"United States presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Monday got support from unexpected quarters when Bihar chief minister and senior Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar said that, if invited, he would send party leaders to campaign for her among the Indian community in the United States."
After reading this article, I am wondering if the U.S. is ready to outsource its election campaigning to India.
It amuses me to see why our politicians cannot shut the f*** up and try managing their respective constituencies.
I wonder how, if ever elections are outsourced, a conversation on the phone would look like?
"Haloo, this eej Raabert this side. Pleaje support Mrs. Clinton in the electionwa (elections). If you do not bhote (vote) for har (her), do nat bharry (worry). Our booth capturing people bheel (will) make sooar (sure) that your bhote is casted. For any questions, feel free to contact 1-800-BIHAR-4-US. Thanku far (for) yaar (your) sapport."
Monday, January 28, 2008
JD-U offers to campaign for Hillary in US
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Mercedez Benz on Sale?
German word for Sale - Verkauf .
German word for Foolish - Albern .
As seen outside the Mercedez Benz of Tysons Corner on 1/19/2008. No wonder why illegal immigration might be an issue during this election year after the lofty claims of 99% literacy rates in the country.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
What's in a Name?
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
~William Shakespeare
My name has never been an easy one to pronounce for native Americans. Working at a client site, I realized how many different versions of my name can exist. Nowadays most of the phone conversations/client meetings often start in one of the following ways (all of these are true) -
Me: "Hi this is Ujjwal from ABC group working with Information Security..."
They 1: "I am sorry. Who?"
They 2: (silence; and my name was never attempted during the entire conversation)
They 3: "What on earth does that mean?"
They 4: "Do you have another name?"
They 5: "I am sorry, how do you spell that?"
They 6: "OK! Great!! (hands off tone!)"
They 7: "You-j-wal? Huge-wall? Is that correct? (looking up with triumphant gleaming eyes for affirmation)"
They 8: "Can you email that to me?"
They 9: "
Me: "
They 9: "Sigh! I guess thats the reality of today - Multicultural Globalization. Where do you come from?"
The options included everything from Mexico, South America, Ireland, Poland, Iran, Lebanon, Africa, Pakistan, definitely not Asia (which means China, Japan, Korea in North America), Brazil etc etc. Finally, they gave up. I have given up too!!!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
India vs Australia - 2nd Test Sydney 2008
"Men cheat for the same the same reason that dogs lick their balls...because they can!"
~Kim Cattrall
"(Ponting clearly had to have been aware that he had grounded the catch - and yet, even with the benefit of hindsight, he not only claims otherwise, but suggests that his integrity cannot be questioned)"
Much has been said after after India's disappointing loss to Australia. So to save everyone more analysis, I'll leave the judgment to the reader. Apparently, the Indian team did not know until after the ban was handed out as to what exactly Andrew Symonds had heard. Last heard, Symonds had misinterpreted an oft used greeting - "Teri Maa Ki..." as being a racist remark.
In that case, go sue 1.2 billion people who are shouting at the Punter and his chimps in unison - TERI MAA KI...
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
"In 1946, one of Britain’s greatest conductors, Sir Thomas Beecham, founded the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to bring the world’s greatest music to the people of his country. His legacy continues as the Orchestra offers audiences the highest possible standards of music making with a style that has been called, “incisive, insightful, and extremely beautiful.” (The Guardian) Renowned conductor and violinist Pinchas Zukerman, whose genius and prodigious technique have long been a marvel to critics and audiences, will join the RPO for this performance."
--Introduction of the event on George Mason University's website
After long, I traded a Friday evening for something I'd rather do more often - go watch live performing art (music, drama, stand up comedy et al.). The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) tours widely and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra".
As an international orchestra, the RPO has toured more than 30 countries in the last five years, including performances for Pope John Paul II in the Vatican, Tiananmen Square, Cairo and all ovr Europe. The orchestra played in three parts and I fall short of words to describe the level of excellence I heard and saw on stage - every other performance I've been audience to falls pathetically short.
After last evening, I find no reason as to why I have not attended more live performances. After last evening, I wonder if music is a language with the power to heal rather than just a bunch synchronized notes. After last evening, I realized that the connection between me and musical performances does not have to end after I quit my school orchestra. After last evening, I will never take friends who snore while the masters perform on stage!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
And you thought you did not look good?
Huang Chuncai poses before his second operation to remove his tumours, which currently weigh around 10kg (22lbs), at a hospital in Guangzhou, southern China's Guangdong province, January 3, 2008. Huang, a 32-year-old native from a remote village in China's southern province of Hunan, says he is relieved after a part of his facial tumours, which originally weighed about 23kg (50.7 lbs), was removed last year. His second operation will remove another part of the tumours, which weighs 4.5kg (9.9lbs). Huang suffers from Neurofibromatosis, which is a genetic disorder of the nervous system that primarily affects the development and growth of nerve tissues.
The tear says it all.
Huang Chuncai sits in a wheelchair beside his sister before his second operation to remove his tumours.
Picture taken January 3, 2008.
REUTERS/Joe Tan (CHINA)Friday, January 4, 2008
Not Getting Enough of It?
You think about it all the time.
Every seven seconds? MORE.
You talk about it, brag and make jokes.
"oh man, you won't even believe how many hours it lasted."
"you're kidding! All I got last night was a five minute quickie!"
The fact of the matter is, you NEED it.
We all have our "requirements." Our "quotas."
Don't be ashamed.
It's perfectly natural!
And, like it or not, everyone does it.
Our grandparents did it... Oprah does it... In fact, your mom is probably doing it right now.
And if you don't get enough?
You're not alone.
The nights are the worst.
That's when you walk down the halls knowing that EVERYONE AROUND YOU IS GETTIN' SOME.
Sleep: the sex of our generation.
...the nights are the worst...
:)
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Christmas Eve 2007
The weekend of Christmas, 2007. A walk down the National Mall in Washington DC. New friendships formed, old friendships from college -and older still from high school- are rekindled. Bonds are formed and many revived. 7 people at my place from around the country - Oh, what times!
Varun (school friend) and I try to imitate this statue outside the Gallery of Modern Arts. No marks for guessing who did it better :-)
Waah, innovation at its best. A roadside mirror for drivers, to help them see merging pedestrians, is put to better use.
Friends outside the White House with the National Christmas Tree and the Washington Monument (very faint - click to enlarge) in the backdrop.
Bush ka adda - aka the front side of the white house.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S. outside the Smithsonians - Some, Shantana, UNK, Giri and Luei.
Men in Black wearing new leather jackets with the Capitol in the background (nice pic Isha).
The Capitol, its reflection and the Christmas tree. Scenery at night is amazingly hard to capture with night vision on. The shutter speed should be greatly reduced and the least of movements can reduce the picture to a hazy shab.
Another view of the same.
The Capitol at 5 PM EST. The sun has gone down on most of the National Mall and is kissing good bye to the country's legislature.
"You won’t see any skyscrapers in Washington, DC—by law, no building may be taller than the 12-story-high Washington Monument—but you will find world-renowned museums, first-rate restaurants and shopping, captivating monuments and memorials, quaint neighborhoods, grassy parks and tree-lined streets, a modern and efficient mass-transit system, a thriving arts scene, and a zoological park housing not one, but two giant pandas. So if you want skyscrapers, head elsewhere. For everything else, pay a visit to Washington." - Online search result
I have not seen this scene in any picture before. The idea of Manu Kant, this amazing shot is captured by Isha. The picture is a perfect example of a mirror image - the Washington Monument, streetlights and the moon are being perfectly replicated on the Reflecting Pool. In the absence of a tripod, all night shots have been taken by keeping multiple cameras on stable base - lawns, rocks, pedestrians, statues - whatever it took to get the best view.
The Lincoln Memorial at night. One can see the Capitol from the top of the stairs and it forms one end of the National Mall.
Another difficult shot - it was tough to include the fountain, the monument and the moon (hiding behind the tree) in one shot. It needed extremely solid base and 6 retakes before it came off as it did.
Night view of the fountain at the World War 2 Memorial.
Front view of the fountain with the Lincoln memorial in the background. This was the most satisfying shot of all - there was no solid base and the camera was hinged on a metallic pole. If you enlarge the picture and see carefully, you would see a similar pole just left of the fountain on the right.
View from the top of the Hill - the Capitol Christmas tree, the Washington Monument and the DC skyline in backdrop.
Another view from the same spot without the Christmas tree. This shot took 10-12 retakes.
They say the world is run from the Capitol (in pic), the White House and the agency across the Potomac river - CIA.
Night view of the Washington Monument from the Oval (opposite the Red Cross).
And finally, the National Christmas Tree in the Oval right opposite to the White House.
After attending the 4th of July fireworks as well as the Christmas-New Years celebrations in the Capital, I am convinced that Diwali in most Indian cities is celebrated with much more grandeur and lights.
Tie Burning Event
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -Albert Einstein
I am watching India fight it out against the Aussies at the Sydney Cricket Ground and, typically, nothing would come in the way of watching VVS Laxman reach his century. However, I received an evite (fancy term for an e-invite) a minute back and could not resist but write this post.
Its an invite for - hold your breath - TIE BURNING. What on earth is that? I mean, are you really that rich that you care less about kids in India and China making those things in pitiable conditions? Or are you simply retarded; lost in your world of illusions where everything crazy is accepted as being cool? Wait, why don't we have an event where people burn your hair? Or your fancy car? Or maybe I should organize a slapping event where we slap the hell out of each other? Maybe we can start a new festival (and a holiday) in India. I mean, come one people, are we really that bored? As my friend Manu would put it - "Yeh log Americanize ho gaye hain. Inka kutch nahin ho sakta".
Here is the text of the invite :
"Okay so I promised to let Person1 (cut / Burn) my tie this new year. Turns out We couldn't get the group together to do just that :) so how about we get together and do something a little wild. Here's the plan, we meet for Diner and then go somewhere exotic and outdoors (don't want to be completely irresponsible by burning stuff indoors) and we can mark the last time I do the tie thing with this group. I'm not married to the idea of the Restaurant but I have the perfect place for the tie burning :) . But I'm open to ideas either way. cheers"
Yes, I am responding to your invite - not by clicking on a radio button but via this post. And no, I am not burning my ONLY tie - I need to learn how to tie one first!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Guest Post: One fine day I write to Myself
(A friend from school sent this article at 4 am on New Years Eve saying he wanted to talk. For starters, this friend has been a former national tennis player and completed his bachelors in Economics from Univ. of Montana. He is currently successfully employed with a big financial firm in Manhattan. This is the unedited version of the text he sent me).
I don’t know why am I writing, but I just feel like…its like talking to myself….questioning myself and answering myself…in the past 5 years things have changed a lot or I guess I have changed and that’s why things have changed….I don’t know the reason….may be because I have stayed alone…done everything on my own....had to take care just of myself…may be because I was always there for myself and no one else…pataa nahi kya hua, but I am feeling changed…for some people it is very simple to explain change - situations/conditions change and that’s why people change…or people change and that’s why situations change….I don’t think there is a right answer among those two…
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