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Template talk:ShipBox
Where does this "Battery units" come from? Also, other data like turning speed, acceleration, max speed, energy regeneration, etc may have a place in such a box. FYI: The exact numbers can be found in the source code (src/sc2code/ships/*/*.c, right at the start). — SvdB 03:22, 4 Oct 2005 (CEST)
- I usually get "Battery units" the same way I get the crew complement: by looking at the Melee ship window. I thought about including the other data (as found in the Star Control I ship databank image), but I didn't know how to find such data (until your info about the source code, that is). Sounds like a great idea. --Phoenix (t) 14:36, 4 Oct 2005 (CEST)
- Found it. It's the MAX_ENERGY constant in the .c file. Should I rename "battery units" to something else, like "energy banks" or something? --Phoenix (t) 15:32, 4 Oct 2005 (CEST)
I don't know if it's necessary to include the "Member of" field. Imho, that's a description of the race more than it is of the ship, and that info can be found on the respective race page. Also, it might look better to put the primary and secondary weapons above the the battery and crew numbers. --Fyzixfighter 17:41, 12 Nov 2005 (CET)
- Yeah, you're right, I'll remove it. BTW, remember that this is a "young" template—don't apply it to any ships (other than Scout) until we've finalised the template. --Phoenix (t) 19:05, 14 Nov 2005 (CET)
Recent changes[edit]
While I do like including more information in a quick coherent fashion, and the 3DO images are a nice addition for the SC2-unique ships, this infobox is too dominating and distracting on most of the pages. Perhaps it would be better to change it to a footer infobox - leaving the databank/icon image in the upperleft like it was before, and then grouping the technical info and 3do image on the bottom in a template. One more reason that I think this would be more advantageous is that there are some things such as the delays and increment that are not easily discernable by the average reader - more reason to move it to the bottom; most people when reading a sentence, paragraph, or paper, if they get confused at the start, won't be able to read/understand the rest (one of the biggest mistakes in common scientific papers). I've got some ideas of how to make it work so after I'm done taking data at work in a few hours, I'll set up some mock-ups of what I'm thinking. Until then, patience young poot worm. --Fyzixfighter 23:01, 5 June 2007 (CEST)
I agree; the infoboxes are too imposing. Setting a maximum width might help; it would at least cause some of the lines to be broken. Also, when the 3DO image is included, the ship icon looks seems superfluous to me, and just makes the whole look bad, because of the low resolution of the icon.
In addition, if you upload an image, please include some description, including where the images came from. And TFB don't have the copyright on the 3DO videos, so we should watch what we publish here; I think this use falls under the quotation right that Dutch law has, but ianal. — SvdB 00:32, 6 June 2007 (CEST)
- Hmm...I hadn't considered the copyright implications. I've made a mock-up of a horizontal footer shipbox at user:Fyzixfighter/Sandbox/Scout if anyone wants to look and comment. --Fyzixfighter 07:36, 8 June 2007 (CEST)
- I like the footer. Its increased size also means that you can add battery consumption to the primary and secondary also (and ship mass, which should be under Navigation, and which would be "inertialess" for the Skiff and the Probe). Valaggar 13:07, 8 June 2007 (CEST)
- My only concern is that we don't need to and we shouldn't include every single attribute, but those that are interesting and easily interpretable - for example, energy consumptions are easily understood, but the delay attributes aren't imo (ie what does a higher delay mean in terms of gameplay?). I'd much prefer if we could express these as rates. The same could probably be said about the speed increment - is this essentially the un-maxed acceleration? In a way, I think these boxes should give someone considering using the ship in melee a quick quantitative analysis (similar to the databank images, but with hard numbers and other data like mass). While the argument could be made that the databank images do just this, we don't have such images for the SC2-unique ships so this kind of shipbox allows us a uniform presentation of information similar to the SC1 databank images for all ships. Also, if we expand the # of attributes, the box will probably need to be organized a bit better so it doesn't become white-space dominated.
- If the delay/increment thing is what you don't like, we can use "acceleration per second". The formula for average acceleration per second would be:
- Average_Acceleration=(Thrust_Increment*Frame_Rate)/(Thrust_Delay+1)
- I don't know, however, the frame rate; if SvdB would be nice enough to provide it...
- Also, I don't know the unit of measurement used for thrust in the code - doesn't seem to be 320x200-size pixels per frame.
- (re databank-like rates) You know, besides the SC1 ships already having the approximative stats in their databank image (which would lead to a non-uniformity which would be a bit non-beautiful), slight differences can be important: a Cruiser cannot run from a Dreadnought because the Dreadnought is slightly faster. Valaggar 08:55, 9 June 2007 (CEST)
- If the delay/increment thing is what you don't like, we can use "acceleration per second". The formula for average acceleration per second would be:
- The frame rate is 35 FPS, apparently, as the Table of bio types page indicates: "every frame that the lander is in contact with the creature (35 times per second)". The fragment has been added by SvdB.
- So the formula should be: Average_Acceleration=(Thrust_Increment*35)/(Thrust_Delay+1) Valaggar 18:06, 11 June 2007 (CEST)
- Actually I'm perfectly fine expressing it in units per frames. And as I understand it, this is the acceleration (not acceleration per second - sorry, I TA'd too many freshman physics courses and I'm a bit of a stickler for physics terms), ie the speed value of the ship increases by Thrust_Increment every Thrust_Delay+1 frames, right? I'm guessing that the same applies to the turn rate and energy regeneration. I think it's nice to leave the the acceleration as a ratio (##/##) conveying as much information as possible succinctly, though I'm not sure if it really makes that much of a difference if we express it otherwise as a decimal. The same could be said for the energy regeneration, which probably uses a similar equation based on Flagship Energy Management. Though the turn rate could be expressed as simply a decimal since the turn increments are all the same. Anyone know how they calculate the "Turn rate" of the Flagship that shows up in the Outfitting screen at the starbase? Just to let you know, I'll probably be changing the ShipBox to a footer here soon, as that seems to be something we can agree on - we can then continue to work out the exact layout and design. Objections? --Fyzixfighter 18:36, 11 June 2007 (CEST)
- No objections. As to the "acceleration per second" - it's actually "thrust per second" (i.e. velocity change per second, i.e. acceleration) - I got a bit confused. Anyway, indeed frames are better than seconds, so Average_Acceleration=Thrust_Increment/(Thrust_Delay+1), since with seconds we end of with some large numbers (e.g. 2240) for maximum speeds...
- A decimal form would be better than a ratio, I'd say, since it is easier to comprehend at a glance and to compare with other values; the delays are not that significant. It also looks tidy and neat with ratios, but the problem is when you try to figure out whether the Cruiser or the Dreadnought accelerates faster.
- Energy regeneration is also based on increments and delays, so the average energy regeneration would be Average_Batt_Regen=Regen_Increment/(Regen_Delay+1). Here, the delay is significant only in the case of the Drone, where a note could explain that.
- By the way, you made a mistake in calculating the turn rate of the Scout - it's 16, since it's TURN_WAIT is 0.
- As to the weapon range - speed is also important (and whether the weapon is homing or not). Range is MISSILE_SPEED*MISSILE_LIFE. Weapon damage is applicable only to some weapons, the others should simply get a N/A (and salvos can be represented as damage (projectile quantity) - a Jugger would have "1 (salvo of 6 projectiles)"). Such cases are too rare to warrant a separate "salvo" entry. As to the effect of the N/A damage weapons... there are the Primary and Secondary sections of the article. Valaggar 21:11, 11 June 2007 (CEST)
- Hmm, then maybe the data I'm drawing my numbers from is a little outdated - it has the shofixti's TURN_WAIT as 1. Though I'm not a programmer-code junkie, so I've been depending on others to extract the information from the code. After I get off work today I'll do an empirical comparison with a Skiff. Yeah, it's sometimes hard to get ones head around the differences between acceleration and speed. It is possible for a ship to have a higher acceleration but lower top speed, and visa versa. So the fact that a Cruiser is slower than the Dreadnought comes from their top speed numbers and not these acceleration values, though the Cruiser also has a smaller acceleration (0.6 vs 0.86). I'll play with it and see which (decimal or ratio) looks better - the decimal would solve the expression of units problem (no frame(s)). Heck, we could even give the number of frames required to reach the top speed - but maybe that's a little overboard. Again, I'll see if I can do some empirical comparisons to confirm these numbers later this evening.
- As for the weapon damage, range, speed info, I'd much rather keep that in the sections of the article to keep from bloating this infobox - the information is also in the List of weapons page, which is linked to from the footer, and we could easily link to the appropriate section in the articles from within the footer. Given the strange combat physics and way projectile velocity is calculated, I'd rather not include the range or speed information, because I know that someone will come along and start arguing that the range is different when firing forward/backwards...and I really going through that argument so many times. But even without that, the strange physics makes those numbers less useful imho. Anyways, I'll try and get to some of this and change over in a few hours after I get off work (I probably shouldn't be posting even now, but all I'm doing is taking some preliminary data and I've nothing else to do while I wait :-/). --Fyzixfighter 23:52, 11 June 2007 (CEST)
- UPDATE: Just did a quick, super-melee comparison of a skiff and a scout. The scout turns about once for every two rotations of the skiff, so I think the TURN_WAIT=1 is correct for the scout, assuming the skiff's is 0. --Fyzixfighter 01:56, 12 June 2007 (CEST)
Well, might as well start a new section. Alright, so I changed the old shipbox over to the footer design, and fixed those pages on which it was currently being used. I think I got most of the data correct, but it's late and so I might have mis-keyed something. I tried to empirically confirm the energy costs, and some of the turn rates. --Fyzixfighter 08:23, 12 June 2007 (CEST)
- Ah, the Shofixti's TURN_WAIT was 1. I was looking at the Pkunk Fury instead of the Scout... Typical.
- As to acceleration/speed - yes, I knew those things, the example wasn't the best one - but slight acceleration differences really also matter in Super Melee, since the ships could spawn near each other and the speed that could be immediately achieved would be more important than the speed that will be reached after a certain amount of time. Also, ships with a greater acceleration (it doesn't matter whether this is because THRUST_WAIT is small or because THRUST_INCREMENT is large) are more adept at using gravity whips, since the amount of time a ship can spend in a gravity well while thrusting is limited, and it is important to be able to capitalize on that short interval (in which your maximum speed is greater), so comparison between the various acceleration values suddenly becomes much more important.
- Regarding weapon range and speed - I agree, it's too irregular (and, considering that maybe SCTrue3 will be released at some point in the future, and that its ships could contain even more irregularities, linking to the relevant sections works best).
- So, for short, I like the new footer; the only touch I'd make would be to make "frame" link to a game mechanics page containing the FPS; I'd make a simple "frame rate" page for now, which will be integrated in a larger game mechanics page I'm planning to create in the future. Valaggar 12:48, 12 June 2007 (CEST)
- Also, the fire rates of the primary and secondary should be added too. Valaggar 16:10, 12 June 2007 (CEST)
- I'll see what I can do with adding in the firing rates - it might take a bit of re-engineering the layout, but I think it's tenable. My only qualm with the links to explanations of the various units is with the link to world units. World units is a measurement of distance, which should appear in the max speed but not in the acceleration as we have it now. Comparing it to units we know and love, acceleration can be given in units of m/s^2 or (m/s)/s, and what we have (units/frame) is analogous to the latter, ie units of speed per unit time. So the acceleration isn't in world units per frame, but in speed units per frame. I would hazard a guess that speed is probably measured in something like world units per frame, but I don't what the scale factor would be - max speed in world units per frame being scale*Max_Speed. Alternatively, we could change the acceleration units to world units/frames^2, but again only if we know what the scale factor is for going from max speed to world units/frame. --Fyzixfighter 19:46, 12 June 2007 (CEST)
- Speed is measured in world units per frame, yes. Valaggar 20:43, 12 June 2007 (CEST)
- So there's not scale factor to go from the max_speed value to world units/frame? That is, max_speed is already in the correct units? --Fyzixfighter 21:21, 12 June 2007 (CEST)
- Yes, it is. Valaggar 11:08, 13 June 2007 (CEST)
copyright issue[edit]
I just noticed that someone brought up a related topic over on the forums[1], which gives us the creators of these videos (http://www.pcagraphics.com/). I don't know if a "fair use" argument is valid or is compatible with the creative commons license we use, though I'm sure someone could email them and ask them about it. In the mean time, it might be a good idea to remove the video snapshots from the pages until we get a definite answer. --Fyzixfighter 08:12, 23 June 2007 (CEST)
- Well, since there is no new information, I think that it's safer and more ethical to use images that we know are not copyright infringements. I think the *icon.1 images would work the best. Now that I have brief moment of spare time, I'm going to go ahead and implement the change. --Fyzixfighter 03:17, 31 July 2007 (CEST)
- Looks and sounds neat and nice to me. Well done. Valaggar 15:44, 2 August 2007 (CEST)


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How it plays:
~Compact, solid hit
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Tip: 7 layered, vacuum sealed, 13mm proprietary boar skin tip
Ferrule: 1" Fiber linen ferrule
Shaft: 29" hard rock maple, 10 - 12" pro taper, brass insert
Collar: Black composite with a thin silver ring
Joint: Stainless steel 5/16 18 pin
Forearm: Black with white and zebrawood checkered graphic design
Wrap: White stained Maple handle
Sleeve:Black with white and zebrawood checkered graphic design
Bumper: Black rubber
Additional Information:

subset: commoncrawl


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Tresca Weinstein, editor - Yoga Bulletin of the Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association (November 15, 2008)
When Bhavani sang "Prayer to the Ocean of Life" at the 2007 KYTA conference, KYTA members repeatedly requested that she record this powerful, heart-warming song. On her new CD, Bhavani fulfills that request and adds a dozen more uplifting and soul-searching songs in which her rich voice glows against a tapestry of musical accompaniment by Linda Worster, David Grover, Mark Kelso, and others.
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"Bhavani's clear, warm voice touches your soul, the lyrics fill your heart with joy and hope, and the combination transports you to places of inexplicable beauty."
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5 out of 5 stars! Music to Stir your Soul For accompaniment to Yoga practice or for easy listening while doing other activities, the deeply passionate and moving voice of Bhavani adds a magnitude of inspiration to whatever you are doing. Not only can you sing along to the beautiful lyrics as you hear the gorgeous sounds of the accompanying musicians, but you can FEEL the depth of passion and emotion of Bhavani's crystal-clear voice deep in your soul. The more you listen, the more you feel. A definite must-have for Yoga practitioners who want to add another level of beauty to their experience and for teachers who want to share that beauty with others.


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Jim began fishing the lakes and rivers of Western New York at a very young age. He spent his time on the lakes and rivers of Western New York. Starting with a 16' runabout and gradually working his way up over the years to a 31' fully rigged charter/tournament boat. The fun of fishing as a child started and fueled the obsession as an adult.
Owner of Dream Catcher Sportfishing and operator of the 31' Tiara, "Dream Catcher", Jim is a US Coast Guard Master Captain. Predominately he spends the spring time fishing for salmon and trout on Lake Ontario and summer/fall for walleye on Lake Erie chartering and tournament fishing. To see more about Jim and Dream Catcher Sportfishing, visit the website.
The tournament team participates in all the major walleye tournaments in the Eastern Basin of Lake Erie. A solid team consisting of Jim Steel, Diane Steel, Rich Fliss and Jeff Whipple have been fishing together for the past several years. They are proud that their teamwork and dedication has consistently put them in the top of the field. The team's recent highlights include finishing with 2nd heaviest fish and 3rd place overall in the 2016 Sunset Bay Shootout, 2ndheaviest fish and 6th place overall in the 2015 Sunset Bay Shootout and winning the Amara-Can tournament in 2012.
Conducting many seminars at fishing clubs and outdoor shows as well as representing manufacturers at dealer shows and events gives Jim the ability to share his knowledge and experience as well as promote techniques and products to educate others to increase their success.
In 2012, Jim and his wife/fishing partner, Diane, took their passion for the outdoors to a new level creating Innovative Outdoors. Their business focuses on promoting fishing and hunting and products that have been personally tested and proven. Shop the online store.
The Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge tournament was a new addition to the tournament series in 2016. This year it will take place on Saturday, August 25, 2018 in Dunkirk, NY. Teams will consist of 2 – 5 anglers and can fish all waters of Lake Erie. This year the field will be limited to 65 boats. Each team will be limited to a maximum of 9 rods/reels and will weigh in up to 6 walleyes. The teams from NY, PA, OH and Canada that have participated in this event has made it a great success. For more information or to register, visit the website or stop by the Innovative Outdoors booth. Anyone registered by March 31, 2018 will be entered in a drawing for a refund of their entry fee.
In 2017, Innovative Outdoors partnered with WNY Heroes to organize a veterans fishing day as part of their Operation B.O.O.T.S. program. The event took place in Dunkirk, NY. A dozen charter captains donated their services to take over 30 veterans fishing. There was a friendly completion amongst the veterans, each of them weighing in one walleye. The day concluded with a luncheon at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club. Plans are in place to make this an annual event.


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The 5* Grand Prix event returns to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center this week with the $380,000 Douglas Elliman Grand Prix CSI5* presented by the Bainbridge Companies. Tune in from anywhere in the world at 7 pm on Saturday, March 11th!
Click here for the order of go.
The photo below will swap out for the live feed a few minutes before the class begins.
Category: Live Streams


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As far as deals and offers:
Orders ship free starting at a $50 minimum. Otherwise ground shipping is $5 which is hands down one of the best deals around! They are also running a promotion for black history month (see below).
If you are a reader and you know of a black owned business you'd like featured on Hypnotic Glamour, please leave a comment below. If you are a black owned business and would like to be featured on this site, please email:email@example.com with BOBS in the subject line.
Also, if you have not already, please subscribe to Hypnotic Glamour by email by clicking here. This way, you will never miss a post!


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- This event has passed.
Portsmouth Square Improvement Project Meeting #2
July 13, 2017 @ 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Event Navigation
Join us to share your vision and thoughts on the Portsmouth Square Improvement Project. Bring your ideas and imagination to Workshop #2, and let's all work together to make the park better!
This workshop will have a presentation at the beginning, followed by an open-house format for feedback. You are welcome to attend for all or any portion of the workshop as
works for your schedule.
Community Workshop #2
July 13, 2017
Afternoon Session: 4:00 – 7:00 pm
City College of San Francisco – Chinatown Campus
808 Kearny Street
4th Floor Community Room #402
For more information visit
or contact:
Jackie Ho – Project Manager
Phone: (415) 581-2541
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Got old photos? Please bring yours so we can scan and archive them in the workshops.


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Guests are invited to relax around 2 large, sparkling pools with a deck and terrace as well as enjoy the hotel's health club.
Smoking and wheelchair accessible rooms are available on request.
Rates include Breakfast. Kids under 18 stay and eat breakfast free.


