Kalimdor Diary

Kalimdor Diary
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

This is a collage of pictures taken while I(Bheema and Bheeshma - my game characters) visited Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdom in the World of Warcraft.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

No spoilers here. This past weekend, Shalini and my wait for the sixth Harry Potter book came to an end. We had preordered a copy at the local Borders and picked it up on Saturday. Here is a quick review with no spoilers whatsoever.

The book is great but could have been better. Bear in mind that J.K.Rowling is so good that even a less than fantastic effort from her is much better than most books out there. That said, the focus on apparently unimportant issues (could become important in the last book but does not appear so, to me) is more than the important ones. Romance is given lot more space than in the past and understandably so. The kids are 16 and romance is pretty high on the list of 16 year olds. I would have preferred a little less romance but thats just me. There is much more Dumbledore-Harry interactions in this book than ever before and that is a good thing. Sometimes a bit too disconnected but nevertheless pretty interesting, we see more of the human side of the great HeadMaster that we always wanted but never got until the sixth book.

Harry is not a pain in the a$% like in the "Order of the Phoenix". In fact he is the total opposite. He is mature, intelligent and getting to be the role model he is expected to be at the end of the series. The lovable Harry who got lost in Book 5 makes a triumphant return in book 6. Ron and Hermione undergo changes too and for the better. Ginny gets more space and so do a bunch of people.

The two main characters in Book 6 are Snape and Dumbledore, not to mention Harry and each one gets an excellent character exploration from Rowling. The Book is worth reading for just them if not anything else.

Finally, there is a death. Much more sadder than Sirius's death in Book 5 and far reaching too. For the faint hearted and emotional ones, there are tears here for certain. So be prepared with hankies and all.

The stage is all set for the final book in the Harry Potter series. It is expected in 2007 but could very well get to 2008. Nevertheless, the events have been set in motion and the reader can be assured of an explosive ending to the beloved series. I personally cant wait for the final book!

Enjoy.

Image Courtesy: Scholastic and Bloomsbury. Picture refers to the cover of the deluxe edition.

Three days in Chicago: A casual tourist guide

Its hard to imagine cities bigger and nicer, having lived in Philly, Boston and Dallas, not to mention being close to NYC, Baltimore and DC. While Chicago doesnt match NYC in size it does come very close if not match the big East coast cities in being a sheer tourist delight. My wife and I were lucky to get a room along the Chicago river and right opposite to the Wrigley Building. This meant that we could see all the downtown attractions without having to worry about travel.

Downtown Chicago is magnificent, not just because of its high rises, but also its picturesque location by the Chicago river and the glorious Lake Michigan. The Magnificent Mile (N.Michigan Avenue) is a shoppers paradise. Lake Michigan is a true jewel in Chicago's crown. Spending time walking by Grant Park was an awesome experience embellished to no less extent by the annual Taste of Chicago food festival. This being the 4th of July weekend, fireworks were aplenty. We chose to see the one on the 3rd of July over Lake Michigan from Grant Park. This was one well attended event with people everywhere. For more on that, check the previous post titled Resident Evil.

For art and museum lovers, Chicago is an absolute delight. There are museums of all sorts peppered all over town. We chose to visit the excellent Art Institute of Chicago on Michigan Avenue. With nice sections on European Impressionists, it was a great trip. The best part though was to come outside the Museum and see the section of road named Swami Vivekananda way. For a moment, my chest swelled with pride. Rarely does one get to see such public recognition of an Indian in the US. The second museum we visited was the very unique and interesting Museum of Science and Industry. This is supposedly a kids place but has so much for adults that makes it a must visit for all ages.

A sight to behold is the view of Chicago and the Lake from atop the Hancock Observatory or the Sears Towers. We chose the former based on recommendations from friends and it was definitely a glorious sight atop the skyscraper.

Last but not the least a trip to Chicago is incomplete without a walk by the uniquely designed, excellently executed Millenium Park. An oasis amidst skyscrapers, its so unique, it needs to be seen to be experienced.

This was all we could squeeze in three days and there was so much leftto do. So we are already looking forward to a trip in the future where an evening Buddy Guy's Legends blues place, an evening in the Navy Pier and a ballgame at the venerable Wrigleys Field would take priority over everything else.

The Windy City sure is rockin'!

Resident Evil

Resident Evil
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

This photo is a collage of photos taken after the fireworks shown in the previous photo near Grant Park in Chicago. It reminds me of zombies from any one of the tens of zombie horror movies.

Fireworks over Lake Michigan

Fireworks collage-Chicago-small
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

This is a collage of pictures taken during an excellent fireworks display at Grant Park in Chicago on 3rd July. It was glorious to watch and crowded too, in the company of probably a 100000 people.