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timeoutTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
OutofOutof
CruiseCruise
controlcontrolThe Scientologist actor’s reputation
takes a beating in the media. P2-3

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SpecialReport
Nepali women below 30 are not
allowed to work as maids in the Gulf,
according to a new directive by the
government. But how effective is it?
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timeout • Thursday, September 6, 2012 • Page 3
Thenew
Wacko
Jacko?
I’ll admit, I find it difficult to
imagine that Jackson — who,
according to Sullivan, was using
medication to knock himself out
not for hours but whole days — was
a man overburdened with self-love.
But Sullivan does touch on one of
the many sad truths about Jackson’s
life: how useful he was to the media
as the resident freakshow, the
vessel into which all mockery about
the weird, self-centred, overly
permissive world of celebrity could
be poured.
There are always celebrities
around, usually in the Los Angeles
area, who can justly be described
as at least slightly doolally. To want
to be famous requires a crackpot
nature from the start; to then
become A-list world-famous would
drive most into the far reaches of
egocentric lunacy.
But there is also always one
person who is decreed to be the
weirdest, loopiest, LOL-iest show
in town, the one about whom
anyone can say anything and, no
matter how deranged it sounds, it
will have the smack of plausibility
to it.
During much of the last century
it was the reclusive, compulsive
Howard Hughes. When he finally
died in 1976, pain-raddled
and filth-riddled, Jackson was
conveniently around to fill the role,
which he ably did until the end of
his life. Even before Jackson died, a
new keeper of the weirdo flame was
already lining himself up nicely to
take over.
With his freakishly perfect
face, Tom Cruise has always come
across more like a sexless android
attempting to be a human than
human himself, one who had
studied earthlings from abroad and
was attempting to live among them.
In Rob Lowe’s otherwise blandly
unrevealing autobiography,
Stories I Only Tell My Friends, he
describes filming The Outsiders
back in 1983 with Cruise, Patrick
Swayze, Matt Dillon and a slew
of other pretty boys all waiting
to be famous. During the shoot,
the actors occasionally had to
share bedrooms and the only one
who protested, Lowe recalls, was
Cruise. Panicked, he called his
agent to make the producers find a
single bedroom for this unknown
20-year-old actor.
It’s an anecdote that brings to
mind the scene in Tootsie in which
Dustin Hoffman’s female persona
“Dorothy” realises she’ll have
to share a bedroom with Jessica
Lange on a weekend away. How
to maintain the artifice 24 hours a
day?
But it wasn’t until 2004 when
Cruise fatefully fired his publicist,
Pat Kingsley, and replaced her with
his sister, Lee Anne De Vette, that it
really became obvious who would
follow in the ignoble footsteps of
Hughes and Jackson in the media
pantheon as Cruise, for really the
first time in his life, was pummelled
by various PR disasters.
Cruise replaced his sister with a
professional publicist a year later,
but it was too late. When he sneered
at psychiatry and then jumped on
Oprah’s sofa, he did the equivalent
of extolling the joys of oxygen
chambers and toting about a chimp.
The final kicker for Cruise’s
reputation was when his third wife,
Katie Holmes, fled their marriage
this summer, and now the bloodied
gloves are truly off.
Vanity Fair — a magazine
that has puffed Cruise possibly
more than any other, publishing
the first photos of his daughter
Suri and cooing over the loving
normality of his family life and
how ridiculous all the nefarious
gossip about him is — will this
week publish an excoriating
takedown of the actor.
The article alleges, among many
other things, that in 2005 the
Church of Scientology embarked on
a project to find a suitable partner
for Cruise and interviewed various
women.
Eventually, they settled on a
young actress and she accompanied
Cruise on charmingly romantic
dates in New York: just her and
Cruise and various Scientology
agents, all watching to see if she
was up to snuff. When, for various
ridiculous reasons it was decided
that she wasn’t, Cruise outsourced
dumping her to a Scientology
official.
The woman then made the
mistake of confiding what
had happened to someone
she considered a friend in the
Scientology centre in Florida, only
to then be punished by being forced
to scrub toilets with a toothbrush,
like the Cinderella story in reverse.
Incidentally, the article was
written by Vanity Fair’s celebrity-
destroyer-at-large, Maureen Orth,
whose previous articles include
a particularly eye-popping one
about Woody Allen during his break
up from Mia Farrow and several
similarly brutal ones about Michael
Jackson.
Cruise and the Church of
Scientology have, of course, denied
all charges — but this horse has
bolted.
Coming after the New Yorker’s
extraordinary article about the
church in 2011, and just as Paul
Thomas Anderson’s cinematic take
on L Ron Hubbard, The Master, is
being lauded in Venice, not even
the best publicist in the world can
save Cruise from his fate as the new
Michael Jackson.
He is the man who, most have
decided, lives a life far weirder than
anything anyone can say and so
anyone can say anything, and he
appears unable to do anything to
refute the assumptions.
Unlike Jackson, Cruise has never
been accused of self-loathing or
self-doubt. But it’s hard to imagine
that this deeply ambitious man
loves what he has become. —
Guardian News & Media
Cover
Story
*With his freakishly perfect face, Tom Cruise has always come across more like a sexless android attempting to be a
human than human himself, one who had studied earthlings from abroad and was attempting to live among them.
*Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes ... the final kicker in Cruise’s reputation came
when Holmes fled their marriage this summer.I
n his excellent essay on Michael
Jackson,now titled simply
Michael and included in the
recently published collection
Pulphead,US journalist John
Jeremiah Sullivan looks with clear
eyes and a gossipy but open mind
at how the media — specifically the
white media — lobbed“passive-
aggressive accusations”against
Jackson for pretty much his entire
adult life:“We moan that Michael
changed his face out of self-loathing.
He may have loved what he became,”
writes Sullivan.
A forthcoming Vanity Fair article about the
Scientologist movie star promises eye-popping
revelations. It’s the final proof that he has become the
new Michael Jackson, writes HadleyFreeman
ByMalcolmXAbram
S
o,do you remember when people wanted to be famous for
something?
As kids growing up in the ’60s,’70s and ’80s,most wanted to
be a famous athlete or actor or world-renowned doctor.But there
was usually an object following the adjective“famous,”implying
that a person must actually do something that other people find notable or
interesting to garner notoriety.
Those days are gone,baby.
These days,“famous”means an ability to carve out a spot in pop culture
for any reason or length of time.Fame is its own reward,and if one isn’t too
picky about how that fame is acquired (and increasingly it seems that people
aren’t),then we’re all one viral video,inflammatory tweet or famous sibling
away from achieving 21st-century fame in this big ol’constantly churning ball
of events,people,news,non-news and random crap we call American pop
culture.
And,while many folks believe it is the only culture America has,our
mainstream pop culture is arguably our country’s biggest contribution to
global culture.
Just like the great United States of America - which theoretically welcomes
the world’s tired and poor,its huddled masses yearning to breathe free -
American pop culture is a sponge,taking bits and pieces from its many
subcultures,often ripping out the guts of what made those subcultures
interesting,and repacking it for mass consumption,something at which
Americans are historically awesome.
All kinds of formerly sub- and countercultures are subsumed into
American pop culture,as has always been the case,but it seems to happen at
an increased pace for better and for worse.
It took punk rock nearly two decades to go from scary youth-driven
counterculture to being part of the mainstream (“pop-punk!”yeah),but the
electronic music sub-genre dubstep,which began to spread to the states from
Europe in the mid-2000s,has already become the soundtrack to nearly every
active wear/energy drink/super cool car commercial on television,perhaps
the clearest sign of mainstream acceptance.
Add the fact that the concept of not“selling out,”once a clarion call of
hippies,punks and hip-hoppers,is now the desired endgame for many
aspiring artists.It’s a primary vehicle for getting one’s music into the
mainstream,suggesting that the Mad Men (who now include women and
people of colour) have ultimately won.
While nerds may not have climbed to the top of the high school food chain,
nerd culture — traditionally as exclusive and us-against-them as any — has
been creeping into the mainstream since the’80s.That’s when comic-book-
based films became blockbusters,television shows such as the Star Trek
reboot were hits and there was a proliferation of Nintendo and other video-
game consoles.
There’s even a high school in Pennsylvania designed and built in the shape
of the Millennium Falcon (if you don’t know what that is,you’re simply not
nerdy enough),solidifying the permeation of both nerd and pop culture into
the“real world.”
Other examples: The popular show Glee has“gleeks”(a contraction of glee
and geeks),several of the protagonists of Judd Apatow movies (Superbad,The
40 Year Old Virgin,Knocked Up) could be safely called nerds and/or geeks,and
the basic premise of the recently released 21 Jumpstreet reboot.In that film the
undercover cop (Jonas Hill) who was a nerd in high school is now one of the
cool kids,and his partner (Channing Tatum) who was a cool jock then is now
considered an uncool social anachronism.
