Long Road Behind, Long Long Road Ahead.....

Technology: “To connect everyone to an online world that improves the human condition.” Create an online world having the exceptional property that it advances the capabilities of the many people that use it, and by doing so affects and transforms them in a positive way.
Though working here at nights may be hard and sometimes frustrating, it is inspiring to pursue such a venture. I think the importance in looking at our history and then looking at how we need to change in the future to best fulfill that wordings.

While I was pursuing my training, I have been fascinated by the work of being able to create an online world that was truly an alternate reality - a place where you could do anything. I was very into computers and science. So in my mind, the ultimate thing you could do possibly do with computers was to simulate reality - to create a place where you can make anything you can imagine and share it with others. Virtual worlds, in their broadest form, will be more pervasive that the web, and that means that their systems will need to be open: extended and operated by many people and companies, not just us. And also we need to have new and different ways to communicate more often and more clearly with the people around. Make people believe that Virtual worlds are finally real.

So what should come next? Taking a look at the last few years, I’ve seen many of the critical features working and scaled the world just enough for people to believe. I’ve seen lots of challenges, and I think, though they’ve been hard, people been able to weather them:

Thanks very much for listening.

Imagination factory

Hey Friends!

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted. Well, scratch that. I can believe it. It's been CRA-ZEE around these parts lately. I'm sure you all know the feeling. It doesn't help that I recently became obsessed with started reading about life's of professional footballers. Whoa. The promise of seeing the hunger games past weekend. After a fantastic UEFA Champions League 2012 trophy to Chelsea FC, I ended up blazing through all coming summer transfers in a couple of days. Not my usual type of read, for sure - but let's just say I'm glad I stuck with it! I am the first to admit I'm a bit addicted to my electronic devices (keep it clean, ladies! I'm talking about my Mac, Phone, internet, etc...) but every once in a while it's nice to unplug and curl up with a good read. Oh! I bought online a wrist watch this week and I’m so excited about it. I am loving it! (I know, it’s pretty vain to say one of my favorite things this week is my new wristwatch, but I feel so much better.)

Before I go on, I must address my previous post, A silent debut after years of quite toil.  I was actually a bit hesitant to post it because I really do like to keep the focus of my blog completely positive. Things like silence and the emphasis placed upon it was one of the reasons I found myself at a crossroads a while ago and became the impetus for this blog. Though I don't want to dwell on it, it is a harsh reality of our life and addressing it seemed the right thing to do. Your supportive comments were so needed and appreciated, so thank you for indulging me in a little rant!

So, I am back to reality and ready to face and I'm counting my way down to this summer. My spiritual-brain is still spinning with thoughts of His Holiness Dalai Lama's visit to Leh this July. What the what, now??  As I'm packing up I'm thinking about how I might arrange things differently this winter. I actually have a cute idea for holidaying in the beautiful island of Lakshadweep that I'll be sharing in a few days.  Just plain crazy, but that's par for the plan lately. Such is the life of a voyager!

Spring has sprung

Yes. Hello, sorry, apparently I feel my blogging suffers either way: whether I've got nothing to say or loads to catch you up on. So, yes, this is remarkably like my other webpages, picasa, that I hadn't updated in a very long time.

Is that weird? Is that what other people do? I'm sitting in my room, listening to silence (I was listening to music just a little while ago; I've found I don't really like silence as it makes far too much room for my thoughts), and it's absolutely gorgeous outside (fresh snowy peak is pretty from inside your cozy warm room) and I just started going on about how pretty it all is in my head. I think that's part of the reason I like to blog--and also part of the reason I haven't found a story to write that is my story to tell.
However, the last few hour of frustration has made me all the more aware of how lax I've been with my internet use and identity. I probably shouldn't have started getting into fandom at this stage in life. Now the days are growing ever cooler. Summer of 2012, this time around, I suppose I'll be a bit less strict in my writing; no posts with bibliographies, just thoughts on interesting things I learn in life and the beautiful pictures I click my way. Oh, and about Leh.

