US set to allow guns inside national parks - The Boston Globe

I read a news report titled US set to allow guns inside national parks - The Boston Globe and this is quite a news. I am pretty sure that the happiest people as a result of this law will be in the state of Texas. Living here I have come to know that most native Texans love their freedom and their guns. This the land of cowboys and the wild west where not too long ago people survived by the law of "Who shoots first lives".

Personally speaking I would say this is indeed a victory to personal choice, but a defeat to humanity. Victory for personal choice to carry guns is sad because that means the crime in National parks has gone up forcing the authorities to enable visitors to arm themselves for self defense. Defeat to humanity because despite all this modern development, prosperity and improvement of quality of life people still resort to crime to make a living.

I wonder if we as humans are on retrograde motion. Humans are the only animals that can choose their actions and if crime is increasing that means more and more humans are giving up their thinking ability and just becoming like animals, grabbing what they want, whether it belongs to them or others. I wonder whether this madness will ever end.....



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Enjoy an Italian Weekend right here in the US

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love to travel whenever I get the opportunity: spring break, summer vacations, winter holidays, long weekends and any other time I have a few days on hand. One of my most favorite holiday hotspots within continental America is Branson, Missouri. Why do I love visiting Branson? The answer is pretty simple this is one location that offers something for every member of the family. This is one place that probably offers the largest number of live shows, concerts, and theater entertainment options. Some people call it the Live Music Capital of the world.

When we go to Branson the hotel of choice is of course either the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel or the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing. I recently came to know that the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel is putting together this wonderful Italian Food Festival the last weekend of February. Titled Italian Culinary Weekend this event is scheduled to be staged from Friday, February 26 2010 through Saturday, February 27, 2010. Friday’s inaugural reception will feature antipasto and hors d’oeuvres paired with tongue tickling Italian wines. The most entertaining/ interesting part of the event is going to be on Saturday when participants will get an opportunity to try their hands at cooking their favorite Italian food.

Hilton is offering several wonderful packages starting from $429.00 (excluding tax and gratuity) for two. This is something that is not to be missed, especially since the package includes a five-course dinner and a goodie bag on Saturday. The only catch however is to make reservations before February 23, 2010.
Time is of essence if you want to take advantage of this opportunity. Go ahead and enjoy the Italian weekend, it is time for some post-valentine celebrations.

Amazing Giant Crystals

I came across this article titled The Mega Crystals of Naica Mine on Yahoo. The picture looked amazing hence I read the entire article. This is one place I'd love to visit and I am pretty sure every caver would love to explore. I have seen crystal caves in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in India but none of them this huge. These crystals are easily the largest in the world and it proves once again that nature is capable of wonders that human mind can't even imagine....



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Match-making based on your disease

I read this news article online and was pretty surprised at the way in which the human brain works. Apparently this dating website is aimed at hooking up people with same diseases. Hitherto dating sites attempted to match people based on their preferences, astrology, likes and dislikes, activities, etc. I guess this is the first time a site has been floated to specifically match people based on their ailments.
Interesting indeed, when your partner gets sick with a disease divorce him/ her so they can find someone with the same disease.

Shocking News: Parents Imprison Teen girl in bathroom

Every once in a while I come across strange and often shocking news, which illustrate the worse-than-beastly character of human beings. According to an article I read a 14-yr-old girl was imprisoned in the bathroom of a residence by her father and step-mother because she had allegedly stolen some food and cheated on a home school test. Locking her up, beating her with metal rods and making her exercise was the punishment. This has been going on for the past two months.

Come on guys she is 14 and as all teens are I guess she has a robust appetite. She must have eaten some food from the refrigerator between meals. Why home school her when there are wonderful schools in the US. For god's sake, you are not living in some underdeveloped sub-Saharan African nation. This guy is living in US of A, the world's richest nation. Same goes for food. Food wasted in the US can feed 27 small nations in the world. So there is absolutely no food scarcity.

I think this man is simply sick.. mentally ill. He and his wife should be safely locked up and the girl should be adopted by someone who really cares for her well being. But in this country where lawyers are more powerful than justice, will this happen?

Basic Travel Conveniences get a price tag!!!

I have seldom traveled in air. The longest air journey I have undertaken thus far in my life was when I came from my home country. Since then I have flown three times within the US, once each to California, New Jersey, and Detroit. Every time I flew I was offered a courtesy blanket and pillow to relax in the pretty basic economy seats. Today I read on MSN that one of the leading airlines in the US, American is going to charge a fee of $8 for this basic necessity.

Luckily this is only applicable for domestic flights. International travelers, specially my compatriots who have to endure the 14-18 hour flight will get these basic necessities without having to pay more. This is apparently an "economic decision"... of course to make more money at the passengers expense. In the recent decade more airlines have come into the market and hence large airlines like American had to drop prices. I don't know whether this price drop is hurting American or not, but I definitely understand that the financial guys are smart. They know how to make money on the sly and they will do it.

Fighting to Save the Whales

Most wildlife on Earth have become endangered species thanks to human greed. Most of these animals are consumed as food, medicine, clothes, etc in various countries. One such mammalian species that has been attracting attention is the Whale. In countries like Japan the whale is consumed as food and its oil is used in numerous applications.

There are several environmental groups that are fighting to prevent commercial whaling by Japanese ships. Recently there was a mid-sea collision of a Whaler and an activist ship off the coast of Antarctica. This is the second clash that is taking place this year. The whaler ships are quite ruthless in their operations, they just crash into opposing boats and try to sink them.

The activists on the other hand are quite dedicated and are willing to fight for their cause - saving the whales from being hunted. These people are mostly volunteers who are out there on the high seas with nothing to gain. I wonder when the human race will become responsible consumers of earth's resources.

Real Life Sleeping Beauty in Britain

How would you like to sleep for 13 days at a stretch??? I am quite sure lot of us would like to get some more sleep than we are getting now, but 13 days... that sounds a tad too much. I read about and watched a video about this British girl who is afflicted with a rare medical condition that makes her sleep for days at a stretch. It is so rare that only about 1,000 people in the world of 6 billion could have this condition.

Statuettes at Kimbell

Last Sunday we visited the Kimbell art museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Here are pictures of some interesting artworks in their permanent collection. There are many paintings in the collection, but I am interested in sculptures so I captured only those that appealed to me. I am not so enamored by European sculptures because in my opinion they are too boring. Sculptural art from South America, Africa and Asian countries are much more vibrant and interesting. There is some kind of intrigue, mystery, and rugged aesthetics.

Sculpture from South America

Sculpture from Africa

Visiting Kimbell Art Museum

Visiting museums in the US of A is usually an expensive affair, entry fees, parking, membership, etc... etc.. are associated with every art gallery/ museum. Of course most of these museums are state owned. Then there are few private collections of super rich Americans, which are accessible to everyone free. Kimbell museum in Fort Worth, Texas is one such free art space which is accessible to everyone. There are two collections one is a permanent collection and the other is the private collections. The permanent collection is free while the private collection is ticketed. We visited the permanent collection today.

Entrance to the museum

Mayan Sculpture on display in the Kimbell Museum

Blog About Bangalore

When I was back home in Bangalore I made an attempt to compile all the information about interesting spots around the city. One of the reasons was that there were too many people criticizing my home town as being a boring place with nothing interesting. I wanted to compile data and publish a book as a response to these nay-sayers. Something that never happened, perhaps my efforts were not true enough. Well I recently came to the conclusion that instead of just sitting on the data and pictures that I have collected I would just upload all of it online.
That led me to promote another blog titled "Our Bengaluru". It is right now has only few posts and very little information. So I have made it only on invitation. If someone wants to know more about the blog they need to write to me to provide them access to the blog.

Happy Republic Day 2010

It is India's 60th Republic Day tomorrow (January 26), of course Indians in Dallas already celebrated the event on Saturday. The true celebration and the fantastic parade of the Indian army can be seen on TV. It is one of the grandest events in the Subcontinent. I have never attended one of the parades personally but have watched it on TV for several years.
Due to the terrorist threats from across the border the security measures have been heightened in Delhi in the past few years. I wonder why our neighboring country which got its everything from our country is so hell bent on fomenting terror. It is ironical that they broke away from India and instead of becoming a richer, prosperous nation they have degenerated into terrorism, regional strife and poverty. While India though experiencing hostile neighbors in all sides, terror attacks from more than one neighbor, and numerous internal problems has tread the path of national development and is slowly but surely emerging as a economic power. I wonder when the fanatic neighbors will realize this and start improving the quality of life of their citizens.
Anyway for now it is a very happy Republic Day to all of you.

Three weeks into the new year....

The new year is usually time for resolutions and this time around people usually start wavering from theirs. Well as for me I have never made New Year Resolutions in my life and so this is not something significant. I did start on a new course in my career and life this new year, hopefully this will be a smooth transition into what I will ultimately be doing. Only time will tell whether it will be or not.

A New Beginning!!!

In the past 30-odd years of my life I have had a job for over 10 years. I have been working on odd jobs, freelance writing, etc... in short being self employed for sometime also. Since arriving in the US smack in the middle of the economic downturn I have been struggling to land a "proper job". The struggle continues...

The new beginning which I talk about in the headline of this post is a career switch. Something that I have done in the past but not something this radical. I have moved from being a graphic designer to a writer-editor but the industry remained the same publishing/ newspapers.

I will be starting a new course tomorrow. This semester will be aimed at providing me the necessary job-skills for a specific profession. I sure hope this new beginning will get me a step ahead towards my final goal. It is like Neil Armstrong said "A step on moon is equal to a giant leap to mankind" or something like that. Tomorrow's beginning I hope will be something like this.

Kashmiri Hindus Suffering Silently since two decades

Islamic Terror reared its ugly head in India way back in the late 1980s. It was masquerading in the guise of freedom fighters of Kashmir who wanted to separate the state of Jammu and Kashmir from the republic of India. It was and probably continues to be supported by the Muslim majority of the state.

On 19th January 1990, terrorism became so rampant that hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Hindus didn't have any option but to leave their homes and become refugees in their own country. Their homes were plundered by marauding neighbors, Hindu men were killed mercilessly and women were raped and tortured in the most inhuman manner possible. The then ruling congress government instead of taking stringent military action against the terrorists told the Kashmiri Hindus to move to makeshift refugee camps in Jammu, Delhi and other parts of the country.

A majority of these refugees continue to live in these camps as refugees in their own country. The local and national government or the human rights agencies doesn't seem to be concerned about the plight of these displaced people.

Now across the world this day is being celebrated as the Kashmiri Hindu Exile Day I wonder when the world will stand up and take notice of the untold atrocities being inflicted upon Kashmiri Hindus by the Islamic terrorists in their homeland and the apathetic government in India. These people certainly deserve to be given their basic human rights.

Happy Makara Sankra & Pongal

Today is Makara Sankranti and Pongal Festivals, a festival that is associated with the movement from darkness to light. Today is the day when the sun begins its northward motion. When I was in India I didn't really bother to celebrate the festival to the fullest extant, but now being in the US there is little opportunity to participate. Moreover whatever one does the ambiance is never right here. A Hindu festival is best enjoyed in the land where it originated, i.e. Bharat/ India.

I can only make a resolution that next time I visit my home and if it is providentially during a festival I should participate complete in the celebrations. Here it is limited to customary temple visit, possibly eating out and maybe visiting some friends.

Neglected Hero Stones - Ignored History

For my school project I made a PPT on the ancient Indian tradition of installing Hero Stones in memory of those who sacrificed their life in defense of their community, village, kingdom or country. As I compiled the presentation I realized that I have a pretty good repository of pictures of different types of Hero Stones. I thought it would be a good collection to share on this blog.

Hero Stone in Tumkur district, Karnataka, India

Damaged Hero Stone in Tamil Nadu

Cold Wave Hits DFW

Today has been by far the coldest day in Dallas since I moved here two years ago. The precipitation was so high that there was black ice all over the roadways which resulted in couple of accidents. Our college closed for the day so as all the schools and few offices. Driving was supposed to be a pain in the metroplex... I was wondering how it would be in far northern parts of the US where it snows for 6 months and there is freezing temperatures.

Longest Car Jump on New Year Eve

I received a link to this video as an e-mail forward. This video shows the amazing dare devil car driver Travis Pastrana jumping 269 ft in his car to make a new world record on New Year eve. An amazing feat indeed, something that needs courage, confindence and of course a fantastic car... and youtube to make it popular in the internet.

Letter to Bill Gates - totally hilarious

I received this Banta Singh joke as an e-mail forward and thought I'd post it here. This is completely hilarious and only a totally innocent and naive individual can think so much out of the box. The writer of the joke displays a child-like innocence in this letter to Bill Gates.

Dear Mr. Bill Gates,

We have bought a computer for our home and we have found some problems, which I want to bring to your notice.

1. There is a button 'Start' but there is no 'Stop' button. We request you to check this.

2. One doubt is whether any 'Re-scooter' is available in system? I find only 'Re-cycle', but I own a scooter at my home.

3. There is 'Find' button but it is not working properly. My wife lost the door key and we tried a lot trace the key with this 'find' button, but was unable to trace. Please rectify this problem.

4. My child learned 'Microsoft Word' now he wants to learn 'Microsoft sentence', so when you will provide that?

5. I bought computer, CPU, mouse and keyboard, but there is only one icon which shows 'My Computer': when you will provide the remaining items?

6.. It is surprising that windows says 'MY Pictures' but there is not even a single photo of mine. So when will you keep my photo in that.

7. There is 'MICROSOFT OFFICE' what about 'MICROSOFT HOME' since I use the PC at home only.

8. You provided 'My Recent Documents'. When you will provide 'My Past Documents'?

9. You provide 'My Network Places'. For God sake please do not provide 'My Secret Places'. I do not want to let my wife know where I go after my office hours.

Regards,
Banta


P.S.
Last one to Mr. Bill Gates: Sir, how is it that your name is GATES but you are selling WINDOWS?