Another byline and some more acceptance of my work

I have been working hard to achieve a few bylines in the online and print media in the US since I arrived here five and half months ago. It has been a long and arduous journey. Competition is high and the writing style is totally different. I have not been very successful but have achieved a byline here and there and mostly in the local newspapers here. One of the biggest achievements was get myself and my pictures featured in a cover and photo feature on the Neighbors Go supplement of the Dallas Morning News.

Now after the print comes online byline with Schmap Guides selecting one of my pictures to be featured in their online tourist guide. One of the pictures I had shot of the tower in Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, has been featured in an online tourist guide known as Schmap Gudes.
Do take a look at the guide whose interactive version is placed in the form of a widget below. It would be great to hear your encouraging words, which make me strive towards making my blogs better.

Lull after the storm!

I purposely chose the title for the blog. I woke up this morning to a bright, sunny day with clear blue skies and great weather. Thinking it is going to be a great day I started my daily chores. The first surprise was that there was no paper at the door. Then Padma asked me if I slept well last night. I said absolutely well, like a log in fact. Then she said that last night a thunder-storm had hit the city and there was lot of rain, heavy winds, thunder and lightening. So this morning's nice weather and cool breeze is the lull after the storm.

I had absolutely no idea about what happened last night. Padma said she was woken up by the roaring winds and thunder and couldn't sleep for the major part of the night. I didn't give it much thought and when I did venture out of the home I was surprised to see destruction all around. Luckily our apartment block is sited at the very end and at a lower level so not much damage has been caused. The parking shelter adjacent to our apartment has been torn down by the winds, as also several trees in the complex. Some buildings were not so lucky, their roofs and porches were blown off. I went round the apartment complex and shot some pictures of the devastation, take a look.

And yes there was complete blackout for about 4-5 hours throughout the region experiencing the thunder storm. So it is not only in Bangalore that power shuts off as soon as it rains. I guess it is a universal phenomenon that electricity can't be played with and when it rains it is best to switch off the mains. Especially when 90 percent of the homes are built of wood.

Parking shelter adjacent to our home was torn down by the heavy winds. It is right next to our apartment block. Luckily nothing happened to our building.

This tree near the car wash in the complex was also attacked. The winds tore away one of its healthy branches

Two other trees which were also casuality to the wind's fury

Pictures of devastation both to buildings as well as trees

Texas is truly a crazy place, at least in terms of weather it surely is. It is bright and sunny today and there is no guarantee that it will remain so tomorrow. For all I know tomorrow may be freezing cold with hail storms and what not. And day after it may be just humid and stuffy. That is the weather of Texas. When I was in India I thought Bangalore weather was crazy, but I don't think it is crazier than Texas.

Three (3) minutes of Fame

Having been here for the past nearly 6 months I have been trying to achieve bylines and get to see my name in print. I have been successful in the past on two occasions when the pictures I shot were published in the Dallas Morning News and its supplement Neighbors Go. But yesterday's paper was my biggest byline or feature so far. I hogged limelight on the cover page of the Neighbors Go supplement, got mentioned in the editorial and also had two half pages dedicated to the pictures I have shot. I guess I got my three minutes of fame in America. Need to work harder to get more minutes....
Meanwhile as I work you can have a look at the scanned images of the paper and leave your comments.

This the cover page of Neighbors Go supplement of yesterday's Dallas Morning News. Limited circulation only in the three cities of Carrollton, Addison and Farmers Branch.

Yesterday's editorial spoke about photographs and memories and linked my cover feature to it.

Pictures I had uploaded on my blog and submitted to the paper.

More pictures of Carrollton and surroundings which captured the attention of the editors of Dallas Morning News.

Can III Grade students plot a teacher's assault?

I read this news report in today's Dallas Morning News about a mixed group of class III students plotting and almost executing a murderous attack on one of the class teachers. Apparently the group had planned the assault well and brought necessary tools such as a broken knife, steel handcuffs, duct tape, etc. Luckily for the teacher one of the students who was not involved in the group revealed the plot and the school called in the police.

What is more shocking is the plan itself than the seriousness of the plot. How could third graders make such a serious criminal plot? Are children here so smart, cunning and downright ruthless? All that I remember of my third grade years is being forced to do math and read by teachers and parents. Apart from that it was play, games and fun time with my friends in class. But today's third graders seem to be very vindictive and ruthlessly cruel.

Agreed that the world has changed over the past couple of decades. The education system is far more advanced than it was when I was in grade III, but is this what is being taught to students? Where is the innocence of childhood? Childhood for me means long days of playing; eating ice creams and chocolates without worrying about putting on weight or contracting diabetes; visiting grand parents during holidays; play innocent pranks in class such as flying paper planes. But this kind of plotting to hurt the teacher is shocking. What are the schools teaching?

News I read yesterday. Surprising and Shocking

I am a regular reader of Dallas Morning News and every day its content evokes surprise, shock and an array of reactions deep within me. I would like to share two small and almost insignificant news items in yesterday's newspaper which touched me.

First the surprise
I read about this courageous woman who manages a wildlife refuge and rehabilitation center here. She was mauled by two cheetah's during an exhibition show of the animals. Even after being hospitalised with cuts, bruises and stiches, she is not worried or scared. She wants to get back to work immediately. I admire this lady's courage and adventurous spirit. I have come across wildlife handlers in my experience and have found them extremely careful and courageous. I believe every human being should develop such courage.

Now the Shock
Can you believe that a 14-year-old girl could give birth to a still-born baby in the airplane toilet and say that she didn't know she was pregnant? Well, I find it hard to believe. Given a benefit of doubt that the 14-year-old didn't realise she was pregnant, surely the parents should have noticed. In the first place how did a 14-year-old get pregnant? What with so much of sex-education, awareness, free distrubution of condoms in high schools, etc going on, how did this happen? What are the school authorities doing? What are her parents doing?
I was under the impression that this kind of incidents occured only in extremely backward locations such as sub-Saharan Africa, remote parts of rural India, Nepal, some parts of SE Asia. But to read about such instances in the world's most advanced country, I am shocked beyond wits. I hope parents will read this blogpost/ article will take better care of their children and that school counsellors will educate them about hazards of unprotected sex.

A Guide to Employing Women!

I recently came across this interesting article which is a reproduction of the original guidelines issued to male supervisors when they started hiring women to work in factories, business establishments etc way back in the World War II period. That was perhaps the initial phases when women entered the work force and helped spur America's development into a strong economy. This continues to this date with most women working shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts contributing to the growth of the country. But these 1943 guidelines are rather funny and worth reading to get an understanding about how the society at that time was.

Movie Review: Meet the Browns

Title: Meet the Browns
Genre: Comedy-drama.
Cast: Angela Bassett, Rick Fox, David Mann and Lance Gross.
Story and Direction: Tyler Perry.

Lots of people complain about the tough times they endured growing up in poverty in large towns, not having enough to eat, less clothes etc. But the plight of a single mother struggling to bring up three children, when she suddenly loses her job, the sole source of livelihood for the family is incomparable. And this is the central theme of the Tyler Perry film Meet the Browns.

The central character Brenda Brown, played by Angela Bassett portrays how a single mother struggles to keep her children happy even at the face of having to go without food and electricity and a job loss. Brenda's teenage son Michael is a good basketball player and his sneakers start falling apart in the middle of the big game. The children's father has left Brenda and refuses to pay child-support, though he has a job which pays him $25 an hour. Director-writer Tyler Perry has done a wonderful job in creating characters in this touching movie.

Even as Brenda is struggling against odds to make a decent living in Chicago, she receives a letter with bus tickets inviting her to attend her father's funeral in Georgia. A person whom she has never met in her life. Arriving at Georgia with children in tow, Brenda gets acquainted with the loving, loud and eccentric small-town Brown family and their family friend an ex-NBA ballplayer Perry, who wants to help her son become a professional player. Brenda is firm on one thing, that Michael is first completing college and then playing professional basketball.

After the funeral, the family lawyer reads out the will and surprisingly old man Brown has left a country home to Brenda. The home is rundown and needs lot of work to bring it into a condition to live in. Brenda doesn't have the money, so she decides to head back to Chicago and try to get a job. But life in Chicago is tough and her son is invited to make money peddling dope. Brenda resents this and tells him to walk out of the house, Michael relents and returns the dope earnings but the gang doesn't want to leave him. In the ensuing confrontation he gets shot and is hospitalized. With a heavy heart she decides to move to Georgia taking her children and renovate her inherited home and live there. She has a surprise waiting there, which gives you the message "all is well that ends well".

In my opinion this movie displays the grit and courage of an individual who struggles to bring up a family single-handedly without any support from the spouse. She never seeks help even when she is down to the last penny. This movie is an inspirational story to all those young and old single-mothers who are often led astray in a bid to make ends meet. This movie gives the strong message that irrespective of what if one believes and does the right thing, life will end up alright.

Who better than Tyler can give this kind of a message through his captivating story and direction. His ability to effectively present a melodrama using humor, sarcasm and pain is very good. A must watch in my opinion.

Here is a trailer of the movie for you to get a sneak preview.

Entry fee for Jallianwala Bagh: A boon

Post-independence India adopted Soviet-style socialist model and in a bid to make everything accessible to everyone every public service was free and accessible. Entry fees were kept at negligible or nothing so that the poorest of the poor can access the services/ spots. Tourism is one sector that had been completely ignored both interms of its revenue generation capacity and its image building virtue.

Only during the past few years that the benefits of tourism is being realised. Tourism promotion is still in its nascent stage in India and tourism revenues are lower than small countries such as France, England etc. This is primarily because of lack of the instinct to ruthlessly pursue revenue generaiton out of tourism. Anyway the sense seems to be slowly dawning upon the Indian establishment.

I have visited the historic Jallianwala Bagh Memorial in Amritsar several times. The entry has always been free, which I feel is an insult to the martyrs who gave up their lives in the cause of freedom. I always wished that there were couple of multi-lingual guides who would take groups of tourists, school students and visitors around the vast grounds and tell the story of the Martyrdom of the thousands of unarmed Indians who were brutally massacred by the British. These monuments should be used to generate national pride among Indian visitors and awe among foreign tourists and if they are British make them feel ashamed of their nation and the cruel deeds of their founding fathers. Generations of Jews have not forgotten the holocust and German concentration camps and the World War II war crimes against their ancestors. But Indian's believe in forgetting, forgiving and loving even the most cruel and deceitful enemy, so this will never happen.

But at least one positive step has been taken in the right direction. The secretary of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Trust, S Mukherji, recently announced that the trust has written to the Union Ministry of Culture that entry fee should be charged for tourists visiting the memorial.

"We are going to introduce a light and sound show which will recreate the firing on a gathering of defenceless men, women and children on April 13, 1919 by British soldiers under the command of Brigadier Reginald Dyer at the Jalianwala Bagh, near the Golden Temple, for those visiting the site of the massacre," he said. The work for the light and sound show has already started and it is being installed at a cost of around Rs.5 crore, added Mukherji.

"Even the whole memorial will get a facelift soon. We will have a big museum in the memorial which will house many new exhibits. Renovation work is also in full swing in the memorial," he said.

The annual budget of the Trust is only Rs 25 lakh but after the installation of the light and sound show the expenditure will rise manifold. "So to cope with the rise in expenditure we have asked the ministry to consider introducing an entry for those visiting the memorial".

I am sure that this entry fee will generate much revenue which can help maintenance of the place and also better management of visitors and museums.

News Source: Deccan Herald
Picture Source: Jallianwala Bagh Photo Gallery

Price of Iraq War! Is it worth it?

America's global war on terror which started immediately after the the 9/11 WTO bombings by the Al Qaeda over seven years ago continues. Afghanistan seems to have been stabilised or rather at least there is no news about what's happening there. But Iraq is constantly in the news both within the US and outside. Iraq seems to be taking a huge toll on America both in terms of people and resources. Despite two bloody wars and continued battles in Iraq, no weapons of mass destruction has been recovered from Iraq. It is very clear to the entire world that American war on Iraq was for oil and has nothing to do with WMD or global terror or anything of that sort. Over the past few weeks I have noticed a surge in reporting on Iraq war and almost everyday there is one major article about the war in the newspapers. I read only one newspaper here, Dallas Morning News and my observations will be limited to what I have read.

