Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Nora and Rachel

hanging out at Warner's
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The blurring frenetic chaos of city life
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These girls have attitude.
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Eat the brownie!
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searing sizzling lava mountain icecream brownie thingy (edible)
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Saturday, November 25, 2006

An ordinary day in my life...

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school children "beg" for money.

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what you looking at

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it's a cow's life


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An all too common sight. Honestly, they look less unhappy than I thought those in destitute would.

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blogged by Rachel's request.

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just hanging out

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monkey looks up to his pally

Monday, November 20, 2006

Morning boat ride (lots of pics)

Marcus (the German from the retreat) Gino (my singing teacher from Manali) and I went for a morning boat ride to see Varanasi from a different perspective. Woke up at 5am to beat the dawn.

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Gino at the helm. Perhaps you should just stick to music Gino.

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what a dork

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Marcus in charge.

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sinking tower of Piza.

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It is not the custom in Varanasi for women to go on the water in boats; men only; so that's why Nori was absent. Actually, that's not true, she wasn't feeling well.

Last couple weeks recap

If you want to get a sense of the Indian sensibility for western eating, go to the Shiva Rooftop restaurant in Assi Ghat, Varanasi. Order muesli with fruit and curd and you will receive a fork and a spoon. Order a cheese veggie burger and you will receive a fork and a spoon. Apparently Indians have no idea what us crazy westerners are doing with these wacky eating utensils.

Well, there's lots to update so let's bring you up to speed in this bizarro world of Indian culture. Rewind back to my birthday and Diwali for the Gods' celebration which coincided on the same day in Varanasi. Nori and the family she stayed with last year threw me a surprise birthday party. Nori let me in on it in the morning so I could have a choice between receiving a surprise party in the evening or going for an evening boat ride to view the festival of lights from the water.

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After some deliberation I decided an evening boat ride would be more interesting than a surprise birthday party. Nori asked me if I could secure a boat for the evening and when I bungled that up, failing to secure a boat, we decided to go out to dinner at a favorite Chinese restaurant instead. After dinner I arrived back at Nori's family's house and was totally surprised by the surprise party they had thrown for me (no, really), not needing to act surprised, forgetting Nori had told me about it earlier in the day.

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Haven't you always wanted someone to celebrate your coming one year wiser in this way? Can't say I have either but I didn't feel I had much choice in the matter when people started shoving cake down my throat. Was all in good fun though. Thanks again Nori for the memorable birthday. :)
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Afterwards the sun fell on my head and burned me bad. I mean, the next day I got a ride to the wrong train station to take me to Bodghaya for the retreat. How am I to know there were two train stations? After nearly blowing a gasget, the help personnel saw my exaggerated aggravated frustration which I wasn't at all trying to hide and told me there was a jeep for 20 rupees leaving now to the correct train station and that I might still be able to make the train. Not bothering to try to understand how the good fortune might be possible, I find the jeep and cram inside with 20 other Indians (this is becoming quite ordinary). 50 minutes later in typical Root fashion I'm stepping board the train in the wrong compartment after it's already started moving because I can't for the life of me understand which compartment is the general class. Point is, I got my train in time and arrived at the retreat in time to register.

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All the beautiful happy people I spent ten days with mostly in silence. The man standing next to me, from Germany, was a particularly good counter argument to Venerable Rita's (center) ceaceless dissertations on suffering. He brought a very much needed good naturedness and light and easy going energy to the retreat. Thanks Georg.

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Laughing Buddha


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There is no height to which one can show their appreciation for the Buddha Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha).

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The Stupa where Buddha attained enlightenment 2500 years ago after 3 1/2 countless eons.

Pixagogo direct photo linkMucalinda Lake (The Abode of Snake King)
Lord Buddha spent the sixth week in meditation here. While he was meditating severe thunderstorms broke out. To protect him from the violent wind and rain even the creators came out for his saftey. (So a sign reads by the lake.)

Free tea being given out near a cave where Buddha spent 6 years meditating before coming back down to Bodhgaya where, three days later, he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
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Beggars line up to receive money. You can buy a bag of 90 rupees for 100 ruppees and the guy you buy it from then lines up the beggars and disseminates the money. Otherwise they all crowd around you making it very difficult.
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Marcus rides an elephant just before we go back to Varanasi. I was feeling ill so I opted out. But I had no attachment or desire to. Was happy enough to see Marcus up there.
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dismount

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I have yet to have a seat on a train in India. I think the next train I take will have a seat as Nori is not keen on general class. Marcus seemed to tolerate it quite well.

In what other country will you find a cow in the railway station?
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A dog eats from the trash
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A cow eats from the trash ten feet away
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Upon arriving outside the train station to get a rickshaw into the city of Varansi we are "approached" (nice way of putting it) by about 20 Indians offering us a ride, hopeful we are 'fresh off the boat' and have no idea how much to pay for a rickshaw. As the offers from all directions start to come down I start yelling out like an auctioneer "We have 100 rupees! Do I hear 80? 60?" We ended up paying 20 rupees for an hour rickshaw ride squished among nine other Indians to arrive safely in Varanasi.

Stay tuned for some nice pics of Varanasi taken from the water.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum is a Tibetan chant incantation that basically means bring about the cecassion of suffering in all sentient beings. I am back in Varanasi after ten intense days of being assured and reassured again and again that life is suffering and renounciation of all worldly pleasures and desires is the only way to true happiness and liberation from Samsara or cyclic existence: being born, suffering on earth due to ignorance of the true nature of reality, dying, being reborn, suffering... ad nauseaum infinitum since beginningless time or until you free yourself from samsara by attaining enlightenment which takes three and a half countless eons.

The retreat was in Bodhgaya, a four hour train ride from Varanasi. It was in this place that Buddha attained enlightenment 2500 years ago. The Root Institute, located about two kilometers away, is where the retreat took place, a peaceful haven insulated from the outside world.

The somber mood of the retreat allowed for lots of introspection and many insights and realizations came as a result of the teachings and meditations. The day was broken down as follows: we were woken each morning at 6am by the sound of a gong and had a 45 minute mindful meditation at 6:45am and then breakfast at 7:30am. Lecture at 9am on how much we all are suffering from our attachments and ignorance of impermanence. 11am simple yoga. 12pm lunch. 2pm discussion group on 9am lecture. 3:30pm another lecture on... you guessed it, suffering, impermanence, death, suffering, attachments, desires, suffering, anger etc. etc.. 5:15 analytical meditation. 6pm dinner. 7:30 analytical meditation. 8:15pm, sore from sitting all day and mentally challenged from the day's bombardment of somber ideas, I'd stumble back to my room and crash. The last two days of the retreat were meditation only. Seven 45 minute meditation sessions. Mostly analystical. Mindful meditation is just being aware of your breath, staying with the breath and not having wandering thoughts and maybe reciting a few simple mantras like "may I be peaceful and at ease" "may I be well" "may I be filled with love and compassion" and "may I be happy" The idea behind Buddhism, in the words of the Dalai Lama, is to be wisely selfish. By working on yourself... by selfishly persuing everlasting happiness, you will, upon attaining enlightenment in 3 1/2 countless eons, have the all seeing, all knowing wisdom to be able to most effectively help others. The only problem with this philosophy I suppose is that it's three and a half countless eons before you can be a benefit to others.

Nevertheless I found many of the ideas in Buddhism to make sense and to be useful to everday life. If you can change your mind, you can change your reality. At the end of the retreat they were showing the film "What the Bleep Do We Know" because the ideas in the film overlap the teachings of the Buddha.

There'll be more soon with pictures.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Blogging the blog for blog's sake

Actually, wanted to let everyone know what I've been up to of late. Started taking Hindi classes. Hindi coming along slowly but surely. The sounds are somewhat similar to Espanol and I find myself wanting to speak in Spanish oddly enough... I think because India reminds me of Peru in many ways. I also started taking classical singing classes. Quite fun actually. And want to take up the tabla drums soon, too. I am going to a Buddhist retreat tomorrow for ten days! Quiet and meditation and lectures on things... Buddha. Ohm and the like; enlightenment and all that... or at least inner peace and mental focus. Don't worry, Nori tells me it's not a course for converting people into monks or anything like that. So it may be awhile before another update.

Today is a big celebration for Diwali again. This time its the angels and Gods celebrating... just another excuse to blast fireworks really... just kidding... Nori tells me there won't be many fireworks but lots of lights. Last year my birthday coincided with Guy Fawkes day in New Zealand and this year it's coinciding with another day of celebration. I feel special.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Orange is my favorite color part 2

We interrupt the irregularly scheduled blog for a special feature. The Autoblog! You may remember a similar feature from last year's New Zealand blog. This one is a brief history of electric cars taken from Autoblog.com

Way Back When

Today, true EVs (remember gas-electric hybrids don't count) are as rare as mint 57 Chevy's. It wasn't always so. Before the advent of the electric starter, patented by Charles Kettering in 1915, electric cars like the Baker Electric and others were familiar sights on American roads. There were even electric delivery trucks. The first electric taxis came to NYC way back in 1897. In 1900, there were 4,192 cars produced in the U.S. of which 28 percent were electric vehicles. EVs were especially favored by women drivers who found the gasoline car's hand crank starting undignified and too physically demanding (no offense to our modern women readers). Charles Kettering turned the tide in favor of the gasoline and diesel vehicles with his electric starter. Easy starting and the longer range of the gas and diesel vehicle finally carried the day and the car buying public has never seriously considered EVs since. Electric cars were relegated to the enterprising hobbyist.

Not So Long Ago

The oil crisis of the '70s renewed interest in non-petroleum fuels, including electricity. Component manufacturers and cottage industry EV builders thrived. As the semiconductor and computer industry progressed, so did EV technology. Several of these early manufacturers and kit builders have stood the test of time. One such is long-time mechanic and EV builder, Mike Brown's Electro Automotive. His "VoltsRabbit" kit is designed for a VW Rabbit donor car. It turns the Rabbit into the Energizer bunny. I've driven one on several occasions and can attest to its decent (read: not embarrassing) performance and 50-60 mile range in favorable conditions. I have a friend who owns and operates one here in Cleveland, Ohio. But a DIY kit car is a far cry from a professionally engineered, mass produced vehicle. Enter General Motors.



GM to the Rescue

GM's futuristic EV1 two-seat electric sports car was trotted out to great fanfare in 1999. It was a bold move by the normally conservative auto giant. All EV1s were leased, not purchased. Special home charging stations were required to charge the vehicle most efficiently. Owner loyalty and enthusiasm was off the charts. Check out this site. The small sales numbers (remember we're talking GM here) were the announced reason for GM pulling the plug on the EV1 in 2003. Diehard owners (no relation to Sears!) practically threw themselves in front of the tow truck when GM canceled their EV1 leases. The revolutionary electric cars with 75+ mile range and zippy 0-60 times were unceremoniously repossessed and crushed at GM's Desert Proving Grounds in Mesa, Arizona. Kind of the EV version of a "scorched earth" policy. EV enthusiasts, history buffs and conspiracy theorists should enjoy the upcoming documentary movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?". Sony Pictures Classics has scheduled the general release for late June 2006. Take a break from the lines at the DaVinci Code for a tale of modern day, alternative fuel intrigue.

Okay, sorry about that perfectly random intrusion... now back to your regular programming....

Nori and I went to an Indian classical dance performance which was really impressive. I may upload a short video clip so you can get a better idea of what it is.

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I ran into Radaghast the Brown yesterday, a briefly mentioned colleague of Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings, and we played some chess over chai. By the troubled look on his face you'd think the very fate of Middle-earth, or at least India, rested on his shoulders.

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