Shave your head and sell the space for advertising

Ever heard of an advertising campaign with visuals on people's shaved heads? If you haven't, then here it is. Air New Zealand has conceptualized a unique advertising campaign in which potential models will be required to shave off their heads and become walking, talking billboards to promote the airline.

www.airnewzealand.com invites people with strong heads to become their cranial models. Casting call is scheduled at end of this month. 30 Adult, Guys and girls who are willing to shave their heads and use the back as 'cranial billboards' are needed. The chosen 30 will have their heads shaved and tattooed to serve as cranial billboards in the Los Angeles area. This advertising campaign is part of the airline’s official marketing campaign to promote "Life-changing journeys to New Zealand".

Potential Cranial Models must be 18 or older to compete for a chance to be a Cranial Billboard. But everyone's welcome to come down to watch all the action and enjoy the fun.

Several years ago while travelling in India I remember few devout individuals had shaved off their heads to promote a religious organisation. It was rather funny and its uniqueness has made it imprinted in my memory. I am pretty sure this campaign will be remembered for years to come.

In these days of recession, I am quite certain that there are lots of folks willing to shave off their heads and earn the $1,000 reward. In fact I think my head is a great fit for this kind of an advertising campaign. If I were living in Los Angeles area, I would have auditioned. My round head would serve as a perfect "Cranial Billboard" and my life's journeys are evidence for it's tagline "Life changing journeys". Be it the motorcycle tour across the Indian Sub continent or the bicycling tour to Ladakh or backpacking in the UAE, I have had life changing experiences meeting different people, understanding their customs and traditions. These journeys gave me a fresh outlook and enhanced my understanding of life.

Nasa Tour at the Space Center Houston

One of the memorable experiences during my visit to the Space Center Houston was going on the Tram Tour of NASA Campus. Being a high security area everyone who wishes to go on the tour is photographed and given a boarding pass which he/ she has to carry throughout the tour and return on completion. (It is another matter that the museum tries to make money by selling the same pictures superimposed upon a fantastic space picture for $20).

Before I continue I would like to inform my readers that entry to space center costs $21, but since we bought a Houston city pass for $34, it worked out economical for us. The city pass allows entry to seven popular destinations including Houston Zoo, Museum of Fine Arts, Downtown Aquarium, Geroge Ranch Historical Park, Space Center Houston, Children's Museum Houston, Houston Arborateum and Natural Science Museum. Entry to each of these destinations cost anywhere between $8-30. A city pass is a good deal for those of us who wish to take in lot more than just one destination.

Anyway quite a number of people lined up for the Tram Tour of NASA. The NASA Tram is more like a long road train, like the ones that are commonly seen in children's play areas in India like the Toy train in Bal Bhawan, Bangalore. Anyway we were all assigned seats by friendly ushers (probably high school kids working part time). This is a great way to make kids responsible for themselves, I think we in India should employ high-energy high school kids in museums, parks and similar establishments for maintenance, guiding etc. The energy and enthusiasm of youngsters can be utilised for national good through these measures.

As we proceeded deeper into the NASA campus we were informed through a recorded commentary that the campus housed 10,000 staff and thousands more commuted from outside to work on the cutting edge space research here. The land was donated by a cattle company, whose herds of cattle are still raised on vast pastures inside the campus. I would call them "Space cows" because they helped put men on space.

Space cattle in NASA Campus

Our first stop was the Historic Mission Headquarters, a large window-less building from which six lunar missions were launched off. To reach the vantage point from where one can see the mission headquarters one had to climb 87 steps. From our viewing gallery we could look down into the headquarters which a large room full of gadgetry, monitors, large TV screens, public adress systems etc. A short video presentation showed one of the lunar missions which were launched from the control center in front of us.

The window less Mission Headquarters building

Inside the Mission Headquarters

Inside the Mission Headquarters, another view

The Mission Headquarters, another view

After a short while we were taken to another windowless building in which scientists and technicians were busy building rockets and space stations. This apparently is the training location for astronauts and space explorers. We could see through glass the goings on in the large... I'd say long (about half-a-km) workshop had all the materials and resembled a rocket lab. There were images of space explorers, astronauts, a brand new vehicle was being prepared to be despatched to Mars, there was a space station being built where astronauts would be trained to handle loss of gravity etc.

Rocket under construction

One thing I really felt impressed in all this machinery was the fact that the Americans put their national flag wherever they get adequate and suitable space. On space ships, on walls, on the uniforms of astronauts etc. In sharp contrast the Indian consulate in Houston didn't even have a trace of our national flag. What a shame for us, even the consulate doesn't have our national flag. I wish national pride among Indians improved.

Vehicle to go on Mars Mission

From the Rocket building station, we proceeded to the Rocket Park, where I saw a real rocket which was manufactured for the seventh Lunar mission but never launched. I will blog about it tomorrow.

What Astronauts prefer to travel on while not inside rockets

The Space Cemetery inside NASA campus
This is the place where people who lay down their lives while exploring space are laid to rest. In the shade of these oak trees they lie amidst quiet and knowledge filled surroundings. Our own Kalpana Chawla is also resting in this location, a place which she really loved and which helped her attain great heights!

A 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid could be yours!

Do you want to own a brand new Honda Civic Hybrid, the most fuel efficient and environment friendly aka Green car? This is one of the most sought after cars in the US Market. And with gas prices rising every day, a large and growing number of people are lining up at Honda showrooms to purchase this eco-friendly machine.

But for all of you who are not ready to buy a new car right now, here is a great opportunity to Charter a Honda Civic Hybrid car at affordable prices. This offer comes with an unbelieveable raffle which may enable you to win a brand new 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid car.

Though it sounds unbelieveable, it is true. All you have to do is to register online for Charter services to be automatically entered into a drawing to Win a 2009 Civic Hybrid worth $24,000. There is absolutely no purchase or any other pre-conditions for this offer. The only condition is that potential winners must live in an area that offers Charter services.

What do you know about Honda Civic Hybrid 2009? Did you know that the car has the Polished Metal Metallic look and returns up to 45 mpg in highway driving conditions. The 110-hp, 8 valve, SOHC i-VTEC® 4-cylider engine car has fabric interiors and a uniqu USB Audio Interface. And of course the car is well known for being trouble free when cared for well.

So if you are looking for massive savings in your monthly fuel bill, you must opt for a car that will help you cut down costs. And what better car than a Honda Civic Hybrid. Still not sure? Why don't you just charter the car for a short period of time and enjoy the phenomenal benefits. This way you will not only be helping the environment but also saving precious $$$s which will hold you in good stead later.

Here is your opportunity to help save the world, go for it.

Space Center Museum, Houston

Day before yesterday we visited Space Center Houston, the historic location from where six missions to Moon were launched off. Space Center Houston is an interesting museum not only for kids but for adults as well. Though I would say it would be more entertaining for kids, this is one place for everyone to experience the wonders of outer space and the high-tech world of NASA. The dramatic history of space exploration unfolds through the various exhibits at the Space Center Houston. This is one of the few places in the world where visitors can experience something that is close to getting into space.

I would categorise the museum into three different kinds of places: the interactive exhibits, theaters and the tram tour. There are three theaters: Blastoff theater, Space center theater and Starship gallery, each of which broadcast multimedia presentations on the history and technological innovations in the quest of space. The Astronaut Gallery and NASA Tour are two other sections which are equally interesting and educating.

Personally speaking I enjoyed the NASA tour the most. But I liked to exhibits in the various galleries and the film shows too. The exhibits of the first successful Lunar mission, and the next time when they took a Moon Rover or a 4-wheeled electric powered vehicle was highly interesting. There are displays of space stations and what all happens inside a spaceship/ space station. The space ship is truly a very small vehicle and space is highly constricted for astronauts. It is a wonder that these men and women travelled for months in such narrow/ small spaces over long distances.

