MTA bus service was one of the major victims of the super storm Sandy. MTA had to stop bus services for three days in every borough in the New York City due to the storm. However, after Sandy’s terrible detriment, MTA began running buses on 31st October, Wednesday with following Sunday’s bus schedule.
One of the MTA bus supervisors in Jackson Heights terminal, Queens gave the feedback on the post Sandy situation. He said that the biggest challenge they faced after the storm was cleaning up streets. There were so many trees came down and blocked streets in Queens that made delay to begin the bus services. Another challenge MTA faced was fixing schedules for employees. Some of their employees live inNew JerseyandPennsylvania, who could not come to work afterSandydue to the transportation problem. Therefore, MTA had to arrange other drivers in a short period of time to fill out slots.
MTA showed sympathy to the post-sandy situation without taking any bus fares from 31st Oct. to 2nd Nov. However, they did not offer any reimbursement or substitute plan for the unlimited monthly cards.
Moreover, while MTA subway tunnels were flooded and damaged because of the storm, buses brought life again to people lives. People felt relief from their three days stuck lives at home, and started to go out for works, groceries and meet others. The bus services helped New Yorkers to back into the rhythm of their norm lives.
Once my mom said that any natural catastrophe is like a Devil, who comes, destroys, and takes peoples’ lives. So did the devilSandy. She took peoples’ lives, damaged properties, destroyed houses, and made the New York City’s norm life miserable with no mercy. What a cruelty?
After the storm Sandy, people are lived without power, gas, and hitter in cold. The super crazy Sandy shakes the comfortable world of New Yorkers and takes the revenge because of taking her lightly. After an easy experienced with the hurricane Irene, people thought Sandy will be the polite one as well. But, she was tough and heartless; she did not consider of having a quiet entry and leaving politely like a good girl rather showing her wildness.
I spend three days straight at home without school and work. Although I got some extra time to relax, study, and do my laundry, I glued my eyes on news most of the time. I constantly followed the New York Times, CBS news and CNN. I think media done a great job on covering the storm, updating the news persistently, and providing tips on what to do during the storm and flood.
I was also busy with answering phone calls that were coming from family and friends from overseas to know if I am safe, and I was. I live in Jackson Heights, Queens, where nothing seriously happened except some trees fell down on streets. I first went outside on the Halloween evening. While so many people in New York could not able to celebrate Halloween because of the Sandy, my neighbors were on streets in their colorful Halloween costumes, and went door to door for candies.
Like to indulge your tongue in spice? When my three friends choose to have chicken tikka masala, chicken saag and shrimp curry, I dare to go for chicken vindaloo at the Chote Nawab restaurant. It is a Goan special chicken curry with red chilies and vinegar that makes the curry really spicy and juicy. While I order the chicken vindaloo ($9.00) from the lunch menu, the host alarms me about the dangerous level of spice. As a Bengali, raised on spicy food, I think that I will be able to handle the spice. After the first bite of the creamy chicken vindaloo, my tongue and eyes are burning with saliva and tears. However, I could not resist eating the scrumptious chicken vindaloo because of its authentic Indian flavor and piquant aroma.
The main course, chicken vindaloo, is served with small pots of snowy basmati rice, thick brown dal, and freshly made hot garlic naan. When the waiters serve the vindaloo curry in a pot, I know it is going to be a spicy rock star from its red color. Light steam from the dish is flying all over the table and the smell takes me away to Kolkata, India where I visited last summer. Curios to explore the Indian culture, I went to Kolkata, and had the opportunity to taste a spicy chicken dish similar to the vindaloo. The small chicken pieces of vindaloo are so softly hugged by the red chili pastes that the pieces blush. It is the perfect curry during the cold to make you feel warm much like a hot cup of coffee on a gloomy rainy day.
Besides the vindaloo, the four month old Chote Nawab is a great place for lunch. When all the Indian restaurants in the Curry Hill area on Lexington Avenue are packed during lunch hour, mostly Nepali waitresses are ready to open the door with big smiles on their faces for the guests at Chote Nawab. They are ready to serve its delectable food within 15 minutes after the order is placed. After sitting at the corner table and feeling thirsty, I notice that glasses full of water are already on the table.
