Break

It's been a while since I took a blog break and now's a good time what with everyone busy with Christmas. I'm taking a couple of weeks off and will be back in the New Year fresh and raring to go (and probably with some news for you).

Enjoy your holiday with family and friends. Savour the moments together.

Time is so fleeting. All we can do is enjoy the present, keep hope for the future, and maybe - if we're sufficiently humble - we can learn from the past.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Aum shanti shanti shanti

Little Krishna

This is part of my ongoing series on the Mahabharat, an epic poem of ancient India. For links to all previous Mahabharat posts go here. Or you can simply click on the Mahabharat page link above.


I've nothing too taxing for you today since we're so near Christmas and everyone's scrambling like mad to get ready for the holiday.

Instead, I just recently saw this wicked trailer on youtube for a 3D animated series called Little Krishna, showing all Krishna's childhood adventures. It looks like it's been done really well too. I'm excited to see it!

The trailer's less than a minute long. Check it out:



And if you have more time then you can check this out too. It's ten minutes long. Can't wait to see the actual series!




Go here for last week's post entitled Kiss Me.

Go here for next week's post entitled Tell Me.

The Box Update

A couple of weeks ago I posted about some cool things I'd seen on TV recently. Go here to read that post. I wanted to give you an update.

So it turns out that 'Sherlock' really was a three part miniseries. That's why there were only three episodes. Doh! But it is fair to mention that they were each one and a half hours long. Still, there's no hoping we'll see more episodes in the near future, like I'd been hoping. *sob* The GOOD NEWS is that a second season is being discussed over at BBC headquarters and they've confirmed that it will happen.

Come along, BBC! Chop chop!

In my other obsession, PBS's 'Nature', I saw the most amazing programme last week. They did a feature on hummingbirds. Did you see it? For years it's been virtually impossible to study hummingbirds because of how small and fast they are. And I mean really fast. Now, with high speed camera technology (that's only been developed in the past couple of years!) they were able to film and slow down (in high def!) the motion of the hummingbird to study exactly what it was doing. Watching the way this little bird moved - like it was a ballerina - I thought to myself that the hummingbird is one of the most beautiful graceful creatures in the world.

Did you know that there are 350 different types of hummingbirds? And did you know that they're only found in the Americas? And did you know that some hummingbirds have bills longer than their whole bodies because the flowers they feed from are so big that they have to be able to reach the nectar inside? Also, flowers only release their nectar for fifteen minutes at a time, because they want to force the hummingbird to go another plant, thereby spreading their pollen over the area. Isn't that amazing? And did you know that though hummingbirds survive mostly on nectar and seem like little angels of God, they also get 25% of their diet from eating insects? And they fight over territory when they see other hummingbirds homing in on a flower they consider theirs. They bop the encroacher on the head as if to say: "Get lost!"

Guess what I saw the very next day after watching that programme? I was taking a walk in the park behind my house and saw a hummingbird in a tree to the side. I knew instantly what it was because of the way it moved and how fast. It was brown and tiny and flitted from branch to branch. I never would have known it was a hummingbird if I hadn't seen that 'Nature' feature. I tried to take a picture but I wasn't quick enough with my camera. Doh! Those things are fast! But it was obviously migrating from North America down to South America for the winter. Their flight over the Gulf of Mexico is one of the longest flights in the world, because of how small their bodies are (3-4inches) and how short their wing span. The Gulf of Mexico is 500 miles of water (I think they said 500) with nowhere to stop or eat or rest. But they do it anyway. It's considered the longest flight of any bird in the world. Hummingbirds are AMAZING!

The sad thing is that the hummingbird habitat is being encroached upon, endangering this precious little bird. No prizes for guessing who the culprit is. My God, when will we learn?

If you haven't seen this 'Nature' programme on hummingbirds, you've got to check it out!

In other news, I've tivoed the last episode of 'Dexter' but haven't watched it yet. It's the season finale. I'm scared. I don't want to see what I think is going to happen. But like every compulsive 'Dexter' fan, I'm going to watch it anyway and freak out. Oh God Oh God Oh God.

Wholesome like Porridge

Did you know that I was wholesome? Well I am! As voted by two bloggers, Alex J. Cavanaugh and Dominic de Mattos! Thanks guys, you're too cool.

