"DUBAI (Dobayy), second largest of the seven emirates constituting the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf. [...] Almost half the inhabitants of Dubai are from the Indian subcontinent; 100,000-150,000 are of Persian origin. This Persian community, the largest in the U.A.E., has been instrumental in promoting ties between Persia and Dubai.
Relations with Persia before 1357/1979. Toward the end of the 19th century the Persian port of Lenga lost its free-trade status, and nearby Dubai became the leading entrepôt in the area. The liberal policies of the emir of Dubai persuaded many Persian merchants to move there from Lenga. Dubai thus became the major port for trade with Persia. In addition, the growing Persian community provided opportunities for special cultural ties between the two countries. Nevertheless, Dubai, as a member of the Trucial States, was still under British control, and its relations with Persia were governed by the overall relations between Great Britain and Persia.Persia was able to exploit the rivalry between Dubai and Abu Dhabi by developing close ties with the emir of Dubai. A consulate was opened in Dubai in July 1952; it was elevated to consulate general in 1954. On the other hand, the trade-oriented economy of Dubai ensured the emir's greater interest in Persia than in his immediate neighbors. In the early 1970s more than half of about 50,000 trading dhows in Dubai were engaged primarily in re-export trade with Persia. Cultural relations flourished as well, as Persia sponsored educational, health, and other institutions in Dubai. Students from Dubai attended Persian universities, particularly in Shiraz.
[...] The end of the war and subsequent developments in the Persian Gulf area, including the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, only strengthened ties between Persia and Dubai. Many hospitals, schools, banks, recreation clubs, workers' cooperatives, and other institutions in Dubai are run directly by the Persian government or semigovernmental organizations. If no new major crises occur capitalist initiatives adopted recently by the Persian government should strengthen relations with Dubai in the near future". Source: www.iranica.com
"Closet chef Jake Gyllenhaal is developing a new organic restaurant venture with top cook Chris Fischer.
Sources claim the movie star once promised himself he'd open a top-end eatery if his acting career took off by the time he was 30. He's 27.
And Gyllenhaal, who has made regular appearances on top chef Mario Batali's hit U.S. cookery show Molto Mario, is getting serious about cooking up a restaurant.
A pals tells America's Life + Style magazine that Gyllenhaal and pal Fischer are looking at real estate in Los Angeles - with a view to opening their own place.
The insider says, "Cooking is his (Gyllenhaal) big hobby and his passion."
Reports suggest Gyllenhaal is even planning a summer vacation cycling tour of food-lovers mecca Tuscany, Italy with his girlfriend Reese Witherspoon - to seek inspiration for his new restaurant". Source: www.imdb.com
"So, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali (of restaurant and Food Network fame), and a Spanish movie star and cook book author Mark Bittman are teaming up to host a documentary-style show in which they travel through Spain eating food. It is random, very random. Gwyneth apparently speaks fluent spanish, Mario and her have amazing chemistry and it all begins and ends with WILLIE NELSON singing. There is no voice over that soothes me saying “yeah, this is really strange and incredible and quite the paella of people and places but it is going to be awesome!”
must say that Mario Batali fascinates me, and I think it is because he carried his girth around so well. The dude is fat but has the attitude of a skinny dude with a fat soul, if that makes any sense. I first got into him NOT through television but rather while reading the book “Heat” by a big time New Yorker writer. I can’t put my finger on what exactly fascinates me so much, but this show opens up a brand new arena. An arena which also features Frank Gehry and Michael Stipe". Source: Jessicatillyer.wordpress.com
"TMZ spotted gorgeous Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon out together on a little shopping trip in NYC and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. These two are as about as exciting as a dentist appointment! But did you catch that guttural sound emitted by Jakey as he got in to the car? Either they've got a barn animal in the car, or Jake is learning a new language, and it's called Mule". Source: www.tmz.com
"Since I last blogged at you, life has brought wackness and dopeness in equal measure. Barnabas, my copilot and set buddy, died in July. It was sudden and devastating. I miss my little gentleman terribly.In much happier news, my brilliant friend Lorene Scafaria debuted her first film, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist at the Toronto Film Festival. I've noticed a fistful of assholes on IMDB are accusing this movie of being a Juno copycat. Perhaps the marketing folks at Sony are unlikely Juno-philes (yes, we've all seen that hand-lettered font before) but N&N is based on a popular book and was filmed months before Juno was released. Also, it's nothing like Juno, unless a smart female protagonist is enough of an anomaly to warrant comparison. (Jesus, I hope not.) Anyway, see the movie on October 3. It is like, classic good. I am so proud of Lorene.Bend thine ear:
I am not Charlie Kaufman or Sofia Coppola (much as I supplicate at their Cannes-weary feet.) I'm not Paul Thomas Anderson. I'm not even Paul W.S. Anderson. I am middle-class trash from the Midwest. I'm a competent nonfiction writer, an admittedly green screenwriter, and a product of Hollywood, USA. I am "Diablo Cody" and if you're not a fan, go rent Prospero's Books again and leave me the fuck alone.
I may have won 19 awards that you don't feel I earned, but it's neither original nor relevant to slag on Juno. Really. And you're not some bold, singular voice of dissent, You are exactly like everyone else in your zeitgeisty-demo-lifestyle pod. You are even like me. (I, too, loved Arrested Development! Aren't we a pretty pair of cultural mavericks? Hey, let's go bitch about how Black Kids are overrated!)
I'm sorry that while you were shooting your failed opus at Tisch, I was jamming toxic silicon toys up my ass for money. I get why you're bitter. I took exactly one film class in college and-- with the curious exception of the Douglas Sirk unit—it bored the shit out of me. I also once got busted for loudly crinkling a bag of Jujubes during a classroom screening of Vivre Sa Vie. I don't deserve to be here. We've established that. But I'm here. Five million 12-year-olds think I'm Buck Henry. Accept it.Listen: I've been telling stories my whole life. Even when I was a phone sex operator, I was the Mark Twain of extemporaneous jerk-off fiction. I took every perspiring creep on a fucking journey. I don't know how to do anything else.
I'm going to make more movies and shows. I doubt they'll all be good, but that's the nature of this life. Even though the public only knows me from one book, one movie, and several aborted blogs, I've spent the last few years hustling like Iceberg Slim out here to prove myself professionally. The people I currently work for, and with, are more than pleased with my post-Juno output. My pilot was so good (thanks, Toni Colette!) that it got picked up for series. That is rare, children. That is blue-rare.
In summation: you try it.
This is the last I have to say on the subject, unless I'm provoked by a journalist in which case I'll gladly reload. With relish, as Betty Rizzo might say. That said, I'm a 30-year-old woman with a dwindling interest in blog culture, and I don't have time to address this bullshit every time one of my projects comes out. I'm in love, I just bought a house, and my boss made E.T. I kind of have to focus on reality". Source: blog.myspace.com
"If you don't already know his name, memorise it now, because Newark's Toby Kebbell seems set to become an A-list film star and a household name. Having cut his teeth on Dead Man's Shoes, Alexander and Match Point, he's currently starring in the title role in Guy Ritchie's RockNRolla. Soon to appear in Cheri alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and The Prince of Persia with Jake Gyllenhaal, the former Carlton Television Workshop student speaks exclusively to Jo Roberts about fame, women, family – and giving Michelle Pfeiffer a rub down.
Where are you living and working at the moment?
In London, working on The Prince of Persia. After RockNRolla I was out of work for 11 months, to shoot down the idea of the glamour. Then I was in Morocco for two and a half months learning to ride on a horse and fight with an axe for the Prince of Persia, but these big projects go on and on, so I'm shooting at Pinewood now. My co-star Jake (Gyllenhaal) is a lovely fella. He's been training hard and pumping iron; he's all about doing his acting right. It's more like doing a marathon than it is like acting, you're delivering these lines that are a bit obscure and you wouldn't normally say like (adopts OTT theatrical voice) 'The mystical dagger of time is going to save us all!' So it's a tricky one, but Jake's got the bull by the horns. We sat around and had a bite to eat a couple of times. He's a typical Yanky chap. Is there any truth in the rumour that you're dating Gemma Arterton, your co-star in both RockNRolla and The Prince if Persia?
No. I wasn't in any scenes with Gemma and we weren't on set together at any time, but we did spend time learning to horse ride together for The Prince... The press love to whack out a story and that's fair enough, but my girlfriend, Ruzwana, was a bit miffed about it. She's a lovely girl and, of course, she's upset when someone says you're having an affair out in Egypt, but I'd never been to Egypt so she knew it wasn't true. [...]
You've starred in films with Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johanson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jake Gyllenhaal. Do you feel like you've made it now, or do you want to become a household name yourself?
It would be lovely to be a legend of the screen. I don't know if I'll ever get there; you've got to thank your lucky stars and say 'I've been blessed for where I've got to'. I'm at a lovely place now, I'm very happy. I don't have to paint walls or serve tables, I just get to act professionally. But if I go back there, then that's what'll happen. It would be heart breaking. I've not achieved what I want to achieve, I have my own big aspirations. I'd love to be considered a very versatile actor like Alec Guinness, a man who can play many, many parts. I'd love to do a 1920s gangster flick with trenchcoats, trilby hats and tommy guns, but I'd also love to do a Western. I'm doing Prince of Persia at the minute so I'm riding horses and am very lucky to be doing an action film, but I still have lots of dreams".
"DUBAI (Dobayy), second largest of the seven emirates constituting the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf. [...] Almost half the inhabitants of Dubai are from the Indian subcontinent; 100,000-150,000 are of Persian origin. This Persian community, the largest in the U.A.E., has been instrumental in promoting ties between Persia and Dubai.
Persia was able to exploit the rivalry between Dubai and Abu Dhabi by developing close ties with the emir of Dubai. A consulate was opened in Dubai in July 1952; it was elevated to consulate general in 1954. On the other hand, the trade-oriented economy of Dubai ensured the emir's greater interest in Persia than in his immediate neighbors. In the early 1970s more than half of about 50,000 trading dhows in Dubai were engaged primarily in re-export trade with Persia. Cultural relations flourished as well, as Persia sponsored educational, health, and other institutions in Dubai. Students from Dubai attended Persian universities, particularly in Shiraz.
