Ars Gratia Artis

Really, is there such thing as a mundane chore?! Not if you are Jonathan Livingston Seagull! Eleven in 24 seconds!

Going a bit off on a tangent, this was shot some where in Tamil Nadu.  Isn't it strange to listen to Hindi music in this neck of the woods.

Came across this in Nanditha's Face Book

Vitamin M

Our trip to Marfa area during Christmas of 2009 prompted me to watch the movie Giant, which was shot in that area. Though the movie is long, I liked it; I enjoy movies that span over a few decades (a generation) of character's life.  

Image source: http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_01_img0196.jpg

A dialogue from this movie:

Leslie Benedict: Money isn't everything, Jett. 
Jett Rink: Not when you've got it. 

I thought "well said Jett".  We keep saying and hearing "money isn't everything".  I agree with this in the sense that we shouldn't go loco over earning it, and we (definitely) should share it.

We (me, and anyone who has enough resource to access this text) are very fortunate that we have roofs over our heads and sufficient resources to meet the basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, and water).  But there are millions in this world who are not as fortunate.

To a mom who couldn't feed her child for two days for not having even $1, try telling "money isn't everything".

I say, earn money without getting attached to it, try depending on it less and less, try sharing it more and more (to the most needy), and ALWAYS, count your blessings.

Donate to charities with low overhead expenses like Churches, Temples, and Mosques.  My favorite charity is American Red Cross.

Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulet!

Geaux Saints! I wish I were in the French Quarter for some extra liveliness for XLIV win! What a Mardi Gras gift for the city!   

Here is my favorite commerical from 2010 Super Bowl TV broadcast.

French Revolution

A picture sure is worth a thousand words.  A cartoon in The Statesman, when McDonald's announced its plan to open a store at the Louvre.

Courtesy: The English Blog

Words of Wisdom

Never trust anyone who, within five minutes of meeting you, tells you where he went to college. - Esquire

Link Courtesy: Raama

Spirituality and Money

Sri. Craig Sastry and Jill Yogini have organized a pilot Financial Seminar at Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Austin on January 16, 2010.  It was pretty informative, interactive, and entertaining for the small group attended.  I posted a couple of video clips of Sri. Sastry's talk (with his permission) on money and spirituality below.  I decided to shoot these clips on the fly, with my camera - so, no tripod and sub-optimal vantage point; hence the shaky image.

I totally agree with Sri. Sastry's take on charity and its necessity.  If we put it off thinking "I will do it after I get everything I want", it may never happen.  Economics 101 - goods are limited and wants are unlimited! I believe that the United States has prospered because the population in general is very generous and it accumulated good karma as a result of it - of course, a few unfortunate among us, end up taking money a little too seriously.  I think India too is managing to prosper for the same reason in spite of poverty, population boom, and natural calamities - there are millions of generous people who are sharing what ever little they have.  Anyway, enjoy the videos.

Sleeping Cat in Eagle Nebula

A composite photo of Pillars of Creation in Eagle Nebula

Eagle nebula is about 6,500 lights years away from us.  How big was this nebula? Our entire solar system would comfortably fit into one of the ears of the sleeping cat (highlighted in the photo)! It was a star factory where the star were being born (I keep using the past tense as we don't know what is happening now, as we are seeing the light that left the nebula a long time ago).  Just as plants leave seeds for continued creation, stars leave dust after their death (i.e., when all the hydrogen is gone through fusion) which will again form stars.

These are the words (not verbatim) of the (awesome) presenter of the Twilight Program at McDonald's Observatory on Dec.26.09.  This sure reminded me of our insignificance in the grand scheme of things.  Rama and I had a great time with the tour of the 107-inch Harlan J. Smith telescope, the Twilight Program, and the Star Party (star gazing through powerful telescopes) in the amphitheater - a whole day of Astronomy 101.

Texas (which is larger than France) has very little public land from what I heard.  Most of the mountains and vast empty lands are owned by the ranchers.  I was told that Mt. Locke (on which HET is located) was donated by a lady to UT-Austin!

Some other things we did during post-Christmas Holidays of year 2009:

We went to see Marfa Lights - three nights, with no luck of sighting; it was hard to maintain motivation and wait for the lights, when wind was blowing and temperatures were below freezing.

Visited Big Bend National Park and hiked Lost Mine Trail and Pinnacle Trail.

Visited Alpine, Fort Davis, and Hotel Paisano in Marfa.

Once in a while, I think that it is good for the spirit to be at least 100 miles away from the nearest Walmart.