Aap sab ko deepavali ki haardik shubkaamnaayen!*

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• Hearty well-wishes to you all on this day of the festival of lights.

With this latest haircut, I have had 18 of them in Buffalo. Some of them have been more memorable than the others.

My first one was all the way up at North Plaza. For want of a better sense of direction, and the gleeful excitement of having a "metro" train service within walking distance once again, I took it all the way up to south campus and was quite disappointed when the driver announced that it was the last stop. I don't know what I had been expecting but I do remember wondering whether it would come out in another city's downtown.

Somehow this seems so appropriate, not to mention way cooler. Downtown to downtown - symmetric underground and overground sections. Like a light rail but also like a tube. The romance was killed brutally at south campus.

So back to the main story, that trip was memorable not only for the huge metro asymmetry disappointment but also for the near hysterical haircutter. She started carelessly whacking my hair off. I don't really ask too much from my haircutters. I just want it all off and a decent non-eggy looking outcome at the end. But I got more than I paid for.

She told me the whole in-detail story about how she was going to call her wedding off because she had just found out that morning that her fiance had given her a fake golden ring with a fake diamond pasted on it. She also sniffled into my hair. I didn't mean to be insensitive but.. Geez. I never went back.

The second haircutter had moved his shop from Utica to the basement of an old people's home on Main Street. It started out okay but I was the only one below 60 in that room and one of the old ladies was bitterly complaining that her new hair colour was not purple enough.

It unsettled me. Oh, and that place smelled really funky as well.

A few haircuts at not-very-memorable-places later, I met this haircut lady!

I swear she must have been a drill sergeant in her past life! She yelled at everyone in the shop - customers and employees alike, and gave me something very close to a military buzzcut. I was too scared to say anything and slunk out!

Then I met the best haircutter ever - LaShawn! I don't think anyone ever cut my hair so well as her. My hair didn't grow out of shape for a whole month! It was as if she had sprinkled magic dust on my hair and bullied it into behaving.

Unfortunately, she went on maternity leave after I had that haircut and I haven't seen her since.

The next one was downright freaky. While cutting my hair, he casually mentioned how his dream career was to become a mortician! Nice way to boost confidence levels in a client.


The last really interesting haircutter was an indophile.

He was covered in so many tattoos, it was hard to tell what kind of clothes he was wearing! He told me that his boyfriend usually tried out unique designs on him first and that's how he ended up with so many. I found that what little I know about Hinduism was very deficient compared to his encyclopaedic knowledge!

I seem to have knack for meeting the most bizarre haircutters and going to the weirdest of haircutting settings.

If you need some aural self-punishment, look no further. Just push play!

::DOWNLOAD SOUND::

This is one of the 400+ covers from hell, painstakingly sung with acoustic shredding prowess by none other than proud Frenchman - Grum Lee!



Another mind-blowing cover: Grum Lee's smooth... er.. Rough Criminal! If Michael Jackson were dead, he would surely be moonwalking in his grave if heard this. So should you, even if you are alive, BTW.

::DOWNLOAD SOUND::

And nothing is ever complete without a complete destruction of the Final Countdown. Yeah finnnnnnnaaaaall couuuuuunnnttdown!!!! Yeah.

::DOWNLOAD SOUND::

In response to (e:zobar)'s profound question: "What kind of deranged individual shakes whole black peppercorns onto their food? ", I present some over the top derangement from Palakkadu and neighbouring Thalassery. :)

~~~~Theyyam.~~~~