And since I'm now doubly wholesome I won't be telling you what I did last night. Or last weekend. Or the other week. (But I'll give you a clue: It involved a serious cake fetish and some people who were willing to get their hands dirty.) But we won't talk about that because I'm wholesome, dammit. Doubly. Doubly dammit. That cake was amazing, though.

Here's my award:


There's a laptop in it! Is this a sign that a new laptop is heading my way? Or two, since this is a double award? I've been needing a laptop ever since mine died this summer... But wait, it is a pc or a mac? I don't want it if it's a pc. Freaking pcs and their freaking viruses, can't ever get away from them. I've decided I'm done with pcs. BUT if it's one of those super thin ones with a touchscreen and super cool features then I might consider it. But only if it has a long battery life. I hate it short battery lives. What's the point in a laptop with a crappy battery? I mean, it's stupid, isn't it?

What were we talking about again? Or yeah! The wholesome blogger award.

So it turns out that there aren't any particular rules which is lovely. Some people passed this award on to three people so since I recieved it twice I'll pass it on to six! Cos I wanna.

And I pass this award on to...

Karen at Coming Down the Mountain
Lydia at The Word is My Oyster
Charity at My Writing Journey
Carol at Carol's Prints
Deanna at The Life of a Working Writer Mommy
Rachna at Rachna's Scriptorium

So there you have it! Six bloggers who you should check out because they're wholesome like porridge! Wait, is that six? One...two...three...six. Yes. We're good. It'd be terribly unwholesome to miscount now, wouldn't it?

Here's the award again since I got a double award which means I can post the pic twice (because of that rule I made up ages ago).


You know, I do think this is a sign that I've got a laptop heading my way. I've been needing one for ages. And I'm due for a break. A really big break. There's only so long I can go without my own laptop and God has got to be ready to throw me a bone. I mean, come on!

But the laptop has to be lightweight because I hate carrying a lot of weight when I travel. Even though I've put on 5lbs this past few months. Cos of all that cake fetish and stuff. There was this unbelievable cream cake and it was all fluffy and sweet and soft on my tongue - but wait, I'm not supposed to be talking about that. I'm wholesome. Doubly. Don't forget the doubly. Dammit.

Kiss Me

This is part of my ongoing series on the Mahabharat, an epic poem of ancient India. For links to all previous Mahabharat posts go here. Or you can simply click on the Mahabharat page link above.


Who doesn't love to kiss? Roughly 90% of humans around the world kiss each other as a show of love or passion.

But it hasn't always been like this. In many cultures all over the world people didn't kiss each other for a long time and even today there are indigenous cultures where mouth to mouth kissing is not practiced. In some cultures it's even taboo because it's considered dirty. And if you think about it, kissing is rather disgusting. I mean, who knows what bacteria another person has in their mouth? Who knows what bacteria YOU have in your mouth?

So how did all this rampant kissing come about then?

Well, the first recorded kiss - mouth to mouth - in human history comes from the Mahabharat.

Of course, you're all thinking. Where else?

But it's true. There are actually several kissing references in the Mahabharat. For me, one of the most touching is when Savitri, a princess, kisses her husband Satyavan as he lays dying in her lap. Her kiss is passionate and loving and tragic because she knows that soon he'll never feel her kiss again.

Then there are references to kissing in the four Vedas. And the Kama Sutra describes different types of kissing.

All these sources come from Ancient India. No other culture's art or literature mentions kissing until centuries later.

Many anthropolists believe that kissing was introduced to the Greeks when Alexander the Great invaded India in 326BC. The Greeks then introduced it to the rest of Europe. But kissing still wasn't popularised in the west as a way of showing passion or eroticism. (That's not to say that it didn't happen, but it wasn't as popular or as commonplace as it was in India.)

"Why?" you might ask.

The answer is very simple. Hygiene. Most people in the world had no notion of oral hygiene. Rich or poor, they all had appalling teeth. Even royalty didn't bother with oral hygiene. Elizabeth I had a mouth full of the most vile rotting teeth you can imagine.

Consider what would it be like to kiss a person who never brushed their teeth. Can you imagine the stinking breath? The gingivitis? The limitless possibilities of disease?

The truth is that kissing, mouth to mouth, didn't become popular in Europe until the 17th Century. Why? Because that was when French dentists started to advocate the use of toothbrushes. People started to clean their teeth. They suddenly had mouths that weren't rotting. Their breath didn't reek.

People could kiss each other without being grossed out. And they began to kiss passionately. It turned into a sexy titillating trend that spread all over Europe. But it started in France.

That's why it's called a FRENCH kiss.

But it's not a French kiss, is it? It's an Indian kiss. Because oral hygiene in India has been a standard for millenia. Indian dentistry goes back as far as 7000BC with many methods of hygiene and oral care prescribed in Hindu texts like the Ayurveda. Hindus brush their teeth religiously because their scriptures say that personal hygiene is a matter of purity and Godliness.

So brush your teeth. And the next time you kiss your loved one, remember the Mahabharat.

Check out this link for Ayurvedic oral care.


*Hindus, as part of their oral hygiene regimen, clean their tongues by scraping it of dirt after brushing using a thin metal strip. This is important because it prevents bad breath. This practice has only in the last decade been introduced in the west by dentists who now advocate scraping the tongue clean after brushing.


Go here for last week's Mahabharat post entitled Anamika = Nameless One.
Go here for next week's Mahabharat post entitled Little Krishna.

Keeping it Real

A few years ago I was at an event (in east New Mexico, on the border with Texas) and a group of teenagers walked past me. They looked my way and asked what was going on at my table. I explained that I was doing a book signing and that this was my book. One of them (their most popular lad) moved away, scoffing that he didn't read.

"You should," I told him. "Reading is the only pleasure in the world that won't give you a disease."

He turned bright red as his friends cracked up. A few of them came over to check out my novel. The "most popular lad" looked impatient as he waited for them.

"Don't hate me, dude," I told him. "I'm just keeping it real."


*Disclaimer: There ARE pleasures in the world, besides reading, that won't give you a disease. Like spending time with friends, getting a massage, doing exercise, yoga, meditating, traveling etc., but the fact of the matter is that most kids in this country (USA) don't think beyond that very tired cliche "sex drugs and rock 'n' roll". They don't have the imagination to, nor are they encouraged to by their surroundings. But if they READ then boundless possibilities will be opened up to them and they will learn to think beyond their limited understanding of pleasure. That's a fact and that's what I'm keeping real.*

World Treasure

Everyone has their own version of heaven. Everyone has their own opinion on what is precious. Everyone has their own view of what must be treasured.

One of my friends forwarded me a list of monumental libraries around the world. These are my favourites from that list. These buildings contain the history, culture and art of their coutries, as well as on going reasearch into many branches of knowledge.

1. University Club Library - New York City, United States


2. Canadian Library of Parliament - Ottawa, Canada


3. Admont Abbey Library - Austria


4. Library at El Real Monasterio de El Escorial - Madrid, Spain


5. Real Gabinete Português de Leitura - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


6. National Library of Finland - Helsinki, Finland


7. Mitchell Library - Sydney, Australia


8. Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at University of Toronto - Toronto, Canada


9. George Peabody Library - Baltimore, Maryland


10. Strahov Theological Hall - Prague, Czech Republic



Imagine the knowledge and history and philosophy and research that are housed in libraries like these. Imagine the stories! Tales of such power and passion and inspiration that they are kept protected in these beautiful sanctuaries. We're looking at our own history when we look at these libraries. At our own identity.

Anamika = Nameless One

This is part of my ongoing series on the Mahabharat, an epic poem of ancient India. For links to all previous Mahabharat posts go here. Or you can simply click on the Mahabharat page link above.


One story in the Mahabharat is so striking that every holy teacher I've ever listened to has told it.

It's the story of Anamika. The nameless woman.


There was once a sage of deep and pious bearing. Having renounced the world and all material pursuits, he dedicated himself to the path of knowledge and peace. Every day he would sit beneath a tree and meditate, focusing his entire being on the name of God, connecting his inner consciousness to ultimate reality.

He practiced this path for many years, until he was an old man. He lived in poverty, sleeping on the floor of the forest, begging for a little food every once in a while from the village people who were glad to give such a holy man something to eat.