I’m not just talking about millennials,many of whom seem to not have
a trash detector when it comes to the stuff that is marketed toward them.
But there are plenty of grown folks who should know better who spend time
discussing the screeching harpies of shows such as VH1’s Love & Hip Hop
and any show with“housewives”in the title whose cast members consist of
people who are notable only for the people with whom they have sex.
Stripper culture is mainstream,with stripper poles turning up in sitcoms
and pole-dancing classes replacing jazzercise.
Hip-hop has helped fuel this with a few years’worth of odes to strippers
and their ambitions (T-Pain’s I’m in Love With a Stripper being an obvious
example).
Growing up in the shadow of the 1960s with boomers constantly informing
me of their generation’s awesomeness and my generation’s apathy,I was
raised with a healthy scepticism of mainstream pop culture even as I absorbed
much of what it had to offer,and watched its marketing with a jaundiced eye.
Likewise,whenmanyofthosesamefreak-flag-flyingboomerstransformed
from free-lovin’,pot-smokin’hippies into trickle-down economics-loving,
power-tie-wearing yuppies,I took that as a sign that much of what we were
inundated with from television,movies and radio was simply trash.
Today,that no longer seems to be the case.The Internet,YouTube,Twitter
and other social media with user-generated content and our society’s
increasing need for attention and/or validation,has turned Andy Warhol’s
famous 15-minutes-of-fame line into“in the future,everyone will be part of
pop culture for 15 minutes.”— Akron Beacon Journal/MCT
The definition of
‘famous’ has changed,
and not for the better

issue
Page 4 • timeout • Thursday, September 6, 2012 timeout • Thursday, September 6, 2012 • Page 5
More reforms needed
to protect migrant
domestic workers
especially like taking care of
children and working for longer
hours.
“As to the nature of the work,
women grow tolerant and would
not complain as much as younger
women would,” Dr Sharma said.
She also said that about 15
women have been rescued by the
embassy in the past six months
and all of them are under 30.
Misinformed women opt for
foreign employment even at the
age of 15 years in Nepal. According
to Dr Sharma, recruitment agents
themselves go from village to
village tempting them with
promises of a good salary and
better work.
They arrange passports even
for younger girls with a fake age.
When such young women end up
working as domestic helpers, it is
hard for them to cope.
Their intolerance of hard work
and longer working hours irritates
them which is reflected in their
work. It also leads to constant
confrontation with the employer.
“This often results in torture
(physical and psychological),
exploitation and abuse,” Dr
Sharma said.
The government’s official record
shows that about 58,000 Nepali
women work as domestic maids
in Gulf countries including Qatar.
However, human rights agencies
like United Nations Development
Fund for Women (Unifem) estimate
that the number is 200,000. They
say the official figure does not take
into account all those who have
travelled illegally, many through
India.
Human rights activists and
agencies thus say that there is no
use of curtailing women’s right to
opting for foreign employment.
Rather there should be a
mechanism in place to ensure that
these women are not exploited.
“The government’s intention
is good. However, that kind of
decision will have a negative
impact. Even earlier, when the
government had banned them
from working in few countries,
they were found to make out the
way through India,” said Saru
Joshi, South Asia programme co-
ordinator of Unifem. She further
said the agents will get greater
role to play giving rise to illegal
migration and human trafficking.
“As a result they will not get due
pay or compensation when in
problem.”
If the Nepali government thinks
women are vulnerable, it should
bring some other effective measures
addressing the young women (above
18 to 30) and the rest. Human
Rights Watch, an international
watch group, says in its website,
“Nepal is right to be concerned
about its migrant domestic
workers, but imposing a ban on
women under 30 from travelling
to the Gulf does not solve the
problem and discriminates
against young women.
A better strategy would
be to crack down on abusive
recruitment practices, ensure
that women migrate with an
enforceable contract in hand,
and equip embassies to respond
quickly to complaints of abuse.”
The Nepali government should
perhaps consider revoking its
new ban and instead employ
safeguards so that domestic
workers can migrate safely – such
as by ensuring full monitoring
and accountability of recruitment
agencies in Nepal.
At the same time, governments
in the Gulf should adopt long
overdue labour protections and
immigration reforms, including
ending the discriminatory
treatment of domestic workers,
to combat abuse of Nepali and
other migrant workers, Human
Rights Watch said. However,
the authority said that there
are also other mechanisms to
safeguard women allowed to
work as domestic helpers in
Gulf countries. According to the
Nepal government directive, the
sponsors will have to transfer a
monthly salary of QR1,000 to the
housemaid’s bank account every
month.
The sponsors will also have
to deposit security money of
QR4,000 to the joint account of
employer and the employee to
avoid trouble in case of non-
co-operation by the sponsor.
Between January and July this year,
the embassy has ensured such
guarantees to 83 women who have
come to Qatar to work as domestic
helpers.
Besides, the sponsor will have
to register the housemaid at the
embassy within two months of
his or her arrival and acquaint
the embassy of his or her status
every four months. The directive
also asks providing one month’s
paid leave to the maid after
completion of a year, and separate
accommodation with all facilities.
The labour law of Qatar does
not address the rights of maids
working in the country. But Qatar
has already announced that it
would soon have a legislation
addressing housemaids. In the
meantime, Qatar has a law against
human trafficking which would
also apply to those who torture
housemaids by denying them
salaries, force them to work for
long hours or physically harass
them.
Countries like Philippines
have signed a memorandum
of understanding with the
government of Qatar to protect
its people who are working as
domestic helpers. Besides Nepal,
Indonesia and Kenya too have
banned its people from working
as maids in the Middle East.
Two months ago, Kenya banned
its citizens from working in the
Middle East citing that many of its
people were mistreated. Similarly,
last year Indonesia introduced a
ban on women working as maids in
the region.
With political instability and
lack of job opportunities within
Nepal, women are often compelled
to look for employment abroad.
When they leave the country
illegally like Sabina Rai, they
run the further risk of being
undocumented. The Nepali
government will never know
the exact situation of its women
working in the domestic sector
in Gulf countries. If women have
legal rights then Nepal can lobby
for their protection.
F
or many women
from underprivileged
backgrounds, getting a
job in the Middle East
is a passport to a better
life, not just for themselves, but
also for their dependents back
home.
Single women from countries
like Nepal, Indonesia, Sri Lanka
and the Philippines regularly apply
for jobs as domestic servants in the
Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC)
nations. But how successful is
their foray into the vast domestic
workforce here?
According to a case registered
with the Nepal embassy here,
Sabina Rai (name changed) came
to Delhi from her native Nepal
to fly to Qatar. Her job as a maid,
she hoped, would help her build a
better future for her family back
home.
But all her dreams were
shattered when her employer
started beating her. “I was
beaten and scolded for even a
small mistake,” said Rai, 20, in a
telephone interview.
Two domestic helpers, including
Rai from Nepal, supplied by a Sri
Lankan company to a Qatari family
two months ago, ended up locked
in an office building for days. Both
of them were returned by their
employer, who claimed that they
could not work.
The stranded workers sought
help from a Nepali boy, thanks
to a window that faced a nearby
juice shop where he worked. Until
the person responsible from the
company was identified, the boy
provided them with food. Though
one of the two has been sent to
Nepal with the help of Nepali
expatriates in Doha, Rai continues
to live alone in the building, waiting
for some documents to be redone so
that she can return home legally.
Coming from a remote Nepal
district, Rai is just 16 years of age.
But in her passport she is 20 years
old. She says she changed her age
on the advice of her recruitment
agent to get a job in Qatar.
For the past year, the Embassy of
Nepal has banned Nepali women
below the age of 30 from working
in Qatar as domestic maids. It has
also stipulated a minimum salary
of QR1,000 for them.
However, the ban’s
implementation remains a
challenge because women like Rai
continue to bend the rules and
travel via India to escape official
scrutiny.
Like Rai, Kamala Tamang, 24
(name changed) from an eastern
Nepal district too came to Qatar to
work as domestic maid even when
the Nepal government’s ban was in
force. Four years ago Tamang flew
to Doha from Mumbai, at a time
when the government of Nepal had
not permitted its women to work
as domestic helpers in any Middle
Eastern country.
Tamang is happy with her job.
“I have no complaint because I
am treated like one of the family
members of the house,” she said.
Cases like Rai’s are the main
reason for the government’s move
to fix age and salary limits on
Nepali women coming to Qatar to
work as domestic maids, officials
at the embassy in Qatar said.
“When a woman is young, the risk
of getting abused or exploited is
higher,” said Jaya Bahadur Rai,
second secretary at the embassy of
Nepal adding, “We have continued
our bilateral talks with India to
ensure that women don’t come
through India as well.”
On August 9, based on the
recommendation of Nepal mission
in Qatar, the country’s cabinet
approved a ban on women under
the age of 30 from travelling to the
Gulf countries to work as domestic
helpers. The ban is a response to
several publicised cases of abuse of
Nepali domestic workers.