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Protein-Packed Granola Bars
3/4 cup cooked quinoa or oat groats (about 1/4 cup dry, before cooking) Bowl 1:
2/3 cup no-dairy milk
2/3 cup nut butter (I used a combination of almond and cashew butter)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (or a slightly lesser amount of agave nectar or other liquid sweetener)
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla or almond extract Bowl 2:
1-3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup soy protein powder or soy flour (or other high-protein/nutritious flour)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
cinnamon, to taste (optional) 3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 to 1 cup raisins, dried cranberries, or other mix-ins
1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
These granola/cereal bars are great paired with some fruit for a quick-yet-satisfying breakfast, and they also make a super-nutritious snack any time of the day. They freeze well, too, so You can make a double batch and have lots of bars ready for a backpacking trip or a couple weeks' worth of busy, grab-n-go meals.
1. Grain: Rinse quinoa or oat groats in a mesh strainer; set aside. In a pot, add water in an amount that is about twice the volume of the dry grains. Bring water to a boil, then add the rinsed/drained grains. Turn the burner to low and let it simmer with the lid on for 10 to 20 minutes. You want fully cooked grains, but not a mushy porridge, so drain off any excess liquid if necessary. (You could also use some leftover cooked oatmeal (thick) or quinoa if You have it already.)
2. Preheat Your oven to 325 degrees F.
3. Bowl 1: In one bowl mix together non-dairy milk, nut butter, sugar, vegetable oil, molasses, and extract. It may help to heat up the nut butter to make it easier to blend.
4: Bowl 2: Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl (oats, pastry flour, protein powder, wheat germ, flax seed, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon). Mix in with the wet ingredients. Fold in cooked quinoa, almonds, raisins, and sunflower seeds.
5. Spoon into an oiled 9" x 9" baking pan, and press down uniformly (having wet hands makes this easier). Bake for 25 to 35 minutes. Cut into 12 equal bars, let cool, and enjoy anytime!
[u]Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar Variation[/u]:Use peanut butter for the nut butter, chopped peanuts in place of the seeds, and replace 3 to 4 tablespoons of flour with cocoa or carob powder, and use about 2/3 cup of chocolate chips for the mix-ins... This makes an amazingly decadent Chocolate-PB snack bar that's just as suitable for dessert as it is for an energy boost on the hiking trail.
Source of recipe: Further experimentation with my "Granola Bars Fit for a Wench"
Made these to bring on a little backpacking trip in Vermont. They were a tad crumbly with all the gorp ingredients packed in there and were very yummy! This and the trail mix we made was the tastiest food we ate :) made it with soy milk/ peanut butter/ raisins/ and some non-soy vanilla protein powder


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Yesterday, CBR's Rich Johnston reported that Virgin Comics, the New York based publisher founded by Sir Richard Branson and India-based comics publisher Gotham Entertainment, has shut down its New York operations. While calls to the publisher were not returned, today Virgin offered the following statement concerning their future operations.
NEW YORK, NY, August 26, 2008 " Virgin Comics announced today that it will be reorganizing its operations and closing its New York office to consolidate in an LA base.
The Company is currently working with management to restructure the business and will release its future plans in the next few weeks.
Sharad Devarajan, CEO, said, "We remain excited about the business and partnerships we have built through Virgin Comics and are working towards a restructuring that properly takes the business forward. The decision to scale down the New York operations and concentrate on core activities is due to the current macro-economic downturn and is in no way a reflection on the dedicated and valuable employees we have had the privilege to work with.â€
Many questions still remain unanswered at the moment, including the status of Grant Morrison's "MBX†Webisodes announced at New York Comic-Con, or upcoming plans for a new universe of super-heroes to be created by Stan Lee announced just last month at Comic-Con International in San Diego.


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1,339 posts,
739 followers
following 34
Nov 2011 Lancashire Website
Loving all things horror, photography, cake, pizza, zombies, freddy krueger, xbox, 80's films, geekiness, brownies, and other awesome stuff :)
view all » Latest Cakes
view all » Latest Blogs
Quick and easy gold coins/sequins
Much quicker than hand cutting little fondant circles!
One Direction Cupcake Toppers
My first Video Tutorial! Will try not to get a shadow in the next one XD ha ha One Direction Cupcakes
Quick Owl Cupcake Toppers using only a circle!
Now I must apologize, this was a very last minute decision to make a tutorial as I was working. So the pictures arent the best but I hope they help someone! Ive been needing to make another tutorial for so long, especially when my page hit...
27 Comments
very cool cake!! great job as always! x
:D xxxx
Aww Tracey, it's adorable xxx
Awesome and love your new signature; )
Congratulations on cake decorator of the week!! your cakes are ALL amazing, perfect and beautiful!! so deserved!! congratulations again!! :-)
Congrats on decorator of the week, so totally deserved :)
Tracey…. So excited to see you are decorator of the week!!! YAY…. XXX
Congrats on being the Decorator of the Week… Truly well deserved!!
Congratulations on being Cake Decorator of the Week!! So well deserved!!! xxx
Congrats on Cake Decorator of the Week – -about time!!! Love your work, always so flawless :)
thank-you guys!! xxx
Congrats on Cake Decorator of the Week – have always loved your style! Long overdue =D
Congratulations for being decorator of the week Tracey :) so well deserved :) love all your gorgeous cakes xx
Congratulations on being cake decorator of the week, Your cakes are awesome and so well deserved


text: Gravity Vault Indoor Rock Gyms - PoughkeepsieFrom party walls with fun shapes to steep boulder problems & pumpy lead routes, there's something fun and challenging for everyone! Open seven days a week, the Gravity Vault Poughkeepsie prides itself on being a safe, clean, well-lit facility. Our friendly, knowledgeable and energetic staff members will help you experience indoor climbing at its highest during our staff led programs or open climb times for all ages, ability levels and experience. Come check us out today! 6 Neptune Road Poughkeepsie , NY , 12601 Phone: 845 462 1920 41° 38' 38.454" N, 73° 55' 20.046" W See map: Google Maps Apple Ridge Orchards Cross County Shopping Center Down to Earth Ossining Farmers Market Dressel Farms Eat This Bakery & Gifts Farmers and Artisans Market of Washingtonville Fishkill Farms German American Social Club Hahn Farm, Salt Point, NY House Rules Cafe Hudson Valley Mall Jefferson Valley Mall- NY Kona Ice of Pike County Lucky Strike West Nyack Madison Square Garden Montgomery Place Orchards, Red Hook, NY Regal Galleria Mall Stadium 16 Rivertown Public Market The Meadowbrook- New Windsor, NY The Tavern at Beekman Arms Wilklow Orchards Wright Family Farm


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Hotel: Langham Place Hotel 朗豪酒店
Address: 555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Telephone: (852) 3552 3388
Telephone: (852) 3552 3388
Welcome to Hong Kong Travel Blog Hotel Guide! Our hotel guide share facts and photos of great hotels. We go beyond the hotel rooms, we use a FLAG approach to present hotels by their Features, Location, Attractions and Gossips. Together with the main stream review and critics, we'd hope you can build a 360 degrees perspective of your desired hotel. Feel free to utilize our hotel guide before you make your hotel reservations!


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These are a type of homemade pasta, just like the Italians have gnocchi, in Crete we have these!
- 1 medium rooster cut into 8 pieces
- 2 large onions cut finely
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups of dry white wine
- salt
- pepper
- 5-10 all spice grains
- 6 ripe tomatoes without seeds, grated finely
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp honey
Pour the olive oil in a deep pan and fry the rooster until golden on all sides. Remove the pieces into a bowl and saute the onions for a couple of minutes.
Add the rooster back into the pan making sure you add all its juices as well! Bring to the boil and add your wine.
Then, add the rest of the ingredients and once its reached the boiling point, lower the heat down to 3 (with your oven being from 1 – 9) cover it with a lid and simmer for an hour or until your meat has cooked through!
Serve with the traditional pasta or with fried potatoes and grated cheese! The choice is yours!
You can find this pasta only in Crete but I have found a website which offers the recipe! It is in Greek, but it can be translated to English too! http://cretangastronomy.blogspot.gr/2011/04/blog-post.html


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text: Ana finished her B.A. in Psychology at Florida International University with a focus on Applied Behavior Analysis. She plans to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She did her senior internship at Best Buddies and had the opportunity of working with kids with Down syndrome. She has three years of experience working with kids with ADD, ADHD, ASD, and depression. Ana is currently doing her masters studies in Neuropsychology and hopes to understand mental illnesses and other diagnosis to better understand the clients she works with. Ana is very happy to be part of the PBS team and shows passion when working, helping, and making a difference with the children and family.


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The Mykonos Visus watch brings a luxurious and interesting feel to your wrist than most analog watches. This watch provides an unconventional approach to the standard two-hands format, and features 'concentric circles' that accent the rotating face. This face clock design resembles a target concept with a circular pattern to tell time.
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The Mykonos Visus Watch Tells Time in a Circular Clock Face
Michael Nieto — December 1, 2013 — Luxury
References: theawesomer & geeky-gadgets


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20-Oct-2017 00:23
It takes a brave soul to challenge him when he's defending his rights and his dignity.
Some Leos mellow with age, but the lion never really lowers his proud head. As for the physical attributes of this Sun sign, just look around for people who resemble a lion or a lioness, with a mane of hair that sweeps back off the face, and a deceptively lazy look.
This love of teaching is why so many Leos end up as educators, politicians and psychiatrists.
The exasperating thing is that they're quite good at rationalizing things and smoothing out the wrinkles in your life.
I really don't know whether we peasants do this in imitation of the royal manner of the Leo we're facing or to gather courage for a possible lecture, for they do love to give free advice.
With the recent Rune Scape 3 BETA release Swift Kit also needed to evolve in order to support the latest HTML5 technology.
But his high color isn't caused by introversion or self-effacing timidity. Take something away from him which he believes is rightfully his, give him orders and show him no respect.