So this is me, saying hello again. Stick around, we'll have a fun time.

A silent debut after years of quiet toil

Here I am now. Attempting after a long hiatus, to step back into the world that was once familiar territory. I can hardly believe it has been little over three years since I last posted on this blog. I'm hoping to return and again make this blog a part of my life. First, thank you to all the many readers who viewed this blog and sent me messages. I feel deeply honored to have perhaps you all for stopping by and hitting across!

Let me catch you up...
Over the few years, life has taken on a few new twists and turns (life sure has a way of doing that sometimes, you know)? In addition to my regular busy schedule trying to manage my work, my family, and life in general, I am blessed with a young man into our family. This surely has been the most beautiful thing that has ever happened in my life. He has grown now and slowly adapting with the ever competitive world outside!
Over the last two years, my little, gentle, peaceful world turned into a wild roller coaster ride; a ride that has you hanging on for dear life! It is a ride that is literally about experiences, meeting people and the adventure in this part of the barren world... Leh!

Life is settling down... not too much, but enough that I believe I will have time to get back to this blog!

Blessings of love and peace to all,

Have I told you lately..........

Phew! My computer screen was starting to glare at me for not posting often enough.

"Thou shall post every day” is the most fundamental and most well known principle of blogging....
Originally when I first started my blog over two years ago, I was posting and pushing posts through in a frantic pace practically weekly; re-hashing news from other sites. It takes me way too much time to do my posts as well as research, creating the Flash simulations, preparations, etc and I'm surprised that I was able to do it so crazily then. Generally I didn't post unless it's something that I find interesting.
I sustained that feverish pace for a while until I was feeling the tension of always trying to push something "on time". I was starting to get burnt out, and didn't want to write anymore since it was such a chore, etc. Then, I decide to take it a bit easy and try posting less frequent until I finally think I've settled on posting once a month. Later I've learned to keep it topical and try to come up with original content.

This is something that's been floating around in my head for about 3 or 4 months now. I have been so busy at work and been travelling, I haven't posted on a weekly/monthly basis as I used to... and lo! and behold! my traffic didn't suffer a bit. I soon developed the new found opinion, eh! "Write when you have something worth saying, write to your audience, and do your best to write well. It can't get any simpler than that".
Every new blogger is warned about “the” ultimate rule and is confronted with the pressure of a day going by with no new post. Every one has in mind the examples of successful bloggers, like Robert Scoble at Microsoft, who post several times a day. Daily posting shows that you are serious about blogging, generates traffic and drives reader loyalty, as readers come back daily to check your new posts. You cannot be successful if you do not go by the rule, right? RIGHT?

Wrong. Daily posts are a legacy of a Web 1.0 mindset and early Web 2.0 days (meaning 12 months ago!). The pressure around posting so frequency will ultimately become a significant barrier to the maturity of blogging. It engages with the audience you want to have a relationship with is a much smarter strategy than posting frequently and also the pressure of the first months to write frequently certainly contributes to people abandoning their blogs. As the blogosphere matures, the measure of success will shift from traffic to reader loyalty.

So now as for me, I will continue to post only when I have something to say!

HAPPY LOSAR FOLKS!!

The day has finally set in.... Ladakhi LOSAR!!

HAPPY LOSAR (New Year) to all my readers.

