"Gas prices fall more than 7 cents"- Is this the end of the tunnel?

 

price for gasoline declined for the second week in a row, dropping to the lowest level in two months, the government said on Monday.

 

Source: Gas prices fall more than 7 cents - Automotive - MSNBC.com

Where I live, I have not seen the 7 cent drop yet. The prices have slowly dropped by 2 cents, and it may be a while before we catch up with the rest of the country. I'm still holding my breath every time I drive past a gas station. As many statistics show, we are not driving any less - just cutting back on other things. Car pool anyone from the west burbs?

The Art institute of Chicago

Chicago is a magnificent city, and it is a tourist's paradise. I have lived in the surburbs for the past few years, and I can still find novel places to visit on a sunny weekend in Chicago.

Yesterday, we took advantage of one of the last few summer weekends of the year and visited the Art institute of Chicago's museum. It is a fabulous destination for art lovers and even interests the easily bored!

Getting there...

Driving is not a bad option, the trick is finding parking. The millenium park and other garages are close by, but pricey (about $25) We got lucky, and managed to find parking on the side of a parallel road (Columbus), for $3 an hour. The metra (you need to catch a trolley from union station) and CTA are other good options.

Make it a day trip...

The beautiful Buckingham fountain and the Millenium park are very close by. You can also take a walk down the Magnificent mile for some heavy duty window shopping and see the beautiful Chicago river. The big bean at the Millenium park (officially known as Cloud gate) is a must-see. It was created by Anish Kapoor (a british indian).

At the museum...

Check out the museum's website at this link. I spent the most time, in the gallery showcasing scupltures from India. The displayed idols encompassed the Hindu trinity. I really enjoyed the detailed descriptions posted next to each diety. The write-up for the Nataraja idol was profound, condensing major Hindu beliefs in one simple paragraph. Another beautiful sculpture was a Varaha avatar depiction from Rajasthan, with a delicate Bhoomadevi gently resting her hand on Vishnu's (as the boar) snout.

Check out my photo blog for some pictures.

The museum also has a fantastic collection of impressionist era paintings by artists like Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir. I have always loved the water lilies by Monet, and I couldnt believe i was standing simply two feet away! The most spectacular painting is "Paris street, Rainy day" by Gustave Caillebot. The effect of rain on the Paris cobblestones of Paris is unbelievably realistic.

Windows live writer rocks!

Thanks to Miss. Paranoid's post, I downloaded Windows live writer. This is my first blogpost (or rather my test blogpost) with it. Its awesome! I did not have to refer to any help file, its as easy as just opening a notepad file and typing. Inserting hyperlinks, spell check, changing fonts etc.. are just a breeze. I usually dislike downloading toolbars to internet explorer, but window's live toolbar seems good. Ofcourse, it very heavily pushes MSNBC and other microsoft related sites, but the novel feature is, you can browse multiple websites within a single explorer window using the tab feature . I tried to insert an image here, but i got an error message (it probably has something to do with Blogger's settings). Anyway, with this new tool, I really have no excuses to not blog frequently anymore, so do watch this space for more!

Dailamo? What the *%^&??!!

I am still shaking my head with disbelief. Dailamo from Dishum is supposed to be a great big superhit song. Apparently it used to constantly play on radio mirchi. A google search for Dailamo took me to many websites praising the song to the skies. I had to find out for myself what all the hype was about, and I made the mistake of listening to the song.

It was terrible! I agree, the tune is catchy, but I couldnt stand any of the vocals. This is what I HATE -

* Words that do not have any meaning (Dailamo?????) It shows an utter lack of imagination
* Thamizh is a beautiful language - why kill it by pronouncing it with a western accent?
* Kaalaleke????? The lyricist could not think of a proper word to use in the beginning of the song, so he takes a real thamizh word and distorts it to fit the tune
* The weird suggestive ooohh aaahhh noises the male singer makes through the song

There are many bad songs. What upsets me with this song is the fact that it is such a big hit in India, and I do not get it at all. It scares me because my reaction implies one of two things - either i am too old fashioned, unwilling to change with the times, or people in Thamizhnadu have changed so much, become so westernized, and become so much more non-conservative. Where does that leave me?

Thendrale ennai thodu

I am trying to unearth Illayaraja's gems. My quest (through many forums and blogs) led me to his soundtrack for Thendrale ennai thodu.

I have no recollection of watching the movie. Per music india online, this movie was released in 1985, staring "Mike" (as in microphone) Mohan and Jayshree. Mohan is one of the classic examples of how a good jaadhagam (or God knows what) can propel a person right to the top. He was a mediocre actor. Somehow, he managed to act in some really good movies (Mouna Raagam being the most memorable) and many of his movies ended up having superhit songs (such as Payanangal mudivadhillai, mella thirandhadhu kadhavu etc). Jayshree was one of the "homely" actresses at that time. She was very pretty, Sadha reminds me a lot of her.

Of all the Ilayaraja albums that I know of, this is easily one of the most innovative. The composition of tunes, the orchestra, the raagams that he has used...his brilliance cannot be described in words. Here are my favorite songs -

Kavidhai paadu kuyile - I've always adored SPB and I fell in love with him all over again after listening to this song. The raagam is similar to needhane yendhan pon vasantham from ninaivellam nitya. The tune is racy and flamboyant

Pudhiya poovidhu - Shades of Sudhdha Dhanyasi again. The tabla type beats in the background make all the difference. SPB rocks as always, and Janaki keeps up with Ilayaraja's super difficult (but super melodious tunes)

Kanmani Nee Vara - This is the best in the album. Malayamaarutham is one of my favorite raagams (manasayatulo by Thyagaraja is a divinely beautiful composition in this raagam). Ilayaraja effortlessly uses this raagam and weaves wonderful romantic tunes. Jesudas is surprisingly disappointing in this song - he doesnt quite hit all the right notes. But Uma Ramanan more than makes up for his shortcomings. She was one singer who never quite made it, but that gives me a topic for another blog post.

Here is the link for this movie in music india online. Do not miss this album!

Movie Review - Something Something unakkum yenakkum

I have only myself to blame. The silly title offered me enough warning - and i went ahead and watched the movie anyway, hoping for a good family movie with Jeyam Ravi and Trisha.

The movie sucks. Is Thamizh cinema that starved for original ideas? The movie's story is a straight lift from Maine Pyar Kiya. To make matters worse, there are entire sequences lifted from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. The gaiety looks terribly artificial (i have been to a million Thamizh weddings, when do people do impromptu bhangras?)

Trisha does her usual thing, but her standard four expressions that she alternates through this movie and all her other movies (mischeivous, sad, supportive-to-the-hero - repeat)are tiring . Jeyam Ravi is made to overact all through first half, though he is watchable in the second half.

By the way, the hero and his family are supposed to be from London. There are shots of his dad (Bhagyaraj) talking on the phone with a "London" backdrop. There are huge skyscrapers and 5 lane (on one side) expressways. I have travelled to London many times, so correct me if i am wrong, is that really London?

The Ohare international terminal

I spend my days rushing through my regular routine - work, home, work, home....And then, a couple of times every year, I am jolted from my inertia, and reminded of the big world outside of my little cocoon, and the land I left behind for my new home.

A trip to the international terminal at Chicago Ohare to pick up my parents or my mother in law is always a memorable experience. The people watching experience is great fun.

Every arriving flight brings the same kind of people - the nervous young grad students, the tired and bored business traveller, the shy and apprehensive new bride, the harried mom with hyperactive children, the overwhelmed grandparents... And the reaction of the people who have come to receive them is also identical - we are nervous, excited, impatient and finally, immensely relieved when we see the face of our long awaited loved one.

It makes me think of how small the world really is, and how alike all of us really are. Why then do we fight?