first hand - part 2

the lost downtown









trying to see









nothing is stopping them from the jaccuzi ( can u see the people? )









the street drowning








emptiness

the city SHUT till further notice - first hand

driving back











from the building lobby








whats behind?








sitting by itself








coming down heavy

the B L i Z Z a r D in Denver and all of Colorado

The storm has hit and the state is in a mess - the Governor has announced a state of emergency, public transport is almost shut, the freeways are all shut, the internal roads are nothing but covered in snow, the airport has had like more than 800 flights cancelld, all emergency personnel are out there.... you can obviously catch all this on the news.

here is my bit of the story:

Our office shut this afternoon - obviously the picture looked very pretty from the window and the first reaction was of happiness of a half day and a possible no working day tomorrow. I left the office, my car wading through the snow... me enjoying the blizzard, even taking pics as I drove, just cos the drive is not too long and my apartment is close to home - but it was not a complete joy ride - even in that 5 min, less than a mile drive, my car got stuck in the foot of snow that had collected just a few minutes from home. trying hard to get it out but in vain -thankfully a gentleman got out of his car and helped me out through it - me on the wheel accelerating as much as I could and he pushing the car back and forth from the outside - all this lasted only a few minutes but surely made me realise how the picture was not happy at all out there - and then my thoughts completely shifted from the joys of an early off to all the people who have to travel so much and are stuck out there.

some thoughts that crossed my mind - the rescue agencies are all prepared and equipped and still struggling here in Colorado - but doing a good job - my heart just cries out to all the calamities that happen back home and how we JUST LACK a rescue plan what so ever.

I will put up pics right now

h a l f

Amidst a thousand events and happenings, life goes on and there is something that waits for none!!!

T I M E :

yet another journey officially reached its 6 month mark - Denver and RNL!!!


... cheers to solitude!!!

life's like that too...

there are too many chocolates and goodies all around the place this holiday season.

if you try to grab them all it will only leave you sick and nauseatic... looking fat , ugly and greedy!!!

pick your best one and leave the rest for the deserving ones.

reaching out

wrinkles...

... a testimony of age ... not wisdom!!!

different expressions of the same feeling!!!

so DHOOM 2 is a really bad movie...

and we all know that now...

but the fun part is to see how everyone is ripping it apart in their own way -
the reviews may say one thing - but here are three interesting takes on the movie from fellow bloggers -
who all only share one thing in common from their post - sheer disappointment and disgust with the movie -
but I could sense one thing (maybe i am wrong) - all these posts come from people who love their Indian cinema - and feel bad when whats offered is something as bad as DHOOM2!!!

ditto from my side guys!!!

http://maithilikabre.blogspot.com/2006/11/all-thats-slick-doesnt-make-for-good.html

http://anarchytect.blogspot.com/2006/11/dhoom-2.html

http://pinkfloyd7.blogspot.com/2006/11/time-to-take-back-seat-mr-bond-because.html

skyline

i stole this image from www.denver.org...

but isnt it just a beautiful image of the city?

back home? or something like that!!!

yes it was break time : thanksgivin time : time to visit family : and i did just that.

well break's over now - back to denver - tht is surprisingly colder than ever- and interestingly it was wayyyy warmer in michigan.

i dont have much to say yet -

had a restful break and gettin into the work groove is a little tough right now.

so as I try really hard to get into the routine here is one more interesting one liner:

"What is time? It is a secret - lacking in substance and yet almighty."

-Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain. "

a lil something

this was the 'punch' line for an upcoming movie - i cant remember the name of the movie... but this lil one liner did stick in my head:

'sometimes the largest distance to be covered is that between two people'

now my two cents to this:

'sometimes the largest distance is also too small to come inbetween two people.'

