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  • The Dan Brown code – very poorly written prose

    Language Log: The Dan Brown code

    I don’t think I’d want to say these things about a first-time novelist, it would seem a cruel blow to a budding career. But Dan Brown is all over the best-seller lists now. In paperback and hardback, and in many languages, he is a phenomenon. He is up there with the Stephen Kings and the John Grishams and nothing I say can conceivably harm him. He is a huge, blockbuster, worldwide success who can go anywhere he wants and need never work again. And he writes like the kind of freshman student who makes you want to give up the whole idea of teaching. Never mind the ridiculous plot and the stupid anagrams and puzzle clues as the book proceeds, this is a terrible, terrible example of the thriller-writer’s craft.

    I think I also read it on an airplane and wasn’t impressed. And the movie wasn’t great also. Well so much for taste.

  • Indialucia a fusion of Indian and Flamenco music

    indialucia.jpg

    Indialucia is a musical project, which fuses two fascinating styles of music: Indian and Flamenco music. The album expresses both the human and musical fusion of these cultures, which could have had a common ancestor. Improvisation and rhythm are the common elements in both styles and are essential to the continued existence of this music. The recordings were made between 1999 and 2004 mostly in India and Spain. Many great artists from the two continents performed. This album is the result of the years of work, which for the first time demonstrates the common elements of flamenco and its Indian roots fused into one art form.

    The album was distinguished with the 1st prize “Best Album of the Year 2005” Wirtualne Gesle and 2nd music critics’ prize at the New Tradition competition for the “Folk Phonogram of 2005” award.

    And there is a Facebook page here.


    Cool, well, now I need to get the CD! You can download some movie clips of them on their site.

  • Shivaratri and Birthday Pujas, March 2007, Pune, India

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  • Lightroom Tools

    LightroomNews » Blog Archive » Lightroom Tools

  • Is Vista a piece of unalloyed garbage?

    Is Vista a piece of unalloyed garbage?

    This is why I’m pretty sure my next PC. Vista is a bloatware monstrosity.

  • India is Popularizing Ayurveda to draw tourists

    Ancient Hindu healing draws beauty tourists – CNN.com

    Ayurveda, an ancient Hindu healing method, has seen a resurgence as India vies for a share of the lucrative Asian medical-tourism market by offering traditional massages and beauty treatments to wealthy tourists.

    Well, really Ayurveda is not what they are popularizing. I have visited a classical Ayurveda School and spoken to an Australian there who was taking a 6 month course. A real Ayurvedic Physician has to study for at least four years. So, the Australian said there is no way that classical Ayurveda can work outside of India as many of the remedies have to come from the fresh plants and be freshly prepared according to the Ayurvedic principles. Personally though, I think Ayurveda works, just that it can’t be totally exported.