Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Bicycles


Here's a picture of a bicycle very similar to the one I borrowed today to go riding off to climb a little mountain up to a temple. Everything was beautiful (the weather, the scenery etc.) but what really struck me as I bounced along on bumpy dirt roads on this bicycle that I was sure was going to fall apart at any second was that, compared to many of the people I was passing, I had it made transportation-wise. They had no bicycles (not to mention cars!) or maybe one to share with two or three people. My bike even had a bell on it.

Perspective. We need it.

*maki-girl

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Saree Adventure


Today we went to Laxmi road which is one of the shopping areas in Pune. It was very crowded with hundreds of shops and people and cars and autorickshaws and donkeys and roadside vendors. We went to a clothing shop because a friend wanted to buy a sari for his girlfriend. They were so beautiful that I could not resist buying one, too! And I'm really glad I did because it was a really interesting and fun experience. First you sit down on the cushioned floor and they bring you all sorts of materials so you can choose your sari. They wrap them around you so you can see how you look. Interestingly enough, in this shop it was all men selling the saris. There were so many different patterns and colors, some with jewels sewn into the material, some with gold thread and so on. Once we decided on the colors, then they cut the sari material for us. It comes as a big long piece, and they have to cut away the part that will be made into the blouse. Then they showed us a tailor to go to to have the blouses made. A man from the clothing shop led us around onto another street to the tailor. Then he measured me for the blouse, much more carefully than they measure in the U.S. He didn't just measure my chest and waist, but all these other points, too. I had to decide the shape of the neck (I picked round), how long I wanted the sleeves, and how low I wanted the neck in the front and back. Then I had to choose how to have the sari hemmed. We managed to get through all of this with us not speaking Hindi or Marathi and them speaking a little bit of English. (Pune is a large city of about 2 million, but not many tourists come here so very few signs are in English and not many people speak English very well.) Everyone was so nice and helpful and it was a lot of fun! Tomorrow my friend will go back and pick up the two saris for us.

*maki-girl

Friday, January 20, 2006

Idli Sambar


Today my Indian culinary experience continued. I've always loved Indian food, ever since I dated someone from India in high school. But now I'm having the chance to try real Indian food three times a day. My favourite so far has been learning what they eat for breakfast. On the first day we had idli sambar. Idli are these sort of round steamed cakes made of rice and lentils in a 3-to-1 ratio. The rice and lentils are ground together and then shaped into balls and then steamed. The sambar is mixture of vegetables in a sauce, or maybe more accurately it's a soup. If you're curious, here's a recipe.

This morning we had paratha which is a kind of round, grilled flat bread cooked on a grill. It was stuffed with a thin layer of potatoes and spices. It was absolutely delicious!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

*maki-girl

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Honk OK Please


That's what it says on everyone's bumpers here in Mumbai. They honk just to let you know they're going to pass you, they are passing you, and they've finished passing you. And for many other reasons, too. This makes it a very noisy place to drive around! Plus traffic here is kind of like a fluid. It all just flows into whatever openings (however narrow) are available. I think if I tried to drive here I would probably have a coronary. There are cars, trucks, buses, autorickshaws, motorcycles, mopeds, bicycles, oxen, horses, and cows all sharing the same road. Oh, and did I mention people, too?

So anyways, yes, I am in India. It's quite an amazing place and I am really enjoying it ... but almost too much has happened to put into words!

*maki-girl

Friday, January 13, 2006

Queer As Folk


Ahhhh ... I just watched the last episode of Season 4 of Showtime's Queer as Folk. If anything could make me hook up that satellite dish, it's the prospect of being able to watch the newest season of that plus Gilmore Girls, which is a WB show. Which is funny because the shows are as different as David and Goliath. But I think they both have great writing/dialogue/camera work/music that just sucks you in. Unfortunately, QaF has been getting better but is going off the air, and GG is still going but I think has gone downhill. Funny how that works.

Anyways, just to warn you, if you haven't seen the 2004 season of QaF and you want to and you hate spoilers then stop reading. Don't get mad at me for spoiling all the fun for you. But this season was filmed right when certain states (Oregon, Massachusetts) and provinces (Ontario) were legalizing gay marriage. Two of the characters (Michael and Ben) get married in Toronto and are hopefull that "soon" it will become legal in their own state. (The show is set in Pittsburgh.) In fact, the last episode ends with a punk version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I certainly felt that way last year or two years ago but am getting increasingly worried about what the political wackos are up to. I don't think these confirmation hearings for Alito bode well for this nation. On the one hand, we have come so far--yes, I've been complaining about how apathetic we all are and we aren't fighting for what we know is right. But we have come far enough that many more gay people are "out there" and vocal and fighting for their rights. I don't think QaF would have been broadcast (even on a pay channel like Showtime) ten years ago. But I feel that part of America is scared. And that what they want to do is re-segregate (already happening! look here), shove people back in the closet, and put all us women back in the kitchen with 32 kids each. Heaven forbid abortion could ever really, fully be legal here.

Again, I just have to shake my head and wonder. Why are people so afraid of love? In "Brokeback Mountain," the character of Ennis Del Mar says, "If you can't fix it, you got a stand it." I don't want to stand it.

*maki-girl

Thursday, January 12, 2006

On the Road (Rail) Again


I had a wonderful time visiting hoagie boy and Mrs. H. this week. It's always hard to leave after visiting some of your best friends, but it's time for me to be moving on. First back to Vermont for a few days and then on to India! I am on the Amtrak Ethan Allen Express which goes from New York City up into Vermont. I think they put the "Express" part in there just to make you laugh because we do stop an awful lot. But I do love taking the train and am glad Amtrak serves Vermont. This trip is beautiful because it is along the water--I think the Hudson? It makes me feel very lucky and appreciative because I can sit back, relax, listen to some music, play around on my computer, eat a snack, and in five hours or so be back in Vermont. I think we forget sometimes that not many people in this world have the luxury of traveling freely and relatively cheaply and safely.

