PETA Dressed Down

ANOUSHKA SHANKAR (click to enlarge)
and her father RAVI are just two of the many celebrities
who speak passionately on behalf of PETA.
While PETA gives us funny, creative, sexy ads and videos
such as this one rated Over 18, I discovered that they
possess less-than-upright standing in other areas after reading:

"For an organization that supports throwing blood
on women wearing fur and protesting KFC,
their sense of right and wrong seems out of balance"
as reported by
The Citizen-Times of North Carolina

The non-profit watchdogs have a lot to say about the euthanasia,
ownership and disposal of animals as practised by PETA :
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/index.cfm

Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I'll do a Google Search for ah,
People Eating Tasty Animals (Results here)

Hannes Coetzee: Spoon Slider

pombanduwong wants to share a video with you

Pom Banduwong is an old friend from Thailand
whom I met in Poona, India back in the '70s while
he was a B. Com student - and an avid music fan/musician
as I am. He went on to become a manager at Bangkok Bank
but his love for all things musical continues. Some thirty years
later we still share our passion for music via the world wide web.

Slide Blues players like John Mayall, Duane Allman,
Johnny Winter, Taj Mahal and others from the '50s on have
always fascinated me and I let many years slide away (pun intended)
trying to master slide guitar technique, using old plumbing pipes
that had been steel-plated, and also tried using old bottle necks,
knives, forks, drumsticks - anything that would produce that
mesmerising glissando which is almost voice-like sometimes.

Pom remembered stuff like that when he dug up this
YouTube clip...."Karoo Kitaar Blues follows
South African songwriter David Kramer and

slide guitarist Hannes Coetzee into remote regions of South Africa
on their quest to find musicians who play an almost forgotten folk music."

Alternate WMV link

FTV : Quote of the Day

In an attempt to stay globally competitive in India,
Fashion TV (FTV) an International cable TV channel
constantly pushes the boundaries of what's acceptable
on TV in India by offering sexy music videos, advertisements
and catwalk images one would normally associate with high
fashion worldwide. This being India, the old school mentality
walks a fine line once again. FTV India now faces a major
hurdle in the form of complaints from schools and colleges
about the airing of raunchy broadcasts during children's
viewing hours. More responsible programming is all it will take
according to Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, India's cabinet minister
for Parliamentary Affairs and Info, and he certainly has a nice
style in his remarks :

"I say show it, have your business, (but) make a restricted
hours viewing. Let people see all this from 11 in the night
to 5 in the morning. Let them suffer insomnia and see the
doctors (and have) work problems."

Here's a link to a related Reuters news article via Yahoo News

Forward : Laws of Success

Taken from the never-ending Fwd: Fwd: messages
in my Yahoo Inbox:

Do you want something ? Will you pay the price ?

The great sin -- Gossip.

The great crippler -- Fear.

The greatest mistake -- Giving up.

The most satisfying experience -- Doing your duty first.

The best actions -- Keeping the mind clear and making good judgments.

The greatest blessing -- Good health.

The biggest fool - The man who lies to himself.

The great gamble -- Substituting hope for facts.

The most certain thing in life -- Change.

The greatest joy -- Being needed.

The cleverest man -- The one who does what he thinks is right.

The most potent force -- Positive thinking.

The greatest opportunity -- The next one.

The greatest thought -- God.

The greatest victory -- Victory over self.

The best play -- Successful work.

The greatest handicap -- Egotism.

The most expensive indulgence -- Hate.

The most dangerous man -- The liar

The most ridiculous trait -- False pride.

The greatest loss -- Loss of self confidence.

The greatest need -- Common sense.

(Thanks to Manny for the Forward)

Blank Noise Blogathon in March

Jasmeen of India's Blank Noise Project says :

Hello!

Last March 8 (Women's Day), we had a blog-a-thon that asked
you to blog stories of street sexual harassment. It began with an
announcement on this blog that was picked up by bloggers across
India, and soon in different parts of the world. We shared stories we
had never shared before, sometimes stories we thought we had long
forgotten, stories that we had often wanted to bury. We read each other,
we linked to each other and we linked back to the Blank Noise Project
blog. We were touched by each other's stories, moved by them, and,
we like to imagine, drew strength and sustenance from the long,
cross-cultural chain of shared experiences. It's this strength that we're
asking you to share experiences of, on March 8th, 2007.
The baton is handed over right here, right now!

Announce this on your blog and on the morning of March 8th, 2007,
share with us a story (or two, or five or...) of fighting back?!
When did you flip a situation so you could resist, when did you give
back as hard as you got? When and how did you choose to confront?
When did you become an Action Hero? Action heroes have formed
the theme of the last few Blank Noise interventions and it's this spirit
we ask you to share and celebrate on March 8, 2007!

