The random thoughts & events in the life of an animal-loving, peace-loving vegetarian.
I can't promise to write regularly. And I can't promise that it will be interesting when I do.
Saeed and I love clever cartoons, especially when they involve animals. His all time favorite (and probably mine) is "Calvin and Hobbes." The relationship between a boy and his toy tiger is a joy to behold. My point, however, is that we love it when the message is one that puts animals in a positive light, especially if it represents animals as being better than humans. We feel that for all of homo sapiens' increased abilities they also have increased defects. Animals do what comes naturally as dictated by their genetic code and rarely (there are always exceptions) strike out to hurt another being without a valid reason such as self-defense or to obtain food. No doubt nature can be cruel, but humans supposedly have the power of reason. Despite their increased capacity for critical thinking humans manage to make such stupid, selfish decisions and cause so much damage to themselves and others.
So... I agree with the parrot in the above cartoon. :-)
Saeed forwarded me this video of Matt Damon discussing the possibility of Sarah Palin becoming president. He makes several good points, but perhaps the best is that McCain (due to age alone) has a significant chance of dying while in office and that we will have Sarah Palin as the President of our country. There is still so much unknown about Palin's take on everything but what is known is truly frightening. I'd really like for these things to come out in the open.
Rereading what I just wrote I'm amazed at my ever-optimistic thought process - that if people hear what a caveman she is they won't vote for her (McCain.) Anyone who can vote for GWB for two terms is capable of voting for her. Dear God people... lets have some intelligent debate on the issues. A perky personality isn't enough to govern the United States of America.
I've been going to this festival for six or seven years now. It is organized and worked entirely by volunteers and has evolved into quite a well organized event. This is the third location, the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center (Belk Theater), and by far the best. 2007 was their first year at Blumenthal but the street wasn't blocked off. This year all the food vendors were on the street in breezy white tents, allowing the participants much more room to mill about.
This was the view looking north on Tryon.
The sidewalk was now clear for pedestrians.
I love watching the family dynamics.
There were lots of couples and families.
The map of India greets people as they enter the center.
You know where I go first - straight to the vendors!
I was good.. I didn't buy anything this year.
This vendor sold silk pillow covers and bangles.
These next three pictures are of women's colorful outfits.
This statue of Gandhi will be placed on the front lawn (this area will be called "Gandhi Park") of the historic Old County Courthouse in downtown Charlotte on Oct. 5th. There will be a dedication ceremony and festivities to acknowledge Gandhi's influence in people's lives. Martin Luther King, Jr. (for example) used Gandhi's nonviolence philosophy as the basis for much of what he did during the civil rights era. Certainly after reading his autobiography I was impressed by his willingness to sacrifice personal comfort for a greater good and his staunch commitment to the practice of nonviolence. You may have seen one of his quotes on a T-shirt or bumper sticker: You must be the change you wish to see in the world or The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Beautiful tapestries.
Each state in India was represented by a table. This lady won first prize for her representation of Kashmir.
This little girl had wet henna on both hands and had to let her mom brush a strand of hair out of her face.
At this point I decided to go into the theater and watch the dancing. This too is all done by volunteers. Here's a snippet of some teenagers doing bhangra.
After the show I went outside to do more people watching. These little girls looked like brightly colored birds.
These two girls were so animated.
Another hand with henna.
This was one of the performers.
And here is one of the performers for Festival of India 2024!
I went to the Indian Festival today in Charlotte. Just now as I was uploading my pictures I noticed a cute little Bubbsie mixed in with them. Apparently I took this video last weekend and forgot about it. This time Baba-joon is talking to Cyrus with Chappu meowing in the background.
This first photograph should be very familiar to those of you who go to Gabriel's website Mental Magma. It was one of the photographs he used in contest #4 (which you can find on items for purchase here.) I bring this up because of my recent experience in my own backyard.
I happened to notice these really cool looking seed pods produced by our hibiscus plants which have flowered beautifully all summer. As I was snapping away I noticed that I wasn't alone...
... these two were sowing some 'seeds' of their own.
It was fascinating to watch as the bigger bug (male I assume) walked around and the attached female had to follow along backwards.
Is this why women are often maligned as "back seat drivers?"
As our couple pulled up to the make-out leaf they were shocked to find that there were others already there. Apparently there's a real Love Fest going on in our back yard.
Then I noticed this little fellow. At first I didn't notice him because he was the same bright green as the leaves.
He was quite the poser.
He did notice me though; I could see him eying me with his beady little black eyes. Unsure of my intentions he made his way slowly down the stem to another leaf.
He didn't seem to like the fact that I was following him around and turned straight to me as if to say, "Get lost you bipedal primate!"
