For the purpose of this entry, Linux refers to Ubuntu – a Debian based linux disto, and XP stands for eXPerience (of course, as in Windows XP).
For litgeeks (the little geeks – in between of geeks and non-geeks) like me, testing new software is always as lucrative as watching a new movie can be. And, then of course there will be a few crashes resulting in hours of re-installation and all every six months or so. Continue reading…
Had we known the path of transition into new Nepal would be such woeful, we might have been happy with what we had earlier – that is the common voice in Kathmandu.
Even then, we all are happy to go through all these difficulties of short-supplies, should it mean the coming days would be the one we had dreamt of. But, does not that look a distant star – the hope without much radiance.
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Tarai is closed due to strike! That is not even a news without adding ‘for the ninth day’. There are curfews in four districts – somewhere for hours, somewhere indefinite. There are clashes between security forces and the protesters – headlines today scream ‘one died and 150 hurt’. Continue reading…
Kathmandu Pragya Kunja College has become the first college in Nepal to offer free web space for blogging to the students. It is one of my initiatives after beginning teaching mass communication and journalism to the undergrad students at the college. Continue reading…
Based on my experience on riding a scooter for a month, I have here the 10 things that all drivers, bikers and pedestrians should know (most of them already know) in no particular order:
1. No Traffic Officers, No Rules
That is first rule and most important rule. You are free to ride three on a bike or U-turn on ‘No Turn’ sign or park anywhere (even at places with no parking signs) or move ahead in completely wrong lane or go into one-way or overtake from wrong way if you see no traffic officers ahead! Continue reading…
Day: Jan 31, Thursday
My wife has bought a scooter and I am the one who has benefited. I have been driving it around the city and witnessing the traffic fiasco everyday. Now, after almost riding 1000km on the scooter, I feel that: to understand Kathmandu, it’s essential to understand the roads of Kathmandu.
Here is my roadlog of a day. Continue reading…
Nepal Smiles is a personal project of collecting smiling faces of children of Nepal that I began in 2006 with an aim of giving people a reason to smile.
It was a blog on Blogger.com and became somewhat popular in short span of time but then I lost the interest primarily because it was very difficult for me to get into blogger account to update. I do not know why Blogger looks so crap to me.
Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart.
On first week of January 2008, I enjoyed looking at the photos myself and I wondered why I stopped that. I started looking for a good alternative for it and I tumbled into tumblr – the free tumblelog provider.
For Nepal Smiles, tumblelog looked beautiful solution and a chance for me to look into the newest variant of blog. Now, I have restarted Nepal Smiles with an aim.
I aim to update daily! I want one photo a day there. (Maybe there will be days I can not do it, so I have softened it down to 300 photos by the end of 2008!)
In the past, I have received a few photos from Puja Maharjan and Tapas Thapa, and a few from other visitors. To achieve my aim, I need more of such support and I hope that my friends and visitors will help me to keep the project of smiling stars running.
Give yourself a reason to smile and relax! Visit Nepal Smiles!
Kathmandu is hit-hard by the protest against petro price hike. There is no vehicular movement as protesters are burning tyres on streets. However, the nature of protest and some of the incidents that I experienced looked ill motivated.
Nepal Government has directed NOC to revoke the price-hike decision immediately, according to breaking news on radio and, hopefully it will all end by this evening. Continue reading…
My straight answer is: NO!
Kagbeni is one of two first Nepali digital cinemas directed by Bhusan Dahal. Even if you don’t care about Nepali television or music videos, its unlikely that you haven’t heard his name. From Nepal Television’s Sunday Pop to Kantipur Television’s top post, Dahal has a long history in the glamour media and is, no doubt, one of the best music video directors of the country.
Even to watch his music videos is a treat itself. But when he moved to big screen, with Kagbeni, he did some good things but failed to live the expectations – at least for me, and a dozen of people around me at the theatre.
Something that I liked most in the cinema are among others no use of Hindi terms by the actors (sadly true for many other Nepali movies); the brilliant cinematography that was backed by Dahal’s realistic approach and the Nepaliness. And, is there anymore?
The theme of the movie is ’Be Careful for What You Wish For’ and the storyline is derived from The Monkey’s Paw which is beautifully put into Nepali context. But is the story so strong enough to make a movie in 2008? I believe no. The attempt of the movie to gain a realistic theme through a unrealistic storyline is a fallacy in itself.
And, the audience suffer the attempt to lengthen a short story into a full length two-hour long movie with yawns and changing of sitting position. The weaker story make the whole effort of direction, screenplay, cinematography and acting (which is brilliant as far as I am concerned) look unnecessary.
The closing remark of the young man seated behind me: Since the name is Kagbeni, I should have understood its a Kage (unrealistic) movie!
I believe if you have been lately bored by seeing too much Bollywood imitation in Nepali movie, its a must watch! But if you are one who needs a fast pace story, just ignore it.
A commentary on the publication of the indecent front-page photos of burnt dead bodies in a bus inferno by two national dailies of Nepal.
Yesterday evening, news of bus inferno in Bara has already shocked us. The ‘accident’ happened on the eve of Tarai Banda thus making a lot of us suspect that it was an attack. It was soon confirmed that at least seven died and dozens other injured. It was a bad news.
I felt more shocked and sadder this morning when I looked through daily newspapers for more on it. Two of the national dailies – Nepal Samacharpatra and Naya Patrika – carried similar photographs on the front pages that were in no way decent enough to get published at all.
The photo (click here if you really want to see the photo, but I advise you not to see) showed a side of the bus with two burnt bodies (hands/head recognizable) on the windows. Even after two hours of seeing it, when I sat for lunch, I felt like my stomach lurching about it. I do not know what had happened to the children who saw these photographs!
I was shocked because I do not know what prompted the editors of the newspaper to choose that photo.
I was sad because I was one in journalism and I feel like this is a joke on press freedom – the freedom they enjoy without a feeling of responsibility. The publication of such photos is unethical and Nepal Press Council and Federation of Nepali Journalists should at least initiate a debate, if this can not be considered a breach of their code of conduct.
As an audience, I do not want to see such photos anymore!
[As I tried to get the photo to link from this post, I found that the photo has been blurred in Naya Patrika’s site. The photo linked from this post is from Nepal Samacharpatra’s site.]
The Rising Voices, a project by Global Voices‘ David Sasaki, has released a wonderful, straightforward introduction to the subject we love – An Introduction to Citizen Media.
The booklet has an overview of blogs, blogging, podcasts and vblogging with case studies along with a few interesting quotations on media. It can be a good resource to understand these aspects of citizen media and blogs for the novice or wanna-to-be bloggers. Direct Download.
And, here is something that may be useful to the established bloggers – Tips for Conference Bloggers. Produced by Bruno Giussani and Ethan Zuckerman, this is an interesting reading describing how to blog during conferences and rewards of conference blogging. Direct Download.
In Nepal, I rarely see this as useful booklet because:
