The first day I noticed it I only read the “Go Veg” part and I thought it was part of the PETA campaign that I had seen recently when I went to the Gay Parade and someone gave me some stickers.

I think that it is nice that there is a campaign although I think we, the vegetarian parties, are losing many battles lately to the evil animal eater parties. Hot dogs wrapped in bacon are sold openly on the streets, pork is common, high fructose… These are dark days.

The second time I looked at the billboard, it puzzled me. Supreme Master? TV? SOS? What? It doesn’t make sense. It only makes sense when I look at it with “Chinese Mind” so I thought to myself that surely it must be a Chinese or Korean conspiracy here in the USA. So I checked on it. It is a Vietnamese lady named “Supreme Master Ching Hai” who shares the “Quan Yin Method” in order to help people look within to find their own divine greatness. She has written international best sellers: The Birds in My Life, The Dogs in My Life, and The Noble Wilds. Her site is very interesting. I like it. Supreme Master SOS

I have been trying various vegetarian places in the area. Today I went to Herbivore. I got the Red Curry dish and Paul got the Curry Coconut Udon. Paul thought his lacked some flavor. Mine was good, but it wasn’t as tasty as the curry of the best Indian place around, Shalimar.

I have been going to Ananda Fuara the restaraunt of the followers of Sri Chinmoy who used to teach meditation at the UN and once wrote:
“Only silence has the capacity to awaken and strengthen our God-love” and “Minimize your needs and maximize your self-giving life”. Seems like such strange ideas in these times. The food there is pretty good too.

Then there is a restaurant in Chinatown on Washington. As do many chinese veg places, they specialize in mushrooms, mock meats, made from things like wheat gluten and soy, and dumplings.

I also found a place that has durian smoothies.

This is what she wrote:

I don’t know what have you heard … there are many versions about what happened, most of them coming from Romania or our local governing party.
I was there from the first day and I’ll tell you my version:
 
April 6th
In the morning I started talking to some friends from a youth NGO - we were discussing the incredible results of the elections. My friend said that it would be a good idea and that they plan to meet peacefully to light up a candle for our killed future. We disseminated this announcement among our friends on YMessenger and facebook.com, and spreading on other forums.
So there we were, after work - with a candle. We were expecting about 1000 people, not more. But it seemed that more young people felt the same - we were about 8000.
In the evening, 3 leaders of the opposition [the party losing to the communists in the elections] came to express their support. Among the protesters we observed groups of provokers but we managed to not respond to them.
http://www.jurnaltv.md/index.php?article=1926
 
April 7th
The square in the center of Chisinau was full at 10.00AM. There were about 10000 - and still coming. The masses accumulated about 25000 people, young and older, males and females. We were asking for recounting of votes! There were plenty of provokers, not only young, but mature people, people that were wearing self-made masks and provoking young people to violence… The masses moved to the building of Presidency and Parliament asking the recount of votes, or reelections and Down with the communists!
Around 11.00 all Internet in the country was down and remained so for about 2 hours. All web sites that were transmitting true information were blocked, and cell phones were down.
http://www.jurnaltv.md/index.php?article=1950
The masses were more and more tense. At about 13.30 police forces, armed with gas and rubber bullets, and water started pushing people away… Then there appeared some persons (we know they were provokers) who started throwing stones. As we found out - and there is a video - police were preparing stones before it all started.
Police prepare stones - http://www.jurnaltv.md/index.php?article=2002
After lot of provoking started a rain of stones. Police were asked by the opposition leaders to arrest those who call for violence and throw stones, but instead they just left the buildings. The vandalisms were devastating. Among the protesters, were saw people who were convicted…
http://www.jurnaltv.md/index.php?article=1957
The only source of information were the Romanian TV stations, that were blocked.
http://www.jurnaltv.md/index.php?article=1961
 
