Remembering the Wild visit to San Franscisco

I visited San Franscisco during February 2008 and travelling alone by public transport, trains, buses, walking etc was an invigorating experience indeed. With $100 in my pocket and a full day to explore the vibrant, crowded city of San Franscisco, I set off by Caltrain towards my destination. I was deposited in the San Franscisco station in 45 minutes and now the adventure started.

This was my first visit to this city and I really didn't know anyone or anything. I had no idea about the various things to do in San Francisco. All I knew was about the Golden Gate bridge, the Alcatraz and of course I had heard about China Town. Armed with this limited knowledge I got out of the train and walked out of the railway station into the crowded city streets.

As I walked along the main thoroughfares not knowing where to go or what to do, I remembered my visit to Los Angeles. During that tour I had taken time to learn about things to do in Los Angeles and had a great time pubbing, clubbing and hiking. After some walking around in the back roads of San Franscisco, I found a bus which would take me to the Golden Gate bridge.

As I explored the Golden Gate area, I walked across the green acres, the old fort ruins through the under ground passages, the bastians and the walled city area I was thrilled to see the azure oceans and savoured the cool breeze. I wish the weather was warmer so I could have had a dip in the ocean's blue waters. I wanted to see but lack of proper information prevented me from exploring the city completely.

Going on sightseeing tours is something that I enjoy and I wonder if I should just opt for package tours, so I can sit back and enjoy rather than worry about making reservations, hotels, flights etc. I have recently come across this wonderful newsletter which will serve as a resource for my future travels. And the best thing about this newsletterBut I am glad I know of the newsletter now because signing up for it can help me win a $150 itunes gift card, so that next time I travel I will be entertained by the music.

One of the best ways to plan a sight seeing tour to a big city like New York is to first get to know about Things to do in New York City and then start compiling information and planning your tour accordingly.

Cleaning up natural habitats

My friend is part of this unique group known as Clean and Green which is working towards cleaning up natural public places, mountainsides and wildlife sanctuaries along the river Cauvery.

Their modus operandi is simple and straightforward. They get together go to the place equipped with trash bags and enthusiasm, collect all the plastic waste they can find lying around polluting the forests and bring it back to the city for safe disposal. While they are there they also try to educate local and visiting population about the importance of cleanliness and civic sense.

Their Goal: Cleaner environment, conserving forests and maintaining sanctity of river banks.

They have done 13 Trips in so far for cleaning up various locations - parterning with the Forest Department to arrive a long term, self sustainable model.

A group worthy of emulating in all places across the world.

New Car pictures now...

I posted a blog about vintage cars I saw at the Carrollton Vintage Cruise. The same day we bought our second car... a jet black Toyota 4Runner. Here are the pictures of our SUV. The purchase happened after nearly scouring the entire Dallas-Fort Worth used car market looking for a decent used mid-sized SUV. Though we were not too much in favour of buying a black colour car, we had to settle for a black beauty for lack of choices. Anyway we are quite happy with this relatively big car. For American roads this is not so big, it is just a normal SUV, but in my opinion it is pretty big.

Left/ driver side view of the car

Rear view of the 4Runner

Right side view of the car

Beautiful Vintage Cars

Yesterday was the monthly cruise of the Late Great Chevy, a vintage car club dedicated to owners of old and antique Chevrolet cars. According to the club members, this monthly car cruises are held at Rick's Famous BBQ in Carrollton, Texas the second Saturday of every month from April to October.

It was a lucky coincidence that took me to the venue and gave me the opportunity to look at some of the very finely restored antique Chevy's. I have been to vintage car rallies in India, where old car collectors bring in their restored beauties to show off. But this event was totally different, owners (mostly senior citizens) brought in their cars parked them with bonnet open and walked around chatting up with other participants.

The event is peer judged and every participant gives ranking to every car in the lot and the car which gets the highest rating at the end of the day gets the first prize. A great concept indeed. Some of the cars I saw there were not new to me, like the Chevy Impala, but I was wonderstruck by some of the real old cars out there. Here are some pictures of the beautiful cars I saw yesterday. For those of you who are in the Dallas area and wish to attend this rally next time around just visit the Late Great Chevy website and get details of the next cruise. More pictures on my other blog Passenger Views.

