www.cookingage.com THE English chef Simon Hopkinson wears his crown lightly. After being anointed author of the “most useful cookbook of all time” in 2005 for his work “Roast Chicken and Other Stories” by a panel of his British food-world peers, he might have cracked under the pressure: retired from the field, succumbed to crippling writer’s block or indulged in some scandalous behavior, like endorsing a line of frozen entrees. Instead, he sleeps like a baby, eats like a lord and has written an even juicier sequel, just published in the United States, “Second Helpings of Roast Chicken” (Hyperion).

“ ‘Useful’ is certainly the title I would have wanted to win,” he said with satisfaction last week.
Cookbooks can be transporting, instructive, enthralling and comforting, but useful ones are surprisingly rare — most produce one or two reliable dishes at best. Both “Roast Chicken” books, however, seem to exert a magnetic force that drags even burned-out cooks to try recipe after recipe.
Divided into chapters by main ingredient — Cream, Chocolate, Peas, Steak — the books are characterized by Mr. Hopkinson’s sensible advice and unerring food sense. “I go to the market and see people scooping up carrots labeled organic,” he said, peeling furiously during a recent cooking session in Manhattan. “But they’re just old, all soft and limp. Organic nothing, you don’t want those carrots.”

Mr. Hopkinson first became famous as the opening chef for Bibendum, a top restaurant in Britain’s culinary awakening of the 1990s, and one of the first to serve refined versions of English, rather than Continental, food. (When the restaurant opened in 1987, his inclusion of the prosaic fish and chips on the menu caused “an absolute sensation,” said Rowley Leigh, chef at Le Café Anglais in London.)
April Bloomfield, the chef at the Spotted Pig in the West Village, cooked under him at Bibendum. “Simon was really convinced that you should cook things that you love, not things that are fancy or that customers expect to see on the menu of a certain kind of restaurant,” she said. “Everything he made, he made perfectly.”

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www.worldof007.com James Bond movies are always set in exotic locations, from Jamaica through outer space. To celebrate the release of the new 007 film, Quantum of Solace, we caught up with a veteran Bond, Sir Roger Moore, to find out more about the destinations where he filmed his exciting adventures and rakish love scenes.

Which Bond movie had the best range of locations during the shooting?
The Spy Who Loved Me — I loved Corsica, and of course the Bahamas!
Which is your singular favourite Bond location, and why?
It has to be Corsica. It’s such a beautiful island with terrific hotels and the most gorgeous seafood. In a word, it’s idyllic.

Did you ever have time out to explore the locations you filmed in?
Not really. We were usually on pretty tight schedules and would arrive one afternoon, check in to our hotel and start shooting the next morning. I only really got  to see the areas we were filming in, as there was no such thing as a day off for Jimmy Bond.
Which location had the best nightlife?
Well, all I ever did was fall into bed after a quick drink with the stunt boys. I never got to see any nightlife as I usually had a 5 a.m. start.
Which location had the best food?
Corsica.

Did you ever return to have a holiday in one of the Bond locations?
I’ve been back to many of the countries, though usually with UNICEF as I tend to spend my holidays at home — as I travel so much.

Do you have a favourite hotel?
Oh goodness, I’ve stayed in many wonderful hotels. It would be difficult to single any one out, though whenever I can I do stay at the Sheratons as they have a terrific standard of excellence throughout the world wonderful rooms, comfy beds, room service that knows how to boil a three-minute egg and of course they have Checkout For Children where every guest donates £1 per stay to UNICEF. A great fundraiser!What is your all-time favourite holiday destination?
I have to say home, in Monaco. To relax with my family, and maybe take a boat around the coast to Villefranche for lunch is as good as it gets.

What is your idea of a dream holiday?
I don’t have one. I’ve travelled so much that all I long for now is home. I’ve lost count of the number of planes I’ve been on in my lifetime, certainly this year alone it must be 50 or more. Flying used to be fun, but now I can’t help but feel some of that appeal has been lost. I much prefer the train if it’s possible.

What three items do you always take with you on holiday?
My laptop, my mobile phone and my medical dictionary.

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www.thetvgossips.com It has changed the face of primetime Indian television viewing. After logging more than 1,800 episodes in over eight years, Star Plus’ epochal TV serial “Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhi” dies a ‘legal death’ Thursday.”Kyunkii…”, which triggered a flurry of similar saas-bahu sagas, and spun improbable plots around the emotions of love, joy, anger, anxiety, contemplation, grief, fear and terror - even amnesia, death, rebirth and murder - bids adieu after losing a court battle to Star Plus.

The twisted saga of the traditional Gujarati family of the ‘Viranis’ had kept audiences across India as well as in Pakistan and Afghanistan glued to their television sets from 10.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday-Thursday since its launch in Oct 3, 2000. Now, fans are wondering how to fill the vacuum.Star Group’s SGL Entertainment Ltd had last month told Balaji Telefilms, makers of the serial, that since viewership had plummeted, the show should be taken off the air. However, Balaji filed a case against the channel and said it was a breach of contract as it had signed on for episodes till March 2009. Balaji, owned by TV tycoon Ekta Kapoor, lost the case on Monday.

“Kyunkii..” began losing out on TRPs due to more innovative scripts and fresh shows on new channels. Sudha Khanna, a 69-year-old grandmom, is disappointed at the ending of the serial. “I don’t know how I shall spend that late evening time slot now. Watching ‘Kyunkii..’ had become a part of my life and I looked forward to what new twists the show would bring.”

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 www.nightscafe.com Hollywood actress Salma Hayek was recently spotted getting cozy with her ex beau billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault at a football game in France. Though, the two were there to watch a game, they only had eyes for each other, according to a witness."They were very together, they talked a lot during the match and exchanged tender looks. ... They seemed very much in synch with each other," People magazine quoted a fan, as saying.

