Tanglewood...

We'd gone to Tanglewood last Sunday to watch the Boston Symphony Orchestra play (with Yo Yo Ma)...

We had lawn tickets, and took a picnic, and all was good with the world for a while!

I've put up pictures on my gallery..

http://www.anujpradhan.com/photography/

:)

Hadron Collider Rap

This is awesome...

From boingboing.net

Photo credits...

The Umass website used a photograph that I'd taken on the 4th of July....

..a portion of my 15 minutes of photographic fame..

Here's a screen-grab.. :D

Movie star gossip...

I normally never indulge in movie star or celebrity gossip...

But this is too cool to just shrug off...

A bunch of my favorite Hong Kong/Chinese film industry folks are gonna be associated with Bhutan..

That's coz Tony Leung (and Carina Lau) are getting married in Bhutan (At the Uma Paro resort) ... and guests include Wong Kar Wai and Faye Wong among others..

How cool is that... 3 of my all time fave personalities from the HK film industry and all of them gonna end up in Bhutan!!

Who knows, maybe that'll inspire Wong Kar Wai to shoot a movie in Bhutan! :-)

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_258012.html

And for those of you who're asking why is Faye Wong so special.. check this out. Here's a clip from Wong Kar Wai's "Chunking Express" with Faye Wong in it, and the song is also Faye Wong's cover of (The Cranberries) "Dreams"... :)

Rotten thieves...

Thought I'd get all green and enviro-friendly and healthy and all that and so decided that I'd bike as much as I can this summer.. Decided to minimize the driving and so was getting pretty good at pedalling about town and to work etc...

I normally lock my bike to the banister/railing of the stairs leading up to our building. And it's Amherst for crying out loud!! This place is supposed to be crime free!! But on Saturday, some dumfuks stole my bike. And how? They broke off the whole freaking banister so that they could slide the bike lock off of it!!!! Talk about desperately environment friendly thieves!!

Anyway, yea.. jus venting!!!

Fireworks...

Happy 4th of July.. (2008)

Enjoy... :)

July 4th Fireworks, 2008
UMass Amherst



(Trying out the tripod shots... )

Photography...

http://www.anujpradhan.com/photography/

Yes folks... yet another gallery.

I'll be putting up my attempts at 'good' photography out here.. I'll try and figure out a commenting system to get feedback from y'all.. Need to find or build an un-spam-able solution for that.

In the meanwhile, go take a look.. at anujpradhan.com | photography.. and leave your comments right here...

Summer's on...

Summer days and the summer nights are gone
I know a place where there's still somethin' going on
-Bob Dylan

So what's been happening?
Just summer outdoors stuff.. Any excuse to get some sun.. :)

Been trying out some photography, and think i'll maybe start a new section somewhere on this site, consolidate all my photographs chronologically, and keep adding new ones..

Here's a new set btw,

http://anujpradhan.com/photography/ColombianBBQ-Jun08/

and

http://anujpradhan.com/photography/PortraitsAndGolfSwings/

Will let all y'all know when I do end up making a photography page..

Summer's here..

Crap.. it's been a while..

so just to check in and say i'm alive..

it'll be a busy summer so posting frequency will be inversely related to temperatures, (and golf scores)..

But in the meanwhile.. enjoy this..
Weezer's video, featuring the internet video famous people!! Even the Numa Numa guy is there... :D

Yup, that's a first alright!

Bhutan and Gender...

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSDEL21390020080513?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

Teen transvestite gets Bhutan thinking about sex
Tue May 13, 2008 3:02am EDT
Reuters

THIMPHU (Reuters Life!) - In Bhutan, the men wear gowns and often carry women's names, but this has not stopped a teenage transvestite from causing a stir by publicly coming out in this tiny, secluded Himalayan kingdom. Names in Bhutan are often androgynous and all men wear a knee-length dress called the gho while women wear the "kira", an ankle-length gown.

But society's attitudes towards sex remain very conservative, which is why 16-year-old Dechen Seldon's decision to publicize his desire to become a woman has set the nation talking.

Seldon walked out of his school a month ago because he did not want to wear the gho as required, the weekly Bhutan Observer reported recently.

"It makes me feel awkward. If they let me wear the kira, I will continue my studies," he said.

Seldon resumed his education in another school last week after the education department intervened and allowed him to wear a girl's uniform. He also dances in a local club and spends his spare time weaving clothes for this friends.

He told the newspaper that he hoped to save enough money for a sex-change operation.

Officials told the Bhutan Times that Seldon was undergoing counseling to ensure he was comfortable with is new sexuality.

"We are counseling him so that he can decide what he wants and know what is important for him," an education ministry official told the newspaper.