Antique 2-seater, open engine car

Proud owner with his beauty

Toy replica of the large antique car

Another Antique 2-seater car

This one definitely takes the cake... a V-8 convertible in the old style

An old time racing machine V-8 again

Equally grand and lovingly restored interiors

Look under the bonnet and there is a beauty there too... not a spec of oil or dust... wonder how they maintain these cars so clean? Another picture of a V-8 engine... this is an open engine car without bonnet, wonder how the cylinder heads are so shiny...

A very eventful and exciting Saturday

Slowly but steadily things are starting to get a little busy and interesting for me. As I shake out of my boredom and try to get involved in local activities as much as possible things are looking out ok... but I still miss my footloose and fancy free life in India. My regular outings into the wild, riding my bike over long open highways, climbing rocks, swimming in dams etc are somethings that I really miss.

Before I go on my nostalgia trip let me talk about my day's activities. Well morning started off usual I got up late at 8.00 am and then went for my roller skating class (yes I am learning how to skate :P) and now I can glide. Vibha a US-based non-profit organisation working to provide education and healthcare to children in India had organised a Kite Flying Festival at the expansive Thomas Jefferson Park, Irving.

Oh! Before I forget, today we bought another car, a shiny black Toyota 4 Runner SUV. This new acquisition will be a great boon for my transportation needs in this country with pathetic public transport system. Will post pictures of the black beauty sometime soon.

Coming back to the Kite Flying Festival, it was a well organised affair but, I guess we were there too early so people were just turning up... actually trickling in. There were few people flying kites and others making kites.. yet others spinning thread using an improvised motorised device, a hand held power drill. Since there was nothing much else happening we didn't stick around for too long and headed out towards running some errands.

Towards evening when we reached the supermarket to buy grocery I noticed that there was a Vintage Car Rally cum competition happening at one of the mega parking lots of the shopping complex. I was thrilled to see the golden oldies in their full glory. I never got tired shooting pictures and more pictures of the beautiful machines.

Will post the pictures tomorrow. For now enjoy the pictures of the Kite Festival.

Gazebo in Jefferson Park

Beautiful water body flowing through the park

Young and green trees in Jefferson Park

Children and adults flying kites and enjoying themselves

Children enjoying themselves

A Hudson View - second edition

Sometime ago I had blogged about the launch of Hudson View a bold new publication dedicated to art and poetry. At the time of writing that blog I had only heard of the publication and seen it online. Last week I got a pleasant surprise from Amitabh Mitra, I received the latest winter edition of the Hudson View . I was thrilled to see the colourful volume and immediately started reading through the soul touching compositions of poets from across the world.

Like I had said earlier publishing a poetry digest takes lot of courage, in the modern era, when print is fast losing its allure to broadcast media and internet. But the determination of Amitabh Mitra who I know through an online writers support group "Glorioustimes" has made this venture successful.

In this edition of winter poetry my favourite poems are The Sari Shop written by Alaka Yeravadekar and the two poems titled Immigrants and Freedom by Stanley Onjezani Kenani. While Yeravadekar captures the subtle indulgence of a woman shopping for sari, Kenani hits hard with his poetry. I would like to quote a few lines from the poem Freedom.

They told me I'm free
From Britain I'm free
From Slavery I'm free
From Hunger I'm free
From Disease I'm free
From Envy I'm free
From Ignorance I'm free

Funny thing they told me this in English
The Union Jack still flies on my tongue
The star-spangled banner stills fills our national coffers

This poem really hit my heart hard and reminded of my home country (India) where though we attained freedom from British 60 years ago, the majority are still enslaved in poverty, ignorance and illiteracy. I remember my country and wonder when we will see a strong, vibrant and prosperous India... Will I see it in my lifetime?

A video on motorcycle safety

It is not a safe road trip for Bikers across the world, but the thrill of biking and the love of freedom keeps people hooked to these two wheeled wonders. In third world and developing countries motorcycles are mostly used as modes of transport and people wheel in and out of busy traffic. But in stark contrast in developed countries where road infrastructure is very well developed and in place, motorcycling is more a recreation, sport and pleasure. And the speeds at which these big machines travel is amazing and quite scary too.

Travelling on motorcycles on American roads can be both an amazingly thrilling experince or a completely disastrous one. The average speed of a vehicle on Freeways/ Interstate highways in this continent-sized country is 60 miles per hour (100 km ph). At this speed car drivers often don't see bikers unless they are completely visible or making a lot of noise. One can often see bikers wearing flashy coloured jackets and their metal steeds equipped with glowing lights travelling on the highways.

