Life Cycle of a Frozen Turkey
Thawed and Seasoned
Cooked and Juicy
Carved and Ready for Consumption
Making Someone's Christmas Special
Nostalgia: Dinosaurs, Drill Bits and Scrolls at HMNS
Bones, bugs and wildlife surrounded me this evening at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. And I was flooded by childhood memories. The exhibits look exactly as they did when I first experienced them as an elementary school student. Wow! I know much has been updated since then, but the dinosaurs and bugs sure did take me back.
We jumped in the Geovator, for old times’ sake. Well, old times’ sake for me and new times’ sake for Sajan, Liz and Jimmy. In the Geovator, you put yourself in the shoes of a drill bit.
Going Down
Some low-budget filming for your viewing pleasure: Read the rest of this entry »
Getting Crafty with MFAH
For once, I did more at an art museum than walk, talk and stare.
Dec. 12 was the Artful Thursday Ornament-Making Extravaganza at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
Step 1: Cut out a rectangle shape of a fine painting.
Step 2: Fold like an accordion.
Step 3: Somehow make it look like the examples sitting on the table. People made some pretty stellar ornaments!
Matt Mullenweg at Refresh Houston
Lil Wayne's Protege
Quotes (and paraphrases) from Matt Mullenweg, WordPress founder, at Refresh Houston today:
Open source at its core is about freedom.
Because WordPress is open source, the community was able to continue building on it. The beauty of the commons is what open source enables.
Morally, everything I do should be open source, since everything I have today came from open source.
One of the most interesting artists to me is Lil Wayne. I relate to him on many levels. He embraced the trend the crowds had of copying and sharing music. He overwhelmed them with free music. Does he profit? Of course. From merchandise, concerts, etc. It wasn’t the music, but the things around the music that had the real value.
Our goal as a company is to stay small but be big in terms of influence.
Matt gave credit not to himself but to the content creators, you and me. He said the tool, WordPress, is just that, a tool. A means to an end. And the end is you and me. He mentioned the young folks today, 9-year-olds, who know CSS as well as he does. Ten years from now, they’ll be running things. These people interacting with the sites will actually be able to contribute to them, since they know the architecture. It means big things for the future of open source.
You can tell a good speaker by the metaphors they employ. Read the rest of this entry »
Do You Accept Your Fate or Pursue Your Destiny?
If you come from the dirt, a heritage regarded as the lowest of the low, do you just accept your fate and live life as society expects or mandates?
Modern-day slaves do. They don’t escape their captors. They simply accept the cards dealt to them. It’s too difficult to leave. You can’t trust the police, who purchase slaves themselves. You’ve unwittingly shamed your family. Your owners — they’ve got you addicted to meth and bound to a life of self-destruction. That’s what I gathered from the film/rockumentary Call and Response.
In Slumdog Millionaire — the hit film directed by Danny Boyle and entirely filmed in India — supporting character Lathika is born in the slums, orphaned and enslaved. Her soulmate, protagonist Jamal, repeatedly searches for her, declares his love and believes it is their destiny to be together. She’s trapped in the home of a gangster, thanks in part to Jamal’s money-hungry, power-thirsty brother, Salim. Lathika fears violence and death if she sneaks off to be with Jamal. So she tells him to leave for good, believing it is impossible for her to be with him, despite their undying love.
You’ll have to watch the movie to learn the rest. No spoilers here.
Themes: Money, power & machismo; penitence/desire for forgiveness; acceptance of fate vs. pursuit of destiny; violence – religous, sexual, gang; abandoment, loneliness, survival, every man for himself; loss of innocence.
Personal Attention at Its Finest
Banana chips. Get em sweet or salty.
My obsession of late is sweetened banana chips. Naturally, I wrote to the banana chip company expressing my delight and sharing facts about banana chips being a regular snack in Kerala.
Below is the response from the company. They forgot to fill in the blank at the end of the first sentence! Nice work.
December 17, 2008
Dear Ms. Abraham:
Thank you for your recent e-mail concerning [ ]. We are always pleased to hear from a satisfied consumer.
With today’s busy life styles, individuals do not always take the time to send complimentary e-mail to other individuals, much less to a large company. Your taking the time to contact us is very much appreciated.
We hope you will continue to enjoy our XXXX, XXXXX and XXXXXX products.
Sincerely,
XXXXX XXXXXX
Customer Service
We all make mistakes. If you’re less forgiving and think customer service is nonexistent in modern times, you’ll enjoy this. Here’s what Guy Kawasaki has to say about customer service.
As fleeting as life itself
It snowed yesterday.
The front yard
Snow-covered playground
Mmm tastes like chicken
Frosty merry-go-round
A Scene from Last Year’s Christmas
Young carolers strolled into our yard last year when my parents and I were spending the holidays in India. We gave them cookies and some rupees! I think “Santa” was wearing his mom’s house clothes.
Christmas Ain’t So Bad
If you look past the pitfalls of the holidays, you’ll find they are laden with value. My other personality has come out of the closet and can appreciate a few important lessons the season brings.
Lessons of giving. The holidays allow many of us to step outside our me-centered routine and do good for others.
Lessons of gratitude. Christmas is a time to be blessed and be thankful. What a feeling to experience the sincerity of those who go out of their way to make you happy, even when you feel undeserving.
Lessons of forgiveness. Many loved ones take this time to reunite and move on from their prickly past.
Lessons of growing relationships. You may find yourself arranging ornaments on the tree with loved ones, swapping stories at the office holiday party or preparing food for family. The desire to make someone else happy through your words, your food or your love is a gift.
What lessons and bright moments do you encounter through the holidays? Does the cheese factor of this post make you want to hurl?
10 Reasons I Can Barely Stand Christmas
Bah, humbug! Call me the Christmas grinch. The holidays are around the corner, but you won’t see me kicking my heels in gaiety.
There's one in every family, right?
I do enjoy the family-centered, loving, giving nature of the season. And the traditions family and friends build together. But it seems so hyped up and watered down these days. Christmas seems like just another buzzword to throw around so stores can sell things and people can put up half-lit deer on their lawn, the ones that fall down at the slightest breeze.
Here are 10 reasons Christmas is not my favorite holiday.
1. Christmas music on the radio. Time to switch to CDs.
2. Tacky lights and decorations.
3. Christmas music in stores.
4. Hype and fabricated joy.
5. Ultra-consumerism.
