Happy Thanksgiving ! Latest update Nov 2009 Flickr now hasa great set of Sita-related images including ones of Merchandise from the Sita Store. Get Jewelry, DVDs, Posters and clothing by visiting Happy Dassera ! .....which goes well with this Update Sept 28 '09 to include Nina Paley's Facebook Group where you will find all sorts of goodies, and also ways to keep this unique artist's vision alive.Lacking enough support and funding in spite of worldwide screenings, Ms. Paley has taken an unlikely approach to furthering this film. No one that I know of with such talent allows the world to have FREE FULL access not only to view the film online, but also to access the Source files and distribute them freely via Creative Commons.This is unparalleled generosity and intellectcoming from the soul of an Artist in the truest sense of the word !
Originally published June 2008 : East meets West yet again but this time in an unheard-of way. NYC animator extraordinaireNina Paley single-handedly envisioned and executed Sita Sings The Blues, an amazing, animated feature based on the classic Hindumythological tale of Sita and Ramaas told inThe Ramayana.
Romance, action-adventure and Comedy are key elements here, but it's definitely the sense of fun possessed by the creator that is ever-present, right from the opening sequence which describes this as 'The Greatest Break-up Story Ever Told'. The story in this case draws parallels to the real-life trials of Ms. Paley in NYC, and her husband who relocated to work in India. They were eventually divorced, and Ms. Paley's grief finds its voice here, where the striking visuals are set to authentic 1920s American Blues music. It all works brilliantly and entertains wonderfully enough to justify its place as number 10 in the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. But this is nevertheless a touchy subject for many Hindus, since it deals with their religion and some of them consider this work blasphemous. I can't say if there is any need for Ms. Paley to apologize to anyone, but I do know that as a Musician and Artist myself I appreciate the creative process here and the intense effort that went into bringing this grand opus to worldwide attention.
Watch the Trailer below first and then below that, Part 1 of the YouTube HD version. Please switch to normal viewing by if your 'net connection can't handle all the HD buffering. The whole awesome film is available in 10 parts on YouTube.
Created by metroamv when she was a student, this video is based on the Argentinian Political Advertisement "The Truth" by RECREAR, and was the second-place winner for the AARP U@50 video contest. Watch closely as she reads the words on the board normally and then reads the entire thing in reverse. It all makes sense, to me at least.
While I fancy myself only an amateur Chef, concocting in a class of my own making, I never hesitate to rouse up the nerve to convey my thoughts about Food Blogs and Cooking to anyone who will humor me. One such gracious and outstanding Chef, a personal favorite, is Jyotsna Shahane of Pune, India who maintains her own Food Blog, 'The Cook's Cottage' on TypePad. A talented Cook, Blogger and Photographer, she meticulously recreates many of the simple but delicious meals that I grew up with in my old hometown of Pune. So it's naturally a pleasure to stop by her Blog and linger, and freely comment about the latest Recipe she so generously shares. Time certainly has flown since I left my first Comment after stumbling upon the Photo illustrations for her Recipes onFlickr.... five years at the very least.
The Recipes that Jyotsna blogs about are carefully researched for their history, origins, trivia and above all ease in preparation, utilizing the freshest ingredients available locally. Health- conscious and leaning towards traditional Indian flavors, the Recipes she so neatly presents have become a worldwide hit not only with Indian expats but also with non-Indians fascinated by the spicy, sumptuous cuisine of India.Be it Curry in a Hurry, Hot as Hell or Just Vegetables, there's something in her Blog for anyone with an adventurous palate.
And so, five years later as The Cook's Cottageofficially celebrates its One Millionth Visitor Click by awarding an apron to Bharathy, I am thrilled that I missed winning said Apron by a mere click....an Apron that I believe I would not feel worthy of, since there have been many more talented Chefs and Visitors who have helped Jyotsna achieve this very personal milestone. Read the short take on the One Millionth Click, and take the time to see and perhaps try out the food that gets me salivating and homesick.
Goa Photo: Prawns in Garlic Sauce
All images displayed here are Originals, Copyrighted and used by kind permission of The Cook's Cottage. Thank You Jyotsna, for the use of your photos, and continued success with the next Million clicks for your delicious Recipes at The Cook's Cottage!
And now...in a related way, good news for this Blog, dear readers...tomorrow, after many years of Blogging here, but with keeping track only since the last 6 months, I hope to reach the 10,000 mark for visitors to Virtual Poona ! Thank you all for keeping me inspired, your Comments would be greatly appreciated !
The problem of Homelessness used to be generally associated with Third-World nations in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where poverty has been a way of life for centuries. Born and living in India for close to 26 years I 'grew up' with the problem and dreamed, like others still do, of a better place where there was no such problem....a place with beautiful lawns and white picket fences......like America, the Beautiful.
A comedian once said, "They call it 42nd Street because you're not safe if you spend more than forty seconds on it." As a naive and ignorant immigrant at the age of 26, I remember the sense of shock that gripped me during my first week in America as I walked on 7th Ave. at Times Sq. in NYC.