...

yes its been a long time considering my latest 'blogging' pace... but I have nothin to say -
especially today -
if you dont mind listening to me crib, here goes -

its a horrible monday - was a hectic weekend- a horrible horibble throat- leavin me with everything that ranges from a cold to headache to a fever and to top it all- the reason for me blogging in the middle of the day - a horribly intense day at work for a monday:( and unrealistic deadlines - unreasonable clients.

the brighter side: its a 3 day week remember? :)

I JUST SAW ANDRE AGASSI...

.. on a normal wednesday aftertoon - with my lunch bought from paradize bakery in my hand I was waitin for the elevator in the office building lobby - I suddenly saw andre agassi walk past me in the lobby with someone else. I wondered whether it was really him or just some one dressed in all balck leather who I thought looked like him.

running up to my desk to google 'andre agassi- denver' - so here is what I found:

http://www.denverpost.com/tourism/ci_4394610

the story goes: post -tennis, agassi is gettin into real esate. He and steffi graff ,have joined hands with Exclusive Resorts to develop new luxury resort communities.

and Exclusive resorts in denver bases and has their office in the same building as ours: tht is how I REALLY ran into him.

i think that was a real PLEASANT SURPRISE on a normal work day -
and to also learn that in the middle of a cold sunny afternoon I WASNT DREAMIN after all.

memories...

have u noticed this connector in the Wrigley building while walkin on Michigan ave, Chicago ?

prob not - cos at this moment u r gettin ready for the soon to come breath takin view of the city along the river...

moma

... light that changes path.

...space... that is complete only with the void.

.. a picture that is actually incomplete...

can u guess why?

nike run

- just felt like puttin up something really stupid- so here is a pic of my new Nike run shoes.... they r not stupid at all :)

on a tired day... i long for the sea!

after a long stressful work day you often long to go and relax by nature - for me it is the SEA - the water I really really long for. I was never a mountain person but living in colorado is quite an experience- comin across people who love their mountains- experiencing the pleasure of proximity to the mountains- and now with my new project even workin in the context of the mountains. As every other experience, no doubt I am enjoying all this too. but in the heart of all this lies a person who really really loves the sea - who wants to go after a tired working day and find solace in the sound of the waves- feel the sea-breeze and feel the salt on the skin.
- even to the extent of workin in the context of the sea
- to drive, walk along the sea

having grown up in bombay I took it for granted- but there are times now when I feel land locked -

I want to live where you can say the land ends or begins :)

addendum: the reason for this post: I feel like I dont understand the mountains _ I dont belong to them- I dont know them- I cant design for them- I feel disconnected from the context - I look for references and seem to understand the ones by the sea way better. Guess cos of my struggle with not being able to work with the mountain context comfortably I will never be able to find solace in them again - they intimidated me just cos of their intensity- now they do cos I cant even look through them and understand them. I feel horrible : context matters to me and I have to try hard to understand this one :(

transcending cultures...

this weekend I saw the new Umrao jaan- anticipatin it to be a borin movie with nothin but abhishek bachan to look at I was not expectin much. The movie was ordinary- but the story of umrao (a tawaif), half an hour into the movie reminded me of 'memoirs of a geisha'.
and all along (amidst the thousand mediocre song- dance sequences) there were glimpses of a geisha in the story.

I didnt know the story of Umrao Jaan at all - it was surely interesting to learn about this exact same parallel almost on the other side of the world.

are you fat? probably cos you live in the suburbs

http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=e3932c7a-0a97-4b94-8fcd-1516ea86cfe1&k=17723&p=1

so if you are obese dont blame it on anything else - but the place u live- the architects/planners who throw the cities/lifestyles at u :)

whats up?

... craft on the ceiling...















... Herzog de meuron at work at the Walker arts center!

and ofcourse, one important thing: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIDI... MISS U!

zaha

http://heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1396&id=1587412006

in my daily archnews -newsletter I came aross a very interesting article about 'THE WOMAN' hereself- zaha hadid.

though the people think both she and her work is crazy and overhyped there are many things about her which fascinate me - maybe its the whole bias about 'women in architectre'....

