A Cul-de-sac called Earth

In today's news...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7262951.stm

Old news...

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0408/excerpt4.html

Some of these animal rights groups are starting to sound like kids, who've been refused a toy at the local fair. If we didn't have so many people, we wouldn't need as much land. And if we didn't need as much land, there will be more land for wild animals to roam and, therefore, less chances of conflicts occurring between humans and wild animals. But it is a little too late to lament the high population of humans. We cannot cull humans. So it will have to be big animals instead. Why? Leaving them as they are would mean the extinction of smaller animals that compete for food and space with those bigger animals in the same habitat...the habitat that is being increasingly used by humans. And, yeah, I am quite sure hunting would be the primary means of culling. The culled animals will feed 100s of human mouths in Africa. I feel really bad for those forestry officials who care more about these animals than anyone else. They are always being bad-mouthed. I am quite sure that some have their jobs only for material reasons. But I am also equally sure that a lot of them do their jobs because they are passionate and trust no one else to take care of what is out there.


Taxi to the Dark Side (2007).

In a statement anticipating the announcement (of the cull), one of the animal rights groups has asked, "How much like us do elephants have to be before killing them becomes murder?"

My answer: "Easy. When human civil liberties and rights are applicable to elephants then, yeah, culling becomes murder. But I hardly think that I will see that happen in my lifetime--just watch Taxi to the Dark Side to see what I mean. We have enough issues amongst major groups of humans, as it is. Until then, know the difference between sentiment and reality!"

$17.99 Each?!

A Soho 7-ounce Port glass. Simple yet so totally elegant.

The only thing missing from my glassware collection is a set of port glasses. This particular brand is selling for $17.99 a piece at Bed, Bath & Beyond. It's daylight robbery! Well, maybe not. I can probably get some cheaper for a lot less at IKEA or Walmart. IKEA? Walmart? Come on. They are just not the same as Bed, Bath & Beyond. I got my Brandy snifters for $4.99 (all of 4 of 'em) at IKEA. Not too bad and they serve their purpose well. But they look nowhere like the rest of my glassware, which I got at BB&B. Hopefully, I can soon get a set of 4 of these Port glasses for a lot less. Hopefully...

The Bee and the Beah

This is wild Salmon. I've been eating Salmon since time immemorial. I think that my interest in Salmon originally stemmed from my fascination with Alaska--hopefully I can visit Alaska again soon.

My protein these days comes primarily from Salmon and (organic) eggs, followed by a distal bacon and beef. Chicken is usually only consumed when I visit my folks. When it comes to fish, my first choice is clearly Salmon. I like Tuna but restrict it these days in favor of Salmon. I like my Salmon either smoked or raw. Either way it is consumed along with a couple of eggs or in a salad tossed with a bit of jalapeño ranch dressing.

This article describes what I've instinctively known for years. Also farm-raised fish is inferior. Fish is expensive enough as it is. You might as well spend an extra dollar (or two) and get the wild stuff.


This is an organic beer and I have to say mighty tasty. No, I am not going organic with beer. I just happened to pick it up the other day when David was coming over to watch the UFC and, once home, realized it was an organic product. Delicious too!

Godavari (A brief movie review)

Godavari is the first Telugu movie that I have watched.

A romantic musical, this movie revolves around Sriram (Sumanth) and Seeta (Kamalini Mukherjee) and a few other characters. But the way the screenplay goes, I don't think that we are supposed to give a sh*t about anyone other than Sriram and Seeta (except maybe for a dog).

Sriram, an idealist, intends to involve himself in politics in an effort to serve the public. He is also interested in marrying his cousin Raji (Neetu Chandra). Raji, on the other hand, wants to settle down with a practical guy who has a regular job. She rejects Sriram and gets engaged to some other dude. With Raji's marriage finalized, her wedding party undertakes a multi-day journey to the place of the wedding on a riverboat. Sriram, who would rather be elsewhere, reluctantly tags along as well.

Seeta wants to live her life as a financially independent woman and is not exactly excited about getting into an arranged marriage. She finally gives into pressure from her family and agrees to an arranged marriage. But with only a few days left, her marriage is called off. Wanting some alone time, she boards the same riverboat as Raji's wedding party. She and Sriram eventually meet and, after a few initial misunderstandings, they hit it off well together. Does this make Raji a teeny-weeny bit jealous? Of course it does. This is an Indian movie and it doesn't take rocket science to understand Indian movies even if one doesn't speak the local dialect.


