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October 27, 2006
Polka Dots on the Beeb
Oct. 25 1:36PM
J: I made it on the beeb (BBC) today!
D: ...
J: I have a story on "The World", a coproduction of BBC/PRI/WGBH that airs (I think exclusively) here in the U.S.
D: ...
J: My story on an amazing sockeye salmon river in British Columbia is today's "Geo Quiz" about :45 after the hour in today's live broadcast, which means 3:45 today on KUOW.org, 94.9FM. www.theworld.org will carry it after 5:30 eastern time today.
D: Wow.
J: FLIPPIN SWEET!
3:50PM
J: Salmon were everywhere, all along the river like polka dots...
4:15PM
D: Like "polka dots"?
J: hey, i was ad-libbing during a phone interview in my bedroom at 7:30 this morning, cut me some slack ;-) Sitting in my bedroom on my cellphone... while some producer in boston asked me questions. i recorded my answers and ftp'd them to him. he then cut and pasted them into a coherent monologue.
D: ... [Hey, kinda like I'm doing now]
J: odd process.
D: ...
J: The other metaphor i used is that the salmon-dotted river looks like a long roll of xmas wrapping paper -- with a repeating pattern of red points on a green background.
D: ...
J: too long for radio.
D: I'd say.
J: But someone should totally make that wrapping paper!
Posted by Dipika at 12:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 22, 2006
Happy Diwali & Eid Mubarak
Last night we lit candles and put 'em in the window. But since you don't see too many Indians in Capitol Hill, I don't think people knew what they were about. So far, the only Diwali-related thing I've heard about in Seattle is a fundraiser at a Bellevue* Barnes & Noble.
Not exactly the dazzling display of light and color you see in India for this big family holiday, the Festival of Lights. If my grandmother were still alive, I'd bring her a box of sweets.
Half a dozen years ago, I was in Nottingham, England, around the time of Diwali. Not too far from a town full of Indians ("Asians," they said.) "Check it out. Take this bus at this time, see the lights."
And yeah, they had a couple of fireworks and rows of Indian stores. I got a box of incense and a take-away curry. That stuff was good.
*This is the neck of the woods that's home to a bunch of Indian expat engineers, many of whom work at a certain Seattle software company.
Posted by Dipika at 6:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 18, 2006
"Karate Kid and Godzilla and Kamikaze All Rolled in One"
D: Hey, d'you like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
A: No! I hated them.
D: Why? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
A: They didn't even do karate right.
D: Ninja.
A: Yeah! They were ninjas, yet practiced karate. Ninjas don't do karate.
D: ...
A: They had those stupid bandanas, like hachimaki. It's all mixed! They're Karate Kid and Godzilla and kamikaze all rolled in one!
D: ...
A: ...
D: Teenage mutant ninja turtles...
A: They act like a bunch of moronic, high-fiving American teenagers.
D: Turtles in a half shell.
Posted by Dipika at 6:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 12, 2006
2.75 Years in Seattle, 1 Trip Up the Space Needle
Hey party people, I finally made it up the Space Needle. Three of us, including a little baby, took one of those little elevators up. This is the ticket I got.
For some reason the dude at check-in wanted to inspect my purse much more thoroughly than my friend's. That, I believe, is because I have BLACK hair and BLACK eyes and BROWN skin. Yes! I think in fact this is what it is.
But this didn't stop me from getting a kick out of being in the Space Needle. Inside they play smooth jazz and try to make you buy coffee and key chains. They also try to get you to go to the restaurant, like it's a big treat or something.
You can actually go outside if you want to get away from these things, and just appreciate the cool views. It's nice having the Space Needle all set apart from the other buildings in downtown because it means that you get to actually see a bunch of stuff further away. Not like when you go to the Empire State building or the John Hancock Tower or you know all those other ones in other cities around the country.
Now that I have mentioned all these TALL BUILDINGS in my post along with WHAT I LOOK LIKE, the SPACE NEEDLE DUDE and US GOVERNMENT will be keeping tags on me.
Posted by Dipika at 12:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 4, 2006
Fallen Leaves
Posted by Dipika at 1:21 PM