Archive for March, 2006
Thursday, March 30th, 2006
Jina just started announcing the five finalists for the Imagine Cup ‘06 so I guess I can blog about it. The shortlisted teams in no particular order are:
- Perfect Sleep & Energetic Wake Up (P Mahanthege, K Jeewantha, B Balasooriya & H Kumara of Colombo University)
- My Plant (Sudesh, Prabath, Amila & Kosala of Colombo University)
- Panchayudha (Yasith, Shanaka, Prasad & Chathurika of Moratuwa University)
- Smart Buddy (D Abeywickrama, J Liyanaarachchi, K Peiris & D Perera of Colombo University)
- Amity (Y Hettiarachchi, J Liyanapathirana, K Karunanayake & G Perera of Colombo University)
Congralutions guys! So what happens next is that each team will be assigned a mentor (one of the MVPs) and then each finalist will present their entry at the grand final which will be held on the 31st of May. There’s going to be a whole lot of tension and excitement since the presentations will be live in front of the judges as well as all the invitees and the winning entry will be announced immediately.
I also need to congratulate all the other teams that sent in entries as well, believe it or not, you too are a winner for the simple fact that you did compete.
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Wednesday, March 29th, 2006
here is a VIDEO CLIP of how da garage guy straightning up a smashed up lorry body at the garage dat i do my fibre glass work.. funny stuff
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Tuesday, March 28th, 2006
I know this might sound kind of crazy but I miss 80s (and early 90’s LOL). Some of the things I remember (Alzheimer’s permitting) include:
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Tuesday, March 28th, 2006
3gp is a mobile phone video format and i just converted a 35mb mpeg file to 3gp to put in my phone and it was only 3mb cool compresson, well da quality is ok as long as u view it in ur mobile..
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Tuesday, March 28th, 2006
I want to make a few quick comments on recent developments in the local (Sri Lankan) blogosphere (kottu & zsri).
Technically, this post should be in SriPost, but I make an effort to keep Sripost neutral. So, um, it’s here.
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Monday, March 27th, 2006
You get all kinda flowers on da side of da long walk to Kiriwehera at Kataragama
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Friday, March 24th, 2006
Have you seen the old manIn the closed down marketKicking up the papers with his worn out shoesIn his eyes you see no prideAnd held loosely at his sideYesterday’s paper, telling yesterday’s news.So how can you tell me you’re lonelyAnd say for you that …
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Thursday, March 23rd, 2006
I was pleasantly surprised to see this post on moju about a ‘British council Youth Festival’, since they posted a sort of a press release, i wont repeat the exercise. instead i’ll give you some info on the actual workshops.
The Festival will be happening on the 28th and 29th March at the BMICH committee rooms A & B. Registration is Free.
i’m one of the organizers of the festival. the project itself is the reason for my absence in the blogosphere and at the blog-meetup.. actually i could have made the meet up.. i was somewhere near (BC) but tired.. and not exactly dressed for the occasion.
anyway if any of you guys consider urselves young (16 -24, or can pass urself to be in the range ) then drop us an email at slbeyondborders AT gmail DOT com or call Hanim on 0773067347.
lots of skools have already registered. so hopefully loads of chiks will show up..
the workshops are probably going to be good, the Forum theatre thing , which is a sort of an interactive form of drama, where they first show the audience the drama, and the audience gets to change it around to change the outcome. The forum theatre on Conflict resolution is directed by Nimmi, (saw a post on kottu about her recently.. cant remember who posted it)
and the guys from Sage training, Robert & lalith are simply the best self-development guys in the business. ‘citizenship – who cares’ is a must see workshops.
oh and before i forget, there is a concert happening in conjunction with festival called ‘junction’, sunera foundation, Bathiya and santhush, the Fusion drummers from nomad will be there. tickets are rs.200 available at the British council. the concert will be on the 28th at 7.30 Pm at the HNB audi. tickets wont be available for long, so if u wanna come, get to it tomorrow or day after or email me : deane034 at gmail DOT com. (i wonder if that prevent spam..at all.. ne way irrelevant)
The following is part of the official write-up.. or at least one of the drafts 
FORUM THEATRE ON HIV & AIDS and Conflict Resolution
This theatre form was developed in Latin-America in the 1960’s as a special kind of performance, where the distinction between reality and theatre is lifted by inviting the audience with their ideas on stage. The aim of Forum Theatre is to
change the spectator from a passive to an active participant and to encourage people to get active and engage in dialogue about issues of concern within a given society. At the festival we focus on two themes on Conflict Resolution and HIV & AIDS.