Plight of Civilians in Iraq
A recent article highlighted the plight of civilians caught between Allied Forces (US, UK and others) and rebel militia. According to the article, Iraqis are suffering more now than under Saddam Hussein. Corruption is rampant, phones never work, electricity is available only 2-4 hours every day, taps go dry for several hours every day and when water does flow it is infested with worms and smells foul. Employees of the phone company, electric and water supplies routinely harass home owners for bribes. Majority of schools and colleges have been closed down as academics and teachers have fled the country. One housewife was quoted saying that though salaries were lesser during Saddam Hussein's reign they had decent services. Most civilians lead a meal to meal existence, doing grocery shopping every day for their daily needs.

Massive Death Toll
Recently the death toll of allied forces personnell reached an astronomical figure of 4,000. There has been a huge outcry about this in US and UK, two countries which account for the maximum casualities. But several articles which trumpeted this 4,000 number and also carried several follow-up stories on the subject have completely ignored civilian casualities due to the war. The number of civilian casualties in Iraq alone is estimated at 82,418-89,938 by Iraq Body Count, a website which documents civilian deaths in Iraq. A figure in excess of 20 times of military casualities. But civilians are Iraqis, why should we bother seems to be the attitude of the newspapers who don't bother even to spend one line to mention the number. Why did the war kill so many civilians? Is America justified in killing so many civilians while claiming that the war was to rescue them from a cruel dictator? These questions continue to be unanswered.

Financial Implications of the war
A whole country destroyed and demolished. Rebuilding will take away the possibility of a decent life for at least two generations of Iraqis. What right does any nation, including America has to devastate the lives of millions of innocent civilians? Is American's thirst for oil so much that the world of millions of people has to be destroyed to quench it?

The financial devastation of the war can be felt in America too. A research paper by Harvard budget expert Linda Bilmes and Nobel-prizewinning Columbia economist Joseph Stiglitz claims that the final cost of the war to US could be $2 trillion — 10 times as high as the worst-case scenario of $200 billion suggested by a White House official before the war. The National Priorities website has a counter running and at the time of writing this article was $505,876,218,058. The website further reveals that the war costs as $4,681 per household; $1,721 per person and $341.4 million per day.

Troop Deployment
When the war started there were 250,000 men from US, 45,000 from UK, 2,000 from Australia and 194 from Poland. As I write this blog there is a 166,000-strong military inlcuding 10,500 from 27 countries fighting the war on the Allies side. Of course there are forces from contracted security agencies which total to 161,000 (53 percent (85,300) Iraqi, 17 percent (27,400) American, 30 percent (45,500) Others) and then there are 30,000 private mercenaries fighting on behalf of America.

Socio-cultural-economic impact
On the socio economic front the impact has been perhaps the highest, both in Iraq and in America. In Iraq of course the devastation has been the highest, with millions losing parents, brothers, spouses, children etc. Families have disintegrated not because of divorce but due to death and war. Children have been rendered orphans or separated from parents due to widespread demolition of the cities. Family structures have broken down with the more affluent and educated members fleeing the country to safer locations.

The impact in America has not been much different. Thus far there have been 16,000 soldiers who have been permanently disabled due to war. These people are entitled to receive payments for lifetime cost of disability and health care. To replace them recruitment budgets have to be enhanced.

With over 150,000 soldiers and officers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan there has been significant impact on their lives back home. According to a report in Time magasine there were 10,477 divorces in 2004, 8,367 in 2005 and data for subsequent years are available and will be published soon. That is an amazing number of broken homes and that many people under stress and combating depression.

Meanwhile on the domestic front in America, the economy is going south. Gas prices are rising, despite America being in total control of Iraqi oil. The common man is stretched to his limit. Job losses are common, hundreds of thousands of homes are facing foreclosure because the owners have lost jobs and are unable to pay mortgage. Where is the country heading towards? If the war continues more money has to be pumped into it.