The recent decision comes 18
months after the government
ended a 12-year ban on female
domestic workers in Gulf
countries.
“With the new ruling in
place, Nepal expects better
performance of its women who
work in Middle East as domestic
maids. At the same time we
hope that our women are better
protected,” said Dr Maya Kumari
Sharma, Ambassador of Nepal to
Qatar.
According to the ambassador,
the age of 30 has been fixed as
limit so that women who choose
to come to Qatar are mature
enough to take the decision of
choosing to work as maids. By the
age of 30, most Nepali women are
married and also have children. By
then, women are better equipped
with knowledge and experience
to handle household chores,
*According to Dr Maya Kumari Sharma, Ambassador of Nepal to Qatar, the age of 30 has been fixed as limit so that
women are mature enough to take the decision of choosing to work as maids.
*Besides Nepal, Indonesia and Kenya too have banned its people from working as maids in the Middle East.
Age limit less likely to prevent younger Nepali women from pursuing
employment in Qatar. By Sangeeta Rijal

• timeout • Thursday, September 6, 2012
reviews
By Connie Ogle
FILM: Darling Companion
CAST: Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard
Jenkins, Sam Shepard, Mark Duplass
DIRECTION: Lawrence Kasdan
I
f you have to stop and think about the answer
to the question “Whom do you like better, your
spouse or the dog? — and don’t act like the thought
hasn’t occurred to you more than once — Darling
Companion will have no trouble wagging its way into
your heart.
A gentle, winning comedy about a couple, Beth and
Joseph (Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline), who have drifted
apart, the movie takes a simple if shattering occurrence
and uses it as a way to bring a family together — an old
trick but one well played by director Lawrence Kasdan and
his wife and screenwriting partner, Meg.
The event in question involves a runaway dog named
Freeway, a mutt Beth and her daughter Grace (Elisabeth
Moss) rescue from the side of the road. Joseph, a busy,
distracted surgeon, objects to the idea of a pet, but there’s
never any real question that Beth, lonely because both her
girls are grown and living their own lives, is not about to
dump the dog at the pound.
So Freeway is absorbed into the household as a
treasured member of the family.
Then, a year later at Beth’s wedding at the family’s
gorgeous Rocky Mountain vacation home — Utah does
a spectacular job standing in for autumnal Colorado —
Joseph takes the dog out without a leash, and while he’s
talking on his cell phone Freeway runs off after a deer and
doesn’t return.
The rest of Darling Companion focuses on the search
for Freeway, undertaken by a distraught Beth and guilty
Joseph; his free-spirit sister Penny (Dianne Wiest); her
jovial new boyfriend Russell (Richard Jenkins), whom
Joseph suspects is taking advantage of Penny; Penny’s
grown son Bryan (Mark Duplass), who doesn’t trust
Russell either and finds himself drawn to the vacation
home’s caretaker Carmen (Ayelet Zurer).
Carmen takes the search up a notch by claiming her
gypsy ancestry allows her access to visions that Freeway
is not dead. This assertion sounds ridiculous until you
realise that whether Carmen is actually clairvoyant is
beside the point: Her goal is to bolster hope because as
long as there’s hope, Freeway remains alive.
This slight plot is an excuse to allow the various
characters to warm up to or make amends with each
other. Practical doctor Bryan finds himself trusting the
unorthodox (and beautiful) Carmen; he and Russell
have an adventure that bonds them in the way only
comically terrifying experiences can. And of course the
real relationship in need of repair is Beth and Joseph’s;
they have to move past anger and frustration as the search
drags on to some sort of understanding and acceptance
about what the rest of their lives will be like.
Darling Companion’s light tone should reassure animal
lovers that there’s no horrific Marley & Me scenario
looming at the film’s end, but the Kasdans do get the
anguish of a pet owner in distress just right. When Joseph
tells Beth that he feels bad but “we haven’t lost a person;
we’ve lost a dog,” her tearful reply cuts right to the bone:
“Love is love. It doesn’t matter if it’s a dog.”
You don’t have to love dogs to enjoy Darling
Companion, but it couldn’t hurt.—The Miami Herald/
MCT
(DVDs courtesy: Saqr Entertainment Stores, Doha)
By Roger Moore
FILM: Think Like a Man
CAST: Taraji P Henson, Kevin
Hart, Gabrielle Union, Meagan
Good
DIRECTION: Tim Story
A
humorous self-help
relationship book
becomes an amusing
and often biting take
on the war between the
sexes with Think Like a Man, based
on comic polymath Steve Harvey’s
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man.
Funny people in funny situations
deliver funny lines with, thanks to
director Tim (Barbershop) Story,
zippy timing in this somewhat
overlong but still hilarious romp
through the world of “Players”,
“Mama’s Boys” and “90-Day-Rule
Girls”.
The script follows four women
with man problems and four guys
who are the “types” creating
those problems. It lets the women
(Gabrielle Union, Taraji P Henson,
Regina Hall and Meagan Good)
discover Harvey’s best seller and
start putting its tips to use.
Mya (Good) tries to get“the
Player”(Romany Malco) to be patient
and respect her.Kristen (Union) tries
to make her beau since college,a toy-
and-movie poster-collecting fanboy
“Non-commiter”(Jerry Ferrara),
grow up and propose.“The Dreamer”
(Michael Ealy),a would-be chef,has
to hide his income and employment
status from“the Woman Who is
Her Own Man”,high-powered
businesswoman Lauren (Henson).
Single mom Candace (Hall) tries
to figure out if“Mama’s boy”Mike
(Terrence J) can be pried from his
mother’s (Jenifer Lewis,of course)
clutches.
And here’s Steve Harvey, seen on
a TV interview in one scene and at
other times speaking directly to the
camera, laying out the blunt advice.
“Don’t hate the player. Change
the game.”
“Men respect women who have
standards.”
And “don’t be a ‘chirp chirp’
girl.” (Expect the man to do more
than merely “chirp chirp” his car
locks. Make him open the door for
you.)
Biting banter rules the day
with this ensemble, with Keith
Merryman and David A Newman
peppering the script with Steve
Harveyisms and hilarious cracks
about everything from Star Trek
and Oprah to that “traitor” to men,
Harvey.
This multi-racial blend of talent
in front of and behind the camera
— Ferrara (TV’s Entourage) and
Gary Owen are the white guys in
this gang of friends — makes for
some explosively funny post-racial
America riffs on race, many of them
delivered by Cedric (Kevin Hart),
the about-to-divorce member of
the group.
Cracks about “white boy credit
scores” and Tyler Perry’s For
Coloured Girls ricochet off the
walls, with the black and white
friends pushing each other’s racial
buttons in the way only close
friends can.
“You’re not even white,” Jeremy
(Ferrara) blurts out at the “other”
white guy, the pale, redheaded and
happily married Bennett (Owen).
“You’re CLEAR.”
For all the laughs, Harvey’s
thesis — that women have to
expect more from the arrested-
development crowd that make up
“the men of this generation” —
rings true.
So do his takes on the gender-
bending nature of modern
relationships — women settling on
careers and moving up the ladder,
men clinging to childhood longer
thanks to a culture that rewards
that.
Mark Think Like a Man down as
a rare winner in a genre Hollywood
has found most dif ficult to master
in recent years: romantic comedies
that are both comic and romantic.
— MCT
A gentle, winning comedy
Relationship guide

tvlistings
06/09/12
By Jennifer Brett
H
ello from Honey Boo Boo
Country.
With a global audience
embracing the small-town,
belly-baring, GoGo Juice-
chugging 6-year-old whose antics on
Toddlers and Tiaras spawned her own show,
we decided to red-neckonise and headed
south this week to meet Alana Thompson and
her family.
“It’s been a blast,” her dad, Mike “Sugar
Bear” Thompson, said of the TLC show. The
premiere episode attracted 2.2mn viewers,
and its fan base is international.
“Honestly, it’s still surreal,” said Alana’s
mom, June Shannon, recalling a fan letter
from Italy. Her youngest daughter “will stop
in the middle of anything she is doing and
watch the commercial,” she said of the Here
Comes Honey Boo Boo promo. (“I will not!”
Alana protested.) The 6-year-old second-
grader, who invented her catchy nickname,
bounced around like a pingpong ball while we
visited on the porch.
“Can I have a Pop-Tart?” she asked, having
determined there were no Oreos in the house.
“I have three boyfriends,” she confided a few
minutes later. “I love them all equally.” Well,
maybe love is too strong a word. “You think I
love taking pictures with boys? I don’t!” Then
she displayed some sparkly pageant shoes
and noted, “I don’t wear them to school. You
know why? They start hurting.” One of the
show’s story lines concerns the quest for
more prominent pageant wins.
