RAMBLINGS

Some more photographs in the Studios

A friend of mine who regularly goes through my blog entries asked me whether i have seen Universal studio during my visit  to L.A.That comment made me  to realise that i have not posted any entries about Universal studio.Some of the photographs taken during the visit will be posted by me for some days in my blog

Me The Terminator  ???

National Air and Space Museum of theSmithsonian Institution is built by Gilbane Building Company with the help of two architects Gyo Obata and Kassabaum near Capitol building in Washington D C ( U S A ).The museum maintains large collecion of aircraft and spacecraft in the world.It also contains  a slice of the MOON ROCK  brought by Apollo 17.All the visitors are allowed to touch it. Following are  some of the photographs which include mine  touching the moon rock

Very  rarely my   two daughters Siri and Shilpa have seen me doing any  house hold work.My both  sons- in-law ,Hari and Nagu would have never seen.That is why when  i was doing the car wash of his car in Minneapolis my first  son-in-law Hari took so many photographs of mine !!

Following are the other ornaments exhibited which caught my attention:

A famous Tiara is also exhibited in the museum The exquisitely crafted Tiara of mid 19th century France was commissioned by Napolean III (1852-70) for his marariage to Eugenie de Montijo, tdaughter of a Spanish nobleman,inJanuary 1853.This is a master piece of Gabriel Lemonnier the Crown Jeweller

Hope Diamond originally taken from the mines of Golconda Hyderabd India is at present housed in Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.This is one of the most famous Blue Diamond of 45.52 carats.The exhibition of diamonds is generally done in the Museum from 27/6 to 15/9 in collaboration with Steinmetz Group and Gemologica Institue of America

Among the founders of the United states ,George Washington alone earned the title of "Father of his country". Henry 'Lighthorse Harry" Lee writes "First in war,first in peace, and first in the hearts of hiscountryman" about this great man.First two phtographs are of the Monument and the third one is of a statue in the Nationa Mall.(This statue caught my fancy)

This is the memorial of a man who said that" I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man"

The following are the three photographs taken by me at National Mall of Loncoln Memorial.One is that of Lincoln and second one is that of the Giant(Lincoln )and the Lilliput(me) and the third one is the unforgettable statement  about  the Great Man

On August  6th  1945,a B-29 bomber carrying Little Boy took off from Tinian Island and detonated a bomb over Hiroshima in Japan obliterating Five Square miles and killing 70,000 and injuring 70,000.On August 9th,another B-29 took off and a bomb was detonated over  Nagasaki in Japan obliterating three square miles ,killing 40,000 and injuring 60,000. As a consequence Japan surrendered on on 14th August vitully ending the second world war.The above three are the pictures of the World War II Memorial at National Mall  and Memorial Parks Washington D.C taken by me

This is a ;piano recital by Shiva 2nd daughtr of Siri & Hari.She is 3.5 years old and by observing her sister anyu playing piano under Suzuki method she has picked up some tunes .She has just now attended

only one formal class.

My grand daughter Anaya is learning Piano under Suzuki method for the last  5 months

This videoclip is taken by me in Siri & Hari's house in  Minneapolis .(Posted by me in YouTube)

A three wheeeled car and a Pedicab  in  washington D.C

The Smithsonian Institution report of july13 and 14, 1880 comments"...it is safe to say that there is probably no other cave in the world more completely and profusively decorated with statactite and stalagmite ornamentation than  that of Luray.The National Park Service and the Department of Interior, in 1974, designated Luray Caverns a registered Natural Landmark.

The Caverns were discovered by Andrew Campbell on 13 august 1878 in Luray Virginia.Luray Cavern is an active cave where new deposits accumulate at the rate of one cubic inch in 120 years.The first photograph is of mine before the cavern entrance and the two other photographs are of  the caves.All coloration in the caverns is natural, caused by the mineral content of the seeping ground water.

This is a beautiful boat  journey  in to a different world inhabitated by differnt animated characters from different countries. The video clip is taken by me sitting in a small boat, though the quality is not very goof it is worth watching as it is beautiful andd the music/song is lovely.(put by me on Youtube also)

This is the final clip of the three part serial of video clips made by me about Celebrate a Street Party In Disneyland.In the

last frame you can see my family members and finally Me

Here is the part two of the videoclip where my granddaughters Anyu and Shiva have also  joined the Dancing Party.In the first frame the two kids to the left are my grand daughters.For a brief moment you can also see my wife Pramila(posted on Youtube also)

Every one is invited to join Mickey  Mouse and his pals at Disneyland's biggest and most enchanting dance party ever.They will be pumping upthe streets and celebrate the presence of visitors.Following is the video clip taken by me during my visit to disneyland.(posted by me on You Tube also)

Walt Elias "Walt" Disney is an American Icon who is the brain behind the creation of the world famous Disney  World.He won 26 Oscar Awards and 7 Emmy Awards.The most famous animated character created by him is the Mickey Mouse.Disney died of lung cancer on December 15th 1966 a few years prior to the opening of his Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida-U.S.A.

The first picture is of Me&Pramila before the statue of Walt Disney&Mickey Mouse in Disney Land -Los Angeles-U.S.A.The second one is Me ,Anyu&Shiva with Donald Duck another famous character of Disney.Third photograph is that of Mickey Mouse  and the fourth is that of Minie Mouse with Hari & Anyu

Los angeles(L.A ) is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the U.S. The L.A was founded september 4,1781 by Spanish Governor Felipe de Neve. It became a parr of Mexico in 1821.In 1848, at the end of Mexican-American war, L.A and California were purchased by U.S.

As the home base of Hollywood,it is known as the "Entertainment Capital of the World.Above is  the picture taken by me of the Prince and Princess of Disneyland.More about Disney and Universal Studio in subsequent blog entries.

My two grand daughters Anyu & Shiva decided to do the watering of the lawn.I thought why not i catch the wonderful effort of the kids and the result is the above video shot from the deck/patio of my elder daughter Siri's house in Minneapolis with 5.1 megapixel Cybershot sony camera

Located in the suburb of Liliburn Atlanta ,this is the largest traditional vedic temple in the entire U.S.A .It is five spires high with 13 perfect  domes.It is constructed with 106,000 cubic feet of stone.The total cost is surprisingly low at $ 19 million mainly due to extensive volunteer effort.

The first photograph is that of the temple and thesecond one is the temple and me.

What made me to go to Atlanta ?.The only reason was my good fiend Ashok Kalmankar was there with her daughter's family. So i went to Atlanta from Minneapolis and spent two wonderdful days with them.I have visited Lake Lanier.The first photograph is that of Lake and the second one is Ashok ,his grand son Anir &me with Lake in the back ground.

Lake Lanier officially known as Lake Sidney Lanier is named after the poet Sidney Lanier.It encompasses 38,000 acres of water,692 miles of shoreline, a full swimmer pool of 1,071 feet above mean sea level.

Since opening in 1988 the Garden has welcomed more than 6.3 million visitors.The first photograph is that of  SPOONBRIDGE AND CHERRY  by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen and  is the land mark item of this Garden.The spoon is 52 feet long and the cherry is a mighty 1,200 pounds.The second photograph is of the COAT and me trying o fit in to theCoat.

Calhoun lake is a  part of the chain of lakes and is a popular site for fishing,windsurfing,swimming,sailing etc.The lake is the largest of  5  lakes comprising Minneapolis' chain of lakes.The distance around the lake is 3.2 miles.The lake is the most popular visitors' destination after the Mall of America.

The first two photographs are of that of the  lake and the third one is the lake and us.

The Mississippi river is the second largest river in U.S.A with a length of 2,320 miles from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico.The name Misssissippi is derived from Ojibwe word misi-zibi (Great River) or  gichi-zibi (big river).

For the tourists there are regular River Rides arranged by Paddleford Riverboats.The first two photographs are of the River taken by me while on the boat and the third is that of the boat and fourh photograph is tha t of Pramila after getting down from the boat.