So announce the Blog-a-thon, and on March 8, share your action story!
If you are a male blogger and wondering how you fit in, tell us about an
Action Hero you know!

http://www.blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com/

Related :
http://virtualpoona.blogspot.com/2007/02/start-dreaming-ladies.html

Technorati tag

Windows Vista : easy installation video

Save yourself a lot of time and aggravation.
This guy is on the money !

Start Dreaming, Ladies !

My friends over at the Blank Noise Project
(part of Google Groups) are looking for a few good dreamers.
So go ahead and make a wish......

'I want to run wild on the streets at night'
That's my fantasy. The thing I most wish I could do in my city.

What's yours? What are the top ten, twenty, one hundred things
that you wish your city just let you to do?

Email us your dreams for your city. Stay anonymous if you choose.
We will post it on the blog and may use it for an audio piece.

Please email us at :
blurtblanknoise@gmail.com. While we believe that there should no
deadline for dreaming and wishlists, we would appreciate it if you
start dreaming and mail us right away!
Last date- Feb 28, 2007

Thank you

Blank Noise!

BLANK NOISE PROJECT
Ph:+ 91 98734 85284 (In Delhi)
+ 91 98868 40612 (Bangalore)

www.blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com

Pinky v6 from Heavy.com

I have always loved the Kung Fu genre of film
from the early Bruce Lee days and after coming
to America in 1976 I often watched 3 matinees in a
row in New York's Chinatown and Times Square.
I quickly realized that the only redeeming feature of
these films for me was their unintended B-movie quality
which were a source of great laughs for me, reminiscent of
the Bollywood movies back home in India. Then I sunk
even further as I deliberately sought out John Waters-type
unabashed humor. The website
named Heavy.com has a growing collection of
Kung Faux films where they have dubbed old Martial Arts
movies with dialogue and voices from the Black Gangsta
in the hood arena.

This one seems to be the most successful one so far as
regards humor and synchronization. I think it's hilarious and
you can judge for yourself but be warned, you have to
watch this with an open mind and with the kids
out of the room !

Watch The Brazil Show Salgueiro

The Brazil Show Salgueiro
It's Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday which marks
the start of the Lenten period for Christians. On Mardi Gras
Tuesday in various parts of the world the Carnivals are in full
swing even as I type this, especially in Brazil.
Now when I think of Brazil I think first of the music and rhythms
which are so pulsating and passionate that they
captivate people the world over. Stan Getz, James Taylor,
Sting, Michael Franks and countless other musicians all
owe a great debt to Brazilian music for the way it has
influenced their musical vision. If you've never heard of
The Girl From Ipanema then you're either too young or
too naive (not necessarily ignorant)

When it's Carnival that we talk about, then most people
think of the beautiful women, the beaches, and the
dancing and partying.

As Carnival time draws near in the days leading up
to Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday)
the most famous of all dance traditions is on view
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Preparations are intense and competition between the
various Samba dance troops and floats is something
worth a visit via the web if not in person.

Visit Salgueiro Samba School in Rio de Janeiro as they
prepare for Carnival :

http://tinyurl.com/2nflqh

Watch more great videos at Brightcove.com

Madooo music sandwich

Virtual Poona Blog is pleased to announce that
Madooo got sandwiched between The Chieftains and
Loreena McKennitt, no less !



(click to enlarge)

Thought I'd share this with you. Below is a note from the
Host/Producer of the radio station

Madhu _______________________________________________________________

'Greetings Madoo, I just thought I'd drop you a quick note
to let you know that I played your cover of "Norwegian Wood,"
this evening, on the World Beat.
I played it from the Global Rhythms Sampler. http://www.mnsu.edu/kmsufm/wbpl/playList/WB07-02-2nd.html

All the best to you and yours, -
Mark --'

Mark R. Thomas World Beat host/producer
KMSU/KMSK FM - The Maverick Radio Network
3010 Memorial Library, Mankato, MN 56001

The Jealous Astronaut

Shockwave musical animation of the NASA love triangle

http://www.jealousastronaut.com/JealousAstronaut.swf

Happy Valentine's Day !

To all the folks I've loved before-

I trust you know who you are

In no particular order, here are my picks

for the Greatest Love Songs

I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin

Let's Stay Together - Al Green

I'll Have To Say I Love You - Jim Croce

One Hundred Ways - James Ingram

Your Song - Elton John

If - Bread

Beautiful - Gordon Lightfoot

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - The Supremes

Something - The Beatles

Do You Wanna Know A Secret - The Beatles

Peaceful Easy Feeling - The Eagles

RastaTour Guide

Jamaican tour guide gets laid back.
Way laid back!