Lauretta Hannon of Powder Springs,
Georgia, author of The Cracker Queen, joined
in this little adventure. There is no quick
route to McIntyre, so riding with someone
makes the trip more fun. We also figured
Hannon would bring a certain je ne sais
cracker to the endeavour.
Sure enough, when family friend Tony
Lindsey arrived (he’s the one toppling over
on a four-wheeler during the Honey Boo
Boo credits), Hannon immediately started
figuring out mutual friends. Plus her mama
‘nem live in Dublin, near the site of the annual
“Redneck Games” featured on one episode.
“They personify some of the key points
of my book, one of which is the resilience,
beauty, love, bad choices and good humour
of people who don’t look so promising if you
take them at face value and interpret them
through your own biases,” Hannon said.
Her memoir includes anecdotes such
as roaring around in the butter-coloured
Cadillac her father won in a poker game with
her mother, tossing cartons of cigarettes to
inmates working on road gangs.
The show also has prompted criticism from
pundits commenting on everything from the
family’s diet to Alana’s pregnant 17-year-
old sister. Baby Kaitlyn arrived a month
ago with two right thumbs but otherwise
healthy, Shannon said. She was candid when
discussing the attention her family has
attracted.
“Yes,I got locked up,”she said,referring to
a contempt-of-court charge four years ago.
“It was the worst four days of my life.Yes,we
really do have our Christmas lights up.The
GoGo Juice was a one-time thing.”Toddlers
and Tiaras captured Alana knocking back the
Mountain Dew-energy drink concoction meant
to give her a boost during long pageant days.
“TLC has been great,” Shannon said,
adding that there is talk of a second season.
“They like that we’re not scripted.”
Driving around McIntyre, which might
take two minutes if you get stopped by the
train, we found locals who love their notable
neighbours and some who think their show
does no favours for the town of less than
1,000 people about 30 miles east of Macon.
“The show should be filmed somewhere
else,” said Terri Jackson, who works at a
convenience store around the corner from
the Honey Boo Boo clan. “I was born here
and I want to be buried here, but I don’t
want ‘hillbilly’ written on my grave.”
Florist Anita McGahee finds Honey Boo Boo
amusing even if it does make her cringe. The
show has featured members of the family
belly-flopping into mud pits, engaging in
malodorous bodily functions.
“We don’t act like that,” McGahee said.
“We do have manners.”
Phyllis Davis, another area resident, can’t
get enough. “They’re doing their thing,” she
said. “Next time y’all need a reality show,
come up to my house!”
During our visit, a Fed Ex guy showed
up and asked for a photo, leaving behind a
package containing an umbrella hat and letter
from Australian fans Michelle Mohr and Paul
Moran. Alana clamped the hat onto her head
and read the letter aloud. The second-grader
is an excellent reader, tackling the word
“Australian” with ease.
In a subsequent e-mail, Mohr explained
the appeal.
“I suppose it’s something that few
Americans and most Australians understand,”
she said. “Life is to be enjoyed and not taken
so seriously and this family gets it.”
Other visitors included a truck driver who
stopped by to say he and his wife are fans and
a car full of people who slowed down and
shouted, “We love you, Honey Boo Boo!”
“It does get crazy at times,” said Shannon,
who shoos away fans after Alana has had
enough. “I am a parent, first and foremost.
We’re down-to-earth, everyday people.
If you actually sit down and talk to me,
you realise we’re not crazy.” — The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/MCT
* Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, 6, the breakout star of Toddlers and Tiaras, now has her own show — and an international fan base.
Droppinginon
HoneyBooBoo

• timeout • Thursday, September 6, 2012 timeout • Thursday, September 6, 2012 • Page 9
Osn Cinema: The Artist; 9pm.
1000 European Tour Weekly
1030 Rugby Union Currie
Cup
1230 Futbol Mundial
1300 Trans World Sport
1400 PGA European Tour
Highlights
1500 European Tour Weekly
1530 Live PGA European
Tour
1930 Rugby Union ITM Cup
2130 Live Premier League
Snooker
0100 Trans World Sports
0200 PGA European Tour
0520 Shamwari A Wild Life
0545 RSPCA Have You Got
What It Takes?
0610 RSPCA Have You Got
What It Takes?
0635 Wildlife SOS
International
0725 Crocodile Hunter
0815 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild
0840 Breed All About It
0910 The Really Wild Show
0935 The Really Wild Show
1005 Deadly Waters
1125 Orangutan Island
1155 Animal Cops Houston
1250 Escape To Chimp Eden
1315 Escape To Chimp Eden
1345 Animal Precinct
1440 Deadly Waters
1600 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild
1630 Pandamonium
1725 Britain’s Worst Pet
1750 Britain’s Worst Pet
1820 Dogs 101
1940 Orangutan Island
2010 Animal Kingdom
2035 Shamwari A Wild Life
2105 Air Jaws Apocalypse
2350 Animal Cops Houston
0045 I’m Alive
0135 Untamed & Uncut
0225 Air Jaws Apocalypse
0315 Austin Stevens
Adventures
0405 Venom Hunter With
Donald Schultz
0455 Animal Kingdom
0515 How Do They Do It?
0540 How It’s Made
0605 Deadliest Catch
0700 American Chopper
0750 Mythbusters
0845 Ultimate Survival
0940 Border Security
1005 Auction Hunters
1125 Superhuman
Showdown
1220 Mythbusters
1315 Mythbusters
1505 Ultimate Survival
1600 American Chopper
1655 Fifth Gear
1815 Mythbusters
2100 Deconstruction
2130 American Guns
2225 First Week In
2320 Surviving Disaster
0110 Shocking Survival
Videos
0135 American Guns
0230 First Week In
0325 Surviving Disaster
0515 Mighty Ships
0605 The Future Of...
0700 Race To Mars
0750 Head Rush
0753 Weird Connections
0820 Test Case
0850 Sport Science
0940 Smash Lab
1030 The Gadget Show
1120 Mighty Ships
1210 Race To Mars
1300 Meteorite Men
1350 NASA’s Greatest
Missions
1445 Smash Lab
1600 Head Rush
1603 Weird Connections
1630 Test Case
1750 Sport Science
Missions
1930 Speed Junkie
2020 Bang Goes The Theory
2200 Speed Junkie
2340 Sport Science
0035 Mighty Ships
0215 Speed Junkie
0335 Smash Lab
Missions
0540 Trapped
0635 Travel Madness
0700 Travel Madness
0730 Most Amazing
Moments
0825 Dog Whisperer
0920 World’s Deadliest
Animals
1015 Shanghai Super Tower
2100 Witness
2200 Locked Up Abroad
2300 Megastructures
0000 Secrets of The Taj
Mahal
0100 Witness
0200 Locked Up Abroad
0255 Megastructures
0445 World’s Weirdest
0500 Quest Means Business
0600 The Situation Room
0700 World Sport
0730 Talk Asia
0800 World Report
0900 World Report
1000 World Sport
1030 Eco Solutions
1100 World Business Today
1200 Amanpour
1230 Living Golf
1300 World One
1400 Piers Morgan Tonight
1500 News Stream
1600 World Business Today
1700 International Desk
1800 Global Exchange
1845 CNN Marketplace
Middle East
1900 World Sport
1930 Living Golf
2000 International Desk
2100 Quest Means Business
2145 CNN Marketplace
Europe
2200 Amanpour
2230 CNN Newscenter
2300 Connect The World
With Becky...