WORKSHOP ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Conflict is part and parcel of our daily existence as human beings. They are built into our human relationships. The Workshop will deal with such practical aspects on conflict resolution and will give an introduction into how this tool can be used to better our lives. Mr. Harsha Fernando of the Attorney General’s Department, a seasoned trainer in Conflict management will
conduct the workshop.
WORKSHOP on the HUMAN EFFECTS OF HIV & AIDS
Adolescent Reproductive Health is a topic that all young people should have knowledge on to lead a healthy life. This workshop will focus on the human effects that Sexually Transmitted Diseases including HIV AIDS have on people’s lives and will also open you into practical elements of how to lead a healthy sexual life. An experienced activist in the field of HIV
and AIDS will lead the workshop.
Public Speaking
Public Speaking is an important tool that all of us should have and is not a quality expected and limited to those who want to be ‘leaders’! This workshop brought to you by experts from the Colombo Toast Masters Club will give you tips and pragmatic inside information on how to become a good public speaker
Youth Activism
Young people are not just leaders of tomorrow but are being increasingly recognized as development partners for today. This workshop lead by Mr. Sanjana Hattotowa, a civil society activist will give you an introduction on how you can contribute to positive social change.
‘Vision Passion Action’
This workshop will help you to streamline your passions to cultivate your vision and translate your vision into action.
‘Citizenship- who cares?’
Active Citizenship is one of the three themes of the Beyond Borders Project. The workshop run by Robert and Lalith from Sage Trainers will focus on means and ways to be a pro-active citizen and will question some of our misconceptions, fatalist attitudes and perceptions!
Substance Abuse – A burning problem of our day
this session run by Prof. Ravindra Fernando, a medical professor from the University of Colombo will deal with the social effects that Substance Abuse brings about and will also deal with the Pharmacological aspects of the problem.
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Thursday, March 23rd, 2006
According to Google, people have a fascination with Katharine McPhee’s breasts. Which is a pity as, looks aside, she is a great singer. In the mean time, here are some pictures of Katharine, and…
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Tuesday, March 21st, 2006
See “North Country” country today, March 22, at 6p the Russian Cultural Center, 10, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7. This movie is the last in the series celebrating International Women’s Day. Entrance is free. The movie has some heavy hitters with Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand and Sissy Spacek. Should be a treat.
Too bad I missed the […]
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Tuesday, March 21st, 2006
I do many different things. Some say I do too much, flittering from one thing to the other. Perhaps.
I was trained as an cultural anthropologist, in graduate school, and earned a doctorate. I’ve practiced the discipline, for nearly ten years. I’ve written this and that, small contributions to that field, and edit a research journal, Domains, at ICES Colombo, where I am a Senior Research Fellow. I’ve also written a book of short stories.
But I find writing hard.
I started photography, when I was living in this beautiful house by the kalu-ganga, in 2001 and its taken hold of me. I like pictures. I started out with portraits, still life and landscapes. I got an account on flickr, and it was a lot a fun. I learnt huge amounts, quickly.
I started shooting food ingredients, while I cooked and then full blown food photography, much later, at the end of 2005. Thanks to Dominic Sansoni, I had my first international magazine publication, a few months later.
But its hardly a job for me; I just like to eat, cos I’m hungry a lot, and I like to take pictures, because I like looking at them.
Thank for visiting; I also like to share.
Welcome to my-halflife.
Pradeep
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Tuesday, March 21st, 2006
I don’t know what it is about you – but I’m in your zone.I’m late and have been running around but know it’s you – we’re not expecting any Suddhas. Gawky serious – no smiles at all. There’s still something about you and I don’t real…
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Monday, March 20th, 2006
“The SLSI 1134 is incorrect & incomplete and it should be corrected immediately.”, claims Mr Donald Gaminitillake, who is trying to ignite a campaign against Sinhala Unicode standard through www.akuru.org (history of the site), and frequent newspaper a…
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Sunday, March 19th, 2006
It’s the height of narcissism, of course. But then what’s blogging about any way?
In photoland, of course, self-portraiture is a whole thing by itself, that gets people all excited.
Here is my first. The technical details are on the photo’s flickr page. Click if you like.
I’ll go hide my face in a paper bag now.
Thunk yee for not watching.
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Friday, March 17th, 2006
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Friday, March 17th, 2006
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Thursday, March 16th, 2006
from the food series, soon, hopefully to be a staple on my blog. a crop is part of collage, in lentil yellow (see below)– but this one is re-done with different white balance, and colour tone, and totally re-cropped, of course. seem quite cool. or hot.
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Wednesday, March 15th, 2006
Earlier today I finally finished uploading the pictures from my trip to Barcelona (97 of them!!). Have a look at the “3 Days in Spain” section of the Picture Gallery. I’m hoping to go to Helsinki in the middle of April, so I should get to see one more …
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Tuesday, March 14th, 2006
Sunday I received this sms from Dilshani, a young free-lance reporter at the Times. It said –read “zipper men” story in financial times today. come to Katunayake. She must have read my mind. I have never been to women’s events in Sri Lanka or anywhere but lately I’ve been thinking I should. By 4:30 in […]
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Sunday, March 12th, 2006
Warning: I might change this article depending on feedback. This warning will be removed when I finish with such edits.Here are the steps to get Sinhala working on GNU/Linux. If you are running Debian or Ubuntu, there is an easier way. Most of the ste…
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Sunday, March 12th, 2006
In all my 30 some years of professional life I have refrained from talking about gender issues because there are enough problems that affect us all, but my life in Sri Lanka in the past four years (after a long spell away), compels me to join the sisters and make some noise.
I have to thank […]
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Sunday, March 12th, 2006
I’m one of the most self-destructive people I know and this is in every aspect of my life - If I can possibly get in and muck it up, I will. Whether it’s the last stretch on a big assignment or my love life - I just crave being able to screw it up.And …
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Sunday, March 12th, 2006
Living in time and feeling every momentDo I walk into tomorrow and never look behindIn a perfect worldEveryone’s dreams would all come trueHow will it all unfoldI wish I knewLook at all the ways the mystery unravelsTry to find a pattern–is there one t…
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Sunday, March 12th, 2006
and then i fixed it today for lunch. and here it is, with some before and afters. finally, a proper cooking photograph.
did some one say, ‘… and also cooking’?
okay, here goes:
Lentil Yellow (with a little red):
feeds one hungry critter only.
Cook the lentils in three times as much water (1 cup of lentils to three of water) add two or three heaped tablespoons of coconut milk powder, or if you prefer real coconut milk, reduce the water by a third, and replace with milk (that’s two cups of water and one of milk in this example). Add two pinches of turmeric and a little salt and cook, simmering for thirty minutes after bring to an initial boil.
Heat a little oil in a heavy pan, adding half a well chopped up bombay onion and three cloves of garlic, also crushed and copped fine, and big half pieces of red chili, to taste. In a few minutes when the onions are getting soft, and the cooked lentils, and other half of the onion, which should be just sliced. Keep folding it in, until the excess liquid dries out, and its nice and creamy, add a pat of butter and take off the heat. Pick out the pieces of red chillie, and garnish with new ones; fresh not dried, if you can get them. I couldn’t.
Its creamy, garlicky and buttery, and the second round of onions give it texture.
My dish today was way yummy. So there.
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Saturday, March 11th, 2006
Warning: I might change this article depending on feedback. This warning will be removed when I finish with such edits.After hearing some recent reports from users who tried to run Debian GNU/Linux on their desktops, I thought it will be useful to lis…
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Thursday, March 9th, 2006
okay so i woke up, and had my coffee. big deal ha.
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Sunday, March 5th, 2006
Suchetha suggested (is he the only one with ideas? :-o) that we need to have a “…tradition of meeting somewhere on a semi regular basis…”; and everyone agreed :-o. So after going through our options we decided that EXCEL World was a good option. Ev…
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Sunday, March 5th, 2006
Suchetha suggested (is he the only one with ideas? :-o) that we need to have a “…tradition of meeting somewhere on a semi regular basis…”; and everyone agreed :-o. So after going through our options we decided that EXCEL World was a good option. Ev…
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