Isn't much use to anyone !!

Sulz tagged and here is the result.

Its an interesting way to arrive at your first fake album cover from your fake band!

Album Name: Isn't much use to anyone
Band Name: Cham Wings

Cham Wings Airlines is a low cost airlines from Syria. I am not sure how going on full speed on a skateboard equated to flying!

But anyhow, I liked the simplicity of the tag and the randomness!

If you would like to pick up the tag... go ahead!

Here are the instructions

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band. If it’s already the name of a band, you can hit random again.

2 - Go to “random quotations” or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days

Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

5 - Post it to blog with this text and tag the blog buddies if you want.

Adding a dash of colour

I have been meaning forever to decorate my house and add a bit of colour to the rooms. I have always loved the way my mother decorated the place, very light, breezy and fresh. I always used to say I would do just that to my house too, but now that the time is here and I have been living here for almost a good 1.5 years, I have failed miserably at making the place look even slightly fresh and breezy.

Now I shall be moving houses again (the pains of rental lease agreements); and I hope that I shall change the look and feel of my new home. So, for this very purpose, I decided that I shall list down all the small things which can be added so as to give a more pleasing and warm appeal to my new home.

1. Light coloured curtains
2. Ceramics on windowsills
3. Framed photographs on the walls
4. Embroidered wall hangings
5. Hanging lamp shade
6. Bookshelf with many shelves so that I can also keep decoratives
   

Is there anything more that you can add to this list? Every single suggestion will be extremely welcome. I seem to have no ideas at all :(

A Valentine for Whisky

My Valentine gift to Whisky was a nice new collar. It was not pink, well she was already wearing a pink one for such a long time so, I thought I shall get a blue one. 

This is the pink collar which she had on for the past year.

And, here is the new collar which is her Valentine gift ! :)

Scorching Inferno

I think the world needs many superheroes for various things which are mounting up on the to - do list.

So I am booking myself this costume!


You wanna design your costume? Head over here!

Mid Day

I read a post on Unchaahi regarding the exploitation of victims of sexual exploitation by newspapers, here specifically about MID DAY on their front page. I was so shocked that something which I have never previously noticed has such a huge impact on these unfortunate ones. This is what is expected of the numerous gossip magazines which we have already!

I thought about what was said felt that any number of mails being sent to the editor will not be enough and I must write in what I feel.

Here is my mail to the MID DAY Editor

To,

The Editor

I am writing to say that a reputed well read paper like yours should be ashamed to run front page pictures of victims of sexual exploitation!

What are you trying to report? Do you realize that what you are trying to report is the crime? A crime is done by a criminal, and it does not matter against whoever.

WHERE YOU SHOULD BE PRINTING PICTURES OF THE CRIMINALS INVOLVED, YOU PRINT PICTURES OF VICTIMS AND FURTHER EXPLOIT THEM!

Because of newspapers like you victims are further traumatized and they end up thinking it is better to end their lives ( like that young girl in Karnataka). If you say that these women should be brave, well 1 of many are brave, but if you correct your reporting methods, we can save those many too. If you just leave the victims alone, half the world would not even know what the victim looks like she has to deal with only one kind of trauma.

Please correct your mistakes before you take more lives.


If you wish to write in to the editor, please visit the Mid Day website and click on the link "Letter to Editor" on the top right corner of the webpage.

Nrityagram & Taj Kuteeram

Nrityagram is a dance gurukul which has been set up by Protima Bedi. I had done a post on various gurukuls too earlier. I am very glad I could visit this one here. It is located 30-40 kms outside Bangalore on route to Tumkur.

The route is very simple and can be reached with the easy directions from their website. Only clause being that you should reach there before 2 pm as the visiting hours are 9 am – 2 pm only. We reached there only at 2 pm and hence missed the school :( Following this, we went on for a nice lunch.

Opposite to the entrance of Nrityagram is Taj Kuteeram, which is also constructed in a very similar structure and style as the dance gurukul. Here are some pictures of the place and small things which caught my eye. We had lunch here and walked around the entire area, clicked many pictures and wondered into a watch tower and also between some geese and other animals which were roaming about.

The very helpful staff at Taj say that the olden glory and dance culture of this place is lost and not many students stay there nor do they come there to study. The architechture of the place is what is worth the visit.

I will someday make another visit to this place to see the dane school from inside.

Wildlife at Ranthambhor

I visited Ranthambhor during the month of January. The day was beautiful, sunny but not hot and the drive from Jaipur was fun. The state highway from Jaipur is in a very bad condition and the National Highway in between is truly something deserving a sigh of relief.

Anyways, once on reaching Ranthambhor, we realize that we have reached late and we need to go to the park and the fort ourselves as the last safari is out by 4 pm. So we got the pollution license checked at the entrance of the park and proceeded to see what all we could.

What we saw?

We saw: Peacocks, sambhars, spotted deers, langurs, a nilgai and some small species of colourful birds. We did not get to see the famous tigers of Ranthambhor as we were not allowed to venture into the forest unless with forest officials.

The park is beautiful with the greenery and the old broken remains of the forts offering the animals more than enough space away from the crowds. The fort in itself is quite run down and offer very little to see except for the forest which is seen in its vast expanse all round, once one climbs to the top. Numerous guides and hawkers all round this area make it all the more touristy!

Here are some pictures of the park, fort, animals and more.

Looking beyond PINK

The first time I heard of PCC, I was intrigued and wanted to read and know for myself what the deal was. On reading the page and what they intended to do, it sounded like something in lines of a simple rally or protest which was to be staged. This protest was not on the roads or by sitting hungry at the steps of a building. This is a technologically advanced and internet savvy protest and predominantly with the metropolitan crowd of women.

Women who are not in the cities and independent do not presently fall in the purview of the Sena. They wish to bring the western thoughts and practices down and culturally tie a noose around the necks of women. But isn’t this a more deep-rooted problem and not related to just drinking and wearing a pair of jeans with a noodle strap?

Here is an article by Sagarika Ghose on CNN IBN which has a different view to the problem which we are facing with. She believes that the problems are more of classes than of clothes.

This is a thought which prevails in the minds of many today that an educated woman, who earns a living, can hold a roof over her head and take care of her children will in the days to come have a voice and would want her voice to be heard. Till today, the household ladies did not need to their voices heard as in many cases; their needs were never with the society at large. Their needs were taken care of by the male members of the family but now that they are outside their homes for a large chunk of the day and require the society to accept their role. Unless this acceptance occurs, there can not be a true advancement with each member of the society contributing to the economy.

If there is any hope to bring a small amount of equality to India then, we need to see what is the true issue that is faced by the many who are consorting to religion and culture to show the anger which might be brewing within for some other reason altogether.

And, I do not think I will be doing anything which is going to be of the form of a pink underwear mailed via the India Post.

There have been previous incidents in the west, and this has been only categorized under extremist behaviour, even if for the upliftment/liberation of women. On the face of anger and frustration, one might think that ‘tit for tat’ is the best solution, but how successful have these ideas ever been through history? Do we want to regret the whole project once the aftermath is seen? I do not think that more than media coverage of goons with pink underwear, anything adverse is going to come of it. I do not want the extra media for these goons and I think we require well directed taunts backed with facts which they will have to retort back too. And here I am sure with education to back us, we shall prove that culture and religion can not be the solution to the present...

If we want to bridge the gap between the two fighting sides then the best solution is to look ahead. And, if you are not interested in looking ahead, then keep the ideology which you follow to those who are of the same thought and who see the right in what you preach.

Beating women in hope of making them adhere to your norms will not be tolerated in a free country. There might be many women who see the right in what you say, and you can beam ear to ear seeing these I women. Do not try to change us Indian women who are not interested in your thoughts.

Edited to add this yet another blog entry by Zubin Driver, very relevant to this post.

Muthalik and look alikes!

We have a Muthalik who says that women should be shrouded and kept indoors, and in Europe we have the Pope and his Bishops who also believe in something similar.

The following have been picked up from an article on IHT.

His Bishop is to have passed a comment on Swedish television , stating that Jews killed in the Holocaust to be just a mere 100, and the Pope did not seem to consider the situation important enough to demand an apology or correct the statement, in spite of it being a well known fact that Jews have been killed in far greater numbers and its is a very sensitive topic to comment upon without a serious thought.

Further he has some more thoughts and ideas which he wishes to perpetuate to the masses.

He disapproves of their wearing pants and believes that they shouldn't be permitted to attend universities.

Now I ask myself, if in a seemingly forward European Society this kind of talks and mentalities do exist. Then is a wonder that someone like Muthalik has similar or worse views?

Among his stranger ideas is that the World Trade Center in New York City was destroyed by explosions, not by hijacked airplanes.

Now, I am not sure whether he does not believe his own eyes, or he does not generally wish to see the truth, or worse still, he will not accept that technology exists which will prove that a flight approached and collided with the WTC causing the collapse of the structure!

Many of Lefebvre's followers joined the movement because of its devotion to the traditional Latin Mass, dropped by the Second Vatican Council and reinstated by Pope Benedict in 2007. But in its essence, the movement stands for something else - something narrow, dark and very dated.

As we see in this Wiki entry, there is a great deal of male-female inequality which stemmed even during today's times. This wiki entry is of the society which has been formed by Lefebvre in the 1970s.

We have one religion of the world brought under scrutiny by moral police, and second brought under de-reform and un-conciliation with the world at large with their old, dark and dated ideology.

Now I am waiting to watch what worse can be brought forth?

Little Miss Sunshine

Here she is in her favourite spot on the balcony. Lazing away in the afternoon sun.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on Radio Indigo Bangalore

On Thursday, 05 February 2009, radio Indigo 91.9 FM aired a talk with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at 10 AM. The funny thing about the talk as per me was that in the less than 5 minute conversation between the radio jockey and Mrs. Bachchan, she never answered the questions which were asked, maybe excepting one.

Let me explain. The RJ asked questions regarding her doing films with Abhishek and how it was to be doing movies with him before and after marriage. Then he asked about how her in laws were away from the limelight.

Now the answers, she never answered anything about the in laws question. She in fact did not even answer anything regarding her in laws. She spoke about her movies with Abhishek and how marriage changes a person. Now why would any person say something completely unrelated as this. Then is when I realized that this interview/talk was never meant to be for Radio Indigo! This is something she might have spoke to some other Radio channel, maybe in Mumbai (just a guess) and this has been just aired the same here. Now I would think that the RJ would at least have procured the questions asked and repeated the same to make the ‘talk’ look authentic enough. But he did not do that, and we ended up listening to a complete haywire session.

Prior to this incident, I regarded the Bangalore Radio Indigo as decent, excepting for some completely unforgivable programs. Why would they require portraying this talk as being directly to the Bangalore station and spoil that image?

LEGO

Check out here a truly charming work of Lego which I have seen.

They are not huge construction projects, or grand expanses covered in lego. These are just perfect things which we see everyday, all captured in the Lego World.

I am just amazed that this is one toy which has not died out after all these years. There have been many, Mechanix and Electronix, and what not, but Lego is just plain LEGO!

Animal Foster care

Working with and for pets are something which I have forever dreamed of. I wondered how one could manage something like this when they are working and most of them do not have time for a full time pet. I read a blog regarding foster care for children without homes or who are waiting for their parents to turn around before returning to their home. This led me to a search online for foster facilities for stray animals and abandoned pets. They are mostly at the shelter and for them, this is a very different environment from what they are used to. Many have been abused and are scared of humans due to bad experiences at bad homes or the brutality of being a stray cat/dog.

I came across the Animals Friends Rescue Project and PAWS; they need foster home volunteers so that they can save more animals from shelters and mainly the sick, old or helpless animals. These animals stand to be euthanized (humanely, they say) first as compared to the better looking and younger ones. Hence most foster homes will see animals recovering from trauma, illness or maltreatment. That in a way I think is what we can offer to these animals for their love and affection.

I think this is also a very great way to teach children about tolerance for animals and also to teach them that being good to your pets is not the only important thing. Even if it’s a stray animal, you do not hurt them for no reason, and in most (not all) cases I am sure the cases of kids hurting stray animals and stray animals hurting children also have some linkage to how children are taught to interact with animals.

I checked with CUPA at Bangalore, whether they had any Animal Fostering program, which they did not. They have facilities in conjunction with the vet hospital, and as they have a huge campus they say they do not require foster care for the animals. I have visited the facility, and I think if they do start a foster care program, they would be able to give some more time to the needy animals and leave the generic feeding and caring to be done in a more homely environment by a foster care provider.

I am sure I would be keen on fostering animals for a few months prior to their adoption. I think its the perfect solution for those who live alone, who travel abroad and would not want a full time pet, but nevertheless love to offer any help possible to animals.

Would you?