Friday 30 April 2010

Osmosis Jones (2002) [* * * * * *]

This is one cool movie! It's about an immunity cell, Osmosis Jones, who figures out how to fight a deadly virus, Red Death, all from the perspective of the human body as a city with numerous citizens.

The city of Frank is run by a mayor who wants to keep his seat in Cerebellum Hall and encourages the body to indulge in the most unhealthy lifestyle possible. It's incredibly funny, very well done, especially for preventative medicine to be taught to kids. Why healthy eating is so important to the colon, how a cold pill can only hide the symptoms of the greater viral infection - fascinating perspective!

(This is one you must watch, gardner48!:)

Acetaminophen recall


Recently there has been a recall of some ranges and packing of acetaminophen products, in the United States of America

This is a compound that is supposed to be the most simplest of all allopathic formulations used for fever and pain, it is also called by another name called paracetamol.

I had been in search of the ingredients of drug preparations, that led me to look out what this had in it.

The reason for the recall has been traced to the presence of 2 .4 .6 .tribromoanisole a chemical used to keep mould in check in wood pallet used for transportation, well it seeped in.

I was more interested in knowing the things inside the packing, the inactive ingredients.

The lists sure frightened me. For the brave I shall add it in the attachments.

http://www.tylenol.com/product_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=PYREQPCYOBRYMCQPCAOSUYYKB2IIWNSC?id=tylenol/pain/prod_pm.inc&prod=subppm&_requestid=633447#

I had asked the question to the medical representatives, who visit to promote the pharmaceutical products, to talk on the ingredients and if we have problems with the chemicals how do we tackle.

They were more interested in my friendship.

They seem to be unenlightened of their products, so I have decided to study on the net, and continue to be astonished how we are prescribed and allowed to get such formulations with ease.

Thursday 29 April 2010

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) [* * * * *]

Human insensitivity has always astonished me. Especially culturally transmitted memes or memories of how to mutilate life in other species in our service. How can anyone see a newborn horse and want to tame it? Or a puppy and chain it? Or a chicken hatched fresh from an egg and cage it? A calf and only see milk or meat, depending on whether its female or male? Such malignancy can only be impressed by force of ridicule and fear on children, yet entire cultures do it every day - and over a billion humans never give it a thought. Strange predators, we are.

This movie is about a wild mustang (free horses that roam) and its suffering at the hands of humans until it fights for its freedom from slavery with sheer will and courage. I couldn't watch most of it - it was too painful. But the way animals are born free, live free and love are glorified - I hope it makes a few kids re-sensitized and never want to ride one of these noble sentient beings ever. That's the best one can hope for.

Tuesday 27 April 2010

Annam Bhrammam. Annam auyshadam( food is existence, food is medicine)



We Indians have always considered food as divinity and those who prepare them as divine.

In many a home for an illness a food dish is recommended, and we use our food as promoters of health.

We respect it so.

We hate our respect for our food to be tampered with laws and patencies.

We have our ways of selection of fruits and vegetables for an ailment; does that make that good food a medicine, a drug, and need us to get a license from an authority to use it???

We are seeing laws being forced in India and abroad regarding this subject.( codex alimentarius, s510, drug authorities raiding natural stores, genetically manufactured foods)with so many laws and implementation so difficult and licenses beyond the reach of small time farmers.

This is a vast subject with regional differences, cannot the administrative and business authorities keep their hands off and let the local folks carry on their trade regarding foods of farm produce.

Diseases do not really come from the farm produce, the simple natural foods are blamed, and carried strongly by the media to the gullible public.( spinach, and tomatoes gave us e coli infections!!!)

I hope we have some gallant ones who will type and talk for MOTHER NATURE, than just promote Frankenstein foods and accept them.

Slow foods made with simple methods of cooking, is the best for the family and health of all.

Sunday 25 April 2010

Chicken Little [2005] (* * * * *)

I really, really appreciate this movie. The original story of Chicken Little is very depressing to read, even as an adult. It dulls the mind and weakens your faith in a good world. It's about time someone remade it to give it a happy ending.

Disney does just that.

The sky falls and no one believes him. Chicken Little loses all credibility - he is teased in school, on the streets and his father no longer believes in him. But when the sky falls again, he wisely seeks the help of his friends, Ugly Duckling and Co., and this time, he manages to save the world from an alien invasion as he originally intended.

Took off from the original depressing tale to make it upbeat for children to remember that good intentions are not enough - you need people to back you up.

Treasure Planet [2002] (* * * *)

A futuristic remake of Treasure Island.

This Disney movie was bearable in one feature - though it was fast-paced, there were no recognizable animals, so no earth-animal abused (that's the awful thing about animation - the bonking and crushing and casual abuse for a burlesque laugh - what kind of kids laugh at suffering? I've only ever known 2 who did, and they both grew up into bullies. I remember every other child cringing away from these tasteless cartoons all these years, Walt. Get that? It isn't funny.)

The hero was insufferably american in expression - spoilt, sullen and bored in a studied way. Anyway, we've fortunately got the R L Stevenson original firmly in our minds: the Tintin-like eager intelligence, the willingness to deal with difference yet rejecting evil.

Oh, and I was so glad that there wasn't a sappy love interest for the teen - maybe we can thank Stevenson for keeping his work a pure adventure or -- Disney is finally aware of the escalating teen pregnancies in the US.:)

Thursday 22 April 2010

Smart Obama


There was a man from Africa , who became the president of America.

( the Kenyans are happy the Americans have chosen one of them as their leader)

He had many helping hands which won him the place to Washington.

He continues to have helping hands which keeps him at the white house.

He promised us change and we sure see them while we are at the groceries or recieve the pay check and what it gets for us.

What ever happens in America affects every one across the globe.

He promised that he would bring back the soldiers and he has been awarded the Nobel peace prize, isn’t that proof of his promise.

He promised transparency and a wall sure has been built around him solid for all his orders to be unseen and not understood.

He sure has a flashy smile and he can bring tears to his audience with the strength of his

Words and his honesty of the moment,with the help of the teleprompter.

Well what ever, the land of the free and the home of the mighty gets to be ruled by him and his friends.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, god save the world.

Wednesday 21 April 2010

Brendan And The Secret Of Kells (2009) [* * * *]

This is a story about Ireland at the time of Viking attacks when the entire culture of the island was wiped out with its people. It's a book about the value of walls vs. living treasures in culture. The abbot of Kells is obsessed with fortification against the invaders. As refugees pour in, he pours his faith into the walls and won't let anyone work on writing books.

A young monk, Brendan, braves the forest and the Dark One to make ink and bring home a rare crystal to illustrate with. He makes friends with a fairy and learns to value creativity over brute strength because within minutes of the Norseman invasion, years of work on both gate and walls prove useless. The young Brendan escapes to write the Book of Kells. Nice story, great animation.:)

Shark Tale ( 2004)[* *]

Walt Disney movies always feel incomplete but I can't put my finger on it - it's probably just all the superficiality and the feeling that all the characters are crackheads in real life. lol

This is another of those. A 'different' and vegetarian shark who's the son of the mafia godfather of white sharks teams up with a get-rich-quick schemer guppy. That's it. It's implied that the 'different' shark is gay and the guppy isn't bad, just hetero. lol. Sad, sad.

The colours are aquarium shades, so quite pretty. But that's all.

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Tragedy strikes the brave poles in the air



The plane carrying the top most officials of the polish government (all traveling together) clipped the tree tops before crashing at the western Russian town.

Many reasons are being raised and, none will bring them back to life, but these poles were sure brave.

One reason we can think is their prime minister Tusk and health minister Dr Eva refused to accept the swine flu vaccine, even though 145 polish among the 40 million of its citizens died of swine flu, as they felt it was not well researched and trial done, and it was being forced by the authorities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlqWFV098xw&NR=1

It did not spend one cent, while all the other European nations have loads of the vaccine on the shelves now.

Another brave act was refusal to accept loans from the I M F while it was willing to offer a loan to it, as its currency was strong.

It has become a norm in this world where bravery is dealt with tragedies.

Town bus ride to Salem


“Beep Beep” polam( move) right, said the conductor, and that is how the journey started at our village bus stand.

The government buses are spacious and well ventilated with airy windows,( they have sliding glass shutters) and lots of leg room and enough place for standing passengers , with holding rails overhead.

There are other private buses, but they all blare digital videos of the local buffoon ( I forget his name) I hate to have the journey spoilt with these videos, and the rash young drivers they have rushing to keep timings.

The distance of 20 kms has more then 20 stops, each one more filling than the previous stops.

By the end of the journey u will get meditative mantras called “polam right” and “hold on”into the mind so it continues while u sleep at night, making u feel u are traveling still.

The journey moves from my village on a single road zig zagging close to the kancha malai mountain .

At this time of the season most of the fields are bare and nearly cracking with the heat of the summer, normally we would nearly put out our heads to breathe in the fresh air and wave to the kids on the road side.

The villages are all closing up and the stretch to salem is like a full road of shops and houses, with few fields of interruptions.

At some stops there are basket maids getting their wares to the market and others the kids and family going to salem to see a cinema.

One can hear the conductor yell at the ones at the steps to get on, and at other times making jokes at the passengers, that they have forgotten to get the money for the fare and want a free ride.( 5 rupees to salem)

With these comments and appreciating mother nature at the stops we reach salem, all huffing and puffing at the summer heat and flipping on the umbrella to move to our schedule of shopping, and eating samosas at a north Indian road shop .

Saturday 17 April 2010

Excessive cleanliness causes allergy


Another wonder of mine as, how the ones who are less inclined to cleanliness are not prone to diseases.

The soaps and anti bacterial use has become an obsession.( new colors and different fragrances)

I had written earlier on bacteria.http://psychicmuse.blogspot.com/2009/12/encounter-under-microscope.html

The folks who use no anti bacterial soaps for a bath, or not keen on super clean foods, don’t normally have a medical bill at all in my village.

My doubts have been confirmed by a Canadian study. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7589193/Excessive-cleanliness-to-blame-for-allergy-rise.htm

I have heard since my school days that “cleanliness was next to godliness”( GOD uses Lux made in heaven)

Now I have a feeling God up there has a 24/hour physician and Merck and Avantis other company chaps on call always, for medicines.

He may be having allergy to mankind.

Wednesday 14 April 2010

First summer shower


It had been a miserable hot day, the evening was still with no breeze.

The ones living in single floor houses are getting the taste of the heat right down to the halls , and if there was a threshold for madness, I am sure it gets lowered in this heat.

Most of us are looking to the sky if there would be cloud formations for a down pour, we have given up hopes .

The evening was usual with the dinner at the coolest air conditioned room , and suddenly we heard the once familiar tapping sounds , we rushed out to see the rain drops falling.

We put out our hands to feel the fresh down pour, with the lightening and thunder as pakka vathiyam(accompanying instruments) for the musical concert,it was a simple thrill.

May we continue to have more rains.

Sunday 11 April 2010

Paniyaram stall


The summer evening is reddish and the stomach churns for a snack, the setting sun brings the local workers to the roadside paniyaram stall.

The old lady sitting at the firewood furnace cooly turns the paniyarams with the needle like long instrument, for an even cooking.

For those who don’t know what is a paniyaram, it is a south Indian delicacy using rice and urdu dal and some menthi (fenugreek), all soaked and then grounded and the resulting dough let to ferment overnight.

The pan used to make this delicacy is a flat stone, with muti pits for the dough, firewood stove, and onions and chillies to be mixed with the dough, they go great with no side dishes and with gossiping of the local news.

A few plastic stools or wooden benches are the sitting places,with old note books as paper plates, many prefer to share the food with family, so there are take home orders.

One has no choice in the oil used, shhh don’t tell any one it is palm oil and refined oils only.

For those who prefer to have eggs with this or a rounded omelet, eggs and onions are mixed and poured into the pits and voila u have an egg paniyaram.

Next time u are at our place or nearby choose an evening snack of paniyarams.

welcome

Saturday 10 April 2010

Les Miserables (1998) [* * * * *]

One of my earliest heroes is Jean Valjean from Les Miserables, Victor Hugo's classic (which I must have read a dozen times, all 800 pages of it.:p) so it's about time I saw it as a movie. The hero is all that I dreamed of in my twenties and the story closely follows the book, so I'm grateful.

Victor Hugo
For those who don't know the extraordinary humanist, Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885): he was one of the new French Republic's most powerful thinkers who upheld human rights and democracy above nationalism and monarchy. He was exiled most of his life but wrote about social injustice in France.


Les Miserables
The story is of a hungry child who stole bread and got 20 yrs in prison for it. It is set during the time in France when reform was impossible and crimes made criminals for life.

The convict on release steals from the first person who shows him kindness, a priest. But the priest gets him released and Jean Valjean becomes a new man. The rest of the story is the relentless arm of an unfair Law hunting him down and his unique godliness through it all - one of the most exciting great escapes ever written, probably because it's the soaring escape of the human spirit from the mud of society's imposed wretchedness.

Achhhhhhhhoo-Achhhhhhhhoo


A diagnosis on line- treatment!.

It is a possibility and the patient may get well, but do u think the bureau and relatives will leave u in peace when they get to know what u have done .

There is a chance u may get off , if the rules have been placed by the government and had folks at a call center, who are not eligible to treat.

In third world countries we have multi trading quacks dispense medicines, but a nation of strict regulations and paper work, and v.i.p. status !!!

This is what has happened during the recent swine flu epidemic, a patient calls up his GP and gets to be directed to a hot line , where his problems are heard and prescriptions made and medicines dispensed.

How many of those are really swine flu, how could an illness be diagnosed, this way when such detailed procedures are followed for other problems, and what amount of medicines are allowed to be prescribed,with such a waste of tax payers money, when those medicines get stalled.

The public will surely be careful the next time the government and high organizations cry “epidemic epidemic” before they rush to get medicines.

Tender Palm Fruit-Nungu



The intensity of the summer is like an open air oven ,the cooling methods are varied and for the villagers mother nature has an offering , palm fruit.

The palm trees are dwindling in the country side, they are normally lined along the fields of rice and sugar-cane, and just plain dry fields.

The tree proper has multi uses like the coconut,the strong trunk is used in the building industry, and the leaves for thatched roofs, originally palm scripts came from them.

The fruits are seasonal and the summer months are the only days of delivery.

The vendors usually get the fruits through sacks of gunny. The fruit has normally three eyes and the tender ones have such tasty water and soft flesh, most prefer to have the fruit as it is using the fingers to dip into the fruit, some prefer to have them removed from the fruit proper and eat them .

It is a knack to use the sharp sickle to open up the fruit, I sit and watch them deftly remove the fruit from the body proper, without wastage, the removed clippings go back to be used as manure or firewood after drying.

For those with a cooling device the modern refrigerator, the chilled palm fruit is a great delicacy on a hot summer afternoon.

Dante's Inferno (2010) [* * * * *]

The best thing about this animated movie is that you're absolved of reading the book! (difficult reading for its fanatical christianess, at least for us non-christians.:)

Dante is a returning christian Crusader after having committed heinous crimes in the name of God during his time in the Middle East. But the worst was that he'd broken his promise to his beloved Beatrice to be faithful to her, even though she wouldn't marry him until his return.

When he gets home he sees his family has been freshly killed and Beatrice on her last breath asks him if he'd been faithful, and he swears to it. But Satan takes her innocent soul soon after because she'd made a deal with him for Dante's safe return upon that promise.

Dante follows her into hell to save her and the rest is a wonderful journey into his crimes in the name of God. Virgil acts as his guide and there are several older greek heroes from tales incorporated that makes it the epic it is.

He sees so many souls there that are in Hell due to him - his unborn child from his lust for Beatrice that couldn't wait for marriage; his friend who he betrayed and led into indiscriminate violence; his parents for their sins, and Beatrice herself to whom he lied and betrayed for her illusions.

Fabulous storytelling - like the reverse of Savitri and Yama's tale. Worth watching - an Amar Chitra Katha feel to it.:)

Friday 9 April 2010

Same crook different name


The crook was initially named as Aspartame, now it has been rechristened as Aminosweet.

I had written earlier and mentioned many times through my expressions the bad effects of this compound and how it had a side entrance into the market , slipping through the net of FDA and more sinister workings, with the help of political clout.

The medical field will do much better if we are aware of the workings of this compound, and the various difficulties it causes to our patients, a lot of money would be saved on medications, and on research and development into the causes of diseases.

Practically all the packets and tins and bottled products seem to have got this chemical into them, the prescribed medications and over the counter sold drugs and even vaccines seem to have them all. WHY?

Can we not seem to sense insanity in this, and now that the criminals are changing names cant we at least guess things are wrong from the base.

I think we need to check more on this, individually to get at the truth and accept the findings.

video games to street crimes

Killing games start at the videos, building them on to inhuman violent street scenes like those that has been brought out by wikileaks of the Baghdad killings.

It was more like duck shooting practice than any thing else. why are such violent games marketed?are they catching them young for recruitment to carry guns.

It was a shame to hear the voices of the killers, as they shot the civilians and the journalists from a safe helicopter.

Who will take responsibility for the doings of such soldiers, and will such soldiers really stay sane after such actions, don’t they have a heart? or has it been converted to a metallic tank inside after they joined the services?

For those who don’t know what this is about see this link .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yExU98v8Tpk&NR=1

Monday 5 April 2010

Roughed,lipsticked and dressed in paper money

Normally the Hindu deities are decorated with flowers, adored with natural products and garments made of local produce.

The santum santorums were dark and lit with oil lamps, and the deity showed with the lamp light.( to show one realizes one self with the light of knowledge as godliness)

The floors and walls were all rough stoned, one needs never to be, too careful of the steps or the leanings.

Things are changing.

For those abroad who are returning, are sure going to be in for a rude shock these days, when they visit the temples.

Let me tell u about the recent changes I have noticed at two temples close to my home.

One is a Siddar temple.

The priest of the Siddar temple gets water in a copper pot, from a well behind the temple multitudes of times, to wash the temple garbagraham, he has to be extra careful these days as the floor of the small temple has been marbled, and I have seen slipped devotees nervous of the next step.

The whole milieu has been changed now, there is a feeling of suffocation since the raise in the floor level of the temple.

Wonder if the Siddarness is still present at the temple?

The other is Mariyamman temple.This temple lies at the village lake, it was a small temple with least interference.

Deity used to be small and in a dark room and oiled, and oil lamps used to brighten the inner room.

Now the temple has electric drums and gong set , which plays to the switch of a button, the deity is all gaily made up with rouge, powdered and lip sticked , and good lord this festival the deity had a garment made of Indian currency notes, garlands of 500, and 1000 rupees notes, with back ground of notes wall tooo…..and focus lights to glare and blind the sight of the goddess ..(I asked the priest, some time back, why all the transformation, he says the devotees want the goddess in the filmy style)

He is keeping with the times.

The temple floor has been marbled and names of all those who have helped to bring on the changes are block listed for admirers.

If the goddess came into formness , she will get lost in this atmosphere of her temple complex and the devotion of the multitudes.

Thursday 1 April 2010

Avatar - The Last Airbender (TV) [* * * * *]

 While I didn't like the movie Avatar (which was so much americanized poppycock about invading en mass, using the locals and then feeling bad for it as individuals), I've been really fascinated by another series about a young Avatar, a nickelodeon tv series.

He's a kid who is vegetarian, full of gentle eastern ethics and bound to save the world - only he doesn't know how. The eastern philosophy of the elements - Earth, Fire, Water and Air - are taught in really clear language, both as a martial art and a healing art.

What's more, the writer of the series seems to understand it even more deeply when Sozen's Comet arrives and you find the unprepared child forced to take on the Fire Lord who's taking over the whole world and changing the natural balance. The reluctant young avatar can't get himself to take a life but instead learns from a lion-turtle of the sea how to use a deeper and older eastern tradition of working with the chakras.

And all this in a fun-filled package for children - I think it's wonderful storytelling most of the time. There's a bit of tai chi (for Waterbending) and a few other techniques like the dragon style kungfu (Firebending) shown in very authentic detail. Love the show and can't wait for the next season!