Hail fell by the buckets in the back patio early this morning, a special farewell to 2014.
Kobe
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Happy New Year!
Wish you all a Happy 2015! Let the party begin!!
Hail fell by the buckets in the back patio early this morning, a special farewell to 2014.
Hail fell by the buckets in the back patio early this morning, a special farewell to 2014.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Mixing it up, with bugs
Here's today's catch from the yard:
Nutritional content:
Protein: 20.6 grams, Fat: 6.1 grams, Carbohydrates: 3.9 grams
The protein content in grasshoppers comes pretty close to that of a similar-sized serving of chicken breast, but with a bit more fat.
Chicken breast, roasted (100 grams), Protein: 31.02 grams, Fat: 3.57 grams, Carbohydrates: 0
Next time you'd like a protein-fix, think small..real small :-)
Nutritional content:
Protein: 20.6 grams, Fat: 6.1 grams, Carbohydrates: 3.9 grams
The protein content in grasshoppers comes pretty close to that of a similar-sized serving of chicken breast, but with a bit more fat.
Chicken breast, roasted (100 grams), Protein: 31.02 grams, Fat: 3.57 grams, Carbohydrates: 0
Next time you'd like a protein-fix, think small..real small :-)
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Cat's purrspective from Cole & Marmalade
Cole and Marmalade are two popular fellas on the internets and here's an excellent guide from their collection to help understand 'Cat Logic'.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Cuteness overload
I wish we had more squirrels here, this one is from Acadia National Park.
Fun fact: Gray squirrels may devour many acorns, but by storing and failing to recover up to 74 percent of them, these rodents aid regeneration and dispersal of oaks.
Fun fact: Gray squirrels may devour many acorns, but by storing and failing to recover up to 74 percent of them, these rodents aid regeneration and dispersal of oaks.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
A fortune cookie fit for a cat
Who doesn't love Chinese takeout, my favorite is fried rice! I usually let my human homies have my 'fortune cookie', but this one is a keeper. Looks like the waiter specifically found one for me.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
The Panda Fake
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/panda-fakes-pregnancy-bamboo-expert-article-1.1922288
You got to do what you got to do to score food, I hope they didn't get too mad at you!
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Viva Brasil!
A guest post by mommy...to explain their 3 week absence in June! I'm all ears.
Brazil getting selected to host the world cup in 2014 and folks around the world making the call to go happened almost simultaneously. A few friends of ours and we were in too. What better place for the biggest football party. Getting tickets to the games we wanted to go to, whole another story. Thanks to FIFA, most fans were at their mercy and the 'luck' of the draw. Some persistent mouse clicks, goats sacrificed and few rounds of ticket-sales phases later, we had two game tickets!
Entering the Maracana, the hallowed ground of Brazilian football, we were covered in goosebumps. So much at stake for the home team, hoping to avenge their loss here to Uruguay in 1950. The legendary Pele scored his 1000th goal here. It seemed like a great football museum, an electric atmosphere and a nation's pride all meshed into a giant energy dome. We saw Belgium vs. Russia in the group stage with the Belgium fans pretty much taking over most of the stadium. Pre-match theatrics included thousands of fans prancing around the stadium fueled by a breakfast of 'Brahma' beer, 'Sol' beer and more beer, 3500 police in riot-gear and lots of US fans wondering if FIFA played a cruel joke on them by handing them tickets to the Russia game :)
Good times...a lone goal scored by Origi in the 88th minute brought relief and a hard fought victory to the Red devils. Ranga had a field day taking pictures with fans with various country flags, I think he got upto 20.
Boisterous Chilean fans, die-hard Socceroos from Australia, the hopeful Colombians, soulful Algerians and countless Gringos kept the party going through the first few weeks.
Our second game was a totally different experience from the first one. In contrast to the rowdy crowds of Rio, Manaus was more muted yet had all the excitement of a new stadium and a small city overrun by fans from all over the world. The Arena da Amazonia had its share of very good games - Italy vs. England and USA vs. Portugual. We were there for Honduras vs. Switzerland, the Swiss were too quick for the Honduras players with Shaqiri (yet another outstanding Bayern Munich player) producing a brilliant hat-trick.
Manaus is the gateway to the Amazon region and that's where we headed next. Just out of the rainy season, the mighty Amazon river was brimming to full and most of the rain-forest flooded. We stayed 4 nights at the Juma Lake Lodge via Iguana Tours who did a fab job of organizing plenty of day activities to keep the restless traveler happy along with some cool night jaunts. One such night outing was to watch and study caiman. Our guide, the all-knowing Alan, snatched a 'specimen' caiman out of the dark waters and gave us a lecture including showing of all 72 teeth! My favorites in the trip were watching
- a sloth high up a tree do its thing - move slooooowwwwllllyy and sleep!
- pink dolphins and grey dolphins frolic in the river
- and canoeing in the bountiful river taking in the wildlife, sunsets and marveling at the sheer magnitude of it all
Overnight camping in the jungle gave us a glimpse of jungle night-life, 'punctuated' by mosquitoes along with spectacular starry skies unhindered by city light-pollution. The night sky in the southern hemisphere is something else and our fellow traveler/Astronomer friend from Columbia University took us on an impromptu journey traversing billions of light years through the stars, constellations all the way to the depths and myths of black holes.
Pantanal was another big part of our trip and we were pleasantly surprised by the scale , richness of wildlife and how pristine sections of the park were. It is the giant swamp region of Brazil, bounded by Fazendas or cattle ranches which feed the meaty needs of a nation. Hiking, driving and canoeing through the maze of snake-like rivers, one is treated to a display of nature at its swampy best. The flooded plains harbor a wide variety of birds including macaws, greater rheas, pink spoonbills, Anhinga, herons, Ibis and countless other species. Venture deep inside and sightings of Jaguar kittys are plentiful. Capybaras, Anteaters, Armadillos(the mascot of the games), jacaras (caiman), anacondas cover the gamut of cute to scary.
Rio lived up to its fame of party people, people people everywhere thanks to the biggest party on the planet. Locals mixed in with football fans from all over almost made the place more crazy. FIFA fan-fests in all the host cities made for guaranteed large gatherings similar to Spring-break or carnival! Copacabana was naturally the biggest of them all. Ranga indulged in beach football, the national pastime and I watched in awe as the locals played an acrobatic version of beach volleyball called footvolley. The players can only use their legs, head and chest but not hands..incredibly athletic people. Samba, Caipirinhas and football is the doctor's prescription for a good life - PURA VIDA.
Argentina - 'Late con Vos' (Beats to your Rhythm)
Our trip to Argentina was brief but memorable (Buenos Aires & Iguazu). Buenos Aires, often described as Paris of the South is a cool city. The people are fashionable, the architecture is classic, and every bathroom comes equipped with a bidet!
Some notable neighborhoods are the older, but well preserved San Telmo - hosts the biggest Sunday market, trendy Recoleta, La Boca - home of the famous Boca Juniors Sports club and Puerto Madero, an erstwhile dockland now converted to modern style. Every place we went, if felt like football-genius Messi was watching over us from nearly 80% of all billboards. Equally omnipresent is Eva Peron, Argentina's sweetheart and spiritual leader. Fondly called Evita, she and Che Guevara are Argentina's enduring heroes...but yes..Maradona is still the God. The sensuous Tango dance, late-night dinners and thriving theater scene are all part of the city's vibrant culture.
Iguazu Falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil is a sight to behold. Niagara seemed to pale in comparison. I won't bother describing its size or power, i don't know words that are BIG enough! It also seemed like all the million people we saw at the Falls, eventually made their way to the games in Rio :)
Back to the States now, where football is relegated to soccer and we are transported from Copa de mundial to the mundane motions of everyday life.
And who's this guy?! Neymar.....GOOAAALLLL!
Monday, April 28, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Its that time of the year!
Flowers are blooming everywhere, birds are chirping and lizards are up and about. Love it :)
Monday, January 20, 2014
Catalog of Animal/Wildlife/Nature documentaries and movies
Here's a list of most documentaries and movies that mum, dad and I have seen over the years. We decided to compile this for reference sake, always helps as you get older to make notes!
I'd love to hear from you on great documentaries that you have seen and would be good additions to this list. Please email or comment with your own lists.
1. Born Free
A touching and inspiring movie about a couple Joy and George Adamson, who adopt a lioness- Elsa and later help to 'make her wild' again. I cry every time i watch this movie, seen it a thousand times.
Its the most successful and popular part of a trilogy - Living Free and Forever Free are the other two. Joy Adamson has authored books by the same name too.
The Song 'Born Free' sung by John Barry won the Oscar award for best song, its perfect.
2. Beautiful People
A funny narrative on the lovely animals of the great African continent. My favorite part is of the Ostrich counting its eggs and of course, the Meerkats. Who doesn't love a meerkat!
3. From Africa with Love
4. The Flight of the Condor - Chronicling the majestic peaks of South America, the Andes. The accompanying music by the Chilean band is magical, making this documentary unforgettable. The 3 parts span the mountains, the forests, deserts and the outlying regions of South America.
Music: Inti Illimani (Guamary) - Floreo de llamas
5. Birds for all Seasons - Another 3 part series with some unforgettable footage of the avian world.
6. Planet Earth - Hugely popular with stunning HD footage.
7. The Great Migrations
8. Blue Planet
*9. The Cosmos - Carl Sagan
Not in the wildlife category. One of the best science documentary series ever made, I heard PBS is working with Sagan's widow to make an updated digital version. Stay tuned.
10. The Frozen Planet
11. Life - An 8 part series
12. Indonesia - Roberto (Bunaken)
13. Gorillas in the Mist
Diane Fossey's epic and brave struggle is beautifully portrayed by Sigourney Weaver
This is her last diary entry
14. Galapagos - The islands that changed the world
15. Wild Russia - Wild China - Wild Japan - Wild Balkans (this one is eye-opening, didn't know Europe had isolated and yet-to-be explored wilderness left)
16. The March of the Penguins - Narrated by Morgan Freeman, who can make even the mundane sound magical, this is the extraordinary life/journey of the Antarctic Emperor Penguins.
17. Yellowstone - Battle for Life
18. Animal Kingdom - A very old BBC series, one of the first I've seen of the animal world.
19. The Last Lioness - National Geographic's documentary on the tragedy that is poaching and the empty life of the one remaining lion, Lady Liuwa.
20. Echo - The story of an elephant
In the matriarchal elephant world, Echo is a true symbol. She lived to be 65+ years old and nurtured several generations of her kind with unmatched resilience and dignity.
21. Eye of the Leopard
22. Amazing Planet
23. Cherub of the west - India's most well known and prolific wildlife photographers, Naresh and Rajesh Bedi
24. Saving the Tiger, On a Tiger Trail
Perhaps the most popular of the Bedi brothers' films, this film shot them to international fame and several awards.
25. The Ganges Gharial
The much smaller Indian cousin of the alligator with a long tapering snout roams the holy Ganges river from O..
26. Return of the Clouded Leopards - Sandesh Kadur
Against all odds, a couple of the rare clouded leopard cubs rescued by Sandesh
27. Chernobyl Reclaimed
A fascinating account of how wildlife is thriving in the radioactive disaster zone. There's conflicting reports on the wolves, etc be
28. Secrets of the seas - Jacques Cousteau
The quintessential chronicle of the seas that cover 70% of the earth's surface and exploration of the true unknown.
29. Galapagos - Hell's Cradle
30. Murder of Crows - PBS
Cool experiments by university of Washington's faculty revealing the advanced thought processes of crows. Who knew!
31. Secrets of Wild India
32. 180 degrees South
A hippie style account of one man's adventure retracing the steps of his icons down to Patagonia. Will strike a chord with nature lovers and is backed by a good soundtrack.
33. Chimpanzee - Jane Goodall
A living icon and champion of the primates, this is a gem
34. 'Nature' and NOVA' on PBS
35. Wild Spaces USA
36. Madagascar on National Geographic
37. Ring of Fire
38. North America
First aired on the discovery channel & narrated by Tom Selleck.
39. Swimming Lions
Shows how lions have adapted to hunt and thrive in the water-logged Okavango delta.
I started writing this at least a couple of months back, the list keeps growing. I'm determined to publish it today and will continue adding on to it.
I'd love to hear from you on great documentaries that you have seen and would be good additions to this list. Please email or comment with your own lists.
1. Born Free
A touching and inspiring movie about a couple Joy and George Adamson, who adopt a lioness- Elsa and later help to 'make her wild' again. I cry every time i watch this movie, seen it a thousand times.
Its the most successful and popular part of a trilogy - Living Free and Forever Free are the other two. Joy Adamson has authored books by the same name too.
The Song 'Born Free' sung by John Barry won the Oscar award for best song, its perfect.
2. Beautiful People
A funny narrative on the lovely animals of the great African continent. My favorite part is of the Ostrich counting its eggs and of course, the Meerkats. Who doesn't love a meerkat!
3. From Africa with Love
4. The Flight of the Condor - Chronicling the majestic peaks of South America, the Andes. The accompanying music by the Chilean band is magical, making this documentary unforgettable. The 3 parts span the mountains, the forests, deserts and the outlying regions of South America.
Music: Inti Illimani (Guamary) - Floreo de llamas
5. Birds for all Seasons - Another 3 part series with some unforgettable footage of the avian world.
6. Planet Earth - Hugely popular with stunning HD footage.
7. The Great Migrations
8. Blue Planet
*9. The Cosmos - Carl Sagan
Not in the wildlife category. One of the best science documentary series ever made, I heard PBS is working with Sagan's widow to make an updated digital version. Stay tuned.
10. The Frozen Planet
11. Life - An 8 part series
12. Indonesia - Roberto (Bunaken)
13. Gorillas in the Mist
Diane Fossey's epic and brave struggle is beautifully portrayed by Sigourney Weaver
This is her last diary entry
| “ | When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future. | ” |
15. Wild Russia - Wild China - Wild Japan - Wild Balkans (this one is eye-opening, didn't know Europe had isolated and yet-to-be explored wilderness left)
16. The March of the Penguins - Narrated by Morgan Freeman, who can make even the mundane sound magical, this is the extraordinary life/journey of the Antarctic Emperor Penguins.
17. Yellowstone - Battle for Life
18. Animal Kingdom - A very old BBC series, one of the first I've seen of the animal world.
19. The Last Lioness - National Geographic's documentary on the tragedy that is poaching and the empty life of the one remaining lion, Lady Liuwa.
20. Echo - The story of an elephant
In the matriarchal elephant world, Echo is a true symbol. She lived to be 65+ years old and nurtured several generations of her kind with unmatched resilience and dignity.
21. Eye of the Leopard
22. Amazing Planet
23. Cherub of the west - India's most well known and prolific wildlife photographers, Naresh and Rajesh Bedi
24. Saving the Tiger, On a Tiger Trail
Perhaps the most popular of the Bedi brothers' films, this film shot them to international fame and several awards.
25. The Ganges Gharial
The much smaller Indian cousin of the alligator with a long tapering snout roams the holy Ganges river from O..
26. Return of the Clouded Leopards - Sandesh Kadur
Against all odds, a couple of the rare clouded leopard cubs rescued by Sandesh
27. Chernobyl Reclaimed
A fascinating account of how wildlife is thriving in the radioactive disaster zone. There's conflicting reports on the wolves, etc be
28. Secrets of the seas - Jacques Cousteau
The quintessential chronicle of the seas that cover 70% of the earth's surface and exploration of the true unknown.
29. Galapagos - Hell's Cradle
30. Murder of Crows - PBS
Cool experiments by university of Washington's faculty revealing the advanced thought processes of crows. Who knew!
31. Secrets of Wild India
32. 180 degrees South
A hippie style account of one man's adventure retracing the steps of his icons down to Patagonia. Will strike a chord with nature lovers and is backed by a good soundtrack.
33. Chimpanzee - Jane Goodall
A living icon and champion of the primates, this is a gem
34. 'Nature' and NOVA' on PBS
35. Wild Spaces USA
36. Madagascar on National Geographic
37. Ring of Fire
38. North America
First aired on the discovery channel & narrated by Tom Selleck.
39. Swimming Lions
Shows how lions have adapted to hunt and thrive in the water-logged Okavango delta.
I started writing this at least a couple of months back, the list keeps growing. I'm determined to publish it today and will continue adding on to it.
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