There was fighting, but no dead. About 150 injured.
Now, when we look back to those vandalisms, we understand that it was their plan - as in a very strange way, were devastated and burned down only those rooms were was the archive and documentation that could be used against them. Even when people were calling for firefighters, they didn’t come - they came only when all was burned in those offices.
Now they’ve declared they’ll need many hundreds of millions to repair everything…
In the evening 193 official arrests were made. Those young people are still searched for by their parents. Their actual location is unknown. No lawyers were called.
The National TV showed images and declared that it was a putsch organized by the opposition and Romania, because they saw the flag of Romania (which is the tricolor, and is similar with our flag, and was our flag till 2001), but again – provocation – see this image http://twitpic.com/2zwm6
Opposition leaders met with the president and his gang to ask for recount of votes, to take off charges of organizing the vandalisms.
In the evening after 1.00pm there were shootings…
 
April 8th
The protest start but there were only about 5000 people… very peaceful. All shocked after the day before… None can believe the disaster.
The authorities declare the Romanian ambassador as persona non grata and send him away out of the country. They introduce visas for Romanians. Close the border of Moldova - nobody can enter or go out of the country. The railway declares that due to technical reasons no train goes or comes from Romania. Same problem invoked by Bus station and customs. No foreign journalists are allowed.
In the morning they started arresting people at their homes.
 
No opposition leader has come to the meeting. We were there till about 9.00PM. The government agreed to recount the votes in some voting places.
In the evening many people were captured and just injured, most of them are in hospitals.  These were my friends - journalists that were publishing true videos.
 
April 9th
There are some people out. I’ll just remind you, as one of our liberal leaders said, Hitler fired up the Reichstag in order to incriminate the opposition. They’re doing what they want having Russia’s support… But the voting was a fraud for sure. It is incredible how OECD, EC, and Russia have said that everything was ok… as we receive more and more arguments that the vote was a fraud!
for example: having dead people voting, having those who are not at home voting…
 
Unfortunately, nobody in this country is safe… 
Russia is ready to “help” Moldova… and our problem is that masses don’t have a leader… as all started from a simple civil movement.
 
God Help Us!

April 10th 
Here we have almost no access to information from the outside - the access to facebook.com, to other similar sites, to sites of media is blocked.
I’m one of the few with access to local info coming from people that are saying what is happening in the center of Chisinau and spreading it to the rest.
At this point all is peaceful, although the governing party is spreading provocations trying to bring students to the center of Chisinau in order to have reason to introduce the army. We have journalists arrested and disappeared, in hospitals after being arrested, there are arrests in schools and universities.
It’s like during the Stalin times..

http://www.unimedia.info/

Archiane, France

Pão de Açúcar, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Santorini, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Monkey family Thailand. This one is clever because it seems to show an innocent humble monkey family but if you know these monkeys like I know these monkeys then you know that these wicked devils are only waiting for their next chance to wreck havok.

Mucha - Prague, Czech Republic

Azores, Portugal

Krk, Croatia

Sagarmatha, Nepal

Paksi, Hungary, nuclear plant. This was a very fun and memorable trip during my year at CEU in Hungary. I am against nuclear until they do more research to improve the process. There are some possibilities. For one, they should figure out what can be done with the waste because they still have no clue and nowhere to put it.

Paksi, Hungary, nuclear plant control room. This looks like 1970 but that is about how it was in 2004 as well, except for the engineers had long beards and t-shirts.

Some Raja somewhere lost in Indian history shows up with Warhol-esq colors on an Ibiza postcard.

Pitons, St Lucia

The Great Wall in China and some nice flowers as if Mongol Hordes never came to kill here.

Hungarian political party using the Tianamen image.

Shiva Ganesh Parvati

Thanksgiving 2008, House of Aziz - Hummus, yam, cranberry salad, stuffing, etc.

