Many who have grown up reading Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes may not recognize the character in the movie version. Holmes in the movie is snappier, more prone to action, and so much more debonair.

When the first installment in the series came out in 2009, it enthralled. The second one is interesting, but in a different way. Game of Shadows has no substantial story to speak of (the movie's storylines have nearly nothing to do with the ones we have read in the books). It's basic: Professor Moriarty is unleashing himself on the world, with the dastardly plan of causing the first World War before its time and Holmes takes it on himself to stop him.

The actors slip into their roles easily. Robert Downey Jr is still the rogue-ish Holmes, and his banter with Jude Law's Watson still making us chuckle. Rachel McAdams is wasted in her miniscule appearance as Irene Adler. Stephen Fry steps in to Mycroft Holmes feet and has his moments. Noomi Rapace is cast as a gypsy whom Moriarty is trying to kill for various reasons but fails to impress. Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) appears...but you blink and he's gone. Kelly Reilly rounds up Holmes' supporters as Watson's wife. Which brings us to Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty. When you see the trailers, he does not look like he can be menacing at all. He's not. I was yearning for Mark Strong's eerie and chilling portrayal of Lord Blackwood. Don't get me wrong; Harris does his job well...but I'm not scared of him. And I want to be.

Guy Ritchie picks up the pace from the first movie and runs faster. The slow-motion sequences are aplenty, but the most eye-catching and attention-grabbing being a chase sequence set in a forest. Its direction lends a different viewpoint and indeed, a clearer idea, of what happens when the guns are blazing and people are running for their lives. By one point though, the amount of slow-motion shots in the movie make you want to close your eyes and wait for it to be over.

It's not really a detective story by this point, but more an action adventure. There is a quick nod to The Final Problem but that's as close to the books as you're going to get.

As Holmes himself said: "It's so overt, it's covert."

I can't recall who tweeted this link a few days ago (sorry!) but when I clicked and started viewing the video, many random thoughts flew through my consciousness. I'll attempt to bring these thoughts together in a coherent whole:

The video discusses what advertising says about women, and how it's most important what they look like. When Jean Kilbourne (the speaker in the video) mentions how advertising and the media show is the "ideal" women are expected to achieve, I agree whole-heartedly. It's insane the number of images we see every day, in magazines, in movies and more, where the woman is drop-dead gorgeous, no flaws, and no pores, as Kilbourne points out. And of course, forget feeling guilty when you don't like that, it just arouses feelings of shame within you. Ashamed of failing and of not being "beautiful". Women base their entire self-worth on how they look, thinking no one will like them if they don't fit that ideal. Heaven knows I felt like that constantly in my teenage years, where it was so bad I couldn't even bear to look at myself in the mirror because I didn't look anything like the women I'd see in advertisements every day (I still don't!!!). While that constant sense of zero self-esteem doesn't exist anymore for me, even now in depressed moments I feel butt-ugly. 

And in the video...making Jessica Alba look smaller?! Ummm she's really small already! Leave some curves on the woman, for heaven's sake!

Objectification of women is another issue. The video shows women's bodies morphed onto alcohol bottles and cars; things like that. Self-esteem is one thing, but violence towards women is potentially a result of ads like these. Definitely not a direct causal link, as the video points out, turning a person into a "thing" is just the first step towards justifying violence towards him/her. A slight detour here, albeit related; this is a tweet I posted yesterday...read the article and tell me you're not shocked by what lad's mags are promoting:

RT @Weeshas_World: Such a disturbing article: Can You Tell The Difference Between A Men’s Magazine And A Rapist? bit.ly/shtF4t

— Devina Divecha (@DevinaDivecha) December 11, 2011

A bit of Googling led me to this quote in an article also written by Kilbourne:

A recent Wall Street Journal survey of students in four Chicago-area schools found that more than half the fourth-grade girls were dieting and three-quarters felt they were overweight. One student said, "We don't expect boys to be that handsome. We take them as they are." Another added, "But boys expect girls to be perfect and beautiful. And skinny."

What that student said? Yeah. Many women and men believe in that concept. So we spend a lot of time trying to fit that ideal that men often want in their partners. So listen up women: if the man tells you you're fat and he'll dump you if you don't lose weight, YOU dump HIS sorry ass.