A dish called Raji.

96% of the movie happens on a riverboat on the Godavari river. What this means is that the director doesn't have to come up with annoying coincidences to make Sriram and Seeta run into each other in a crowded city. By keeping their presence restricted to a boat, they are guaranteed to meet and spend time together. The other thing that requires mention is the character of Seeta. Seeta is certainly not a completely unique character but Kamalini Mukherjee manages to inject a breath of fresh air (and spunk) into Seeta.


The funniest dialogue in the movie are uttered by an animated stray dog!

The rest of the characters are as cliched as they come. Take, for instance, Raji's fiance. That character is so stereotyped, it is immediately obvious that the fiance character exists solely to make Raji insecure. Why? So that Raji could start wondering if her decision to reject Sriram was a bad one and so introduce conflict in the blossoming Sriram-Seeta relationship. Get it? Had Raji's fiance been a very likeable character, the director would have had a challenge in his hands attempting to get Raji to look at Sriram in a new light. Instead the director makes Raji's fiance a caricature and thus takes the easy way out. The character of Sriram is ok. Other than his ideals, which are never stressed upon once the riverboat journey begins, there really is not much worth mentioning about the male protagonist's character.

The movie ends on a predictable note. Since I was concentrating my attention on attempting to understand the dialogue, I didn't really pay much attention to the other stuff such as background music and cinematography. Timepass!

Heart 'n throat

"You..want..a..piece..of..ME?!"

I remember when I was down in the Cape a few years ago during a late Spring weekend. After bicycling late into the evening--around 9:30ish--I was returning to a friend's cabin in Eastham, when on a whim--I am known to get a lot of whims--I made a brief detour to Great Pond. The moon was out and there were no clouds. The night was a curious white. A cool breeze trickled out of the surrounding pitch pine forest and moved perceptively over me. And other than the soft sound of an occasional pine cone dropping to the ground, it was quiet. I left my bicycle near the docks and walked toward the forest (there is a dim trail in Wiley Park that seems to be popular with dog walkers). As I approached the forest edge, the pines started looming before me, hardly moving and almost fantastical in their pale, gnarly appearance under the moonlight. In a matter of minutes, guided by an almost full moon, I arrived at Herring Brook road--see map below. I stood there for a while recalling with satisfaction that most of the roads in the Cape did not have streetlights. Then I turned around and started back on the trail. It was quiet. Very quiet except for the soft whisper of the wind through the leaves and the murmur of a nearby stream that I could not see. Then right above my head, a shrill:

"Sssriee"

I jumped!

And, boy, I must have jumped like 3 feet into the air. Had an NBA selector been around, he would have wanted to discuss options with me. As you might have guessed by now, it was a common barn owl :) He was probably tree-hopping. I stood there with my heart pounding loudly while the bird quickly receded into the darkness somewhere in front of me.

"fff fff fff"

I finished walking back to my bicycle and mournfully pedalled back to the cabin, a long mile away.

Click map for a bigger map.

Chettinadu isn't just about the food

Chettinad cuisine is famous throughout India. I personally have dabbled with making Chettinad chicken curry many a time. Of course, I am still not confident enough to make my masterpiece available to others. Anyway, when I visited India recently, I made special note of something else: architecture. To that end, I had posted some photos in an earlier post. But here are some photos I came across on TrekEarth over the weekend. These are photographs of several houses/mansions sporting Chettinad style architecture.


A classic exterior.


A paved open space in front of the house. Would this be where Deepavali fire crackers are lit, where Pallanguli is played under a setting sun and where kids hop, skip and jump (probably not good for the lower back, huh)?


Interior with an open courtyard. The afore-mentioned activities could happen here too.


Similar interior but with a closed ceiling. Well, maybe not the fire crackers then, huh?


A walkway for late night ponderings. A lightness or heaviness of heart would have been evident in anyone who habitually walked here eons ago.


Hide and seek on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Anyone?


The closest I have come to seeing something like this would be in the home of my friend, Vijayabaskar, in Madurai (my hometown). It was a long house and the doors were situated along a single line. You can view the wall at the back of his house from the door at the front entrance. But his house did not have any open courtyards that is evident in this picture.

These mansions are from Karaikudi and Madurai (according to TrekEarth).

Glänzend!!

Of course, the following clip takes the cake...