Saturn and Titan

A fascinating visual of Galactic world.

http://www.popsugar.com/tech/NASA-Cassini-Titan-Moon-Photo-36050325

Three other links, at least first two links for sure, at the bottom of this video page are also worth viewing.

Enjoy!

Typewriter Artist

Adversity harnessed.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

Today is Mozart's birthday. I am posting one of his creations, Piano Concerto no 21,  used in the film Elvira Madigan with part of his biography from Wikipedia.

Anonymous portrait of the child Mozart, possibly by Pietro Antonio Lorenzoni; painted in 1763 on commission from Leopold Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart (1719–1787) and Anna Maria, née Pertl (1720–1778), at 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg. This was the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, an ecclesiastic principality in what is now Austria, then part of the Holy Roman Empire.^[4] He was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy.^[5] His elder sister was Maria Anna (1751–1829), nicknamed "Nannerl". Mozart was baptized the day after his birth at St. Rupert's Cathedral. The baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. He generally called himself "Wolfgang Amadè Mozart"^[6] as an adult, but his name had many variants.

Leopold Mozart, a native of Augsburg,^[7] was a minor composer and an experienced teacher. In 1743, he was appointed as fourth violinist in the musical establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian, the ruling Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg.^[8] Four years later, he married Anna Maria in Salzburg. Leopold became the orchestra's deputy Kapellmeister in 1763. During the year of his son's birth, Leopold published a violin textbook, Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule, which achieved success.^[9]

When Nannerl was seven, she began keyboard lessons with her father while her three-year-old brother looked on. Years later, after her brother's death, she reminisced:

He often spent much time at the clavier, picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good.... In the fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier.... He could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time.... At the age of five, he was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down.^[10]

Mozart's birthplace at Getreidegasse 9, Salzburg

These early pieces, K. 1–5, were recorded in the Nannerl Notenbuch.

There is some scholarly debate of whether Mozart was four or five years old when he created his first musical compositions, though there is little doubt that Mozart composed his first three pieces of music within a few weeks of each other: KVs 1a,^[11]1b^[12] and 1c^[13]

At age five, Mozart composed his first Minuette, K.1e^[14]

Two Tone Cat Named Venus

First I thought the cat was painted. But how one can paint different color eyes!!! I adore this cat. For more pictures copy/paste following link on the browser.

Two Tone Cat Named Venus--From Yahoo news

https://gma.yahoo.com/photos/meet-venus-the-majestic-two-toned-faced-cat-slideshow/

Pale Blue Dot-Our Place in the Cosmos

In 1978, USA sent a satellite "Voyager 1" in space on a fly-by mission to view our planets up-close and photograph them for the first time, and then continue its journey beyond into interstellar space.  At the time Carl Sagan, the most famous astro-physicist of our times and adviser to NASA, convinced the agency, to turn the camera of the satellite towards earth for the one last time, to take its picture just before leaving our solar system.  After 36 years, "Voyager 1" just did that, four months ago.  The photographs of the Earth and the Moon, taken from beyond Saturn were published by NASA.

In 1980, Carl produced  "Cosmos",  an entrancing TV Series, most widely watched by the public around the world (perhaps, it should have been called, 'Everything you want to know about our Universe").  At the end of the series, he had made a profound concluding speech that was so relevant then and is more so, now.         

Recently, Ann Druyan, Carl's widow, produced "Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey", a follow-up to the earlier "Cosmos"  It was hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the astro-physicist and director of the New York's Hayden Planetarium.  This series was just as exciting.  At the conclusion of the new series Carl's speech from the original was revisited.  It is truly prophetic; a must see and listen video. 

Abandoned Places

I am drawn to ruins and abandoned places. Perhaps because they house stories. If only they could tell and we could hear.

I have copied and pasted three photographs from news.distractify.com. To see more one can click on the links provided below.

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/photos/abandoned-places-24231388

http://news.distractify.com/culture/arts/the-most-spectacular-abandoned-places-in-the-world/

Vertigo-Rotating SkyScraper

Vertigo anyone?!

Among many I chose this video to post for its accompaniment of 'Blue Danube'. I have associated the music with one of my favorite movies, '2001-A Space Odyssey', an expanse of space; not unlike Arabian ocean on which this perhaps, stands.

Down the Memory Lane -2

Vidula, Hemu, Thakore and Ba

During my post graduation studies my father died and I had to discontinue studies to earn some money. My professor, Thakore Mistry, who taught Agriculture Economics was writing a thesis on Poultry Farming in Gujarat for his doctorate degree. He already had one but needed an another assistant to help him tabulate his statistics. He was kind enough to offer me a summer job until I found another in a bank. 

This picture was taken, I was told, when he returned from USA.

