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Greta Kaemmer can really grill you. Hurling questions with rapid-fire velocity, Kaemmer, who is better known as Memsaab, astounds you with her encyclopedic knowledge of Indian cinema. Sample this: How were Mehmood and Meena Kumari related in real life? Don’t know. In which Hindi film do two actresses play the same character? Duh. And in which film does Shammi Kapoor do a nautch girl number? I’m logging off…
Memsaab is part of a growing group of foreigners who love Indian cinema as much as any desi. Accomplished in Hinglish, these men and women are passionate about all things Bollywood. Take Maria, a German blogger and diehard fan of Shah Rukh Khan who was so upset with the lack of a German release for Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna in her country that she flew to New York to watch the film: First day, first show. Or Bastet, another German blogger who writes, “Being a Bollywood fan in Germany is not easy. We undertook a 200-km-long trip to Amsterdam (to see KANK). At that moment, we didn’t mind that the film was in Dutch and not in English subtitles.”
Both Maria and Bastet are part of a growing online craze that according to German journalist and author Brigit Pestal is now going offline as well. Pestal, who has written a book on Bollywood cinema and its influence on German speaking countries, estimates that there are 50,000 viewers of Bollywood films in Austria and Switzerland and one million viewers in Germany. She says, “Hardcore filmi fans in Germany go for Bollywood dancing at night. They wear saris, bindis, bangles and even learn some Hindi. About 70% of these fans are female.”
But the craze is not just confined to Germany. Kwanghyun Jung, runs an 8,000 member-strong internet club in South Korea which shows one Hindi film a month and till recently ran Bollywood dance classes. Says Jung, “We don’t see movies silently in Korean style but rather in Indian style, which means making a lot of noise, laughing loudly at every joke and abusing the villain.” This is what attracts Korean audiences to Bollywood movies. As to the choice of films, he says that almost all movies screened are SRK movies because members aren’t interested in anyone but him. “We also make Shah Rukh T-shirts, cups and some members carry his photos. Even their cellphone screensavers are SRK images.”

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

‘Today’ pulls the plug on its online critics
The BBC is to axe the ‘Today’ programme’s popular online message board in what appears to be an attempt to silence its strongest critics. The announcement that after this month listeners can no longer debate the news as delivered by the likes of Sarah Montague has prompted a furious response from regular users. “The closure of this board is nothing more, nor less, than naked, unapologetic censorship,” says one. The Beeb says the change is part of a website revamp and that listeners will be encouraged to use the main Have Your Say forum instead. Forums are credited with boosting online traffic on all the BBC sites, but for Radio 4 it would appear to be the wrong sort of traffic.
Is Jason Cowley the Bertie Wooster ‘de nos jours’? The new ‘New Statesman’ editor has upset Sigrid Rausing, the Aunt Dahlia in his life, by leaving ‘Granta’ so soon after she made him editor. And in 2006 he found himself in a Woosterish scrape at a football match in Germany: “It was hot and I was late; let us say a robust discussion followed be-tween me and a steward … He was wearing a baseball cap, which I could not resist knocking from his head. I was soon in the agreeable company of the German military.” What next? Missing cow creamers at the Staggers?
Watch the pressure rise
Mirror Group supremo Sly Bailey turned up on Tuesday at the Lords Communications Committee – to declare the ‘Daily Mirror’ would support Labour at the next election – wearing a huge watch. “The sort of thing Buster Crabbe might have worn when deep-sea diving,” says an onlooker. Given her titles’ sales figures, it may be no bad thing to have pressure-resistant equipment.
Even Associated Newspapers has been hit by the credit crunch, it seems. Staff at Derry Street were horrified to find notices announcing whopping canteen price hikes last week, allegedly reflecting the global rise in the cost of food. “It’s a joke. A litre of water, which costs just 50p in over-priced M&S, cost 94p downstairs!” fumes one thirsty staffer. The timing is unfortunate: last week Daily Mail and General Trust announced a pre-tax profit rise of 7 per cent.

independent.co.uk

WACO, Texas — Deep in the basement of Baylor University’s Moody Library, a slightly worn 45 nestled around a high-tech turntable starts to spin, producing a mysterious voice from the past.
The Mighty Wonders and lead crooner John Stewart Jr. deliver a moving version of the gospel standard “Old Ship of Zion.” He exhorts listeners to “get on board if you want to see Jesus,” as the rest of the Wonders keep pace in the background.
Like so many of their contemporaries in the late 1950s and early ’60s, the group’s emotional solos and rich harmonies were buried at the bottom of collectors’ cardboard boxes or lost to time _until now.
Robert Darden, a journalism professor and music historian, has made it his life mission to preserve every gospel record made from 1940 to 1970, which includes the genre’s golden age.
He’s been stretching a $350,000 grant from a Connecticut investor for the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project at Baylor. With a staff of three, Darden buys and solicits old records from collectors, average fans, record companies and other schools.
Along the way, he is finding some lost or forgotten gems, such as the Wonders’ track.
“It blew me away,” he said of the recording that brought tears to his wife’s eyes. “I’ve never heard anything like it. It just makes you want more. I have not been able to get that song out of my head.”
Since the project began more than a year ago, Darden and his staff have preserved more than 1,000 rare and classic gospel records.
Their work has thrilled gospel lovers.
The Rev. Bryan Carter, pastor at Concord Baptist Church in Dallas, said old-time gospel music is still performed in many churches but is not easy to find on CD.
Churchgoers are familiar with songs because they have been sung for years, though the original recordings have faded with time.

chron.com

To continue providing opportunities for Illinois amateur golfers, the Bank of America Open will host an 18-hole Amateur Invitational on Monday, April 21 at Oak Park Country Club in River Grove, Ill. Approximately 60 amateur golfers will compete for an automatic exemption into the Nationwide Tour’s Bank of America Open, May 29 - June 1 and a $5,000 donation to the winner’s charity of choice.
In addition to the Amateur Invitational, an open qualifier offering 14 positions in the Bank of America Open will continue to be organized for Illinois golfers. The open qualifier will again be administered by the Illinois PGA and is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 27, two days in advance of tournament competition.
The Bank of America Open will take place at The Glen Club in Glenview, Ill. May 29 - June 1, welcoming a full field of 156 golfers who will compete for one of the largest purses available on the Nationwide Tour. With the top 25 Nationwide Tour money earners graduating to the PGA TOUR each year, the Bank of America Open is widely targeted by players looking to advance their Nationwide Tour ranking.
There will be a reception for West Aurora High School alumni on Apr. 4 prior to the start of a basketball fundraiser featuring alumni from East and West Aurora high schools.

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