Whoever you are. Now that’s out of the way. What will the new year bring I wonder, apart from the four seasons, birthdays, work, the sun rising and falling, and the polar ice caps melting faster than an one can imagine, watching Meg Ryan again in her new Avtar, eh!
Losar festival is celebrated to commemorate the advent of yet another new Lunar year. It is the Ladakhi or Tibetan New Year. Losar is the most important of all the socio-religious events of Ladakh. The actual Losar celebrations creeps in with Namchot, a socio-religious event celebrated to observe the birthday and the Buddha-hood of Tsongkha-pa, the Tibetan saint-scholar and founder of the Geluk-pa school of Tibetan Buddhism in the 14th century. The New Year festivities at all homes begins with the 'Metho' ceremony during Losar eve, when a processions of people carrying flaming torches pass through the Monasteries, villages, bazaars and lanes, chanting prayers to chase away evil spirits and hungry ghosts believed to have accumulate during the year as a result of bad Karma (deeds). An interesting display of fire and light is created by the whirling of the flaming torches which are then thrown away in a gesture to bid farewell to the old year and to welcome the new year ahead. The New Year day itself starts with making offerings at the shrines of personal gods and clan ancestors and with greetings to family elders, relatives and friends. This festival is full of music, dancing and merry-making.
This LOSAR festival has an interesting history. In the 17th century, King Jamyang Namgyal decided to lead an expedition against the Balti forces during winter. He was advised that any expedition before the New Year celebrations by two months would be inauspicious, establishing a tradition that people still follow - celebrating Losar on the first day of the eleventh month of every Lunar year. To quote Ladags Melong a local magazine: "according to historians and the Pod-Gya Tsigdzod Chhenpo, it was the Tibetans who changed their Losar date and not the Ladakhi's and other Himalayan cultures used to have the same Losar date. When Genghis Khan conquered Tibet in 1227, he made the Tibetans celebrate it as the New Year. This is why Tibetan months are also called Hor-lza (Mongol-month). The Mongols also started the system of numbering the Tibetan months. Until then there was no tradition of numbering the Tibetan months tangpo, ngyispa, sumpa (first, second, third). Instead months were called by their names.
Therefore it is interesting to note that the Ladakhi Losar is the original Losar date and if we dropped the system of numbering the months (due to which our Losar seems to fall in the eleventh month) then there would be no confusion. In fact certain other Himalayan regions such as Sikkim, the Sherpas in Nepal and the Khombo region of Tibet also celebrate Losar at the same time as Ladakh."

For all Buddhists, Losar is a sacred time and a time for feasting and celebration. It is a time to be with the family, and a time to ensure that bad omens are not carried into the new year.

New year... A new month... A new week... and yes... a new day ! mmm guys I must say that the days are simply going great with me out here. I am enjoying no matter I am being away from my home this time.. missed my family sooooo much but what to do coz Life is changing.....

I have wished my self already.. :) so.. Wish you all a blessed LOSAR!!

...haven't had too much to update lately...

I have written much in my blog lately - mostly because I've been busy with some stuffs, sometimes because I just don't know what to say anymore. Blogging- my newfound passion. Not too obvious, hehe. I wasn’t able to write down some of my thoughts the past few weeks. Anyways, here I am again. If I could just put into writing everything that works up in my head right now… But let me just begin by saying I miss writing down my feelings. I miss writing down how happy I got during the time I was at home with friends. I missed writing down what’s working up inside me when I received a pat on my shoulder for some of the good things I have done. I missed writing down some other important things that has happened to me. But everything that has happened to me this time is embedded in my heart…

Be with me as I begin my trek to forever…

No certainty until the genocide in Darfur ends

More than four years on, the conflict in Darfur has led to some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable. The United Nations estimates that the conflict has left as many as 450,000 dead from violence and disease. In addition, by obstructing and arresting journalists, the Sudanese government has been able to obscure much of what has gone on and has suppressed information by jailing and killing witnesses and tampered with evidence such as mass graves to eliminate their forensic values. Even the Amnesty International issued a report accusing China of supplying arms, ammunition and related equipment to Sudan (China invests heavily in Sudan's oil industry) and this hardware has been transferred to Darfur for use by the government and the militias.

In early October, BBC aired a documentary “An Atrocity That Needs No Exaggeration“ regarding the magnitude of atrocities in Darfur. This documentary misses a critical point in the debate over how many people have actually died. The real point is that, unfortunately, mortality estimates cannot be verified or updated because the Government of Sudan actively denies the international community – including diplomats, humanitarian workers, and epidemiology experts – real access to the Darfur region.

History reminds us that the full scope and scale of genocide is unknown until it has ended. Past perpetrators, most notably the Nazis and the present Chinese autocrities in Tibet, actively concealed their campaigns of mass murder from public scrutiny and accountability. When the scale of this genocide did become known, a shocked world cried out, “Never again.” The same was true in Cambodia and Rwanda. And that is what is happening now in Darfur.

The Save Darfur Coalition too believes that in this conflict as many as 450,000 Darfuris have been either killed by deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, because there is sound analysis to support that – analysis that is impossible to confirm only because of Sudan’s willful obstruction. Ultimately, no level of genocide is acceptable. The international community must continue to press the Sudanese government and President Omar al-Bashir to provide access to both international peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and experts who can more accurately document the scale of this tragedy, as well as provide protection and assistance to Darfur’s poor civilian population.

Every true voices are heard

Risking heightened tensions with China, US President George W. Bush will attend a ceremony tomorrow (october 17) to award a Congress medal to the Dalai Lama, at the bastion of American democracy. Following the ceremony, the Dalai Lama will speak.
In protest against this (U.S. Congress) plan to honor the Dalai Lama, China also has pulled out of a meeting last week at which world powers were to discuss further action against Iran.
It goes against every fiber of my being to say anything positive about this President, but this is a very good thing; for the non-violent campaign/struggle associated with his holiness.
Just for the record it does not change my opinion about the other things he has done however.
My peace prevail on this Earth!!

war on drugs

When Marion Jones said that she had asked God for forgiveness after she admitted to lying about taking performance enhancing drugs before the 2000 Olympics, I wonder if this was the same "God" who had apparently provided her with the steroids -- I mean the "God-given abilities" which she claimed to have.
I mean really, how much sympathy can she expect to get from a God whom she thought didn't exist enough to care about being used as a false front for her "sinful" behavior?
She admitted to the court that she did take THG to prepare for the games in Sydney. I just don't know why these damn athletes take that risk. I mean seriously no one expects you to be he-man, just train hard and let your talents take over. She's already in the hole financially, so this only makes it worse. I wouldn't be surprised if Wheaties wanted their money back!

“The truth or falsity of a given perception is often quite relative when one is concerned with a complex social question such as the nature of a conspiracy. There are as many variables and problems of definition that much depends on the observers position, interest and amount of information. The belief in a conspiracy can be treated as a theoretical construct, not necessarily less reasonable than other constructs which help explain disturbing and unexpected happenings” - David B. Davis -

crackdown on peaceful protesters

One could scarcely call the government of Myanmar something other than repressive, but they have taken that label to new heights over the past week days. Soldiers are firing automatic weapons into crowds, invading Buddhist monasteries, and have cut off electronic communications available to civilians. Demonstrations, sparked by a large increase in fuel prices, have been estimated to have numbers up to 100,000. The nation of Myanmar rivals N Korea as a closed and repressed society.
Myanmar's chief patron, China, has blocked UN condemnation, but has offered platitudes about how "all parties in Myanmar exercise restraint and properly handle the current issue so as to ensure the situation there does not escalate and get complicated.” Evidently unarmed civilians and monks need to restrain themselves from getting killed by automatic gunfire. We really ought to spend lots of money on Chinese made goods, just to make sure they can have the influence to make such a statement stick.
Buddhism is a non-violent philosophy/religion and it is once again being faced with forceful violence. Evidently a saffron robe is poor protection from bullets. The military junta running the place does not seem to be overly concerned that bullets won't win the day. They may be running a large risk of backlash within the military ranks, people who have and know how to use, firearms.

I am not an advocate of taking leaflets to a gunfight, nor am I overly impressed with the technique of resistance involved in taking a bullet, admirable as Buddhism may be, self-destruction to no end gain seems wasteful. While I might be willing to die for an idea, that concept also includes helping someone on the other side get there first. I have noticed that there's not much reportage regarding the fact that "non-violent revolutions" have managed to get significant support from heavily armed contingents before they became successful.....

Fatal Attraction

"She's SO sooo hot!"

I don't think I have ever said that...phew!! My friends all think I'm nuts cause I don't really go kooky over a girl at first sight. I guess I'm just one for whom attraction is based on knowing a person first. A girl can be thought of as a 'hottie' (wow, I hate that term!) by scads of people, but unless I know her and know her character, MEH. Honestly, I wouldn't give much of a second look.

Now someone I get along with, can be both silly and serious with, and know her character to be one of integrity, maturity, faith, goofiness, and fun... that's a different story. It's those things that will attract me to someone. Beauty of character, if you will.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that she's beautiful on the outside, too!

My new look!

In my last post, I looked at needing to work on the template of my blog. Well hey, instead of just tidying things up a little bit, why don't I go for some XML, make my own images and headings, learn all about hexadecimal colour codes and drop-down menus, and completely redesign my blog? Suuure... that would be easier! A big huge thanks to google guys who waded through their codes many, many times when I tried and said, "It's broken! Help!"

In any case, welcome to my new and hopefully improved site! It's a little more "me" than my previous old site. I hope you enjoy! Leave a comment to say hello (or to tell me if there's any formatting problems!)!

one goes maze and blue!

After a hiatus of almost 2 weeks, I am back to my blog. What did I do in these two weeks? Celebrate, touring and more celebrations :) I did some of the nicest things and spent the most beautiful moments, visited lovely places couple of times and surely had a gala time. Managed to get lots of exercise too! I also like to have few fun things going on all the time… that does really help me be more creative and enjoy the process. My main guilty pleasure is music. If I am really stressed with a deadline I pretty much always buy some songs, so that is fun. Music is a great way to influence moods and creative direction…
For the onlookers, the summer here at this place is something that has to be endured. It's not just the heat of the plains though that can prove tricky. Everyone goes home for the summer. Apparently. It seems to me that there are people out there with way too much holiday.
Well, I have this theory that we all have ever-diminshing topics of conversation. Back home you talk about new CDs, TV programmes, politics, sports whatever. A friend confided in me that he was worried about becoming boring this time of the year. When he went back to his place of study he had nothing to talk to his friends about. Another friend complained that he has very few mates left in the city here. You couldn't meet a nicer person and he was worried that he was becoming nasty. I doubt it. It's just us good ones, we're a strange bunch. Another soon-to-leave ex-pat told me that she decided to get out because she was worried about what she would become if she didn't..
For myself I have also met up with people and been bemused about my lack of starting a conversation. I was never stuck for words before. I remember one conversation with a friend when we agreed no more talk about work - then we sat in silence for two minutes thinking of something else to say.
So summer is a funny yet joyous time. By Autumn the next aircraft/bus load of tourists, volunters, development workers etc etc will no doubt land back on their own shores. We will bask in fresh conversations and fresh enthusiasm to keep a cool head for the whole of chill winter months.
In the meantime people will wilt in the heat while everyone keeps thinking of something interesting to addon.

Blessings from day 11

This post has been long due but I have been overwhelmed by all the things that I have to juggle to just keep my head above the water. I really wanted to write a lot about the program I had been into these short yet beautiful 15 days period coz I think I had some excellent time with it. But coz of time constrains I think I will just skim through jist of the topic and give my readers an idea of what my life has been into these days. Lets start at with this:

I was reading the book "Blessing Your Spirit", and here at day 11's blessing, these few passages kept lingering over my thoughts:
"I bless you with enough problems in life and God's rescuing you from those problems that you no longer fear problems because they become an opportunity for God to show Himself strong. I bless you with the blessing that Daniel had of living so long with God and experiencing His faithfulness so many times that when he was in the lion's den, he was not overwhelmed with fear. The animals' mouths were bound, and they could not bite him.
I bless you, with the same security that David had, to walk into the enemy's camp and leave with Saul's spear and water bottle. I bless you with experiencing your Father's intervention so often and on such a profound level that you are emotionally secure. I bless you with seeing Him do remarkable things to rescue you, so that you can go before God's people and share glory stories of what God did on your behalf, and how He activated events to rescue you from the trap of the enemy designed to destroy you.
........
I bless you with not just enjoying the emotion of release and rescue, but also translating those experiences into acts of worhip. I bless you with worshiping and glorifying God, encouraging His people, and memorializing His power after a magnificent rescue....."

crime @ abode of peace

Two days ago, Ladakh woke up to the gruesome murder news of two monks of Likir Monastery. The monks were brutally killed on the intervening night of 3rd and 4th August. Such ghastly incident of murder unheard of in Leh before took place in a restaurant in Alchi village run by Likir monastery. One of the monks was the manager and the other was the entrance-fee collector at the historic Alchi Gompa of Liker monastery. The police somehow managed to nab the accused after 31 hours of the crime.
I've been reading and following to all the coverage about this crime, and as I see it, the whole think reeks of a setup in contradiction to the statement made by the accused to the police.
My thoughts and prayers tonight are with the two monks, with their friends, with their family of Likir monastery and with the Ladakhi's in general.

Where is the Love
I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder,
As Im gettin' older yall people gets colder.
Most of us only care about money makin
Selfishness got us followin the wrong direction
Wrong information alwayz shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria.
Infectin the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema.
Yo, whatever happened to the values of humanity?
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality?
Instead in spreadin love we spreadin' animosity,
Lack of understandin leading lives away from unity,
Thats the reason why sometimes im feelin' under,
Thats the reason why somtines im feelin' down,
Theres no wonder why somtimes im feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found!

People killin people diein,
Children hurt and ya hear them cryin.
Can you practice what you preach?
And dont you turn the other cheek.

Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cuz people got me got me questionin'
Where is the Love???

The Sun Sets on Booze...

Previous night, I along with my friends gathered for yet another get-together for a few drinks. We had a grand time just talking and drinking. We also had a few major news and gossips from all over. You drink the glass and find yourself down into the whole thing.
I am an occassional drinker and never remember drinking alone. Always wokedup refreshed and not even with slightest touch of hangover ever. Unlike certain friends who calls on their way to work the next morning feeling pretty rough. I try not to laugh, but it was always funny!
I came up from home hoping that this week get to be shaping up to be a busy one. My job expects me to work even for the weekends till the time I'm here, so I'll be doing that on Saturday and maybe Sunday as usual. We are to have a dance rehearsal going away from 8th Aug evening, he he!. Most importantly though, practice for the forthcoming annual day will be just for 3 days then I shall move to Leh the very next day i.e., on 15th Aug.

Update, Update, Update!

Last weekend, in the space of less than 2 days, it took to my notice that most of major TV channels like CNN et al aired the worthless story of big clelebrities and their deeds. My head was sore, but more from the emotional twists and turns in the final days.
I learned Lindsay Lohan, Poor Little Rich Drug User was busted on suspicion of drunk driving and drug possession. Shortly, her father and a parade of Hollywood celebrities made sobbing, heart wrenching pleas on the Larry King show for public understanding of Lohan's ordeal. They blame all her situation on reckless paparazzi and LA's big city life.
There are thousands of drug offenders all around the globe that need the same compassion and help as Lohan. The big difference is that these drug abusers aren't high-profile, bankable screen commodities alike. They are mostly poor blacks, Asians and Latinos. The estimate is that nearly one-fourth of the more than one million blacks that pack America's prisons are there for non-violent, drug-related crimes. It costs millions to keep them there.
Putting them behind bars has had staggering consequences as these sorta punishments has torn apart families and communities. It has been the single biggest reason for the bloat in States spending on prison construction, maintenance, and the escalation in the number of prosecutors needed to handle the flood of drug cases.
Also, few poor black and Asian drug offenders were immediately released by police, as Lohan continues to be, and then they were allowed to luxuriate in a posh drug treatment center.
We Play to win but we loose just the same!!

