¡Hola Valencia!

The schedule was tight. The rain posed a formidable challenge. Yet, thankfully, I got to explore bits and pieces of this eponymous capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia. The cityscape of Valencia is a strikingly unique blend of the past, the present, and the future. The architecture ranges from Gothic splendor to flamboyant postmodernism interspersed densely with mundane arrays of lackluster modern midrise apartment buildings.  

New England Hues

We set out to explore Mount Cardigan Saturday morning - just in time to catch the flaming hues of the New Hampshire foliage this season. The wet, wooded trail was gorgeously colorful. The 360° view from the bare, treeless summit was breathtaking. As we squelched our way to the open summit, the gusty wind picked up speed till it felt strong enough to blow us away. An approaching shower of rain appeared to close in on us. We took shelter underneath the fire tower on the summit. Even as we stood there trying to keep our camera lenses dry and our fingers from freezing, we saw one end of a rainbow emerge. The colors emboldened, and, once the skies cleared, we could see the complete bow clearly for a few moments. To our utter surprise, in some more time, we saws hints of a second bow: a double rainbow! Of course photos can never do justice. But here are some imperfect glimpses of this perfectly wonderful adventure!

Glass Magic

I finally had an opportunity to view the extraordinary work of Dale Chihuly at the Museum of Fine Arts exhibition Through the Looking Glass. As expected, the pieces were spectacular. With the bright hues of glass, psychedelic lighting, and a rich diversity of ideas, it was a breathtaking experience. 

This splendidly illuminated array of large glass flowers, which I put together into a panoramic shot, adorned the entrance to the exhibit:

Blindness

It's a new life here in Boston and a very exciting one too. Also, it turns out that the Kindle combined with a 30 min. daily commute (each way) on the subway makes an excellent recipe for reading. And thus my once favorite pastime drowned in the whirlpool of an engineering education finally found a chance to resurface. I inaugurated my reading renaissance with the novel Blindness by Nobel laureate Jose Saramago.

It was during my first visit to Brookline Booksmith (nothing like having a bookstore next door!) that I happened to flip through a Saramago novel. It was called The Elephant's Journey. As I was weaving through the second page of the book, I was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"So, what do you think?"

I looked up. It was an elderly gentleman. 

"It's weird." That was my first thought and also my reply. "There is hardly any punctuation anywhere. And there are no names either."

"Yeah, all his books are like that. It's a bit tricky initially, but you get used to it."

The L.A. Sky

In the Land of the Rising Sun

Long before my Japan trip, I absolutely fell in love with Hokusai's 36 Views of Mount Fuji, a fascinating collection of woodblock prints, some of which happen to be on display at the LACMA. While the limited duration of my trip and the busy conference schedule made it difficult to plan a trip to this active volcano and the highest mountain in Japan, my flight to Kyoto offered me a spectacular surprise: Mount Fuji, with its strikingly symmetrical cone was peeking at me through the cloud covers! Thus commenced my glorious adventure in the Land of the Rising Sun.

The Story of King Tut

I read a story today - a story far more enthralling than medical or forensic mysteries on TV.  It's a true story - one based on real science! The protagonist was no other than the archeological marvel the great King Tut. King Tut or Tutankhamun is a familiar name to most of us. You may remember him from the story of Howard Carter's discovery his intact tomb in 1922, from the media-instigated folk-lores about the curse of his mummy, or from your middle school textbooks, where his name would have appeared alongside those of Akhenatun and Nefertiti.

Kiwi Travelogue

Hundreds of years ago groups of seafaring, adventure-loving Polynesian explorers set sail in canoes (or wakas, as they called them) and discovered an uninhabited group of islands in the South Pacific. They became the first settlers in the lush and green wonderland full of exotic birdlife. Many of them perished in the cold. But then they learned to heat up rocks to keep themselves warm at night, make tools out of sea shells, and make warm clothing from flax fiber, feathers, and fur. They carved out a niche for themselves in what they named Aotearoa, or the land of the white cloud, a place that was renamed New Zealand by the Dutch in the 17th century. Today, more than 75% of New Zealand's inhabitants live in the North Island. The South Island, to a large extent, continues to be nature's sanctum full of forests, mountains, volcanoes, lakes, fjords, glaciers, and more. In this travelogue, I will share my experiences as I traveled across the North Island from Auckland to Wellington and back.

Glimpses of Boston

Raindrops on my face, gentle and refreshing - Boston welcomed us thus! I was there attending ISBI '09. The old-style streetlights, the pretty churches, the breezy banks of the Charles - I loved it all - the looks and the feel! Harvard Square was particularly fascinating - warm and busy, with a wealth of bookstores.

The rains haunted us every now and then. I loved it because it got me reminiscent me of Calcutta monsoons, especially as we scampered toward the T (local subway) hiding underneath umbrellas. :-) And when we were atop the 50th floor of the Prudential Tower for the conference reception, thanks to the thick clouds, we completely missed the city view! Alas, the caprices of Boston weather!

Farm Tour

Last Sunday, we went on a cook-out tour to Tanaka farms, a treasure trove of the finest seasonal vegetables. We strolled through stretches of farmland picking veggies (spinach, cilantro, beans, carrots, radish, squash, and delicious maui onions) and then washed and chopped them ourselves and finally got them grilled (along with some tofu).