Paint your own Penguin

Penguin is releasing a series of books with a blank front cover made with art paper for you to fill with a collage, drawing, painting or whatever. I just love the idea. There are currently 6 titles in this series called My Penguin and they plan to add more. I think these personalized books will make great gifts too. Read more on their blog and see some examples on their mini site .

Surprise visit

Got a call from Pa yesterday in the morning to tell me that Ismail was in Dhaka. He called shortly after and dropped in to visit in the evening. I probably would not have recognized him if I'd bumped into him on the street because of his beard and nor he me because of my weight. Ismail came to Dhaka to celebrate Id with his mother and relatives. It was great to see him and catch up on his khabbar.

So much has not changed!

Subha sent me the link to this site earlier today. She wanted me to pass it to you too. I really enjoyed going through these photographs and even made a collage out of a few :D These 60 odd photographs taken in Kolkata, between 1946-47 by American Military personnel based there then, have been acquired recently by the University of Pennsylvania.

Looks like a lot hasn't changed - the photographer was complaining of traffic jams - people as well as buffaloes. :D Burrabazaar and the signages. Overloading of public transportation. Makes me want to rush back home to old familiar sights! There are others of the Hooghly without the bridge. A Chowringhee square that I did not recognize and many other gems. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: lmog, kolkata, 1946, photographs, upenn
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Digital Voice Recorder

I have now started using my voice recorder regularly and find it pretty handy and easy to use. I havent taken the trouble of installing it on the computer or using the dock. Went out and got some rechargeable AAA batteries as it goes through those pretty quickly. Mostly using it for reminders. The journaling project has not been started as yet. Pa what about you?


Technorati Tags: kkg digital voice recorder olympus
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Get your Library online!

Gala this one is for you. Zestr is an online cataloging application and an easy way to have a backup of your delicious-monster library catalog. Sign up and upload the file and access your library online.


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It's all about Italian food.

This one's for Nanda. Mestolando. Italian Recipes. Short videos make the recipes easier to follow. And the photographs of the dishes are mouthwatering. If you do try this out leave me a comment and let me know.

Technorati Tags: kkg, food, recipes, italian
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Rentometer

You could do a quick check on Rentometer to see whether you're paying less or more than people around you. Let me know if you do try it out.

Technorati Tags: kkg, rent
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Sell by, Use by, Best before

I have so far treated all 3 as expiration dates this article explains why they're not. The other new thing that I learnt was that the temperature of the freezer within our refrigerators is not sufficient for long term storage of food. Read more in this Business Week article on The Truth About Food Expiration Dates.

Technorati Tags: food, expiration, kkg
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How about some closeups of Uma?

perfect
Originally uploaded by inkyblack.

Inspired by this and more on Inkyblack's flickr site, I was hoping to get you to take some close-ups of our gondiya ram and do a few storyboards for her baby blog. Zoom and get clicking :D

Make your own Pollack

Mummy this one's for you. Do you remember noticing Jackson Pollock's art in MOMA? I remember you saying that you'd like to try one of your own. Well, here's your chance.

Go to the Jackson Pollock site or the earlier one at Stamen
You'll come to a blank page in either site.
Move your mouse around to make the marks
Everytime you click the colour changes
Have fun!
Send me a copy of your effort.

Found this first on Drawn! soon after our visit in July and thought of you and making this post. This image has been lying on my desk for more than a month now. Today another site, Lines and Colors has made a mention of this site and reminded me again. Both sites are updated regularly with art and related information. You should check them out, you'll find them interesting and fun.


Technorati Tags: jackson, pollock, kkg, MOMA, art, artist

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Postcards from the Past

Sangita Ohri was the first friend I made in LaMartiniere in '76. She used to collect postcards and I, Binaca toys. Apparently we made a swap. I gave her this bunch of postcards which she has kept safely for 30 years till now. Can't say the same about those Binaca toys though. She left school in '78 and I met her in Bangalore after all these years. We had a super time catching up and she handed these postcards back to me. She'd noticed that some of the postcards were addressed to a Miss Pushpa Shanbag and postmarked 1961. I handed them back to Pa and Ma yesterday. Took these photos to share with you two.

Tags:

• postcard
• pushpa
• prabhu
• papa
• mummy
• shanbag

How to Fold a Shirt

You've got to check this one out. And as the person who sent it to me said - you cant watch it just once!

Tags:

• youtube
• demo
• fold
• shirt
• video

Art for Uma

Uma has got everyone wrapped around her little finger. Her Abu has made his first painting since leaving school just for her - The sheep was made by him. Amamma who is no stranger to painting but it has been a while made the rubber ducky, Nanda masi, a first for her too, the tortoise and her Mummy, the artist painted the cow.

References for these are from her baby books so that she connects them to what she will be reading. It was nice to see everyone sitting down to make these and I hope Uma likes them especially the thought behind them - we love you moomsie! The canvases are 8" by 6" and water based oil paints have been used.

Tags:

• art
• uma
• abu
• amamma
• nanda
• gala
• baby
• room
• oil
• painting
• canvas

I created a Slide Show! Check it out!

Uma

PICTURE2LIFE.COM - 7/18/2006 3:46:50 AM
Originally uploaded by HughPee.

She's an absolute cutie and I had fun trying to draw her. I hope to do a few more before I leave. I cant believe that I've been here a month already!

Spot the Snake 3

Spot the Snake 3
Originally uploaded by HughPee.

My second snake sighting. I ran in and grabbed the camera and took several shots. The last time I was on the phone with Nanda and started shrieking hysterically snake! snake! Nanda thought that i'd lost it till she figured that i was talking about one swimming right in front of me in the lake. This one is on the ground and different from the first. Looks to be a dark yellow with diamonds. the last one was just beige. Too close for my liking!

I'm an aunt!

I'm an aunt!
Originally uploaded by HughPee.

I think i'll be the one to get brownie points from Uma coz the rest of you have been slow to post :D

Uma was born on June 10th at 0:48hrs.

Savory New York

Since you guys love to eat and to eat out, I thought that you might enjoy this site. Savory New York has links to reviews and restaurant listings in NY - including maps, directions, contact details etc. And they are updating the information frequently too. Here's are links to their information on Sripraphai and Sushi Yasuda.

The Savory New York Restaurant Guide is a wiki site. Most wiki sites are written collaboratively by contributors around the world and usually anybody can edit and add to an article ( def ). The Savory site allows this too but after you get in touch with them
"Since your site is a wiki, can I contribute?
Absolutely, however we ask that you please send us a note to let us know. We'll brief you on how we organize our listing information and what our posting guidelines are."
So in case you do use their site and want to update the information listed, drop them a line.

living room

living room
Originally uploaded by HughPee.

here's a pic that i took a couple of weeks ago and then forgot to put it up. this is 50% of the room. one large square. divided by a wall with two entrances - two rectangular living areas. the one on the left leads to the dining area. you can see the balcony up ahead and i've put a picture below of the view immeditely below. any ideas? on how to do the two sofa layouts?

Tags:

• house
• view
• layout
• furniture
• ujwala
• kasankartago

Keeping Mum

This movie still is from here and you'll find several more and a link to the imdb site for the reviews.

Ramesh picked bought this recently along will a whole host of others that look pretty serious. On Thursday last, we decided to watch it on his laptop. We knew that Rowan Atkinson was in it but that's about it. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. For me even more so as I did not like Atkinson in the Mr Bean series though i did enjoy Black Adder and the Thin Blue Line. That it was a black comedy cannot be denied but we enjoyed it inspite of that or maybe because of that? Must say the underplayed brit sense of humour was a welcome change. And they managed the end wonderfully well too. I'm sure you will enjoy it too.

Tags:

• movie
• atkinson
• imdb
• europeanfilms
• kasankartago
• ujwala

Wood that Works

http://www.woodthatworks.com Powered by Qumana
Stumbled across this site today. These wooden sculptures are fairly large and all of them move when wound up. And they create fantastic and changing patterns as they move. The site has flash samples of how these pieces work. Very nice.

Tags: sculpture wood kinetic siterecco

Noodad for New Dads!

Rajeev this one's for you. I know, it is a bit early :P but I hope you manage to have a look.

Mistress by Anita Nair

mistress-bk-img.jpg
Originally uploaded by HughPee.

Was hoping to find a post from Pa on Viveks shaadi. (hint, hint) Couldnt bear the thought of no post in the month of Feb so....

Picked this book a while ago. I used the cover to start my first weaving project. Have recently bought more wool and hopefully it will be completed in the near future. Now in the midst of all chaos due to our move, I've started reading it. Has started very well and I hope it continues in the same vein.

Who wants the book next? Gals?

Sloth Bear

The first days Safari was very nice with a lot of animals but no tiger. We saw this Sloth Bear towards the tail end of the first visit into the Ranthambore Wild Life Sanctuary. Ramesh testing out his new camera skills.

Teleflip

one of the most painful things about texting is using the 9 buttons to key out your message. there have been several services which allow you to send sms's to mobile phones from pc's but they have required too much information and fallen by the wayside. teleflip seems to be awfully easy to use, you just need to send an email to (cellphonenumber)@teleflip.com with your message and it is done! I thought that Rajeev, Nanda and Gala might find this easy to use but of course you need access to a pc so if you're out on the streets and need to send a long message just grin and bear it. Gala, I've sent you a test message. Give me a heads up when you receive it.


Technorati Tags: sms, usa, kkg

Neha and Arjun - Jan 4, 2006

Neha and Arjun
Originally uploaded by HughPee.

Both looked lovely and kept smiling right through. This snap was taken on Jan 1st at Kusum Didi's house. She had a get together before all the planned wedding celebrations started.

Vivek-Vandana Engagement

Vivek-Vandana Engagement
Originally uploaded by Prabhu.

Vivek & Vandana exchanged rings on 25th Dec. 2005 at the engagement ceremony held in Shimoga .

New Year (2006) Eve get together

New Year (2006) Eve get together
Originally uploaded by Prabhu.

All of us met at Anil - Usha Pai's place in Alipore Estate to celebrate New Years Eve. Usha Pais father, a Swamy at Sidhabadi, Chinmaya Mission was also with us. Pais produced an elaborate & tasty dishes both Veg. & non-veg and drinks. All of us had an excellent time.

The Food Section

This one is for you 3 foodies living in ny. let me know if you do find it useful.

tastingmenu.com - December 2005

 

Here's another site on food that I'm sure you will enjoy reading. This one is more about food than recipes.  Give it a try.