One heartening and admirable feature of the California state in the US is that they observe the month of May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. And to ensure the safety and education of all motorcycle users the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has released a short film about motorcycle safety. The 13 minute explains the hazards and the precautions motorcyclists need to be aware of. The dangers they would potentially face in their every day commuting are shown in this video and also steps to take to ride safer, and arrive alive.

A note of caution before you click on play to view the video. This short film contains graphic footage from actual crash scenes involving motorcyclists. Viewer discretion is advised.



But the bottomline for anyone is to ride safe and be aware of the hazards and enjoy biking.

American Soldiers affected by post-combat depression

A few months ago I had blogged about how an increasing number of US soldiers are committing suicide due to post-combat stress and related depressions and also about the high price, the world in general and America in particular have to pay for the Iraq war.

On May 1, 2008 I read another article equally shocking in the Dallas Morning News. According to the article posted above, nearly 20 percent of the 1.6 million (320,000) soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental health problems. But alarmingly less than half of those affected are seeking help. Military personnell are hesitant to approach a mental health professional because they feel that it might harm their careers.

This is both very sad and dangerous. Sad because these innocent, patriotic and committed men and women are suffering silently. Dangerous because this mental illness will make them act differently and might cause problems to others around them. Guantanamo bay was one such example, killing civilians, torturing prisoners inhumanly and other sadistic behaviour could be a result. The articles states that thousands of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from war-related anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress.

Psychologists and mental health professionals recommend therapy and medication to these people, which is the need of the hour. But I would like to examine the reasons due to which these brave soldiers end up being emotional wrecks and psychological disasters in the face of adverse circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan. Are they scared of danger? Do they miss family? Do they miss the comforts and prosperty which they take for granted at home?

I would like to draw a parallel to the Indian army, which has been fighting a proxy war with Pakistan since the past three decades (30 years). There have been cases of suicides, mental trauma but not at these astronomical numbers. Every soldier/ officer serving in the borders, fighting to be alive and keep the country's peace intact have tremendous family support. Which unfortunately is not so great in the US. I have written in my article on the Iraq War, about how many divorces have taken place due to long term deployment of forces in Iraq.

The societal structure in the US is very open and lays lot of emphasis on individuals rights and preferences. It doesn't lay a spiritual significance to relationships. While in India the culture and societal structure is strong and lays great emphasis on survival of families and intra-family bonding. Between cousins, siblings and even second and third cousins. I believe if there was adequate family support to these young and old soldiers who have been deployed at far flung locations they would not suffer so much trauma and mental stress.

Dallas Asian Festival 2008

Last weekend (May 3, 2008) the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerice (GDACC) organised its annual Asian Festival. The event aimed at showcasing Asian-American culture, food and business was staged at the Dallas City Hall Plaza in downtown. According to the GDAACC website the mission of Asian Festival is to "introduce Asian Cultures to the North Texas population" and was part of the celebration of the month of May as the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This unique and colourful festival has been organised every year since the past sixteen years.



The entire City Hall area was abuzz with activities and the atmosphere was thick with the aromas of Asian food. Large crowds of Chinese, Indians, Koreans, Bangladeshis, Indonesians and of course Texans milled around the venue visiting stalls selling indigenous products, food etc. But the maximum crowd concentration seemed to be around the super-high dias/ stage where all the cultural programmes were performed. I guess this was the biggest mistake of the organisers, to erect such a high stage. It was so high that people sitting among the audience had to crane their necks to see the performances.

And there were these pesky press photographers and other camera weilding people who seemed to be glued to the stage and obstructed the view of the audience. During one of the performances I got so irritated with the press photographer I had to walk to up to the organisers and complain. One of the reasons I couldn't get any good pictures of the event.

The event featured a slew of myriad performances including and not limited to traditional Indian dance of Bharatnatyam, Bollywood funk dancing, Hawaiian dance, Indonesian music, Tae Kwondo, Shaolin Kung fu and other martial performance and of course my favourite The Chinese Lion/ Dragon Dance. Till saturday I had seen the Lion dance only in Jackie Chan movies and I must say that this is what motivated me to attend the festival. The lion dancers swirled around, jumped and danced just like a cat would do. It was thrilling to watch the live performance.

Other performances that were notable were the superb Tae Kwondo performance by the Arlington club. The group delivered an excellent performance to the racy beat of the background music. The theme of war was effectively portrayed through their dance perforance. The dances by children of Indonesia, India and Hawaii were interesting too. Here are some pictures of the festival.

