Virtual Earth

This has been one of the top stories on Digg today and I thought it's pretty cool. Gilbert Perera submitted the story: "Virtual Earth's New feature allows you to take a ride on the seat of a car and drive around town....google watch it!" Check it out: http://preview.local.live.com/

Whatelse ... I received an email from my very dear friend Stefan today, who is not only among Germany's TOP 100 bloggers for blogging about his experience with building a prefabricated house (it also includes a beautiful sunset picture every Sunday), now he started a Disneyland Paris "Mousekingdom Blog" as well. Feel free to drop by ;-)!

Shanghai Tang

Now, how cool is that: Navin got me at least 300 different bangles from India, a little hand painted elephant, an Indonesian hand bag, many other things, and the coolest dress I've ever had I think - from Hongkong. The most amazing part: it fits ;-)! Thanks to Navin I'm always super trendy ... if it was up to me, I would probably look like a German country bumpkin. So here's my new dress, by Shanghai Tang ...


Shanghai Tang sets out to create the first global Chinese lifestyle brand by revitalizing Chinese designs - interweaving traditional Chinese culture with the dynamism of the 21st Century. Thus, resulting in a vibrant fusion of "East Meets West." In fashion, Shanghai Tang continues to evolve its distinctive style whilst employing elegance, comfort and vitality. In hard goods, Shanghai Tang's products are created for everyday use, emphasizing functionality, and always integrating the use of the Chinese motifs into their design. Shanghai Tang always uses the highest quality of materials, workmanship and much inventiveness in the construction of all their products.

Back to the roots!

Hi twinga-blog addicts :-)! Several people complained that I haven't updated my blog since last weekend. Well, what I can say: do you want me to ONLY write nonsense, or occasionally wait until something really moves me ... for instance such a trivial thing like the German supermarket in Redwood City! Yes, today I went out with my dear colleague Theresa who went with me to "Gourmet House Staudt," just a few blocks down the street from the office. And, what can I say, I was amaaazzzed. They had Milka chocolate in all shapes and flavors, Kinder Surprise, Wuerstchen, eingelegter Hering, Knorr Soups (hurrayyyy!!!), many many different kinds of beer, German jams, etc. etc. I think I finally feel home :-). The owner wore Lederhosen, but had a North German accent. Why is it that North Germans suddenly LIKE to present themselves as Bavarians, even though they usually make fun of them??? We should charge a fee for pretending to be Bavarian - was meint's ihr??? But to be fair, I haven't asked him where he's from, and maybe he just forgot how to speak his mother tongue ;-).

Ah, nah nah nah!! I found it "Wiesbaden ist die Geburtsstadt von Lothar Staudt und seine Jugendjahre verbrachte er in der Nähe von Köln." Wiesbaden belongs to Hessen, so I was right! :-) But never mind - I'm glad Lothar aka Joe will from now on supply me with Kaesekuchen, Apfelstrudel, and Wiener Schnitzel! Wunderbar!


Inspired by having found something German, I searched for "German supermarkets San Francisco," (question to self: why didn't I do this earlier?), and I found another one that's described as follows:

Lehr's German Specialties - This one-of-a-kind store specializes in everything German, from chocolates to cosmetics to compact discs and videos. It's the perfect place to find a birthday present for your uncle Hans or to pick up an oom-pah-pah CD and start celebrating Oktoberfest any month of the year.

HA!!! I just noticed how German I really am: I have an "Onkel Hans," my grandpa loved oom-pah-pah, and the first time I ever got wasted was at Oktoberfest :-). Welcome to my world. PROST!

P.S.: And of course I'm also married to an Bavarian ...

Skype chat with Mela and Sille in Gersthofen, Bavaria, Germany

Thank you technology for making it possible that I can still feel like I'm just around the corner from my friends in Germany - and all that for free !!! Wonderful, love it.

South Park Avatars

I've gotten so many comments on my stupid orange avatar at work - I've finally come up with something creative South Park characters!! :-)

Bitter cold ...

Jaaa jaaa jaaaaaaa... I know I told too many people too many times that it had such wonderful, warm weather here in San Francisco. Notice something? HAD! For the past 2 days it's been pretty cold, cold meaning, it's about 7 degrees outside (night time around 4 degrees), but this means in turn that I have about only 16 degrees inside, and my heater is switched on!!! BRRRRRRRRRRRR... I'm so cold. Now I just switched on my electric standup heater that's been fighting for the past 10 minutes to get from 61 to 62 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, whatelse is happening? Nothing much - I'd say the most exciting news is that I only have 8 more days to go until Navin finally comes back! :-)

... oh, wow, I just saw 63 popping up on the heater, now it's back to 62 :-(

One funny tidbit I got from my friend Martina today: The Fruit Cake Lady
Have fun :-)

... 64 !!!

Indian Shampoo ad

I knew I would find something funny if I searched for 'Hindi' on youtube.com :-)!!! I just got some food from our favorite Indian/Pakistani take-out restaurant, and I thought it would be fun to find something Indian on the Web. This is hilarious, it reminds me so much of when I was in India and got a huge complex having short, thin, 'Western' hair. They are obsessed with their hair ... ask any Indian woman and she'll have at least 3 tips on how to keep the hair shiny, strong, black, and especially: long!!! Neha, comments? :-) Have fun:

Crush ...

Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling




















I just watched a wonderful movie called "The Notebook." It's a beautiful love story, and the actors are just great. Well, and I think I have a little crush now ...

WOW! Madonna Sings @ 2006 Grammys!

Pretty cool animations - so human!!! ... love the dancers in the end! Hmmmmm...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_%28entertainer%29
This woman is 47!!! Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone (born August 16, 1958) is an iconic American pop singer, dancer, songwriter, producer, author and actress. After signing to Sire Records in 1982, hits such as "Holiday", "Like a Virgin" and "Like a Prayer" catapulted her to massive success. By the 1990s, her commercially successful albums, constantly reinvented image, groundbreaking music videos and controversial nature would earn her the title "Queen of Pop". According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Madonna is the most successful female solo artist of all time. Apart from achieving twelve number one hits and thirty-seven top ten hits on the U.S Billboard Hot 100, she has garnered twenty MTV Video Music Awards (including the Video Vanguard Award), five Grammy Awards, as well as a Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) Golden Globe Award for her performance in Evita. Two soundtrack cuts performed by her, Sooner or later and You Must Love Me, were awarded with Oscars.

Relive the German summer !!!

Hey my fellow country folks - I swear, I feel really sorry for you - I know the weather sucks. That's why I won't tell you that I had to wear sun glasses for the past 3 days when I was driving to work, in fact, I even had to switch on the A/C ... ;-) ... seriously, I hope you'll soon be able to enjoy some sunshine. Spring is just around the corner, I can smell it. And now you have to help me - I just found this video, and I just LOVE this song. So, question: was it a German summer hit in 2005 or 2004? Never mind, I was very happy to find it. ENJOYYYYYYYYYYY

Dragostea Din Tei by Ozone

Ihr wollt doch nicht wirklich wissen was ich denke?

Let's get rid of this embarrassing podcast and move on ... I've been thinking, what could be a thoughtful end to this girl's night out in the City. It's Thursday night, my stomach has been sealed with sticky rice with mango, my brain is as alert as it could be after the usual X and Y and Z I drank ... so, someone else has to come up with the smart stuff.

Why is it that we want to feel safe and secure, but yet we want to have adventures? Why can we feel empty and yet feel like we've never been happier. And what exactly is it, that gives us that comforting and tingling feeling in our stomach?

An attempt to Selbstfindung:

If we could find the link between all the things that we enjoy,
the things that give us pleasure,
the things we look back on fondly;
in that link we might get a glimpse of ourselves.

SangSom

My first podcast :-) powered by Odeo

P.S. Now that I know how it works, I don't think I'm going to do this very often - I can't bear listening to myself :-/

I LUV PHOTOBOOKS

Michael Arrington

of Techcrunch posted some interesting Demo news today http://www.techcrunch.com/:

"DEMO 2006: 70 companies gather at a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona to compete head on for our attention. $15,000 buys you 5 minutes in front of 700 people, and a chance to make history (which is not recorded real time because the wifi is crushed under the load and no one can get online). At least there is reliable internet access in the press room, along with dozens of free USB drives laying around (this whole “press” gig is pretty damn awesome).

A few companies caught my eye today as the ones to watch this year. Here they are:

Blurb

Blurb will turn your blog or other website into a book. As in, a real, tangible book that you can hold. The service is now in private beta and will be available to the public in March(ish). CEO Eileen Gittins does a great job describing the product and this looks to be an interesting space, especially for ego-type purchases where bloggers buy a copy for themselves.t’ll be about $30 for a four color, 40 page, 8×10 hardcover book with a custom dust jacket."

*-*-*-*-*

So, yes, I can't wait for blurb to come out, so that I can create many many new photobooks and don't need to ship them from Germany. I just recently produced a photobook about our India travels for Navin's birthday. There are many dear friends out there who were forced to read it ;-)

And now I want to share it with you. The book is called "INDIA - Our Journey." Text, design and 20% of the photographs: my humble self - 80% of the photographs (the really awesome ones): Navin. Here's the cover and page 54/55. Oh, and it's not only a photobook, it's actually a real book, with a real story. The software I used is really great, it's a German company - www.fotobuch.de/www.photobook.com

Page 1 & 100:

Page 54 & 55

James Blunt You're Beautiful

Everyday when I'm driving to work, and I'm getting tired of listening to NPR and those stereotype American commentator voices, I'm trying to listen to some good music - that's when I usually realize that I have the same old CDs in the CD player. Recently, no matter which random FM station I choose, I've been hearing the following song. I really started to like it - in fact, I love it. It's soooooooooooo nice and cheesy :-) Guys - go ahead and skip straight to the German pop songs below :-)



ok girls, sorry, it's not my fault that he doesn't undress :-)

Wir sind Helden

I wanted to share one of my favorite German bands with you. I know a lot of non-Germans who LOVE it ... viel Spass!


Neha, thanks for giving me all those cool ideas. Never heard about YouTube before! Great stuff.

Overheard in the office

Hi Mr K,

Quick question: Could you spell out the following
investments for me?

 - FAS Project
 - NCF
 - OATV

Thank you!!

Ms D

>>>>   F-A-S  P-R-O-J-E-C-T
>>>>
>>>>       N-C-F
>>>>
>>>>         O-A-T-V
>>>>
>>>> You're lucky b/c I was the 4th grade
>>>> spelling bee champion at my
>>>> elementary school. Hope this helps!

Greetings from my office desk :-) !

Dicker Kater?

Hangover guys?
Hang in there!!
Har har har

De Young museum

Today Wendy, her friend Keri, and I went to the new De Young museum in Golden Gate park. If you follow this link http://www.thinker.org/deyoung/collections/index.asp it'll take you to a page that pretty much sums up what we saw today. I've never seen so many little statues in my life. The musuem is, well, not too exciting, and I was happy to see that there is one more person out there who shares the same short attention span ... Wendy :-)

It was a gorgeous day though, probably about 18C and sunshine. Beautiful beautiful beautiful.

Saturday @ Jason and Laura's place

Please meet Jason and Laura, our very good friends. They are actually getting married soon, and Navin and I are still contemplating how to embarrass them best :). Tonight I was hanging out at their place, together with Sandra, a friend from Germany, and we had a really good time. Thanks so much for always being such nice hosts!!! And just be grateful that you don't live in Germany, otherwise you'd have to take all those beer bottles and return them to the shop for recycling. Ja Laura, I know, there's no global warming ;).

BKK SFO MUC

Current SFO temperature 13C/56C, sunny; Bangkok 28C/82F, clear (night time)... sooooooooo unfaiiiiiir !!!



Boooohooooo, ok, it could be worse: Munich -6C/21F, snow showers. ;-)

Bachelor crowd: I miss you all !!!

Night out in the City

I actually wrote this last night - Feb 3rd at around 11:40 p.m., and today blogger deleted it... so here it is.


Episode one:

Oonagh and I went to this really nice French restaurant called Cafe Claude, downtown San Francisco. French waiters and waitresses, at least they sort of pretended to have a French accent in their American, and they said "Bon jour" and all that stuff when I came in (note: French people say Bon Soir after 4 p.m. in the afternoon...) Never mind, our waiter tried to be especially charming and asked me to marry him. I can't recall the exact words he used, but I remember that he took my hand and I blushed and it was really stupid. Oonagh found it hilarious ... especially since our topic was "how to find the right guy." When we left, I was passing him and he said: "Please let me know when you get divorced." Argggghhhhhh

Episode two:

We took a cab to Harry's Bar on Fillmore and landed in a mix of late thirties American country boys and early twenties barbie doll girls and college boys. Great. The drinks sort of sucked, the music was too loud, and Baywatch was playing on the projection wall. I could count every single one of David Hasselhoff's chest hairs. It was disgusting. Not to forget Pamela Anderson's boobs, which looked like the size of watermelons. Well, that was probably 1:1 then ...

Episode three:

I drove home in a cab driven by a Punjabi cab driver who told me that he's making 5000 dollars a month by renting out 10 shops along a main road in some Punjabi town. One of the shops has a big satellite antenna on top. If he really makes 5000 bucks a month, why does he drive a cab in SFO?

And why do I come back and start writing this post? Blogsucht, I'd say :-)

Good night.............

na-ka-tung-ku~-ro~-chi-ta

When are we going to have lunch??? :-)

Raindrops are falling on my ... windows

It's raining outside, I'm sitting on the sofa, and it's completely silent except for some cars driving by and the rain drops ... tok, tok, tok ... So, let's see. Neha already predicted it: blogging is an addiction. And even when I don't feel like blogging I'm thinking "hey, I have a blog out there, I should at least get SOMETHING out so that it stays alive. A blog that's not getting updated is like a dead blog. Bla bla bla...

Anyways, first of all I wanted to say thanks to my first few commentators here. :-) Everybody please visit www.currylingus.com sometime and meet Neha.

Then ... I don't have a camera anymore. Navin took ours to India, and Manu is leaving tonight and took the camera with him. So, unfortunately I can't post a picture of my new haircut. Today after work I went to the hairdresser, and now my hair is about an inch short (appr. 2.5 cm), and blond. I can't believe I did it ... but then, people say that whenever something big happens in a woman's life, she changes her hair style. And something big did happen: yesterday I worked from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., without a break, and - guess what - I enjoyed it!!! So, this is just an expression of my tremendous happiness.

Let me finish for today with a photograph from Kerala. At our commie dinner (communication chicks = the commies) on Monday, I told Wendy, Michelle, and Leta that this was the biggest elephant I had ever seen. And I actually sat on top of it. If you look at the photograph, this guy doesn't look that big at first, but just compare the size of my head to, let's say, the tusks... and you'll know what I mean!

Oh, by the way: the hair story was a joke ;-)