Happy 56th Republic Day!!!
Dipped in Love
Flying with pride
Carried with care
Coated in love
Happy Republic Day!
Sare Jahan Se Achha Ae watan tere liye Vande Mataram
Dinner at Bennegans, Seoul
Country Chicken Salad
Chicken & Beef Fajita
Salsa, Guacamole, Sour Cream
Oh Baby Pork Ribs
Frozen Beer
My Breakfast at Cafe Royale - Westin Chosun, Seoul
The Cafe Royale restaurant is a good one since all the food there is delicious. A normal breakfast buffet costs 31,000 Won.Of course the company pays for me...lalala...Take a look...
The interiors
Cafe Royale, Westin Chosun
Cereals
Cereals - Cafe Royale, Westin Chosun
Bread
Bread - Cafe Royale, Westin Chosun
Fruits
Fruits - Cafe Royale, Westin Chosun
Salad
Salad - Cafe Royale, Westin Chosun
The egg counter
Egg Counter - Cafe Royale, Westin Chosun
Dim sum, Saute'ed mushrooms, japanese steamed egg, salmon teriyaki
Dim Sum - Cafe Royale
My Breakfast...finally.
My Breakfast - Cafe Royale, Westin Chosun
My dinner at a Korean restaurant.
I had dinner with my Korean friends tonight. And we had my favourite Cuksu Chongol and Chuk. I hope the spelling is correct. The Bek Se Jiu wasn't bad either...The same dinner would cost around $200 HKD. Free for me of course.
Woosung and Henry
Woosung and Henry - My Friends
Boil the noodles with meat and vegetables
Cuksu Chongol - Korean Restaurant
Then mix rice with the remains (after eating the noodles) and cook for sometime.
Chuk - Korean Restaurant
Then some Bek Se Ju to top it all.
Bek Se Ju - Traditional Korean Wine
Beyond Skin
FOR THE PAST few weeks, Hong Kong has basked in the warm glow radiated by being one of the world's most altruistic societies. The $700 million donated to tsunami relief in South Asia "represents Hong Kong people's love", said an emotional Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa recently. "Hong Kong people should be proud of being part of the world, and it shows that Hong Kong is a city full of love."Begins the article by Clarence Tsui on the issues of discrimination in Hong Kong at SCMP.com. She points out that the government is planning to tackle this one. Since the article cannot be accessed without a login, here are some other pieces.
The consultation period for the proposed legislation against racial discrimination closes on Feb 8. The consultation paper is available at District Offices and also on the govt website. Comments can be sent by fax (2591 6002) or e-mail (racelaw@hab.gov.hk).
Cases in point
CASE 1: While being interviewed by an Immigration officer about an application for a multiple entry visa for his supervisor, a Pakistani man was asked, "How could you get married with [sic] a Chinese girl?", "Is your wife a normal person?", "Why did she choose an ah cha?" and "Why are you able to employ a domestic helper?"
Result: The Immigration Department agreed that it was inappropriate for the officer to say, "You are rich. You hired a maid." The department agreed to provide customer service training to staff.
CASE 2: A Nepalese man complained that the Labour Department wrote to him in Chinese in response to his application for the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme.
Result: The Labour Department admitted its mistake and immediately sent a reply in English.
CASE 3: Stranded at the airport during a typhoon, eight Filipino domestic helpers were each given only $200 while other passengers were sent to hotels.
Result: The airline company agreed to review its cash compensation policy and customer services standards.
CASE 4: A Filipino woman lost her wallet in a restaurant, but the restaurant manager verbally insulted her.
Result: The manager apologised and gave the woman a VIP card.
CASE 5: When his contract as a security guard was terminated, a Pakistani man was told, "You are fired because the boss does not like Pakistanis".
Result: The security company issued a written apology to the man.
CASE 6: A reader complained about the term bak pei jue - or "white-skinned pig", a derogatory term aimed at white westerners - in a newspaper article.
Result: The newspaper refused to respond to the complaint.
Source: Race Relations Unit, Home Affairs Department
American Idol in HK style
"Preliminary auditions will be held in Tseung Kwan O's Metro City, with 240 hopefuls getting their chance to appear on the show. Confirmed as a judge is actor Leung Wing-chung, and a cash prize is in store for the winners. Not much else is clear at this stage, except that the show's name translates roughly as The One Cruel Ding. The name is derived from the fact that contestants will be rejected when one of the judges has had enough and rings a bell - literally "dinging" them off the stage. "News flash on SCMP.com (Star search begins with 'One Cruel Ding' )
Desi Cartoonz Story
I came across an interesting article which reminded me of technopark, Trivandrum. There are a few firms working on animation over there. Gearing up to splash Indian characters on the world cartoons scene through cartoon movies made a to z in India, things never looked so good before! With the thousands of characters we have, and with the right packaging, it can only go one way - UP!Following is a quote from an article by Amrit Dhillon at scmp.com. But you would need a login.
(India gets animated about world success
Fast-rising cartoon producers challenge Hollywood dream makers at own game )
"The world has only seen western characters because animation has been monopolised by the west. We want the world to see cartoons based on Indian characters and stories," said Bill Dennis, the US-born chief executive of Toonz who has worked for Disney and Turner.
"We have everything going for us. Great talent, great prices, great stories. We just need ... characters that have an international appeal."
Desi Vs Bond
Names in South India can get really complicated...Here is what happened when a desi gal introduced James Bond to her friend.James Bond : "My name's Bond...(smiles and then says).... James Bond. "
Desi : "I am Sai...
Venkata Sai...
Siva Venkata Sai...
Laxminarayana Siva Venkata Sai....
Srinivasulu Laxminarayana Siva Venkata Sai...
Rajasekhara Srinivasulu Laxminarayana Siva Venkata Sai.....
Sitaramanjaneyulu Rajasekhara Srinivasulu Laxminarayana Siva Venkata ai....
Bommiraju Sitaramanjaneyulu Rajasekhara Srinivasulu Laxminarayana SivaVenkata Sai".
Now you know why Bond will never visit India again. Hahaha
Bits and Pieces
SN has been crawling around the web and trying to find some interesting stuff. And we try to out do each other...but B always wins and with all the emails she forwards from her Indian friends!!!Well. The Yahoo Desktop Search is finally here. Take a look at the beta version.
A cell phone virus is on the prowl. It attacks the symbian OS phones and especially through discoverable bluetooth connections. So all you Pseries lovers...
The Endgadget Awards for 2004 have been announced. Check them out. With Apple's Ipod Mini at top position, SN is disappointed that his dream phone Treo 650 is the Disappointment of the Year.
Rumours abound - Are Apple and Motorola coming out with a smartphone called iPhone?
And then that this is not the iPhone.
Hey, wanna translate something into Hieroglyphics? How about your name. Give it a try!
And then there was this 1GigaPix project. Check it out. I was a bit disappointed though they get tonnes of hits everyday. Must mean something, right?!
ORBIS - Merrill Lynch Walk For Sight 2005
Dear All,Once again, ORBIS and Merrill Lynch are joining forces to help cure preventable blindness. ORBIS's emphasis on sharing sight saving skills with eye care professionals in developing countries is aligned with Merrill Lynch's focus on providing education opportunities to the disadvantaged worldwide. Merrill Lynch remains committed to communities where its employees work and live. Since 2000, the firm has helped to raise over HK$ 6million as the primary corporate sponsor for the 'Walk for sight' event in Hong Kong. And together, ORBIS and Merrill Lynch are striving hard to ensure that thousands of blind people in China will be able to see their dreams come true.ORBIS and Merrill Lynch invite you, your friends and family to join the 2005 Walk for Sight. ORBIS estimates that there are over five million blind people in China. Funds raised through the 'Walk for Sight' event will allow ORBIS to equip Chinese doctors with surgical techniques to restore sight for the blind and provide on-going care.
This year the walk is scheduled on Feb 20.
Lets all walk together. If you cannot make it for any reason, please donate.
Lets share the gift of vision.
For more information click on the link below:
https://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/project/orbis/walkathon/eng/main/intro2_e.htm
For snaps from our previous walks together:
ML-Orbis 2002
ML-Orbis 2004
Thanks!
Some Other News
First Indian Street opens in ChinaSave a child's heart
US Radio Jockeys threaten call centre worker
Father Teressa - Watch National Geographic Channel
Party Time for the UN?
Cricket's Finest Stand
Pacific Tsunami Museum Archives
You can find archive photos of previous tsunamis in the Pacific ocean at the following link:http://www.tsunami.org/archivespics.htm
Some interesting videos and pages
I spent one whole afternoon searching for things that may interest you. Take a look.Video Clips
MS Matrix spoof - Not a clear video and just the first part.
Honda Ad
Fuji Film Ad
Tough Jeep- A jeep almost falls didn't climb to the top...almost
French Urban Climber - Climbs a very tall building (outer surface) without equipment
Tough Bear - Survives 2 zaps and a fall
Killer Whale - A killer whale jumps over one of the contestants of a kayaking competition
Ski Jump - When you don't quite make it.
Fast Talking Ad
Talented Elephants
Crowded Japanese subways - Reminds me of Mumbai local trains
Robot Dancing - Prabhu deva has nothing to fear from this guy
Amazing Foosball - Watch the slow motion part well
Small problems become big problems
Cold in Chicago
DUI arrest
Ping Pong stunts
Amazing piano play with balls
Crocodile Hunted - Don't try this ever
What a soccer kick - Where was Beckham
Penguin Bully
Some More Dancing
Windows Noise - The power of Microsoft
A Lucky Escape - You never know
How could a BMW save your life
Bush and Blair - Made for each other
Asking for Directions - Crazy woman
The Glass Door
Dreaming
Hijack or Hi Jack
Karate Chimp - Dare not take chimps lightly again
Indian Dreamer
Ferrari Effect
French Gentleman - Next time you are on the phone...
Lotto
Matrix Re-made - Is that air you breathe
Motorcycles Sounds - Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Harley Davidson
The picture explains it all
Reggae - Try this
Second thoughts - Award winning ad
Smoking Kills
Toothpaste Ad
Video Conferencing - Sony Ad
Icon warfare on XP desktop - Someone with a lot of time thought of this one.
Japanese Ping Pong - Matrix style
How Deep Is Your Love - Virgin Atlantic
Telecom Italia - EPICA Award for this one
Nike Ad - Lance Armstrong
Funny Pics and other stuff
General Pics
Funny Computers
Funny Pictures
Its important to have friends
The secret behind the Monalisa Smile
Personality
Move the screen
Optical Illusions
Singing Horses
Your Age in comparision
How does a smiley look from the behind?
Online clock
Fun and facts
Eye Test
Interesting facts about humans
Games For You
Here are a few games I found on the web :Proximity
Avalanche
Frog Leaps
Throw Paper
Santa Slingshot
Desert Battle
Big Fish
Mini Jump
Groundhog Digger
Celebrity Boxing
Arrow Balloons
Dot Mover
Snowboarding
The Blue Chamber
Invisible
Scuba Diver
Trampoline
Drunken walk
Dodgeball
Catch the tube
Slick ball
Porsche Drive simulation
Pool Game
9 Ball Pool
Bowman
Monkey Jumping
Tyre Tosser
Drag racing
Kill Bill 2
Hockey Shot
Superbikes
Ping Pong
Warthog Grenades
Peanut shooter
Dread Rocks
Water balloon fight
Simon
Pacman
Soccer Kick ups
Collect the marbles
Airball
Turkey shooter
Air Hockey
Get a grip
Baseball
Snow Sledding
Capoeira Fighters
Hangaroo
Half Court Basketball
Motorcycle Jumper
OPeration Slaps
Desert Racer
Sky bolter simulator
Rapid Motion
Shoot out
Bubble-wrap Popper
Handball
BMX Racer
3 Point Basketball
Dancing Competition
Yellow Submarine
Pingu
Clayshooting
Mars Lander
Far Cry
Orisinal Games
Give Bush a game
Benefit Cricket Match - World XI Vs Asia XI
Albino Black Sheep Collection
Funny Cow
Play The Yeti And Hit The Pingu
Cricinfo are covering the World XI Vs Asian XI cricket match being held in Australia to generate aid for the tsunami victims.
Check this out.
http://response.pure360.com/_act/link.php?mId=pure76179356475903783&tId=200791
Also try your hand at stick cricket. Its a cool online game!
http://www.stickcricket.com/tsunamiappeal/
Check this out.
http://response.pure360.com/_act/link.php?mId=pure76179356475903783&tId=200791
Also try your hand at stick cricket. Its a cool online game!
http://www.stickcricket.com/tsunamiappeal/
Emoticons!
Emoticons are those little faces appearing almost everywhere.Here is a list of general ones from Yahoo!
Also check these hidden ones.
The Taj Mahal
One of the most romantic places on earth. One day we shall go there together.The Taj Mahal - Take a virtual tour.
More links:
History
Wikipedia coverage
Can there be a human hand behind all this?
Can there be a human hand behind the cause?
I am yet to do some more research on the web.
And look at what I found. Read only if you have time to kill.
http://216.132.172.240/indiadaily/editorial/12-29a-04.asp
http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/01-03d-05.asp
And then there are talks of volcanic eruptions near Canary Islands generating tsunamis large enough to submerge US east coast.
And then google news does keep a track of this as well.
http://news.google.com.hk/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&ncl=http://www.todayonline.com/articles/32331.asp
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/32331.asp
And then there is Ken Follet's - The Hammer of Eden.
Look Where Tiger Is.
Very expensive place but very impressive .This is Dubai.The place where Tiger Woods is standing, is the helicopter's port of theBURJ AL ARAB, the unique 7 star hotel of the world. And the other one to the front isthe JUMEIRAH BEACH 5 star hotel...Both belong to the Sheikh MAKTOUM CO. - courtesy SN.
Kung Fu n Swades
We popped in to watch Kung Fu Hustle one evening after a visit to the doctor. AMC Festival Walk never fails to amuse one. The same Christmas tree. The same rink. And so many lovely people, young and old, spending time with each other under the pretext of shopping, skating, eating, movies, you name it...The unofficial canteen of City U.Stephen Chow. Famous for his style of making kung fu comedies. Different from Jackie Chan genre. This one tells the story of a good for nothing guy wishing to join the ruthless Axe gang. What an aim in life! On the path of crime (which ends in snatching a few coins from a mute girl) he comes across a chawl where the landlady keeps everybody enslaved. When he picks up a fight with the chawl peopl, he gets badly beaten, bitten and swears to make them pay. One of the top shots of the Axe gang is injured during that fight and its no surprise when the Axe gang adopts him to fight the chawl people...To tell you the rest of the story would be cruel. Watch it. A must.
Swades comes like a breath of fresh air. I like movies. I like good movies. I like bad movies. There is effort into each one. But this is one of the best movies from last year - Hollywood, bollywood, all the woods...this is not a fantasy and not a documentary neither. SRK plays the part of a NASA project manager who is back in India to locate his lost childhood nanny. In the process he discovers what rural India really is. How the people live here. How the lack of education, electricity and self-help has not helped them one bit. The poverty. All the sad stuff. And then there is this young lady he falls in love with. She is just a school teacher, determined to get more and more children to school. It is out of his love for her and a genuine feeling to help these people, he extends his leave. But how long can he really hold off his boss? Watch it and you will start questioning your life. A patriotic movie. I feel bad that I let go of a chance to meet Ashutosh when he was down in Hong Kong. Thanks for the great movie.
Labels: Movie Review
Tsunami related blogs and sites
I came across a few blogs and sites which are related to the tsunami devastation.http://www.nrsa.gov.in/ - Satellite pictures of before and after - affected areas in India.
http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/ - The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog.
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Tsunami_Help/Blogs - Dedicated blogs and resources - Comprehensive.
http://ravikiran.com/ - The Examined Life (There's also a link to the source of the wrong warnings issued by Govt. of India).
http://indiauncut.blogspot.com/ - Amit Varma is down there in Tamil Nadu. Honest writing.
http://www.digitalglobe.com/sample_imagery.shtml - More images of pre and post destruction.
http://tsunamihelpoffered.blogspot.com/ - People offering their help.
http://tsunamihelpneeded.blogspot.com/ - Need volunteers.
http://nbcsandiego.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=495293 - Survivor story - video
http://nbcsandiego.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=623189 - Children on a Malaysian beach - video
http://nbcsandiego.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=206041 - Waves hit resorts Malaysia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Thailand (follow one after the other) - video
http://nbcsandiego.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=202008 - A couple tape in Sri Lanka - video
http://nbcsandiego.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=434283 - Waves hit Indonesia - video
http://nbcsandiego.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=957281 - Survivor video
http://www.waveofdestruction.org/photos/ - More images
http://www.big-boys.com/articles/tsunamiasia.html - Koh Lanta Sri Lanka - video
http://www.spaceimaging.com/gallery/tsunami/ - More images from spaces
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/world/04/asia_quake/quake_maps/html/1.stm - Tsunami mapping at BBC
http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/9.html - This gives you before and after pics on a click
NEW http://www.asiantsunamivideos.com/ - This is a collection.