The 'Fled' actress and Hayek and luxury goods mogul Pinault, have a 2-year-old daughter, Valentina Paloma. The former star couple called off their engagement in July, just 10 months after her birth. But in recent weeks, it seems the very private pair may be moving toward a reconciliation.Just last month, Pinault and the 30 Rock guest star were spotted looking cozy in L.A.
and back in his native France.

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www.moviereviews101.com  Being one of the younger members of the TweakTown staff (in my early 20’s), I missed the majority of the mid 1980’s Transformers craze, catching only the tail end of the mass popularity during my formulative (read: cartoon watching/ toy playing) years. However, the nostalgic qualities of the franchise are so strong as to support on going animated shows, toys, video games and now this, the live action offering.

The fact that the movie is as well made and entertaining as it is, has surprised many (myself included), when one looks at the history of the franchise which has its creation in a bunch of plastic play things.
Young Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) happens upon a transforming mechanical being named Bumblebee when choosing his first car.

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www.bollywood101.com Kareena Kapoor is definitely making the calls in her career. Believe it or not Bebo has turned down an offer of Rs 75 Crores from a leading television channel in the country to host a reality show. Kareena turned down the offer to avoid clash of dates with her projects on hand. Kareena was recently seen appearing as a celebrity judge in Nach Baliye 4 where her elder sister Karisma is one of the three judges.

Kareena has revealed that she would love to appear on the small screen and join the ranks of Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty. However she added that she has no space to breathe in the next two years and will think about the small screen after that. Well when you are at the peak of your career and the highest paid actress in the industry you can make such calls.

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www.Depression Cell.com  For Latinos who speak only Spanish and who suffer from depression, the road back to mental health is longer and rockier than for those who speak English, a UCLA study has found. A team led by the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Center at UCLA's Harbor campus found that among Spanish-only speakers -- a group that makes up about one-third of American Latinos -- those seeking help for depressive symptoms were slower to respond to and less likely to get relief from antidepressant medications.

For physicians who see these patients, the lesson is clear, says Dr. Ira Lesser, the lead author of the article, published in the November issue of Psychiatric Services: These patients, who tend to be older, poorer, less educated and have more medical issues than English-speaking Latinos, may need more than just antidepressants for relief of their depression. The patients are also more likely to be women, and the physicians they seek out more likely to be primary-care providers, not psychiatrists.

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/www.lovelyparents.com Genes do influence the role parents play in bringing up their children, according to the latest study. Researchers from Exeter and Edinburgh Universities based their findings on the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides, which they believe are relevant to other species and possibly humans. Specialised male and female roles are common in species in which both parents take responsibility for raising the offspring. Male and female burying beetles share the roles needed to rear their young, but their responsibilities differ.

Females tend to spend more of their time directly caring for the offspring through feeding, which involves regurgitating food directly into begging mouths, like birds. Males indirectly help their young by preparing food and taking care of the nest. Co-author Allen Moore of Exeter University said: "Despite the best efforts of parents to be consistent in child rearing, it is not unusual for mums and dads to differ in the nature of their interactions with offspring.

"In case of humans, until recently this was expressed as dad bringing home the bacon and mum taking care of the kids. The same pattern holds in many animals where both parents help rear the offspring - mothers often directly care for the young while the father takes care of the nest or brings home food for the family. "But why should parents specialise? Why don't they share the duties equally? Previous studies suggested that specialising is efficient. But why a particularly speciality for mums and dads? Why not work it out family by family? In this study we examine the genetic influences on parenting for the first time, and ask if different parenting styles are inherited."

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 www.othermedicines.com   use of type 2 diabetes medicines more than doubled among teens and tweens between 2002 and 2005, according to a new study of 3.5 million insured young people ages 5 to 19, published in Pediatrics. There were also increases in medications used to treat high blood pressure and cholesterol, attention-deficit disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, and asthma. "Our study findings indicate that these increased levels of chronic medication use are symptoms of broader underlying issues affecting children today," lead study author Emily R. Cox, senior director of research at Express Scripts, said in a prepared statement. "These trends are worrisome given that many of these therapies are treating conditions with modifiable risk factors and if not addressed, many of these children will carry these chronic conditions into adulthood."The

Last year, Nancy Shute explored whether your drugs are safe. In February, U.S. News explained how to safely take medications.Sex Problems Common in Women
Four in every 10 women in the United States report having problems with sex, but only 12 percent say they're distressed because of those issues, Bloomberg reports. Those ages 45 to 64 were more likely to report unhappiness than women who were older or younger, researchers report this month in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. Also, 1 of every 8 women ages 45 to 64 said she was unhappy because she was experiencing a lack of desire; 1 of 15 said she was distressed because of problems with orgasm or arousal.

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www.womenchalet.com Woman  have a greater range of different types of bacteria on the palms of their hands than men, US research suggests. The study also found that human hands harbour far higher numbers of bacteria species than previously thought.

Using powerful gene sequencing techniques, researchers found a typical hand had roughly 150 different species of bacteria living on it. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study found bacteria types varied greatly between individuals. The researchers, from the University of Colorado at Boulder, hope their work will help scientists to establish a "healthy baseline" of bacteria species on the human hand. This could potentially help them to identify which species are linked to specific diseases. Lead researcher Dr Noah Fierer said: "The sheer number of bacteria species detected on the hands of the study participants was a big surprise, and so was the greater diversity of bacteria we found on the hands of women."

The study detected and identified more than 4,700 different bacteria species across 102 human hands in the study. However, only five species were shared among all 51 participants. Even the right and left palms of the same individual shared an average of only 17% of the same bacteria types. Acidic skin

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