Stumbled upon something really cool...

The basic premise of this site is that our experience online, most often called "surfing" is more likely a stumbing experience. We search for something, click on the link, don't like it, go back, click on some other link...you get the picture.

StumbleUpon is a great site to discover new sites, tag them with a thumbs up or down. I've found some really cool sites this way, and what better way to pass your time than stumbling through websites? I love their Firefox extension, so a cool site is just a click away!

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Read this book in literally a day. It's a wonderful book with a view from the other side of the fence. Whoever is tired of the jingoism in American politics, and the paranoia surrounding terror, will not only relate; but also empathize with the protagonist Changez. It's a narrative storyline of a disillusioned Pakistani Princeton graduate, as he relates it to an American interviewer.

It's very easy to think that this story is autobiographical. This is how Mohsin Hamid (the author) answered this Q in his interview: "People often ask me if I am the book’s Pakistani protagonist. I wonder why they never ask if I am his American listener. After all, a novel can often be a divided man’s conversation with himself."

Some Photoshop fun

A solarized image using the Filter > Stylize > Solarize option in Photoshop Elements. The image looks too dark, so adjust the colors by using the Enhance > Auto Levels option. The end result is a cool, pop-artsy look.

Old San Juan

Old San Juan mesmerized me with the cobbled-stone alleys, the curio shops, and the vibrant colors on the walls. What fascinated me was that seemingly ordinary buildings and in fact even chain stores used these colors to create an effect of harmony and vibrancy. Of course, the city has done a great job in maintaining this effect, and it definitely is not a coincidence that the redeveloped section of Old San Juan where El Morro, and the galleries are, also have repeated this architectural style. The architecture in San Juan seemed to be a medley of Spanish and island architecture - no wonder it seemed like I was in Goa. Featured pic (the ubiquitous Burger King – San Juan style)