page 01 nov 05

WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2014 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741

CAMPUS

MARKETPLACE

ARCHAEOLOGY

FILM

TECHNOLOGY

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• ABP students elect student association representatives

• Amiri Gems opens flagship store at Barwa Al Sadd

• Zekreet: Settlements and the fort

• Interstellar is everything that’s great and terrible about Christopher Nolan

• Oculus warns Sony to solve motion sickness before launching VR headset

inside

LEARN ARABIC • Learn commonly

used Arabic wordsand their meanings

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Authored by Ali Yusef Al Kuwari in collaboration with Dr Ayman Nabih Saadallah, a 214-page book — Carrier Pigeons in Katara —delves into the typology, anatomy and physiology of carrier pigeons and their significant role in history with particular focus on the Arab region.

To prevent more kidney stones, drink water

PIGEONS OF PIGEONS OF KATARAKATARA

2 COVER STORYPLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2014

By Raynald C Rivera

Probably one of the most photographed structures in Katara is the pigeon towers which have been

considered a hallmark of the cul-tural village.

The five imposing towers never fail to attract every visitor’s atten-tion with their unique design punctuated with numerous holes and wood in a beautiful pattern. Unbeknown to many, these struc-tures reflect an important aspect of Arab heritage dating back hun-dreds of years. This and many more are discussed in detail in a new book released by the Research and Studies Department of Katara.

Authored by Ali Yusef Al Kuwari in collaboration with Dr Ayman Nabih Saadallah, the 214-page Arabic documentary book entitled Carrier Pigeons in Kataradelves into the typology, anatomy and physiology of carrier pigeons and their significant role in his-tory with particular focus on the Arab region.

Arabs were known to be one of the first to become aware of the importance of pigeons which were known to exist 20 million years ago. Their sheer fascination of pigeons and their use prompted them to raise and take care of them; in fact they also wrote books on pigeon typology and their characteristics.

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Documenting the role of carrier pigeons

3PLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2014

During the Abassid Caliphate, Arabs began using pigeons to send messages, besides horses and camels, as well as send signals crucial to people in turbu-lent times.

The use of carrier pigeons continued until the 12th and 13th Centuries. They were widely used in Egypt, in delivering messages from Cairo to various regions.

The role of carrier pigeons was also vital during the Second World War from 1939 to 1945. Using them to deliver mes-sages during this period was 99 percent successful, that’s why they were consid-ered the first news agency in history and the first postal service in the world.

White carrier pigeons were a product of breeding between wild and other types of domestic pigeons which have strong body structure. Belgium was the first country in the world which domesticated this type of pigeon known for its speed in flying. They began to use it in corre-spondence and trade since 1850 between different villages and in London and Paris. In 1872 they began to use carrier pigeons in racing competitions.

Pigeons are raised for a number of purposes. While some people rear them as a hobby for their beauty, others raise them for food. There are also those who take care of them to be used in racing competitions.

Trainers take the carrier pigeons out to fly for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening to get familiar with the area, to strengthen their bodies and get confidence. After months of training they are given time to rest and given a specific amount of food in order not to gain much weight.

One distinct characteristic of pigeons is living in flocks and love for their home. It is for this reason that they can be well domes-ticated and used to carry messages since they always come back to their homes.

Historical evidences tell pigeons existed 20 million years ago, even before human beings have existed. Based on archaeologi-cal findings, they were known to live in mountain caves around the world. Human beings, however, started domesticating them in specially designed houses such as pigeon towers to raise and protect them.

There are five towers for carrier pigeons in Katara, three of which are located in the Western side near the mosque while the other two are in the east side near the Katara corniche.

Built between 2006 and 2007, the tow-ers were made from environment friendly materials including clay and bricks and some pieces of wood used as projecting perches. The pigeon holes and wooden perches form a pattern which serves a decorative purpose owing its unique beauty and appeal that attracts many a passer-by. Each of the towers meas-ure around 4.25m in width and 15m in height and were strategically erected in dry areas which are healthy for pigeons and visible to visitors.

To show the importance of the carrier pigeon and the need to preserve it, Katara recently imported 28 pigeons from abroad which are being bred this year. The 14 pairs were the finest breed known for their intelligence, speed and rarity.

The Peninsula

Built between 2006 and 2007, the towers were made from environment friendly materials including clay and bricks and some pieces of wood used as projecting perches.

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 20144 CAMPUS

Brain-based learning strategy expert John Joseph worked with Qatar Academy stu-dents recently in a workshop aimed at

improving their learning skills. Aptly called ‘Mind Your Brain’, the workshop provides an under-standing of how the brain works and how students can use that knowledge to become ‘superstar learners’.

The programme covers a multitude of topics ranging from improving homework to brain care and various information processing models, all presented in simple frameworks filled with tips to engage students and help them identify their learn-ing styles. For instance, Joseph shared a fairly sim-ple rule for brain care: get enough sleep each night. He backed this up with an exercise on identifying at

least ten common sleep thieves and how poor sleep can hurt student performance. He concluded the discussion by sharing easy to follow tips on how to get better sleep. His top ways on how to improve homework likewise included helpful ideas such as designing and keeping a homework diary, creat-ing graphic organisers to make remembering and retrieving information easier and interesting strate-gies like playing computer games or visiting social networking sites first before doing homework.

According to Joseph it is imperative that stu-dents understand how their brain works and more significantly, how to utilise this understanding in acquiring knowledge and skills in school based on their own learning style. Equally important is learning how to de-stress and focus on enjoyment

and satisfaction, exercising and taking breaks from study. Going beyond the academic setting, he also discussed motivation and confidence with a broader look at achieving success later in life.

In a related professional development session for teachers during the week and through the Parenting with the Brain in Mind workshop for parents, Joseph’s message resonates with the whole QA community: “Everyone thinks. It is in our nature to do so. However, not everyone thinks well and that includes some of top grade-achieving students”. Understanding how the brain works is important because “learning style, rather than intelligence, motivation or interest is often a major contributing reason for student perform-ance”. The Peninsula

‘Mind Your Brain’ workshop helps QA students understand their learning styles

QA students at the wrokshop.

ABP students elect student association representatives

Students at Qatar Foundation’s Academic Bridge Program (ABP) went to the polls last Wednesday, electing five candidates to serve

in student government. In an unprecedented result, voters chose a female as the Student Association president for the third consecutive year.

ABP student Wadad Al Jassim won the election for the coveted position of President. She follows last year’s female President, Nouran Allam, who is currently studying at the University. Two years ago, Aisha Al Muhannadi became the first female Student Association President in ABP history. She is now a sophomore at Northwestern University in Qatar majoring in Communications.

Other ABP students Wafic Nassreddine and Mariam Hussain were named male and female Vice President, respectively. Mutaz Mohammed was elected Treasurer and Abdulla Shaat was announced as Secretary.

All candidates spoke at an assembly the day prior to the election. Al Jassim explained during her speech that her greatest qualification was her approachability with fellow students. “I have made it a goal to speak with a variety of people here at the ABP,” she said.

