Paramendra Bhagat's Blog
Thursday, June 30, 2005
India - World Bank Report : Bihar - Towards a Development Strategy
World Bank lauds RJD for growth - The Statesman
This is of great interest.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Google is mind-blowing. And now they want to take you on a world tour online. They are calling it Google Earth.
"The application starts with view of the whole Earth floating in space. You can use your mouse to drag it around in any direction, and then you can zoom in and out with the mouse wheel. There are also controls to rotate the image and to tilt the camera up toward the horizon.... There's nothing quite like the feel of zooming from the whole earth down to my condo building. I can even see my car in the parking lot.... the 3D buildings available in 39 cities.... You can now add lines and polygons to your map markup, in addition to the point placemarkers it's always had."
Around the world with your mouse. I mean, this really is sight seeing. You get up, close and personal with all points on earth. This is better than sight seeing, if you ask me. And all for free. Wow. This just takes the web experience to a whole different level.
I am talking to someone in Belgium, a family friend, on Yahoo Messenger, the new version. It is so clear. Absolutely clear. No need to incur phone bills. I want this arrangement with Janakpur.
Monday, June 27, 2005
I will also be making movies. Here is one.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
"Even people in Ohio know that!"
Yesterday I went to the Brooklyn Central Library to get initiated. Finding the place did not have as rich a subscription to online scholarly journals as I might have thought I inquired upon the travel directions to the main NYC Public Library, "the one with the lions," and the information desk clerk, she said, "Even people from Ohio know that!"
There is a guy called Ferdy who lives in Cincy. Get that, Ferdy!
Two Feet From Fire Hydrant
Parking in my part of the city is not as bad, but you can still end up two blocks from your domicile. The first place I parked, I needed to get it out of there before Friday morning, because that is when they clean up that particular block. And I had to hurry back from dinner at my sister's on the Upper West Side Thursday night. The second place I parked, I come back the following afternoon, just to make sure the car is still there, and there is a ticket. For $125. Violation: I was supposedly less than two feet away from a fire hydrant.
From Kentucky
I went to school in Kentucky. I often got asked, since I spoke "fast," if I was from New York! There is no competing with the southern drawl: think fast, talk slow, keep people off balance. And I come to NYC, and so far I have gotten at least one friendly welcome to a man "from Kentucky!" And I have not even lived in that damn place in years.
Find Your Own Lodging, Don't Come A Knocking!
True, I moved to NYC, but my place is rather small, shared kitchen, bathroom, and more important, it is also my studio and office, and I work random hours. Imagine me showing up at your office at 1 PM with a sleeping bag. 1 AM might be the same for me. So, granted NYC is a transit point to many routes, find your own lodging, don't come a knocking! Or you could poach on some other unsuspecting New Yorker in your acquaintance circle! If you are in the area, buy me lunch or something: I am usually hungry.
If you can put in 300 to 1300 dollars into airfare, I am sure yo can put in 50 to 100 dollars into a night or two of lodging. Or 200. Here are some leads: cheap.html.
What Do You Do?
Elsewhere the greeting is, How do you do?
In here the attitude is, how much do you make, and if you can't make it here, where can you!
But then this is as diverse as a city gets. That is only one of many resident crowds.
"You Won't Know Until You Ask!"
I thought I got hit on the other day on the subway. This cute, deep tan girl. Deepn tan, my term for black and brown.
Like I said to a white friend of mine not long after a Spring Break at college, "You getting there!"
Webster Hall
Supposedly the noisiest dance club in the city. Two Estonians and I were supposed to show up Friday night. I chickened out: I tiptoed into bed after some light drinking at home, and I thought I was going to go holy on the drink thing. But the Hall is definitely on the list. Got to work out and keep in shape.
It is through dance that the body becomes one with the mind. Through dance and a few other things.
Prospect Park
It is walking distance, and it is totally happening. Central Park is a forest, Prospect is a park.
Resume 2.0
My resume has come out in a new version: it is poetic. B for Bhagat went to B for Budhanilkantha for high school and B for Berea for college and now lives in B for Brooklyn and is into B for business and B for blogging.
Best Of Both Worlds
NYC is crowded like India and convenient like America. It is sheer delight to be able to walk to the grocery store. Can't do elsewhere in America, not even in teeny weeny towns.
Summer Events
The city that never sleeps. There are so many free events all across. Picked up a booklet at the library. My pull is for street jazz: I so totally dig the idea of it.
The other day in the subway, this black, aged, skinny fellow, humming on his guitar. "I shot the sheriff!" Makes my day. The Global South is one big ghetto and Bob Marley speaks for it. The disenchantment of the excluded.
Barber From Ukraine
Used to be I used to imitate Amitabh Bachchan's hairstyle. By now I keep it modest short. Corporate. I am more into copying Bachchan's workstyle now, that whole private creative loner thing. A shift from head to mind.
"For you it is $9!" That is my neighborhood barber. I guess I get to keep going back.
"No Trouble!"
I made small talk with this ethnic Indian of Caribbean origin when I came to look at my place. And he reassured me the area was a nice one.
It is more than no trouble. It is quiet. Can't beat for a 3 minute walk to the subway station and a 20 minute train ride to downtown Manhattan. Maybe 25.
In Case You Want To Move Too
It is easy. Find lodging at Craig's List. Some guy, this Craig.
Mango Lussee
Has got to be my favorite drink, hands down. Mango lussee, water with some ice in it, on a naughty day pepsi, and a rare, rowdy day, a few drinks. I feel the need to pull a prank on some bar. Show up, ask for the lussee, and act indignant.
Considering I have not had my own kitchen for years, it is nice not to be homeless no more. There is mango lussee, in-house. The blender jar, usually topped up with the stuff, has a majestic place inside the refrigerator.
Driving hundreds of thousands of miles all across America, I missed the Desi food more than anything else. There is an urgent need for a nationwide fast food place that specializes in Desi food. That could be a winning business idea right there.
Regaining Hygiene
On the road I was on the verge of losing my sense of hygiene. Picking nose is status symbol, a quiet luxury in the privacy of a cab moving upwards of 65 miles an hour. Shower and shave are luxury items. Your sweat stops smelling not long after you come off your "home time." It is called too much proximity.
Brushing, flossing, mouthwashing before bed has been regained after a major hiatus.
Fewer Decibels
When you wake up, you know, remember your geographical location, for a change.
The background noise, while asleep and awake, is much less loud, at most a hum, it is an air-conditioner, not an engine that pulls a dinosaur of a vehicle.
You don't wake up to the sound of a Screaming Meanie no more, special alarm "clock" for the road. You guessed it right, it is extra loud, the ads say it can wake up the dead, so not to turn it on near a cemetary.
So Many Pahadis
Most of my notoriety in the online world of the Nepali diaspora is to do with my vocal Sadbhavana stuff. Terai rights. But most of my friends are Pahadis, owing to high school bonding in Kathmandu. This confuses some Madhesis. As in, and I thought you were a Sadbhavana Malcolm X!
It is not like I am anti-Pahadi or anything. I just believe Pahadis and Madhesis should interact at a higher plane of existence. A plane of equality and mutual respect. Plus my writings online might sound a little more strident than my personality. There are a few Pahadis who I met first at Sajha and then offline. And their remark: "He is actually a nice guy!"
Mr. Nice Guy
I had a roommate once, at this house I moved into right after college. Flower House. Lexington, Kentucky. He was a street musician. His business card read, An Overall Nice Guy.
NYC And Doughnuts
I had a co-driver once. The guy was from North Carolina. His feelings about NYC were the exact opposite of mine: "The only thing I like about this place is the doughnuts!" Like another white guy, this one from Kentucky, once said to me in downtown Baltimore, "I have been here more than an hour, and I have yet to see a white person!" Such thoughts are known to lead to white flights. From city to suburbs, coast to hinterland, America to the moon.
Shooting For The Moon
I mean, Africa has got to be a million times more exotic than the moon. The moon is but a fancy name for a lifeless rock. Pretty from a distance, but that's about it.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Google Scholar just decided to give up on me. It is called overuse. Am I a virus? Am I a spyware? Na.
"We're sorry...... but we can't process your request right now. A computer virus or spyware application is sending us automated requests, and it appears that your computer or network has been infected.We'll restore your access as quickly as possible, so try again soon. In the meantime, you might want to run a virus checker or spyware remover to make sure that your computer is free of viruses and other spurious software.We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope we'll see you again on Google."
Monday, June 13, 2005
Michael Jackson found not guilty. I am not surprised. The "celebrity quotient" can really get the imaginations flowing for a lot of people. They think the trick is the more detailed you can come across in your imaginative slugs, longer you stick around as a story. Like Paula Jones talked of Bill Clinton's penis' "distinguishing characterisitcs," washed down by his doctor.
Now that he is officially not guilty, one really has to look into the motivations of all those who testified against him.
"Jurors had to consider testimony by 140 witnesses and sift through some 600 items of evidence but they appeared to have had little difficulty reaching their unanimous decision."
Like his wife talked of his "handlers" who create crisis after crisis around him so as to remain relevant, and be handling him. Vultures.
The guy is a rare talent. The racism of the prosecutors was so obvious from day one. The racism can be so blinding, they truly feel they are after justice.
Glad the high drama is over. Quite a few had been fishing in the murky waters.
"Defense attorneys argued Jackson's accuser invented the molestation at the urging of his mother, whom they portrayed as a grifter who targeted celebrities. Jurors indicated they had difficulty with the mother's credibility."
" Jackson's defense team called on one of the singer's best-known young friends -- "Home Alone" star Macaulay Culkin -- who testified the molestation accusations were ridiculous."
"The truth runs marathons."
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
I just bought a gun at the local Walmart here in Carlisle, PA, earlier in the day. It is a plastic gun with plastic ammunition, but works just like the real thing, and it even has legal guidelines, so it is not exactly a toy. It works like a handgun. Also comes with target practice stuff, paper and stand. 100 bullets later, I had a gaping hole in the middle. Close range though.
I also bought the movie Heat. Should have done a long time ago. I have rented it so many times. Could have saved money by buying.