0000 Amanpour
0030 World Sport
0200 World Report
0300 Anderson Cooper 360
0600 Privileged
0645 Better Of Ted
0730 Extreme Celebrity
rehab
0815 Eastwick
0900 30 Rock
0930 30 rock
1000 Privileged
1100 Eastwick
1200 Keeping Up With The
Kardashians
1230 Keeping Up With The
Kardashians
1300 Home Shopping
1330 Zaman Ki
1645 Home Shopping
1700 Top Chef
1800 Movie Step Up
1930 New So You Think You
can Dance S8
2130 Movie The Last Kiss
2300 Damages S3
0000 Damages
0100 Movie Step Up
0230 Glee
0500 Sunrise
0800 Sky News With
Charlotte Hawkins
0830 Sky News
0900 Sky News With Colin
Brazier
0930 Sky News
1030 Sky News
1100 Sky News With Colin
Brazier
1130 Sky News
1200 Boulton & Co
1230 Boulton & Co
1330 Sky News
1430 Sky News
1530 Sky News
1630 Sky News
1730 Sky News
1800 Jeff Randall Live
1830 Jeff Randall Live
1900 News, Sport, Weather
2000 Sky News At Nine
2030 Press Preview
2100 Sky News At Ten
2130 Sky News At Ten
2230 Press Preview
2300 Sky Midnight News
2330 Cbs News
0000 News On The Hour
0030 News, Sport, Weather
0100 News On The Hour
0130 Cbs News
0200 Sky World News
0230 Sky World Review &
Business Report
0300 Sky World News
Business Report
0400 Sky World News
Business Report
0630 The New World
0900 The Replacements
1100 Fair Game
1300 Catwoman
1500 Forever Strong
1700 The New World
1900 The Illusionist
2100 Spider-Man 3
2330 Tropic Thunder
0230 The Lodger
0300 The Last Sin Eater
0545 The 4400
0630 Jag
0715 Knockout Sportsworld
0815 Terminator The Series
0900 Kings
0945 The 4400
1115 Cops, Cars &
Superstars Bullrun
1130 WWE Afterburn
1515 Action Ya Dawry
1600 Fist Of The Warrior
1730 WWE Afterburn
1845 WWE Afterburn
1930 The Quest
2100 WWE Raw
0000 Mr. Nice Guy
0300 WWE Raw
0445 The Quest
0500 M1 Challenge
0555 Pro Bull Riders 2010
0700 Ride Guide Snow 2009
0725 Ride Guide Snow 2009
0755 Alli Presents
0850 AMA Motocross 2011
0945 Blood, Sweat And Gears
1040 Fantasy Factory
1230 Transworld Sessions
1325 Mantracker
1420 World Combat League
1610 Alli Presents
1705 AMA Motocross 2011
1950 Mantracker
2140 Kenny Belaey’s Big
Time
Time
2235 TNA Greatest Matches
2330 M1 Challenge
0025 Aiya TV
0050 Aiya TV
0310 TNA Greatest Matches
Time
Time
0600 Kung Fu Panda 2-PG
0800 Love The Beast-PG
1000 Spy Kids All The Time
In The World-PG
1145 X-Men First Class-PG15
1400 Flash Of Genius-PG15
1600 Love The Beast-PG
1800 Transformers Dark Of
The Moon-PG15
2030 The Romantics-PG15
2215 Piranha-R
0000 Looking For Eric-18
0200 Transformers Dark Of
The Moon-PG15
0430 Flash Of Genius-PG15
0500 Vengeance-PG15
0700 The Reunion-PG15
0900 Final Fantasy The
Spirits Within-PG
1100 Vengeance-PG15
1300 Dangerous Flowers-
PG15
1500 Final Fantasy The
Spirits Within-PG
1700 X-Men-PG15
1900 Alien-18
2100 The Echo-18
2300 The Speak-18
0100 Alien-18
0300 The Echo-18
0515 Arthur-PG15
0715 The Cry Of The Owl-
PG15
0900 The Borrowers-PG
1100 Yogi Bear-FAM
1300 The Lost Future-PG15
1500 Love Hurts-PG15
1700 Green Lantern-PG15
1900 It’s Kind Of A Funny
Story-PG15
2100 The Artist-PG
2300 Last Night-PG15
0100 It’s Kind Of A Funny
Story-PG15
0300 Love Hurts-PG15
0630 The Proposal
0815 When A Man Loves A
Woman
1000 The Hurricane
1145 Cocktail
1330 El Cantante
1500 The Perfect Roommate
1645 American Heart
1830 El Cantante
2000 Mulan
2145 No Such Thing
2330 When In Rome
0115 The Proposal
0300 When A Man Loves A
Woman
0445 No Such Thing
0700 Julie-PG
0840 Anna Christie-PG
1010 Home From The Hill-PG
1245 Each Dawn I Die-PG
1415 Ride The High Country-
PG
1550 The Sandpiper-PG
1745 The Tender Trap-PG
1940 Kelly’s Heroes-PG
2200 What’s Up, Doc?-FAM
2335 The Color Purple
0205 Quo Vadis-PG
0455 The Journey-FAM
0600 Love And Mary-PG15
0800 The Open Road-PG15
1000 The Bad News Bears
(2005)-PG
1200 Fat Albert-PG
1400 Mean Girls 2-PG15
(2005)-PG
1800 Can’t Hardly Wait-PG15
2000 Life As We Know It-
PG15
2200 Cyrus-18
0000 Beavis And Butt-Head
Do America-PG15
0200 Can’t Hardly Wait-PG15
(2005)-PG
0500 Dog Days Of Summer
0630 House Arrest
0830 Shrek 2
1000 The End Of The Affair
1100 The Sisterhood Of The
Traveling Pants
1330 Lucky You
1500 Shrek The Third
1700 Ella Enchanted
1900 Blind Dating
2100 The Story Of Us
2300 Bad Santa
0045 The Sisterhood Of The
Traveling Pants
0230 Finding Home
0430 The End Of The Affair
0500 Thin Red Line, The
0700 William Shakespeare’s
Romeo + Juliet
0900 Painted Veil,The
1100 Thin Red Line, The
1400 William Shakespeare’s
Romeo + Juliet
1600 Paid In Full
1800 E! Special Reese
Witherspoon
1900 Duchess, The
2100 Upside Of Anger, The
No
2300 Invincible
0100 Miss March
0300 Mr. Brooks
0530 The Bold and the
Beautiful (Season 8)
0600 Emirates News
0630 Smallville (Season 7)
0730 CSI Miami (Season 5)
0830 Gilmore Girls (Season
7)
0930 Fracture
1200 CSI Las Vegas (Season
7)
7)
1430 Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix
7)
1930 Emirates News
7)
2100 I Am Legend
2300 Max Payne
0100 Frantic
0300 The Closer (Season 4)
0400 Films & Stars
7)
0500 Dars E Hadith
0530 Yoga For you
0600 Kismet Ke Sitaare
0700 Khana khazana
0730 Narayan Sewa Sangh
0800 Hitler Didi
0830 Rab Se Sohna Isshq
0900 Pavitra Rishta
0930 Phir Subha Hogi
1030 Afsar Bitiya
1100 GTM
1130 Ramayan
1200 Ramayan
1300 Punar Vivah
1400 Hitler Didi
1500 Teleshopping
1530 Pavitra Rishta
1700 Afsar Bitiya
1800 Bollywood Business
1830 Sapne Suhane
Ladakpan Ke
1900 Hitler Didi
2000 Pavitra Rishta
2300 Silver Screen (Chalo
Delhi)
0000 Dance Ke Super Kids
0300 Ramayan
0330 Ramayan
0400 Baba Ramdev
0430 Baba Ramdev
OSN Movies Action: Final Fantasy The Spirits Within; 3pm.

• timeout• Thursday, September 6, 2012
0500 Ruk Jana Nahi
0530 Pyaar Ka Dard Meetha
Meetha Pyara Pyara
0600 Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam
Doon
0630 Awakening With
Brahmakumari
0700 Ek Dusre Se Karte Hai
Hum Pyaar
0730 Saath Nibhana
Saathiya
0800 Teleshopping
0900 Ek Hazaron Main Meri
Behna
0930 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata
Hai
1000 Diya Aur Baati
Meetha Pyara Pyara
Doon
1200 Ruk Jana Nahi
1230 Saath Nibhana
Saathiya
Hai
Hum Pyaar
Doon
Behna
1600 Diya Aur Baati
Hai
Meetha Pyara Pyara
1730 Ruk Jana Nahi
1800 Saath Nibhana
Saathiya
Hum Pyaar
Doon
Behna
2000 Diya Aur Baati
Hai
Meetha Pyara Pyara
2130 Mann kee Awaaz
Pratigya
Behna
Hum Pyaar
2300 Saath Nibhana
Saathiya
Doon
0000 Diya Aur Baati
Hai
0100 Mann kee Awaaz
Pratigya
Meetha Pyara Pyara
Doon
Hum Pyaar
Behna
0330 Saath Nibhaana
Saathiya
Hai
0430 Diya Aur Baati
0500 Ugly Betty
0540 Criminal Minds
0620 COPS
0640 Cougar Town
0700 Gary Unmarried
0720 90210
0800 Castle
0840 Melissa and Joey
0900 Cougar Town
0920 Private Practice
1000 Ugly Betty
1040 COPS
1100 Gary Unmarried
1140 Castle
1220 Ugly Betty
1300 Criminal Minds
1340 COPS
1400 90210
1540 Cougar Town
1600 Castle
1640 Criminal Minds
1720 Gary Unmarried
1740 90210
1840 Ugly Betty
2000 90210
2040 Criminal Minds
2120 Castle
2220 Scrubs
2240 Gary Unmarried
2300 Criminal Minds
2340 Cougar Town
0215 Fillers
0240 Brothers& Sisters
0320 Brothers& Sisters
0400 90210
0440 90210
0505 Ben 10 Ultimate Alien
0530 Ben 10 Ultimate Alien
0555 Angelo Rules
0625 Casper’s Scare School
0700 The Amazing World Of
Gumball
0715 Adventure Time
0740 Johnny Test
0805 Grim Adventures Of...
0945 Bakugan Mechtanium
Surge
1010 Young Justice
1035 Powerpuff Girls
1215 Ed, Edd n Eddy
1305 Ben 10
1355 Eliot Kid
1445 Angelo Rules
1640 Johnny Test
1700 Level Up
1730 Regular Show
1820 Total Drama Island
1845 Total Drama Island
1910 Adventure Time
1935 Generator Rex
2000 Ben 10 Alien Force
2115 Grim Adventures Of...
2250 Ben 10
2315 Ben 10
2340 Chowder
0030 Bakugan New Vestroia
0055 Bakugan New Vestroia
0325 Ben 10
0350 Adventure Time
0440 Generator Rex
0500 Double Shot
0530 XO
0630 LOOP
0730 The Playlist
0800 TOP 5
0830 LOOP
0930 Double Shot
1000 LOOP
1100 The Playlist
1130 TOP 5
1200 [V]S
1300 Double Shot
1330 XO
1430 LOOP
1530 The Playlist
1600 TOP 5
1630 [V]S
1730 Double Shot
1800 LOOP
1900 The Playlist
1930 TOP 5
2000 [V]S
2100 Double Shot
2130 XO
2230 LOOP
2330 The Playlist
0000 [V]S
0100 TOP 5
0130 Double Shot
0200 LOOP
0300 The Playlist
0330 TOP 5
0400 [V]S
0500 Lock N’ Load
0600 Ancient Aliens
0700 Pawn Stars
0730 Storage Wars
0800 UFO Hunters
0900 Lock N’ Load
1000 Pawn Stars
1030 Storage Wars
1100 Ancient Aliens
1200 Swamp People
1300 Top Shot
1400 Lock N’ Load
1500 UFO Hunters
1600 Swamp People
1700 Top Shot
1800 Lock N’ Load
1900 UFO Hunters
2000 Pawn Stars
2030 Storage Wars
2100 Ancient Aliens
2200 Ice Road Truckers
2300 Ax Men
0000 Pawn Stars
0030 Storage Wars
0100 Ancient Aliens
0200 Ice Road Truckers
0300 Ax Men
0400 UFO Hunters
0510 Anthony Ant
0535 Angelina Ballerina
0615 Oswald
0630 Dragon
0642 Dragon
0655 Bob The Builder
0705 Thomas And Friends
0715 Mumuhug
0720 Kipper
0730 Wild Life
0740 Barney And Friends
0805 Igloo-Gloo
0817 Lots & Lots Of...
0955 Jarmies
1010 Danny & Daddy Duet
1015 Pingu
1020 Pingu
1025 Benjamin’s Farm
1035 Baby Antonio’s Circus
1040 Zoo Mix
1044 Zoo Mix
1230 Mega Minimals
1237 Mega Minimals
1245 Jarmies
1300 Igloo-Gloo
1325 See The Sea
1330 My Animal Family
1405 Oswald
1420 Dragon
1432 Dragon
1510 Mumuhug
1740 Kipper
1951 Mega Minimals
1957 See The Sea
2110 Kipper
2120 Mega Minimals
2127 Mega Minimals
2135 Pingu
2235 Kipper
2310 Anthony Ant
2346 Oswald
0045 Mumuhug
0050 See The Sea
0203 Igloo-Gloo
0215 Anthony Ant
0252 Oswald
0305 Dragon
0317 Dragon
0415 The Magic Key
Adventures
0425 Kipper
0435 Wild Life
0440 Wild Life
0445 Pingu
0450 Pingu
0455 Igloo-Gloo
0510 Fairly Odd Parents
0600 Phineas And Ferb
0615 Suite Life On Deck
0705 The Adventures Of
Disney Fairies
0730 Recess
0755 So Random
0820 Timon And Pumbaa
0845 Mickey Mouse
Clubhouse
0910 Jake & The Neverland
Pirates
0925 Handy Manny
0935 The Hive
0945 Mouk
1000 Jonas
1025 So Random
1050 Hannah Montana
1115 Fish Hooks
1125 Fish Hooks
1140 Kim Possible
1205 Shake It Up
1320 Timon And Pumbaa
1500 Austin And Ally
1525 Shake It Up
1615 Jessie
1640 Good Luck Charlie
1730 Wizards Of Waverly
Place
1820 Austin And Ally
1910 A.N.T. Farm
2000 Jessie
2115 Jonas
2140 Jonas
Place
Place
2345 Kim Possible
0100 Brandy & Mr Whiskers
0150 Replacements
0215 Replacements
0240 Emperor’s New School
0305 Emperor’s New School
0420 Replacements
0445 Replacements
0600 Kid vs Kat
0615 Pokemon Black And
White
0640 Zeke & Luther
0705 Kickin It
0730 Ultimate Spider-Man
0820 Pair Of Kings
0845 Kick Buttowski
0910 Zeke & Luther
0935 I’m In The Band
1000 Scaredy Squirrel
1025 Pokemon Black And
White
1050 Rated A For Awesome
1115 Aaron Stone
1140 Rekkit Rabbit
1205 American Dragon
1230 Kick Buttowski
1255 Kid vs Kat
1320 Pair Of Kings
1345 Zeke & Luther
1410 Kid vs Kat
1525 Scaredy Squirrel
1615 Lab Rats
1640 Pair Of Kings
1705 Mr. Young
1730 Kickin It
1800 Kick Buttowski
1825 Zeke & Luther
2005 Zeke & Luther
2030 Zeke & Luther
2120 Mr. Young
2210 Kick Buttowski
2235 Kid vs Kat

FILM: One in the Chamber
CAST: Cuba Gooding Jr, Dolph
Lundgren, Billy Murray
DIRECTION: William Kaufman
M
odern day Prague.
A seasoned US
assassin for hire
Ray Carver (Cuba
Gooding Jr) is
working far away from home,
making good money doing what he
does best — killing people.
Ray has his own reasons to be in
Prague as well — a young beautiful
girl, whom he follows every day for
unknown reasons.
In the meantime, there are
several crime families operating in
the city, and Carver is hired by one
of them to do the dirty job.
When the mission fails, and
Carver realises he’s been set up, he
has very little time on his hands to
figure out the situation, as one of
the crime families has already hired
another specialist, Alexei “The
Wolf” Andreev (Dolph Lundgren) to
finish the job, and get rid of Carver
as well.
If you have watched a lot of
“straight to video, DVD” movies,
this action movie is exactly what
you would expect it to be. If you can
bear the fact that Prague was “shot”
in Romania, for financial reasons
obviously, let’s continue.
The $5mn One in the Chamber
is basically a two-man show, with
Gooding and Lundgren. They carry
the whole film, from start to finish.
However, though Cuba’s
performances in such films is
usually enjoyable, here he’s a lot
less than impressive, as his type of
“hit-man” is your usual guy.
Despite the fact that both
Gooding and Lundgren are
technically “bad guys”, or hitmen,
the film openly shows us that
Gooding is in fact a protagonist.
Lundgren is a completely
different story. His character of
Alexei Andreev is the complete
opposite of Gooding’s. Andreev is
a communist (as tattoos of Engels,
Lenin and Stalin on his back show),
who seems to have turned into a
capitalist with a gun in his hand.
He walks around in a Hawaiian
shirt, an old hat, he’s driving old
’70s cars, and he’s ruthless too.
Lundgren gets less screen time in
the film than Gooding Jr, however
his character is bigger and more
interesting to explore.
In the film, the “Big Swede” is
billed second after Gooding, while
IMDB has put the Oscar-winning
Gooding after Lundgren.
Both stars get to trade blows,
and they have quite a nice fight in
the film — a great addition to other
action that One in the Chamber
provides.
William Kaufman does a good
job directing the action scenes, no
shaky cam was spotted.
Cast list also includes UK
veteran actor Billy Murray and
Louis Mandylor, who seems to feel
comfortable playing villains one
film after another.
Overall, if you are able to take
this film for what it is, then it is
enjoyable for sure. Gooding gets
one thumb up for standing up to
Lundgren and even roundhouse
kicking him in the face (oh yes, you
get to see that one), while Lundgren
gets two thumbs up for bringing
such a vivid character to life. —
bzfilm.com
Atwo-manshow
offisticuffs
By Cary Darling
FILM: Safe
CAST: Jason Statham, Catherine
Chan
DIRECTION: Boaz Yakin
R
ule No 1: If you love Jason
Statham and his brand of
neck-stomping, head-
busting killin’ skills, then
you’re probably going to
like his latest blast of movie mayhem,
Safe.
Rule No 2: If you don’t like
Statham, then this one a wide berth.
But, if you fall somewhere in the
middle — appreciative of Statham’s
talents at pounding and pummelling
but feel some of his more recent
movies like Transporter 3 and The
Mechanic left something to be desired
— then Safe is more of a mixed bag
full of the same ol’, same ol’.
Statham is Luke Wright, a down-
on-his-luck former cop trying to
make a living on the cage-fighting
circuit. When he doesn’t take
a dive as ordered, he angers the
Russian mob, who kill his wife and
tell him they’re going to, one by
one, slaughter anyone who has any
relationship with him — even his
landlady. With nothing left to live for,
and not wanting to get anyone else
hurt, he considers suicide by subway
when he notices a young, scared
Chinese girl (Catherine Chan) being
chased through the train station by
these same goons.
Turns out she’s being hunted by
the Russians, Chinese gangsters, and
crooked cops because she’s the only
one who knows the code to a safe
containing millions of dollars. Faster
than you can say “skull fracture”,
Luke has something to live — and
fight — for.
Directed by Boaz Yakin (Remember
the Titans) with a brawny efficiency,
Safe gets the job done. There’s a
car-chase scene going the wrong
way down a one-way street that’s
absolutely thrilling and the fight
choreography is often wince-
inducing. Few can turn men into
meatloaf better than Statham
(though, after seeing Indonesian
martial-arts star Iko Uwais in The
Raid: Redemption, Statham definitely
has some company).
Still, in recent years, Statham has
shown he can handle something
slightly more complicated (The Bank
Job) or chosen films with a sense of
pop-culture humour (Death Race,
Crank) that gave them an extra kick.
Unfortunately, Safe doesn’t fall into
either of these categories. Ultimately,
Safe lives up to its title. — The Fort
Worth Star-Telegram/MCT
(DVDs courtesy:
Saqr Entertainment Stores, Doha)
Statham plays it
a little too ‘Safe’

women
Page 12 • timeout • Thursday, September 6, 2012
W
hen she was
20 years old,
Alphonsina Zara
was pregnant with
her first child.
After three days of excruciating
labour, though she was in a health
centre, her baby was stillborn.
Doctors found that she had
developed a hole in her birth canal,
a severe medical condition called
obstetric fistula. She not only lost
her baby, it disrupted her life for the
next 14 years.
The injury is usually caused by
complications during childbirth,
such as a prolonged labour that
can cause muscle tissues to tear,
creating a hole in the birth canal.
If left untreated — as it is for
tens of thousands of women — it
causes them to urinate or defecate
continuously. Fistula can occur
when care is inadequate, when
women give birth at home, at
an early age, or with traditional
healers. “It is really a problem of
poverty,” said Edwige Ravaomanana
of the UN Population Fund, and a
simple and cheap operation could
turn around many lives.
The condition was eradicated
in wealthy countries in the 19th
century, but the World Health
Organisation (WHO) says it still
afflicts 2mn women in Africa and
developing Asia.
“It’s also because women can’t go
to a (clinic). Maybe because of the
distance, maybe because they don’t
know,” said Ravaomanana. “The
women who live far try to give birth
with a matron,” a traditional birth
attendant.”
Madagascar, one of the world’s
poorest countries, alone accounts
for 2,000 of the more than 50,000
new fistula cases each year around
the globe, according to UN data.
As much as 81% of the population
on this island nation off southeast
Africa live on less than $1.25 a day.
Health facilities are widely
scattered across the country, the
world’s fourth-largest island where
80% of the population lives in rural
areas.
About 65% of them reside more
than 10km from their nearest health
centre, according to the health
ministry.
That distance often is travelled
by foot because Madagascar has few
roads and little transport, forcing
women to give birth at home with
traditional midwives. Widespread
fistula here is also blamed on early
pregnancy, which is very common
in Madagascar. “It’s also the
tradition. Starting from 18, they
are considered old. At 30, a woman
can already have 10 children,”
Ravaomanana said.
A surgical procedure that costs
about $300 can close the hole
and return a woman’s life back
to normal. But until 2011, only
two doctors on Madagascar could
perform the operation.
A €300,000 ($374,000)
campaign by the health ministry
and the UN Population Fund has
trained 14 more, and performed
106 operations in the tourist beach
town of Tulear.
Aphonsina was one of them.
In the soft red sun of a winter
afternoon, Alphonsina said her
baby’s father left her because of the
constant smell of urine. “People
were talking about me, they were
saying I smell bad. When I was
getting close to people, they would
leave,” Alphonsina said with a shy
voice.
Fortunately, her parents did not
reject her. She lived with them and
worked as a fish vendor for years.
She consulted the nearest hospital,
which eventually sent her to Tulear.
“When I came here, the doctor
made me come every three months
and still didn’t heal me,” she said. In
Tulear, she started selling fabric.
“Where I live right now, I’m
making friends, not like before.
Though I still don’t have a lot of
friends,” Alphonsina said. She lives
in a small grass hut on a sandy road,
has a mattress and very few objects
in her house, which she rents for
about $5 a month.
Her life has improved, but she’s
not cured, having the misfortune
to be among the 10% of women
who aren’t completely healed after
the surgery. Alphonsina’s doctor
said she needs another operation
which, with medicine, will cost
$100 — money that she doesn’t
have. — AFP
Givingbirth
ariskyaffair
In Madagascar, little help for difficult
pregnancies. By Andreea Campeanu
*Alphonsina Zara in Tulear, South of Madagascar. She has had the obstetric fistula since the age of 20, because of childbirth complication when she was
giving birth to her first child.
*Felicia has had obstetric fistula since the age of 18, because of childbirth
complication when she was giving birth to her first child. She lived with it
for the following 12 years, until 2011, when she was operated, and now she is
completely cured.

MESushers
innewterm
M
ES Indian School kickstarted the second term of the academic
year 2012-2013 with the principal’s address on September 1, in
an orientation programme for the teaching faculty, prior to the
reopening of the school.
Principal A P Sasidharan briefed the staff about the recent
reforms to be introduced in the CBSE curriculum, which focus on Value Based
Questions, Open Book Examination and Problem Solving Assessment Test
exclusively for classes IX and XI. “With determination and dedication any
challenge can be coped with,” remarked the principal.
He also introduced the newly joined teachers during the function. There was a
section wise meeting by the heads of departments to discuss the various reforms
introduced in the CBSE curriculum. Dr Sophia Rajani, co-ordinator for the
orientation programme, compered the function.
*Students accompanied by parents attend the first day of school.
*A view of the cultural procession held as part of the Onam celebrations of
the CCC Samajam in their camp in Al Khor.
*Trainer NV Kabeer addresses the teachers on new educational
strategies.
SIS holds training
camp for teachers
A
two-day training session on new
educational strategies was held
recently at Shantiniketan Indian
School (SIS).Led by eminent
trainer NV Kabeer,it focused on
the topic —‘Towards value loaded excellence’.
The programme was inaugurated by K C
Latheef,president of the school and presided
over by principal Mohamed Ismail.
The president urged the teaching
community to take up the challenges of the
time and to refresh and update the knowledge
and attitude according to the need of hour.
Joint secretary Abdul Khader spoke on the
occasion.Shihabudheen Pulath,headmaster,
welcomed the gathering.Karunakaran
proposed vote of thanks.
Best wishes! Pakistani ambassador to Qatar, Mohamed Sarfraz Khanzada (front row, second right) at the wedding
ceremony of Salma Rais, daughter of noted Doha-based banker Rais Uddin Siddiqui. Prominent members of the
Pakistani community attended the event held recently at Best Western Hotel in Doha.
Share news of your community events with us!
E-mail features@gulf-times.com or call Gulf Times Features Department on 44466405 (6-8pm).
CCC Samajam
celebrates Onam
M
embers of the CCC
Malayali Samajam,
an expatriate forum,
celebrated Onam
festival at their camp
in Al Khor recently.Malayalis all
over the world celebrated Onam on
August 29.
CCC Malayali Samajam in Qatar
consists of Keralites working
in Consolidated Contractors
International Company,one of the
major construction ﬁrms having
presence throughout the region.It
is one of the numerically stronger
forums (5,000 members) among the
country’s Keralites.
At the function held prior to the
celebrations,company officials
Mohamed Bayomi and M Kamal
greeted the members.
General convenor C S Narayana
Kurup lighted the traditional lamp to
mark the start of the event,attended
by a large number of Indians,and
other nationalities in the camp.
As part of the celebrations,a
host of cultural and art forms of
Kerala such as Theyyam,Puli Kali,
Kavadiyattam,Kummatti were on the
display.
Camp administrator Suresh Babu
inaugurated the cultural procession.
Joseph Francis,Sunil Kumar Kurup,
Johan Binumon,Shaji Mathew
Surendran Pillai and Maniyappan
were among others who led the
procession.
Floral carpet,one of the key
attractions of the celebrations,was
laid by a team of Sunil Kumar Arjun,
Sunil Kumar Kurup,Aby P Baby and
Prasil Kumar.
A sumptuous Onam feast was also
served to the huge gathering.At the
ceremony,the forum honoured the
children of members who performed
well in school examinations.Student
Maya Mohan received the prize for
scoring the highest marks.