His mother fought for Independence and went to jail for it. A beautiful cultured family.

He once asked me to do without God for a week and see if sky befell  me. It did not and I was a changed person.

Shortly after my arrival to USA he died of Leukemia and left a beautiful wife, young boy and widowed mother behind.

Down the Memory Lane

Mrs. Padma Vaswani

She was my Civic teacher in my high school.  I honored and respected her very much. In one of our classes she talked about recently released movie, "I want to Live". She asked us to see it, which I did not for affordability reasons. Referring to the plot she taught us, "justice system is not always just". I so loved her. When I left Calcutta for good she presented me with a shawl which I still possess and occasionally wrap myself in it.  I do not know where she is; if she is at all. Thank you Mrs.Vaswani.

Dinaz Cursetji

She remembered to send me her photograph
while on vacation in Darjeeling

Here is another person who impressed me during my impressionable age. Her name was/is Dinaz Cursetji. She was/is a Parsi lady and taught English in our college in Ahmedabad. Although I was never in her class. I was taken by her English and an air she had about her. I do not know where she is. She was the best friend of another person, below, who I was enamored by.

Nilambari and Vanraj fighting over her Camera

This was taken at a college Picnic in a scenic town of Oran on a river bank in Gujarat. Circa 1967. Nilambari and Vanraj Sheth. Nilambari taught Political Science which was not my subject but I will still attend her classes during my free periods. She was a Princess from the state of Mansa. She was very beautiful, with fair complexion and had BLUE eyes. Her name was appropriate for her looks. She never repeated the same sari in a year. Of course she was real Princess! Dinaz and Nilambari were best of friends.

Vanraj was my classmate in another subject. Very funny man, he was. I do not know where either of them are. I have forgotten the name of the third person, but I do remember she was Parsi. 

Memories; they are illusive when you need them, to one's chagrin!

Earth and its Moon

Orbiting probe Cassini took a picture of Earth and its Moon from the planet Saturn, some nine hundred  million miles away. Earth is just a speck in the universe! Does anyone have anything to complain about their worldly problems?! Aren't they just miniscule..............

http://news.yahoo.com/wow-nasa-probes-see-earth-moon-saturn-mercury-221321345.html

Picasso

I see them. They are distorted. Yet, I find them appealing. I often question if I cut the distortions and rearrange them in their proper order would they be coherent? And the answer is, no.

They may cohere in one sense, perhaps, and completely incohere in another.

Picasso was unrivaled in his originality, in my mind. Here are few pictures of his paintings from the exhibit we attended. Perhaps, he made them grotesque only to make us face our own demons that reside within. 



Himself rendering the famous peice of sculpture that adorns Chicago street



Pope Francis

Pope Francis-March 2013-Photo Time Mgazine courtesy

As I had thought Vatican  and the rest of the Christian world is fed up with the arrogance of the USA and the Western Europe. Also, they are fed up with the sex abuse scandals that is raging in USA. So, they selected someone from Latin America.

Time will tell if this was the wise choice for Catholics, Women, and Children.

Of late I am hearing and reading that Priests and Clergies from the USA and the Europe are moving to helm the christendom in third world countries. Is it because they are, perhaps guilty of scandalous behaviour and want to avoid public and legal scrutiny?

Writing Styles-John Le Carre

I finished reading A Perfect Spy by John Le Carre; arguably a master novelist of espionage genre.

After I finished A Perfect Spy I started on Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy the first of the Triology of Quest for Karla. (I saw the mini series of the same name back in 1970s, which I enjoyed thoroughly).

I was struck by the different writing styles of the same author in two books. The first one is meanderingly long in events and people. The events described could be in the present or in the past, in movie lingo it is known as “flash backs”. And the switch from present to past is so sudden that for a moment you need to scratch your head to figure out what did just happen. Too many people are introduced at random and the relationships are not quite established immediately or understandably. Within a paragraph the one may be saying or quoting something in first person and then suddenly it changes into a third person. I was kept on my toes through out the reading.

The second book is relatively short and straight forward, or so it seems so far. I like the plot here so much better than the previous book. I hope it continues into the next two sequels.

Both books use that pure king’s or queen’s English with least amount of embellishments, which I really appreciate. He introduces few spy jargons; moles, mothers and babysitters which have different than commonly understood meanings.

Most books I read are heavily dotted with irrelevances and redundancies which give the novels their length and weight, neither of them I like.  But if I have to choose which I can live with I will opt for irrelevances.  Fortunately Le Carre’s books are speckled with irrelevances but not redundancies. Phew....

I think I will continue with Spy genre only because they are less likely to be superfluous……….. I hope.