Tai Chi Performance, of course you can see the photographer's backs better than the performers

Chinese Lion Dance

Chinese Lion Dance, another picture

Traditional Indian dance

Hawaiian dance by kids

Hawaiian dance by adults

Why there are no stray dogs in Dallas?

Since arriving in the US I had been wondering how cities maintained their streets free of stray animals. Whenever I see people walking their pets ranging from micro miniature sized designer dogs to huge beastly looking but very friendly furry canines, I would wonder if America has only thoroughbred dogs of pure bloodline. What about native species of dogs? Where are they gone, were they massacred like native Indian tribes? What if some dog just escaped and got lost? What about unwanted puppies, what happened? These questions continued to plague me and I never got any convincing answers. I had read about pet adoptions in newspapers on and off and seen some adoption drives during earth day celebrations at the college. These were not large scale operations which would take all dogs off the road.

But then suddenly out of the blue I got all the answers I was looking for in the form of a newspaper article yesterday. The article written by Steve Blow in Dallas Morning News came as a shocking blow to me. According to the article there is a well oiled stray dog slaughtering machinery in place in Dallas, managed by Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center. Here "Animal Services" means killing or euthanising or putting them to sleep.

As I read the article I broke into cold sweat and wondered how governments can enact such cruel policies. The staff of the Animal euthanasia department don't like their jobs but they don't have a choice, if they have to feed their families they have to mercilessly kill stray dogs. The number killed is not one or two but run into hundreds... daily and thousands... annually. The statistics are shocking, 29,000 stray/ unwanted/ neglected animals were killed last year (2007) alone. And this is an everyday phenomenon.

While in Bangalore as a member-volunteer of PFA (People for Animals), I have been instrumental in bringing to book several individuals who had meted cruel treatment to stray animals and pets. What the municipal authorities did back home in Bangalore was to vaccinate, deworm and spay stray dogs and set them free back where they come from. Bangalore city alone had about 70,000 stray dogs, when the civic authorities suggested culling, there was a public outcry and most citizens said that, we had no right to take away a life, be it a human or animal. But here value systems are different and there is nothing wrong in killing thousands of dogs regularly.

As I completed reading the article, I wondered, America is five times the size of India and hosts 20 percent of the population which is at least 10 times richer. Is it impossible to establish some kind of a system where stray animals are not slaughtered and buried along with trash in landfills? Can we show a little human courtesy and kindness to these gentle creatures which are said to be "Man's best friends"?

I'd like to know your opinions on this.

Uno the One-wheeled motorcycle

Bikers across the world are accused of reckless riding and being a hazard to road users, especially in first world countries where speeds are very high. In heavy traffic nations like India, China, motorcycles are considered very dangerous vehicles. This was the reports we heard when motorcycles had two wheels. Now there is this new motocycle named "UNO". The creation of 18-year-old innovator and motorcycle designer Benjamin Gulak, the Uno actually has two wheels but they are set side-by-side, instead of one behind the other as in traditional models. But since the wheels are so close together it can be considered as one entity.

It is simple to ride this electric powered wonder. You lean forward to make it move ahead and lean backward to slow it down. There is a single on/off switch to operate this uni-motorcycle. The Uno was showcased at the 2008 National Motorcycle Show in Toronto and attracted lot of attention. This was the first public appearance of the bright orange and grey Uno.

I am sure it would become very popular in India where space is premium as also economy. Powered by electric motors this wont consume too much petrol and being compact it will fit into the small parking spaces that are available. And it can carry two people too.... at least there is a pillion seat.

Read detailed article here

Making money out of E-Waste

It is common to read about the amount of electronic wastes that are plaguing this world. Old computers, motherboards, outdated cellphones, music systems, compact discs etc are all categorised under e-waste and someone is yet to come up with a effective way to dispose of them. But now suddenly E-wastes seem to have become pricey commodities. According to a news report I read online in the Times of India there are experts who mine e-wastes for precious metals including gold, copper, silver among others.

Apparently this form of "Urban mining" is very popular in Japan. Astounding is the statistics that a tone of gold ore gives only 5 gms of pure gold but a ton of mobile phones would return nearly 150 gms of gold. Urban mining is indeed far more lucrative than real gold mining.

So next time you think of discarding your old mobile phone, think again. You may be throwing a cache of precious metals into garbage. I am pretty sure this industry will start thriving in other countries very soon and it should if we are to have any success in combating E-wastes that are plaguing our earth.