All the exhibits in the Space Center are very interactive and well maintained. There are several volunteers, mostly ex-employees of NASA who help explain some of the exhibits to visitors. The enthusiastic volunteers is something that make visiting public places in the US a very pleasant experiencs. I believe we must have such people in Indian museums and public places. One of the biggest advantages would be to harness the youth and attract them towards working for the country and also give some pastime activity for retired people.

Here are some pictures of the exhibits at the Space Center. Tomorrow I will blog about the tram tour of the NASA campus, including a visit to the historic mission headquarters, rocket workshop and the rocket park.

Rockets on display

A Rocket Engine on display, looks quite interesting!

An exhibit of man on moon

Moon rover - A model of the electric vehicle which was taken to the moon during the second mission

A exhibit of a space station

Exhibit explaining how gravity can be defied

The NASA museum's main wall

Movie Review: Kidnap

This is the only movie that I have seen "First Day First Show" and that too in the US of A. Well, basically I got free tickets to watch this movie at Everest Movies on October 1, 2008. I had heard about Imran Khan, nephew of Amir Khan and his supposedly great looks, acting talent, et al... so I was pretty curious when I went in and sat down in the stadium-style seats at the Hollywood Theater in Irving.

Being a Hindi Movie I kinda expected the standard theme, five songs, 2-3 item numbers, probably a few fight sequences and some tearful emotional dramas and finally everything ending well. And Kidnap pretty much offers the same fare. But right in the beginning I would like to make few things very clear: Imran Khan has been over rated, his looks are average and acting so so. The story line of the movie is different but has not been handled well enough. Minisha Lamba just knows how to gyrate her hips with utmost vulgarity and display ample skin and flesh and that is where her talent ends. Sanjay Dutt is quite good but his age is catching up, he must look for some roles which suit his age from now on.

Well now let me talk about the story and screenplay of the movie. Sonia (Minisha Lamba) is the spoilt and stubborn daughter of Sanjay Dutt and ____ (again I don't know who the actress is). But the couple is divorced because Sanjay Dutt's wife doesn't like him taking her for granted. Sonia gets kidnapped by an unknown person who doesn't want money but her father. The kidnapper, Kabir (Imran Khan) doesn't say what he wants but says he has kidnapped Sonia for revenge.

An arrogant Sanjay Dutt engages private detective Irfan (played by some actor I don't remember his name) and there starts a cat and mouse game between the kidnapper and the father of the kidnapped. Finally after a series of different types of incidents the girl is finally set right and in the process Sanjay Dutt and his wife fall in love all over again and become united. As the story unfolds it is revealed that, several years earlier Kabir would have been falsely indicted in a kidnapping case by Sanjay Dutt and sent to jail. A physically scarred and traumatized Kabir comes out of jail thirsting for revenge. What is surprising is that while in jail Kabir becomes a computer, telecom and technology whiz.

Surprisingly throughout the movie when Sonia remains kidnapped, she has a fantastic set of revealing clothes. She never covers her chubby belly throughout the movie and I wonder if she was kidnapped with a full wardrobe, though there is no indication of that. Even in the clutches of her captor, Sonia remains fully made up, wearing nice clothes and no sign of trauma or stress on her face. Perhaps because she is with a hot hunk? or I don't know why?

And last but not the least the movie doesn't end with Kabir and Sonia falling in love with each other. They just go their ways, he becomes a software engineer and she just a partying socialite, spoilt daughter of rich parents.

The best part of the movie however is the chase sequence when Kabir gives a run to Sanjay Dutt through a semi-constructed high-rise. Both the action stars go into a several sequences of dangerous-looking stunts climbing up and down high rise building.

There are totally five songs, and three are item numbers for Sonia which serve only one purpose of showcasing her body in all kinds of sensuous (often vulgar) are completely unnecessary. The other two songs which star Sanjay Dutt are ok and fit into the story quite well.

