The Korean Bell of Friendship at Angels Gate Park

I don't get around much any more, but when I do
you can bet you'll hear about it. Some of my pics taken
in October '09 of a truly unique place to visit when in the L.A.,
California area.


Mountains and hills, the Blue Pacific Ocean below,
Blue skies above, 365 days a year.

Well, almost....it was damp, drizzly and overcast on the
day that I re-visited this modern-day structure that
consists of a Pavilion that houses the enormous Bronze
Korean Bell of Friendship

Situated in Angels Gate Park in San Pedro, close to L.A.,
the bell was presented in 1976 by the Republic of Korea
to the American people to celebrate the bicentennial of
the United States, to honor American veterans of the
Korean War, and to symbolize friendship between the
two nations.

On the day I was there a Photo shoot was in progress
literally at the steps of the Bell.

Angels Gate Park that houses this starkly beautiful
monument has been a favorite location for Hollywood
film cast and crews due to its picturesque surroundings.
'The Usual Suspects' starring Kevin Spacey and Giancarlo
Esposito was filmed here, as were parts of The Titanic.
The secluded and peaceful area attracts people like
Johnny Depp, who is noted for hanging around the
San Pedro area. Notable area residents past and present
include actress Sharon Tate, Author Charles Bukowski,
Comedian D.L. Hughley and Art Pepper, Jazz Saxophonist.


But don't take my word for it. Just check out this

Korean Bell of Friendship Fabulous Full-screen Panoramic
Slideshow
by Carol Struycken

I consider this place an instant favorite for anyone who visits
and I highly recommend it for its serene and meditative
atmosphere.

View my pics The Korean Bell of Friendship in San Pedro
- a set on Flickr

San Pedro : A Whale of a Town

The Korean Bell at wikipedia

And Now, I Give You All...The (USB) Finger ! | The News is NowPublic.com

A weird oldie about an implant that doubles as a gadget, one
that I wrote about during my short-lived connection with
Now Public.com....

And Now, I Give You All...The (USB) Finger ! |
The News is NowPublic.com

Pink Rules in October

October is the one month in the USA that many Retail stores find
it in their hearts to give up their precious display space to promote
awareness for Breast Cancer. The color Pink is Everywhere !
Pink is the distinguishing color for hats, bracelets, mugs, shirts,
pens, cosmetics, you name it - an increasing number of products
are tied to Breast Cancer awareness, and with good reason :

" Women in the United States have the highest incidence rates
of breast cancer in the world; 141 among white women and
122 among African American women." ~wikipedia

Today there are over 2.5 million breast cancer survivors, which
mean 2.5 million Survivor stories, many of which remain untold.


DOVE Chocolate Promises of Hope include special messages
of hope, inspiration and strength, written by survivors. Look for
their personal, motivational messages under each DOVE Promises
wrapper.

After eating these chocolates and reading the survivors' inspirational
messages, I sought inspiration in sharing their message in my own
little way. What I came up with is above : two pics of Dove wrappers
that I took and then uploaded to Flickr
Full size Wrapper Images: Outer Inner

I'd best let the Komen.org team tell their story :
" Susan G. Komen fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul.
Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital,
she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women
battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation.
That concern for others continued even as Susan neared the end of
her fight. Moved by Susan’s compassion for others and committed
to making a difference, Nancy G. Brinker promised her sister that
she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure®,
the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having
invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982. As the
world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer
survivors and activists, we’re working together to save lives,
empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize
science to find the cures.

Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®,
and generous contributions from our partners, sponsors and
fellow supporters, we have become the largest source of
nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in
the world. "
~ ww5.komen.org/

Houston Texans : Real Men in Pink
In early March, 2009, American Football Running Back
Ryan Moats's mother-in-law, Jonetta Collinsworth, died
from breast cancer. When they were informed that Ms.
Collinsworth was close to death, Moats, his wife Tamishia
(Collinsworth's daughter) and other family members
rushed to Baylor Regional Medical Center in
Plano, Texas. After driving through a red light, Moats
was stopped by a Dallas Police Department officer,
who delayed him for 13 minutes outside the hospital's
emergency room, after Moats's explanation was
corroborated by a hospital nurse. The officer drew his
weapon during the incident. By the time Moats reached
Collinsworth, she had died.

