The mother goddess cometh

I am a bengali. From east India.
Our community's biggest festival is the Durga Puja.
Durga = a chief goddess Puja = worship.
Therefore the worship of the goddess.
It's this weekend. And it blows me away to know that there are no less than 1000 such 'puja's happening around the United States. I'll be at one of them. Look forward to that post next week.

Pointing and clicking

I am a gamer. Yes, I confess it. Too long have I hidden myself away behind ads and similar thingamajigs, and rejected my true calling. While I totally see myself as a future 'communicationist' or 'brand mason' or 'logo cowboy', I feel the benefits of a regular and large salary are over-rated. Anyway, bills and loan payments are for weenies.
No.
I am lying.
I am a slave to the system.
Yet, I have every right to feel nostalgic and rebellious, even if I'm doing it in the comfort of my own home wearing lounge pajamas and sipping tea.
Anyway, the story is that in my earlier days I used to be stuck to gaming consoles. While I drank deep from the cup of Quake and feasted on Halo and similar bad metaphors, I truly found myself a niche, warm and cookie-like, in the world of 'point and click' games.
Unlike those who build up steam with steady performances on 'escape the room' and 'exmortis' kind of excresence, I went for the big time early on.
Syberia.
One of the most beautiful games ever designed. Running as deep as it is broad, Syberia brought to life an entirely different genre of gaming for me.
Benoit Sokal, the genius behind this game explains his vision as using images to tell stories, and people to arrive at plot junctures through serendipity, rather than by the mere flick of a page.
Definite, definitely spare a few moments for White Birds Productions (http://www.whitebirdsproductions.com). The depth of the characters, the technical finess, the depth of artistry - there are numerous reasons to be awed.
Yet, I was like a child of 3 who was just waiting for the wonders of the next scene to unfold.
Disneyland for those uncomfortable 20s.
The games challenge you. There's always something you have to do, or haven't done to progress.
Fortunately, walkthroughs are plentiful.


Still wanna game but don't have the 70 or so hours free. Opt for the easier online versions of the dozens available online. Some of them are plain sucky.
I have not found anyone else online as yet who consider themselves to be leading more rewarding lives because they played 'Escape from little sister's room'
The Japanese ones test you.
Do a few easy ones to get warmed up.

www.pointnclickgames.com
www.escapegames24.com





Bon point and clicking!

I explore culturally

In about the 15-20 times that I have been to ATL over the past year, it never struck me that there may be more to this city than the strange vegetation, excellent bars, non-skank servers and the fantastic, if at times inordinately smelly, subway. In an effort to up da ATL's cultural credit, I went down on the High.
Wait, that sounds dirty.
The High Museum of Art in the Art center district, is big, takes time and is pleasantly educational. Unlike some others that I have been to (and have loved) for awing me with their unbelievable collection. Here, one may find a Renoir tucked away in an obscure corner, hanging in the same line as some other lesser known artistic entities.
It seems almost self-deprecating about its collection, extensive though it is, with the mandatory museum shop selling everything $10 higher than it ought to be. And oh! If you're there, look for art within the architecture itself. That got me more than the displays did.
Enough said. Pics :)

The 'skyway', natural lighting utilized like...like I don't know

Chuck Close, iconic artist, captures self. The liquid effect has been executed almost entirely through blues and grays, even though the image looks black and white.


This one's famous, as is the artist. In other words, I forgot his name. He was a priest though.

Until later.