No, this is not an animal act in the circus... far from it. The Leaping Bunny Logo is something I hope you will look for the next time you purchase your toiletries, cosmetics and household products. This logo assures you that your purchase in no way, shape or form has harmed animals in its production or testing.
Consumers who care that the chemicals in their shampoo weren't dripped into the eyes of white rabbits or onto the skin of white rats can finally quit guessing whether animal testing was conducted on the product. Often you'll see "Not Tested On Animals" on a product but the company hopes you don't realize that the chemicals it used to make it were tested on animals by the company that sold it to them.
It's interesting to learn that there are no federal laws requiring that personal care and household products be tested on animals. So why do it? Back in the 30's people were experiencing health hazards (blistering, blinding, etc.) as a result of companies not conducting safety tests, so in 1938 FDR signed the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act which gave the FDA authority over these companies for the first time. Neither the FDCA nor the FDA required animal testing but companies choose to perform them for liability reasons. It's also interesting that the cruel testing did not assure that the product was safe on humans!
It wasn't until 1996 that a group of animal protection organizations formed the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) which created a strict standard that defined "cruelty-free" as meaning no animal testing at any stage of product development. They are the only organization that regularly checks up on manufacturers to see if they are being compliant with their promise.
So... LOOK FOR THE LEAPING BUNNY! It's so easy to perform this simple act of kindness
Well, after all that activity yesterday it was time to wash up. At home I'm sure Cyrus has his own marble bathtub with monogrammed towels, but at Baba and Bibi's house it's more like camping. Shirin did a great job with what we had available, but I think a baby bathtub is on my next shopping list.
I love the way he responds to the water. It's clear that Cyrus loves water as much as his mommy, Khaleh Tita, and Bibi did when they were little. Great-Aunt Martha tells stories of her baby sister's miraculous transformation: a cranky Ingy went into the water, a happy Ingy came out.
Shirin, still a bit damp from the bath, and her clean little Bubbsie ready to play.
Look at that arm strength as he stares at his reflection.
That little yellow mousie that went 'round and 'round on the mirror attracted Frosty and Chappu's attention too.
This video shows how much more aware Cyrus now is of the toys on his saucer walker.
Poor Chappu wanted some attention too!
While Shirin took her shower Cyrus and I had a date with the baby in the mirror.
Remember Saeed and me winning the Fitness Challenge? Saturday night Shirin and Gabiel made good on their offer to take the winning team out to dinner. We had planned to go somewhere healthy but it was closed for Labor Day weekend. Since it was late we decided not to stray too far from home in looking for a substitute and headed to the not-so-healthy CiCi's Pizza. Yay - just what fitness-minded people should do. Lose three pounds and then gain four back at the pizza parlor. But it was yummy :-)
Once again Cyrus went into a zen-like trance so that we could eat uninterrupted. I wonder how much longer he'll be so good at restaurants.
Sunday we fixed a nice meal of Ghemeh (a Persian stew), rice, corn on the cob, and salad. Shirin and Gabriel like to let Cyrus smell foods to interest him in the delights that await him in the future. Here you see that he takes to this idea very well. "The smell"
"The grab"
"The pullaway"
"The temptation"
"The relocation"
"The persistent one"
"The two-handed maneuver"
"The defeat"
That's ok Cyrus... it won't be long.
I was in the kitchen when I heard fun sounds in the living room. See for yourself as Cyrus sings to the pacifier and then sings to his dad.
Happily we all have a three day weekend so Saeed and I have had the pleasure of some youthful company. As you've seen from Shirin and Gabriel's blog Cyrus loves to suck on his hands. Here, two fingers do the job quite nicely!
We played the same game as last visit and Cyrus woke up halfway through and requested some entertainment.
His movements are quite a bit more controlled. He can reach out and grab an object with much more accuracy than before.
Obi stole one of Saeed's gold tokens...
...and showed that he too could grasp something in his hand.
Cyrus could handle himself much better in the walker than last time. I have a video of this uploading as I type.
If you can't read his shirt it says, "I get my good looks from my baba."
And here is Baba-joon rocking a very sleepy baby.
Typically I like photos better, but I'm finding that the cute noises Cyrus is now making increases my use of the video setting on my camera! Also, Cyrus' Khaleh Anahita has requested as many videos as possible so she can see her nephew in action. As the videos complete uploading I will add them to this post.
Here is Cyrus showing his mastery of the musical gadget on his walker. That's Obi you see periodically.
Cyrus is a little scooter bug:
He's also a squealer!:
Just havin' a good time!
And just in case you didn't have enough happy squealing:
