michelle Moran, her fifth novel and the latest in a collection of tales about strong women throughout history, from ancient Egypt’s Nefertiti to Cleopatra and Madame Tussaud.

Moran, who is currently working on a book about an Indian warrior queen, spoke about Napoleon, his sec-ond wife, and why she likes to write about history.

What got the book going?“Each of my books has been inspired

by actually either seeing the place where my characters live, or seeing something that was important to them. So for my first book, Nefertiti, it was seeing her iconic bust in Berlin. For my third book, Cleopatra’s Daughter, it was when I was doing an underwa-ter dive in Alexandria. This one is a lot less glamorous. I was standing in Fontainebleu, just outside of Paris. It was there that they showed us Marie-Louise’s bedroom. I had never really thought about Marie-Louise, she was an 18-year-old girl from Austria and she took the place of (first wife) Josephine. Josephine was really, really well liked by the public at that time. She was considered his good luck charm, and it was only less than 25 years before that another Austrian - Marie Antoinette - had come over to marry a French king. So she was also filling (her great aunt) Marie Antoinette’s shoes, in some ways, and that didn’t end too well for her great aunt.

“I thought what would it be like to arrive in a country that had beheaded your great aunt, only 25 years later. Many of the people who were involved in that are still living. You’re this man’s second wife, the church did not rec-ognise his divorce to Josephine so he was considered a bigamist. This was really shocking to her - she was really religious. He had recently conquered her mother’s country of Austria, he had humiliated the country and her father, and he didn’t give her a choice. He wanted her because of her blood line. In fact, the marriage was made without even asking her permission.”

What did you do to get yourself into her head?

“The book is actually told by three points of view. One is a Haitian chamberlain, and it was much more difficult to get into his head because I’m not Haitian, I’m not really religious, and writing from the male point of view is much harder. He

was desperately in love with Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon’s sister, who was wildly outrageous - and she was the second narrator. The third narrator is Marie-Louise. To really try and get into their heads, I tried to read anything that was available, many first hand accounts of people who had actually met them.”

What were the challenges and interests of this particular period for you?

“The challenges were definitely try-ing to show a different side of Napoleon, since many people are attached to him as a military genius. There’s no doubting the man was a military gen-ius. He would sit in his tent and write

literally thousands of letters from the front. While he’s managing a massive campaign, he knew the fountains in Paris had stopped working. He knew everything that was going on, he was a micro-manager. That was incredibly impressive. So the challenge was to show a different side of him without angering people too much.

“The different side I found was a man who was a misogynist, a man who was literally, truly cruel to women. The first time he had sexual relations with his favourite mistress was when she fainted at his feet and he raped her. He was incredibly crass and enjoyed insulting women. He would go up to them at a soiree and he would hint that he knew about their husband’s infideli-ties, even if they had never cheated, just to see them squirm. Or he would pinch them and imply oh, you’re get-ting a little fat there. And women had to put up with this, because he was Emperor. So maybe that was the challenge.

“What made it easy was that there were so many resources to draw on. Some are reliable, some not. I read them all.”

There’s quite a jump in the places where you set your books. What is it about these places that appeals to you?

“What appeals to me are the sto-ries of women... and it doesn’t mat-ter what time, what place. Stories of women whose lives were unbeliev-able, and whose stories really went untold. They had a larger than life existence. They maybe were rul-ers, like Nefertiti. Maybe they were wives of rulers, like Marie-Louise, or maybe they were artists, like Madame Tussaud. It doesn’t matter. These are stories that got lost.

“Not many people know about Napoleon’s second wife, thousands of people visit Madame Tussaud’s across the world every day but not many know how unbelievable her story was, that she struggled between royals and revolutionaries and lived to tell the tale, which was true of nearly no one else.

And now, in India, a woman whose tale was untold in the West... a woman very much like Joan of Arc. She went into battle against Queen Victoria’s men, she rode into battle with her adopted son behind her, in some cases, and she lost.”

You must enjoy research.“I do. It is one of my favourite parts

about writing a book. That’s not to say that everything is necessarily histori-cally accurate. Historical fiction is fic-tion, and so in the parts where I’ve had to change the history slightly, I admit to it always in the afterword. I think people read historical fiction because they want to learn, so I try to stick as close to the history as possible.”

Reuters

The tale of Napoleon’s second wife

The challenges were definitely trying to show a different side of Napoleon, since many people are attached to him as a

military genius. The different side I found was a man who was a misogynist, a man who was literally, truly cruel to women.

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 TECHNOLOGY12

by Hayley Tsukayama

EPIC MICKEY 2 – THE POWER OF TWOPro: Familiar funCon: Can feel a bit staleBest for: Those for whom there’s no school like the old schoolRetail price: $44.99 (all prices men-tioned in this article are for the US market.)

This year in the gaming world is all about the sequel, and games for the younger set are no exception. In its follow-up to Epic Mickey, Disney again relies heavily on its stable of beloved characters to produce a fun, familiar game that will appeal to kids of all ages.

Mickey returns, of course, as does his pal Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from the first title to help players fly over gaps and use his powers to turn ene-mies into friends. Gamers can choose to play solo or with a friend, thanks to flexible cooperative play that adds another layer to the game. The title also gives kids a little bit of the moral decision-making that shows up in more mature titles, as the way they play affects the world around them. Jumping on the heads of too many of the other creatures in a level makes other characters wary about working with you.

True Disney fans will appreciate that references to older movies and Disneyland jokes pepper the story line, making it a true nostalgic treat to watch as well as play.

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS UPro: Something-for-everyone gameplayCon: Exclusive to the Wii UBest for: Families who like to play togetherRetail price: $59.99 (in US)

With the latest Super Mario Bros title, Nintendo is trying to show off the best of its new Wii U console and the new kind of videogame playing that comes with it. Called “asymmet-ric play,” the Wii U and its tablet-like controller give one player the opportu-nity to take a slightly different role in the course of the game. In New Super Mario Bros U, that new role is one more suited to those not used to play-ing in the Mario world. The one who holds the tablet controller gets to cre-ate new blocks and platforms to help

— or hinder — their fellow players as they work their way through the level. That could mean giving your friend a leg up on a part of the map that’s dif-ficult to get past or blocking them into a confined space with an enemy.

The rest of the gameplay should be very familiar to Mario fans, who will be happy to see the return of the plumber protagonist’s most-used power-ups, including the leaf that gives you the ability to glide like a flying squirrel. The game also includes the return of baby Yoshi dinosaurs with special abili-ties to help players through the game world and toward the ultimate goal of saving the princess.

PLAYSTATION ALL-STARS BATTLE ROYALEPro: Pulls in the feel of favorite PlayStation gamesCon: Can feel a bit chaoticBest for: Good friends with thick skinsRetail Price: $59.99

Sony pulled out an impressive lineup of its classic characters to participate in a no-holds-barred battle game that should have PlayStation fans grinning from ear to ear as they beat each other senseless.

The cast of characters features those as varied as the sneaky raccoon Sly Cooper to Heihachi from Tekken to

Nathan Drake from Uncharted. In each case, the company has taken pains to make the controls feel as familiar as possible; each character plays the same way they do in their original games.

The mash-ups extend beyond the fact that you can play characters from different titles in the same game. Levels are set in backgrounds that pull elements from Sony games and lev-els will often introduce tidbits from other popular games halfway through a battle. So, for example, the level that features the setting from God of War gets a sudden visit from the rhythm-worshiping creatures from Patapon.

All in all, the game plays like a love letter to the company’s biggest fans. It’s a great game to have with a crowd, though friends will have to promise to leave their feelings about victories and defeats on the battlefield.

LITTLEBIGPLANET – KARTINGPro: Has a lot of build-your-own optionsCon: Basic racing gameplayBest for: Creative gamersRetail Price: $59.99

The developers from LittleBigPlanet are taking their world to the racetrack with the latest installment of the series. The racing part of the game admit-tedly doesn’t add much innovation to

the classic genre. But what sets this game apart is the ability to customise just about everything.

The development team has added a lot of tools that make it easy for any player to make up a level particularly suited to their own playing style. These options take the game far beyond its own genre for those who are willing to invest the time in building custom levels.

The toolbox itself is great and var-ied, though it could be a little over-whelming for younger (or even older, less experienced) players, who may otherwise enjoy the stock racing levels included in the game.

The title is a fun one for kids of all ages who enjoy zipping around the racetrack, particularly in the unique, fun world of LittleBigPlanet. LittleBigPlanet Karting is a strong addition to the popular series and certainly one that lets gamers express their full creativity.

HARRY POTTER FOR KINECTPro: Easy fun for the whole familyCon: Requires a Kinect; a little rigidBest for: Folks with big living roomsRetail Price: $49.99

Accio Xbox! Using the Kinect con-troller, this game is one of the first Harry Potter games to skillfully exe-cute what, by all rights, should have been a no-brainer for any developer working on a Harry Potter game. This title reads players’ movements for spell-casting, potion-making and soar-ing through the air on a broomstick.

The Kinect is able to read move-ments easily and rarely misfires — a common problem with Kinect games that has been less prevalent in recent years. It’s certainly one of the better motion-controlled Potter games and should be great for getting kids excited (and moving around!) as they picture themselves as students at Hogwarts.

The game is really aimed at younger players, or those more interested in getting a quick bout of play in rather than exploring the nearly total lack of story line in the game. It plays more like a collection of rigid mini games, which can be fun for shorter sessions but not marathon play. It’s certainly a game for people who want to act like wizards rather than those who want to revisit the story lines from the popular books. WP-Bloomberg

Tech Gift Guide: Video games for children

LittleBigPlanet: Karting Harry Potter for Kinect

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 COMICS

Baby Blues Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman

13

ALL IN THE MIND Can you find the hidden words? They may be horizontal,vertical, diagonal, forwards or backwards.

ANNE MURRAY, BARBARA MANDRELL, BRENDA LEE, CHARLEY PRIDE, CHET ATKINS, CRYSTAL GAYLE, DOLLY PARTON, DON WILLIAMS, EMMY LOU HARRIS, GLEN CAMPBELL, HANK WILLIAMS, JOHNNY CASH, KENNY ROGERS, LORETTA LYNN, MARTY ROBBINS, MERLE HAGGARD, PATSY CLINE, ROGER MILLER, TAMMY WYNETTE, WAYLON JENNINGS, WILLIE NELSON.

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Hagar The Horrible Chris Browne

Blondie Dennis Young and Denis Lebrun

Slylock Bob Weber

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012

HYPER SUDOKU

CROSS WORD

CROSSWORDS

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

How to play Hyper Sudoku:A Hyper Sudoku

Puzzle is solved

by filling the

numbers from 1

to 9 into the blank

cells. A Hyper

Sudoku has

unlike Sudoku

13 regions

(four regions

overlap with the

nine standard

regions). In all

regions the numbers from 1 to 9 can appear

only once. Otherwise, a Hyper Sudoku is

solved like a normal Sudoku.

ACROSS 1 Manhandle horribly

5 U. of Maryland athlete

9 Jollity

14 “Rule, Britannia” composer

15 End in ___ (finish evenly)

16 Brainstorms

17 Cut of meat

18 Pro ___ (how some law work is done)

19 Composition for nine musicians

20 Fiercely

23 OB/GYNs perform them

24 In ___ (harmonious)

25 Air safety org.

28 ___ Ness monster

30 Westerns, in old lingo

32 “Scream” director Craven

35 Embarrassingly imprudent

38 “___ cost you!”

40 Fall behind

41 Falco of “Nurse Jackie”

42 Next to one another

47 Member of the upper house: Abbr.

48 Roman leader who met his fate on the Ides of March

49 Police action on a gambling ring

51 “Carpenter” or “harvester” insect

52 Drizzle, say

55 Dentists’ tools

59 Fast and in large amounts

61 Television input jack

64 Battery fluid

65 Dread

66 Edge

67 “___ but known …”

68 Blues singer James

69 Bring joy to

70 Wife in “The Good Earth”

71 Having a positive outlook

DOWN 1 Mediterranean island

country

2 Woolf’s “___ of One’s Own”

3 The “U” in E.U.

4 Popular soup legume

5 ___ sauce

6 School on the Thames

7 Outsides of melons

8 Spring bloom

9 Easily portable movie maker

10 Winner of a Fox talent show beginning in 2002

11 Stimpy’s canine pal

12 ___ kwon do

13 President after F.D.R.

21 Part of a horse that’s shod

22 Before long, poetically

25 Prolonged hostilities

26 Clarinetist Shaw

27 Drained of color

29 ___ Bible

31 Follower of tic-tac

32 Pagan nature religion

33 Revolutionary Allen

34 Frozen 52-Across

36 Atlantic City casino, with “the”

37 Stravinsky or Sikorsky

39 Article in Paris Match

43 Sing-along at a bar

44 Raisin ___

45 Entered up to one’s ankles

46 Train line to Penn Sta.

50 Be at odds (with)

53 Boise’s state

54 Like some diet drinks

56 Be untruthful with

57 Exams for would-be attys.

58 Veer off the beaten path

59 Clue

60 ___ Blue, 1971 Cy Young Award winner

61 Lincoln, the Rail-Splitter

62 WWW address

63 Day, to Diego

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

32 33 34 35 36 37

38 39 40 41

42 43 44 45 46 47

48 49 50

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

59 60

61 62 63 64 65

66 67 68

69 70 71

F E R N S P A L U P N E ZA R E Y O U A L O N E E L OC O M E I N T O T H E O P E NE D I T E D O U T C A N ES E X E N D O F C L A D

C A R E C US A C A G A W E A D O L L A RP R I M E R E A L E S T A T EA I R P O R T T E R M I N A LS E E D L E S S R A I S I N S

A D S T C MO L A V T A K E I O R BT O N I P Y R O M A N I AT E N D E R L O I N S T E A KE W E S T A T E S E N A T ER E X L E N O S C O M A S

How to play Kakuro:The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers.However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column referenced by the number.Within each collection of cells - called a run

- any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once.

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

14

EASY SUDOKUEasy Sudoku PuzzlesPlace a digit from 1 to 9 in each empty cell so everyrow, every column and every 3x3 box contains allthe digits 1 to 9.

Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 CINEMA / TV LISTINGS

SHOWING AT CITY CENTER12:00 Uefa

Champions

League Cluj V

Braga

14V15 Uefa

Champions

League Benfica

V Celtic

18:00 English Sports

News

18:45 Boxing Periban

V Sierra

19:00 Magazine Tba

20:00 Uefa

Champions

League Zenit

St Petersburg V

Malaga

22:00 Uefa

Champions

League Man

City V Real

Madrid

01:30 Liga World

02:30 Stars Ronaldo

08:00 News

09:00 Witness

10:30 Inside Story

11:00 News

11:30 The Stream

12:00 News

12:30 Fault Lines

13:00 NEWSHOUR

14:00 News

14:30 Inside Story

15:00 The Fight for

Amazonia

16:00 NEWSHOUR

17:00 News

17:30 The Stream

18:00 NEWSHOUR

19:00 News

19:30 People &

Power

20:00 News

20:30 Inside Story

21:00 NEWSHOUR

22:00 News

22:30 The Stream

23:00 Witness

13:15 Ultimate

Survival

14:10 Border Security

14:35 Scrappers

15:05 Auction Kings

16:25 Wheeler

Dealers

19:40 How It’s Made

20:05 Border Security

20:35 Scrappers

21:00 Auction Kings

21:30 Dynamo:

Magician

Impossible

22:25 Mythbusters

12:00 Spine Chillers:

Scorpions

13:00 Wild

Mississippi

14:00 World’s

Deadliest

17:00 World’s

Weirdest

22:00 Dangerous

Encounters

With Brady Barr

23:00 Hunt for the

Giant Squid

13:15 The Marvelous

Misadventures...

14:30 Young Justice

16:35 Powerpuff Girls

17:00 Angelo Rules

18:50 Johnny Test

20:30 Ben 10

21:20 Level Up

21:45 Grim

Adventures Of...

22:10 Courage The

Cowardly Dog

12:00 The Hitchhiker’s

Guide To The

Galaxy

14:00 Robots

16:00 Joe Dirt

18:00 Nothing To Lose

20:00 Just Crazy

Enough

22:00 Frenemy

15

13:20 RSPCA: On

The Frontline

14:45 Animal Cops

Philadelphia

17:00 The Really Wild

Show

17:30 Too Cute!

19:20 Dogs 101

20:15 Monkey Life

20:40 E-Vets: The

Interns

22:05 Wildest Arctic

23:00 Galapagos

23:55 Mutant Planet

10:55 Valdez Is

Coming

12:25 Hannibal

Brooks

14:05 Solarbabies

15:40 The Tempest

17:10 Vigilante Force

18:55 Wicked

Stepmother

20:25 Murder In High

Places

22:00 The Unforgiven

12:55 Honky Tonk

14:45 Lady L

16:30 Forbidden

Planet

18:10 Escape From

Fort Bravo

19:45 Light In The

Piazza

21:25 Julie

23:00 Mrs. Soffel

15:00 Adventures Of

Sharkboy And

Lavagirl

18:00 Rio

20:00 Looney Tunes:

Back In Action

22:00 The Apple &

The Worm

23:30 Crab Island

GULF CINEMA

1Thuppakki (2D/Tamil)

– 1.00, 4.15, 7.30 & 11.00pm

2

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2D/Hindi) – 1.00, 4.30 & 10.30pm

Son Of Sardaar (2D/Hindi) – 7.45pm

MALL CINEMA

1

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (Animation) – 3.00 & 5.00pm

Ted (Comedy) – 7.00pm

The Expendables 2 (Action) – 9.00pm

The Bourne Legacy (Action) – 11.00pm

2

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2D/Hindi) – 2.30 & 6.00pm

Al Anessa Mammy 2 (2D/Arabic) – 9.15 & 11.30pm

3

Skyfall (2D/Action) – 2.15pm

Flight (2D/Drama) – 4.45pm

Hotel Transylvania (3D/Animation) – 7.15pm

Twilight Saga 2: Breaking Dawn 2 (2D/Adventure) – 9.00 & 11.15pm

ROYAL PLAZA

1

Al Anessa Mammy 2 (2D/Arabic) – 3.00 & 7.15pm

Twilight Saga 2: Breaking Dawn 2 (2D/Adventure) – 5.00, 9.15 & 11.30pm

2Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2D/Hindi)

– 2.15, 5.30 & 9.00pm

3

Brave (Animation) – 2.30 & 4.30pm

Special Forces (Action) – 6.30 & 8.30pm

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2D/Hindi) – 10.30pm

LANDMARK

1

Al Anessa Mammy 2 (2D/Arabic) – 2.30, 6.30 & 8.30pm

Wreck - It Ralph (3D/Animation) – 4.30pm

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2D/Hindi) – 10.30pm

2

Hotel Transylvania (3D/Animation) – 2.30pm

Twilight Saga 2: Breaking Dawn 2 (2D/Adventure) – 4.30, 9.15 & 11.30pm

Skyfall (2D/Action) – 6.45pm

3

Son Of Sardaar (2D/Hindi) – 2.30 & 8.30pm

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2D/Hindi) – 5.15pm

Al Anessa Mammy 2 (2D/Arabic) – 11.15pm

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012 POTPOURRI16

MEDIA SCAN

IN FOCUS

• People are saying it’s strange that Qatar, despite being a peninsula, does not have good public beaches with facilities so that people can enjoy their holidays or spend their leisure time there.

• People are complaining about beggars and how they are harassing them in pub-lic. There is a call for the government to put in place laws to curb this practice.

• After increasing the minimum wage of Filipina housemaids in Qatar to QR1,460, many hope the move will now prevent them from running away from their exist-ing sponsors.