While you are waiting for your food to come, you will not be bored by looking at the decor and paintings in the restaurants. Traditional Indian touches in the paintings make the atmosphere of the Chote Nawab really connected to its root. Chote meaning young child and Nawab meaning prince, the name of the restaurant represents a young or last prince of a kingdom. The large and multi-colored wall paintings introduce the ancient Indian king’s rule. Eventually, I explained the theme of the paintings to my friends and this is what I love about Indian restaurants. They like to create a traditional touch in their décor to reflect the culture. I feel even more special when the owner of the restaurant comes to me and talks in Bengali, because he is from Kolkata, where people speak in Bengali as well. He approaches me in a friendly way to find out how we like the food.
Although ninety percent of American customers may not understand the Bollywood music that is playing in the background, however, you will not feel disturbed by its soft melody. If you would like to enjoy the traditional Indian Tempe experience, Chote Nawab will be a perfect place to visit, with reasonable prices.
While I was browsing online today for the election news, there was an article that made me to scream for joy. My eyes were glued on the article’s headline, which says “Bangla Ballots – Be Part of History in this Presidential Election,” by The Bangladeshi Chronicle, an online based Bangladeshi news publication. The article is about how first time in the US history the Bangla ballot phenomenon became true in Hamtramck, Michigan.
The article says, “According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 demographic profile data, 6.2 percent of the Hamtramck population is recorded as Asian Indian, most of whom are Bangladeshi Americans. Accordingly, the city of Hamtramck will be the first city in the nation to include Bangla instructions in its electoral process.”
I am so proud and excited not only for the Bangla ballot, but also for its positive affect in the Bangladeshi community. This will inspire more non-English speaker and elderly Bangladeshi Americans to give vote in future. However, this year election is going to be a historical and memorable day for Bangladeshi Americans for all time.
Hoping for Bangla ballot to future elections in state like New York, where so many Bangladeshi Americans are living with low income, struggling to find work, and stressing out themselves everyday to communicate with others in English, after grown-up most of their lifetime speaking Bangla.
Today I had Kelloggs Special K Pastry Crisps strawberry snacks bar as my breakfast and I kind of like it. The sugary and pinky thin strawberry layer in middle of the crisps makes it more delicious. After the first bite of the bar, I felt a fresh strawberry was melting softly while going down in my throat. I may have it as breakfast more often, and 100 calories in per pouch is ok I guess.
Unlike everyone, I do not have such a passion for food. To me food is one of the basic requirements that I have to take to survive. However, it does not necessarily mean that I hate food. I just do not have any fondness with food. I am pretty easy with any type of food as long as it is eatable and not sour. Thus, I was super confused on writing the food rant. So, I chose to write about the food that I often eat, Gyro. I think Gyro is a delicious platter, which is not only easy to get but also save my time on cooking. I think it is also a good combination of carbohydrate and protein, which fulfill my nutrition needs as well.
There are three types of Gyros: chicken over rice, lamb over rice, and the one I like to order is chicken and lamb over rice with extra white and hot sauce, without any onion in it. I usually buy Gyro from JacksonHeights, Queens. There are so many Gyro food carts on 74t and 75th Street inJacksonHeights, and most of their customers are working people and students. The lifestyle and working environment inNew York are making people depend more and more on eating meals outside of their house while on the way to work and school. Likewise, I am dependent on this type of food so much because I do not have enough time to make food at home after juggling with school and work. Also, I just do not like to waste my time on cooking.
With unsurpassed cinematography of both mythical and existent worlds’ amalgamation, Beasts of the Southern Wild is luminously co-written and directed by Benh Zeitlin. In 92 minutes, the film portrays the Bathtub community, their struggling aligned with poverty and wild nature, and most importantly, a single father, Wink and his six-year-old daughter, Hushpuppy. She is fearless and unbreakable, and believes that one day the world will remember her, like “once there was a Hushpuppy, who lived with her dad.”
Growing up in the Bathtub community, a southern bayou community in an island surrounded by rising water, Hushpuppy has adapted to becoming stronger. She is trained by her self-made father how to deal with both, the danger of the wild nature and the life of unfulfilled basic needs (food and shelter). Without asking her father for feeding during the flood, she understands the situation and eats leaves, which remarkably shows a child’s learning determination. She learns that the universe is a unity. If one piece of this unity falls down, it will effect on everything else. Searching for her mother and having imaginary conversations with her mother shows another side of Hushpuppy, a child who requires love and affection. However, Hushpuppy was not allowed to show her emotion until the moment of her father’s last breaths. She blasts with tears, but she does not breakdown. Because she knows the world needs her to be defiant and daring to survive.
Zeitlin’s passionate direction and paying attention to each detail on a scene ornament the film with more glitter. He not only shows the wild side of nature and its effect on human beings but also gives an important message to society through Hushpuppy’s character, such as; we should not forget our root and be intrepid.
