The Panda eats shoots and leaves

Mei Xiang, Pregnant Giant Panda
Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington DC

Okay, now I'm done with the history tales of DC. The highlight of the trip was anything but a stone/marble/granite structure.

It was these furry, black and white, playful little Giant Panda pair at the National Zoo. Ever since reaching DC, I had wanted to see the pandas and when I was told that the female panda was pregnant, I knew I wouldn’t leave DC till I made a trip to the zoo.

SO-worth-it!

Mei Xiang (female) and Tian Tian (male) are not only the star attractions of the Smithsonian Zoo (National Zoo) but are also being watched closely by people across the world. Because of their ‘endangered species’ status, Mei Xiang’s pregnancy has got people very excited about the birth of one more Giant panda and she is being observed through a live feed every minute of the day. A fully-equipped observatory has specially been put in place for them as well as a simulated temperature controlled environment to ensure no difficulty for the expecting mother. Though I wonder what difficulty would a Panda have, given that statistically, it spends 90% of its time only eating bamboo!

Yessir, 90%! And they put up a good example of that while we were there. Except that they had a little more luxury and while Tian Tian modestly stuck to bamboo, Mei Xiang (probably in one of her pregnancy cravings) munched on carrots and apples too.

Clockwise from top left: 1.Queue Area 2.Tian Tian eating bamboo 3.Mei Xiang eating bamboo
4.Mei Xiang breaking for water 5.The panda research station 6.Tian Tian getting irritated with the camera lights

When she did take a break from eating, she climbed up the rocks, went down to the stream of water, took a few gulps and then resumed her place back on top of the hill to continue eating bamboo!

Tian Tian meanwhile, in typical male characteristic, decided to put up a dramatic show for his audience (deny all you want, but men are definitely more dramatic). He first came up to the glass to look at the visitors, then plonked himself on the floor on his back and covered his eyes with his hand to indicate being blinded by the flashlights from the cameras. When his audience didn’t leave him alone, he rolled around a little and made cutesy faces. After every minute, he would peek over his arms to see if people were gone, and finally sulkily rolled sideways to show his back to the thoroughly amused spectators!

If you’re feeling bad about not being able to see them, here’s a little consolation –the live Panda webcam that has a direct live feed from Mei Xiang’s quarters at the zoo - http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm

Of history and memorials

Lincoln and World War II Memorials
Washington, DC

As I was looking for a picture from the DC album to post today, I realized that my blog is soon going to resemble a history text-book. Then again, what is a capital city that doesn’t showcase some culture?

DC is of bygone monuments and memorials, of historical architecture and memorials, of political institutions and museums. One of my very favorite, of all that we saw in DC is the picture above – the Lincoln memorial, in memory of the 16th President of the United States - who's statue (from my previous post) sits in the central chamber.

An intimidating structure of marble, granite and limestone, the building is modeled after the Greek Parthenon and is the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech.

In the front of the Lincoln memorial is yet another beautiful structure - the World War II memorial, dedicated to the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces during World War II. With its 56 pillars, representing each of the states and other territories, two 43-foot arches, fountains, a wall of stars and inscriptions, not only is it a beautifully planned edifice but also very soothing to look at.

Right in the front is an engraving for both memorials. 

Whatever you are, be a good one

Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Memorial
Washington, DC

On politics in the US, its hard for me to resist posting this picture of the one American president who’s quotes I have followed and loved for a long time.

Abraham Lincoln, the man who opposed the expansion of slavery in America, and successfully led the country during the Civil War was mostly self-educated. But his intelligence, wit and humor, were second-to-none.

A lot of us now use his quotes as status updates on our social profiles, but not all of us know just how many were uttered by this one man.

This post is essentially a collection of some of my favourite Lincoln-isms. Give it up for Lincoln, our man!

o How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.

o If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?

o If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.

o Whatever you are, be a good one

o No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.

o A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have.

o You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.

o In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

o You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.