~~~~Fresh Peppercorns!!!~~~~



~~~~Dried Peppercorns~~~~



~~~~Pongal~~~~



~~~~Ravai Kanjeevaram Idly~~~~



~~~~Pongal, Bonda and Rasam~~~~



~~~~Tiiru Chadam (Or Seasoned yogurt rice)~~~~




Yeah, we are completely deranged about food, colour and spices, down south. :)

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More Thalassery ->

I confess (and most bitterly). My recent addictions have gone to unhealthy excesses. I am officially and hopelessly addicted to:


a)


b)


I need a quitline for these two, pronto!!! :/

Click on their pictures to reach musical bliss!! :)

1. Maria Dolores Pradera


2. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky


3. Adrian Barilari


4. Boney M!


5. Vanden Plas


6. Ennio Morriccone (played by Yo-Yo Ma)


7. Deep Purple


8. Scorpions


9. Joaquin Rodrigo Vidre


10. Wynton Marsalis


Who are your top 10 this fall? Get those posts up and post 10 recommendations (and links) of your own!

Half an hour back, I had no idea who Cindy Sheehan was. I now think she is an awesome and spirited woman with the energy and guts to pursue her ideals and convictions.



How many among us -- obscure civilians, with no "power" to speak of, would channel our grief at the loss of a loved one to campaign tirelessly against corruption, greed and lies, fearlessly crossing party lines??? I am guessing the answer is no-one. We are too comfortable in our lives, in our jobs, in our little niches gasping at atrocities and pointing fingers at people who actually step out of their comfortable homes to make a difference and take on the establishment. It's so easy for us to judge these fine brave warriors of change and label them as loons when they do something intrepid that the complacent among us don't even want to think about.

I cannot help but admire her for her will power, her ardent support for the truth and her activism. She has dared to do what one in a ten million do -- raise from a "normal" unprivileged existence, and attempt to use a personal and powerful experience to shape not only her future but the future of millions caught up in the aftermath of a meaningless war and economic misjudgements.

Her platform is her vision for reform.

Sheehan is running on a platform of Single-payer health care, media reform, overturning all free trade agreements, repealing the Patriot Act, renewable energy, nationalizing oil and electricity, ending the War on Drugs, legalizing Cannabis (drug), ensuring all talks in the Middle East are fair to all parties, ending torture, closing Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Overseas commitment to cleaning up Superfund sites, ending deregulation, ending No Child Left Behind, legalizing gay marriage.

The French revolution had a weaker platform. Isn't it time we re-evaluated all our positions and appreciate the fact that some of us are willing to do what it takes to shake us all out of this iron-wrench of an oligarchy?

So much so that I bought a HUGE 3 pound bag of spring greens this past weekend at Guercio's.



For ~$10, these fresh salad greens were a steal. I intend to have a variation of bread/pita-hummus-greens for lunch this entire week. :)



YUMMY! :)

I admit it. I am totally jealous of (e:pmt) weekend trips so I determinedly took one of my own this Sunday. I headed out to Forest Lawn Cemetery and decided to do this entirely by foot. Took me around 25 minutes to walk to the Cemetery from home. Not bad at all. I sorely missed Mt. Hope all these days and I think Forest Lawn is a worthy competitor. It was beautiful and I loved the fact that it was hilly and had somewhat steep-ish slopes just like Mt. Hope. Some photos from the hike...

I love that the entrance is so grand and has a small road fork of its own!


The entrance gate is actually crowned! Nice touch. :)


Is the green on this statue actually Copper patina or is it just green concrete/sculpting clay? I was in a hurry to rush all across the cemetery so didn't stop to read the inscriptions. Usually, I like to stop and read all of these random details and weave them into my own personal story versions. Hasty me. :/


There is something so soothing about walking on a bed of crackling yet soft leaves layered on grass...


Fall was out in all its glory at Forest Lawn!


The water-bodies across the cemetery are spell-binding. I could have easily believed that throwing coins in them and wishing like crazy might have made all my dreams come true! They were just that perfect! This is Jubilee spring - the first of the three.


Crystal Lake - as you can see it lives up to its name. Each leaf colour was reflected back in perfection!


A couple more view of that magical lake.



There were these morbid looking dark mushrooms all over the place.
(e:imk2), can Slawa tell whether these are edible?


The Bridge to the mythical geese kingdom. :)


The compass for lost souls.


There were sections of the cemetery that looked like you were looking through some virtual convex glasses, when in fact you weren't. Such a cool effect!


Creek Scajjy. ;-)


The ferocious guardian of the mythical kingdom of geese (otherwise known as the mirror lake).


The Geese Kingdom!



These geese actually posed for me. :)





