Kirukkalkal

October 9, 2009 Though we had been crazy about visiting Acadia National Park , I got to be honest! We enjoyed the ride upto ANP, through VT, NH and ME more than the ANP itself! Probably because of the time of the year we chose for the trip.. Autumn. The foliage in NE is certainly much more gorgeous than in Ohio where we lived longer than anywhere else in US. It is a long drive from our home, but the ride through the fall foliage and through the state highways made the drive that much easier and enjoyable than the ride back home mostly along the highways... Our first stop was for breakfast at Papa Pete's just outside Bennington, VT. It was an amazing breakfast! We actually wouldn't mind a bit to go there on a normal weekend, though it was a 45 min drive from home.. After reaching Brattleboro, VT, we took the highway I-91 up North and went east to go through the White Mountain National Forest . That is where the Mt. Washington is located. Along the way, we stopped at every v

வன்முறைக்கு வன்முறை தான் தீர்வா? பெரும்பாண்மையான கமல் ரசிகற்களால் பெரிதும் ரசிக்கப்பட்ட வெற்றிகரமான பட வரிசையில் இந்தப்படமும் ஒன்று என்ற போதும், இது ஒரு சராசரி மசாலா வெற்றியல்ல என்பதே எனது எண்ணம்... கமலின் நடிப்பிலோ கடமை உணர்ச்சியிலோ எந்த குறையும் மிகையும் கூறாவிடிலும், இந்தப்படத்தின் வெற்றிக்கு அவை மட்டுமே காரணமாக கூற முடியாது என்று கொளலாம். ஏனெனில் -இந்தப் படத்தின் வெற்றியை ஊர்ஜிதப்படுத்த கமல் கையாண்ட வியாபார உத்திகளும் வெகுஜன ஊடகங்களின் விளம்பர திறமைகளும் பெரும்பங்களித்ததை மறுக்கமுடியாது. மொத்தத்தில் இந்தப்படத்தின் வெற்றி சற்றே கவலை அளிக்கிறது! திரு ஞாநி அவர்களின் இத்திரைப்பட விமர்சனத்தை ( அவரது ஓ பக்கங்களில் ) முழுவதுமாக ஒப்புக்கொள்ளாவிடிலும், அதில் அவர் கூறியுள்ள அடிப்படை யதார்த்தத்தை கருத்தில் கொள்ளவேண்டும். மாபெரும் விளம்பர வியூகங்களினால், இத்திரைப்படம் முன்வைத்த கருத்து அநேக தமிழ் மக்களை சென்றடைந்திருக்கும். இந்த கருத்தின் பாதிப்பை சமூக அக்கறையுள்ள எவரும் அறியாமல் இருப்பர் என்பதை ஏற்றுக்கொள்வது கடினமே! அது ஏனோ தெரியவில்லை சமூக அக்கறையும் வியாபாரமும் பெரும்பாலும் முரண்தொடை

This is a pretty big book for a light reader like me! That said, this one is not a tough read for a book on such a subject! I really started the book with some kind of skepticism on how well the author would stay away from the taboo 'racism'! To me, he stayed pretty away from that line and tries to give a very good bird's eye view of several thousand years of human development across the continents. It is really an eye-opening interpretation as I haven't really read anything this deep about humanity and its development. I am a little disappointed to not see any deep references on Aryan civilization and Indian subcontinent... On the whole, he doesn't credit any particular civilization as being superior to anything else. Apparently, every invention seems to have been a culmination of some kind of evolutionary process and starting point for another set of inventions designed for a totally different or similar needs. Necessity is often not a mother of invention! In m

This past weekend would have turned out to be a total bummer if not for the day trip into Adirondacks... It was supposed to be a muggy and rainy weekend, clearing up later on Sunday. So, our expectations to take the trip to Adirondacks for fall colors fizzled out on saturday... Later in the day, sun came out and we decided come what may, we are driving first thing in the morning on sunday to Adirondacks... This time we decided to go west from the southern tip of Adirondacks at Warrensburg and go through Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Lake Placid and take the Rt 73 back to get on I-87, so that we could make a good loop inside the park. Immediately after we took the exit, we had to go through the town of Warrensburg where they, apparently, had a huge fair/garage sale ! It was really huge - that lasted about 3 miles across the town! After we got out of the town and entered the park, it was a totally different kind of beauty with sun playing hide and seek with rain! The brightness of the color

This 'Duncan's Farm Market' is about a mile from our apartment and we haven't got a chance to go over there all this summer until today when we are almost in the middle of autumn! It is a cute little space by a local farmer.. While talking to him, he mentioned that this is his first year of starting a farm market. I am really amazed at how good a local farmer in a remote upstate NY village has done such a good job of marketing and publicizing (for instance, we mainly went there to get some organic tomatoes for which he had put up signs all near the neighborhood)! He already got his own logo for his 'Duncan's' brand name. He's done such a good job of presentation that anybody who visits them would certainly make it a point to visit again. There were another old couple who were actually taking pictures of their farm and floral plants. Fortunately, we had our camera too and here are some pictures here.. It was a cloudy day, but had enough sun and warmth to

We have been planning to visit this place since we moved to this place.. Finally, we booked a place here - Acadia Pines Motel - and are planning to go on the trip between Oct 9-11, 2009. We are excited to see the fall colors in peak and the sunrise (maybe the sunset too!) at the Cadillac summit (supposed to be the highest peak on the easter seaboard!). Here is another link about the Cadillac Mountain