Joan Osborne - One Of Us

Joan Elizabeth Osborne

''Joan Osborne is an American blues singer-songwriter born on July 8, 1962 in Anchorage, Kentucky. Her songs include country, folk, Motown and occasionally rock influences. She is best known for her song "One of Us", from her album "Relish" (1995). She has lived in New York City since the late 1980s.

In a career that spans more than 15 years, she has proven to be artistically restless and consistently  enthralling performer, with a voice that easily goes from a sexy growl to a sassy purr, keeping her fans captive, all the time.
 Joan, also, has a strong interest and love for Qawwali music, an ancient  form of spiritual, Indian music. She studied briefly with late Qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. In addition to classic influences such as Etta James and Ray Charles, Joan continues to seek and learn different styles of music. She's performed with an eclectic group of notables such as Stevie Wonder, Melissa Etheridge, Taj Mahal, Lucianno Pavarotti, Spearhead, Bob Dylan, The Chieftains, and Issac Hayes.

Her unique mix of blues, jazz, and rock and other styles of music was at once, innovative and irresistible. No wonder her fans loved her and got  easily hooked to her raw, sexy voice and vulnerable lyrics.

Her breakthrough came with the debut album Relish which sold over 5 million copies worldwide and yielded the smash hit : "One Of Us" as well as scoring 7 Grammy nominations."

Listen to this really haunting song asking a haunting question about God.  It is not an overtly  Christian song, but one that topped the charts in the secular market. Its broad appeal makes the message even more interesting:

If god had a name, what would it be? 
And would you call it to his face 
if you were faced with Him in all His glory? 
What would you ask if you had just one question? 

And yeah, yeah, God is great. 
Yeah, yeah, God is good. 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 
What if god was one of us, 
just a slob like one of us, 
just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home? 

If God had a face, what would it look like? 
And would you want to see 
if seeing meant that you would have to believe 
in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints 
and all the prophets? 

And yeah, yeah, God is great. 
Yeah, yeah, God is good. 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 
What if god was one of us, 
just a slob like one of us, 
just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home? 

Just trying to make his way home, back up to heaven all alone. 
Nobody calling on the phone, 
'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome. 

Yeah, yeah, God is great. 
Yeah, yeah, God is good. 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 
What if god was one of us, 
just a slob like one of us, 
just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home, 
just trying to make his way home, just like a holy rolling stone? 
Back up to heaven all alone, just trying to make his way home. 

Nobody calling on the phone, 
'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome. 

Several times during "One of Us," the listener hears the haunting refrain "What if God was one of us." The good news is that God was one of us. He came to be one of us. In Jesus, he became flesh, becoming human while remaining God.

We as Indians can very well relate to this song, as our ancient scriptures have always said:  that we are all Gods, and  that is why we wish/ greet each other with a "Namaste" which in Sanskrit, actually means that, " I salute the God in you or I acknowledge the God within you."

I just love the beautiful concept and her voice. I remember hearing and seeing it again again on MTV at a time when it was a big hit.
I would love to hear your feed backs about this lovely song.

Lychee Ice Cream

We happened to have guests who had come from Delhi. They brought along lots of Lychees which is quite cheap in Delhi. So we had some luscious looking Lychees, begging to be made into Ice Cream. We had all the ingredients for  making it. All you need is condensed milk, slim milk and fresh lychees.
Now there was also some good whole wheat bread, which I turned into tasty Italian Bruschetta, a healthy snack that can be had anytime of the day.

I can see we have some uninvited guests, some 3 cute looking bears ogling at the spread greedily, and some people in cars are also heading towards it and there are only 2 cups of Ice Cream,oophs..... what am I going to do???
I think the safest thing is to leave the venue......