His Holiness to visit Leh on 31st July '07

With the day approaching, traditional ceremonies that involves blessing small and large Buddha statues and Thangka's that will sit nearby the throne of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (decorations on the structure "White snow lions" are a symbol of strength) when the spiritual leader of Tibetans and Buddhist in general visits Leh on 31st July 2007 must be going on with constant watch by the Abbots in different monasteries around Leh.
The visit of His Holiness is for many a very important event, apart from some religious sermons, this time it is learnt that he will show them how to develop compassion, love and a good heart.
Around 5,000 to 10,000 Buddhists from around the country will descend on Leh when the Dalai Lama delivers a series of sermons, lectures and philosophical talks at Leh's sJiway Tsal("the place where compassion develops"), Choglamsar Leh. Buddhist nuns and monks from Taiwan, Bhutan and Vietnam and some Hollywood celebrities would be among the visitors. The Dalai Lama, who fled his homeland in 1959 following a failed uprising against China, has his government-in-exile in Dharamsala (H.P)in India. India is also home to some 100,000 Tibetan exiles.
I was there when the Tibetan leader addressed 10,000 people in the area in September 2005. The experience was so so good and I myself felt much privileged on being a Buddhist as it appeals to a person's individual responsibilities and have someone to belive in strongly. I feel, What is important for the Buddhist around are the values of compassion, generosity and wisdom, that the Dalai Lama also stands for.
The Tibetan spiritual leader, who was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1989 for his efforts to achieve a Non-Violent solution to the Tibetan problem, will visit Nubra valley and give religious discourse there at Diskit, Nubra and would likely to unveil a huge Buddha Maitreya Statue at Diskit Monastery.
MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH.

Copa America 2007 Etcetera

The Soccer season is now morethan-halfway over and the week that brought us to this point also brought us some history in Copa America Title 2007 as Brazil defeated the hot favourites Argentina and clinched their 8th title.
Yesterday, I thought every soccer enthusiast surely would take his/her time to catch up with the the main international football tournament for South America. Remember what this is about, and express your crazyness!!!!!!!!!
I carefully followed the matches right from day one, and on D-Day I confidently took it'll be AR-GEN-TINA, the undisputed Champions from South America (Much as it pains me to say that.) I've rated them highly from 2006 edition of the Football World Cup. They are so loaded with quality, well-balanced in midfield and defence....and are peaking at the right time. Big playmakers Jaun Riquelme and Carlos Tevez could unlock the door to any rearguard in Venezuela. Lionel Messi's also primed, and so is the pedigree to win it all. I would loved Brazil to loose, because they are woefully let down by their decrepit biggies (Kaka, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, R Carlos, Dida et al).
I never would have guess Brazil had such a come back in them. Struggling in their group match, the defending champion Brazil were beaten by Mexico with a 2-0 score. And without the Brazilian regular playmakers, Argentina surely was the stronger team in the whole tournament, displayed excellent matches but in the end, Brazil came out on top... kudos and some Brazilian luck in the form of an own goal by experienced Argentine Captain Roberto Ayala.
This defeat must sting the Argentineans and their fans alike hard as they brought everything they had to this Copa. It's still indigestible while I (rather we all) recall yesterday's game. Phew!
As champions of South America, now Brazil will join South Africa, Italy and the USA along with the winners of the 2007 Asian Cup, 2008 African Nations Cup, 2008 Euro and 2008 OFC Nations Cup at the Confederations Cup in 2009 in South Africa.