Imagine if there was no war and the same amount of money ($ 2 trillion) were to be invested on poverty eradication, education and development programmes in Sub Saharan Africa or Asia. Better still if it was invested in various parts of America on technology enhancement, job creation and improvement of education infrastructure or bolstering university budgets wouldn't the dollar have achieved much more? Almost all universities across the US are announcing a steep hike in their tuition. I am pretty sure this could have been avoided if the country was not at war. Perhaps gas prices wouldn't have gone so high if there was no war.

Think of it, is this high price for the war worth? Your comments are welcome.

Information Sources:
Iraq Body Count
Iraq Coalition Casualities
Washington Post
Time Magazine
National Priorities website
Global Security
Wikipedia

Message in the Bottle

This article in the Dallas Morning News captured my attention and imagination. During my early childhood days I used to enjoy reading Phantom comics and would wonder how he managed to remain powerful, fast and strong through generations. One of the stories involved kidnapped scientists putting out a SOS message in a bottle and throwing it into the sea. This message is found by Phantom and he rescues them and solves a mystery.

The news item I read is about a similar but amazing incident. This time around the message sender is not kidnapped but an elementary school student who in a burst of enthusiasm placed a letter in an envelope and inserted it in a bottle and set it afloat in the sea. The message read "This letter is part of our science project to study oceans and learn about people in distant lands. Please send the date and location of the bottle with your address. I will send you my picture and tell you when and where the bottle was placed in the ocean. Your friend, Emily Hwaung."

The bottled letter sent from a suburb in Seattle was found 1,735 miles away in an Alaskan fishing village, accessible only by boat or plane, 21 years after it was sent. Amazing isn't it. The finder did contact the sender of the message, who had totally forgotten about the school project and the bottle. Anyway all that is well ends well, the sender and the finder are both surprised and happy at the developments.

Emily Shih, who is now an accountant, said she didn't remember the project that required her fourth-grade class to send a message in a bottle out to sea. That note was found 21 years later in an Alaskan village 1,735 miles away.

Trammell Crow Lake in Trinity Park

Last week we went exploring Dallas downtown and the south of the commercial district. Thus far we had been to cities like Frisco, McKinney, Plano, Carrollton etc, all located North of Downtown Dallas. I always wondered what was their on the south side. Sometime ago an opportunity presented itself for us to explore this part of the city.

As we approached the south side of Dallas on the I-35 I was a little shocked by its rundown appearance. It looks like a ghost town, narrow, pot-holed streets, dirty neighborhoods. If not for the absence of crowds, beggars and walking public, this part of the city looks more like small town India. But for cars whizzing past one would think it is really a ghost town abandoned by its people. As we were driving we chanced upon a vast open space flanking both sides of the road. We stopped to take a closer look and inside there is a small lake with a boat ramp/ pier, walking trails and cattle sculptures installed to beautify the place.

Signboard announcing the name of the park and lake.

Even in this seemingly forsaken place it is commendable that the local authorities have put in their effort to create such a beautiful, landscaped open space for recreation. There are facilities for football, soccer, hiking, running, boating and fishing in this park. There is no entry fee and there were hardly anybody in the park. Perhaps because it was in the afternoon or perhaps it is still winter here. Spring is just starting and people are just beginning to stir outdoors. Sometimes I feel that people here hibernate much like animals, they don't come out during winters and come summer they are all out in their finery.

Here are some pictures of the Trinity Park and the Trammell Crow Lake, south of Dallas downtown. Do leave your comments if you like them or hate them.

Bird perched upon one of the posts in the boat pier.

Cattle and cowboys are inseparable part of Texas. If not the real ones then the sculptures made of stone, metal or even concrete will do.

Closer view of the cattle sculptures in Trinity Park, near the Trammel Crow Lake.

Another cow, this is tired and sitting in the shade of a large tree which has shed leaves during fall and is slowly turning green as spring appoaches.

The road cuts right across the park, but in a bid to cause minimum disturbance to people enjoying the park the road is built like a flyover across the park. That is a nice thought and should be emulated elsewhere in the world.

The solitary tree near the Trammel Crow Lake which is just sprouting green buds presents a great sight.