Benefits of Lychees: Lychee also has several health benefits. It contains different types of nutrition and vitamins. One vitamin is most prominent in Lychee and that is Vitamin C. By eating 100g of vitamin C a day, you can meet your daily requirements. Vitamin C can help fight against various  diseases.
It contains Potassium, Phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, calcium and selenium in reasonable amount, which in turn is not only good for adults but also very good for the growing children. It is a great remedy for cough.  With very low fat content, one can eat countless amounts of Lychee's without any guilt. It is also supposed to be good for the skin as eating this heavenly fruit reduces the occurrence of spots and wrinkles.
Lychees are highly recommended for weak and the elderly. It also enriches the blood and strengthens the immune system.


So enjoy this delicious fruit to your heart's content.

I have left San Francisco..... but this beautiful city has not left me!!

When you are in San Francisco you can't miss out 

on the Union Square.

Union Square in SF is famous for its many upscale and speciality stores and shops. Many of SF's best hotels and restaurants are also found within a few blocks of Union Square.

Union Square is sometimes attributed only with shopping and crowds, but there is more there than what, most people are lead to think, and of course, for anyone visiting San Francisco, you shouldn’t miss it. However, aside from shopping visitors can walk the streets and enjoy fine art galleries, sit in the plaza and enjoy the sun, go see a show at one of the many theatres or dine at some of the best restaurants in the city.

It would be good to know some thing about its history, for many times we visit places and don't bother to even find out how it came to existence, so here it is:

Built in 1847, Jasper O’Farrell, a civil engineer responsible for much of the design of San Francisco’s city plan, set aside the area of Union Square to be used as a public plaza. Just before the Civil War, the park was used as a location for frequent demonstrations which supported the Union troop, giving it its name Union Square. Prior to the great earthquake of 1906, the area was mostly considered a residential neighborhood, but was rebuilt in the aftermath of the quake to become the cultural and shopping mecca it is today. In 2002, thanks to a $25 million renovation, Union Square was transformed into a beautiful piazza with the monument with the goddess Victory, that was built in 1903, still towering over it. So you can see it has a very interesting history.

Sometimes demonstrations are even still held here reminiscent of the ones the square itself is named for. On the plaza there are many places to sit and people watch or just enjoy your surroundings, including a little café where you can get pastries and coffee or even a glass of wine.  Don't forget  the TIX booth that is a must stop for tourists and locals. Aside from theatre tickets the TIX booth acts as an information booth providing information and passes for many of San Francisco’s major attractions.

This landmark hotel is one of San Francisco's grand dames, operating continuously since 1928 in the heart of Union Square.

If your looking for jewelry, there is a Tiffany & Co. located directly in Union Square which should keep you busy for a while, otherwise there are many more to choose from including, Bulgari, Cartier, Swatch and Simayof.


Now off to China Town: San Francisco's Chinatown is not only the oldest but also the most famous and largest Chinatown in the US. Thanks to the many ornamented houses, shops and eateries the area is one of the city's most popular tourist attraction.

San Francisco's Chinatown was first established in the mid 19th century, attracting immigrants mostly from China's Guangdong Province. Most of these individuals had jobs 
with the Central Pacific Railroad. They soon established their own town within the city.

Most of the shops are located around Grant Street, the central axis of Chinatown's tourist area. Here all lampposts are ornamented with colorful Chinese motives and the many tourists jostle for space on the narrow sidewalks along the many souvenir shops, eateries and herbal shops. 

The Transamerica Pyramid: Transamerica Pyramid is the most remarkable building in SF's skyline. It is the tallest building in the city measuring 853 ft from the street level. Transamerica Pyramid is the most remarkable building in SF's skyline. 

The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest and most recognizable skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline. The building has 48 floors of retail and office space.

 An architectural masterpiece:

The Transamerica Pyramid is without a doubt most known for its unusual shape. The architect William Pereira claimed to have created the ideal shape for skyscrapers, as it came with the advantage of letting more air and light into the surrounding streets.

This, together with the earthquake safe design, also allowed the building to get around strict building laws which enabled it be much taller than if it had a more normal design.