It was like a Sodom and Gomorrah version of the Big Top right there in the Big Apple, even as the music of The Bee Gees vied against Boston, Donna Summer and Parliament for one's attention. Strolling along, taking in all the neon lights, sights and sounds one evening, I was stopped by an Army Veteran in a wheelchair with a battered tin cup and a cardboard sign around his neck that simply said, 'PLEASE HELP - HOMELESS VET'. Dazed and confused, I gave the man $5 and rushed away, because it was not only a rude awakening but also part of the Culture Shock that followed as I slowly learned about the real America, the Beautiful. And what better place than 42nd St. in NYC to be Culture-shocked and awed by my first sighting of a Homeless person in America ? The notion of 'begging' in America was a totally new one for me.....
Today, that Homeless Veteranstill haunts me as I am faced with the daily news of the huge numbers of Americans who are Homeless or in peril of falling under that category due to loss of employment and the lack of a system to support them in their darkest hours.
I don't read much about the Blogging community, and so I would have missed this unusual tale of an unemployed Blogger. Technically, she is not Homeless and living nowhere near the conditions that 'Slumdogs' face in India, since she does have a roof over her head. That roof being a Mobile camper that she inherited from her Father, who committed suicide ! Loss of employment followed by loss of a parent is enough to demoralize any single young woman, but not this trooper. Since I had CNN turned on in the background, the words 'Homeless Blogger' immediately got my attention. As they reported, Brianna Karpwas Homeless and living in her trailer, parked in a Walmart parking lot. And from within that trailer, picking up free Wi-Fi signals for her Laptop, which she used for Job Searches and Blogging about her plight. Eventually her persistent posting paid off somewhat when she found herself Blogging for the August 2009 issue of ELLE magazine. She is still seeking permanent employment.
Former CNN Editor and Photographer among other things, Linda Schaefer has witnessed first-hand the plight of Homeless Orphans in Kolkata, where the world's worst slum conditions are as stagnant as its filthy, water-logged streets. Recently on Facebook she shared a link she received from Photojournalist John Spink about an Americanlady named Crystal Buchans who survives as a Homeless person in downtown Atlanta, walking along the CSX railroad tracks and under the CNN parking decks.
Gallery | Homeless in Atlanta: Crystal's life near the tracks| ajc.com "Although she formerly worked as a waitress and a grocery store cashier, Buchans says she is now a drug addict and homeless. ..." Source: projects.ajc.com Speaking of Talent, you don't have to be a Country OR Western Music fanto appreciate this Clay Walker video so creatively juxtaposed with images from the web....
For a thorough look at America's Homeless, check out the Complete L.A. Times coverage on the issue of homelessness, the current reality and possible solutions.
Thousands of miles away, driving home after working the Graveyard Shift as Night Auditor at the Homewood Suites Hilton in Clear Lake Texas. I reached my front door and was about to turn the key when my next door neighbor told me in his most sober voice, "They done rammed a plane into that big office building in New York" in his normal Texas Slanguage. I staggered in already tired, turned on the TV and left it on till I went back to work that night at 10:30 pm. Only overnight work fatigue drove me to shut my bleary eyes that fateful day.
One of the last things I did before leaving the NY/NJ area 5 years earlier was to drive a Limo to the front doors of Building No.1 of the World Trade Center. The VIPs that I drove to and from the Twin Towers often arrived by Private Jet around 7:30 am and by 8 am we were at their usually scheduled meeting inside the WTC. They remained inside till early afternoon and I then drove them to their hotels or sometimes back to their Private Jet or Helicopter. In the interim between 7 am and 4 pm I ate breakfast, drank lots of Coffee, smoked lots of cigarettes and strolled around the area, often shooting the breeze with the numerous other Livery drivers parked all around and under the area of the WTC. Our clients were Stockbrokers and CEOs at all the major financial institutions like Chase Manhattan, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America etc., and they paid handsomely to keep us booked all day when all we did was barely an hour's worth of actual driving for them.
The pic above was not a B/W shot originally. I decided to present it that way to convey how it contrasts with the original below.... the 'extra' bonus one you get at the end of the roll inside disposable cameras. That last one you try to squeeze out, color bleeding and appearing to be double-exposed.
Blood-red stains that permanently blot my last memory of the place I loved. I often wonder at my luck in leaving that NYC work situation when I did....8 a.m....I could have been buried in the rubble along with countless other Limo Drivers and their Lincoln Town Cars. There is no way to tell if I would have become a statistic along with those who perished that tragic day.
So, where was I on 9-11? Physically, thousands of miles away in Seabrook, Texas. Mentally however, under that rubble, knowing that day would last forever.
Madhu Dhas a.k.a. Madooo, the Big Dooker is once again offering a Free Download of his original 9-11 song in Zip format as his tribute during the 8-year anniversary of the tragedy in NYC. Written, Produced and performed entirely at his own expense, it's definitely worth adding and sharing this rare and unusual song to your collection.
It's not often you come across a talent like Madooo's. Aside from the fact that he is a long-time employee of Deutsch Advertising in NYC, he is also an accomplished Vocalist, Photographer, Promoter, Guitarist, Keyboard player, Composer, Music Producer and Arranger, Elvis/Jim Morrison/Rick James impersonator and a recent Grandfather for the first time ! His is unbounded energy and talent coupled with a genuine sense of camaraderie..... over 500,000 MySpace fans and friends, and he's never used Facebook either !
I rightfully praise this man because I had the opportunity to play Bass guitar for him at a Beat Contest in India where he won the Best Lead Vocal Performance award, after less than a day's rehearsal at our first meeting.
This Day is Forever - The 9-11 song and the story behind it is available at his website: http://www.bigdooker.com/sept11.html Watch Madoo in action on YouTube here