• Reports published by Qatar Statistics Authority are highly appreciated, and people hope other organisations will fol-low suit to give such information.

• One question being repeatedly asked by many people in the community is whether they require contacts or influence to get rooms for delivery at the women’s hos-pital because of the huge rush at the hospital.

• In Qatar, we have no world-famous cul-tural symbols as in Egypt, Kuwait etc.

• There is a need to evaluate the per-formance of civil society organisations and give them the freedom to operate independently, because currently they are under the control of the govern-ment. The law on non-profits organi-sations also must be reviewed, some say.

• Qatar Diabetes Organisation is doing well to educate people about diabetes, but more needs to be done since there is a high percentage of people living with diabetes here.

• People are requesting Ashghal to speed up construction work on C Ring Road from the Cinema signal to Toyota signal because it’s slowing traffic.

• There are complaints about the con-ditions of public restrooms on the Corniche, near Sheraton park. They have urged the authorities to take necessary action.

A summary ofissues of the daydiscussed by the Qatari communityin the media.

An elderly couple sit on a bench with fog hanging in the valley of Hochwacht mountain above Zug, in central Switzerland.

by Fabrice Coffrini

Editor-In-Chief Khalid Al Sayed Acting Managing Editor Hussain Ahmad Editorial Office The Peninsula Tel: 4455 7741, E-mail: plus@pen.com.qa / editor@pen.com.qa

Today in Qatar

Kimiko Yoshida When: Till Dec 1, 10am - 10pmWhere: Katara Gallery 1, Building 19 What: Japanese photographer Kimiko Yoshida studied photography in Japan as well as in France, where she lives and works since 1995. For the Katara Galleries exhibition the curator has selected works where the artist features her interpretation of Middle Eastern, Arab and North African traditional dress and accessories.Free entry

“Elizabeth Taylor in Iran, 1976” Firooz Zahedi WHEN: Till Nov 30, 10am - 10pmWHERE: Katara Gallery 1, Building 19 WHAT: Firooz Zahedi was a personal friend and confidant of Elizabeth Taylor, as a friend and a photographer he accompanied the movie start in her visit to Iran in 1976. This exhibition will bring to Doha the photographs taken during that visit.Free entry

Constantin Boym Exhibition : Learning From MabkharaWhen: Till Dec 1, 10am-10pmWHERE: Gallery 2 Building 13 WHAT: Featuring unique and exquisite shapes and designs, Mabkhara is a traditional Arab incense burner, an authentic object typically used as daily domestic activities in the Arab world. Free entry

Yan Pei-Ming“Painting the history”When: 9am-8pm, Till Jan 12, 2013Friday 3pm to 9pmWHERE: QMA Gallery, Bldg 10 WHAT: Curated by Francesco Bonami, this exhibition profiles three types of history-makers and highlights the power of painting as a medium for recording historical events. Free entry

Ibrahim El-Salahi: AVisionary ModernistWhen: Till Nov 27, 10am-10pmWHERE: Katara Gallery, Building 22 WHAT: The first museum retrospective of acclaimed Sudanese artist, Ibrahim El Salahi. Free entry

If you want your events featured here mail the details to plus@pen.com.qa

Three deer use automatic doors to enter Iowa store

Shoppers in Iowa got an unusual glimpse of wildlife when a doe and two fawns wandered into a depart-ment store. Coralville Police Chief Barry Bedford says the deer used doors that open automatically to get into a Kohl’s store. He says the fawns stayed in the store’s vestibule, but their mother made it into the store and headed toward the back.

Police say employees opened up some back doors and the doe exited. The two fawns turned around and used the automatic exit doors to leave the store.

Russian woman keeps dead husband’s body

Russian authorities say a woman with five children kept her hus-band’s body in their apartment for almost three years after his death. Prosecutors in the central Yaroslavl region said the unidentified woman, described as a devout Pentecostal Christian with a psychiatric record, was so distraught when her husband died of natural causes in 2009 that she believed he “was bound to resurrect.”

The prosecutors’ office said that the woman kept the cadaver in a bed in a room of her apartment and asked her children to talk to it and feed it.

Agencies