Saturday, March 21, 2009

Picture Stroy

Popology Youtube channel is starting some thing new from Summer 2009.

It is going to focus on one subject and make a story with pictures and music. The hope is to bring in attention to any hot topic, bringing more awareness and spreading the word. Hope I succeed, wish me luck!


Picture Story 1: Stop War in Sri Lanka



Picture Story, A Journey through Pictures, Episode 1. The Sri Lankan Civil War, waged between separatist Tamil rebels and the government of Sri Lanka - a conflict which has run hot and cold over 26 years, and has cost over 70,000 lives - may now be approaching its end. The ethnic Tamil rebel force called The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (or LTTE, or just "Tamil Tigers") has been fighting for the creation of an independent Tamil state since 1983. Hoping for Peace, how soon?
Picture Courtesy: The Big Picture

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Picture Story 2: Save Baby Girls



This Video is dedicated to the baby girls of India. I hope this will bring smile on them some day. Girls are still Un-wanted Sex in certain parts of India, hope this situation changes soon.
Song: This song "Ennama Thozhi" is very soothing song from the movie "Kaalaipani"
Song: ENNAMA THOZHI
Album: KAALAIPANI
Singer: SULABA
Lyrics: SASI KUMAR
Music: SATISH RAMALINGAM


Hoping to add one or 2 for a month for now and slowly pick it up and make it a weekly.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

South Indian Food and Restaurant Menu Cheat Sheet for Decoding

One of the reason we Indians not missing home here in USA is, we are not missing Indian food here. If you want to cook any Indian Cusine, you get the groceries here or if you are ready to drive little bit, you could even find all the restaurants around you, aren’t we blessed, If you don’t agree with me then you are too picky.

Especially South Indian food, so many varieties are there. Even now it takes a while before I make up my mindbefore I order my food. Indian food is getting in the taste buds of people all over the world especially Americans. I get weird questions about the South Indian recipes from my colleagues often, I am not sure if they were sarcastic.

I can always vouch for good South Indian food, South Indian food is a major factor that grabs the attention of a number of tourists visiting India. It will satisfy your taste buds with the authentic south Indian curries.

Not only delicious but also easily digestible, South Indian Cuisine marks its unique identity with its light and low calorie appetizing dishes, not always. South Indians are real experts in rice preparations. Most of the items like dosas, vadas, idlis and uttapams, are prepared by rice and lentils. Sambhar is the main serve in the south India food.

But there is problem of understanding the Restaurant Menu. Forget about Foreigners, even many North Indians can’t understand what’s in the South Indian menus, its complicated I agree. It's not clear if this is because they don't expect "outsiders" to want this kind of food, or perhaps some other reason, but restaurants with clear descriptions of the menu items are the exception, not the rule.

Moreover, the waiters aren't always trained to give explanations to non-Indians, most they are Mexicans serving Indian Food. If you ask what the difference between a dosa and a rava dosa is, you might hear that rava dosas are crispier. But your waiter may not know that rava means wheat or be able explain that in a rava dosa semolina replaces the rice flour. And that won't help you if you don't already know that a dosa is a large crispy crepe made with a fermented batter of rice flour and ground lentils. The semolina in a rava dosa does make it crispier, and a little thicker than a regular dosa. It also takes a little longer to cook, so you can expect it to come out of the kitchen a bit later than a regular dosa.



Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories have put together a South Indian Restaurant Menu Decoder Wallet Card (800 kB PDF) for your enjoyment, education, and dining pleasure. You can print it out-- single sided so no hassle --and it compresses to standard business card size: 3.5" x 2". You can also not print it out, and just view it on your iPhone. (And if you've never been to a South Indian place, isn't this a good time to try one?)

A definitely useful cheat sheet for any one who is not familiar with South Indian menu, give a try. Have fun Decoding and Bon Appetit!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Annamalai




Friday, March 06, 2009

Four Bad Bear Markets


(Click the Chart to Zoom)

Thanks to dshort for this wonderful chart, Very Interesting

Monday, March 02, 2009

Terrorist Attack on Sri Lanka Cricket players in Pakistan, Lahore

I plead Pakistan to take action at least now, its High time.

India and Australia have pulled out of cricket tours to the country in the recent past citing security concerns. India were scheduled to tour Pakistan but the trip was cancelled after the terror attacks in Mumbai by Pakistan-based terrorists. Sri Lanka stepped in to fill the gap for Pakistan. Poor Sri Lankans, to keep the sports spirit high, they risked their life, which proved not worth. Also International Cricket Council, last month decided not to hold the 2009 Champions Trophy in Pakistan due to safety worries. Looks like Cricket is becoming extinct in Pakistan, I pity their players.



Injured players:
Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Ajanta Mendis, Tharanga Paranavitana, Thilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vaas

How the attack happened (Source: Cricinfoblog)

Posted 5 minutes ago in Lahore terror attack

The Sri Lankans were on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium when their bus was attacked by five armed terrorists near Liberty market. Habibur Rehman, chief commissioner of police, said 12 masked terrorists fired at the Sri Lankan team bus. The gunmen shot at the wheels of the bus and also injured the driver. A grenade was also thrown at the bus but it missed.

"The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus," Mahela Jayawardene told Cricinfo. "We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [a member of the support staff], but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris."

Lahore police chief Habib-ur Rehman said, "They appeared to be well-trained terrorists. They came on rickshaws." Television footage of several gunmen creeping through the trees, crouching to aim their kalashnikovs then running onto the next target were aired by Pakistan's private channel Geo, AFP reported. Crystals of broken glass littered the road next to a gun cartridge and an empty rocket-propelled grenade launcher. A police motorbike was shown crashed sideways into the road at the Liberty Chowk (roundabout) in Lahore. Bullet holes ripped through the windscreen of another vehicle and a white car was shown smashed headlong into the roundabout as nervous security officers guarded the site.

I salute the 5 Brave Security Guards / Police men who saved the Cricketers giving their own life, RIP