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November is here and brings along chilly mornings and cold evenings.The woolens are still not out in their entirety, but a thin shawl is the order of the day.Getting out of the cosiness of the bed in the mornings is becoming an increasingly difficult exercise.Day's first cup of tea loses its heat fast and I have to settle for a second one in quick succession ! I sit cosily wrapped in the warmth of my shawl, fingers clasped firmly around the tea mug and as I look out into the view from my cosy little balcony, the mind wanders off to winter mornings decades ago when I was a schoolgirl in Jammu.
Suddenly Haauu comes back to life in my vision in the flashback. Haauu was a thin, small woman, around fifty years of age.She was our domestic help.Years of hard work and toil had wrinkled her face, although her hair was still jet black, not a single grey strand there.She came originally from Bilaspur, miles and miles away from Jammu.Her husband had left her and their three sons for another woman years ago.
Devastated and left alone to fend for herself and her children, Haauu left the shame and poverty of her village one fine day and came looking for better prospects in Jammu, where many of her village folk did small and menial jobs.
Ours was many of the households that Haauu did domestic chores in.Early morning tea with us after finishing her work was almost a daily ritual.And many a winter mornings, she would regale me with stories about her ' des ' (village) in a strange sort of dialect which I didn't understand much.Neither did she understand my language much, yet, quite strangely, everything got communicated and understood. To everything that I said, she would nod her head and with a big smile, say 'haauu' (yes !). That was how we started calling her Haauu ! Her original name was Phoolbai.
Haauu told me stories about the river ' Mahanandi '(Mahanadi) flowing by her village and menacing tales of the river's fury during the rainy season. She told me stories about her husband and his family. Her poor parents had married her off when she was a little girl.And as she would drift off in her mind to those blissful early days of her wedded life, her eyes would gleam and the smile on her face would widen a hundred miles.Haauu's husband was a much older man,yet she loved and served him wholeheartedly till he dumped her for another much younger woman.The glint in her eyes would now get clouded by the shadows of sorrow and mouthing choicest abuses against her husband, she would bravely fight her tears back.
Haauu always wore a thin saree tied a few inches above the ankles and wrapped just a torn shawl around her slender shoulders even in the harshest of winter months.She wore no socks, or rather, could not afford a new pair.I did once give her an old pair of mine, but she never wore them herself. Ever the sacrificing, suffering Indian woman, she gave them to her youngest son.She wanted him to study and become a babu when he grew up.She kept him away from the sweat and toil that she and her other two sons endlessly went through.She had high hopes from the youngest and was terribly heartbroken when she discovered that her 'bitwa' had fallen in bad company and had taken to excessive smoking.
I saw her last during one of my trips back home.She had grown further old and I could see a few silver strands also in her hair , but her smile was as charming and disarming as ever.Bitwa was a fully grown man now and yes, he could not become a babu.
Very recently, I went to Chhattisgarh for a pre-election opinion poll and as our flight hovered above the jungles and villages of the young state, I thought about Haauu and her village and the fury of Mahanadi.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
November is here and brings along chilly mornings and cold evenings.The woolens are still not out in their entirety, but a thin shawl is the order of the day.Getting out of the cosiness of the bed in the mornings is becoming an increasingly difficult exercise.Day's first cup of tea loses its heat fast and I have to settle for a second one in quick succession ! I sit cosily wrapped in the warmth of my shawl, fingers clasped firmly around the tea mug and as I look out into the view from my cosy little balcony, the mind wanders off to winter mornings decades ago when I was a schoolgirl in Jammu.
Friday, September 26, 2008
The admiration for Dev Saab dates back to my childhood days and it runs deep in my family. All the women in my family, including my mother and my late maternal grandmother have been diehard and devoted fans of Dev Anand. We have all smiled, laughed, sung, wept and cried with the evergreen and ever youthful charmer. We absolutely loved his carefree, casual and very chic style. He always looked so natural and convincing in all the characters that he played. My favourite being his army officer act in the 60s classic Hum Dono, the suave Delhi architect bit in his home production Tere Ghar Ke Saamne and the hippie act in the 70s blockbuster Hare Rama Hare Krishna. He has always looked strikingly handsome, yet very, very real and believable. I think his appeal lied in his easy and modern style. Dev Saab never relied on unnecessary melodrama, because of which his charisma and appeal cuts across all age groups.
And that energy and zest for life and most importantly, for his craft of filmmaking is so infectious and inspiring. He continues to make films without a break Even today, at eighty five, a new project excites him as much as it used to when he was a rank newcomer way back in the nineteen forties. Dev Anand doesn't like to rest on past laurels. He never looks back. In his own words, "The need to keep learning and keep moving, is the need to live."
He also happens to be an incorrigible romantic. Here's another quote from the romantic star," I think life should be romantic, not necessarily in terms of lovemaking, or a love affair but if you are reading or writing a beautiful line, it is romantic, if you are wearing a beautiful neck tie, it is romantic, your speaking is romantic."
Such beautiful words. I have often drunk in and taken inspiration from these words.
Let me share with you a very interesting anecdote. Five years back, sometime in 2003, I was anchoring an early morning show with a fellow anchor. The show carried a story on Dev Anand who had been conferred some award. Seeing the story, I cribbed to my colleague that inspite of being one of Bollywood's greatest stars and a living legend, it was highly regretful and sad that Dev Saab had yet not been awarded Indian Film Industry's greatest honor, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. There was anger and hurt in my voice as I wondered aloud to my colleague as to whether the authorities concerned had turned blind to the fact that the living legend was the most deserving candidate for the prestigious award. Later that night, as I was preparing to hit the sack, I got a call from my colleague and what ensued henceforth was simply unbelievable.
"Sheetal, did you hear the announcement on TV?"
"Which announcement?"
"Arre bhai, it has just been announced that Dev Anand will be awarded this year's Dadasaheb Phalke Award.Tumhari shikayat door kar di gayi hai ", she joked.
Stunned and shocked, I turned on the TV only to find that the news was actually true!
There was more to come in the next few days. In town to receive the award, I actually got a chance to interview my childhood and adulthood crush. I interviewed the superstar in one of capital's swanky hotels. I was nervous before the shoot and Dev Saab made me feel completely at ease as soon as he entered the lobby.
"Hello, Sheetal. That's a lovely, vibrant colour that you are wearing," he remarked in his inimitable style with a broad smile and a warm handshake.
This opening remark from the century's greatest star relaxed me completely and I opened up instantly. Of the many things that he said during the course of the interview, the one that I remember very clearly was the stress and importance that he laid on having one's own, distinct style.
"I like to wear things that none else has. Everything that I have on me, this watch, or this muffler, or even these loose pants should speak of my individual taste and choice. The way I walk, or speak, or react, is my individual, original style. It is very important to be original. Being one's own self is being original. You become a role model only if you have originality in your style."
So, that was the master's mantra straight from his mouth.
Signing off with these lines from a very famous song from Dev Anand's film Hum Dono, which sums up his personality and has provided inspiration to many -
"Main Zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya,
Har fiqr ki dhuyein mein udata chala gaya,"
P.S. - Many thanks to Sagarji for the link to his site and to Yunus Sahab for Kabban Mirza's pictures.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
I was sitting in the make-up room getting ready for my show. My eyes were closed as I tried to soak in the beautiful melody of that dreamy composition from the Hindi film ,Razia Sultan. AAYI ZANJEER KI JHANKAAR KHUDA KHAIR KARE, DIL HUA KISKA GIRAFTAAR KHUDA KHAIR KARE. The song was courtesy our hairstylist, who has a fantastic collection of music on his cell phone and often entertains us with some number or the other. Kabban Mirza's unique voice, Jan Nissar Akhtar's soulful poetry and Khaiyyam's exemplary music were creating a magical sort of aura in the room and we all hummed and sang along. It was a moment of sheer bliss and harmony.
The trance like state, however, was soon shattered by Piya's voice. ' Sheetal, what is wrong with you? What crap are you listening ? And what a weird voice ! Is that some twelfth century song or what? ' I was horrified and shocked. How could somebody be not knowing the famous Khaiyyam composition and most importantly, how could one be so insensitive to a musical masterpiece? But then, one couldn't really blame Piya , for this vivacious, young colleague of mine probably must have been in her diapers when Khaiyyam composed the famous song. ' Piya, that's a very, very famous composition by one of Indian film industry's best known music directors. Ask your mother. I am sure, she would have heard it,' I tried reasoning it out with her.
' C'mon, give me a break. My mother doesn't listen to such behenji stuff. Her choice is very hip.' ' Hip, as in? Rock, Pop, hip hop, etc. ? ' ' Of course, She listens to Beatles, Boney-M and all those 70s and 80s bands .' ' And so do I. But, I also love my Khaiyyams and Mehdi Hassans and C.Ramchandras.' ' Now, who are all these folks ? '
Our conversation ended there, as I had to rush for my show. But it set me thinking . It was actually very unsettling for me that someone could be so discriminating of music, a language which is so pure and universal. Atleast I have grown up believing that. I have always been fascinated, charged, touched, stirred, encouraged and thrilled by music. It is something that gives an instant boost to the energy levels. My love for music of all kinds dates back to the days when I was just a toddler. My parents tell me that I used to try singing the famous song of the late 70s , KABHI KABHI MERE DIL MEIN KHYAAL AATA HAI in my baby voice. We grew up listening to the wonderful collection of music that my parents had, which ranged from Jagjit–Chitra ghazals to the 60s and 70s English bands of Beatles and Carpenters to the 50s Geeta Dutt and Hemant Kumar melodies, among others.
We never discriminated one form or genre of music from another. The sitar and guitar fusion of the Beatles' NORWEGIAN WOODS stirred me as much as the soft, lilting Talat Mehmood song MAIN DIL HOON IK ARMAAN BHARA,TU AAKE MUJHE PEHCHAAN ZARA. The famous American rocker Neil Diamonds' KENTUCKY WOMAN, BROOKLYN ROADS and PLAY ME touched my soul as much as Shahenshah–e-Ghazal Mehdi Hassan's AAYE KUCHH ABR KUCHH SHARAAB AAYE and DUNIYA KISI KE PYAAR MEIN JANNAT SE KAM NAHIN. The lively Mohammad Rafi composition of MAIN ZINDAGI KA SAATH NIBHATA CHALA GAYA inspired me as much as the carefree Frank Sinatra melody of MY WAY. Beatles, Eagles, Carpenters, Jim Reeves, Frank Sinatra, ABBA and Marc Anthony were as much the norm of the day as Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mehmood, Mohammad Rafi, Bhupendra, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mehdi Hassan and Chitra (the famous South Indian singer).
My days would begin and end with music। They still do. Only the list of favourites has expanded further. It now also includes the likes of Natalie Imbruglia, Celine Dion, John Mayer, James Blunt, Shreya Ghoshal, Mohit Chauhan, Sona Mohapatra, Rabbi Shergill, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Shantanu Moitra and the trio of Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. I sometimes feel I am a little biased towards music. I may not exactlylove every second melody that I hear, but somehow, I can never bring myself to criticise a composition outrightly. I like to embrace music in all its forms, hues and genres. And wherever I travel, within oroutside the country, a large chunk of my shopping includes the music of the place! To me, music is the essence of life, the strongest driving as well as calming force. It is sacred, it isplayful and it is meditative. And therefore, I would like to sign off with the famous Carpenters'melody which is my musical anthem for all times – Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud, sing out strong
Sing of good things, not bad
Sing of happy, not sad
Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not good enough
For anyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song
Sunday, September 14, 2008