Finally my verdict of the move is a 2 out of 5 and totally passable. Don't go unless you get free tickets... it is not worth your money.

India under attack!

Yesterday I blogged about people getting killed in India due to blasts and stampedes of the recent days. Well today I was shocked to read about another series of bomb blasts, this time in far-north-eastern part of India. According to news reports I read online there were five blasts in Agartala, capital city of Tripura state which borders Bangladesh.

"Three blasts in Agartala, 35 injured" screamed the headlines in the DNA website, "Several injured in serial blasts in Agartala" says the Economic Times and there were several more headlines. It was sad to note that despite there being so many blasts there was hardly any detail published apart from the location of the bombs. This is because no mainstream national newspaper has a bureau or edition in this northeastern state capital. Like the central government the newspapers too have ignored the region.

I don't know how many people have to die, get crippled/ injured before the blood thirsty terrorists will be satiated. But one thing is pretty clear to me, the Tripura blasts are definitely the work of Islamic terrorists but these are Bangladeshi not Pakistani... Over the past several years illegal Bangladeshi Muslims have been entering India in millions and they are slowly but surely trying to create panic and usurp power. I hope minority-appeasing anti-national government led by a foreigner will soon go out of power and pave way for a patriotic government at the center.

Or am I asking for too much???

Sad News Days!

The past few days have been filling me with extreme anguish and frustration. Why? I have been reading only bad news from India. I feel sad that our country is under attack from all sides, including from within. People outside can be enemies, I wonder why people within want to destroy what belongs to them.

I have been reading about the blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi etc and was always wondering who is performing these cowardly acts and why? I still don't have answers for these questions, only those who are involved can probably answer them. I couldn't help but vent out my frustration online after I read about the twin blasts today and the Delhi (Mehrauli) blast of the day before. The twin blasts which happened in Maharashtra and Gujarat have taken several lives and damaged numerous others. I am pretty positive that most of these people injured and killed would be common people who were easy targets.

But what further saddened me was the news about the Stampede in the Chamunda Devi temple in Rajasthan. I wonder why the stampede happened? The newspaper reports say that the reason is not known. I have experienced similar scrambling in famous temples such as Tirumala, Dharmasthala etc. Why do people rush to pay obeisance to the deity? God will not run away anywhere, he is there for us, we can go at our leisure and pray. He is omnicient, omni potent and omni present, he will listen to our prayers, when we offer them with all our hearts. I wish people would be a little more patient and considerate about others who are there to worship the Lord.

Anyway here is my prayer to God to protect India and our teeming millions, give the people intelligence to think out of the box, above the narrow political considerations and work towards making our nation the best place to live in this world.

India's National Flower comes under attack!!

Everything that is ancient, historical and related to Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism in India seems to be wrong in the opinion of scientists, secular politicians, forward thinking individuals. The media takes pleasure vicarious pleasure in bashing Hindus and Hindu practices at every possible pretext. Well this time it is India's National Flower and one of the most auspicious flowers for Hindus that is coming under attack. I read this newsreport on Times Of India in which the newspaper's reporters state that cultivation of Lotus plants are responsible for death of several tanks in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.

According to the article the lotus flower has become a menace in Kanyakumari, causing havoc to dozens of ponds and tanks depleting the ground water and thus leading to unbalancing the fragile ecology of the district. And these facts were revealed by none other than the Chairman of Nature Trust and a former principal scientist of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, R S Lal Mohan.

Since it comes from an eminent scientist I would say these findings might be true. But with Sonia Gandhi at the helm of the central government and a pro-Christian, anti-Hindu government in place in Tamil Nadu, I wonder if the research has been fixed?

The newsreport goes further to say that there were 3,500 tanks in the district during 1960s and about 1,050 had perished due to weeds and that weed is Lotus. I never knew that Lotus was a weed, and why does the eminent scientist refer to this as a weed and say that it has been cultivated in the same breath. When a plant is cultivated it ceases to be a weed, this is common sense. Weeds which destroy lakes are species of Water Hyacinth which thrive on surface of water and destroy lakes by cutting out oxygen supply. Lotus leaves also cover surface of water but they don't grow so dense and thickly as Water Hyacinth.

I wonder why scientists, governments, politicians, missionaires always tend to pick on Hindu practices, icons and beliefs constantly?

Flickr

Empowering Women or Putting them in dangerous situations?

I came across this small newsreport on MSN with a screaming headling "HC allows women to work in bars, Karnataka to challenge order". Naturally interested in the happenings at my home state I started reading the article which spoke about a High Court judgement which clearly stated that women may be allowed to work in Bars as hostesses so long as they are not directly serving alcohol. Though employing women in bars has been prohibited in the Karnataka Excise Act, the High Court judges were of the opinion that this rule went against the constitution of India.

Quite expectedly the state government is not happy about the judgement. The government feels that women's safety is being compromised while working in places where alcohol was being served. The government has decided to move Supreme Court to challenge the High Court order.

There are several arguments in favour and against this issue. Conservative and traditional Indians would obviously be against the idea of women entering or going anywhere near places which serve or sell alcohol. While present generation of teenagers and young women happily guzzle mugs of Beer and shots of cocktails every evening or at least duing weekends. Moreover since the advent of call centers, BPOs and IT industry, women have become far more richer and financially independent than before. Women are taking up vocations such as driving an autorickshaw, buses, trucks etc, mechanics, and lot more. Several professions which were traditionally considered the preserve of men have been slowly but surely taken on by women.

Under such circumstances the government should act as a facilitator and help women storm another male bastian and take on jobs in bars. I would advocate providing women with self-defence training, offering them pepper sprays or even small fire arms such as revolvers and other protective equipment at reasonable prices and educating them about responsible use of these items. This way we will be empowering women rather than dumbing them down.

I am quite sure no man, sober or intoxicated will dare to misbehave with a woman who is physically fit, trained in self-defence and carries a deadly weapon. This is one way to make our society stronger and more balanced. And also like Neil Armstrong said after landing on moon: "One step by a man is a giant leap for mankind". This one step by few women initially would be a giant leap for the entire female population in India.

Well in an ultra-patriarchal society this is quite difficult. Especially when the society at large and government in particular continue to consider women as the "Weaker Sex".

Have phone number? Get all other details here!

When you have a missed call on your mobile phone or at your home phone what do you do? Typically we would look at the numbers and call back to those whose numbers we recognise and ignore the rest. But what if one of those calls we ignored were from someone important and dear to you and whose number you don't know or you have lost touch with? You can only hope that that person will call you back and you could connect. But in most cases people don't do that unless they are really desperate to speak to you.

In such a scenario it is important that we are equipped with something like a reverse phone book through which we could see who the owner of the telephone number from where you had a missed call. But how and where do we find a reverse phone book? It is easy, you just need to go on the internet and visit TraceNumber.com where you type in the telephone and get all the details you need. Details provided include owner's name and address, Phone location, Household members, Phone company and carrier, Line type - landline or mobile and much more. Isn't it a cool service?

You can trace irritating telemarketers, prank callers or people with whom you would rather not speak. Tracenumber services are available for telephone and mobile phone numbers in the US and Canada. And the company guarantees secure transactions, all lookups are 100 percent confidential and will remain between you and the company. So now you know if you want to track down someone and you know their phone number, you can get all the details you want.

Cycling in Castle Hills

Well, it has been quite some time since I sat down and blogged about what's happening in my life. Things are pretty routine, I go to school... or rather should I say "College" in the morning and return back in time for lunch. Then go back to school and finish evening classes and return late in the night. This is the routine for the first four days of the week. Then the weekend starts with Friday for me and it is busy time because there is loads of homework to catch up on, go for roller skating classes, house cleaning, grocery shopping and all kinds of mundane stuff. Last week I fixed the bicycle which we brought from Padma's niece in California and decided to take it out for a spin in the neighborhood. Inflated the tires, tightened the brakes and then wiped the bike clean and took it downstairs to get ready to ride. I had barely ridden half a mile when one of the gear cables snapped. I thought that was the end of cycling but luckily the bike didn't get crippled. We could ride lot more with just five gears instead of 15.

It has been years since I rode a bicycle and this was definitely a welcome change. For I have always loved bicycling and but since I didn't have any recent pictures of riding bicycles I decided to get some shot and here they are. Do let me know what you think... do I look like Lord Ganesha on little rat or normal?

Cycling along the side walk (foot path) in the neighborhood

Another view of cycling, closer this time

Getting closer to the camera

Goofing around on the bicycle

More fun and games

A Place to discuss Cell Phone Technologies

Technology has infiltrated our life so much that without possessing modern gadgetry it is almost impossible to lead a normal life. The Cellphone was the toy of the rich and famous when it was launched, but now everyone has his/ her own, some even have two one for business and one personal. In the past cellphones were only for tlaking but now cellphones do virtually everything, you can send e-mail, browse the internet, listen to music, watch movies, and do a host of other things.

While some technology-savvy folks have adapted themselves quickly to these new changes there are lot of us who are still struggling to learn how to use our fancy handhelds. A new internet website with Cell Phone Forums allows all cell phone users to get together on a single platform and discuss. The forums facilitate people to discuss technology, clarify doubts, exchange ideas and in short learn about how to optimally use their handhelds. This comes as a boon especially to those who were struggling with their ultra-modern cell phones trying to figure out how to do various tasks. Now all one has to do is to register on the forum and ask questions.

Wind Power: The future of power generation

In response to the worldwide fuel and power crisis, we are inventing newer methods of harnessing available sources of energy. Well one of the newer means of power generation which costs relatively lesser and is more environment friendly is Wind Power. Conversion of wind energy into electricity using wind turbines is how wind power is harnessed. I read in the wikipeia that last year (2007) 94.1 gigawatts of power was produced across the world and this is just 1% of the total electricity produced. We still have a long way to go if we have to stop or even considerably slow down use of fossil fuels. But considering the statistics of 2000 the global wind power generation has increased phenomenally (500%).

One of the major sources of wind power is at windy regions where corporations install large numbers of windmills which are connected to turbines which help convert the force of wind into electricity and transmit it to the grid for circulation.

Well why am I blogging about Wind Energy, when I am not even remotely connected to the industry? Let me come to the point now, during my recent California trip, I saw the two extremes of harnessing energy sources. In Texas I saw hundreds of oil and natural gas wells dotting both sides of the highway (I-20) and in California I saw hundreds of windmills in numerous windfarms along the highway. Texas also has potential to establish wind farms but the development has been slow.

Here are some pictures of wind farms I noticed while on road to California.

Wild Flowers of Arizona

One of nature's creations and human modifications that have astounded me, captured my imagination and caught my attention always is the Plant Kingdom. My interest in plants took me towards Botany in my teen and college years. Though I didn't make it my profession, the study of plants has continued to interest me. So whenever I travel I try to capture these subtle life forms and their beautiful inflorescences which are often the subject of poetic verses and descriptions of writers. Anyway I would not like to bore you with eloquent prose too much.

These pictures were shot in the Fort Bowie vicinity in Arizona which I visited couple of weeks ago when we drove to Los Angeles from Dallas.

A caterpillar which is the middle phase of the lifecycle of a butterfly

A flower yet to open up and soak in the light from the sun rays

Ready and receiving light from sun and waiting to germinate and give rise to offsprings

A bunch of bright yellow flowers succeeds in cheering you

The bud is slowly but surely blooming

Slowly and steadily, wider and wider the flower blooms

Bright yellow flowers are seen everywhere in the US during summer months

Enroute we stopped by a pista plantation. I had never seen a pista tree or the how the fruit looks like when raw

And here I am photographing the same for others who have not seen a pista tree laden with fruits or should I say 'nuts'