Power Fish restaurant, Lake Yojoa, Honduras - fried fish, fried plantain, pickled cabbage, chile. This restaraunt is on a lake in the middle of Honduras, on the highway between the capital, Tegucigalpa, and the nothern coast where the cities of Tela and La Ceiba are. My motorcycle had some tire problems due to the potholes in the road so I had to stop for repairs near Siguatepeque. The owner of the auto repair shop, apparently a descendent of Daniel Boone, was nice enough to take me with him and some of the employees on a trip to visit the lake and this restaurant.

Delicious Burmese cuisine in Mandalay. Small dishes well seasoned with chile, lime, garlic, vinegar, fish sauce, tamarind, nuts, seeds, onions, and other spices.

Vegetarian restaraunt in Buenos Aires - Veg lasagna, veg burger, squash soup, etc.

Nachos al Chele Encino, Nicaragua

Durian (top and left) and Jackfruit (bottom right) in Thailand. Durian stinks and tastes a bit like rotten egg for the first split second then it becomes a very creamy almost like a custard. I heard the best durian is in Borneo. This jackfruit was crisp and sweet.

Nicaraguan Mamey - very rich and creamy. These were not too easy to find, depends what part of the country you are in.

Nicaraguan Sapote (called Mamey in Mexico) - rich, sweet, heavy and creamy. It has various possible medicinal values. Noni is used to cure everything, tastes fermented.

In Managua, a waste water treatment plant is being constructed to help clean Lake Managua which receives more than its fair share of untreated waste water and stinks to high heaven. Currently there are no waste water treatment plants in any of the capital cities of Central America. With the support of the German government in funding the project, the water treatment plant should be completed by mid 2008 and should show definite results by 2010. Above, you see the central feed cylinder of one of six large filtration structures. Some of the system is already in operation.

The secondary filtration basins.

The blueprints.

DESCPRIPTION OF PROJECT
Within the framework of a programme aimed at improving the waste water situation and at reducing the biological contamination of Lake Managua, we were entrusted with the design and elaboration of tender documents of a waste water treatment plant for Managua city, assistance to the Client (ENACAL) during contract negotiation, as well as supervision of construction and start-up operations.

The subject of the tender was the conclusion of a turn-key EPC contract in compliance with FIDIC, combined with a five-year plant operating contract. The functional tender was based on a treatment process developed by the Consultant which provides for anaerobic ponds followed by trickling filters, as well as an outfall into Lake Managua. Alternate solutions were explicitly allowed.

The present project was preceded by a feasibility study, also prepared by us with the aim of defining the best suited concepts in technical and economical respect.

*Capacity: > 1.09 million p.e.
*Maximum flow to the treatment plant during wet season: 12,400 m³/h
*Biological load: BOD5 = 50,000 kg/d
*Design quality of treated effluent:
Total suspended solids: 80 mg/l
BOD5: 30/90 mg/l (filtered / homogenised sample)
COD: 180 mg/l

BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Preliminary design and preparation of tender documents (EPC turnkey provision); construction supervision and commissioning of the waste water treatment plant of Nicaragua city

CLIENT
Empresa Nicaragüense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, Managua

FINANCING
KfW Entwicklungsbank

SCOPE OF SERVICES

* soil-mechanical site investigation
* topographical survey
* hydrological investigations
* hydraulic calculations
* design of a basic technical solution
* establishment of a polluters’ register (discharges from industry and trade)

-Pre-selection of contractors
-Tender documents (FIDIC EPC-turnkey)
-Preparation of an operation concept

+Tariff study on sewage treatment charges
+Assistance in contract award
+Construction supervision
+Plant commissioning
+Public awareness building

Prizes were given for the best dressed donkey at the patron saint celebration in Ocotal, Nicaragua. The prize winners are not seen in the clip but you can hear the band.

We did a night dive, a wreck dive, saw some black corral and many mostly complacent sea creatures. The most impressive was the pair of squid that were pulsating light rings through their bodies and changing colors.

