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 ....