The statue of Lincoln in the picture above is cast in marble and sits in the central chamber of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

Pretty Darn Fucked

United States Capitol
Capitol Hill; Washinton, DC

America is a funny country. Here’s just one example why:

Two days after S&P downgraded the American economy’s rating from AAA to AA, President Barack Obama essentially dismissed the credit rating:

“Markets will rise and fall. But this is the United States of America. No matter what some agency may say, we've always been and always will be a triple-A country"-

President Obama

If that statement doesn’t exude confidence, I don’t know what does. Or wait, is the word to be used here ‘denial’? For, even as global markets shriek alarms of economic calamity, Obama, our man stands at a lectern to give a speech that could easily be mistaken for a campaign speech. At best, a press briefing. But nothing to speak as warning of a nation on its fiscal tenterhooks, struggling to tame a staggering accumulation of debt.

And yet, on the other hand, is the former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Obama’s one time confidante, Christina Romer who didn’t mince any words when speaking of the situation on television said that the credit downgrade was a sign that the country was “pretty darn fucked”

While I’m far from any sort of expertise on financial matters (I barely manage to understand my own), I do know that the credit downgrade is not the end of it. It is, if anything, the proverbial ‘beginning’.

On that, I shall keep my rant continuing, but a photograph of the day that I found to be most appropriate – almost like the closest physical visual of the saga – Capitol Hill.

While Capitol Hill is actually a neighborhood in the District of Columbia (DC), where the Congress building resides, it has come to be a metonym for the United States Congress. The actual congress building, as seen above is called the United States Capitol. 

Its all about the money, honey

US Treasury Building
Washington, DC

Is there something about Washington, DC and crises? After giving me a health crisis to grapple with last week, it's now plunged the American economy, and might I say the entire world into dealing with a debt crisis that can apparently snowball to cripple the world economy.  

I find it a little uncanny that I happened to be at DC, right outside the US treasury building only a week before the drama unfolded. Im known to have a pretty crazy imagination. So when the building was pointed out to me as the treasury, I envisioned huge halls stashed away with piles and piles of dollar upon dollar. Naive? Well maybe, but then that's what made Alice, Alice right? 

Now as I hear the jargon fly around me- #creditrating #downgrading #stocks #buylowsellhigh -on TV, in the news, on twitter, on facebook even, I can't help but wonder if some colossal meeting was taking place inside the structure at the same time as I was staring at its walls, taking pictures; if the decisions being now thrown at bewildered Americans, were being analyzed right then, if somebody at that minute said to Obama, "hey boy, easy, don't bite off more than you can chew or the vultures will come out to get you."

If only I could have stepped in to know what really goes on in the coffers of the treasury of the (so far) greatest economy on earth and what will be its fate. 

Sigh! I guess I have to be content with the picture I got then; pretty impressive structure though, what say? 

PS. I found these posts to be pretty useful in understanding the debt crisis issue - 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathanmiller/debt-ceiling-for-dummies-_b_907847.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathanmiller/credit-downgrade-for-dummies_b_920116.html

Of travel and sprains

"For still, the more he works, the more 

Do his weak ankles swell"

~ William Wordsworth

I am blogging after 10 days. On 07/31/2011, what was supposed to be the fabulous end of a weekend trip to Washington, DC turned out to be a little bit of a disaster. Unwittingly, I let me foot slip off the kerb, resulting in an ankle sprain that only got aggravated by the long-ish bus ride back to New York.

Now there isn't much to speak of a sprain, or any injury for that matter, but in this case something positive came out of it that just makes sense to put up on the blog. I started blogging only about a fortnight ago with the only intention of documenting my experience in a new country through the medium I enjoy the most - photography. I passed along word to a few friends who I though would enjoy sharing my journey through my blog. While secretly hoping that the site really catches on, I didn't really think that it would get enough attention in such a short span of time as to have people write to me to ask why I hadn't updated the blog in over a week. Okay, so only a handful have asked me about it but the point lies not in the numbers but the fact that some (if only a few) have definitely taken back something from my posts that made them want to see more.

That to me is a huge vote of confidence that encourages me to update my blog a lot more. It tells me someone is reading my posts with a smile. I thank you for that.

While I'm still not fully recovered, I'm almost there, already planning our next getaway from the city. In all probability, New Hampshire, the place with its sleepy little towns and a vast countryside (atleast in my imagination). While I clean my lenses to get back some rose tinted memories, I share with you my visuals from the trip to Obama-land.

Oh and I have no idea what William's quote means or why it is at the top of this post.