A few nice dive videos:
Diving Trance Video
Utila Dive Center

Some sea life I saw:
Squid
Green Moray
Sea Horse

Here I am! thats me next to the red arrow! I know you can’t really see that it is me, but trust me, wardrobe fitted my out with an ugly blue sweater and I had a bit of a beard growing after visiting the Guru Sai Baba and a bad Burmese haircut. The guy here in the suit with the white hair was from upstate New York. I was sitting with him for about 45 minutes before they filmed this scene. He was telling me about his trip to Ladakh on the northern border of India. Nice guy. Anyway, just before the scene the directors says “Hey get this guy outta there (me), let’s get a girl to sit there for the scene”. So, I had to go to the blurry background.

At the time, on the set, I thought this movie was going to be terrible. The directors were yelling all the time and there were hundreds of indian guys running around pretending to be working on the set. People in authority in India are always yelling, and there are always too many people around not knowing what to do. This actress seemed really timid and weak. But in the movie she looks great. I am very impressed with her and the movie. The editors did an excellent job although they edited me out of everything. In those two days I was there only a few minutes made it into the film. I think the film turned out very good. It´s a good thriller, clever (more so than most Hollywood films) and humorous. It’s an Indian movie so that means there are lots of songs and dancing, but the songs are really good too. The only complaint I had is that it was a little long, but I am a very impatient movie watcher. Most of the reviews are only gave it 3 or 4 stars but I give it 4 1/2 stars, high recommendations, so watch it if you can.

After this scene, there is another where they introduce another one of the characters “Chip”. I ate lunch with this actor, he was one of the better actors in the film, I think. We spent a long time filming that scene. I was one of the 8 or so extras in the scene with two India actors. They made me wear some tight jeans and a leather jacket. Me and two Polish guys played “tough guys” standing behind one of the Indian actors. There was a Mexican guy named Oscar who also was in the scene, you can see him just barely in the movie, he is the one holding the gun. Only about 2 seconds of this scene make it to the movie and I am not in it because the camera shot they use is facing the wrong way. Also, the two very nice dutch girls I made friends with, who had to put on very revealing clothing, were not in the scene.

I was also present at the filming of this AWESOME scene. Look, there are people flying through the air! Amazing! It is mostly a music video, and the song is great. I am going to get the soundtrack from the film. I was one of the jerks in a tuxedo but I can´t spot myself, I watched the scene about 3 times and that was enough. The scene probably took about 3 days of filming for the 3 minutes that are in the film, I was there only for the first day. This day was extremely boring. There was no air conditioning in the studio and it was soo hot and we were wearing those stupid tuxedos. I left for part of the day because I started to feel like I had some kind of indian monkeybird virus and I was watching another film shoot at the studio. Two French guys I was rooming with at the Salvation Army Hostel got some really good parts dancing like lunatics. Watching these few scenes I recognize about 40 people who I was there with. We spent almost all of the day hanging around doing nothing so I talked with many of the other extras, so it is interesting to see them in the movie. There were some Afgan-Russian guys living in India who worked as extras all the time. The pay was about $10 for the whole day plus food. For some reason the Indians like to have white people play the extras in their films. It makes sense some of the scenes where they are supposed to take place in London for example. When they needed some especially good-looking white girls they had a list of mostly eastern european models living in Mumbai that they called, they made more money than the rest of us of course.

More singing and flying. sweet! Some of those people are really looking stupid down there in that scene, making fools of themselves, fantastic! I did my best to make a fool of myself but I was not honored with those moments being documented. It is only when we pretend not to be fools that we start making mistakes, eh?

There is a part where the main actress here slithers along the ground on her back and then 6 guys pick her up in the air and I was right there helping hold her up but the camera is zoomed in really tight on her so you can only see the 6 indian professional dancers directly around her. Those guys were really full of themselves, anyhow they did do a good job. I also was one the film set of an Indian serial (sitcom) but I really can´t be bothered to track down that one, although it seemed pretty funny. Now, I want to make some of my own documentary-interview type films or maybe comedies too.