A couple of reasons I found this article interesting: describes not her work but her amusing ways of working and living and also some instances about being famous

- how people(read women and critics) react to her fame, work and lifestyle.

and most interestingly it is written by another woman- of indian origin for the 'architecture section' of 'scotland on sunday' -

... so this one to all women who love their professions more than anything else!!!

presenting...

...the smile of the year...











(dont miss the lil name on the dress)

when the thought is pure it can be expressed in all simplicity: just like this simple song:

Aa chal ke tujhe, main le ke chaluun
ik aise gagan ke tale
jahan gam bhii na ho, aansoo bhi na ho
bas pyaar hii pyaar pale

Suraj ki pahali kiran se, aashaa kaa savera jaage
chandaa kii kiraN se dhul kar, ghanaghor andhera bhaage kabhi dhuup khile kabhi chhaav mile
lambii sii Dagar na khale
jahan gam bhi na ho, aansoo bhi na ho
bas pyaar hi pyaar pale
ik aise gagan ke tale

Jahan door nazar daud aae, aazaad gagan laharaae laharaee
jahan rang birange panchhi, aashaa kaa sandesaa laayen
sapano me pali hansati ho kali
jahan shaam suhaani dhale
jahan gam bhi na ho, aansoo bhi na ho
bas pyaar hi pyaar pale
ik aise gagan ke tale

Sapano Ke aise jahan mein jahan pyaar hi pyaar khila ho
hum jaa ke vahan kho jaaye shikuva na koyi ghila ho
kahin bhair na ho koyi ghair na ho
sab milke chalte chale
jahan gam bhi na ho aansoo bhi na ho
bas pyaar hi pyaar pale

f l a v o r s

Flavors- the abcd movie- was a good movie - but more than that I really like the sound track- been with me for a while now.

found something funny in it: there is a song which goes like " take life like it is"...

it has a line : 'dont go desi on me dude... if you could you would... take life like it is. '

what does tht mean? tht we desis dont take life like it is?

why? is it true?

the Guggenheim- NYC

so when things go round and round you spin with them and cant find how to get your self out of them...

GREEN DAY

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.
Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test and don't ask why.

It's not a question but a lesson learned in time.
It's something unpredictablebut in the end it's right.

I hope you had the time of your life.

whats happening and whats not...

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2006/10/30/story9.html?page=1&b=1162184400^1366948

same thoughts different expression again...

Nagesh Kukonnor’s latest film Dor brought back to me thoughts from Mitch Albom’s book ‘five people you meet in heaven’

- strangers are just family you have to yet come to know
- no life is a waste – the only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone
- sacrifice is a part of life; it is supposed to be; it is not something to regret; it is something to aspire to : sometime when you sacrifice something precious, you are not really losing it; you are just passing it on to someone else
- Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.
- Lost love is still love. It takes a different form- that’s all. When those senses weaken, another heightens; Memory.
Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it, you hold it. You dance with it.
- Love like rain can fall from above. Drenching couples with a soaking joy. But sometimes under the angry heat of life, love dries on the surface and must nourish from below, tending to its roots, keeping itself alive
- Each path in life is with a reason –a consequence- subconsciously or not you shall respond to your deeds.

they mean the same... Across the globe

“And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking Racing around to come up behind you again The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older Shorter of breath and one day closer to death”


"Waqt ki qaid mein zindagi hai magar-
Chand ghadiyan yehi hain jo aazad hainInko khokar mere jaan-e-jaan
Umr bhar na taraste raho "

never say 'never'...

...have you ever been in a state where you make 3 sets of four copies when u r simply supposed to make 4 sets of 3 different drawings. I did. and then your boss looks at you as though you have gone crazy cos he just ended up stapling four same drawings to a set that was to be submitted to the client. Thankfully its not very bad if the boss is not a bad guy!!! ( ok i know am confusing you but dont EXPECT me to say things simply anymore)

... you land up in office on the day of a breakfast club(friday) and ask "hey has anyone brought anything today?" and the person stares back at u in disbelief... only to say" IT WAS UR TURN"
OUCH!!!

one more SIMPLE task messed up.

and then you wish... only wish to go back to the days of KG. but that also seems impossible... how i wish I could do that.

you cant light the fire again once its all burnt down...

you cant dig a grave to find a newborn....

you cant hope for a flower to bloom again...

you cant deny the freshness of a young one...

you cant deny old is stale...

let there be light...

i had clicked this picture exactly a year ago in OCTOBER- 2005.

i dont knw why it was lyin in 'my documents' titled as 'emptiness' till now...

its seems like black is the color ...

setting up the RGB setting for a drawing in photoshop-
i wanted White- in my sleep I can tell you its 254,254,254

and here I am in the middle of the day typing 0,0,0 -

to see nothin but black on the screen: and wondering wht happened!!!

...the brighter side of black?

somethings look really nice, pure and CLEAR in black:
i am referring to some pics i had put up- the geometry and the fire crackers stand out beautifully...

blinding

its so blurry that I could not even see what was right in my face....

for all Wolverines...

http://www.arcspace.com/architects/allied_works/umma/umma.html

thought this might interest people related to Ann Arbor... for those who are in AA- there is also a physical model at the museum- the building is coming up next to angel hall.

reactions anyone?

...seasons greetings....

on a snowy 'fall'evening....





on a sunny 'summer'day

its that time of the year!!!

happy diwali!

pic 1: 4th july fireworks- coors field, denver - july 06

pic 2: fireworks at the cindrella castle- magic kingdom, disney world , FL -may 06

runway crap

Did you watch project runway?

I followed the entire 3rd season... haha!!!

and surely all throughout there was tons of drama et all. My favorite all along was Michael. But his last collection was surely disappointing.

Ooli(I don't care if I spelt it wrong) was really impressive- I loved her collection- it was cohesive, intense, distinctly styled and something anyone can think of wearing.

Laura - was boring! and old!!! ( expected from a 42 yr old architect? I hope not!)

Jeff- was obviously going to win - especially after the whole drama they created about almost throwing him out- if you followed the show all the way you would know how there existed this whole 'hate him' thing - and makin him cry the ultimate episode was part of the game to help us build some sympathy towards him. but no doubt his collection was great - I liked his designs all along just because they were 'creative' in the sense that you would least expect. He always tried something that was not the norm and least expected.

well I will miss watchin project runway every wednesday at 8pm - but I am goin to try and follow :top chef (with our very own Indian host infact - 'padmalakshmi' - u might have spotted her on page 3 - mumbai times sometime with mr. rashdie!!!) hope i learn some interesting recipes :)

now for my confession: if you have grown up anywhere near mumbai you must have surely gone through the phase of what to do after class 12th- well it was obvious that I would take up a career in architecture but somewhere deep down I wanted to pursue fashion- I even looked up courses at NIFT:) . however today thanks to a stupid tv show I know that I wouldn't have been good at it. reason: I am not questioning my design abilities or taste at all : the fact of the matter is I am a horrible craftsperson- no patience or meticulousness what so ever - wonder how I would make those clothes ever (that is probably why I almost avoided making physical models in undergrad - but thanks to technology in grad school that wasn't an issue)

-if you consider architecture as an art form at all- it would probably be one of those art forms where the artist need not be the one who executes the art

-is there a concept of male models in this country at all?- the runway is almost considered to be a 'for the woman' thing here- thank god it wasn't that way in India- we would not have a milind soman then( and I would never bump into him in the Xavier's lane)

- finally this post is goin to be one of those which I will never go back and read - and also try to forget easily :) but I am still putting it up.

distance

you plant your favorite seed with the hope of seeing it come alive..
water is - nurture it each day...
you are thrilled to see it grow...
to see it flourish... with your love and care...

the plant grows beautifully...
you nurture it more...
its most precious to you...
you cant believe its growth and beauty...

its keeps growing...
watering it is now a ritual..
you dont see a significant change...
you think you are giving it all the nurturing it needs...
you want to believe its flourishing...

and then one day a closer look... a gentle breeze in enough to make you realize...
the leaves have withered and falling... not withstood what you thought was just a breeze...
its looks the same from a distance... jsut as beautiful as it was....
but had you looked at it closely...
you thought it had matured?
or was it loss of its freshness?
or is it just plain old?

what went wrong?

probably time... and tht closer look which you should have made long ago.



(nothing other than a book i just finished readin has inspired this thought)

geometry

... of light, shade and texture.











pic:a 'spatial' sculpture at The Walker, Minneapolis again.



just a small addition: as i write this its snowing behind me : snow so early :(

LEGO

i am sure we all enjoyed it...

pic: disney store, disney downtown, FL.
may 2006

...

Dil naa ummiid to nahiin,
Naakaam hi to hai,
Lambii hai gam kii shaam,
Magar shaam hii to hai...

nahiin rahanevaalii ye mushkilenye...
hain agale mod pe manzilen...
merii baat kaa tuu yakiin kar...

kabhii dhund legaa ye kaaravaan vo naii zamiin nayaa aasamaan jise dhuundhatii hai terii najar...

...

stop living for today: it gets over even before you realize, to just be a distant memory!

c.a.g.e.d

On a lighter note to take a break from a text heavy blog, I decided to put up some images that come out of the set I have been clicking over the past couple of years.

This one is a zoomed in view of the exterior metal cladding at the Minneapolis Walker Art center (designed by Herzog de Meuron).

if i feel like I shall put more shots that I took here.

pic: Minneapolis trip - Oct 05

fame and taint - hand in hand

my posts are going more and more the 'architectural' and 'denver' way- but with all the hype about the city floating around in the context of architecture and being only in the company of architects please bear with me for one more post in that direction. i promise this shall change!!!

this is about one city and its relationship with two star architects - both making nationwide news but for distinct reasons:

so as mentioned earlier Libeskind's art museum has opened to the public and like any other hyped and much awaited building has managed to grab most of the attention of the media and the archi. circles- both applauding a radical feat. its cultural significance and contribution to the city and at the same time critiquing his work as crazy, pointless,sterotypical and a symbolic failure!!!

here is a photograph in one of the press articles which i found extremely funny: it almost mocks (you can read ridicules if u wish) the 'man' himself as an art piece in his building:

http://www.denverpost.com/artmuseum/ci_4435696

so on one hand as the city is basking in the glory of the attention from this museum, the rest of the news is dedicated to another star architect- but for his infamous exit from the justice center in denver. the justice center hosted a HUGE competition inviting popular architects from all over the world for this project- won by Steven holl and another local firm in denver the project was well into the design stage when news comes out that Holl is walking out of the project and the local firm is goin to take the project further.
Popular now as a big 'fiasco' in the architecture cirles, the fear is that the whole " lets go international" image that denver was trying to build is goin to be tainted for a really long time? Each one will think once before attempting to participate-

amidst all this i really feel bad for the other architects who participated in the competition only to learn now that a local firm is takin up the project.

here is proof of tht news:

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4442883

so here is how fame and taint walk hand in hand for the city.

sawpping roles: the irony being denver is home to Daniel libeskind's first american building and at the same time Steven holl comes from the city of New York which has much criticzed Libeskind for his 'not standing by' the master plan at ground zero

- funny aint it: two individuals with no connections other than the same profession they belong to are glorified and not so glorified for the same reasons are now linked : swapping the city and balancing the equation!

IDEO

IDEO has always been an extremely interesting company when it comes to their strategies for innovation, structure and especially method.

After making its name in the industrial/product design company a section of IDEO looks at spaces and environmental design in the early 90s.