comicsAdam
PoochCafe
Garfield
BoundAndGagged
Wordsearch
Codeword
Every letter of the alphabet is used at least once.
Squares with the same number in have the same letter
in. Work out which number represents which letter.
Puzzlescourtesy:Puzzlechoice.com
ChangeWord
By changing one letter at a time to form a new word,
transform the beginning word to the ending word in the
rated number of steps (or fewer).
Puzzlecourtesy:allstarpuzzles.com
L O V E
G L E E

puzzles
horoscopes
Sudoku is a puzzle based on
a 9x9 grid. The grid is also
divided into nine (3x3) boxes.
You are given a selection
of values and to complete
the puzzle, you must fill the
grid so that every column,
every row and every 3x3 box
contains the digits 1 to 9 and
none is repeated.
Sudoku SpotTheDifference
An older loved one may be having problems. Your
energetic nature and ability to initiate projects
will add to your popularity. Fitness or weight loss
programmes will help your self esteem.
You will have some problems with children,
but if you are patient you will win their favour.
Put something away in case of an emergency.
Confront a situation calmly.
Your determination and sheer desire to do your
own thing will be successful. You might get
behind if you spend too much time debating
senseless issues.
Your ability to ferret out secret information
will lead you to an inside scoop on an amazing
financial deal. You may find that someone at work
hasn’t been trustworthy.
Relax and enjoy what you’ve accomplished when
you’re finished. Don’t let children hold you back
from doing things you enjoy. Your outgoing
nature will surprise others today.
Don’t trust co-workers with important or personal
information. You may divulge private information
without realising it today. Don’t be too quick to
react.
Don’t lament to a friend about any grievance
regarding your mate, or it may be hard to rectify
your relationship. You must not allow them to
force you to rush.
One-sided attractions are likely. Don’t spend
more than is necessary on travel or friends. Be
professional, and you will advance much more
quickly.
Socialising will be more than just entertaining.
Pamper yourself; the self esteem it brings you will
be most gratifying. It’s a favourable time for real
estate investments.
You should get involved with activities that can
be enjoyed by both young and old alike. You can
make financial gains if you are prepared to take a
risk. Don’t get talked into get-rich-quick schemes.
You need to keep the peace and you will have to
bend in order to do so. Praise will be yours if you
have been pursuing your goals. Your ability to be
a self-starter will help get things done.
Invite friends or relatives into your home. You
can make favourable real estate offers today. You
will communicate easily and should be able to
accomplish all that you set out to do.
ARIES21Mar-20Apr CANCER22Jun-22Jul
TAURUS21Apr-21May LEO23Jul-22Aug SCORPIO24Oct-22 Nov
GEMINI22May-21Jun VIRGO23Aug-23Sep SAGITTARIUS23Nov-21Dec PISCES20Feb-20Mar
LIBRA24Sep-23Oct CAPRICORN 22 Dec-20Jan
AQUARIUS21Jan-19Feb
Solution on Page 16

Down
1. Persuade (8)
2. Totter (7)
4. On fire (6)
5. Misleading (10)
6. Check accounts (5)
7. Smooth (4)
10. Happen (4,2,4)
12. Slenderness (8)
15. Pamper (7)
16. Paleness (6)
18. Big (5)
19. Raced (4)
Across
1. Throw (4)
3. The profile (4-4)
8. Close (4)
9. Oust (8)
11. Well (2,4,6)
13. Bend (6)
14. Terminate (6)
17. Abruptly (3,2,1,6)
20. Easily carried (8)
21. Hint (4)
22. Kitchen sideboards (8)
23. Minus (4)
Across
1. Amusing people in the show,
it seems (4)
3. Monocle required to look at
the tumbler (8)
8. Tidy collection of cattle (4)
9. Motorway in excellent
setting having the most traffic
lanes? (8)
11. Kind of office for mislaid
piece of theatrical equipment
(4,8)
13. South African gin for the
Persian governor (6)
14. Is obliged with some
hesitation to gather the troops
(6)
17. Presumably they were often
reduced to living on the rocks!
(4-8)
20. Correcting the script, we
hear (8)
21. Not working in squalid leg-
shows (4)
22. Chaps near at hand are
good at odd jobs (8)
23. Amphibian went astray (4)
Down
1. For the hoisting device, the girl
has to turn the handle first (8)
2. Conveyance for variety artist
round the north (7)
4. Worry on return about a plant
of the milfoil family (6)
5. Completely following the
prayer in an elegant way (10)
6. Expert incorrectly taped (5)
7. Cause one to be completely
fed up! (4)
10. Father or mother in different
play, seemingly (10)
12. Could it eventually be
enlarged into Half Moon Street?
(8)
15. Operated by the footplateman
(7)
16. Improvised dance music with
eastern beat! (6)
18. The embargo now includes
gas (5)
19. Tree topped for rustic feature
(4)
puzzlesQuickClues CrypticClues
Prayer Time
Fajr 3.58am
Shorooq (sunrise) 5.16am
Zuhr (noon) 11.32am
Asr (afternoon) 3.01pm
Maghreb (sunset) 5.49pm
Isha (night) 7.19pm
Consumer Complaints
(Food control department)
Head of dept 44347633
Help Line
Is drinking a problem for you or
someone you love?
Call Alcoholics Anonymous:
55605901
Hospitals
VISITING HOURS:
HamadGeneralHospital,
Women’sHospitaland Rumaillah
Hospital:6amto7.30am,4pmto8pm.
Useful Numbers
Police, Fire, Ambulance 999
HMC 44392222
Women’s (Rumaillah) 44393333
HMC (Emergency) 44392111
Water & Electricity 991
Flight Inquiries 44622999
Doha Seaport 44457457
Museum of Islamic Art 44224444
Private & Mumtaz Post 44621094
Q Post Registered Mail 44464131
Q Post Customer Service 44464172
Ship Phone Service 44864444
Ministry of Interior main
switchboard 44330000
Public Department
for passports,
nationality and residence 44882882
Capital Security Dept 44444420
Criminal Info Dept 44477477
Boundaries and Coasts
Security 44414488
Civil Defence
Department 44413666
Rescue Service 44682888
Doha Zoo 44682888
The Grand Cinecentre 44839064
Cinema Palace 44320938
The Mall Cineplex 44678666
Cinema Land 44881674
Gulf & Doha Cinema 44671811
Qatar National Theater 44831246
DVD, Video releases
ENGLISH: Think Like A Man
(Taraji P. Henson); Darling
Companion (Diane Keaton); One
In The Chamber (Cuba Gooding
Jr.); Safe (Jason Statham); Avengers
Assemble (Robert Downey Jr.); Lol
(Miley Cyrus); Battleship (Taylor
Kitsch); Warriors Of The Rainbow
(Lin Ching-Tai); The Hunger
Games (Jennifer Lawrence); The
Lucky One (Zac Efron); Bernie
(Jack Black); Jiro Dreams Of Sushi
(Documentary); The Gruffalo’s
Child (animation); The Raid (Iko
Uwais); Marley,(Documentary);
Hatfields And Mccoys (Kevin
Costner); The Pirates! Band of
Misﬁts (animation); Age of the
Dragons (Danny Glover); Boss
Season One (Kelsey Grammer);
Alphas Season One (David
Straithairn); Strike Back: Season
One (Philip Winchester); The Three
Stooges (Sean Hayes).
HINDI: Agent Vinod (Saif Ali
Khan); Kahaani (Vidya Balan);
Breakaway (Vinay Virmani);
Don 2: The King is Back (Shah
Rukh Khan); Pappu Can’t Dance
Saala (Vinay Pathak); Agneepath
(Hrithik Roshan); Paan Singh
Tomar (Irrfan Khan).
Information
QUICK
Across: 1 Agriculture; 9
Realise; 10 Paste; 11 Extra; 12
Succour; 13 Indeed; 15 Egress;
18 Incline; 20 Steam; 22 Usage;
23 Certain; 24 Pertinacity.
Down: 2 Grant; 3 Imitate; 4
Uneasy; 5 Topic; 6 Restore; 7
Irreligious; 8 Refreshment; 14
Declare; 16 Gastric; 17 Beacon;
19 Inert; 21 Exact.
CRYPTIC
Across: 1 Fell through; 9
Thistle; 10 Arena; 11 Gusto; 12
Elector; 13 Feline; 15 Starve; 18
Inspect; 20 Roost; 22 Hoist; 23
Theatre; 24 Escape route.
Down: 2 Exits; 3 Let down; 4
Heeded; 5 Orate; 6 Greater; 7
Stage fright; 8 Fair weather; 14
Lassies; 16 Torpedo; 17 Statue;
19 Extra; 21 Octet.
Answers
Wordsearch
Codeword
Change Word
L O V E
L O S E
L O S T
L O U T
G O U T
G L U T
G L U E
G L E E
Yesterday’sSolutions
SpotTheDifference

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