“As Student Association President, I will do my best to represent our diverse student body.” The new

president also stated her desire to build a strong, cohesive unit within the student government.

The theme of listening to student voices was one that was echoed by female Vice President Hussain, who offered her time, attention, and email address in order to better serve the student body. Treasurer Shaat also highlighted his desire to help represent

students as an organized and driven leader. ABP Student Association candidates are

required to be in good academic standing with grades of no less than 70 percent in each sub-ject. Those running for President must have even higher academic credentials, with no grades below 80percent in any subject. The Peninsula

5CAMPUS / COMMUNITY PLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2014

Ghazal concert on Nov 14Khayal E Ghazal — Manjari Live in Concert ticket releasing function was held at Indian Cultural Center (ICC). Qbiz events in associa-tion with Thirumuttam-Qatar chapter is organ-ising the Gazal concert by popular playback singer Manjari to be held at Regency Hall on November 14 at 7pm. The Managing Director of Valmax Group, Shamsudheen presented the ticket to the Managing Director of Lavish Group Shani in the presence of Fawaz Al Haq, Auditing Manager of Eisa Alderbasti, Aasiq, Head of Fast Track, Ramesh Nambiar, Managing Director of Kalakshetra, Hafiz, Executive Director of Bradma Group. Nishad Kadher, Operations Director of Qbiz Events, and Zainudheen Vannery, Chief Patron of “Thirumuttam”, conducted the event with the coordination of Noushad and Laju.

QPO plays exclusively for 20 students from ISL Qatar

The Grade 10 music students from ISL Qatar had the privilege of being invited to attend a workshop at

Katara with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) and the renowned Brazilian conductor, Claudio Cohen. Cohen, from Brazil, was in Doha at the invitation of the Qatar Brazil 2014 Year of Culture to celebrate music with the people of Doha.

The Brazilian conductor was working with the Orchestra on a program of Brazilian music along with Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The students were delighted as Maestro Cohen interrupted his rehearsal to give them a talk on the Orchestra and the role of the conductor. He then had each section of the Orchestra perform to the students and they were a private audi-ence to the rehearsals for the upcoming concert.

The Peninsula

Amiri Gems opens flagship store at Barwa Al Sadd

Amiri Gems opened a new store in Barwa Al Sadd. The new flagship boutique is approximately 700m2. It mirrors Sheikh

Nawaf, Chairman of Amiri Gems, strong vision and passion for the luxury market. Amiri Gems worked closely with an architecture firm based in Italy for over a year to develop the concept of the boutique. All material — from the marble to the lighting — had to be imported to make certain that the store was one of a kind.

Two private rooms were added to the store to give the clients their privacy. The boutique also boasts a Majlis room that is a fusion of European décor and Qatari traditional culture.

The store includes individual boutiques for Adler and Chatila. Amiri Gems carries jewellery brands such as Amrapali, Palmiero, Theo Fennell, Mariani, Oro Trend as well as Amiri Gems own line of jewellery. In watches Amiri Gems represents Concord, Jacob & Co, Franc Vila, Royal Diamonds, Icelink, Vogard as well as several customised and small watch manufacturers. Amiri Gems recently diversified their portfolio to include brands such as Dottling that provide clients with customised safes and watch winders. Amiri Gems is looking to extend further by opening up two boutiques by the end of 2016. The Peninsula

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari visiting Amiri Gems showroom after the opening of the showroom at Barwa Al Sadd.

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 20146 MARKETPLACE

Blue Salon announced the launch of Kartell’s flagship store at the Pearl-Qatar. Kartell, the leading Italian design company

was founded in 1949 by Guilio Castelli, and is now run by Claudio Luti. With Luti at the helm, Kartell has managed to become one of the symbols of Italian Design success stories around the world.

“Kartell symbolises the evolution of Refined Italian Furniture design. Kartell was the pioneer in using non-traditional mate-rials, such as plastic in designing our furniture, and we pride ourselves on that. We’ve created history and Kartell is among the leading design houses to ever come out of Italy,” said Luti.

In addition to being practical, Kartell plastic radically trans-forms the perception of a plastic product from a merely func-tional object to a veritable luxury item.

“We like to collaborate with designers who can help us bring our vision to life. So far our collaborations have been fruitful and each designer that we’ve worked with so far is an important branch in the kartell family tree” said Luti.

The Peninsula‘A different Shade of Gold’ presented by Kartell CEO Claudio Luti and other Kartell and Blue Salon officials at the Blue Salon.

Kartell opens flagship store at the Pearl-Qatar

Every Monday, take a culinary trip around Spain and explore the country’s authentic dining

secrets at InterContinental Doha’s Coral restaurant’s Spanish Theme Night.

Spoil yourself with the diverse, fantastic and appetizing flavours of the country’s dining specialties through an extensive buffet show-casing original dishes from different regions of Spain.

Let the flavours of saffron, smoked paprika, and orange blossom, trans-port you to Spain, where made-to-order Paellas and traditional favourites such as Garlic Soup,

“Ajoblanco” (Cold almond soup), Boquerones en Vinagre (Marinated anchovies) and Patatas Bravas (spicy potatoes) await at Coral Restaurant.

Coral also will be featuring a plen-tiful buffet of different hot and cold tapas, the traditional “Bocadillo de Calamares” (fried calamari sand-wich), croquetas, and Spanish ome-lette among others.

For those with a sweet tooth don’t miss “Tarta de Santiago” (Almond cake), churros or “Natillas con gal-leta” (vanilla and cookie custard) and many other treats. Spanish din-ing experience comes at a price of QR225 per person. The Peninsula

InterContinental Doha launches Spanish theme night every Monday

Kempinski Hotels launches Marsa Malaz KempinskiKempinski’s much-anticipated flagship resort, Marsa Malaz

Kempinski, The Pearl - Doha, is set to welcome its first guests on December 1. Marsa Malaz Kempinski will be the European luxury hotel company’s second hotel opening in Qatar and seventh in the Gulf, with two more hotels in the Middle East scheduled to open in the coming year.

The new city-resort is located on its own secluded island at the iconic The Pearl-Qatar and is the first ultra-luxury hotel in one of Doha’s most sought-after locations.

Wissam Suleiman, general manager, commented on the soft open-ing: “This is an important milestone as we anticipate welcoming our first guests this coming December and the wider community in Qatar, as our facilities progressively open. Our new waterfront destination showcases the finest of European luxury, heritage and architecture blended with traditional Arabian elements. From the opulent and grand rooms and suites, to our remarkable service standards, this hotel is set to become a benchmark for bespoke luxury in Qatar and the wider region.” The Peninsula

ARCHAEOLOGY 7

Zekreet settlements are one of the most known and important sites found in Qatar Peninsula. They actually lies not far away from modern city of Dukhan on the northwestern part of

the Peninsula. And they are 72 kilometres away from the city of Doha.

Archaeological surveys taken place at and around the sites since 1956 till present times have proved that they comprise of small number of prehistoric remains, which are mostly attributed to the Neolithic periods of 6500-4000 BC, few scattered small set-tlements attributed to late historical peri-ods, a number of pottery sherd attributed to the contemporary eras. In addition to a rather large defensive fort located not far away from one of the larger settlement.

Field surveys and excavations at some sites also reported pieces of metal, few pieces of Chinese porcelain and unshaped

soft stones seemed to have been used for constructions. However, one of the most important finds were the

few glazed pottery sherds with blue colour which date back between the ninth and the tenth centuries AD. It is also interesting to note that within the vicinity of the excavated areas, twelve wells containing brackish water were unearthed.

Further studies of the flint tools industries, such as arrowheads, blades, axes, and hammers found at the prehistorical sites proved that these are not different from those found at other sites in the Peninsula and attributed to the so called Neolithic period.

The study of the archaeological remains of the main settlement, predominantly the pottery, proved that most of its unearthed material belong to the very late of Islamic periods with exception for a few shreds, which might be dated to some earlier period. While the archi-tectural remains of the fort precisely attributed to the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.

The general view of the fort is rectangular in shape measuring 52 x 40 metres and clearly appeared to be built through two different phases by unshaped soft stones and mud or gypsum used as mortar. The first phase of the fort seemed to have been built without

towers. Recent excavations however indicated that the four existed towers were added at later times, one at each corner, and all appeared nearly unfinished.

Moreover, recent excavations have also indicated that there are two main gates at the fort. The larger gate, which is 6.5 metres wide, is located in the southern part and overlooking the desert side. While the smaller gate, which are 1.40 metres wide lies on the northern direction and overlooking the seashore. The entire parts of the fort appeared surrounded by enclosure wall built of unshaped soft stones as well. And the remaining parts of the wall are not more than 2.70 metres in height.

Old habitation levels inside the fort were found varied from area to area and at certain locations. For example, excavations took place at areas inside the fort revealed small habitation unites. Some of them measured 4x3 metres. Others were merely low bunches built of soft stones and were separate from each other. Fire hearths used for cooking found scattered in different parts and levels.

Historical records contemporary with fort on the other hand have clearly indicated that the fort was built by the famous Qatari Erhama bin Jaber in the beginning of the ninetieth century (1809); and shortly after his death in 1826, the fort was entirely deserted and then reoccupied in the beginning of the twentieth century. In recent years, all the remaining and the excavated parts of the fort were studied and documented. Eventually, they were cleaned and partially restored.

Future archaeological activities might well shed more light on historical data and information to all the sites, to the area surrounding the fort, and to some remnants belong to Erhama bin Jaber. The Peninsula

Dr Munir Taha

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2014

Zekreet: Settlements Zekreet: Settlements and the fort and the fort

Recent excavations have indicated that there are two main gates at the fort. The larger gate, which is 6.5 metres wide, is located in the southern part overlooking the desert side.

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2014 ENTERTAINMENT8 9

HOLLYWOOD NEWS BOLLYWOOD NEWS

When angry Nicki Minaj smashed up Benz

If reports are anything to go by, one of the reasons for Nicki Minaj’s break-up with her long-time boyfriend was that she smashed his car

with a baseball bat. Tmz.com reports that during the summer Nicki and Safaree Samuels got into an argument. She started screaming and she exploded in anger, grabbing a bat and chasing him out of the house. She wisely chose property over person, and pulverized the 2012 Mercedez Benz.

And for bad measure, she threw his clothes into the garbage — just like in the movies. Law enforcement sources said the police were called to the house, but no arrests were made. Safaree was escorted out of the house and left.

As for why Nicki didn’t get in trouble, it appears she owned the Mercedes but allowed him to use it, and you can’t get arrested for destroying your own property.

They broke up a short time later. Wise move.

Christian Bale won’t play Steve Jobs

Actor Christian Bale has reportedly dropped out of director Danny Boyle’s biopic on Steve Jobs. According to a source, the Oscar-winning

actor felt that he was not the right choice for the role and finally decided to withdraw his name, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

The film was about to go on the floor this winter.“Bale, after much deliberation and conflicting feelings, came to the

conclusion he was not right for the part and decided to withdraw,” a source said.

“The script is said to be divided into three acts that detail Jobs prepar-ing for three presentations that came to define his life and the life of the company he co-founded, lost and came back to,” added the source.

Pink Floyd’s upcoming album becomes most pre-ordered of all time

Pink Floyd have made history with their upcoming new album “The Endless River” becoming the most pre-ordered record of all time on

Amazon.co.uk. The group’s first album in 20 years has now overtaken One Direction’s major smash hit “Midnight Memories”, also beating out the likes of Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen and Ed Sheeran, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Director of Amazon EU Digital Music, Steve Bernstein commented: “Pink Floyd now have the most pre-ordered album on Amazon.co.uk, which is an outstanding achievement for the band and also it proves that they remain one of the most popular groups to grace the UK music scene.”

“After waiting 20 years, our customers have relished being able to listen to new work by Pink Floyd. By pre-ordering The Endless River on CD or vinyl, customers know they will receive a digital download of the album for free into their Amazon Music Library on the day the album is released through Amazon AutoRip,” he added.

Sheirgill takes break from production

He made a successful foray into production, but now actor-producer Jimmy Sheirgill wants to do one thing at time and hence has decided

to stick to acting for the time being. He had turned producer in 2011 with Punjabi film Dharti and the `42m movie earned `75m at the box office.

“I just want to focus on acting right now. I have done production and it’s a full time job. For the time being, I have taken break from produc-tion as I want to give all my time to acting,” said the actor who is busy shooting for Gun Pe Done.

He has always wowed all and sundry with his performance and the lat-est being Fugly. “I am extremely happy with the kind of response I got for my performance in Fugly. It was a huge challenge for me to do an out an out negative character. It was a difficult role. So I am enjoying this phase as an actor,” he added.

In Gun Pe Done he plays a huge fan of late actor Feroz and said that his character is a struggling actor who feels he is an expert at mimicking actor Feroz Khan.

Want to do films son can enjoy: AkshayFrom action to comedy to drama, Akshay Kumar has done everything in

his over two decade long acting career. And now his desire is to work on projects that his son Aarav can enjoy.

Asked about his choices while signing films, he said: “I want to do some good films. I don’t want to do a film just because it will make `1bn or `2bn.

“I want to do films that my son can enjoy. If he doesn’t like my film, he comes to me and tells me that he didn’t understand the film at all.”

In a time when stars are sticking to one or two films in a year rule, Akshay is still doing more than that and for him managing multiple projects is a child’s play. “People accuse me of doing four films in a year, but it’s not impossible,” said the actor who already had two releases this year — Holiday -A Soldier Is Never Off Duty and It’s Entertainment.

“Actors should reach sets on time. If actors would come on time, then the crew would also come on time. It’s not impossible to shoot four films in a year if you reach sets on time,” said Akshay who will wind up the year with The Shaukeens, coming out on November 7.

Akshay’s co-stars in Abhishek Sharma directed fun filled drama The Shaukeens is Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor, and Piyush Mishra. Lisa Haydon too features in the film.

He is a star, but his journey had been dotted with ups and downs. He says that those filmmakers who refused to work him when he was going through the flop phase, now makes a beeline outside his house. But now the tables have turned and Akshay wants to work on his terms and condition.

Happy New Year crosses `3bn worldwide

There’s a reason why Shah Rukh Khan is Bollywood’s ‘badshah’! His latest acting

and production venture Happy New Year has crossed over `3bn mark at the worldwide box office.

“The movie has crossed more than `3.1 bn worldwide gross,” a source from Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt Ltd, confirmed.

Congratulating the team, megastar Amitabh Bachchan tweeted: “WOW!!! @HNY crosses `3bn world wide...congratu-lations SRK and Farah...well-deserved...So Farah when do we work together! Haha.”

“Happy New Year”, directed by Farah Khan, has an ensemble comprising SRK, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff. A heist drama, with dollops of dance and music, it opened to a bumper weekend, making it the quickest film to mint `1bn when it released on October 24, said a statement.

The post Diwali release, the movie is being lapped up by audiences of all age groups despite mixed reviews.

According to exhibitors, Happy New Year will continue to pull in audiences to theatres for at least 10 more days.

coincidences that would be too spoilery to reveal even if I could understand them, Cooper agrees to take the job, though it will mean leaving his children behind on a rapidly failing planet. He’s assured by Nasa chief Dr Brand (Michael Caine) that somewhere near Saturn, scientists have located a disturbance in space-time; it may be the human race’s only hope of skipping through a wormhole and locat-ing a habitable planet in an otherwise impossibly distant galaxy.

Get used to hearing about that worm-hole, because it becomes the Piccadilly Circus of Interstellar, the intergalac-tic traffic hub around which the film’s various plotlines whip in intersecting circles. After agonisingly tearing him-self away from his family, Cooper sets out for Saturn, aware that because the effect of relativity on the passage of time, he may not find his way back through the wormhole to Earth before his chil-dren’s lifespans are long over, if he sur-vives the trip at all. “Time is a resource, like oxygen or food,” he explains to his crew, pressing on them the importance of quickly gathering data on the three possible planets they’re investigating as replacement Earths. Meanwhile, back on the regular earth, Tom and Murph grow into adults played by Casey Affleck and Jessica Chastain. For many years, the siblings maintain the hope that their father will return, but eventually Tom’s video messages — which take years to be relayed remotely to Cooper in deep space and to which he can’t respond — trickle to a despairing halt. As for Murph, she can’t forgive her dad for abandoning his own children, even if it’s to serve the human race.

Cooper’s fellow crew on the Endurance consists of planetary scientist Amelia Brand (Anne Hathaway), astrophysicist Romilly (David Gyasi) and co-pilot Doyle (Wes Bentley). There’s also a pair of affa-ble monolith-shaped robots, CASE and TARS — both hydraulic puppets oper-ated by the actor and clown Bill Irwin. What happens on the ship is far less dramatically interesting than it ought to be, given the mind-bending experiences these four humans and two machines go through together. (At one point, a pair of explorers return from what seems like an afternoon’s worth of adventure

to find their crewmates unfathomably transformed.) Still, the movie’s middle third is visually and technically breath-taking, with two back-to-back planetary exploration sequences of staggering beauty and scale. One world has water — overwhelming amounts of it, periodi-cally rising up in tidal waves the size of mountains. Another is all jagged, frigidly cold rock faces, with one surprising sign of life.

McConaughey makes for a rakish exis-tential hero, weighing his duty to human-ity against his devotion to his kids while taking time to assure his crewmates in that Robert Mitchum drawl of his that he has the piloting chops to “swing around that neutron star and decelerate.” The rest of the cast, including the vastly overqualified Chastain in a one-note role as the resentful wronged daughter, swings around the neutron star that is McConaughey himself — no one gives a bad performance, but the cast never coalesces into an ensemble. Hathaway’s character in particular seems indistinctly imagined, with hints at a painful past love story that’s never fully explored.

The protracted last act of “Interstellar” (which contains at least three discrete moments that could easily have been endings but aren’t) ties the outer-space plot up with the meanwhile-back-at-the-ranch one via a development that’s at once metaphysical and sort-of-seemingly scientific. (The theoretical physicist Kip Thorne was a consultant.) How you feel about the movie may hang on your reac-tion to this scene — about which I’ll say only that, like the end of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” it takes place in a space that seems to exist in between the familiar world we know and some strange alter-nate dimension.

Going back over and over this cru-cial moment with a fellow critic on the train home, I could make no sense of it — where was the encounter meant to be taking place? What laws of the universe, or of human relationships, did it purport to disclose? But the sense of visual and spatial wonder this scene evoked in me lingered long after, accompanied by a begrudging respect for the Nolans’ sheer commitment to their own peculiar brand of visionary hokum.

WP-Bloomberg

By Dana Stevens

Anyone bemoaning the dearth of original scripts in a movie marketplace dominated by adaptations, remakes, and

sequels should in theory be thrilled by Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, a sprawl-ing metaphysical science-fiction epic that’s nothing if not original.

Interstellar does engage in its share of homages and borrowings from film his-tory: We open on a car chase through a cornfield that’s a drone-era update of the climactic chase in North by Northwest. The plot, about a group of astronauts sent into space to investigate a mysterious anom-aly, explicitly recalls that of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The use of special effects to com-municate radical perceptual shifts comes courtesy of The Matrix. But for better or worse, “Interstellar” stubbornly remains its own whacked-out, inimitable self: a century-spanning family soap opera that’s simultaneously a cowboy space opera. Oh, and a serious philosophical treatise on both human mortality and the concept of time. And possibly, if unsatisfyingly, also a dystopian environmental parable of some kind or other?

There might be a few more genres that would comfortably fit into the roomy 169-minute running time of Interstellar, a movie I snickered at more than once but never stopped staring at in wonder. This isn’t Nolan’s best film by any stretch, but it abounds in the qualities that are among his strengths: evoking a sense of visual awe, crafting balletically sleek large-scale action sequences (remember the somer-saulting semi in The Dark Knight?), and casting actors (especially male ones) who deliver fierce and memorable perform-ances, even in roles that are less than fully fleshed out.

Unfortunately, Interstellar also show-cases some of Nolan’s persistent weak-nesses: dialogue (written by Nolan and his brother and frequent writing partner Jonathan) that lays out the film’s big ideas and themes with the assiduity of a new employee at a whiteboard. Female charac-ters who spend most of their screen time, however much they’re given, as either helpmates or victims. And a tendency toward intellectual and auditory bombast: Here, it’s Michael Caine bellowing quite a

bit of Dylan Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night as a spacecraft launches deafeningly into the stratosphere, Hans Zimmer’s booming music jockeying for a place in the mix.

I actually watched the entirety of Interstellar wearing foam earplugs brought along for that purpose, because Chris Nolan movies, like death-metal concerts, are best attended wearing some sonic safety gear (especially if the film is being screened in IMAX, as Interstellar will be in some theaters when it opens November 7). The earplugs came in handy right away in that gorgeously shot opening cornfield sequence, in which equally gorgeous single dad Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and his children, Tom (Timothée Chalamet) and Murph (Mackenzie Foy), chase a descending drone until it crashes in a field, then toss it into the back of their truck to take it apart for salvage.

The exact nature of the futuristic dys-topia Cooper and his kids inhabit takes a while to establish itself, and in fact never fully emerges into relief. We’re given no explanatory date-stamps or backstory-furnishing voiceovers, and the world Cooper, his children, and his gentle father (John Lithgow) live in looks externally fairly similar to our own — there are cars and computers, functioning schools and governments, even organised games of what appears to be minor-league baseball. But gradually we learn that some time ago the Earth’s soil stopped supporting any crop but corn and okra — and the last extant okra field is about to die out. Dust storms, kicked up by the erosion of top-soil due to worldwide blight, periodically ravage the land. The human population is on a mathematically chartable course toward extinction; as another character grimly observes to Cooper at one point, their children’s generation is likely to be the last to survive.

Cooper, who was once a crack space-ship pilot, gets recruited (or, depending how you look at it, coerced) into a top-secret exploratory mission organised by what remains of Nasa — an institution that’s had to go underground in an era in which, for some reason, official ide-ology insists that the moon landing was faked. (Better not let Buzz Aldrin hear you say that, dystopian future!) After an accumulation of seemingly supernatural

InterstellarInterstellar is everything that’s great is everything that’s great and terrible about Christopher Nolanand terrible about Christopher Nolan


TENNISPLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 201410

1 NovakDjokovic

52 8

Wimbledonchampion aimingto claim thirdsuccessive WorldTour Finals title

2 RogerFederer

66 10

Six-time winnercould yet finishyear ranked No.1after impressiveresults all season

4 StanWawrinka

35 14

Australian Openwinner appearingin second TourFinals. Reachedsemi-final in 2013

5 AndyMurray

56 17

Three titles in lastfive weeks haveboosted chancesof Finals spot for7th straight year

6 KeiNishikori

49 11

Aiming to becomefirst Asian playerto qualify forseason-endingfinale

7 MarinCilic

54 18

Ensured place inyear-end eventby winning maidenGrand Slam atU.S. Open

8 TomasBerdych

51 19

Can still qualifybut has recordedonly four winsover Top 10players in 2014

9 DavidFerrer

52 22

Needs to reachfinal in Paristo guaranteefifth successiveLondon berth

The ATP World Tour Finals take place at London’s O2 Arena,featuring the world’s top eight-ranked players over the year

3 Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn to undergo surgery

10 Milos Raonic 11 Grigor Dimitrov – both still in running to make Finals

Race to London rank W / L 20140November 9-16 Qualified

10 MilosRaonic

HEALTH / FITNESS 11

Drugs to abet cancer cells suicide found

British scientists have found a drug combi-nation that can trigger the self-destruct

process in lung cancer cells — paving the way for new treatments.

The combination of two drugs, called TRAIL and a CDK9 inhibitor, forced the cancer cells to self-destruct, the findings showed.

When healthy cells are no longer useful, they initiate a chain of events culminating in self destruction. But cancer cells swerve away from this suicide path and become immortal. This means that cells grow out of control — causing tumours to form.

Lead researcher Henning Walczak from the UCL Cancer Institute, University College, London in Britain, said: “Igniting the fuse that causes lung cancer cells to self-destruct could pave the way to a completely new treatment approach — and leave healthy cells unharmed.”

The researchers have successfully fixed this fault in lung cancer cells — reprogramming the cells to self-destruct.

The researchers used lung cancer cells and mice for the experiments.

Walczak added: “The next step of our work will see how this approach works in other can-cer types, and we hope it could ultimately lead to testing this technique in trials to see if it can help patients.”

The findings will be presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference next week in Liverpool, Britain.

Resveratrol could impede benefits of exerciseContrary to popular belief, adding resveratrol

(RSV) to your exercise routine may not enhance the effects of physical activity, said a study. Resveratrol occurs naturally in the skin of red grapes and it is common to recommend RSV supplements to complement exercise and enhance performance.

RSV may actually impede the body’s response to training, the findings showed.

“The data set we recorded during this study clearly demonstrates that RSV supplementation does not augment training, but may impair the affect it has on the body,” said Brendon Gurd, professor at Queen’s University in Canada.

“The efficacy of RSV at improving metabolic and cardio-vascular functions is not as profound as was once thought,” Gurd added.

Recently, it has become possible to purchase RSV supplements, which are often marketed as ‘exercise mimics’.

For the study, sixteen participants, who engaged in less than three hours of aerobic exer-cise per week at the time of enrolment were asked to perform high-intensity interval train-ing (HIIT) three times per week for four weeks.

During this time, participants were admin-istered daily doses of either RSV or a placebo.

Results after the four-week study showed that RSV supplementation may actually oppose the effects of exercise.

The placebo group, on the other hand, showed an increase in some of the benefits associated with physical activity as opposed to the group taking RSV.

This research was published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.

Agencies

To prevent more kidney To prevent more kidney stones, drink waterstones, drink water


There is some evidence that drinking more fluids may prevent subsequent stones without causing side effects. Other options include citrate, which attaches to calcium in the urine and keeps crystals from forming.

By Kathryn Doyle

People who have had a kidney stone should drink enough fluids to produce two litres of urine per day in order to prevent more kidney stones from forming, according to new guidelines from the American College

of Physicians.If drinking more fluids doesn’t work, patients

can try “water pills” (known as diuretics) or other drugs to reduce stone formation. But both of these recommendations are weak, since the evidence for them is moderate to low quality, the authors write.

“On average, drinking enough fluid so that you have two liters of urine per day significantly decreases your risk of having a kidney stone,” said Dr Robert Centor, a practicing internist and Chair of the American College of Physician’s Board of Regents, which approved the new recommendation.

Kidney stones form from solid crystals, usually including calcium oxalate, and adding more fluids decreases the concentration of solids in the urine, making it harder for stones to form, he said.

“I want patients’ urine to be clear, not yellow,” Centor said by phone.

More than 10 percent of men and seven percent of women in the US will develop a kidney stone in their lifetime, according to a 2012 study, and many who have one will have more in the future, Centor said. They can be incredibly painful and may require surgery, he said.

Researchers reviewed papers published on recurrent kidney stones between 1948 and 2014 to form the new guidelines.

There is some evidence that drinking more fluids may prevent subsequent stones without causing side effects. If that doesn’t work, taking a thiazide diuretic, which increases the amount of urine, may help. Other options include citrate, which attaches to calcium in the urine and keeps crystals from forming, or a drug called allopurinol, the authors write in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Patients should try the first two options before

allopurinol, which is also used to treat gout and can cause drowsiness, diarrhea and stomach pain, Centor said.

People may need to drink more than two litres of fluids to produce two litres of urine, he said, depending on how hot the day is and how active the person is.

“You might need to drink three litres on a hot day,” Centor said.

There is also some evidence that soda intake may be related to recurrent kidney stones, the authors write.

Cutting down on dark sodas, particularly sweetened ones, may help, Centor said. Dark sodas are made with phosphoric acid, which makes urine more acidic.

Clear or yellow citrus sodas, made with citrate, may actually help prevent stones, he noted.

There are plenty of reasons to avoid sweetened soft drinks, but as far as kidney stones are concerned,

people who’ve never had one don’t need to worry about cutting out soda, he said.

There are different types of kidney stones, but in general people at high risk can reduce their sodium intake, reduce animal protein, and try to get five fresh fruits and vegetables per day, said Dr John A Sayer, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Nephrology at the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University in the UK.

Anyone can get a kidney stone, but they are more common in hot climates or working environments, Sayer said.

Family history makes stones more likely, Centor said. A patient with a kidney stone will be in so much pain they will go to the emergency room, he said. At a follow-up appointment after the stone has passed, doctors can

suggest strategies for preventing more.“When a patient comes in with a kidney stone,

they can’t hear me because they’re in so much pain,” Centor said.

“We don’t have a perfect treatment for preventing kidney stones, every patient is different and responds differently,” he said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/1i46lF7 Annals of Internal Medicine, November 3, 2014 Reuters

TECHNOLOGYPLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 201412

By Stuart Dredge

The chief executive of Facebook-owned vir-tual reality firm Oculus VR has warned rival Sony not to launch a VR headset until it has solved problems of motion sickness.

“We’re really looking forward to this as an industry that takes off… A number of companies will come in, even companies we haven’t heard of yet two or three or five years down the road,” said Iribe, who was speaking at the Web Summit conference in Dublin.

“At the same time we’re a little worried about some of the bigger companies putting out product that isn’t quite ready. That elephant in the room is disorientation and motion sickness.”

Past developer versions of his own company’s Oculus Rift headset have sparked debate about this issue, with some users reporting suffering motion sickness when playing games while wearing them.

Iribe said that he expects the consumer version of Oculus Rift to have solved these issues, but deliv-ered a warning to rivals. “We’re encouraging other companies, particularly the big consumer companies, to not put out a product until they’ve solved that problem,” he said.

Sony was the obvious target for his remarks: it announced its Project Morpheus virtual reality head-set earlier this year, while Samsung has chosen to partner with Oculus VR on its upcoming Gear VR product.

Iribe added that Oculus has already invited Sony in to see its latest prototype, complete with the advice: “Please make sure your product is as good or close!”

Oculus boss said that since being bought for $2bn by Facebook earlier in the year, his company has focused on recruitment, as it beefs up its research and development division alongside working towards a commercial release for Oculus Rift.

“It’s been a very exciting time for us to partner with such a big company and really supercharge our effort to make this a reality,” he said. “The biggest area we’ve focused on over the last seven months is recruiting… to put the right structure in place to build this and take it to the consumer market.”

Oculus has grown from 50 people at the start

of 2014 to more than 200 now, said Iribe. “We’ve attracted some of the very best, top-talent engineers in the industry. And a big area we’re able to focus on now is research: R&D,” he said.

“Typically it’s hard for a startup to have a whole separate research group while you also have a prod-uct group… Now with Facebook’s partnership it’s been incredible who we’ve been able to bring on board, and we now have one of the best research groups in the world.”

Iribe described VR as a “brand new industry… we’re just at the beginning” while acknowledging that the technology itself has deep roots in past efforts.

“We didn’t know how big this would be, or what the killer application was going to be. Was it just going to be gaming?” he said, before suggesting that a number of virtual reality veterans have been joining Oculus with ideas.

“What is the killer applica-tion for VR? Again, it’s too early to say. We just don’t know what that application’s going to be that most people are going to use. What game, or what real-time entertainment application… or is it going to be face-to-face communication?” he said.

“One that really resonates with most of us internally, and a long-term vision, is this is going to have a big rooting in gam-ing… There’ll be a market of a lot of really fun entertainment experiences where you’ll feel like you’re in the game, and it’s going to be awesome.”

However, Iribe said that virtual reality’s more mainstream application will be more around com-munications – something that surely plays into the reasons Facebook paid $2bn for the company.

“For me the real time when this is going to change the world is when we can have real-time face-to-face conversation,” he said, suggesting that virtual reality will become an alternative to travelling for meetings, as one example.

“Most people travel, and we get on airplanes and cars to go have face-to-face communications. If you could in the future throw on a pair of sunglasses and we could have that same conversation with people around the world… looking at each other’s eyes, look-ing in each other’s mouths… that’s really transforma-tive,” said Iribe.

He also claimed that this could have an impact as deep as past communications technologies like the telephone, internet and personal computers. “To have virtual reality where you can have these face-to-face communications, that’s going to appeal to billions of people,” he said.

Iribe also talked about the importance of com-munity to Oculus VR, from its days raising money on crowdfunding website Kickstarter.

He said that crowdfunding “really does change who you are, the culture: being completely transparent, being attached and in touch with the community, and every step of the way we think ‘how is the com-munity going to react to this, is this the right thing to do… Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this, maybe this sounds a little evil!’”

Iribe also talked up the latest developer version of Oculus Rift, Crescent Bay, which was announced in September. “Crescent Bay is where it all begins: that quality level,” said Iribe, who later said that his company still hopes to fit its technology into a pair of sunglasses at some point in the future.

Iribe was asked how close Oculus is to releasing the consumer version of its headset. “We wanna get it right, we really do. We are not going to ship it until we get it right, and we don’t want that to be four or five years from now. We want it to be soon,” he said.

“We’re getting much closer: we like to say it’s months, not necessarily years away. It’s many months, not just a few months. Crescent Bay, I’ll go on the record as saying that hardware-wise for the headset, it’s arguably almost there for the consumer product, and now there are some other parts.”

Earlier, Albert ‘Skip’ Rizzo from the University of Southern California talked about the potential for virtual reality technology, showing demonstra-tion applications for treating post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers, children with attention-deficit disorder, and recovering stroke patients.

Rizzo said that he has been working on medi-cal VR applications for many years now, but that “the technology has caught up with the vision” through improved computer processing, 3D graph-ics and interface devices including Oculus Rift and Microsoft’s Kinect.

Rizzo showed off Bravemind, a “virtual reality exposure therapy” applica-tion that enables soldiers with PTSD to virtually experience “trauma-rele-vant scenarios” as part of their treatment.

“The thing that will make virtual reality in the clini-cal domain more acceptable now this time round for the second coming is we’ve got a lot of data to show that it works,” said Rizzo.

He cited a study of Bravemind with 20 soldiers with PTSD that saw 16 of

them no longer meeting the medical criteria for the condition at the end of the trial, although the tech-nology had no effect on the other four.

“We’re creating immersive simulation that tar-gets a very difficult psychological condition,” said Rizzo, as he triggered explosions and sent planes and helicopters flying low over a virtual street in his demonstration.

“We’re not saying that the technology fixes any-body: it’s still just a tool in the hands of a well-trained clinician who understands how to deliver this evi-dence-based treatment.” The Guardian

Oculus warns Sony to solve motion sickness before launching VR headset

‘We’re a little worried about some of the bigger companies putting out product that isn’t quite ready’

COMICS & MORE 13

Hoy en la HistoriaNovember 5, 1994

1924: China’s last Manchu emperor, 18-year-old Pu-Yi, was expelled from the Forbidden City1928: Mount Etna erupted, burying the Sicilian village of Mascali1994: Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan revealed that he was suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease2004: Chile’s army admitted responsiblility for human rights violations committed under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet

U.S. boxer George Foreman, aged 47, beat 27-year-old Michael Moorer to regain the world heavyweight title he lost to Muhammad Ali 20 years earlier

Picture: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS

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

ACKNOWLEDGE, ADDRESS, ANSWER, CALL, CHAT, COMMUNE, COMMUNICATE, CONTACT, CONVERSE, CONVEY, DELIVER, DISCOURSE, DISPLAY, ENQUIRE, EXCHANGE, GESTURE, GOSSIP, GREET, HEAR, IMPART, INFORM, INTERACT, LETTER, LISTEN, MESSAGE, ORATE, PHONE, PONTIFICATE, QUESTION, RENDER, REQUEST, SHOW, SIGN, SPEAK, TALK, TOUCH, TRANSFER, TRANSMIT, UTTER, WRITE.

Baby Blues by Jerry Scott & Rick Kirkman

Zits by Jerry Scott & Jim Borgman

Hagar The Horrible by Chris Browne

LEARN ARABIC


The Professions

Book-binder Moujallid koutoub

Singer Mou�annee

Cobbler Iskafee

Carpenter Najjar

Porter Hamaal

Apothecary Ça��ar

Driver Sa'iq

Bricklayer Amil binna'

Shoe-maker �aniç ala��iya

ç = ‘a’ in ‘agh’ when surprised

HYPER SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

CROSSWORDS

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

How to play Hyper Sudoku:A Hyper Sudoku

Puzzle is solved

by filling the

numbers from 1

to 9 into the blank

cells. A Hyper

Sudoku has

unlike Sudoku

13 regions

(four regions

overlap with the

nine standard

regions). In all

regions the numbers from 1 to 9 can appear

only once. Otherwise, a Hyper Sudoku is

solved like a normal Sudoku.

ACROSS 1 “America’s Most

Wanted” host John 6 Bedwear, informally 9 Meager14 Prized violin15 Triumphant cry16 “Yup”17 Operatic singer on a

sofa?19 “I ___ for animals”

(bumper sticker)20 Taken care of21 Curved path23 Mountain goat24 Kooky26 Ins’ partner28 Chitchat about a

dressmaking template?33 “May ___ excused?”35 Former part of

Portuguese India36 Set of keys?37 Complimentary road

service in Sierra Leone’s capital?

42 Like Dylan Thomas, by birth

43 Oozy stuff44 180° from WNW45 Egg-hunting time in the

Orient?50 “___ Man,” Emilio

Estevez film51 Former capital of Italy?52 Pizazz55 Many a C.E.O.’s deg.57 Broadway’s ___ O’Neill

Theater61 Sheriff’s star63 Memorize lines for a

Shakespearean king?65 Evil character in “Snow

White”66 Mess up67 Superman’s adoptive

parents68 “Pasted” or “wasted,”

for “drunk”69 “Balderdash!”70 Art Deco, for oneDOWN 1 Money rolls 2 Parisian girlfriend 3 Wash 4 Lyric unit

5 Insinuate 6 ___ Beta Kappa 7 Software platform

suitable for Starbucks? 8 Actress Stone of

“Casino” 9 Easily pranked teacher,

maybe10 New Jersey governor

whose first name starts his last name

11 “Moby-Dick” captain12 Zap in the microwave13 TV’s “___ Factor”18 “Please stay!”22 Quarter of a quart25 “Man, that hurts!”27 Reel-to-reel ___28 Banana skins29 Mountain chain30 ___ Tots31 Son of Seth32 Investment firm T. ___

Price33 “___ Never Meet

Again” (Elvis song)34 La ___ Tar Pits38 Hormone in the pill

39 Quaker pronoun40 Baby horse41 More optimistic46 331/3, for a record

album: Abbr.47 More high-minded48 Elephants’ feelers49 “Bald” baby bird52 Outdoor meals with

hamburgers or hot dogs, say, in brief

53 Fidel Castro’s brother and successor

54 Notion56 Commercial prefix with

postale58 “___ meeny miney mo”59 The “N” of N.A.A.C.P.: Abbr.60 Scottish Gaelic62 Coll. major of many writers64 Paintings, sculptures, etc.

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

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31 32

33 34 35 36

37 38 39 40 41

42 43 44

45 46 47 48 49

50 51

52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

61 62 63 64

65 66 67

68 69 70

L A B A M B A A T A V I S TI P A D A I R S I S E N O RR E T W E E T K T H X B Y EA S E A N E B U L A

R E V O P E N T O PS U P E R E G O T A B L EN N E S N A K E B I T T E NA C R E U N C L E S A D DG O O G L E G L A S S I T OS I N G E U N T I L N O W

L I O N C U B D R ES E N S O R F O W L

P A J A M A S P A D T H A ID V D C A S E T M O B I L EF I S H N E T S A M E O L D

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

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

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

14

EASY SUDOKUCartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate

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


CINEMA / TV LISTINGS 15

TEL: 444933989 444517001SHOWING AT VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER

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Deck

22:00 Good Luck

Charlie

22:25 A.N.T. Farm

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11:55 Last Of The

Summer Wine

12:30 One Foot In The

Grave

13:05 Eastenders

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Fabulous

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World

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21:00 NEWSHOUR

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22:30 The Stream

23:00 Witness

1Ouija (2D/Horror)

– 11:00am, 1:00, 3.00, 5.00, 7.00, 9.00 & 11:00pm

2John Wick (2D/Action) – 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4.00,

6.10, 8.20, 10.30 & 12:40am

3Al Jazeera 2 (2D/Arabic)

– 10:15am, 1.30, 4.45, 8.00 & 11:30pm

4Fury (2D//Action)

– 10:30am, 1:15, 4:00, 6.45, 9.30pm & 12:10am

5Happy New Year (2D/Hindi)

– 10.20am, 1.50, 5.20, 8.50pm & 12.15am

6The Boxtrolls (2D/Animation) – 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00,

4:00, 6.00, 8.00, 10.00pm & 12:00midnight

7Kite (2D/Action) – 11:15am, 4.15 & 9.15pm

Gone Girl (2D/Drama) – 1:15, 6.15 & 11.15pm

8What We Did On Holiday (2D/Comedy)

– 10.40am, 2.50, 7.00 & 11.20pm

Belle (2D/Drama) – 12.40, 4.50 & 9.00pm

9Fury (IMAX/Action)