One day, as he sat alone under his tree, a bird above him defecated on his shoulder. The sensation of the dirt on his body brought the sage out of his deep meditation. In annoyance, he glanced up at the feathered being who'd offended him. Light shone from his eyes upon the bird and before he knew it, the creature was burnt, the ashes of it's body falling to the ground.

The sage stared in astonishment at the remains of the bird before him. He'd done that? He'd done that!

In all these years of practicing his meditation, he'd not known that he'd acquired such powers. He could burn a bird to ashes with just a look!

It was the result of the awakened consciousness within his being, he knew. His connection to the Supreme had released latent powers of yoga from inside him.

Having just discovered this stunning ability, the sage could no longer meditate that day. He shook himself and stood, peering closer at the fallen bird. He still could not believe that he had done that. He'd certainly not meant to. He'd have to be careful in the future not to harm other creatures this way.

He went to the river and bathed the bird's dirt from his body. Then, picking up his begging bowl, he took his staff and made his slow way through the forest to the village that was some distance away. He wandered amongst the huts for a little while before choosing, at random, a hut.

"Alak Niranjan!" He cried so the people inside could hear. He waited a while but no one appeared with any food. "Alak Niranjan!" he said again and waited.

Still no one appeared.

The sage began to frown. Here he was, a great sage asking for food and no one from this house was coming to donate any. And he, an accomplished yogi, was going to go hungry!

He could only call once more. It was a rule among sages that they could only ask for alms three times from any one house. And if they recieved nothing then they fasted for that day. Would he have to fast this day because this house was so stingy that they wouldn't give a sage any food?

"Alak Niranjan!" he said again, giving them their last chance to serve him.

The front door opened and a lady appeared, bearing a tray of rice and fruit and vegetables. She came towards the sage.

"Why did you make me wait so long?" he demanded to know. "Don't you realise that if you'd delayed anymore I would have been hungry all this day?"

The lady looked directly at him as he berated her. She was of indeterminate age, dressed modestly with her red veil covering her dark hair.

"You would have been guilty of making a sage go hungry," he continued. "I'm an accomplished yogi. You don't know my mystic powers."

She took a deep breath. "Great sage, I am not a bird."

He'd opened his mouth to deliver another scold when the meaning of her words hit him. He gaped at her, his beard quivering as he stood open-mouthed.

No one knew of the bird. He'd told no one. He'd been alone when it had happened. He'd been deep in the forest with no one of the village nearby. This woman had been in her home all this time. How did she know?

She bowed her head. "Please forgive me for the delay in coming out," her voice was gentle and humble. "I heard the first two times when you called but wasn't able to respond as quickly as I would have liked."

"Yes, yes," he mumbled, "but how do you know about the bird?"

She shook her head and smiled, saying nothing.

"Really, tell me. How do you know?"

She still said nothing.

He stared at her, understanding dawning on him. "You are enlightened," he whispered. "You are so enlightened that you knew everything before I even said a word." He folded his hands and bowed. "Great lady, please forgive my earlier impudence."

"Oh no," she said, "there is no need."

He blinked at her. "But how did you come to be enlightened? Do you practice meditation? Do you go on difficult pilgrimage? Do you perform long acts of worship? Tell me, please, how have you come to your depth of knowledge?"

"Great sage," she said, "I do not meditate, nor do I go on pilgrimage, nor do I spend so much time in acts of worship."

"Then how-?"

She put her tray down upon the porch step and moved to the front door of her house. She pushed it open and stood aside so the sage could see.

There were children and a man sitting cross-legged upon the ground of the hut, eating the noon day meal. It was the ordinary sight of any family sitting together to eat. There was bread and rice and vegetables on their plates and they looked up as the door opened, gazing in curiousity at the person outside.

The sage was confused. He looked back at the woman.

She shrugged. "I don't meditate, I don't go on pilgrimage, I don't perform great acts of worship," she said simply. "I only serve my family. That's all."

Still the sage was confused.

"My husband has just today returned home from a long journey. I was caring for him when you called for alms and that was what caused my delay in coming out." She let the door slide shut and walked back to face the sage.

She clasped her hands. "Knowing that my duty is to my family above all others, I live my life in simplicity. I put all my energy into caring for them and loving them and giving a peaceful home to them because I know that in serving my family I serve my Lord. That is my path and the source of my enlightenment."

The sage stared at her. "Just that?"

"Just that."

There was a deep silence around them as the sage stared at the ground, contemplating this revelation. This lady had not left her home. She had not renounced the world. She had not distanced herself from those she loved. Living here, amidst all the distractions of the material world, she had reached the pinnacle of knowledge.

He looked back up at her. "Will you teach me?"

She smiled at him. "Certainly."


The Mahabharat calls this lady Anamika. Anamika means nameless one. Because Anamika is not any particular woman, she is all women.

All women spend their days taking care of their families. Whether they are white or black, rich or poor, sick or healthy, they give all their energy in nurturing and loving their families.

It seems like such a simple thing, to take care of our family. But every woman knows that it's not easy. It takes strength and patience and forebearance. It requires selflessness, steadiness, a willingness to give and expect nothing back.

What the Mahabharat is saying is that ordinary women are extraordinary. They have knowledge that men, even enlightened men, have not. And despite their knowledge and their patience and their strength, they are not arrogant. They do not demand adoration from those around them. They do not ask for anything for their sacrifices. They simply give and give and give and smile while they give too.

This is Godliness. This is a path to enlightenment.

The Mahabharat is saying that to know the truth there are many paths. But one of the simplest and best is to be Anamika.


Go here for the previous Mahabharat post entitled Hidden Gem.

Go here for the next Mahabharat post entitled Kiss Me.

Feel the Buzz!

Talli's Take on Amazon Web Splash is today. Talli's a blogger friend of mine and a good writer and I'd like to support her in this venture.

The aim is to get her debut novel, THE HATING GAME, hitting the Kindle bestseller at amazon.com and amazon.co.uk by spreading the word. Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.

Buy here for the UK.
Buy here for the USA.

No Kindle? Download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more. Coming soon in paperback. Keep up with the latest at www.talliroland.com.

Here's a synopsis of THE HATING GAME from Talli's blog:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £200,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

So take a look and support Talli and her debut book!

Not only that,

My good blog friend Lisa Maliga's having a Better than Chocolate Kindle Ebook Contest. Her book NOTES FROM NADIR is available to buy on Amazon Kindle so let's help drive up sales there too! Lisa's non-ficion account of her experiences in the small town of Nadir is entertaining, funny, and poignant.

Here's the amazon link so check it out!

Not only that, Lisa's sequel blog Leaving Nadir starts Friday so don't forget to check it out and become a follower!

On top of all that, Lisa's brand new book LOVE ME, NEED ME: A NARCISSIST'S TALE is coming out on Kindle too! Seriously, she's on fire right now.

Here's what she had to say about it on her blog:

"Middle-aged Arlen J. Stevenson hails from Alabama. He's a bumbling sexual predator, narcissist, and author of three insipid zombie books. His relentless and often hilarious pursuit of women online leads him to our other protagonist, Los Angeles-based writer of term papers, Helena Hoffman. She isn’t aware of what Arlen is as she only sees his amusing and entertaining side in their daily email correspondence.

Told in alternating points of view, we see Arlen’s self-absorbed lifestyle as he endeavors to meet his numerous catches all over the South. Helena and Arlen get friendlier via their online communication, and he invites her to be his personal manager because of her communications skills, gullibility factor and location. She launches a MySpace site for his new company. Soon he realizes there are thousands of available women in his region alone! Unlike the jailbait that many online stalkers pursue, Arlen chases after their mothers and grandmothers. Helena is aware of his perpetual cheating and decides to investigate it in person. What happens after that is alternately scary and darkly humorous. Warning: Contains graphic sexual content and language."

Buy LOVE ME, NEED ME: A NARCISSIST'S TALE

As if all that buzz was not enough, my good blogger friend Jackee came up with a brilliant idea called Project Give a Book Give the World.

Jackee says that for every book you give to a child, she'll make and send out a humanitarian school kit. I thought this was such a beautiful notion that I had to tell you about it. Jackee really is a generous person as I've come to know in the short time that I've been friends with her so I want to throw my full support behind this. You can visit her blog for more details on how she came to this project idea and what it all means but what's so important to me is the notion that we can give books to kids and know that our act is inspiring someone to do an amazing thing. Let's spread literacy and love around the world...