"Postmen in the Mountains"

The setting is remote, rugged, mountainous and beautiful China. If one did not know the period, it could be any primitive age of the history. An old man is about to retire from his mail delivery job. Partly because his legs do not function well. The route is about seventy five miles each way. The path to the villages is through forests, across creeks and over steep mountains. It is a treacherous route. It took him days and at times months to accomplish his duties. He was not able to see his family for days and sometimes months. On his routes he always took his fathful Dog, Lao'ter with him. His son grew up not knowing his father. The father was never harsh, but son was always afraid of his father. The son has never called his father 'dad'.

Now the man wants his son to assume the same route he served for so many years. The son does not really want the job.

Father, son and dog journey begins, reluctantly on son's part. As the path and story unfold, son learns that his father really loves him. He also realizes how well the old man is welcome, treated and respected in each village. He is very accomodating and kind to the villagers in return. The son learns to show his father love and respect he deserves by carrying him on his back across a small creek. He even starts calling him 'dad'. The Dad sighs a sigh of relief and satisfaction for the job well done.  He has raised the kid right. The son  finally has connected with his father.

At the end of the journey son is willing to continue with the job next day. He has reconciled; with the job and the father.

A movie by an up and coming director begs viewing. I enjoyed it very much.


Director: Jianqi Huo
Cast :      Ye Liu, Rujun Ten

A short bio of a George

In fifteen minutes he told me, in an English that if I did not listen carefully I would not understand, his life in USA.

He has been in this country for 14 years. He is married, has three children; none of them of school age yet. He works for a repairshop to pick-up and deliver broken and fixed machines. His wages are $ 14.00 per hour. He works forty five to sixty hours a week. One week he worked as long as eighty-seven hours!!!! That week he brought home something like $1400-$1600. He smiled and said that was a very good "Pay". He does not speak English but goes to school to learn it two times a week at a local "y".  He lives in a small one-bedroom apartment with three kids and pays $850 per month in rent. In three months he hopes to put a down-payment on a small house with the money he has saved up over the years. He said it is very hard for him and the family.

I said to him, in English with hand gestures etc. so he could understand me; Obama is proposing some good ideas for immigrants. It is good thing that he is learning English. I also told him; "no more kids". He laughed and said "yes".

I also proposed if he could do some repairwork or if his wife could do some house cleaning he should get in touch with me. He said again; "It is very hard for him and his wife with three children and forty to eighty hours of work weeks".

I felt sad; I wanted to do so much for him.

An Homage

Unexpectedly, two of Bhupen's Calcutta Anglo Gujarati School friends with whom he had lost contact for years, have been reunited with him; at least, by phone. One (Kanchan and Jyotsna) lives in  India and the other (Rashmi and Veena) is in USA.

Frequently, they talk and reminisce of old times. Some of reminiscences include songs. Rashmi sent a Boot polish song, Chali Kaunse Desh..., that he remembers Bhupen singing very well.

He also sent something else that was sung by Jagmohan and a history that I was unaware of. Based on Kalidas' epical poem, a movie called Meghdoot was made. A Faiyyaz Hashmi, a hindu who converted to muslim wrote the lyrics based on Meghdoot epic and Kamal Dasgupta provided the music.

Between the two I prefer Jagmohan song. I am posting it  (not Chali Kaunse Desh..) as an homage to their friendship.

Glacier Calving-Amazing

If this does not make one a believer, nothing else can.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/hC3VTgIPoGU?rel=0

Sand, Sea and Sun

make Aruba. We spent a week there. Soaked up lot of sun along with alcohol accompanied by some great and some not so great food. Bhupen was in heaven because he could eat Pineapple every meal. It is his favorite fruit.

Map Of the Island

A Caribbean desert island 19 by 6 miles in area with a population of 120000 to 130000. Desert because it does not rain much here. Local languages, Dutch, Papiamento and Spanish. Mostly undeveloped and yet a heavenly place for tourists.

Staple food, colorful Iguanas who run all over the isalnd. Locals say they taste like chicken.

Iguanas



The tourism is served mostly by immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Phillipines, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Mexico. A melding spot.

A few photographs of the island and the resort we stayed in.

Caribbean Sea

Palm Trees on Resort campus

Waves of the Sea

Another hotel across

Palms in Rains

"Commerce in Human Souls"

A close friend at the University Of Illinois at Chicago has been working tirelessly for past year or two at putting together an exhibit of rare books and manuscripts on Atlantic Slave Trade. She sent us the catalogue of her work.

I am posting the Cover and two inside pictures of the catalogue. The exhibit is supposed to be on display until, I believe,  May 2013. I think we will take a tour.

David Petraeus

Since last ten days Ex-CIA chief David Patraeus romance story has disappeared from the face of the news media. Is it hushed up? If so, why?