– 11:00am, 1:45, 4:30, 7.15, 10.00pm & 12:45am

10John Wick (2D/Thriller) – 10:30am, 4:00 & 9.30pm

Al Jazeera (2D/Arabic) – 12:45, 6:15 & 11.45pm

MALL

1Ouija (2D/Horror) – 2:00 & 11.30pm

What We Did On Holiday (2D/Comedy) – 4:15pm

The Reaper (2D/Action) – 6:00pm

John Wick (2D/Action) – 7:45 & 9.45pm

2Wolves (2D/Action) – 2:00 & 8.45pm

Wicked Blood (2D/Drama) – 3.45pm

Happy New Year (2D/Hindi) – 5:30pm

Al Jazeera 2 (2D/Action) – 10:30pm

3The Reaper (2D/Action) – 2:15pm

Belle (2D/Drama) – 4:00pm

Al Jazeera 2 (2D/Action) – 6:00pm

Roar (2D/Hindi) – 9:00pm

Money Ratnam (2D/Malayalam) – 11:15pm

LANDMARK

1What We Did On Holiday (2D/Comedy) – 2:15pm

Ouija (2D/Horror) – 4:00 & 11.30pm


John Wick (2D/Action) – 7:30 & 9.30pm

2Wolves (2D/Action) – 2:15 & 9.00pm


Al Jazeera 2 (2D/Action) – 6:00 & 10.45pm

3Belle (2D/Drama) – 2:15pm

Wicked Blood (2D/Drama) – 4.15pm

Poojai (2D/Tamil) – 6.00pm

Roar (2D/Hindi) – 9:00pm


ROYAL

PLAZA

1The Reaper (2D/Action) – 2:15pm

What We Did On Holiday (2D/Comedy) – 4:30pm

Poojai (2D/Tamil) – 6.30pm

John Wick (2D/Action) – 9.30pm

Ouija (2D/Horror) – 11:30pm

2Belle (2D/Drama) – 2:15pm

Ouija (2D/Horror) – 4:15pm

Al Jazeera 2 (2D/Action) – 6:00 & 10.45pm

Wolves (2D/Action) – 9.00pm

3Wicked Blood (2D/Drama) – 3.45pm


John Wick (2D/Action) – 7.15pm

Super Nani (2D/Hindi) – 9:15pm



PLUS | WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2014 POTPOURRI16

Editor-In-Chief Khalid Al Sayed Acting Managing Editor Hussain Ahmad Editorial Office The Peninsula Tel: 4455 7741, E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]

IN FOCUS

On the way to Abu Samra.

by Magtanggol Palma

Send your photos to [email protected]. Mention where the photo was taken.

If you want your events featured here, mail details to [email protected]

Events in Qatar

Network & Recruitment Connection 2014! When: November 12; 4pm – 8pmWhere: Grand Hyatt Hotel What: This community networking event provides an opportunity to network and learn about job opportunities, business networks, and community services groups in Qatar. Bridging the community to local opportunities. Tickets: QR250, Online at Virgin

Megastore

Doha Film Institute Pop-Up Cinema When: November 6-8; 7pmWhere: Museum Of Islamic Art Park What: Free Screening of films — Rio, Rio2 and Amazonia. Limited capacity, first come first served.Free Entry

The Sound of Music Broadway theatrical show When: November 26-29; 7pm Where: Qatar National Convention CenterWhat: The world’s most-loved musical -The Sound of Music, comes to Doha. This iconic broadway musical show will be featuring lavish costumes and scenery, a wonderful live orchestra and starring a cast of the very best of London’s West End performers, this award-winning critically acclaimed production is an emotionally packed extravaganza.Entry: QR250-QR1200

Cultures of Brazil Festival When: November 6-8 Where: Museum Of Islamic Art Park What: The festival brings a colourful slice of the energy and creativity of Brazil to Qatar for a week long series of events presented at the MIA Park and additional cultural venues in Doha. Some of Brazil’s leading popular, classical and jazz musicians will perform in an outdoor setting that will include stages, food stalls and a ‘Copacabana Sidewalk’. The festival will include a Carnival Procession with floats designed by Qatari schoolchildren working with designers from Brazil’s leading Carnival groups. Brazil will be celebrated with music, story-telling, beach football, and stands selling Brazilian street food.Free admission

Longines Global Champions Tour When: November 13-15Where: Al Shaqab Horse Racing Academy What: Qatar will again host the Longines Global Champions Tour Championship Final at the Al Shaqab Equestrian Centre. This magnificent venue will see the best riders in the world pull out all the stops to win the overall title for 2014.Free entry

Spanish shepherds guide 2,000 sheep across Madrid

Shepherds guided a flock of 2,000 sheep through Madrid’s streets on Sunday in defense of ancient

grazing, droving and migration rights increasingly threatened by urban sprawl and modern agricultural practices.

Tourists and city-dwellers were sur-prised to see the capital’s traffic cut to permit the bleating, bell-clanking parade to pass the city’s most emblem-atic locations.

Shepherds halted at the old town hall so the chief herdsman could hand authorities 25 maravedies — copper coins first minted in the 11th century — as payment for the crossing.

They then continued past Puerta del Sol — Madrid’s equivalent of New York’s Times Square — and past the Bank of Spain headquarters on their way to Retiro Park.

Children shrieked with joy as the sheep went from a trot to a gallop past a hamburger restaurant and lux-ury jewellery store in the city’s toniest downtown quarter.

Since medieval times, shepherds have had the right to use droving paths crisscrossing a landscape that was once a checkerboard of woodland and

grazing space. Some herding routes have been used annually for over 800 years and Madrid sprawls across one dating back to 1372. Madrid became an important urban centre when King Philip II chose it as the capital of his vast empire in 1561.

The herd was accompanied by musi-cians and dancers dressed in regional costumes that have been worn by rural workers for centuries.

Spaniards are proud of their sheep-rearing traditions and hold native live-stock in high esteem. The Merino breed has gone on to form the backbone of important wool industries in places such as Australia and South America.

Scientist awarded for dancing to explain her researchAn Indian scientist who danced to

explain her research on torna-does, has won the top prize in the 2014 ‘Dance Your PhD’ contest.

Uma Nagendra is a researcher doing her Ph.D. at the University of Georgia, Athens, in the United States.

The ‘Dance Your PhD’ contest, the results for which were officially announced, is a competition in which researchers explain their dissertations using creative movement like dance.

Nagendra said her Ph.D. focuses on how several different species of tree seedlings in the southern Appalachian mountains interact with soil organisms and how tornadoes might mix things up.

“I use a combination of greenhouse and field experiments to investigate how tornadoes can change not only what plants grow in an area, but also how they interact with each other -- through the soil,” she said.

The researcher said that she started taking dance trapeze classes at Canopy Studio in Athens, Georgia, about two years ago. “I like that it helps me use a different part of my brain after a long day of looking at data.”

“It’s a different way of challenging yourself, both creatively and physically. One of my first trapeze instructors is a researcher in the genetics department, and several former graduate students in my program did trapeze and silks at Canopy for many years,” Nagendra added.

Entries for the contest are divided into four main categories: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Social Science. The winner from each of these catego-ries receives $500.

The overall winner receives another $500 and a trip to Stanford University in California for a screening of the dance at a publishing conference spon-sored by High Wire Press.

Agencies

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