My post is about this group titled as 'smart space' and their diverse approaches to design;

here are a couple of articles which make an interesting read:

http://ideo.com/pdf/NYT_031206.pdf

http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=2332

http://ideo.com/

This is not about advocating or following an approach but just about making a note for myself on my blog about an interesting company.

DAM

this weekend we - along with the whole of denver witnessed the much talked about opening of the 'much talked about' denver art museum(DAM) by Daniel Libeskind.

I was planning to put up a few pics but the first link has a great set of pics that tell the whole story!

http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Libeskind/denver2/denver2.html

http://www.archnewsnow.com/

we are all the mercy of TIME and LUCK

flash back - to vada paav

its stil early fall and the hot-dog, breakfast burrito stalls have not moved out from their everyday spots... today as I had the cheapest($1.25) and the quickest burrito meal ever the image flashing in front of my eyes wasn't that of the person who was selling me the burrito- it was a deja-vu - it almost felt like handing those 5 coins to the wada-paav vendor(gaadi) outside Kirti college.

but then guess what jolted me back to reality? the taste of the burrito was NOT EVEN half as good as that of the oily wada paav with chutney.

so now ...cravings for the same!!!

(fyi before I get yelled at: tht place is one of the few exceptions where I ate roadside food)

I stole this from 'someone's' blog

Love is neither physical, nor romantic.
LOVE IS AN ACCEPTANCE OF ALL THAT IS, HAS BEEN, WILL BE, AND WILL NOT BE!

where do you belong?

He has principles and stands by them.
He believes in certain things in life.
People identify and respect him for what he has always been.
He is firm and stands by his rigidity.
He thinks his way of doings things is the only way.
He thinks he doesnt err ever.
He is self satisfied and doesnt see a reason to change…

But You know you are in good company when the one sitting across you…

…stands by his principles but is more than willing to hear you out to adopt the new
…believes strongly in certain things in life but wants to add one to his list each day
…has identity, is respected but not a ‘stagnated image’
…is firm but not rigid – one that listens and then projects
…one who believes in his potential to do things the right way but longs to evolve
all the time
…who knows its human to err and is not god about it
…who is never self –satisfied and all he wants from life is to learn and believes that change is the only constant

a correction

so someone found my last post extremely funny... to the extent tht he claims to hv rolled on the floor....

here is the mail I recieved as a 'comment' from him

advait wrote: "aaiiii ga... jhandu nahi ga rani, jhendu JH-E-NDU!!! jhandu is the
balm... hahaha
lovely picture!"

laugh on!!!

a lil pause from the blue... some 'o r a n g e'

...happy dassera...

...its hard to miss the orange and yellow 'jhandu' flowers adorning every nook and corner...

(pic: "motion and radial blur" filter in photoshop applied to a pic of a 'thali of flowers' clicked by ta!{charita}

signs of life...

... all it said

"When the childlike view of the world went, nothing replaced it"

yep, just a reflection....

... of wht u see underneath the Bean, chicago!!!

(both images - May 06, Chicago)

what is this?

can u spot me?

the architect's blur

... do we meddle with nature?
or create our own with just nature's elements as our tool to give it some in return?

(my previous post just reminded me of the "blur building" described as " An inhabitable cloud whirling above a lake.The Blur Building by Diller & Scofidio is a media pavilion for Swiss Expo 2002 at the base of Lake Neuchatel in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.)

and hence the pics - i got them off the internet!

nature's blur

... blurring where earth meets the water and where the water meets the sky....

