We all know that Yoga is good for us. The South African team knows it too. They are pictured here doing a modified Vasistasana. They all have sthiram, but sukham is completely missing.  Here’s Boston’s Big Picture on World cup 2010.

For more on how  iPad will change your life, here’s Attaining Nirvana through iPad.

Winter Solstice is upon us. I know this is a very good thing. Even though I had never paid attention to winter solstice ever, this year is different. Living in Vancouver makes me look at things very differently. This day will be the shortest of the days. After the solstice, the days  grow  longer.

With an imperious swirl of her ermine cloak and a hiss of ice crystals in glittering hair, the Winter Queen officially resumes the throne in her icy palace at 9:47 a.m., Monday. In truth, this is just the culmination of a long coronation processional through the province. An irony, though — the formal commencement of her reign also marks the beginning of its end, for the days grow longer and the world begins to warm from the moment she ascends her throne.

The darkness is done with. I am not sure about the rain though. It seems like a permanent feature in this part of the world. I am hoping that I may be able to make peace with the rain and simply ignore it.  It takes a bit of training to look at the cold rain and say, it does not bother me. Last week it snowed for a couple of days. It was so beautiful to see the snow and for some reason, the sky is blue after the snow. Not the case with the rain. Rain makes everything grey and wet.

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I feel like I am the only one excited about Olympics in all of Canada. Until now, I had never paid any attention to winter Olympics. When I notice the mammoth effort that goes into putting on a show like this, I am so impressed. Most of the locals I speak with seem to complain about this event. Road closures, budget cuts, yada yada yada. I believe some sacrifice is always needed for great things to happen. Anyway, I am looking forward for some Olympic fun.

Amreeka is one of my favorite films that I watched at viff. I did not expect myself to be among hundreds of 12 and 13 year old kids. Then I got to know schools had made special arrangements for the students to watch this film.

It is one of the immigrant stories which was fresh, light, funny and sad. Life in Palestine seems like being in a prison and the move to America is not without issues. The confusion between Jews and Arabs cannot be quite explained to the Americans.  It is a well made film and has a sense of humor.

I also learnt that checkmate is an Arabic phrase. Shah mate in Arabic means the king is dead, which is borrowed in English as checkmate.

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This is not about the yoga push up or push down. This is a film that I watched at VIFF and is one of the very few Indian films. The film is based on Rabindranath Tagore’s book. I am not sure if the book also goes by the same title, it was not mentioned. This is an interesting and complex film with many questions for Patanjali. What is spirituality and what really does it lead to? Or is it just escapism from the real world? Is it for the weak who cannot handle the real world? The film deals with these questions and more through the various characters, which are four and hence the title chaturanga, four chapters.

The main character in the film is one confused person. He confidently jumps from one set of ideals to the other one. While he is at it, he strongly believes in it and then leaves it for something else when he reaches the end of the line. The other characters around him question his behavior. Is he really so shallow that he leaves one for the other?

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Thanksgiving in Canada comes way earlier than in the US of A.  It is a better time to give thanks. The trees are putting on a beautiful display of colors.  Food prepared to give thanks, looks similar to the country south below. It is definitely more mellow than the thanksgiving in the US, a lot of shops are open.  According to this article, thanks giving is mainly a celebration of survival through difficult times.

Vancouver International Film Festival is on right now. There are 377 films in total and 2 from India. I plan to see a few of what is on offer.

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I came across this quote while I was walking in downtown Vancouver. I asked the woman at the Vancouver Humane Society stall if she knew that today is Gandhi’s birthday. She said yes and the World Animal Farm day was chosen for October 2nd for the same reason.

The chickens will be happy for that. They were explaining to me the jargon one needs to avoid while buying eggs. They gave me a brochure as to what certifications one needs to look for while buying eggs. The brochure had more jargon than what one needs to avoid. I left more confused than when I stopped by.

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