Astrophotos
U2 - part II
Bono proved his greatness as a singer. He recorded “Miss Sarajevo” with Luciano Pavoratti a few years ago. Yesterday, he sang the whole song, including Luciano’s part of the song and did an excellent job of it. I love the energy at U2 concerts. They don’t spend any time between the songs. Mostly, one song fades out and second begins. There is a few seconds delay when they have to change guitars for Edge and Adam.
We liked this concert better than the ‘Popmart’ cocert we saw at Giants Stadium in NJ in 1997. Our seats were better this time and also the music was better. Also, last time, a drunk sitting behind us spilled his whole glass of beer and it was uncomfortable to stand in a pool of beer (YUK!). This time, we had a drunk behind us too, but, he was almost passed out.
Anyway, here is the setlist from yesterday’s concert:
City Of Blinding Lights Vertigo Elevation I Will Follow Gloria The Ocean I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / In A Little While (snippet) Beautiful Day / Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (snippet) / Blackbird (snippet) Miracle Drug Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own / No Regrets (snippet) Love And Peace Or Else Sunday Bloody Sunday / Get Up Stand Up (snippet) Bullet The Blue Sky Miss Sarajevo Pride (In The Name Of Love) Where The Streets Have No Name One / MLK (snippet)
encore(s): The First Time Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses With Or Without You Crumbs From Your Table Bad / People Have The Power (snippet)
More details on the concert along with reviews and photos can be found here.
A DVD of this Vertigo tour 2005
U2
It was an awesome show. The music was great and they performed very well. Show started with ‘City of Blinding Lights’ from their latest album, How to dismantle an atomic bomb
The show went on for more than 2 hours without a break. Can’t imagine how they, especially Bono, get the energy to do it 3-4 nights a week. They are not young anymore. Getting close to 50 or already there.
Overall, it was an excellent show. If they are coming to your neighbourhood, don’t miss a chance to see them live.
Another highlight of the night: Met hemya in person, my first ever LJ friend to meet me in real life. He was at the concert too. Will meet him again in 2 days in Cleveland.
Anticipation...
Will leave early from work today to go to see U2. The concert is supposed to start at 7:30pm. But, with opening bands and all, U2 should come out on stage by 9. Have been looking forward to this since March when I bought the tickets.
Gross thousands
I can’t believe that it’s been 9 years since we met first. I don’t exactly remember the date, but, it was 3rd week of October.
She crossed this milestone yesterday.
After 9 years and 144,000 miles, my 1996 VW Jetta GLX is still with her original clutch.
Ashwini enjoying the fall weather in her bug jacket made from recycled plastic soda bottles.
Ashwini is excited about the upcoming winter and is really happy now that the weather has turned cooler. I face this question almost everyday… “When is it going to snow, dada?” Why does she want the snow? To make a snowman, of course!
Finally, it's fall.
My favorite season is definitely here. After what seemed like a long summer, it is finally getting cooler. The mornings are nippy and it feels good to get out of the house and breathe in the cool, crisp air.
random update
Stop taking my pictures. I am not going to smile anymore.
This morning, when we left the house, Moon was about to set and was getting close to the horizon. Ashwini pointed it out to me and said, “Look at the Moon. He drank a loooot of milk and got big.”
A coule of days ago, we were making up some story to make her drink milk: Moon drinks milk and on the days when he drinks little, he is small and when he drinks a lot, he gets big. I was surprised that she remembered it and applied it to what we saw.
Parineeta
-
I was pleasantly surprised by ‘Parineeta’, at least the first 75% of it.
-
First of all, it was only 2 hours long. Many more Hindi movie-makers should start making short films if they want people to watch them.
-
It was very well picturised. The director created an authentic looking India of !960’s.
-
Casting was perfect. The newcomer, Vidya Balan and Saif Ali Khan did an excellent job. (I think Saif Ali Khan is much much better than Amir I-am-so-good-kiss-my-feet Khan, Salman I’ll-kill-you-or-atleast-beat-you-up Khan and Shahrukh someone-please-stop-me-from-shaking Khan.) Even Sanjay Dutt, who can only act as a road-side goonda, did OK. Achyut Potdar did his usual ‘bumbling fool of an old man’ and other supporting actors acted well, too.
-
The story was much much better than “Devdas” (even Madhuri couldn’t keep me interested in that crap of a movie) and the screenplay was excellent. Everything was going well. I almost checked to make sure that I was really watching a Hindi movie and it took a turn for the worse. From the scene when Sanjay Dutt came to meet Saif Ali Khan before his wedding to deliver the papers for the neighbour’s house, the movie just went down the drain – very fast. It was almost as if the director realised that it was turning out to be a good movie and then remembered that he was making a hindi movie and had to ruin it. The ending was just atrocious. All that dramatics of breaking-down-the-wall was totally unnecessary.
-
The songs were pleasing and almost appropriate. Rekha’s cameo was very good. That woman still knows how to carry herself.
-
I’d highly recommend this film if you haven’t seen it yet. Just be ready for the disappointment at the end.
Breast Cancer awareness
October is “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”.
October 21st is “National Mammography Day”. Schedule to get a mammogram for yourself or remind your mother, wife, sister, girlfriend, or daughter to do so.
Happy 2.58333 th Birthday, Ashwini!!!
Taken atop Konica tower near Niagara Falls.
We receive a note from Ashwini’s preschool every week. Here are a couple of notes from her teacher, Sara…
- Sept. 9, 2005: Ashwini spent a lot of time with Annie this week. They fed babies together in dramatic play and they picked flowers on the playground. She also spent time digging in the sandbox with LaRhonda. Payton was sitting on the potty. Ashwini went to sit on potty next to her and said in a supportive voice, "ooooh Payton, you're going poop". She is doing awesome and stepping out of her box.
- Sept. 15, 2005: Ashwini has been talking a lot about potty time this week, although she hasn't been doing much when she gets there. Ashwini wasn't much interested with art this week and she refused to eat snack a couple of times as well. She is talking to other children and playing side-by-side. She is not yet to the point where she is actively engaging in collaborative play.
- Sept. 22, 2005: Ashwini is doing amazing with her letters and numbers. She is beyond all of her similar age peers in recognition. She can identify 1 to 10 as well as almost all the letters. She can find her own name at circle time and snack. Ashwini has been singing a new song in school. It goes "choo choo" and it's got a lot of words I don't understand. I think it is Indian. I would like to learn if I could. :)
- Oct. 7, 2005: Ashwini has always loved books but this week, more than ever, she had completely immersed herself in them. It is the first thing she asks when she comes in, she takes them outside with her, and if I am busy working with something, she tells, "I'll read it to you". Ashwini and Cameron were playing boggle together today. Ashwini was helping Cameron find letters for different words.
Ashwini wasn’t well a couple of weeks ago and when we went to the Doctor’s office, we had to see a different doctor, not her usual pediatrician. This doctor had some great techniques to deal with small children. He let Ashwini do everything to him with his instruments, i.e. looking into ears, looking inside the mouth and listening to his heart with a stethoscope. Ashwini was extremely thrilled with this and then let him examine her without any fuss. He kept telling her that if she became a doctor, she’ll get to do all that stuff. After this visit, whenever someone asks her, “When you grow up, what will you become?”, she replies, “doctor”, without even thinking for a second.
BTW, if you are wondering what song Ashwini was singing in her school, it was a Marathi song, mamachya gavala javuya. Unfortunately, I don’t have a recording of that song yet. But, here is Ashwini singing another popular Marathi song, Chandoba chandoba, bhaglas kaa?
Spencer Tunick
I remember seeing a documentary on HBO called ‘naked states’ on works of Spencer Tunick, a couple of years ago. I don’t know how he does it, but he convinces hundreds and thousands of people to pose nude in public, arranges them in artistic and sometimes, bizzare formations (he calls them installations) and photographs them.
He started taking these photos in 1992 in New York and was arrested in 1994 for photographing a nude woman at Rockefeller Center in NYC. His largest installations consisted of 7000 spaniards in Barcelona and 1700 english men and women in London. Many of these pictures are quite fascinating and very surreal. Check them out at these links.
Do you know what 'sad' is?
As told by Ashwini’s teacher, Sara:
We have been talking about feelings and emotions in the class. Yesterday, we talked about being sad.S: Do you know what ‘sad’ means? Do you feel sad? A: I know. I feel sad in the car. S: In the car? Why do you feel sad in the car? A: kabause, my daddy can not give me a huggy when we are in the car.
Made my day (and week and month), hearing this.
The young 'mahut'
During our Canada trip, a couple of weekends ago, we visited the African Lion Safari in Hamilton, ON. It was a fun trip. We really like the idea of animals roaming around freely and us caged in our car, driving through. Ashwini had enjoyed our excursion to the same place last year, hence the repeat visit. We saw the same animals like last year: lions, zebras, giraffes, ostritches, deer, bisons and lots of monkeys jumping on cars and getting very close to people. Our photos look very similar to what we took last year. Here is a link to my post from last year.
Even with all the warnings and instructions, people put food on the roofs of their cars and most of the animals come close to the cars looking for it. We didn’t put any food out, but, they came to check anyway. A giraffe walked up to the car, right at the window where Ashwini was sitting and slobbered up the roof and window with its huge tongue. Ashwini was not very happy about it. She insisted on getting the car washed afterwards. A couple of days later, she was telling about the trip to her Sujitkaka on the phone: “Our car was very yummy and the giraffe tried to eat it.”
We went for an elephant ride and V took really nice pictures of Ashwini and me.
Check out the young little ‘mahut’-in-training.
V: Ashwini, we have to clean up this room. Pick up all your toys and books and put them away. A: Why? Who is coming to our house?
New found religion
My life had no direction or meaning till I discovered the grace of His Holiness. My schools are responsible for my misguided life. I don't know why but they didn't teach anything other than evolution to describe the origin of life on earth. I hope they will open their minds and teach about how FSM created the universe and life on earth. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel.
Weekend trip
It was a wonderful weekend. A very well planned and executed trip to meet some old and some new friends. Check out the view from our hotel room window.
A night time view.
More photos to follow soon.