Uniforms and Gear for Military and Police

As a child I was always fascinated by the impressive uniforms, pins, badges and medals worn by armed forces staff. In my experience I have noticed that people in uniform exude a kind of authority and confidence which is not seen in many civilian staff. The uniform gives them some kind of added strength which makes them come across as authoritative. Once attired in BDU pants even the normal person starts to exude some kind of strength.

With the evolution of police and armed forces the need for uniforms and other gear has grown. To cater to this need there are numerous enterprises which supply top quality material which enhance the appearance of the staff. One of the leading companies working in this area is LA Police Gear. The website showcases the wide array of apparel, gear and other related items manufactured and supplied by this company.

The array of uniform stuff is simply mind boggling and there is virtually everything available to equip a complete police force or a army regiment. Clothes, knives, boots, hats, tasers, vests, backpacks, goggles, LED laser lights etc. These gear are not only for police forces, but also supplied for private security agencies and others. Visit the website and be amazed by the array of products available.

Discover India - A colourful outdoor fest

Yesterday, the Trammel Crow Collection of Asian Art, a private museum with loads of ancient and modern artworks from India and Asia had organised the Discover India outdoor fest in Downtown Dallas. This was organised much akin to the outdoor Ganesha festivals in India. The street was blocked for traffic and there were stalls/ booths of various Indian establishments including restaurants, boutiques and NGOs who are trying to remote control development in India.

This event to celebrate India has been organised since 7 years and every year the scale is getting bigger and better revealed the organisers. It was a great opportunity to showcase the positive features of India and the technological, social and economic advancement. But unfortunately few local non-profit organisations decided to do otherwise, they portrayed poverty, disease and other problems that are affecting the country. These issues are being faced even by America, precentages may be low but then they would never showcase it. We Indians need to learn how to portray ourselves better.

The Dallas Morning News published an article about the event. This was perhaps one of the few non-negative newsreports about India published in this widely circulated daily. The well-written article revealed some amazing facts, presented below:

1. Asian Indian population is among the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States.
2. Indian American population grew from almost 1.68 million in 2000 to over 2.32 million in 2005 – about 38 percent in five years. (U.S. Census Bureau)
3. Indians comprise 16.4 percent of the entire Asian-American community.
4. Indians are the third largest Asian-American ethnic group, first being Chinese-Americans and second Filipino-Americans. Isn't it surprising that there are more Filipinos than Indians in America, considering that Philippines is such a small nation.
5. An estimated 130,000 Asian Indians live in Texas (80,000 in North Texas alone).

Goose as a traffic cop?

I read this interesting news item in today's Dallas Morning News and felt that I must share it with the readers of my blog. This is a everyday phenomenon in Rowlett city of Texas. A big goose helps cops in traffic management and ensuring that children are safe. The goose stands in the middle of the road and helps students cross the road. The children who were initially surprised to see this winged aquatic creature are not comfortable with it.

Since several months the goose has become so much part of the traffic and school scene that it has been named Sam by the friendly guards and school staff. It is completely intriguing how a wild goose is behaving so much human. Trained dogs and some species of birds are used to help in various human activities but a wild goose that too helping in managing traffic is unheard of. Truly the world is such a diverse and intriguing place.

The story just doesn't end there. Read on to know the incredible story of losing a pet and getting it back after 16 years. This is truly a story worth reading repeating. Isn't it? Your views are solicited.

Smallest girl in the world

I received a set of pictures and information about this tiny teenager from India who has been adjudged as the smallest girl in the world. Looking at the amazing medical condition (dwarfism) which has stunted the growth of this girl I felt I must share it with the readers of my blog.

Born and brought up in India, Jyothi Amge (14), is just 1ft 11in (58cm) tall. No wonder she is the smallest girl in the world. Jyoti is shorter than the average two-year-old child and only weighs 11lb (5kg). She suffers from a medical condition called achondroplasia wihch prevents her from growing taller. In effect she has reached the ultimate height she could ever grow.

When I read about this adorably abnormal teenager I remembered the 18th century (1726-1735) book Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, which I had read during my high school days. In the book the protagonist travels across the world visiting strange lands. During one of his travels he gets shipwrecked and becomes a prisoner in the land of Liliputs, tiny human beings barely 6 inches tall.

Jyothi though a wee bit larger than the legendary Liliputs, could easily evoke such memories and imagination. She is one of those people in the world who has to get everything custom made. Clothes, jewellery, furniture, everything has to be custom made to her size. She sleeps in a tiny bed and uses special plates and cutlery to eat.

Having supportive parents and community she attends a mainstream school in Nagpur, central India. She has her own small desk and chair, and her classmates treat her like any other student. Just because she is of tiny stature Jyoti hasn't lost out on life. Like any other teenaged girl, she is interested in fashionable dresses, music, latest DVDs etc.

"I am proud of being small. I love all the attention I get. I'm not scared of being small and I don't regret it. I'm just the same as other people. I eat like you, dream like you. I don't feel any different," says Jyoti who has already attained celebrity status in her home town. This has helped her get into the glamour biz and she is soon going to be a pop singer of fame. She is releasing a Indi-pop album with Indian pop star Mika Singh (Daler Mehendi's brother).

Her parents Kishanji (52) and Ranjana Amge (45) simply dote on their little girl. "When Jyoti was born, she seemed quite normal. We came to know about her disorder when she was five. We consulted a specialist and he said she will be this size all of her life. Jyoti is small, yet cute, and we love her very much," says Ranjana emphatically.

"I can't separate myself from her even for a single day.. I love her very much. She makes me proud," declares Kishanji categorically.

As for Jyoti, she dreams of becoming a Bollywood star. "I would love to work in a big city like Mumbai, act in films and travel," says Jyoti.

Little steps make even the longest journey possible and Jyoti has already started in the right direction.

Earth Day Celebrations at Dallas

Yesterday was Earth Day in America, a day when people remembered the importance of Mother Earth and talked about the importance of conserving the environment, saving the earth etc etc. When anything happens in Texas, it is always in Texas Size, likewise the Earth Day celebrations were also in equal proporation. Only in Dallas city area there were seven events conducted parallely and this was pegged as the biggest celebration in the US.

We got an invite from a India-oriented non-profit VT SEVA based in Dallas area for the Earth Day celebrations at the Lake Cliff Park in Oak Cliff, Dallas. Always to be part of any Eco-friendly event we went to take a look. Well, it was truly a multi-cultural, multi-faceted and colourful event and well worth visiting. According to the organisers 120 Plus businesses/ non-profits had put up their stalls. Most of them were from environment-friendly and green organisations trying to make people aware of how they can inculcate eco-friendly habits in various aspects of life. Water conservation, green electricity, organic T-shirts, jewellery, recycled picture frames, trekking, mountain biking etc were all being promoted.

The part I liked about the event was the showcasing of several myriad forms of music and dance at the venue. Two stages set up at the venue and parallel dance and music performances carried on throughout the day. Performances ranged from African Mambo Dance to choir singing and from Sanskrit Shloka recitation to Cheerleading. The performances were unique, elegant and very appealing. It is interesting to note that so many cultures exist oblivious of each other and when they come together it feels so beautiful and good. Problem starts when one starts saying we are superior than others. This kind of attitude hurts people and leads to a clash of civilisations.



Let me say something about the venue, the Lake Cliff Park. This park is one of the premier green spaces in South Dallas area. Nearly 70 percent of the park comprises of a large lake and rest of it is either sprawling manicured lawns, rolling woods with neat and clean walking and cycling trails. The park also has a dedicated chidren's play area, amphitheatre, several gazebos and restrooms.

Family that has shunned cars
I met Kenny and his cute daughters at the venue. Kenny is an ardent eco-advocate and loves cycling. He has a road bike and a mountain bike and both of them have a pannier/ side car to carry his little daughters. He stopped driving two years ago and he commutes "Solely by bicycle". I am impressed by Kenny's dedication and willingness to give up comforts of driving in a country where cars keep getting bigger and muscular. I am glad I met someone who shares my thought line, I am now more eagerly looking for a bike on Craigslist so I can join this small minority of cyclists who are pushing pedals for environment.

Movie Review: Die Hard IV or Live Free

Movie: Live Free or Die Hard 4 (2007)
Cast: Bruce Willis
Director: Len Wiseman
Genre: Action / Adventure / Crime

I watched this movie few months ago in India but thought I'd write a review on this when I saw it again on DVD here. I guess this movie did better than Rambo IV hence this can be considered as more popular and better than the Stallone starrer. One of the major flaws in this movie is that an older and more tired Bruce Willis is shown as physically stronger and immune to pain. That is quite absurd in my opinion.

Anybody who has seen the Rocky series of movies starring Sylvester Stallone can easily relate to Die Hard 4. The first movie of this series was released over a decade ago in 1988 and it was a blockbuster globally. I really liked the 1988 movie and the action by Bruce Willis looked realistic and convincing of a New York City detective John McClane, who works by his own rules and not that of the state.

I guess it was the phenomenal success of the first movie that led to the making of sequel after sequel featuring more or less the same characters. But the latest movie the fourth part was something of a disappointment to me. The movie tries in vain to combine hard macho action with high-tech weaponry and warfare methods and fails to a large extent. The villain played by Timothy Olyphant as Thomas Gabriel, whose sole aim is to reduce United States into a nation of chaos and anarchy using his strong computer software skills and teams of freelance hackers across the country.

Enter McClane quite by accident as he gets caught in the crossfire while transporting prisoner Matt Farrell (Justin Long). The latter is a handsome geek who can hack anything from police networks to mobile phones to computers. Matters get complicated when the villain kidnaps McClane's daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and our macho cop goes into a frenzy, destroying everything that comes between and his daughter’s safety.

Laced with sarcastic dialogues, unbelievable action sequences, which portray McClane and Farrell as invincible characters, the story moves along quickly. Directed by Len Wiseman of the Underworld fame, the plot is based on John Carlin’s article A Farewell to Arms (1997). Though the action scenes and stunts look very exciting and ensures that you sit at the edge of your seat in anticipation, they fail in reality.

In the original Die Hard, McClane gets badly wounded and he portrays real pain through his facial expressions and actions. One of the scenes that is etched in my mind is the limping and almost-at-tears expression as he walks across shards of glass in padded feet. But in the latest movie, he is portrayed as someone who can fight everything human or machine and not feel any pain or hurt at all. McClane crashes his car against helicopters, crashes big trucks and even fights with a sexy computer geek who is also a trained ninja fighter. Despite all the injuries, beatings etc McClane doesn’t even groan or wince from pain, isn’t it ridiculous. A decade later I would have presumed that McClane would have matured and become more wiser, but only his body seems to have become stronger because in this movie his bulky structure takes far more abuse than in the first movie.

The movie starts hotting up when McClane goes to arrest and bring in hacker Justin Long for questioning. Like in most movies, the villains use more sophisticated weapons and are smarter than cops. In this the cyber-criminals use deadly computer viruses to disable financial markets, traffic, government institutions and virtually everything. Most part of the movie goes off in showing off the technological prowess of the villain and the machoistic tendencies and power of the good cop, McClane.

I would say that this movie is to be watched purely for entertainment and I would recommend it only to action and stunt lovers. People who don’t like to see destruction, blood and gore on screen better not go to this movie. It is seriously violent movie with a teeny-weeny share of humour.

Trailer of the movie

A poem on the occasion of EARTH DAY

My experiments with poetry continue and I wrote this after participating in the colourful Earth Day celebrations at college. I hope you will enjoy it. Your comments will be appreciated.

Nature

Nature is beautiful
Nature is enticing
Nature is fun and exciting

We can only love it's
wonderful diversity
stunning imagery and
panoramic scenery

Nature is god's gift
which we must cherish and protect
But in the name of development
We have started to demolish and destroy

Nature is tolerant but
beyond a point nature retaliates
with floods, hurricanes and tsunamis'
causing destruction and wrecking havoc.

If we can't live in harmony with nature
We will perish for sure.

An India-Phobic Panel Discussion

Today I attended a panel discussion titled "Who gets the fuel? Us or them?" at the Preston Ridge Campus of the Collin County Community College, where I am currently taking a course in Business Mathematics. This panel discussion was conceived and organised as part of the college's "Earth Day" celebrations. There were different activities in the college all related to environment in some way or the other. There were stalls of Animal Shelters, Electricity Companies, Eco-friendly tattoos, a flute recital etc.

The panel discussion was the grand finale of the event. When I came to know about the discussion couple of weeks ago I felt both outraged and hurt. These people are accusing India of competing with them for fuel. I am pretty sure that more than half of Americans have never been to India and would never visit our country at all. They have so little knowledge about the country but they want to point fingers. Hence I did some research about petroleum consumption and after carefully making notes I went to the discussion to make my point.

The panel comprising of four students of the college was moderated by faculty members from the Geology, Chemistry and Sociology departments. The discussion started with a presentation by the faculty members about how it would be a catastrophe if India's major car manufacturers Tata Motors released their newest car Tata Nano (650 cc) into the market. They expressed fears over millions of Indians buying the small car which would result in increased fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and pollution. One of the ideas put forth by the faculty was that "Should America exert pressure on India to ban production of the Nano Car?"

As I sat through the presentation I didn't know whether to laugh or to wring my hands in despair. They presented comparative facts about India and America which were packaged to portray as if India was a potential world polluter.

In my opinion the title of panel discussion is a big farce. It is the same as a huge elephant saying that it is not finding enough food because the little rabbit ate it all and so the rabbit should be banished from the forest.

After the panelists had had their say the audience was given a chance to speak. Though I was one of the first to raise my hand, my chance came last after all the others had had their say. Last but definitely not the least, here are some of the facts that I presented. At the end of my talk the panel, moderator and other faculty were apolegetic about some of their statements and said so.

Population Vs fuel consumption
America accounts for a mere 5 percent (300 million) of the world's population, but consumes an unfair amount of the world's total fuel production. 44 percent. On the other hand India accounts to 20 percent of the world's population (5 times America's population) and consumes only 4 percent of the world's production of fuel.

Number of Cars and other vehicles
American has over 270 million passeger cars and trucks, 12.9 million recreational boats and 6.2 million motorcycles. (833.34 cars per 1,000 people)

India has only 9.17 million passenger vehicles vehicles, a few hundred recreational boats and 7 million motorcycles. (7 cars per 1,000 people)

Average Cars
The average car in America is at least 3,000 cc and runs on a V-6 engine (6 cylinder)
The average Indian car (Maruti 800) runs on a 800 cc, 3 cylinder engine.

Average Fuel efficiency
America's vehicles return an average fuel efficiency of 17.1 miles per gallon.
Indian cars return an average fuel efficiency of 35.65 miles per gallon.

Fuel consumption
America consumes over 92,53,000 barrels per day (388.6 million gallons per day)
India consumes only 38.8 million gallons a day.

Most Fuel Efficient car in America
Toyota Prius - powered by two engines churning out a mammoth 145 horsepower, this car returns a fuel efficiency of 46 miles per gallon.

Most Fuel Efficient Car in India
Tata Nano - powered by a small 650 cc engine, churns out a decent 30 horsepower and returns a superb 54 miles per gallon.

Greenhouse Gas emission
America - 1,559 metric tonnes
India - 250 metric tonnes

Here is the biggest punch. Everyone in the world says India is a dirty country. But who generates most trash in the world? It is the world's self-appointed policeman and big brother AMERICA.

Per capita Garbage/ solid waste generated per year
US - 230 million tons (about 4.5 pounds per person per day)
India - 18 million tons of trash. If we were to calculate the amount of solid wastes generated by individuals in India it would be abysmally low.

I am really glad I attended the panel discussion and made people aware of the reality. Perhaps it will lead them to think about the future of the world and probably one of them may decide to buy a smaller car. MAYBE.... I don't know... and I wont know too.

I look forward to hearing from my blog readers about their opinions on this subject.

New sights in Arbor Hills

Last week we had been to Arbor Hills Nature preserve, this is probably the dozenth time we are visiting. But I am not bored of the place, every visit presents new sights, offers new experiences and the park unveils new facets. This time the effect of spring was shown to me in full glory. Everything that was brown, grey and appeared lifeless was green, healthy and full of life now. Numerous bushes and plants had sprouted buds and flowers sporting bright hues.

Massive tract of earth caved in along the creek due to the recent thunder storm

Of course last week's hurricane damage was also obvious for everyone to see. Several trees had been broken by the wind like little twigs. Soil erosion around the creek was vast and it appeared as if the earth had caved in completely. As I walked round the lake, it was obvious that water level had risen by almost one ft. Taking a few pictures we walked towrads the tower.

There were loads of people out there. Apparently the local Boy Scouts had scheduled their graduation ceremony in the tower area. We decided to stay back and watch the ceremony. As it became dark the ceremony started with drum beats and several older boys dressed like native Americans. I was surprised to note that, the Boy Scout movement was started in London and this chapter/ branch is in Texas, US. They have no connection with American Indians, except for the fact that the original Europeans who moved to America fought and killed the native Americans. I wonder why this Boy Scout group dressed up like them and narrated stories related to American Indians and also called themselves a tribe.

People assembled for the Boy Scout Ceremony

Anyway I found all this a farce, because there was not even one American Indian in the entire group of people assembled there. Yet these people were trying to enact an American Indian scene and relate it to the Boy scout movement. I find it so artificial and gross. Anyway it is their customs and traditions, these are only my opinions. Here are some pictures shot in the dark, not very clear, I will try to edit these pictures and post them soon.

Pictures of the Boy Scout Ceremony