Beasts of the Southern wild can compare with the 1990’s movie A Cry in the Wild, based on the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. This movie is also about a 13-year-old boy named Brian, who is the only survivor after a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness; he has no choice except to adapt to the wild life. Similar to Hushpuppy, Brian also has to learn about finding food and shelter.
The actors of Beasts of the Southern wild are all non-professional local people of New Orleans who never act in front of the camera. Five-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis as Hushpuppy elevated the film with her breathtaking acting into an affluent layer of perfections.
Every bit of Beasts of the Southern wild is astounding that already obtaining high interests of viewers and reaching positive responses, and will be exemplifies as one of the best and remarkable movies of the year’s.
Moving Takahashi is a romance based short film, well written and directed by Josh Soskin. It is an 11 minutes short cinematography about a mover and a suicidal daughter of the house, who takes some overdose pills to suicide and she has only twenty minutes left to survive. After a conflicting debate of whether to involve in such situation or not, the mover saves the daughter’s life and inspires her to live for life. The short dramatically elevated at the end when the mover reveals that his actual intent was to rob furniture in the house.
The theme of the short Moving Takahashi portrays the importance of life and love, which is fairly matched with its genre, romance. The cinematography has also couple of important messages to deliver to the viewers. Firstly, suicide is not the ultimate solution of any problem. It can only destroy your life. Secondly, everyone needs love in life and that can be happen any moment and anywhere. Finally, there are so many good reasons for living your life, so do not waste it.
Glowing acting of the main two leads, Robert Boyd Holbrook and Kristin Malko, make the film more pulsating and motivating in 11 minutes. Compare to other shorts of the same genre, the film goes quite along with another short film, Adelaide, where a girl is lonely and desperately looking for love and attention, and finally finds the man of her life.
The last scene is the soul of the film Moving Takahashi which is stunningly scripted and inspired to live for free will and life. And a girl chooses to go away with an unknown, but the saver of her life.
Comparing to sci-fi, comedies and action films, my favorite film genres are romantic and independent films. I am a huge viewer of romantic films are from any languages or cultures. I am just competent to connect my soul so deeply with an insightful and meaningful romantic film. Some of my all time favorite romantic films are Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Notebook, Titanic, Notting Hill, A Walk to Remember and many more…All of these movies are close to my heart, especially, A Walk to Remember is a special film to me. This movie is not only about love, romance and physicality also about hope, dignity and stimulation of life.
A Walk to Remember is a film about Landon Carter, a popular face in school, and Jamie Sullivan, a strong, introvert and beautiful girl. While Jamie has high dreams and hopes about life, Landon has no plan for future. He is more involved with making fun and jokes on students. And a prank on a student gets him into punishment, such as, serves in after-school community service and performs in the lead role of a school play. Therefore, Landon meets with Jamie in these activities and became close to her. They have fallen in love and feel the intensity of the relationship. However, it covers by a dark cloud when the secret reveals that Jamie has terminal leukemia and the treatments are not going to be effective anymore. But, Landon and Jamie do not give up their love. They get married before Jamie die, and Landon becomes a better and successful person in life because of Jamie’s love.
Jamie: You know what I figured out today? Landon: What? Jamie: Maybe God has a bigger plan for me than I had for myself. Like this journey never ends. Like you were sent to me because I’m sick. To help me through all this. You’re my angel.
The reason of my fascination about the romantic films is its beautiful and emotional expresses. It is a medium to describe a story or a plot about two passionate people who are willing to go through together all the happiness and sorrows without falling apart. It also inspires viewers to fall in love.
The New York Times’ social media is doing a wonderful job on covering the National Democratic Convention. Facebook has been a great social network for them to present about the Democratic Convention and perceives people’s reaction on it.
In last week, The New York Times mostly posts on facebook about Democratic National Convention in Charlotte and Bill Clinton, Obama and Mitt Romney’s convention speeches. I think, The New York Times has been successfully using facebook to engage people and to continue breed the social network by people’s participation. And People are responding regularly and enthusiastically on Times’ facebook site, giving their comments on the convention, and most importantly, leaving their opinion in positive and negative both way.
Multimedia “round-up”
I have been always impressed by The New York Times’ multimedia coverage. I feel that they like to provide effective pictures, slideshows and videos to not only in their news paper and online news paper, also in blogs, twitter and facebook. As a consumer, their multimedia coverage is able to tell a story to me by itself. Although most of their multimedia cover on Obama and Democratic Convention, they also provide some coverage on Romney.