From one of the mounds near Delaware avenue, you can see across the road on to distant plains and I think that is Delaware Park? (Not sure, though.) It was like one of the scenic moments described in a George Eliot novel.


The colours on the leaves were gorgeous!


There was this monument with angels and gargoyles that reminded me of churches in Prague.




These crosses were set off by a riot of colours in the background.





Not to be outdone by those below, some really delicate clouds were floating in the sky.


This monument somehow reminded me of a water tank and nuclear cloud all at once!


A flashback to Mt. Hope in Rochester that has Egyptian sphinxes as well!


I thought this Roman influenced priest had such a dramatic background!


I wasn't paying much attention to the inscriptions as I always do but these two picked me up ;-) The husband has measuring tools and a hammer on his side and the wife has humming birds (?) :)


And, having that name must have been hard at school...


It was a lovely afternoon! Forest Lawn is a real treasure. :)

Okay, I don't have (e:Matthew) magic dust, but hey, I try! :D Here is the view from the Mayflower terrace.

Looking north towards Delaware Avenue:

You can see the Zion temple and the uber cool condos on Delaware.

Panning east, that's the pretty house at the north-east corner of Linwood and Summer in the foreground. I am amazed at how pretty and colourful it progressively becomes as the leaves climbing it slowly turn in the fall.

Far in the background, I think that building is ECMC. You can also see the South Campus and the white clock tower in this view but my camera is on the lowest resolution to cram in the maximum number of pictures in 16 MB, so yes, this is all you get. Bleh.

Further east is the Summer-Best junction and the paint company further down the road. You can also see the copper-topped bell tower that produces the deafeningly loud chimes that resound around Linwood.

When I first came here, I thought someone's wretched job was to sit in that tower all day, every day, in all weather and strike the chimes by the hour. It somehow consoled me in rough times in a crooked miserable way. However, (e:Paul) broke the romance and pettiness by telling me that the thing was pre-programmed. *Sigh*


Alrighty, this view here is the direction of my school and livelihood of many on this site. Though you can't see much of it behind the towering presence of Buffalo General, the tiny bit of red sticking out beyond the big building is Roswell Park Cancer Institute. :)

To the right of the programmed chiming copper tower, the central terminal building is visible. I can actually see this from my window, but I didn't realize that it was the central terminal building till I actually saw it from terrace. Yeah, I am that visually and logically challenged.

Panning south now down Linwood...

Off in the distance, you can see the hope of the future windmills! :)

Further south is Buffalo's famed downtown skyline.


Hidden behind the tree in full fall colours is (e:pmt)'s abode!

And of course, a close up of the famed Buffalo downtown skyline.

Hiding my clear view of the Buffalo Harbour are these 10 storey monstrosities on Delaware Avenue. I used to think they were the same height as the Mayflower, but no, they are a full 2 storeys higher. :/



To the west is the beautiful church on Delaware Avenue between North and Summer. Off to the distance you can also see that Water Arbour structure right in the middle of the water. I am not sure what that is but I think it might be a good spot for a lavish water wedding that Buffalo might make money out of.

People could say their vows in that structure between Canada and the US and the guests could witness the ceremony in yachts floating around that structure. I think I have been seeing far too many romantic comedy/wedding movies lately.

Further west is this grand view of Summer Street.


And THAT off to the north-west is the city of Niagara Falls.


When there are absolutely no clouds, zero haze and it is somewhat chilly, you can see the mist from the horse-shoe falls. Again, I need (e:Matthew) magic dust and a better camera to prove this but there you have it.

And no terrace shoot can be complete without sky-focus shots. These are the some of the same views in absolutely magical lighting.


I go up there so often now, its hard to not take my camera and shoot when you see such awesomeness.


I think the second best place to see the sunset (after the harbour) is the Mayflower terrace. :)










Here's sunset over distant Niagara Falls!


Sunset over the famed Buffalo downtown skyline.


Nightfall over the famed Buffalo downtown skyline.

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PS: I have noticed that the more you keep describing something as "the famed blah blah", there is a big chance that it actually does become "the famed blah blah" at some point. Hey, I love Buffalo. If this is the least I can do to make it famed in current times, I will do it with diligence. :D

PPS: I am somewhat disappointed by the resolution of this entire shoot. I need (e:Matthew) to come up here and shoot it all to show the world exactly how awesome it really is. :)