(pic: traverse city, michigan - May 06)

disbelief

on my way to starbucks this morning i was stuck with disbelief- the mountains in the distance were already covered with snow ( it wasnt there till yest but now it seems dense and as if its been there for a while)

we are still about a couple of days away from 'fall' - and is summer directly breaking into winter?

when summer was at its peak we longed for it to get cold and now whn it seems like at the door step it looks good only from a distance.

but then life's like the weather...

it always seem like the wrong time
we are never ready

yun hota to kya hota...

naseerudin shah's directorial debut... i wouldnt say greatest of all films but surely a movie worth a watch - for its narration - the character dev (reminded me a lot of theater in mumbai which i really miss here) and mainly just the "idea"

just the thought of "what if...?" there are atleast several times in a day when we come across the thought - "what if a certain thing wouldnt be such" or "woud be so"

-its a story about four lives - a film extra ; a student; a newly married girl; and a stock broker - these lives never ever intersect - but they all just have ONE common goal- to go to the US - and somewhere their destinies meet and HOW? to change their lives forever!!!

go watch it for the idea!!! but dont expect too much!!!

all that you touch and all that you see is all your life will ever be

mount evans

a couple of hours south west of Denver- the scenic byway is the country’s highest paved automobile road.

-At a height of 14,148 feet was probably the most beautiful of nature’s creations I have seen so far.

We left late in the day… as we began the drive up, the gloomy ‘mood and clouds’ almost took over the road and there was little we could all see… we reached a height of 11,000 feet – could see boards of “Echo Lake” by our side but it only seemed like there was a valley covered with clouds by the edge of the road…we got down from the car only to learn that we were parked right next to a beautiful lake…immersed in the clouds… that was when we decided that we should surely try and reach the peak before the darkness sets in… another 5 miles and the clouds all disappeared… no they did not go away…they were below us now… as though we were in an airplane! the sun now shone bright,into our face... as we drove this really narrow road finally reaching a height of 14,148 feet…. On one side was the valley, on the other - lightly sloping mountains and water bodies…. And in the car five voices going “wow” all the time…

For those few moments we all forgot our worries and everything that we had left back thousands of feet below us…

That is when I realized what I once read was so wrong, the truth is:

The light is obviously always behind the gloom and not in front of it…you just have to look for it and you shall find it… if you choose not to you shall never…
The gloom ‘an intense moment’ waiting to pour out –the sun hiding behind is what is to stay– even though it might take a while to reach there.


Pictures were taken – and you shall see them…as soon as I get a hold of them. I did not carry my camera!

Anthem

one of the things that I find myself doing these days when I get done with work at a good hour is visiting different unique stores in denver... my favorite for this week is the 'tattered cover bookstore' - falls exactly at a halfway stop in the 20 min walk from home to office - i loved the ambience and the collection-at the store...just what you would expect with a name like tht.

The other day when I was browsing through books and read the opening lines of a book: Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in. ...

took me to thinking abou Leonard Cohen's song anthem...

Anthem

The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

We asked for signs
the signs were sent:
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
of every government --
signs for all to see.

I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
a thundercloud
and they're going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring ...

You can add up the parts
but you won't have the sum
You can strike up the march,
there is no drum
Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee.


Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.

TIA

means 'princess'

havent seen you yet but seem to miss you already

yes...thats the name of my latest baby niece... our lil princess T I A !

still young ?

i was surprised today to learn that the city I am living in right now is younger than both the schools I went to for my undergrad and grad.

Sir J.J COA - Mumbai turned hundred a few years ago...

TCAUP at University of Michigan is currently celebrating its 100th year - in 2006

and the city of Denver will actually turn hundred only in 2007.

Atticus said to the children with a hope that they shall never forget :

"Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" - mockingbirds do nothing but "sing their hearts out for us"

...

Palamino- an italian restaurant on the first level of our office building is a common hang out place for us on fridays either for lunch or a beer after work - popularly called at office as conference room P ....

after lunch the other day i had a very sweetly designed fortune card handed over to me by the waitress...

mine said: " Two wrongs dont make a right, but may be fun to keep tryin " - by Laurence Peter.

~~~trust me its not~~~

through the rocky mountain national park...

...mercy...

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown.
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this scept'red sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute to God himself,
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice.

- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice