New York City - a microcosm of the Universe

New York City has been eluding me for a while, and I finally cought hold of it during the Thanksgiving weekend. I have been thinking about posting something on this for quite some time now, but I haven't got a clue on where to start, and how to go about describing my experiences. But I have realized that if I keep waiting for the best idea, I will probably never be able to do it. So, here it goes.

By New York City, I just mean the Manhattan area. The first thing that catches your attention is the clear difference between people who have come to visit NYC and people who stay, live and work there. The best place to catch this difference is probably at the Times Square. People who live and work in NY might not hit the Times Square in the first place, but if they have to go through Times Square, they do not look around much, walk straight and fast, and probably take the stairs down to the nearest subway. Visitors go around Times Square with their jaws half-dropped, eyes half-popped, and walk around aimlessly, blocking others' way on the footpath, and flashing their cameras around, not knowing that flash cannot be used to capture night landscapes.

Another aspect you'll notice is the variety of ethnicity. You find people from all over the world. Its probably like a good stamp or coin collection, where the collector tries to ensure you have as much variety as possible. People representing differnt nations, speaking entirely different languages, come from all over the world, but all enchanted the same way experiencing the city.

I liked the way the subways serve to take people around the city. The subway system is easy to follow, tickets are easy to procure, the waiting time at the stations is pretty less, and its definitely a very convenient way to go around. I never felt the need for a car when I was going around in Manhattan. You just buy a day-pass and keep hitting the subways.

I will have to mention about the crowds. I never thought that Thanksgiving was such a touristy time. I thought I will not find any Americans around, as they would all have gone to their grandmothers' to enjoy a big lunch and a get-together. But the crowds proved otherwise. Do you know it took me two full hours of waiting in the queue before I could reach the top of the Empire State Building? I could get to the sanctum sanctorium in Tirumala in less time than that, shelling out much lesser in terms of money.

And then the sights and sounds. I don't think we'll have any other place in the world where you feel the roar of the trains going under the road, smell fresh hot-dogs and hear a guitar strumming a few feet away, and a tourist shouting in some unrecognizable language, all at the same time, and at the same place!

One part I missed was the night-life. I spent only one evening in the city, and was so tired by night, that I had to call it a day and settle down in my room. I am sure it would have been awesome if I could have a couple of drinks at some nice pub, but then I have to ask the locals for directions, so I don't pop into some gay bar of some sort.

Other than all this, the visit to NYC went pretty eventless, like getting to see the Statue of Liberty etc. (Of course the Statue of Liberty was something I really wanted to see, but it doesn't count when I compare it to the other experiences I had).

New York City is indeed a microcosm of the Universe. Yes, not just the world, coz it's not that difficult to spot a couple of aliens from our neighbouring solar systems if you watch closely enough. I would also like to visit London, because I feel both these cities are pretty similar in terms of the diversity of visitors, the underground trains, and both represent the best in terms of being cultural hubs in their own right. Another compelling point pulling me towards London is the fact that a lot of good friends of mine seem to be hovering around there.

I look forward to visiting the NYC again, as I haven't had enough of it yet.

Starbucks logo

My love for the coffee at the Cafe Coffee Day back in India has transitioned into love for Starbucks here in the US. Even though I have a cup of coffee every morning, the special cup of Latte at Starbucks stays close to my heart, and I look forward to slurping my latte over the weekend.

Now, I am speaking the truth when I say that my love for Starbucks has nothing to do with their logo. When I initially looked at the Starbucks logo, I thought it was a young girl holding a couple of big fish in her hands. Damn my over-simplifying innocence.

Here's the inside story of the logo. The truth is plain and simple. The logo is of a mermaid spreading her legs to you, inviting you to have fun with her. I wish I never knew. I wish I never visited this site.

But they have sanitised the logo over time to come up with this very innocent-looking picture. I accept I was fooled. But does that affect my love for their coffee in any way? Nope. I like their coffee, and I like their current logo. If someone asks me what the logo represents, I would still tell them that its a little girl holding up a couple of fish in her hand.

This world is a crazy place.

The Little League Parade

Williamsport is a small town, and it compares to an average district headquarters in India. Yet, it holds this major event called Little League Baseball World Series every year. This is a baseball tournaments for teenagers, and most of the baseball playing countries are well represented. Since this is an international event, this little town braces for the impact. It gets its limelight in the form of press visibility etc.

This tournament was kicked off at a gala parade on the 16th of August. It was a fun evening, where most of the people from town landed on a narrow but long street to welcome the little-leaguers. Here are some photos i had taken of this occasion. Just wanted to share them.

First came in the Rolls Royces of the town. Is this a Rolls Royce?

There were several bands playing, and several teams of girls waving flags around. It was a lot of fun to see mothers holding their young kids close to them, afraid that one of the flags might hit their precious child.

This is one of the photos I had taken that day. I was trying to capture a moving object in low light. So, the shutter was left open, but I panned the camera to follow the person, adorned with shiny silver foil all over him and this is what I ended up getting. Do you like it?

And then of course, the fireworks.

Yet anothere iPhone post on the Internet

I've fallen in love

I've fallen in love for the first time

And this time I know it's for real

I've fallen in love, yeah God knows,

God knows I've fallen in love

- From Queen's "I want to break free"

Yet another material gadget love. You can bet I had a crush on every revolutionary gadget in the market. But this time, it was different, its Love.

The difference was that I was just so obsessed with this thing that I went ahead and brought it home, paying up 600 of the most valuable bucks.

Where does that take me? I'm happy. I am happy the beast of phones is in my hand. This is not like one of those other smart-phones which bites more than it can chew, and then hangs in there, half dead. This is a very capable smart-phone, does a lot of things, and does it in style.

I am not saying that this is perfect - there is no such thing as perfection in this world. Its almost there. I don't have reasons explaining why it is almost perfect. It should be looking perfect to be because I am in love with it.

Bose Companion 2 Series II speaker review

I set out to buy speakers to help me relax at home. My first choice would have been a 2.1 system. But since I am put up in a hotel room, a 2.1 system would prove heavy on my floor-space. So, instead I started to look out for good 2.0 systems.

After a lot of research, I ended up with two options - Bose Companion 2 Series II and Klipsch Promedia 2.0. The Klipsch ones had excellent reviews all over the place. The bose speakers were rather new and haven't yet received a professional review anywhere. My deciding factor was the size. I wanted the smallest of the speakers without a compromise on sound quality. The klipsch speakers were larger than the Bose. So, I had to choose Bose. I didn't get to listen to Klipsch Promedia 2.0 anywhere, so I can't do a comparison. On the other hand, I did get to hear Klipsch Promedia 2.1 before and they're exceptionally good. I would prefer them to any Bose system if I was OK with a 2.1 system.

I had heard Bose Companion 2 (the older ones) at a Bose store, and didn't like them much, as they sounded tinny. A lot of screeching sound, and a lack of bass. But I found Series II to be much better. Thanks to Bose for overcoming this problem even if that needed an increase in the size of the speakers ever so slightly.

Now that I had only one option, I went ahead and brought these speakers home. Needless to say that these speakers were really good. I could hear the player's fingers rubbing against the guitar wires and all.

I listen to a lot of Rock, Jazz and Classical. The sound is really balanced, and reproduces bass, mid-tone and treble on more or less equal footage. I believe the bass and treble are amplified a little more. Maybe that's a decision Bose have taken to "define" their desktop speakers.

The advantage Bose has to other speakers of the same class, is the digital circuitry they probably use to enhance the sound to bring in increased stereo separation and roominess to the sound. The sound coming out is definitely more pleasing to the ears, and feels room-filling. You wouldn't get this experience with speakers from other brands, however faithful they are in reproducing sound as exactly as recorded.

Now, an advantage that's almost a disadvantage. These speakers are so accurate in reproducing the sound that you cannot forgive playing mp3s at low bitrates. You need mp3s to be coded at least at 128kbps for the sound to be acceptable. I rip my music at VBR 192-320kbps and I find it hard to differentiate between the original CD and the mp3, So, never over-compress your music.

Now, two clear disadvantages. The first is that these speakers are built to aim their best sound at the person sitting at the desktop. The sound fills the room, but you lose out on the spaciousness. The stereo separation is good at 6-10 feet away, but the spaciousness is lost. So, these speakers do have a sweet-spot, and that is a chair right next to the desktop. I wish Bose provided swivel stands, so that I could point my speakers at my couch and still get the best from the speakers.

Disadvantage 2. I have played at least 200 tracks by now. The sound reproduction was near perfect, except for one track. I was playing a classical track "Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, "Eroica" - Scherzo: Allegro Vivace". This is an mp3 that has been shipped along with Windows Vista. Somewhere in the middle of the track, when a trumpet is played at a particular note, the right speaker gives a buzz. It means that I hit the natural frequency of the right speaker, and that resulted in resonance. I totally understand every object has its own natural frequency and you can't help it if you make a sound matching their natural frequency. But I am disappointed Bose didn't build it tight enough to avoid the buzz. I am not sure if this a defect in the speaker. But I can't return these speakers showing that the speakers buzz in only one track out of 200 tracks.

That's about it. The speakers are almost the best you could get in a 2.0 to my knowledge. The only contendor would be the Klipsch Promedia Ultra 2.0 and if you have enough desk-space and don't need them to be as portable, you could as well go for the Klipsch. But you mght miss upon the spacious-feel circuitry that Bose uses.

I give it a 4/5.

Advantages
* Good balance in sound. Enough bass.
* TrueSpace technology
* small size - almost portable

Disadvantages
* Speakers aimed at the desktop user.
* Buzz playing a particular track (not sure if this is a defect)
* Sometimes, the bass feels excessive.

Amazing Western Classical concert

It hasn't been even a week, and I was still trying to chew the cud reminiscing the good time I had at the bluegrass concert, when I heard of a western classical concert being held at the same venue. I decided to take the plunge, not because I am a serious fan of western classical instrumental music, but because I have cherished the dream of seeing, or rather listening to a live western classical orchestral concert for a long time.

The concert was on last Tuesday, and was being conducted by the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra. They performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 and Mahler Symphony 4. The former featured Beethoven's virtuoso piano composition played by Timothy LeVan and the latter had a soprano voice rendition by Kaitlyn Lusk.

The concert was top-notch. I don’t mind using the word ‘impeccable’ here, as me, a person who doesn’t know anything about western classical music, am too far from nit-picking their performance. The only gripe is with the seating position. Not able to spend too much on the ticket, I gave in to the $14 ticket, and was ushered to the balcony, about 500 feet away from the stage. And to my dismay, I realized they do not use any loud speaker system, and we had to depend upon the acoustics of the theatre to hear anything. I could hear most of it, but the volume was a tad too low for my comfort. Because of the low volume, I didn’t have the feeling of being part of the whole ambience. I felt thrown out. But otherwise, the clarity was excellent, and I could hear every little note played by every instrument.

Now I’d like to talk about a few things here. I discovered that arts like classical music get the recognition they deserve here in the US. People here know the importance of taking the culture forward through to the next generation. I saw so many kids and young crowd at the concert. Parents here do a commendable job trying to get their kids interested in classical music. I do not see that happening in India. Back in India, a local orchestra trained in classical music wouldn’t dare to hold a concert in a theatre with a capacity of 3000. You would probably see 300 enthusiasts there, out of which 270 would be aged 60 and above.

The second point is here now. This is, after all, a symphony group of a small town. Williamsport is not a big city like Philadelphia or Boston. It makes sense to understand that big cities have cultural societies that are nurtured by a large community. But I was really taken aback by the professionalism with which the show was run in such a small town. I was truly amazed at the quality of the performance, the costumes, the theatre, the audience, in fact, everything present there was top-notch. Such a measure of quality, that is hard to expect at a concert by a local group supported by a small community, in a small town.

Another very interesting thing that I observed here is the kind of silence people maintain here when the performance is on. The entire theatre, filled with about 2000 people, just goes dead silent, except for the odd cough or sneeze from some corner of the theatre. And when such a sneeze does come in, it reverberates along the entire theatre. I can very clearly hear and distinguish even the sound of a plastic wrapper that rattled far across the theatre. Now, it is time for an astonishing discovery. None, I say again, none of the mobile phones in the theatre ever made a sound for the whole duration of the concert. Will this ever be possible in India?

Bluegrass bonanza

"There are two types of people in the world, those who love Bluegrass and those who don't know it yet." - some bluegrass fan

This seems to be the philosophy of a band called "The Backwaters Experiment", a bluegrass band playing today at the Bullfrog in Williamsport. I find it hard to disagree, and this is why.

We had been to a St.Patty's day bluegrass gathering today held at the local community arts centre. This concert featured several local bands that played bluegrass.

Before I move on to the musicians, let me talk about Bluegress. Bluegrass is one of the genres of American music that features acoustic instrumentation with roots in traditional irish and scottish music. They feature all sorts of acoustic instruments like guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, bass, dobro etc., and the music is typically lively, fast and foot-tap-inducing and enjoyable.

There were several bands that played today. I couldn't listen to all of them - I had to come away. I did listen to three bands - the Lockport Drifters, Stained grass window and the Hillbilly Gypsies. They were really good.

The Lockport Drifters started out with a bang. The music was lively and entertaining. Everyone played good, but a special mention goes to Lucy McLaughlin who played the Mandolin. The way she played the mandolin was just amazing. She would step into an interlude, and take the crowd away to a different world.

Then played the Stained Grass Window. This was the band that we were looking for, coz one of the members of the band, Ken Shafranko, who plays the dobro, or the resophonic guitar. They played well. We know Ken at work, a guy full of enthusiasm, and a lot of witty laughables up his sleeve. He invited us to the concert, and that's how we were there. This band played an instrumental number to start with, and then spread out. I liked the way Ken sang "If I were a suoerman...". The band was pretty enhanting, but I thought they lost a bit of attention from the audience when they played a couple of sorrowful numbers, which didn't fit into the joyfull mood of the spectators, even though they were good. You could listen to a couple of numbers from this band here.

Then played the Hillbilly Gypsies. Wow... weren't they a treat to watch and listen! Theirs was a unique performance. They were a band of 5 musicians, but played with a single mike. The players that need to perform at a particular moment would come forward and perform. Then, immediately, they withdraw and make room for the one to perform next. These guys play fast, and you your foot wouldn't stop tapping. They're a fun to watch, and received such a royal encore that they had to return back and play an extra number to pacify the crowds.

I couldn't catch the rest of the evening as I had to come back. But I guess everyone there had a great time enjoying the music.

Bluegrass is a type of music that appeals to young and old, and is like a tradition that needs to be preserved, like the classical music in India. Tbe younger generation must wait for a minute and listen to this genre before they get overwhelmed with the electronics of contemporary rock.

Bullfrog Brewery

I've heard that Bullfrog Brewery is renowned all over North-East USA for its local brews - mostly ales and beers. And it happens to be right here in Williamsport. Locals seem to like its ambience a lot, and they often play live music. So, I've decided to check out the place over a weekend, and I did check the place out the last weekend.

The image on the right is one of the photos I have clicked there, and I like it. Hope you like it too.

The place is about a five-minute walk from where I stay, and I went there with my friend at about 9pm last Saturday. The place was pretty packed-up, and we were ushered to a small table next to a window.

The whole area had the usual pubish look to it, and the colour resembled a mix of red wine and beer. Unfortunately, I am not the best person to judge the food here, as I am a vegetarian, and the menu is very limited to vegetarians. Thank God they had an appetizer and an entree for vegetarians. The appetizer was good and filling, but the entree, which was made of pasta, was pretty bland. See the photo of the appetizer I ordered here. The photo is not good, but I guess, you will like the starter if you see it yourself. The starter tasted more like a very bland mexican salsa.

Now, we had to order some beer. Yes, this place is famous for its beer, but I never liked it. I have had a couple of sips before, and I always wondered how people liked beers so much. I've ordered some Red Inspiration here, and the situation was no different. I didn't like it much. But I guess beer lovers would have been absolutely fascinated by the poor drink.

Then came the part I liked the most. Live music performance. This was by a blues trio called "Blind Chitlin Kahunas". One played an electric guitar, the second played a bass guitar, and the third played drums. The electric guitarist was named Chris Bovard I guess, and he's the best guitarist I have seen. He's even better than Susmit Sen of Indian Ocean. Well, I shouldn't actually compare them. Both of them are the emperors of their own genre.

The music went on from 10pm to 12pm with a 10-minute break in between for beer. Of all the aspects of this place, the live band was the best.

Remember, this is a subjective review of a person who neither likes beers nor dark pubs. So, take it with a pinch of salt and a shot of vodka.

As white as driven snow

Every blog has its day. Today is this blog's day, and so this blog is being revived to its original glory. Better late than never. This blog smiles at every reader who considered this blog dead. This blog rised from its apparent grave.

While the blog was busy in its deathbead trying to decide whether or not to die, I was busy playing with my life. Yes, my life has taken a major turn, or rather I've turned my life around. I had blissfully positioned myself in the laid back city of Hyderabad (laid back in every sense except for its traffice sense) and suddenly I find myself in some remote town of Pennsylvania. How did that happen? Well, all that (hi)story is not worth studying. As per my policy, there's nothing you can do with History. So, leave it at that.

Now, I believe this town has a lot in store for me to see, do and experience. Let me describe the first of such experiences. Its the snow. I saw it snowing for the first time in my life. Yes, when I had been to Shimla, I could have a glimpse of snowy mountains from quite a distance, and we did play with some stagnant ice at a picnic spot. But here, it was real snow, and atleast 18 inches of snow, as pure as it falls, all of it in a span of two days.

When it snows, a dreamland opens up in front of your eyes. Everything is pure white, and the entire ambience lightens up your heart. Its probably like the feel you get after you've quickly gulped in multiple of shots of vodka. You forget all your worries and concerns, and smile at the beauty of life for a couple of minutes. I stare into the white snowland that has enveloped my vision, and drink in the spectacle, and then someone taps on my shoulder and reminds me that it's time to reach office.