Now Moats and other members of the NFL are daring
to wear Pink during their Sunday matches, and all for the
cause of raising Breast Cancer Awareness.
~ story from KHOU Texas

Nina Paley's Blues -Updated November '09

Happy Thanksgiving ! Latest update Nov 2009
Flickr now has a 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 intellect coming 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 extraordinaire Nina Paley single-handedly
envisioned and executed Sita Sings The Blues, an amazing,
animated feature based on the classic Hindu mythological tale
of Sita and Rama as 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.

AARP Contest Runner-up

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.

The Cook's Cottage Celebrates its Millionth Click

Luscious Lychee Tart

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 on Flickr....
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 Cottage officially
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 !

America's Got Talent. And Homeless.

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 Veteran still 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 Karp was 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.

Her story is related in the video below by Ted Rowlands
and also at CNN online



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 American lady
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 fan to 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.

Where Was I on 9-11 ?

 
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.

Free Download of Madooo's 9-11 song

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

The Kumbh Mela Phenomenon

As in lfe, things just seem to fall into place of their own accord
here... sometimes. Like a Karmic sequence, like the convergence
of rivers, my previous post about the River Ganges led to
my unplanned viewing of 'Short Cut to Nirvana', a LINK TV
Documentary film. This phenomenal award-winning film

somehow got linked thereafter to my receipt of an evite
to Glenn Losack's upcoming show Sept 2009 at Salon Ciel
in New York featuring his Kumbh Mela picture.
(Unfortunately this show will be yet another chapter in the
days of my vicarious* lifestyle. )

The Bathing Ghats of Dr. Glenn Losack's fabulous capture above
depict one of those unimaginable moments that for centuries
have left so many in a stupor of disbelief. No less a person than
1894 attendee and famous writer Mark Twain wrote,...
"No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond
imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold whites.^[21]

Based on attendance alone, there just isn't any event in the world
that comes close to the Kumbh Mela, the World's largest, oldest,
longest-running Fair of its kind. While it is still primarily a Hindu
Pilgrimage it is now a world-renowned Travel Event that follows
the revolving path of the different venues at Allahabad (Prayag)
at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna and mythical
Saraswati river, Haridwar along the Ganga river, Ujjain along
the Kshipra river and Nashik along the Godavari river.

Think Burning Man, Woodstock, Altamont, Carnival, Rave and
Trance parties all rolled into one. But don't think in hundreds of
thousands like they do : The 2007 Kumbh Mela attracted
70 million folks, and even more are expected for the 2010 Fair.
There's music food, drink and Pot. Lots of Pot being freely shared.
There are Spiritual seekers from far continents with no knowledge
of what they will find here, who intermingle with those who do
nothing but meditate, surviving on receiving alms, which they
never ask for. Hordes of naked Sadhus ** run through the chilly
river in a bathing scene that mildly evokes the Polar Bear Club's
annual icy dips. Yogis display amazing feats of strength even as
Massages, mind-expanding discourses and lectures are being given.
Even the Dalai Lama beamed all the way as he joined the superstars
of Spiritual Thinking in the colorful parade of floats. It's all just too
much to share with you here. Go visit the wiki page if you can.
Or go buy the movie at the Official site.

Enjoy the official trailer of 'Shortcut to Nirvana' below :


IMDB.com link

How to Celebrate Kumbh Mela from eHow.com

* experienced or realized through imaginative or
sympathetic participation in the experience of another

** In Hinduism, sadhu is a common term for a mystic,
an ascetic, practitioner of yoga (yogi) and/or wandering
monks. The sadhu is solely dedicated to achieving the fourth
and final Hindu goal of life, moksha (liberation), through
meditation and contemplation of Brahman.