Another 2006 wishlist!

Here are some of the activities besides work and usual stuff, I hope I can get engaged in this year. Let's see next year at this time, how many of them are off this list :).

1. Learn skiing this winter. It's been a while I've been wanting to do it, hopefully I can get a chance this ski season.
2. Learn professional photography. I plan to enrol in a course in UC-Berkeley extension by the end of this month.
3. Try snorkelling and scuba diving.
4. Learn a new language. Maybe French.
5. Try ballroom dancing.
6. Hopefully I can get a chance to go for more camping, kayaking and hiking this year.
7. Try golf.
8. Incorporate a fitness program on day-to-day basis.

I'll leave at this point. That's quite a list for now.

Some dream destinations ...

I love to travel. I have had an opportunity to live at different places since I was growing up and travel to different countries. The longest I have lived at any given place till now is seven years (actually that's pretty long!). Let's see how long I can hold to this record :).

I happened to glance at the book "100 places to see before you die" at a bookstore. I haven't read the book but this book gave me an idea to make my own list of places that I'll love to visit in different continents in my life. I am sure this list will grow longer (or may be shorter, if I actually end up visiting most of these places) with time.

USA: Alaska, Hawaii, Death Valley, Key West, Maine, Vermont (in fall), Utah. Drive on highway 1 all the way to Oregon from California, Yellowstone National park.
Canada: British Columbia, Banff (Alberta), Montreal.
Mexico: Yucatan peninsula(Mayan ruins)and other Mayan ruins elsewhere, Peubla, Cancun...
Central America: Belize, Costa Rica ...
Brazil: Rio, Sau Paulo, Amazon Jungle, Iguassu falls...
Peru: Maatchu Pitcchu, Inca ruins ...
Argentina: Patagonia, Buenos Aires, glaciers with the blue tinge (I forget the name) in the extreme south of the country ...
Chile, Ecuador(Galapagos Islands): ...
Bahama Islands.
Cuba. Barbados
New Zealand.
Australia: Barrier Reef, Sydney ...
Bali in Indonesia ...
Cambodia, China (Shanghai, Great Wall), Japan(Mt. Fuji)
India: Leh, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshdweep, Kerala.
Male in Maldives. Colombo in Sri Lanka. Thailand.
Jerusalem in Israel.
Egypt: Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor, Pyramids, Sphinx, Aswan dam ...
Morocco, Turkey. Travel across the Sahara.
South Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Kenya (Wildlife safari).
Europe: Prague(Chezch republic), Poland, Hungary, England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Croatia, Holland, Portugal, Greece, Russia ...

Trivia

Links to some food festivals in California.

Gilroy garlic festival
Castorville artichoke festival
Napa valley mustard festival
Indio Salsa festival near LA
Tamale festival
Placer county strawberry festival (near Sacramento)
Avacado festival
Date festival
California travel and tourism commission
Taste California travel

Now some healthy eating tips

Healthy eating habits
The most popular yoga teacher in India

Booklist (books to be read)

Empires of the Minds by Denis Waitly
Journey into Light by G Venkataraman
A Brief History of Time by S Hawking
Parallel Worlds by Michao Kaku
The Best of Indian Physics by Dr Siddharth
Woman's worth by Marrianne Williamson
Dare to be yourself by Alan Cohen
Mary Queen of Scots by Jean Plaidy
The mists of Avalon by Marion Zinner Bradley
A new kind of country by Dorothy Gilman
The bonfire of vanities by Tom Wolfe
The kite runner (Author unknown at present)
Gilead (Author unknown at present)
Winter in Kandahar (Author unknown at present)
Two lives by Vikram Seth
The time traveller's wife (Author unknown at present)
The prophet by Khalil Gibran
The art of war by Tsu Zhu
Failure is not an option (Author unknown at present)
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
Poverty of affluence by Paul L. Wachtel
The post corporate world: Life after capitalism by David C. Corten
The power of midful learning by Ellen J. Langer
Nearer the moon by Anais Nin
The road less travelled (Author unknown at present)
The richest man in Babylon (Author unknown at present)
The sixteen pleasures (Author unknown at present)
Poems by Robert Frost
Memoirs of a Geisha (Author unknown at present)
The greatest miracle in the world by Og Mandingo
The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra
The power of new by Eckhart Tolle
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Works of Francois Gautier

Commerce and creativity

The link between commerce and creativity has always puzzled me.

Is it possible to be an artist, musician or be in a profession involving artistic creativity in its various forms, without any dilution by vested commercial interests. Is it possible to be an artist without having to worry about if the work will fetch enough money to pay bills or make the ends meet! I know this question sounds hackneyed, but yes, I have always been puzzled about the society's preference (when it comes to paying salaries) tilting towards non-artistic professions like lawyers, engineers etc over musicians, sculptors etc. It can be argued that a brilliant work of engineering or a brilliant argument or defense put forth by a lawyer is a piece of art.

But my point is, whether in the absence of commercial interests, will society pay an artist at par with a lawyer or an engineer. For example there seems to be a sudden surge in interest towards various forms of painting by masses as paintings are suddenly being considered as sound investment options. Suddenly painters seem to be making a lot of money via auctions of their paintings. Had paintings not been seen as investment options, do you think paintings will evoke similar interest from all kinds of people, even from those who can't differentiate between Renaissance art and modern art?

Any answers ....

Museums and me

In the last few months I had an opportunity to see a few of the world's famous and not-so-famous museums.

Starting from Louvre and a small museum in Palais Garnier in Paris to Gallerie Uffizi and Gallerie del Accadamia in Florence to Sissi Museum in Vienna to MoMA (Museum of modern art) in New York city. Louvre has all modern facilities and has a vast collection of artwork from around the world. Most notable are - works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, French Rennaissance paintings and sculptures, Egyptian artifacts right from the days of the Egyptian civilization, ancient Greek sculptures etc. It's a huge museum and at any given time, it is said that only 10% of the museum's collection is at display. From the sheer numbers it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful museums I have seen. It is very tiring to see the entire museum in one day. Given an option, I'll spend a few hours for one week to see the musuem. Also, these days Louvre is getting a lot of publicity, thanks to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Let me tell you, I did not see two inverted pyramids as mentioned in the book. To the best of my knowledge and observation, there is only one pyramid. The museum in Palais Garnier is small and has displays related to ballet, European classical music etc.

Gallerie Uffizi has a vast collection of Italian Rennaisance art. It has some famous works of Michelangelo, Botticelli, da Vinci etc. This museum is very small compared to Louvre and at any given time there can only be certain number of people in the museum. Thus the lines to get in are long and you have to wait for upto 2-3 hours to get in. However, in my opinion, the paintings and sculptures on display are worth the wait.

Gallerie del Accadamia, is a museum dedicated to David, Michelangelo's most famous sculpture.This sculpture is beautiful and its perfection reflects the creator's genius.

Sissi musuem is one of the several museums in the Hofburg Palace, Vienna. My lonely planet guide mentioned that it is the most remarkable of all. It has a lot of imperial cookware and also includes the tour of Kaiserapartments, the residence of the King and his wife Elizabeth. Sometimes, it feels as if the museum's main theme is life and times of Queen Elizabeth.

MoMA has a lot of works by Henry Matisse, Andy Warhol, Picasso, Piet Mondrian etc. I liked the paintings there. There is also a section on photography and modern design and architecture.

Having seen these museums, I feel the paintings I'll put in my house will be more contemporary and modern. I can identify more with the work displayed in MoMA, than in the other museums. Other museums house great work, but I'll leave them there and not have them in my home !!!

Also, I hope I can someday visit Musee de Orsay and Picasso museum in Paris, British national museum in London, National museum of Rome, Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam ...

Ethiopian coffee ceremony

The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is unique; I have neither seen anything like this ceremony nor tasted a cup of coffee this good. Thanks to my friend Shenait (Sunshine in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia), I have been invited to several Ethiopian parties that always end with a wonderful coffee ceremony. The prized Ethiopian coffee beans which are raw and green in color are first roasted over a flame. Guests take turn to roast the beans. Then these roasted beans are ground and set to brew. While the coffee is brewing guests sit in a circle and a special kind of incense is burnt in a small pot. This pot containing incense is circulated among all guests, and as a custom, everyone takes a whiff of incense from this pot. Then small cups (like the Chinese teacups) are arranged in a round platter. Now the freshly brewed coffee is poured in these cups and all guests sit in a circle and enjoy this fresh and heavenly tasting coffee.

New Year Wishes (anonymous)

Take twelve whole months.
Clean them thoroughly of all bitterness,
hate, and jealousy.
Make them just as fresh and clean as possible.

Now cut each month into twenty-eight, thirty, or
thirty-one different parts,
but don't make up the whole batch at once.
Prepare it one day at a time out of these ingredients.

Mix well into each day one part of faith,
one part of patience, one part of courage,
and one part of work.
Add to each day one part of hope,
faithfulness, generosity, and kindness.
Blend with one part prayer, one part meditation,
and one good deed.
Season the whole with a dash of good spirits,
a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of play,
and a cupfull of good humor.

Pour all of this into a vessel of love.
Cook thouroughly over radient joy,
garnish with a smile,
and serve with quietness, unselfishness,
and cheerfulness.
You're bound to have a happy new year.

~~~~Unknown Author~~~~~~

March of the penguins

One of the most touching movies I have seen in 2005. A brilliant story with an equally brilliant narration captures the heart and touches the soul.

Summary in short : The 70 KM march of the penguins, in the Antarctica, towards the nesting area, males choosing their females mates (yes, complete with dating :)), females laying eggs and protecting these eggs from harsh Antarctic winter, males making a march towards the sea to fetch food for the chicks that will come once these eggs are hatched, some males losing their lives on the way and finally coming "home" to re-unite with their respective mate and chick (recognizing it from the cry) and experiencing the joy of feeding the chick. Then the females leaving for the sea to feed themselves and then returning to their respective chick...

Its a story of love, sacrifice, caring, sharing and courage ... Highly recommended

New year's at Times Square, NYC

Looking back, new year's eve at Times square is something that is off my to-do list permanently (hopefully). I went to Times square with my friend Juhi and her husband Francis. We reached at 51st street at 6 PM only to find huge crowds. The cops there said that 42nd-51st streets are full and you'll be lucky if you could find space at 54th street.

Well, we first waited in the line at 52nd street to get the security point. We waited for almost 40 minutes only to find ourselves gone ahead may be by two meters. Francis went out of the line to look for a way in which we could get to the security checkpoint without waiting anymore in the line. Guess what, he was pushed to the security point and was inside the 54th street block. There were some people in the line, who also mentioned that people were allowed to go to the security point without waiting. Juhi and I now decided to break the line. We must have walked five meters and then our line moved. Now everyone was in except us. And we found ourselves among this huge sea of the people near the security point. We were crushed between several people. Juhi was just a little ahead of me and I was between this group of girls from Manchester, England. Well, the good point of this whole ordeal was that we had some interesting conversations. I was in that situation for almost 1.5 hours.

When we were finally at the security point, we were made to open our bags. At that time, a college student who had two champagne bottles in her bags was forced to give them away to two passerbys. It was quite funny.

Well, we made past the security point. I was reunited with Juhi, but lost my new found friends from Manchester. Then we walked to 54th street. It was now 8.15 PM. Now we had to wait in that area for almost 4 hours. It was biting cold and it seemed very frustrating. We waited and waited for the moment the crytal ball will drop and 2006 will come in.

I chatted with different people there. There were these guys from a small town in Ohio, who were making this first trip to NYC. There was a college student from Bronx. We swapped stories. Later they gave up on wait and left. Then I met a family from Massachusetts, a software engineer. We had a good time, talking, taking pics, sharing gum etc.

Finally the moment of hype arrived. Supposedly, the ball dropped but I did not see it dropping. Then there were some very nice fireworks that lasted for maybe just five minutes at Times square. There were other fireworks displays elsewhere. It was now time to wish new year to everyone and also time to bid good-bye to my new friends.

Honestly, I feel the ball drop is not worth the wait. You are better off, watching it on TV. To me the only thing that stood out was the different people I met, while I was there. It was a good one time experience. If you don't mind the cold and the wait, go for it.