I am stunned, I am speechless and I am totally and completely wonderstruck. I am also deeply troubled and distressed at the same time.The Delhi serial blasts, inspite of weeks and months of warning by intelligence agencies trigger off the last two sentiments and an out an out exceptional performance by that living legend of Indian film industry, Amitabh Bachchan inspires the previous three emotions. It was my day off and I was in the throes of a deeply intellectual and artistic high as I sat watching Rituparno Ghosh's much talked about English film, THE LAST LEAR in one of NCR's plush cineplexes when a friend informed me of the serial blasts that had rocked the national capital. The news was tremendously unsettling, not shocking though, for everyone knew that Delhi was next on target after Bangalore and Ahmedabad. The security agencies had already warned of the notorious Indian Mujahideen's Operation BAD(Bangalore ,Ahmedabad and Delhi) and seeing and knowing the inability of the state machinery to prevent such attacks so far, one feared secretly all this while for Delhi. I wanted to get out of the hall immediately to get the latest brief on the tragedy, but something stopped me from doing so. Was it resilience, stoicism or worse still, plain indifference towards a happening, which has fast become a rule than an exception in this country? Or was it anger and a sense of acute helplessness at the nation being hit again that I was stubbornly trying not to acknowledge? I tried to escape the unease and starkness of the harsh reality of the moment by deciding to carry on with the show. It wasn't long before my troubled thought process began taking refuge in the warmth of another awe inspiring performance by the genius called Amitabh Bachchan..I was now all focus and concentration on Bachchan's exceptional portrayal of the insanely obsessisve and idiosyncratic mannerism of the theatre loving and cinema despising protagonist of the film, Harish Mishra, who as an aging stage actor showed
little respect or tolerance for anyone not acquainted with the literary genius of William Shakespeare. And as I watched with absolute wonder that extremely theatrical moment in the film when Amitabh's character breaks into a Prospero soliloquy from theShakespearean play " The Tempest", I couldn't but stop myself from marvelling at the cinematic genius of the master. There was a stubbornness in his tone and tenor, a resolve not to falter and always be perfect, the best.This incidentally is the same streak of stubbornness that the actor has displayed in his personal life as well by making a conscious and adamant effort to not give in to the temptation of falsely holding on to his superhero onscreen persona in real life. And one can't but empathise and sympathise with the man's need and fierce attempt to lead a normal, ordinary life, outside the arc lights. .After having been constantly and unsparingly dogged and courted by controversy, he now refuses to retaliate or react. He apologises for no fault of his, maintains stoic silence over the meanest of provocations and inspite of the mental trauma and pressure of constant public, political and media censure, consistently and constantly delivers one powerhouse performance after another. His devotion to his art is undying and his mastery over his craft is unquestionable. He lives, breathes and embodies cinema . And that is perhaps where all that strength and resolve to live a common man's life comes from. Tell me how many superstars have the courage to bear criticism for not standing up and giving in to the tomfooleries of a wannabe politician hell bent on using the famous name to further his political interests ? No one but Amitabh Bachchan . And this refusal to stand up against provocation is not because of cowardice. It is a desperate attempt by a man to separate reel from real, to keep the actor and the person apart.He doesn't believe in false proclamations of strength. And that is not to say that he is meek. It is just that like any other citizen of this country, very much like you and me, he seems to have acquired a certain indifference and resilience to circumstantial adversity. Life has given him everything, name, acclaim, money and stupendous success. What it has denied him is the freedom of being an ordinary man.And that is what he desperately and adamantly wants to and attempts to hold on to.His detractors may deny him the liberation of living an ordinary life, but Amitabh Bachchan just like his character of Harish Mishra in THE LAST LEAR is an exceptional man, insanely obsessive and possessive of his conviction, belief and vision. And no amount of provocation or pressurising would deter him from that.
After two hours of the show, I was back once againto the naked reality of death and devastation that had hit the capital.And even as news channels splashed pictures of the blast sites and the victims of the tragedy, there was business as usual on the roads.Was it resilience, stoicism, helplessness or plain indifference, the troubling question invaded my mind again. Only that there was no Last Lear to take refuge in this time.
Friday, September 5, 2008
The pen was quiet and the mind was numb for a while. It is coming back to life, slowly though. I was wondering whether I should continue with Musharraf's name in my series
on Pakistan .I thought a good deal over it and finally decided to continue with it, for although closed now, Musharraf remains a powerful and for reasons both good and bad, an unforgettable chapter in Pakistan's political history. Another reason being that all my trips to that country were made during the former President's tenure.
The past few months have been extremely trying and turbulent for both India and Pakistan. The tremors of political
uncertainity continue to afflict Pakistan, with frequent incidents of terror attacks adding to the turmoil . And in India, in the wake of the devastating floods in Bihar , one can hardly heave a sigh of relief or rejoice over the final settlement of Amarnath land dispute in Jammu and Kashmir and the normalising of situation there.But alongside the suffering and misery , goes the festivity and celebration of the holy month of Ramzan and the pious days of Ganeshotsava . And as thousands and thousands of devotees on both sides of the border surrender to the power of the almighty and pray for peace and happiness, I am reminded of that extremely spiritual experience that I had during one of my trips to Pakistan.
I was in Islamabad to cover another round of peace talks between the two countries.After two days of hectic parleys, the talks had concluded successfully and we finally had some time for ourselves after the mad rush that covering Indo-Pak talks always is. We, in the Indian contingent decided to utilize the time in hand by making a trip to the ancient Indian, and now Pakistani city of Takshashila. Takshashila is located about 35 kms to the west of Islamabad. The locals pronounced the name quite funnily as Taxla (Tax as in income tax and La as in Lahore) and I couldn't stop myself from chuckling every time someone casually spoke of T-A-X-L-A ! We were supposed to leave in the afternoon and I chose to laze in my hotel room till then. I was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of visiting one of the most important Vedic and Buddhist centres of learning in ancient India.And over several cups of hot, steaming tea, I dreamt of the sights and sounds of the centre that once had Chanakya as one of its teachers.The chain of my thoughts transported me thousands of years back in history to the reign of the Mauryas and the great emperor Ashoka , during whose reign Takshashila became a great Buddhist centre of learning.
My reverie was soon broken by the ringing of the door bell. It was the housekeeping guy. He asked for my permission to bring something that he very earnestly wanted me to see. I was puzzled as to what was it that a stranger so desperately wanted to show me. Very reluctantly, I told him to get the stuff, or whatever that was. He reappeared shortly with a small object, about three and a half inches long wrapped very neatly in plain paper.He told me that a guest who had stayed in the same room as me about three years back, had forgotten it in one of the drawers of the cupboard. He found it while cleaning the room after the guest's departure . And since it was not of any use to him , he had kept it safely so that it could be given to the appropriate person. When I asked him as to how could he conclude that I was the right person, he just smiled and left.I stared and stared at the object as it lay wrapped in my hand. I was apprehensive and scared to open it. And after several minutes of tense thinking, I decided to unwrap it. What unfolded in front of me was something that stunned me completely. It was a small clay statue of Buddha. I was
too touched to even react or talk about it. Later in the day we went to Takshashila. The site of the renowned university was all ruins now, although the relics and remains of the golden era had been carefully preserved in a huge museum. It was a great spiritual and intellectual high for all of us and we returned with pleasant memories of a walk back into time. And yes, the clay Buddha travelled back to India with me.It today occupies the pride of place in my little temple at home.
Monday, August 25, 2008
What is the basis of any movement ? A shared sense of identity, the foundation of which could be cultural, regional, linguistic or traditional commonality. And if one talks of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir in that context, or the ' Kashmir Movement' as the separatists term it, one finds a lot of disinformation ,or rather, lack of information all around. The separatists in Kashmir ( and Kashmir means only Kashmir, it doesn't include the regions of Jammu and Ladakh , which constitute a large part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir) talk of Kashmiriyat and claim it to be the basis of their movement of azadi or freedom for Kashmir.
Before moving further, it is important to understand the meaning of Kashmiriyat. Kashmiriyat or Kashmiriness means the ethno – national and social consciousness and cultural values of the Kashmiri people. And who are the Kashmiri people? Contrary to what the separatists and the self-proclaimed saviours of Kashmiri people claim, it is a legacy shared only by the Hindus and Muslims of the Kashmir valley. The fact is that the entire regions of Jammu, Ladakh and Pakistan occupied Kashmir do not share any cultural similarity with the valley, and, therefore, by logic, do not conform to the ideals of Kashmiriyat.The truth is that Jammu and Kashmir is an amalgamation of diverse linguistic and cultural traditions, and Kashmiriyat is only a small section of its vast cultural heritage.
Very often, more so in recent times, one has heard a Mehbooba Mufti or some separatist leader call out threateningly for a march to Muzaffarabad , in other words, to the part of Kashmir across the border. The fact is that there is no cultural, ethnic or linguistic similarity between Kashmir on this side and on the other side. The majority of the predominantly Muslim population in Pakistan occupied Kashmir is culturally and ethnically related to the people of northern Punjab and Jammu, which include such tribes as the Abbasis, the Maliks, the Ansaris, the Mughals, the Gujjars, the Jats, the Rajputs,the Qureshis and the Pashtuns, among others. Most of these tribes found in POK incidentally also happen to be a regional characteristic of Jammu region and not Kashmir as is wrongly assumed .The official language of Pakistan occupied Kashmir is Urdu but it is spoken only by a minority. The dominant language spoken there is Pahari, which is not even remotely connected to Kashmiri spoken in the Kashmir valley in India. Pahari is actually very close in character to Dogri , Pahari and Gojri languages spoken in different parts of Jammu region.
The fact is that the only similarity between the Kashmirs on the two sides of the border is that of religion. Like its counterpart across the border, Kashmir on this side also happens to be predominantly Muslim. So then does it all boil down to that one factor of religion? And therefore, is the notion of Kashmiriyat that is so commonly and liberally used by those wanting freedom for Kashmir, a mere sugarcoating of what essentially happens to be a very communal movement? And if it isn't communal, then why aren't the nearly five lakh displaced Kashmiri Pandits a part of this perceived vision? For ironically , it is only they who happen to be culturally, ethnically and linguistically aligned to the ethos of Kashmiriyat.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Forgive me this interruption in LANES AND BYLANES…( I warned you of the unevevn ride).But today, I must write about Ruskin Bond, for I dreamt of him last night. In the dream, I was chasing him for a sound byte (blame it on my TV background) and Ruskin, being the gentleman that he is, did oblige me with one!