Holi Celebrations in Dallas

Holi revellers dancing to the drum beats

Holi the festival of colours was celebrated in Dallas today. The premises of the DFW Hindu Temple, Irving was a riot of colour as hundreds of Desis congregated at the venue. I would summarise the event as "Colour, chow, charm, carol* singing, riotous dancing, and loads and loads of laughter and fun".

Before I continue I would like to give a little background about the festival of colours. Holi is celebrated on Phalgun Purnima month of the Hindu calendar which is sometime around the Christian months of February end or early March. The origins of Holi can be traced back to antiquity and like all Hindu festivals it is a celebration of the victory of good over evil. It was created as an event to bridge social gap and renew sweet relationships.

Traditionally celebrations begin with the ceremonial lighting of bonfire on the Holi eve to signify incarceration of all bad desires of the human mind. Numerous legends & stories associated with the origin of Holi celebration. One of the legends is about the burning of "Kama" the god of love by Lord Shiva. Kama would have shot the cupid's arrow and made Shiva come out of penance and fall in love with Parvathi, princess of the Himalayan Kingdom. But Kama had already accomplished his purpose of making Lord Shiva fall in love and hence it is also a festival of love and colours. A festival to celebrate love and colours. This is also a festival to herald spring of the season of freshness and colour. People welcome this season by applying gulal on each other.

Coming back to the celebrations at Irving Hindu temple. There was loads of food of all cuizines from Brownies in our stall, pizza in another and nachos in yet another stall. Of course Indian foods including the ubiquitous idly, dosa, pani puri, pav bhaji, mango lassi etc were also being sold. The stall and food and time was our donation to the temple. All proceeds went to the temple trust. Music blared throughout the day reeling out Holi numbers from bollywood superhit movies. A few aspiring singers belted out bollywood numbers and youth and the young at heart present danced away to glory. I guess this is the only way one can feel close to their home land while having to make a living and livelihood in an alien land surrounded by alien cultures.

SEF Stall in the Holi celebrations, selling brownies. (from left) SEF volunteers Shanti, Padma Mariam, Uma Suresh and Prabha.

I was there as part of the volunteer contingent of Sankara Eye Foundation, a California-based non-profit organisation which is working towards eliminating curable blindness in India. Along with five other volunteers we put up a booth to sell sweet and crunchy home-baked brownies. Our stall was very popular among children and youngsters with a sweet tooth and we sold over 250 brownies and were clear by 3.00 pm.

*Carol means "festive song".

Ever heard of hitching a ride in an air craft?

Well two innovative hitch hikers actually did it. They hitched a ride in an airline. Two members of the Vilinius Hitch-Hiking Club, Lithuania, made history on March 19, 2008 by being the first to air-hitch. In this photo you may see VHHC's members Augustas Kligys and Katja Lachman beside "hitched" aircraft. They members hitched a ride ride from Iquitos to Lima in Peru. Members of the VHHC have been hitchhiking in South America for the first time in VHHC's history. It was the 5th continent on the club's account. So far no one has hitchhiked in Australia and Antartica. I am pretty sure some members are already planning to hitch rides in these continents down under and create history in travelling.


Best Lithuanian Traveller of the Year 2007
Winners of best Lithuanian traveller of the year 2007 contest were announced on March 20, 2008 and guess what. Most of the awardees are HITCH-HIKERS! The first prize winner is a member and former vice-president of VHHC, Augustas Kligys. Currently on the road travelling with Katja Lachman in South America. This traveller was already elected as the best traveller of VHHC in 1997 and traveller of the decade (1996-2006) of the club based on the number of kilometres, covered hitchhiking.

I believe a similar award must be instituted in India too, but should include several categories such as most peaks summitted in Himalayas, most distance trekked, most kilometers travelled on motorcycle etc. The format and methodology of selecting people for the award can be arrived at once a core group comes together to manage and sponsor the award.

Money found in drainage

Ever heard of money being found in drains? Well it is unbelieveable but true and it happened in Israel where a sewage treatment plant workers found about 7,000 shekels currency all in 200 shekel bills. The bills stank of sewage but who cares, money is money and the find became national news and even attracted global media coverage.

Reading about the incident on Dallas Morning News I wondered who the money belonged to. Whether it belonged to an individual who lost it or some criminal who flushed it down the drain to avoid capture. But 7,000 shekels is a lot of money, about US$2,000 to be precise. A sum that could probably create livelihoods for few people in sub-Saharan Africa or even in India.

I wonder how people just throw money like that. It only shows absolute contempt for money. Hope whoever flushed it down the drain is regretting the action.

Surgical Weight-loss programmes

One of the biggest challenges people are facing in America is obesity. Increasingly sedentary jobs, travelling by cars everywhere and not much of activity options unless one consciously does it is making people fat. Once overweight people are finding it very difficult to take up diet or exercise programmes which will potentially disrupt their lifestyle and are difficult to keep up. How many of us can actually give up eating sweet to lose weight? It is difficult.

With obesity throwing up a great healthcare challenge researchers have come up with several methods of surgical weight loss. One of the most flexible and reversible weight-loss survery is through the lapband System. What is this lapband system? and what is so special about it?

Well there are numerous surgical weight-loss procedures but one that gives users the most comfort and ease is the lapband
system. One of the leading weight-loss surgical centers has designed this method keeping the comfort and ease of end-users in mind. JourneyLite surgical center has evolved innovative methods and procedures to make your weight-loss stress free and easy. Small things like roomier gowns, wider hallways, armless chairs, restrooms supporting railings, a soothing environment among many other features have been incorporated to provide ultimate comfort as you lose weight.

The lapband system is one of the systems that have worked where diet and exercise have failed and Journeylite is the pioneers in this new system of reversible weight-loss surgeries. There are several options you could avail of at the center. If you are still unsure, you could attend a free seminar and then decide.

If you are one of those who has tried everything to lose weight and not succeeded, it is time you tried Lapband. Journeylite assures you that you will not regret the step.

Rainy day after sunny day!

I wonder what's happening to the weather in this city. Ten days ago it snowed, enough to cover up homes and cars and make roads slippery. Then it turned bright and sunny and up until yesterday it was fantastic weather. I was roaming around attired in just a jeans and a T-shirt. But today, it has been a completely sun-less day. I didn't see a ray of sunlight the entire day, it was cloudy and punctuated by incessant rains.

The rains were accompanied by heavy gusty winds, lightning and thunder. This is one city where I haven't seen proper weather in the past few months of living here. My friend Jo Ann Holt was supposed to attend the board meeting of Dallas Press Club and she writes to me saying the rains floodded downtown area and the meeting was cancelled. Strange, indeed the ways of weather in Dallas area. I shall wait and watch out for better weather in the coming days of spring and summer.

Since I was holed up at home most of the day because of the rains I didn't shoot any pictures or meet any interesting people. Will hopefully post something interesting tomorrow, till then, bye.

Movie Review: Definitely Maybe

I would say this is one of the most immaturely made movies I have ever watched in my life. The movie starts off with Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds), a successful Manhattan-based advertising executive and father of 10-year-old Maya (Abigail Breslin) in the midst of divorce proceedings. The only sunshine of his life is the two days every week he spends with his daughter.

One day as he goes to pick up his daughter from school, she has just had a sex education class and starts questioning him about his past life. She is not content with him just glossing over the story but wants to know ever little detail and she wants to know it NOW. Seeing no other alternative, Hayes relents and starts his narrative, which continues through the movie.

The rest of the movie is about how he started off as a young idealistic politician, who moves to New York from Wisconsin to work for the presidential campaign of none other than Bill Clinton. Narrating his memoirs to his daughter, Will relives his past life as a small towner learning to be street smart in a big city and related an account of his romantic relationships with three very different women.

In a bid to be subtle, Will changes the identities of the women in the story and tells Maya to guess who her mother was. Is she Will's college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks)? Is she his best friend and confidante, April (Isla Fisher)? Or is she the free-spirited but ambitious journalist Summer (Rachel Weisz)? In the movie 10-year-old Maya displays maturity beyond her age and puts together pieces of her dad's romantic puzzle and finally helps him to understand who his true love is. The movie doesn’t stop at that, Maya makes Will go to his true love and confess to her and then the movie ends on a happy note. They lived happily ever after….

In my opinion, Definitely, Maybe isn't a particularly good movie. It is stupid for anyone to expect a 10-year-old to display such maturity as the character Maya. Come on which sex education class for 10-year-olds teaches them about ‘penis’, ‘intercourse’, ‘slut’ etc? And which parent would confide in their 10-year-old the sordid details of their past? These details are what makes this movie a total disaster, despite good and convincing performances by the entire team and above average screenplay and direction.

Direction: Adam Brooks
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher and others

My experiments with poetry

I have been essentially a prose person and had not really attempted serious poetry. But my association with poetry groups and reading of anthologies made me feel like attempting one. And appended below is the result. Your comments are invited.

The essence of a woman

The world says
Difficult it is
To understand a woman,
She is so full of contradiction;

The world says a woman is full of
Vanity, jealousy, greed and ego
Her mind full of unsatiated desires
for wealth, comfort, luxury and lavish lifestyles.

The woman charms
and makes you swoon
she has the skills and tricks
to lure, seduce, attack and conquer
to make or break homes and nations.

But I believe that a woman is
A large bowl full of love
Overflowing with compassion,
Love, caring and giving

For my mother, sister, friend and wife
Are all women who have enriched my life!
With hearts full of sweetness,
Voice so soothing and delicate
Face full of smiles that make troubles melt

Giving till it hurts is what women do,
Only to get hurt and accused
Of ulterior motives and wrong intentions
The kindness and tender feelings
That only a woman can give
Are usually unrecognized

Payday loans for emergencies

One of the best ways to get a short-term loan in the US is through Payday loans. Thanks to advancement in technology and internet consumers now much greater access to the financial services industry. And in case of emergencies consumers know that they can avail payday loans with lot less hassle and documentation. Moreover in case of financial emergencies it is difficult to raise loans from national banks. Given the present recession kind of scenario and rising gas prices, opting for a cash advance loan is one of the most popular way to tide over a financial emergency.

There are numerous lenders who provide payday cash advances and each operate on different terms and interest rates. If one is well aware of which lender is best to fulfill their immediate and short-term financial needs, it is easier to go to that lender. In a bid to make this information available easily My Payday Cash Advance Loans.com has launched an online directory of payday cash advance lenders. The online directory enables users to search for loan services in their local area.

For example since I live in Texas, I opted to look up information on Texas payday loans. In Texas cash advance loans have been legalised only since 2000 and the companies which extend these loans have to be registered with the government. Moreover the law demands disclosure of terms, fees and other details of loans.

I believe this is a great facility for people in the salaried classes who lead lives paycheck to paycheck. In cities like Carrollton in the DFW metroplex where a majority of residents belong to the middle classes availability of Carrollton payday loans is a boon to the residents. Addresses of over 10 lenders are provided on the website with their lending terms. The website also provides debt help advise, articles about payday loans and numerous other services. It is good to take a look and be informed.

Snow in Texas

Those of you who have read my earlier blogs will remember my rants and complaints about erratic and crazy weather in Texas. Well the weather continues to be erratic and there has been no changes except that days are getting warmer and sunnier. I don't need to wear a heavy jacket everywhere I go, in fact some days are so warm that I can head outdoors in just a thin T-shirt. But then like I said Texas weather is erratic and suddenly out of the blue the first week of March we had snow. Yes! you heard it right, it snowed in Dallas area in March first week.

View of the green belt and homes behind our apartment.

I am pretty it was not a freak snow fall because we had snow fall twice, the second greater than the first. I was wondering what the hell it is, in Bangalore, summer would have set in by now and people would be reaching out for Air conditioners and heading out for holidays in the hills. But here it is snowing and children wearing mittons, ear muffs and heavy woollen jackets are creating snowmen and playing snow ball throwing matches. I took this opportunity to shoot a few pictures of snow in Dallas area. Look around and enjoy and if you have something to say, don't hesitate to leave a comment.

This SUV was almost completely covered by snow, not quite submerged but enough snow to cause inconvenience.

The apartment lawn and buildings completely covered by a carpet of snow.

Feeling curious I visited the iron horses in Plano again and guess what, they were grazing on snow-covered grass... or should I say "grass flavoured ice-cream".