Some in Bhutan said Seldon's case was yet another sign that the conservative nation was tentatively opening up.

Bhutan held its first ever parliamentary elections in March, to end a century of royal rule. Internet came to the country along with television just nine years ago.

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Titey Paatti: Bitter Leaf

Revisiting old literature classics can be quite educational in more ways than one.

While re-reading Kipling's 'Kim', I was moved to look up "Artemisia", which I learned is a genus of plants belonging to the daisy family. More interestingly, one of the species is known as "Artemisia absinthium", or commonly "Wormwood"... or what we knew as "Titey Paatti" (in Nepali, directly translating to 'bitter leaf') while we were growing up in the wilds of Chimakothi, Bhutan.

We always knew that the plant had medicinal properties... and worked well as an insect/pest repellent. How did we know that? Coz there'd be no leeches on these plants! :D.. and we'd make "hats" of these plants while hiking and trekking as they had a very effective shade-giving, cooling and relaxing effect.

Now I also know that our humble plant is also the source of Absinthe.. :D..... and more importantly, was the original flavoring for Vermouth (derived from the German word Wermut, "wormwood") !!

I still remember the bitter fresh smell of crushed Tittey Paatti leaves... and now that'll always come back to me when I drink Martinis. :)

on TV...

Our lab and research has been getting some press attention lately..

I have posted some of the print stuff already...

Now here are some of the TV clips.. (dorky as it may be!)

This one is from WBZ-TV, Boston, February 21.





This one from CBS-42, March 4.




and National News here.. from NBC Today Show, Mar 25.



In the first two clips I'm hemming and hawing my way through...
In the last clip you may catch a quick glimpse of me, if you don't blink. :D

Bhutan...

is now a democracy.

Le Wire est mort, ...

... vive le Wire.

In honor of those multitudes who have not finished watching the 5th season, I will not be writing anything about the final episode of the final season.

Except..

I want it to start all over again.

mobile blogging - Amherst Graffiti

Saw this on a wall outside Amherst coffee tonight...



obviously referring to Bhutan's GNH... it was jus' so funny seeing it on that wall.

In print.. Part 2

:)






Click on pics for larger views...

Hampshire Gazette
January 25, 2008

A lab as lifesaver? UMass simulator helps drivers see what to look for

BY KRISTIN PALPINI
STAFF WRITER

AMHERST - New drivers run a high risk of being involved in fatal automobile crashes, but the usual suspects - alcohol and speeding - aren't typically the cause, according to research at the University of Massachusetts.

New drivers are 11 times more likely than veteran drivers to die in a car crash during their first six months solo behind the wheel because they don't know how to spot potential hazards, said Donald L. Fisher, director of the UMass Human Performance Laboratory.

Checking to see if a car will pull out from behind a large hedge at an intersection, keeping an eye on people who may step into a crosswalk or slowing down before making a turn around a parked 18-wheeler aren't things the typical teenage driver will do, said Fisher.

"They're not trained for this," he explained, "and it's not the driving schools' fault. You can tell someone a hundred times to check before making a turn, but until they realize or see that they have to do it, they won't."

To rectify this skill deficiency, Fisher, along with doctoral student Anuj K. Pradhan and psychology professor Alexander Pollatsek, created a free downloadable computer program, RAPT, for Risk Awareness and Perception Training. It teaches drivers how to anticipate road hazards.

"I strongly believe, and we have the evidence, that young drivers will most definitely benefit from taking this program," said Pradhan, who has been working on RAPT for four years. "Of course, the disclaimer is that this is not a replacement for a driver's ed course or something like that. It is another piece."

Key: anticipating hazards

This inability to consistently anticipate possible road risks does not belong solely to new drivers. Many drivers under 30 and over 60 have less than stellar rates of hazard anticipation, according to UMass research.

For example, Fisher said, a driver looking to take a right turn around a large truck parked at an intersection is likely to slow down and proceed cautiously only 10 percent of the time. People ages 19-29 are likely to proceed with caution 29 percent of the time; for people 60 and older the rate increases to 56 percent.

People reach their optimal safe driving ability at age 50-55, Fisher said.

"This means that parents need to be trained as well as kids," he said.

RAPT, which can be downloaded from the UMass Web site www.ecs.umass.edu/hpl/RAPT.htm, works in three stages to teach a driver how to spot places where unexpected risks could emerge. The program has been picked up by insurance provider State Farm, which is working on a "snazzier" version of the program, said Fisher.

"I focused on making a free teaching tool," said Fisher, who agrees the program's graphics could be more fetching. "State Farm is interested in making it more appealing to newly licensed drivers."

To develop RAPT, Fisher and Pradhan harvested data from hundreds of driver tests conducted in the UMass lab. The Human Perception Lab features a $750,000 driving simulator - a 1995 Saturn sedan that has been refurbished to measure the reactions of drivers on the road. The Saturn is stable (it has no engine) and is set before three theater screens that display prerecorded driving scenarios.

In addition to chronicling the driver's actions behind the wheel, the driver's eye movements are tracked through specially made glasses. The glasses, which look like shop glasses, monitor the motion of a person's pupils with infrared beams and mirrors.

Using scenes from the Valley, the program shows a participant various scenarios where road risks could occur, such as driving through a four-way intersection. The program then asks the participant to click a mouse pointer where she or he would be looking if they were driving.

In the second stage, participants work through an interactive tutorial on how to spot danger zones. In the third stage the participant goes over real-life scenarios and again plots where she or he should be looking for danger.

Fisher said a person's ability to spot potentially dangerous areas increases from accurately identifying 44 percent of trouble spots to identifying 70 percent of them after completing the program.

"This works in the lab, but does it work in the field?" asked Fisher, describing his next stage of RAPT research.

"We'd like to test whether this reduces crashes."

Fisher and Pradhan are now also working on training programs that aim to show the importance of paying consistent attention to the road and how to temper speed in various driving conditions - two other common factors in teen accidents, Fisher said.

"Younger drivers are not necessarily driving fast, but they are not at the correct speed for the condition," said Pradhan. "If it's icy ... they don't really know how to handle that.

"We're a long ways to go on these," said Pradhan of the lab's next two projects. "But we're working on it."

RAPT research was funded by the Massachusetts Highway Department, the National Science Foundation and private companies.

Yesterday Once More.... with "Juno"

"Yesterday Once More" by the Carpenters - That came back to me today when I was watching the acclaimed "Juno" and one of the characters pulls out a CD that brought back a flood of memories..

It's "If I Were a Carpenter", a tribute album by various artists.. And it was a great find back in the day. I still vividly remember the cover (I had an audio tape, not a CD) and the songs..



Some of my favs were,

Yesterday Once More - Redd Kross
We've Only Just Begun - Grant Lee Buffalo
Top Of The World - Shonen Knife
and
Superstar - Sonic Youth (mentioned in this flick)..

In addition to that delightful memory nugget the movie had a lot of things going for it.. I did enjoy it, even though the theater was more than a lil' noisy with sniffles..

How come 16 yr olds in the movie were so hip.... Or is it coz their fashion is so old school grungy? I don't think our attempts at grunge looks when we were 16 looked that cool... Oh well.

Oh yea, another thing abt the movie... A cameo by "Dwight Shrute" of The Office is perfect and hilarious.

The Wire - Final Scene

The 5th season of the wire has begun and I think I've successfully managed to pull in at least three folks into it.

Anyway, here's what one of them found online...


The absolute last scene from The Wire, 5th and final episode....


http://www.slate.com/id/2181339


That's why this series is Brilliant!

Happy New Year

I bid a fond farewell to 2007, a year of many facets, a year of landmarks and achievements, of deeds done and brave beginnings.

I welcome with open arms 2008. Hopeful of growth and evolution, knowledge and wisdom, friendship and love, success and happiness, and good health, both physical and mental. Hoping for giant steps, broken barriers, and curiosity and discovery.

Hoping for Peace and Joy.

Here's to 2008.

Happy New Year everybody.

Cheers.

Democracy in Bhutan

Bhutan goes to the polls today.

A 100 year monarchy.. now on the road to democracy.

National Council polls today in 15 districts. 43 candidates.

I do hope the most able candidates win.

Good Luck.

Taarey Zameen Par

Taarey Zameen Par

A very well made movie with a very important message. Creativity is not valued in schools today. It's all about the rat-race, preparation for real life, marks and achievement, exams and medals. But all children are not the same. Children should be nurtured for who they are. Children should not be moulded into what the parents or society want them to become, but instead should be taught and nurtured to grow in all directions, and helped to realize their innate talent and calling.

This is not a children's movie. It is for the parents.

Aamir Khan has done a great job with the direction. And the cast... the big name actor does not overshadow the unknowns. Everyone has done a great job in their respective characters. Dont miss this movie.

This movie deserves an Oscar !! Well, I may be a bit biased here as the movie was shot in my high school in Panchgani. :) It was such pleasure seeing the school and reliving the old days.

Thanks Aamir Khan for the nostalgia. :)

YES!! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! Oh God YES!!

After years and years of being here in the US as a student, and suffering the indignities and the inconveniences of being given only a single-entry 3-month entry visa for Bhutanese students, this piece of news is so so welcome.

U.S. visas for Bhutanese upgraded

22 December, 2007 - Bhutanese students, exchange visitors, and their spouses and children travelling to the U.S. will now get a two-year visa from U.S. embassies and consulates anywhere in the world, says a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two-year visas of the two categories have also been upgraded to “multiple entries,” which means Bhutanese students in the U.S. can come home for holidays and go back without having to apply for another visa, so long as it is within the two-year period.

Before, U.S. visas for the two categories were “single entry” and could only be availed from the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, India.

The press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the revised visa rule was made by the U.S. State Department and came into effect from December 3, 2007.

“This collaboration is a reflection of the existing friendly relations between Bhutan and the United States and the growing cooperation between the two countries,” according to the press release

In all the years that I've been here it has been such a massive undertaking to plan a trip home. Or to even leave the country to visit some other country. Everytime I went back home I had to plan a trip to New Delhi, reserve a date for a visa interview well in advance, re-prepare all my paperwork, and then apply for a student visa.. just so that I could come back to the US to continue my program. That always took a good week or so off of my vacation!!

This major impractical inconvenience made travel such a pain. It made me feel like I was in exile, restricted within the borders of this country coz I didn't even have the freedom to travel, or the freedom to go home when I pleased. I'm sure I speak for all the Bhutanese students when I say all this. This single-entry visa policy effectively ruined whatever travel dreams I had, be it a trip back home, or a trip anywhere else.

But now that has changed! Good heavens, what a relief. A little late for me now, but it will help a whole new generation of students to be closer to home. A multiple-entry, 2-year visa for Bhutanese students should have been the norm decades ago. But, better late than never.

I applaud this effort on part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US State Department. Hope some of those letters I wrote had an effect on this decision.

PHEW.

YAYYYY.

Is he really Legend??

Watched:

I Am Legend

- One thing is for sure, Will Smith is a hell of an actor!! It's not really difficult to steal the show when your competition in the cast is a German Shepherd and a bunch of hairless vampiric unfortunates. But to be really fair, he portrayed a real good urban version of "Cast Away".. except that his "Wilson" was a bunch of mannequins and his dog.

The story is solid enough.. People did crib about the ending, but I have no issues with it. The bulk of the movie, the effects and the constant tension does make up for it.

Enjoy..

oh, I will give it 4 stars.
I know, I'm getting generous, but it's Christmas right?? :)

artsy cultural happenings..

There've been a couple of nice artsy stuff that've been taking place around here lately.. And luckily I've managed to make it to a few of these this semester.

-On October 19th, a whole load of us drove down to the Berkshire School at Sheffield, MA, to watch Dan perform as Pistol, the Earl of Warwick, and the Governor of Harfleuw in the American Shakespeare Center's production of Henry V. 'Twas a very interesting experience as this company's productions follow 'original staging practices', i.e. the plays are staged as they were during Shakespeare's time, with audience interaction, doubling of actors' roles, spartan sets, universal lighting etc.

(The drive to Sheffield, MA during the height of the Fall foliage along the scenic routes was pretty awesome too.)

November:
-...saw "Pillowman" at the Curtain Theatre. This dark comedy (???) by Martin McDonagh was disturbing to say the least, but engrossing and we couldn't keep our eyes off the stage, watching it like one would watch a car crash, with a sense of revulsion, dread and voyeurism. Great performances by all the amateur actors!

-...also saw Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado", a production of the Valley Light Opera, and directed by none but my downstairs neighbor Nick Dahlman. It was quite a lavsih affair, with amazing set and costume designs... befitting the classic tale of Nanki-Poo and Pooh-bah and Ko-Ko and Yum Yum. :)

-...The Commonwealth Opera presented Verdi's "Rigoletto" at the Academy of Music in Northampton. The supertitles during the opera definitely helps you understand what's happening... and all the more pleasure out of the performance due to that. The story of Rigoletto and the tragic consequences of revenge and murder.

December:
- ... The Bezanson Theatre was the venue for the Fred Anderson/Chad Taylor Duo as a part of the University Magic Triangle Jazz Series. A great performance by tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and amazing, mind-blowing percussion by Chad Taylor. It was obvious that the 78 yr old saxophonist and the 34-yr old percussionist had a history of jamming together coz they were so in tune with each other's music, so well meshed and in perfect rhythm and harmony. One of the great Jazz performances I've had the privilege of attending.

Hope there'll be more fun artsy stuff before the end of the year.

Fear of social networks...

I've canceled my Hi5 account.

Orkut will probably go down that road too...

Facebook is freaking me out with their invasive privacy policies..

Hope Google hangs on to their "Don't do evil" motto..