I am sure most of you have heard of Ruskin Bond. And for those who have not, here is a brief introduction of the much acclaimed and loved author. British by birth and an Indian by choice, Ruskin Bond has dedicated all his life to the written word. He writes from his hill abode of Mussoorie in Garhwal Himalayas and has been living there for more than forty five years now. I was first introduced to his writings in school.He has written a lot for children, stories, short stories and novellas and many of his stories are a part of curriculum in schools across the country. As a schoolgirl, I always found his stories delightful and fascinating, but what really converted me into a diehard fan of his was a non fiction work of his, a collection of diary extracts and personal essays, titled RAIN IN THE MOUNTAINS. I got hold of a copy of this absolutely fantastic piece of work in my first year of college and was instantly bowled over by the heart-warming simplicity and down to earth beauty of his prose. He spoke of the trees, the mountains, the valleys and of ordinary people, very simple things, but things that struck an immediate and intense chord with the reader. And something within me changed dramatically. RAIN IN THE MOUNTAINS taught me how to appreciate the simple joys and pleasures of life. It revealed to me the extraordinariness of the ordinary and the relevance of the mundane. I read that gripping piece of work again and again and again. It provided wings to my imagination and I promised myself that I would also write like him some day.
Such has been the powerful impact of Ruskin Bond's writing. But the gentle and unassuming author is too modest to accept that. Here's what he himself says about his writing , ' Amongst writers, I am not one of the big guns. I am not even a little gun. I prefer to see myself as just a small pebble lying on the beach. But I would like to think that I am a smooth, round, colourful pebble, and that someone will pick me up, derive a little pleasure from holding me, and possibly, even put me in his or her pocket. And if one tires of me, one can always throw me back into the sea. Perhaps a kindly wave will wash me ashore again, and someone else will pick me up.' (extract from the book, RUSKIN, OUR ENDURING BOND)
My first and only meeting with Ruskin Bond was quite dramatic. Exactly ten years ago, I made a quick trip to Mussoorie with some friends. It was the month of July and the rains had just set in. The hills wore a magnificent look and as Ruskin writes, ' one could watch from the window trees dripping and the mist climbing the valley ' (quote from the book, RUSKIN, OUR ENDURING BOND). The setting was just perfect for me to meet the biggest inspiration of my life. But how? That was the big question. I didn't know anything about his whereabouts in Mussoorie, neither did I know anyone who could get me the required information, for I was only a student then. The world of television was still a year away. I had read in RAIN IN THE MOUNTAINS that he lived in a rented accommodation called Ivy Cottage. But the book was written a few years ago. Ruskin could well have moved from there. Since there was no other clue, I trusted my instinct and dragging my friends along, set out on Mission Ruskin that rainy afternoon! Taking cues from the locals, we hurried up the hilly tracks to Ivy Cottage as rain drenched us to the bone. I didn't mind the rain at all, but my friends hated me for the torture.I could read it on their faces. Once we reached Ivy Cottage, they refused to accompany me upstairs, where Ruskin Bond lived with his adopted family. Leaving them down, and with tremendous apprehension, I knocked at the door. What if he didn't live there any more and worse, what if he didn't like my visiting uninvited? I was very nervous. One of Ruskin's grandsons opened the door. I told him the purpose of my visit. He told me to wait and went back . Few minutes later, Ruskin Bond appeared at the door.Yes, it was him, in flesh and blood standing right there in front of me. I was speechless and kept staring at him. Sensing my nervousness, Ruskin broke the silence, This is how the conversation went –
'Yes, young lady?'
'Sir, I am a huge fan of your writings. I came all the way from Delhi to meet you. I hope , I didn't disturb you.'
'Well, I was having my lunch! You came all by yourself?'
'No Sir, with a few friends.'
'Where are they?'
'They're waiting downstairs. They were too scared to come up.'
'What? You left them outside in the rain. Call them up.'
Soon all my friends joined me and we had a brief but very enriching conversation with the great wordsmith. And my respect and reverence for Ruskin Bond grew manifold.
Coming back to last night's dream. When I woke up in the morning, I got a pleasant surprise from my brother. He had brought me a Ruskin Bond book. And hold your breath, it had been autographed by and had a personal message for me from none other than…Ruskin Bond himself ! Actually, a famous bookstore in Delhi had organised an interaction with the author, just the other day. My brother who happened to be passing by the store, caught the sight of the famous author sitting inside and autographing books for his fans. Knowing very well my craziness for his works, he too got one autographed for me. And believe me, I haven't stopped smiling ever since I have caught hold of it.
To conclude, in Ruskin's own words, 'Life has not exactly been a bed of roses, yet, quite often, I have had roses out of season.'( from the book, RUSKIN, OUR ENDURING BOND)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Pervez Musharraf, the invincible dictator, the ever scheming, plotting former General is history now. A thing unimaginable and seemingly out of question only about a year and half back is the fact and reality of today.
But what actually brought about his nemesis? Analysts say it was a combination of several factors, several issues that he got entangled in all at the same time. The first and the most powerful nail in the coffin proved to be his crackdown on the judiciary in Pakistan. On Musharraf's part, this was an attempt to crush the first ever serious voice of dissent within his own country against his autocratic rule. Used completely to having his own way always, Pervez Musharraf underestimated the power of a popular resurgence, which the lawyers' movement eventually became.
His next folly was his crackdown on the national media, the media which he himself allowed to flourish. It is an accepted fact in Pakistan that it was in Musharraf's regime that Pakistani media, TV industry in particular, grew by leaps and bounds. Musharraf's liberal policy towards the media, particularly in the last few years of his regime infused new life into an institution that had largely remained suppressed throughout the six decades of Pakistan's political, or rather, military history. Here again the clever General faltered badly. He failed to gauge the strength of an empowered media. The infamous ransacking of the Geo TV studios in Islamabad was broadcast live by the news channel and viewers throughout the country saw the spectacle of the forceful suppression of their right to freedom of information. This one act and the subsequent curbs on media alienated him from the thinking section of his population.
Soon after, two months to be precise, followed another event. On 10th of July, 2007, Pervez Musharraf ordered the storming of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad to flush out terrorists holed inside. The Lal Masjid episode was a desperate attempt by the former General to appease the powers in Washington who were increasingly getting uneasy and upset with the resurgence of Taliban and Al Qaeda in the areas bordering Afghanistan. Pervez Musharraf, who himself had overlooked and,. therefore, in a way, had allowed terrorist activities within and from Lal Masjid some years back felt intense pressure, and in a bid to prove his loyalty towards the war against terror, did the unimaginable.The act did win him the appreciation of Washington and the international community, but he got further alienated .Fundamentalist groups and factions, some of whom also happened to be his political allies, now became his sworn enemies.
All these factors combined with the changed political equation in Pakistan finally sounded the death knell for the former General who once very famously remarked that like the proverbial cat, he would survive nine lives .But, in his mad pursuit of power, what the former President of Pakistan completely forgot was that there is always a tenth life after the ninth!
Friday, August 15, 2008
As I sit writing this piece, news channels flash breaking news of a suicide attack in Lahore, amidst reports of Pervez Musharraf deciding to finally submit his resignation.And that reminds me of Sushant's comment in response to my previous post.You are right Sushant, there are grave and serious doubts about a Pakistan post-Musharraf.There is a big question mark there, as to whether Musharraf's exit would actually mean a genuine transition to democracy for Pakistan or would it just make the country a perfect playing ground for fundamentalist and jehadi forces.Our national security advisor has already expressed his concern about the same.We can only hope that whatever happens, happens for the good of the two countries and their people.
Anurag in a reply to my last post wanted me to write more about Pakistan, its people and my experiences there.It's impossible to write all of these in one post, for I have quite a number of them.Therefore, I have decided to write them one by one as and when they come to mind, not necessarily in a sequence.I hope you won't mind the uneven and bumpy ride!
Pakistan was a total mystery to me (in many ways it still is!) till the summer of 2003.Close on the heels of my action laden trip to the war zone in Iraq , came the opportunity to visit the hostile neighbouring country.After almost a year and a half of military standoff following the attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001, relations between India and Pakistan were slowly beginning to get normal. And much to the relief of the natives of the two countries, new peace initiatives, or, as they say in diplomatic lingo, confidence building measures, were being announced left, right and centre. The two neighbours also announced to resume with much fanfare the stalled Delhi-Lahore bus service and journalists from both sides of the border were given a free ride aboard the much awaited Sada-e-sarhad (Call of the Frontier) ,as the service is officially called. As a part of the select group , I got the opportunity to savour the excitement and exhilaration of the historic moment firsthand. It took us eight hours to cover the 530 km long journey.
I remember the bus crossing Wagah border late in the evening amidst loud cheering and mad celebration. Emotions ran high as relatives from both sides hugged and cried and I felt a tug at heart.
Once in Lahore, we were literally mobbed by the local media, everyone wanting a sound byte or two and then there was the welcome party with garlands and flowers in their hands. The warmth of the locals was so overwhelming that we forgot our exhaustion completely.Those smiling, gleaming faces which looked so much like our own , the language and the mannerism so similar to ours took away all our inhibitions and we felt immediately at home.
A funny thing happened that night.Tired after the day's action, as I was preparing to retire in my hotel room, I got a call on the intercom. It was a local who introduced himself as a businessman.He wanted me to carry his message back home to the Indian Soap Queen, Ekta Kapoor that she should stop making those saas-bahu serials as they were becoming an obsession with Pakistani women.His lament was that his wife spent all her spare time watching the Ekta Kapoor soaps and doing so neglected him and the family completely.He also complained that all those devilish and crazy looking vamps in her soaps were a bad influence on Pakistani women and, consequently, the percentage of saas-bahu spats in their families had risen dramatically!! Assuring him that I would convey his message to Ms Kapoor, I hung up. Of course, the message was never conveyed and Ekta Kapoor continues to make those soaps to this day, not that she would have stopped spinning those crazy tales had I conveyed the message to her ! This funny little episode gave me an initial idea of the deep inroads that the Indian entertainment industry had made into the Pakistani society.More was to follow in the next few days.
My first trip to Lahore lasted only three days and I still remember the mad rush to squeeze as many stories as possible in that limited period. The trip was very, very restrictive and we could travel only with the Pakistani Information Ministry officials. Were we to venture out on our own, we had to be accompanied by an Information Ministry chosen local journalist who could keep a watch on the kind of stories that we were doing and ensure that we didn't do any negative stuff. The journo assigned to me was a family man in his forties and was extremely polished and sophisticated in manner.He often bad-mouthed Musharraf and his regime and said nasty things about the establishment and how it was not genuinely serious about improving relations with India.
I had a feeling that he said all those things just to instigate me to say more and reveal any negative intentions that I might be nursing as far as coverage was concerned. And I think, considering the long history of mistrust and hostility between the two countries, our suspicion of each other was but natural and pretty understandable. But not every journalist that I came across in Lahore had a motive or seemed to carry one. I had some truly wonderful experiences in that extremely warm and hospitable city. More of that later.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Pervez Musharraf and That Evening in Lahore
I know you are curious and thinking really hard.And though there is no direct link between the now impeachment facing Pakistani dictator and that lovely Lahore evening exactly a year and half ago, there is a powerful connection.Let me elaborate the story for you.
All journalists, who have visited Pakistan at some point in their careers, Indians in particular, get a taste of the ways and whims of the Pakistani army, and its notorious and all pervasive intelligence wing, the ISI . And we were no exceptions ! The year was 2007, and the month, January. Pervez Musharraf was very much in command and completely at the helm of affairs in Pakistan. After all, it was the eighth consecutive year of his largely unchallenged and completely dictatorial Presidency and he was still months away from the landmark lawyers' agitation, which ultimately led to his downfall and the rise of new political equations in Pakistan. The uniform and the Pakistani army's unwavering loyalty were strongly and resolutely behind him .No word of criticism against the former General was entertained and talking against him in public was
still a fearful prospect.
I was part of a group of journalists who went to Islamabad to cover a crucial round of talks between the two countries.After the summit, while everyone else prepared to get back home, me and my cameraperson, who,incidentally, also happened to be a woman, decided to extend our visit by a day and visit Lahore. I had an interesting story in mind and also some friends in the city to meet. Just before leaving leaving for Lahore, we also made a visit to the Pakistan Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi to get an interview with Musharraf fixed.Musharraf was out of town and since we just had a day in hand, the plan could not materialise. Nevertheless, we packed our bags and hired a taxi to Lahore.It was early evening and the drive to Lahore via the Islamabad-Lahore expressway was 5-6 hours,we were told.The driver seemed to be a decent guy who spoke less but sensing that we were Indians, played latest Hindi movie songs on the car stereo.
It was a comfortable drive and as the cold winter breeze shivered me, I wondered whether this was the same country that I had made three previous trips to, during each of which, I felt heavily restricted as far as intercity travel ,or, movement within a particular city was concerned. Could this be because of the improved dialogue and the resulting bonhomie between the two countries ? Had the trust between the two finally begun to register itself ? I wondered.
Late in the night, we reached Lahore, checked into a guest house, without any obstruction and my sense of surprise rose again. A friend in Lahore, working for a prominent Pakistani TV Channel took us out for dinner to a swanky restaurant, which we were told was a brothel before partition! The restaurant,called Cuckoo's Den presented a spectacular view of the historic city of Lahore and the beautifully illuminated Badshahi mosque from its terrace.We chatted over several servings of Paranthas and large helpings of delicious Punjabi Saag and for a moment, I completely forgot that I was sitting in Lahore, several miles away from home, in a hostile neighbouring country.It all seemed perfectly normal, with no one apparently snooping on us or stalking us.
We had a flight in the afternoon the next day and so we decided to shoot an exclusive interview with Begum Nawazish Ali, aka Ali Saleem, Pakistan's hugely popular cross dressing TV host, early next morning.We chose to conduct the interview in a park in the centre of the city.We went strolling into the park, without anyone stopping us or asking our whereabouts.And I wondered a hundredth time!! But,hold! There was action in the offing.
As soon as I started my walking interview with Ali Saleem, I noticed first signs of intrusion. A tall, thin bearded man in plain clothes appeared suddenly from nowhere and started following us around the park.Now Ali Saleem, or, Begum Nawazish is known for his Musharraf bashing and every now and then, he would mouth something or the other against the General. This made our dear man with beard inch further closer to us. And soon a cat and mouse sort of race ensued between the four of us inside the park. It was funny in a way, but quite worrying too. Exasperated and deeply troubled, we wound up the interview fast and left the park. As we waited outside the park for our journalist friend , Rashid (name changed) to pick us up , our stalker kept hovering around.
Rashid's car was a huge sight of relief for us. We immediately got into his car and told him the entire story.The stalker was still around, closely following Rashid's car. Rashid drove us straight to his TV office and in between calls from somewhere, made us sit in his cabin. We still had about three hours for our flight and wanted to catch up with a bit of shopping.Rashid had earlier promised us that he would take us to the concerned stores, but strangely, now he asked us to make a list of stuff and deputed his help to get things for us. He looked very tense, and to hide his nervousness, babbled nonstop. It was crazy, funny and bizarre, all at the same time. He wouldn't just let us budge from our seats in his cabin and as the time for our flight drew close, arranged for us to be dropped at the airport. And yes, our stalker followed us still and saw to it that we got straight into the airport and went nowhere else. Back home, I got no message from Rashid for several months, who still seemed to be reeling under the fear of being too friendly with an Indian journalist.Later, we got to know that we were being chased right from the time we stepped out of Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi! Such was the terror of Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani Army!
Today, as Musharraf faces the Nawaz Sharief-Zardari sponsored impeachment motion on charges of undermining democracy in Pakistan and misappropriating funds, a huge 700 million US dollars, I wonder whether this actually will be the political demise of the dictator, who once famously remarked that he was like the proverbial cat with nine lives.Will he survive this time ? What will be the Army's stance? Has it also given up on its former General or are their surprises in store, things on the lines of the infamous October 1999 coup? Analysts say it's the final nail in the coffin. But knowing Musharraf and his notorious stubbornness, and the fact that he still has the authority to dissolve the national assembly and dismiss the Prime Minister, it is impossible to predict the outcome in advance. Although chances of this also dim in the light of the fact that the decision of dismissal has to be approved by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, whose sharp disapproval of Musharraf's doings is too well known now.
This is it as of now… more when we meet next!!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Response to the Comments
It was heartening to see so many responses to my maiden post. Equally exhilarating was the warm welcome accorded by fellow bloggers. My individual thanks to each one of you! Now I know it's going to be a very eventful and enriching journey ... this journey of conversations!
Rajesh, you are right in commenting that the force of religion is such that it blinds even the rational. But, as sensible and sensitive citizens of this country, we can, in our own miniscule and small way, spread the rationale of the hollowness and emptiness of religious one-upmanship. As I said in my earlier post, the idea is not to seek definitive answers or permanent solutions, the idea is to start honest, and agenda free conversations. I know it is easier said than done, for we all have our biases, religious or otherwise and individual preferences, but then that's the challenge and beauty of a forum like this. Isn't it?
Mihir, Hamida's story may be very ordinary, but it is a powerful indicator of the fact that the peace and religious tolerance were not an impossible entity in a state, which ironically today lacks both, thankfully in part to the agenda laden politics of regional and national politicians and in a large measure to the evil machinations of our friendly neighbor across the border. As a native of Jammu, I am aware of and am deeply sensitive to the Jammu psyche. That sentiment of being the overlooked and ignored lot against the ever and much appeased counterparts in Kashmir is known to me. There is no harm in voicing that, but tell me Mihir, what do we intend gaining by playing on the regional divide and religious sentiments? What difference would then remain between the separatists and the non separatists? Wouldn't this further strengthen the hands of the separatist forces who moot religious disparity as the core of the entire Kashmir movement?
And Rajiv and Sagar, I too wish our politicians were not so shameless and opportunistic. But what is the escape? After all, aren't we the ones who bring them to power from amongst ourselves only?
Lastly, Amit, thanks for appreciating the expression. That's what rain does to some people!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Shri Ganesh!!!
Why does one write a blog, or to be more precise, why have I decided to join the fraternity of blogs and bloggers? I mulled over this for quite some time and today against the backdrop of the incessant downpour, I seem to have gotten my answer. Rain is always a reason to rejoice, notwithstanding the water flooded streets, the open manholes, the traffic jams and the power cuts! A steady shower from the skies never fails to inspire the creative and cheer the ordinary. To the poet, the lyrical pitter patter on the roof and outside the window is a poem, to the musically inclined, it is a lilting melody and to the poor beggar sleeping out on the pavement under the open skies, it is another harsh moment in the endless train of miseries.
Good or bad, sweet or bitter, every downpour is a story in itself. And here I get my answer! Like the rain, I realise, I also have a story to say. The fact is that after almost a decade of chasing stories out in the big, wide world and trying to find answers within the TV studio, I still have a lot to say and seek answers for. There are stories and stories, of both personal and impersonal nature. Stories of people, of places, of events and of non events, and, I want to share these with likeminded or even differing souls. The purpose is not to reach conclusions or seek definitive answers. The purpose is to start a journey, a journey of conversations, honest, genuine, and agenda free conversations. And in the context of the current turmoil in my home state of J&K, the first story that comes to mind, is that of Hamida. Hamida is a distant memory today, but he will always be an unforgettable reminiscence of peaceful and much happier times in my beautiful state.
Many years ago, 1982 to be precise, I made my first trip to Kashmir. My father was posted in Srinagar and we were based in Jammu. I was a class one student and till that time had seen Kashmir only in Hindi films or in my father's postcard collection. We decided to pay Papa a visit during the summer break. And although I was very young at that time, I still quite clearly remember shouting with joy as our bus entered the famous Eucalyptus tree lined stretch in Baramulla, a location so commonly used in Hindi films. My father lived in a pretty Kashmiri style government bungalow in Srinagar and Hamida, a young local Muslim boy was his domestic help.
Hamida was quite an endearing soul, who always had a big smile on his face. He made us delicious Kashmiri delicacies and hot steaming Kashmiri Kehwa at all hours. Whatever the time of the day, one just had to ask for something and Hamida would produce it right away. He was particularly kind to me and my little brother. Often we would shout….Hamidaaaaa, and he would rush to us with pockets full of goodies. Whenever we kids wanted some entertainment, Hamida would play us some music on the tape recorder. He was fond of singing and would sing often in the kitchen. And in those daily dreams like trips to the Mughal gardens of Kashmir, Hamida always accompanied us, telling us wonderful stories about the places. We found his stories about the famous Pari Mahal particularly enchanting. The tales of fairies visiting the abandoned fortress at night delighted us no end. On our treks to Shankaracharya, the famous Shiva temple, he would climb those never ending stairs holding our hands.
Our fascinating trip to Kashmir ended in ten days and we returned home to Jammu. Everything else was quickly forgotten in the hum drum of school life, but Hamida stayed fresh in memory. We made many subsequent trips to Kashmir, but never again met Hamida. Today when I see people in Jammu and Kashmir, the two regions of the state, create ruckus over the Amarnath Shrine Board land issue, I wonder what would be Hamida's take on the issue? Would he still be as warm and friendly to us as he was then? Or would he look at us as enemies from Jammu? I wonder and I am not too sure.
As if the scourge of insurgency was not enough, the natives of the troubled state now also have to cope with the divisive politics of selfish politicians. Politicians, who are hell bent on fuelling hatred and animosity among the people of the two regions by inciting communal and regional sentiments. The motive is to widen beyond repair the already existing regional divide between Jammu and Kashmir. And the goal….petty electoral gains? Why else do you think would the issue be raked and blown out of proportion just a few months before the state goes to polls?
The government, both in the state and at centre, first allows the situation to worsen beyond return and now plans to hold all party meets to find an emergency solution. One wonders at such a delayed reaction to the deteriorated scenario. One can at best only hope that the current efforts are serious and that all parties across the political spectrum genuinely and earnestly work towards resolving the matter, rather than planning shrewdly on how to gain the most out of the volatile situation.
Heard a Kashmiri shopkeeper lament on national TV the other day… ' In siyasatdanon ne tabah kar diya iss riyasat ko'( these politicians have destroyed our state). This sadly is the bitter truth of Jammu and Kashmir today.