Looking good and feeling good about yourself is different from your body size. Yes, being obese is a health issue...I will not deny it, so it's important to take care of youreslf and make sure you don't face cholestrol issues or diabetes or something. But even if you have a few lumps here and there, even if your body isn't that perfect hourglass...it doesn't mean you're not healthy! Focus on your health, then your body size.

Rant over.

EDIT: After reading my post, this is what a friend on Twitter posted, and I whole-heartedly agree with what she said.

I think every magazine should include a non-airbrushed version of the front cover inside the magazine. That would be interesting.

— Miss N (@movie_mafia) December 13, 2011

Other posts on my blog related to women's issues:

• Of Pink Pants and Eve Teasing
• Female Foeticide in India
• Yet Another Bane: Child Marriage
• Link to: The women's gangs of India

When I asked her about it, this is what she said:

"We came here in 1976 from Beirut. The war had broken out there and the first flight out was to Dubai. I still remember, we stayed in the Phoenicia Hotel in Al Nasr Square. On the opposite side was the Creek. Everything was empty, there weren't many buildings around...the only place to eat in front of the hotel was the Chicken Tikka Inn where we would go quite a bit. When I got admission to school, we moved into a flat in what was the Al Ghurair Compound in Satwa, near the Dubai World Trade Centre, which was the only building around, the tallest building around. It faced what was then a two-lane road going all the way to Abu Dhabi.

"For the first year, my father didn't have a license, so when we wanted to go shopping in Bur Dubai, we would take a taxi there."

I asked her about food options (of course I did):

"We used to go to this place called the Picnic restaurant in Bur Dubai at the Ramada Hotel roundabout and eat shawarmas - it's an intersection now but before it used to be a roundabout. We'd also get shawarmas from Deira, at a restaurant on the creek, just next to the Carlton Hotel; I don't remember the name though. The Ravi restaurant in Satwa was there at that time too, although it was much smaller. We'd also get shawarmas from Tarbouche in Karama but on rare occasions because in Karama...there wasn't much at the time. You know the rows of low buildings behind the Lulu Centre area, behind where Pumpy's and Ginny's is now...that was all that was there. Everything else was empty sand. In Bur Dubai, we'd go to India House restaurant for South Indian food. And eventually, on every Friday we would go to Hilton hotel next to DWTC for a buffet lunch."

My Mom got married and moved away from Dubai in 1984, but returned in 1989 toting a two-and-a-half year-old me. Already there were so many changes, compared to what she had seen when she arrived. Karama was already bustling, there were more restaurants, but the DWTC was still the tallest building around and it was still two lanes going to Abu Dhabi! These are some pics from after I moved here:

All these pics were taken in the late 80s-early 90s.

Captions: DWTC, the tallest building around | Me with my dog Dinky in an area in Karama where now stands the Al Maskan Building | Jumeirah Beach Park...empty and so pristine (that's me in red...naturally) | Hili Fun City was the place to be | Guess which bridge we're standing at! | In Abu Dhabi

A happy 40th National Day to the UAE and everyone here, and here's to many more years of growth and prosperity. I leave you with a photograph of the Sheikh Zayed Road skyline, taken from the sea. Look at how we've grown...just look :)

Yes.

As I stood inside Grand Union Station, Chicago, watching my carefully laid plans crash and tumble all around me, I knew I was in trouble. I had carefully planned out routes from there to various spots around the city and had printed those maps out for myself. But a series of unfortunate circumstances led to all those plans becoming null and void.

Another problem: even with a smartphone and an iPad I was lost. I didn't want to use roaming on my phone, and did not have access to a US number. In short, I was bereft of a phone and the internet. Even though I had some money on my phone to call Dubai, who was going to navigate me around Chicago?!

Even though my maps were useless, the addresses on it were correct. I couldn't take any of the buses I'd so carefully written down because the departure and arrival points in the city had changed completely for me.

After losing my way to the famous Giordano's but finding it and stuffing my face, I headed over to a bus stop near the Union Station. I figured out from the map stuck there how to get to John Hancock Center and hopped on. The bus driver (a very large female) hit my stereotype of being rude - I didn't know how much the fare was when I was getting on the bus (A single fare is $2.25 if you must know) and I couldn't figure out the coins so I took an absurdly long amount of time to fish out the change from my wallet. I confirmed the bus would go where I wanted it to and that was it. I sat down and let the adventure begin!

Watching the sights from the window was a lot of fun. I'm certain I looked like a wide-eyed tourist, so I tried to tone down my out-of-town look. I remember passing a café called Atwood Café and writing down what was written on the sign outside: "We refuse to grow old gracefully, please pardon our appearance while we get some 'work' done." Love it!

Once I reached the correct bus stop, I hopped off and walked towards the John Hancock Center (this was easy - it's a really tall building...can't miss it ;)).

Went in and had a lovely time upstairs; took loads of photographs, and listened to the audio guide about the buildings around me. When that audio guide started, I could swear it was David Schwimmer (who played Ross Geller in FRIENDS)...then later on I Googled it and realized I was right! Woohoo.

Visitors get to go up to the 96th floor (with a recording playing in the elevator every time you go up or down) to see a panoramic view of the city. There's a lounge there to relax and eat if you want to, along with a souvenir shop (where I bought my Chicago fridge magnets). I was there during the day; I can only imagine how absolutely gorgeous it also looks at night with the city lights around around. I took the general admission pass for $15, but there are other options you can look into.

Images from the 96th floor:

After that, I went to The Cheesecake Factory, conveniently located at the base of the building, where I went to cheesecake heaven. Cannot wait for it to open up in Dubai soon!

This is the part where I got a bit lost. I wanted to go to the Navy Pier and take an architectural boat tour but I had no idea how to get there from where I was. Remember, there was no internet, no phone, nothing. Just me and the big windy city. I asked the attendant at the John Hancock Center and she told me where I could go to get a bus to the Navy Pier. Okay. I managed to get lost nevertheless and after wandering around random streets off the Magnificent Mile for 10 minutes, I entered Hershey's Chocolates (822 North Michigan Avenue) and said I needed some help.

Boy, did I get help. A slim girl with braided hair with the energy of many people packed into one, Kierra, came outside the store with me. I explained where I wanted to go and she took me near the bus stop, told me which bus number I needed (Pretty sure it was number 66), and explained to me what I needed to tell the bus driver ("Make sure it's going to Navy Pier! Ask him ya hear?") She was so wonderfully friendly; told me to take care of myself and be careful (I think she figured I was a babe lost in the woods). Thank you Kierra...you made me smile and I still remember your help and concern with great fondness.

Finally reached Navy Pier...and missed the architecture boat tour by 15 minutes. The next one was at 4:45pm and would be back only at 5:45pm. I didn't know what traffic was like from Navy Pier back to the Union Station - my train to the airport was at 7pm and I was too afraid to take the chance that the boat might be back late, or there would be traffic. In addition, I had to pick up my luggage from the station locker first, and had no idea which platform the train would leave from so I wanted to get back for 6:30pm at least. Too many variables, too many ifs and buts. Instead, I walked down the Navy Pier till the end and it was absolutely gorgeous. You could see the skyline of Chicago from there. There were shops and rides for entertainment. Loads of boat tour companies. By the end of the pier, the wind hits you something fierce. Till then I hadn't bothered wearing a jacket but when I got to the end, it became really cold and in-my-face.

Pics from Navy Pier: 

Once I was done, I headed back to the bus terminal just off Navy Pier, asked someone which bus goes to the train station and hopped in. By this time I was a bus fare expert... $2.25 ka-ching! The road back was equally fun. Passed the NBC building and saw their store downstairs with Dunder Mifflin merchandise among other things. Was extremely tempted to buy them, but decided to stay on the bus to get to the station.

IMAGES: A Borders store emptying out | Random street | Dunder Mifflin at NBC | Sticky Fingers Gourmet Popcorn

And naturally, things had to go wrong! The train was delayed by about 30-45 minutes...I waited on the cold bench near the platform where the train was supposed to arrive and people-watched. Women on heels too tall for anyone's feet to survive. A young man wearing shiny silver leather latex-y looking trousers, uggs and orange socks. Young Indian students. Businessmen with their official looking bags and more. A woman wearing block platforms clunking instead of running her way across the floor. So much to see.

The ticket from the Union Station to the O'Hare airport was $4 one-way (North-Central service, Metra Rail) and once you get off at the airport station, there's a shuttle bus to take you to another point where you take a metro train to the terminal. Once I finally got there after all the delays, I met this lovely guy at the metro train area who asked me where I was from. I said Dubai. He asked if they were all islands. I said no that's just The World and the Palms. Then he was asking me about the weather and his eyes popped out when I said summer highs are near 50C, and winter it's about 20ish usually. 

At the end of it, I safely reached O'Hare airport and got online after over 12 hours of no real contact with anyone whatsoever.

And you know what? I survived.

Even though I knew who she was...I'd never heard Gayathri Krishnan sing before. I was invited to her music video launch at the Traffic gallery on November 10, 2011, and off I went.

The musical ability in my family skipped my generation. My maternal grandfather used to sing on All India Radio and we even have tapes of his songs, many of which he wrote and composed himself; his wife, that is, my grandmother has sung with him on one of his songs...and no day in my house goes by without my mother singing in her sweet voice.

And because all I can do is croak like a frog rather than sing like a nightingale, I appreciate, more than anyone realizes, the ability of someone with musical talent.

I saw the video teaser of Gayathri's song, Champion of Broken Hearts, but didn't fully realize the power of her voice in those few seconds.

When she started singing at the launch, I was impressed. She turns into this husky, bewitching woman who can sing her way through to your heart. And then...she made me cry. One of her songs reminded me something, something that broke my heart and tears welled up, unbidden.

Right after that song ended, I bought her CD. When a singer makes you laugh, or cry...there's no other choice is there?

Part of the proceeds of her CD sales from that day have been pledged to Manzil - a centre for challenged individuals.

 I also believe her CD will be available at Virgin Megastore for those who want to purchase it. If you appreciate good music and a talented voice, you will be interested.

To learn more about her music, you can click on the following links: 

Official website
Facebook page
Twitter

A selection of photographs from the night:

That  view up there...almost didn't happen.

I wanted to do something I'd never done before. And it hit me: I'd never gone on the water ferry before. I'd heard of them, but never travelled on them myself. I started looking it up on the RTA website and found two options: one that leaves from the Creek and goes out into open waters, circles near the Burj Al Arab and comes back, and another that goes around the Dubai Marina and then out near the Atlantis and back.

The decision was easy: Old Dubai wins.

But to actually get on the boat? The website had three things to say to me: the main page said the ferry left from Al Seef. One of the PDFs there said Al Seef again, but the second PDF there said Al Ghubaiba. Two against one, I thought. Surely that means Al Seef. I judged incorrectly. I got to the Al Seef water station at 10:40am with 20 minutes to spare...and the sign there said the ferry has been shifted to Al Ghubaiba! One of the staff members there said there isn't a direct water taxi from Al Seef to Al Ghubaiba so I needed to go there on my own if I could.

I ran back to the car. I blindly drove towards Al Ghubaiba, wondering where on earth I could park. I hit traffic near the Dubai Museum at the Al Fahidi Fort. Naturally. The clock was ticking. I reached the Al Ghubaiba water bus station...but there was no parking. I glanced at the clock... 10:54am. I had 6 minutes left. The next trip was at 5pm and I wanted to go now! I drove on. WHAT'S THAT? Parking! I snagged a spot on the road which on the opposite side of Carrefour, near the Al Fahidi Metro Station.

I started running. Clock said 10:57am. THREE MORE MINUTES! I got to the ferry, feeling very much like the only woman around for miles. I ran up the pier, and the staff member said I needed to buy a ticket from the ticket office and he pointed behind me. Never mind...I ran back to the office and told him NOT to let the boat go without me.

Fifty dirhams (for silver class) later, I ran back and hopped on to the boat at 11:00. I was in.

And once the boat slowly chugged on its way, I was out the back the whole time, feeling the wind on my face, the water spray hit me and since it was raining that day (the first day of Dubai winter rains for 2011!) watched gloomy clouds fly over me. Definitely a fun experience and you get to see the skyline of Dubai in a whole new way.

Scroll down for more pictures I took with my cameras and further down for pictures I tweeted from my phone.

Here are some pictures:

And a look at my tweets with pictures from the time:

View the story "My experience with the Dubai Ferry" on Storify]

I first realized the word 'cancer' existed when I was 8. My paternal grandfather passed away because of it. Eventually I realized there was more than one kind of cancer. And sadly, I know the threat of breast cancer all too well. It has affected many women in my family...and that scares me no end. There are survivors yes, for which I am ever grateful...but there have also been losses.

It's important for women all over the world to get themselves a mammography as frequently as possible, especially if they're over 40-years-old and even more so if it runs in the family.

Anyway, there are a few things I'm going to point my readers to if you're interested in contributing to breast cancer awareness in the UAE.

One is an initiative by Worood, where anyone can go to its Facebook page, click on the Pink Rose tab and share your messages with breast cancer patients in the UAE. Each of your messages will be attached to a pink rose, which will be sent to women across the UAE. An interesting initiative to bring a smile to people's faces.

Another initiative I whole-heartedly support is one by my fellow food bloggers (read up on the consortium of UAE food bloggers).

Rajani (@RajaniMani) and Lin (@boozychef) will be supporting Safe and Sound AE by donating 10% of the sales generated from Pickle-in-d-Middle and Lin's doggie treats to it So if you want to buy awesome pickles, or if you want to pamper your dog, you know where to go. Plus you're donating to a worthy cause as well; definite win-win. Contact them for more info, or head over to the Ripe market, between 9.30am - 1pm at the Dubai Garden Centre on Sheikh Zayed Road.

Paint the town pink y'all.

Edit: It is ironic that I'd left this post to be published today. I woke up to the news of Steve Jobs' passing away and ... was shocked. While it was not breast cancer (a form of pancreatic cancer), it's still part of the same whole. The disease that is cancer. RIP.

It's been a long time coming.

I knew since May I think, or perhaps June, that I was going to speak at the next GeekFest. The un-organizer Alexander McNabb had said then, that the next instalment of the event would be dedicated to female speakers at the GeekTalks.

At that time, I only had #manzilbooks to talk about. For that reason, I am so glad it was moved to September, because now I had more to say.

But HEY...this GeekFest (also termed Geekafest) was going to be held, for the first time, at the new location of The Shelter in the Al Serkal Avenue in Al Quoz, Dubai.

Before I could venture there, intrepid photographer Shruti and myself headed over in our cadmium pigmented cars to the old Shelter on Street 318b. Honestly, it felt like a scene out of a horror movie: two women with cameras and flash lights go into bushy, grassy, tree-filled area with overgrown weeds and no clear path in sight. Yeah. That.

However, this abandoned area of grassy horrordom was only a small patch, and we had people from the next warehouse stare at us curiously as we set up a tripod (when I say we, I mean her; I just walked about, muttering to myself), a camera, a flash and all that sort of photographic thing she does.

Once we'd finished our mysterious business there, we headed to the new Shelter!

It looks like a barn within a gallery - that was my first thought. Shruti and I harrassed people to stand in front of her snazzy camera and answer a couple of questions, while I fretted about forgetting things I knew I wanted to mention in my talk.

It was a night of friends and ... photobombing. Check these out (I'm not sure why Zooberry is in most of them):

Resident photographer and videographer for the night, Shruti:

There's a top floor too! With a meeting room and a common seating area...it's awesome!

GamesFest was happening upstairs...check out @asatiir doing his Xbox thing (as for me, I can only imagine him going: "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"):

Anastasia about to punch anyone who mentions chick flicks to her:

There's a fake men's moment with an iPhone here:

Thanks for coming everyone! Check out the remaining pics here (there are about 60-odd of them!). I took the GeekaFest talks poster and have stuck it up in my room to remind me of the night. Thanks @GeekFestDubai and Alexander for letting me speak :)

View "GeekaFest Dubai" on Storify