In hoagie boy's spirit I'll let you know the last ten songs I've listened to:

"Where is the Love?" Black Eyed Peas
"Into the Dark" Ben Lee
"Man of Constant Sorrow" Bob Dylan
"Banana Pancakes" Jack Johnson
"Jackson" Johnny Cash and June Carter
"Wish You Were Here (Live)" Roger Waters
"Strong Enough" Sheryl Crow
"One Horse Town" The Thrills
"Happiness is a Warm Gun" The Beatles
"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" Bob Dylan

Hope to see you on the train sometime.

*maki-girl

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Country Mouse


If you've been reading hoagie boy's blog, then you know that I'm visiting him right now and we're attending the American Astronomical Society conference. I feel like I'm in that children's story about the "City Mouse" and "Country Mouse." It's amazing just how differently people in cities dress, eat, converse, text message ... compared to people in the country. Well, I know that's a very simplified observation, and that part of it is that it's different parts of the country and slightly different climates but that's not the whole story. As much as I like all that the city has to offer, I don't think I could actually live here. But I know people feel just the same when they come to visit more rural areas.

As a "country mouse" my big test is coming up soon enough--in a week I'll be in Mumbai which has a population of about 18 million. Yes, that's right, 18 million. That is over half the population of Canada in one city! It's more than 18 Vermonts. I cannot even fathom that many people. I can't even deal with the thousands of astronomers at this week's conference. But, then again, I am sure all the people in Mumbai aren't telling bad astronomy jokes and wearing questionable attire and competing to see who can look "smartest" and "most important." I hope the Washington Post fashion/gossip columnist is visiting the conference so they can get an eyefull of how bad it can get.

*maki-girl

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Brokeback Mountain


So the third film I just saw is Brokeback Mountain which has been receiving a lot of press lately. It's about two young men in Wyoming who are taking care of sheep for the summer up on Brokeback Mountain. It's 1962 and they fall in love with each other. But it's 1962 and they live in Wyoming and are ranchers. (Oh, again, if you're into directors, it's done by Ang Lee.)

There are ton(ne)s of reviews out on this film, including the ones here. There's lots of buzz about the gay sex scenes in a mainstream movie. (Although, if you ever watch Queer as Folk this is nothing.)

But since this is my blog, let me tell you what I liked about that movie. I walked out of it in a trance, wanting to see it again. It was very powerful, as much as for what the characters said as for what they didn't say. I felt utterly moved by what had happened in the last two hours. The scenes of the mountains were majestic, the musical score was perfect. I felt like it had happened to me. I felt like I had really gotten into their skin and fought the demons they fought.

I loved how this film really showed us what the characters felt without having to use a word. I wish that it could be that simple sometimes, that people could be honest with their feelings and just live them instead of talking about them. But, then again, these cowboys found how costly it can be to be honest.

Go see it.

*maki-girl

Walk the Line/No Direction Home


I've had the "good luck" of seeing a triplet of wonderful films lately. Wonderful in the sense that I get so caught up in them and what they're saying, the music they surround you with, the ups and downs of the stories ... and I want to see them again. (That's always my Litmus test.)

The first that I saw was Walk the Line which, just in case you've been living in a paper bag, is Johnny Cash's story. I didn't know much about him before seeing the movie ... I just knew the old Johnny Cash songs like "Ring of Fire" from the records my Dad played when I was little. Now I have always been so-so about Johnny Cash. He is, afterall, country-western right? What has captured my attention was how he fit into what else was going on at that time. I hadn't realized that he and Bob Dylan were starting out at around the same time. And there's Johnny Cash singing Bob Dylan songs. I had forgotten how different country-western ("old" country) is from the country we hear now ("new" country.) It is much more related to folk music than I had really understood. But beyond that, his story is just ... well you just have to watch it.

Next, my Netflix copy of No Direction Home (Part 1), which is Bob Dylan's story, arrived. It's directed by Martin Scorsese if you're into directors. Wow. I have loved Bob Dylan for a long time, since an old boyfriend started playing early Dylan and Woody Guthrie (you know, the "This Land is Your Land" guy) recordings for me. This brought that all back, and how amazing to see footage of some of those early concerts. The end of Part 1 shows footage of one of the early Newport Folk Festivals (early 1960's) and there's Johnny Cash singing "Walk the Line," Pete Seeger (the link between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan), Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and others all singing "Blowing in the Wind." It really gives you a sense of what that time must have been like, when the civil rights battles were brewing, there was the conflict in Vietnam ... and people were actually singing about these things. Here's a great example, a verse from Dylan's "Only a Pawn in their Game":

A South politician preaches to the poor white man,
"You got more than the blacks, don't complain.
You're better than them, you been born with white skin," they explain.
And the Negro's name
Is used it is plain
For the politician's gain
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game.

We still have the same problems today, but no one seems to be yelling or singing about them. I was talking about this with hoagie boy and Mrs. H at lunch today and they could explain *why* 2006 is so different. But it still makes me sad that it *is* so different.

I promise to tell you about the third film in my next post.

*maki-girl

Me too!

Of course, how long could I resist starting my very own blog?

I'll tell you what's going on in my life and in my head. Maybe that'll be interesting. If not, just move on ...

Mostly I just want to be writing more about non-work related topics. Not that there's anything wrong with work, but there is more to life!

*maki-girl