text:
CNN's Inside Africa, featuring Vieux Farka Toure
Vieux Performs with K'Naan at the World Cup
Vieux Farka Touré: World Cup Performance
Posted by pressjunkiepr on March 25, 2010
Malian guitar hero, Vieux Farka Touré will be returning to the US in April for a 14 date tour. This will all be leading up to his June 10th performance at the first-ever FIFA World Cup Celebration Concert in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Six Degrees Records Announces:
On Thursday, June 10, Vieux Farka Touré, the Malian guitarist/singer/songwriter and appointed "African guitar hero," will perform at the first-ever FIFA World Cup Celebration Concert in Johannesburg, South Africa. The event will feature musical performances by major international superstars and popular African artists collaborating together. Vieux is one of the few selected performers who will be sharing the stage with The Black Eyed Peas, Carlos Santana, Alicia Keys, and Shakira, as well as fellow Afro-rockers BLK JKS, Angelique Kidjo, Amadou and Mariam, Parlotones, South African legend Vusi Mahlasela, and desert bluesmen Tinariwen. The event will take place the night before the first World Cup match at 8:00 pm local time (GMT+2) on June 10, 2010, at Orlando Stadium in Soweto/Johannesburg, and is set to be aired worldwide. The FIFA World Cup football tournament is the world's most watched sporting event, and is staged every four years. This is the first time the FIFA World Cup is being held on the African continent.
US audiences can catch one of Vieux's exhilarating live shows before then, when he returns with his band for an April 2010 tour with stops in Ithaca, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Hattiesburg, Athens, Miami, St. Petersburg, Washington DC, New Orleans and New York, to name a few. Full tour dates are listed below.
Fans, critics, and fellow musicians are still buzzing about Vieux's latest album Fondo (released in 2009 on Six Degrees) and his live shows. Both his album and tour were showered with praise, including NPR stating, "At a time when American and British rock musicians are finally turning to West African music and forging new varieties of African blues, here's one young Malian with the perspective and the chops to take on all comers at this game…he has all the makings of a 21st-century African rock god." The SF Weekly reviewed his recent Bay Area show expressing, "Toure's electrified take on traditional Malian griot stylings had the crowd in a rockin' trance, and the improvisational, extended jams he and his band performed had a vibrant rawness…the Jimi Hendrix of the Western Sahara…a two-hour virtuoso performance in which his tone, sustain, and sense of rhythm were absolutely impeccable."
If that wasn't enough, record producer extraordinaire Don Was was recently quoted as saying, ""[The] best f*****g rock n roll band in the world." Even Henry Rollins stated, "I've been lucky enough to [see] Vieux play twice this year…. In the six months between the two shows, he has gone from strength to strength and eclipsed the show I saw at the beginning of the year. I will see him anytime I can now, and am looking forward to checking him whenever possible. His new album, Fondo is so great, he has found his sound, his songwriting, singing and playing is just fantastic."
Fondo, which topped over a dozen "best of year lists" has also been given the remix treatment on Other Roads: Fondo Remixed, a digital release on Six Degrees Records that sees cutting edge producers like Brownout, J-Boogie, and Balkan Beat Box rework the beautiful source material from Vieux's original version. From atmospheric psy-dub to dance-floor bangers to minimal tech treatments, the various mixes cover a lot of stylistic ground on this collection.
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text: The pink elephant in my room is eating. Even though it was from afar, Anyssa was a tremendous inspiration for me to tackle a 3 day cleanse. Subsequent to that success a mild mannered suburban mom stepped out of the phone booth as super health coach and now has me juicing my lunches several days a week. Wow do I feel better. Walking on water (she definitely walks her talk) and turning that water to wine are not enough praise for Anyssa's ability to get me to successfully reach beyond my own grasp.