American Cities A Century Ago

Thanks RS, SK, TM for contribution.

Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, in 1917.

Atlantic City, 1910.

The main street of Memphis, north of Avenue Gayoso, 1910.

Station “Louisville-Nashville,” Florida, in 1910.

Forsyth Street, Jacksonville, Florida, in 1910.

The beach in Atlantic City, 1915.

Grant Avenue after an earthquake in San Francisco in 1906.

Carts for transporting dairy Thompson, Washington, 1927.

Washington, DC, 1914.

Cadillac Square, Detroit, Michigan, 1916.

Ninth Street, Washington DC, 1915.

Corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, 1910.

Broad Street north of Spruce Street, Philadelphia, 1905.

View of Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn in 1909.

Fire at 55th Street, New York, 1915.

Fifth Avenue, New York, 1913.

Wabash Avenue, Chicago, 1907.

The New York Public Library, New York, 1915.

Wall Street, New York, 1911.

Fifth Avenue, New York, 1913.

Manhattan, 1907.

The northern part of Fifth Avenue, New York, 1913.

New York City Hall

Dexter Avenue and the Capitol, Montgomery, Alabama, in 1906.

Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1910

Washington, DC, 1913.

Broadway and the building of “The Times,” New York, 1915.

What war does to man?

Skammen (Swedish, Shame; 1968)
Director: Ingmar Bergman

Another powerful anti-war movie by master film maker which shows the emotional impact of war on human behaviour and relationship. There are many untold subtle messages in the movie that are left to viewers' discretion. And it does aim to solve any of world problems!
Jan and Eva Rosenberg are a childless couple of 7 years' marriage who probably decided to leave the city life, as the were instrument players in the philharmonic orchestra, to live a quiet life near to nature in a lonely island. War, probably civil war, is looming with the sight of flying fighter planes and sounds of gunshots.
The film starts off depicting Jan as a unstable guy who needs prodding and suggestion. Eve, the wife, seem to be losing her patience with his indecision but loves him still the same.
They carry on life, supplying produce to clients. The talk around village is the worsening of war. Many are drafted into army, reluctantly. Jan is exempted for health reasons, with is not told to us.
The passion between the couple is depicted not so much as physical lust but rather small talks about the plans for future, seeing a doctor for fertility and the like.
The war draws near. Fighter planes are seen over their roof and bombs are dropped. The paratrooper is trapped on a tree. Arguments start between them to save him - Jan fearing of being shot and Eve on saving a dying man.
The Rosenbergs were on the brink of leaving their home when enemy soldier intercept them. The faint-hearted Jan faints at sight of soldier, derailing their plan. As the shower of gunpowder continue their shower around the vicinity, the couple make another dash to safety but in vain as their path is blocked by death and destruction. They return home to be accompanied by a barrage of bomb blasts all through the night.
The following morning, they were apprehended by the army for helping the paratroopers. They were interrogated. An acquaintance, Jacobi, a powerful figure in the army releases them. He keeps on visiting them at home with gifts and favours. Jacobi's relationship is more of manipulative than cordial. The Rosenberg's relationship slowly crumbles; with Eva accusing Jan of not standing up and Eva of fawning all over him!
Jacobi even beds the young wife for a bundle of cash! When the army questions Jacobi for corruption, he tries to pay off but the money had been pocketed by Jan.

Jacobi is placed in the firing squad and Jan is ordered to fire the first shot. The usually meek Jan obliges.
With the whole house burnt down by the army, the Rosenberg decide to hitch a boat ride to the mainland with Jacobi's money. We can see Eva slowly crumble under the turn of events. Paradoxically, Jan takes over the rein and takes charge.
The boat that they travel has engine failure and the occupants of the boat float aimlessly with dehydration as the the captain commits suicide due to hopelessness...

Weekend retreat!

They say they had a record of sorts, 44,000 registered to partake in this nostalgic run. Unfortunately, on the ground level, the number of participants at the half marathon did not seem to mirror that fact. Parking was a breeze relatively unlike last year and start off did not require knocking each other blind to pass the starting line.
The numbers were made up by the 10km'ers and fun runners mainly. Even the marathoners did not stand out.
After deciding to make it as a big boys' weekend out, the 4 members of the running gang drove up in the luxury of a 8-seater SUV to Penang in spirit of clean healthy fun. After reaching the destination and fulfilling filial obligations, we settled in for the night. The excitement for the day was too much for most of us to catch a single glimpse into slumberland!
Being deprived of proper sleep for more than 24 hours, we stepped into our sporting gears at 0130h to conquer the bridge once again. We could not have asked for a more conducive weather- a cool 25 degrees C and a light breeze. The only annoying thing on that morning was stench that emanated  from the stench of the decaying gooey substance sea bed of  the low tide.
The run started with a good head start with a cool zephyr and a slight drizzle to shower good blessing on the morning foot warriors. All 4 runners in the group ran at their own comfortable pace. Even though on the outward everyone appear not to be aiming high in their achievements, deep inside secretly everybody wanted to outdo their own selves. Each in their own way and strategy tried to outdo themselves and fought their inner demons.
Having their own story of agony to tell, each and everyone of the group actually outdid their previous outing. SK, I think, did his personal best of 2h5m with fainting spell and cramps afterwards; Ravin even though hampered by calf muscle cramps equaled his previous PB of 2h8m; yours truly at 2h14m, better than the past few recent HM timings though short of his PB; struggling through his abdominal cramps Raj achieved his PB of 2h16m!
Jubilant at their weekend conquest, the gang returned to their daytime jobs - sore with muscle overuse, tired but eyes wide awake with the euphoria of the achievements and adrenaline rush as well as post  run endorphins chatting boisterously and laughing all the way back to the capital city to meet another challenge - living in the real world....

http://penangmarathon.gov.my/portal/live-results/#b=RECDSTBL,R4NYFA8Z,RK6YGAW5,RHE5TKMY&v=ptrack

30 Most Powerful Images Ever!

http://www.boredpanda.com/must-see-powerful-photos/

Thanks KR for contribution.

1. Starving boy and missionary

2. Inside an Auschwitz gas chamber

Image credits: kligon5

3. Heart surgeon after 23-hour-long (successful) heart transplant. His assistant is sleeping in the corner.

Image credits: James Stanfield

4. Father and son (1949 vs 2009)

Image credits: Vojage-Vojage

5. Diego Frazão Torquato, 12 year old Brazilian playing the violin at his teacher’s funeral. The teacher had helped him escape poverty and violence through music

Image credits: salvemasnossascriancas.blogspot.com

6. A Russian soldier playing an abandoned piano in Chechnya in 1994

Image credits: drugoi.livejournal.com

7. Young man just found out his brother was killed

Image credits: Nhat V. Meyer

8. Christians protect Muslims during prayer in the midst of the 2011 uprisings in Cairo, Egypt

Image credits: Nevine Zaki

9. A firefighter gives water to a koala during the devastating Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Australia, in 2009

Image credits: abc.net.au

10. Terri Gurrola is reunited with her daughter after serving in Iraq for 7 months

Image credits: Louie Favorite

11. Indian homeless men wait to receive free food distributed outside a mosque ahead of Eid al-Fitr in New Delhi, India

Image credits: Tsering Topgyal / AP

12. Zanjeer the dog saved thousands of lives during Mumbai serial blasts in March 1993 by detecting more than 3,329 kgs of the explosive RDX, 600 detonators, 249 hand grenades and 6406 rounds of live ammunition. He was buried with full honors in 2000

Image credits: STR News / Reuters

13. Man Falling from the World Trade Center on 9/11. “The Falling Man.”

Image credits:  Richard Drew /AP

14. Alcoholic father with his son

Image credits: imgur.com

15. Embracing couple in the rubble of a collapsed factory

Image credits: Taslima Akhter

16. Sunset on Mars

Image credits: nasa.gov

17. Five-year-old gypsy boy on New Year’s Eve 2006 in the gypsy community of St. Jacques, Perpignan, Southern France. It is quite common in St. Jacques for little boys to smoke

Image credits: Jesco Denzel

18. Hhaing The Yu, 29, holds his face in his hand as rain falls on the decimated remains of his home near Myanmar’s capital of Yangon (Rangoon). In May 2008, cyclone Nargis struck southern Myanmar, leaving millions homeless and claiming more than 100,000 lives

Image credits: Brian Sokol

19. A dog named “Leao” sits for a second consecutive day at the grave of her owner, who died in the disastrous landslides near Rio de Janiero in 2011

Image credits: Vanderlei Almeida / Getty Images

20. “Wait For Me Daddy,” by Claude P. Dettloff in New Westminster, Canada, October 1, 1940

Image credits: Claud Detloff

21. An old WW2 Russian tank veteran finally found the old tank in which he passed through the entire war – standing in a small Russian town as a monument

Image credits: englishrussia.com

22. Flower power

Image credits: Bernie Boston

23. A woman sits amidst the wreckage caused by a massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami, in Natori, northern Japan, in March 2011

Image credits: Asahi Shimbun, Toshiyuki Tsunenari /AP

24. The Graves of a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband, Holland, 1888

Image credits: retronaut.com

25. Greg Cook hugs his dog Coco after finding her inside his destroyed home in Alabama following the Tornado in March, 2012

Image credits: Gary Cosby Jr. / AP

26. Demonstration of condom usage at a public market in Jayapura, capital of Papua, 2009

Image credits: Adri Tambunan

27. Russian soldiers preparing for the Battle of Kursk, July 1943

Image credits: Shirak Karapetyan-Milshtein

Update: Our reader Leif-Erik pointed out that this photograph was actually created in 2006-2007 for a photo competition. It is based on archive photos from the war in Russia in 1941-1945.

28. During massive floods in Cuttack City, India, in 2011, a heroic villager saved numerous stray cats by carrying them with a basket balanced on his head

Image credits: Biswaranjan Rout / AP

29. An Afghan man offers tea to soldiers

Image credits: Rafiq Maqbool / AP

30. Some parents, likely now in their 70′s, still looking for their missing child.

Image credits:

Sonar Kella

Sonar Kella (Bengali, Golden Fortress; 1974)
Director: Satyajit Ray

This colour film deviates from his Ray's usual fare as this is more of a children feature film which involved thriller, suspense, adventure, comedy of errors and mystic rather than his typical social messages. It also looks like a feature film made to show the splendour and beauty of Rajasthan as well.
It starts with the startled parents whose tween son, Mukhul, who keeps on waking up every night to draw and describe a particular golden castle that he grew up in and vividly describes of treasures and precious stones.

The parents' concern becomes the talk of the town, articles in the newspaper and the interest of 2 small times crooks (Burman and Bose) when the mention of treasures come in the limelight.
A parapsychologist, Dr Hajra, interested in the boy's case volunteers to take Mukul to Jaipur to locate the said castle (even though nobody actually knows the exact the location). He was hoping that Mukul would, after looking at the correct fortress and the secret of his past life can be revealed.

The bumbling crooks tried to kidnap Mukul but ended up with a wrong boy with the same name.

After discovering that his son's life may be in danger, Mukul's father hires a private investigator, Feluda to protect his son who had already left for Jaipur. Feluda has an assistant, his nephew, Tapshe, a teenager who accompanies him on his adventure.

The crooks, realising their goof, managed to catch up with Dr Hajra and Mukul. They managed to dupe the good doctor and push him off a cliff and Burman switched role as 'Dr Hajra'. Bose masquerade as a travelling globetrotter.

Feluda meets up with the impostors and looks for the castle unsuspectingly. Meanwhile, the impostors are trying to get the investigators off their backs. The real Dr Hajra survives the fall and follows all of them in disguise, confusing the situation further. At the end of the day, all turn up well; the crooks caught, the truth discovered and Mukul's father in a past life was a gem cutter, not one who hid treasures!

The dialogue is quite witty in its own way. The movie, on the whole, did not really stand out from his other great films.

Sitting ducks, are we?

For years and years, many seemingly unimportant information are written in case notes of patients. Many apparently worthless piece of news is recorded diligently. Who actually bothers about the weight of the placenta during delivery. Many routine things are recorded faithfully at spinal level without any any grey matter involved.
Even when a doctor 'clerks' your illness, at the back of his mind is to record salient features of your interview. Sometimes, he acts more like a clerk trying fulfill his duty of completing the mandatory questions and forms. Don't even bother about the nurses! By the time they retire, they would written all the Vedics scriptures a thousand times over.
Why all this obsession to write? I always wondered.... And I saw how many particulars are retrospectively filled and many descriptive posterior covering documentations occur when an unfavourable outcome happens. All are done in the hope that they, the attendants, would be likely pinpointed and penalized when the day of reckoning, if it happens, one day!
Hey, then it all makes sense. Those in the medical profession are just sitting duck writing day in and day out for one day, if the patient that they had care for, has a bone to pick, their nitty-gritty cherry picking attorneys can scheme through with a fine tooth comb to corner the practitioner, who acted in good faith and God as their witness, to appear as a buffoon and a conniving psychopath with the benefit of hindsight! The attorneys would appear like all knowing smart alecs highlighting the elementary facts of life!
So that is what it is.....

sitting duck

Fig. someone or something vulnerable to attack, physical or verbal. 

(Alludes to a duck floating on the water, not suspecting that it is the object of a hunter or predator.) 

Window Sherbet (Ais Tingkap)

http://www.malaysiadesignarchive.org/?p=1577

Window Sherbet | Ais Tingkap

Written and researched by Arts-Ed