Some interesting facts about this building:

The top of the building is covered in aluminum panels which can be illuminated from within during night. The rest of the Transamerica Pyramid is covered in layers of crushed quartz which gives it its beautiful pure white color. 

The pyramid has a total of 3678 windows which together takes more than one month to clean. The building houses 18 elevators, but in order to conserve space, only two of these lead all the way up to the top.


The building of today houses several high profile firms and provides office for around 1500 people. Even though the building it is not exclusively used by the Transamerica Corporation, it is still strongly associated with the company. They even incorporated the pyramid into their logo and the company slogan.

The Transamerica Pyramid dominates the San Francisco skyline, while at the same time achieving its objective by bringing life to the streets below. It is truly one of its kind and a great piece of architecture.


I write all these details so that a person making a trip to San Francisco, knows at least something before they arrive there.
A blogger friend of mine had commented, that, it looked like San Francisco was still lingering in my mind, because I keep writing about it. Yes it is still lingering in my mind, and until I document everything I have seen and enjoyed, I will not feel I have done full justice to it.



And since I blog mainly for myself, I write about things that fascinates me.


Next I would be writing about scenic Monterey and so many other places visited by us during our trip to the US in 2010.

So see you all next in Monterey!

The Mesmerizing Sights Of San Francisco....

The night time views of the Golden Gate Bridge 

       

One would need a proper camera stand to take good photographs .

With no stand you end up with pictures like these.

The beautiful boutique Hotel Argonaut:

the Argonaut Hotel is perched on the edge of the Bay at busy Fisherman’s Wharf, and brings a bit of luxury to this popular area. The hotel’s architecture features original red-brick walls and wooden beams and it was worth capturing it in the camera. This is the hotel of the rich and  the famous.

 The deserted  view of the city at night, giving  such a eerie feeling of stillness- creepy enough to give you goosebumps.................

So much to do and so many things to see,

maybe in the next blog....

till then enjoy some of the views of San Francisco seen through  my eyes.

(Pictures taken by our son)

Today is our daughter's 2nd Wedding Anniversary

A glimpse of some of her wedding  and other pictures:

Our Daughter Puja

Her  Husband Ram: 

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.....

Sometime too hot  the eye of heaven shines.....


ram...can u make the sun go away?!

 

Give your Hearts

Kahlil Gibran

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

La Vita Nuova (excerpt)

Dante Alighieri
In that book which is
My memory...
On the first page
That is the chapter when
I first met you
Appear the words...
Here begins a new life.

From This Day Forward

Author Unknown

From this day forward,
You shall not walk alone.
My heart will be your shelter,
And my arms will be your home.

Let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heavens dance between

 you

Love one another but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the

shores of

 your souls.

Sing and dance together and be joyous,

 but let

 each

 one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they

This was sketched by Ram. Below is the original.

 

 quiver with the same 

music

.

Always smiling
Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.

Greece

When the one whose hand you're holding
Is the one one who holds your heart
When the one whose eyes you gaze into
Gives your hopes and dreams their start,
When the one you think of first and last
Is the one who holds you tight,
And the things you plan together
Make the whole world seem just right,
When the one whom you believe in
puts their faith and trust in you,
You've found the one and only love
You'll share your whole life through.


Happy Anniversary!!!             


Isn't lovely to travel back in time and relive these happy moments again and again?

How about some nice, hot, crispy onion pakodas?

"Look it is raining, says grandma, looking up from her knitting

"Oh, wow! I can only look at the lovely pakodas you have made"...says grandpa

The weather is cloudy, with thunder and lightning, with some welcome showers, it is such a relief!!

The time to celebrate: and what could be a better way to do it than make some hot pakodas with some heavenly cups of tea to go with it......

All of a sudden the garden is looking so pretty and inviting.....

Its has been ages since I made onion pakodas, so pushing aside my guilty conscience, I went ahead and made them: so here they are looking so delicious and irresistible....

Don't you feel like having some, then what are you waiting for?

Go ahead and make it and enjoy homemade onion pakodas, the rain, the garden and your life..........