K. Kumar's Blog, page 9
November 5, 2015
Chile-Lago Todo los Santos
Some miles west of Puerto Varas is Lago Todo Los Santos:
On a Sunday, I was picked up in Puerto Varas and we drove about 90 minutes towards Petrohue. From there, a boat was waiting to collect us all and take us over the emerald lake known as Lago Todos los Santos and onward to Peulla. I still remember the first time looking at the lake and seeing an almost perfection coloration in the emerald hue. Some twenty minutes on the ship, and we were given the perfect vista to take in the volcano and u...
On a Sunday, I was picked up in Puerto Varas and we drove about 90 minutes towards Petrohue. From there, a boat was waiting to collect us all and take us over the emerald lake known as Lago Todos los Santos and onward to Peulla. I still remember the first time looking at the lake and seeing an almost perfection coloration in the emerald hue. Some twenty minutes on the ship, and we were given the perfect vista to take in the volcano and u...
November 3, 2015
The Dogs of Chile
It is a fascinating thing that of all the majesty of the big cities of Chile, it is the collection of stray dogs that constantly drew my attention in Santiago, Valparaiso, and Puerto Varas. They were everywhere in the intersections and roaming the sidewalks. They were as much a part of the scenery as the people. In fact, my conclusion is that the dogs are really the ones in charge of the country.
I was staying in the center of Santiago and at night, and in the morning, it was the p...
I was staying in the center of Santiago and at night, and in the morning, it was the p...
October 29, 2015
Movie Review: Glengarry Glen Ross
I recently watched Glengarry Glen Ross for a second time:
I remember watching this movie about ten to fifteen years ago and thinking it was a great movie at the time. I thought it reflected a reality that was so unique and different than anything else I had seen before and so I was drawn to the story. I remembered liking the way the characters interacted with each other and the way they portrayed the salesman. The whole thing felt very authentic.
Now, the movie comes across as depressing and ov...
I remember watching this movie about ten to fifteen years ago and thinking it was a great movie at the time. I thought it reflected a reality that was so unique and different than anything else I had seen before and so I was drawn to the story. I remembered liking the way the characters interacted with each other and the way they portrayed the salesman. The whole thing felt very authentic.
Now, the movie comes across as depressing and ov...
October 27, 2015
Chile-Puerto Varas
A two hour flight south from Santiago is Puerto Montt. I remember leaving the airport and in the distance you could see two volcanoes rising up in the air. It was a little colder here than in Santiago, but also more scenic, less chaotic. In Puerto Varas you can notice the homogeneity, it is really everywhere. It is a kind of subtle thing, but things seem to function in this place better than in others.
Tourism is the main industry, so people pay to come here to enjoy the scenery. Puerto...
Tourism is the main industry, so people pay to come here to enjoy the scenery. Puerto...
October 22, 2015
Santiago-Mercado Central
Where the park seems to end, to the left is revealed the Mercado Central de Santiago:
This is another one of those places I felt I had been before. It is a large building that seems to open from a distance. Even standing fifty yards away, you can smell the seafood, hear the loud tension, and closer in you can see all the assortments of fish and crab and shrimp laid out on wooden containers and set in ice. Another aspect was the darkness, inside the light was set purposely low to heighten ever...
This is another one of those places I felt I had been before. It is a large building that seems to open from a distance. Even standing fifty yards away, you can smell the seafood, hear the loud tension, and closer in you can see all the assortments of fish and crab and shrimp laid out on wooden containers and set in ice. Another aspect was the darkness, inside the light was set purposely low to heighten ever...
October 20, 2015
Santiago-Parque Araucano
I scanned a map of Santiago, Chile, and noticed a green strip on the eastern side of the city:
It was north of the Manquehue station. To the west is the Escuela Militar and walking north from the subway station you can see a magnificent building, fenced off. Indeed, the whole block is fenced off, but you can still peer into it and in the distance you can make out the different sections and blockades.
On this day, I left the station and walked north on Rosario, and so was revealed:
What I f...
It was north of the Manquehue station. To the west is the Escuela Militar and walking north from the subway station you can see a magnificent building, fenced off. Indeed, the whole block is fenced off, but you can still peer into it and in the distance you can make out the different sections and blockades.
On this day, I left the station and walked north on Rosario, and so was revealed:
What I f...
October 15, 2015
Santiago-Parque Forestal
I was in Santiago a little while back and I felt that I had been here before. It took awhile, but what I came to recognize is that Santiago had all the features of a drab, dark, cold, and cloudy European city like Amsterdam or Frankfurt. I was staying near Plaza Italia in the center part of the city and I walked east on Cardenal Jose Maria Caro through Parque Forestal and I took notice of the dry sand sidewalk and the rounded hedges aligned by small fences that curved into circles and su...
October 13, 2015
The Prize
I recently read The Prize, a book about the $100 million dollar (really $200 million) donation to the Newark school district to transform education in the city and the country. The idea was that Newark would use the money to negotiate their teacher's contracts and expand charter schools. The long term goal was to use Newark as an example for education reform throughout the country. Well, it didn't work out.
The glaring takeaway to me are the numbers. Newark has a budget of about $1 billion dol...
The glaring takeaway to me are the numbers. Newark has a budget of about $1 billion dol...
October 8, 2015
Controlling the Future
I have written about
shaping the future
, and there is another aspect to this that I have also thought about, controlling the future. And the precise question is who or what controls the future? I would say that the same force that controls the future, would have also controlled the past, and also exerts its force on the present. Whereas shaping the future implies a degree of imprecision, controlling the future implies determinism, it implies truth and cause and effect. Someone in co...
October 6, 2015
Colombia: Mural Art
I was recently in Bogota, and took a tour of some of the murals in La Candelaria:
These are some examples of murals that caught my attention:
These are some examples of murals that caught my attention:
