Caught by the 30 Tag

Today I checked Tara’s Blog and I found this thought-provoking ’30 Questions Tag’. I just couldn’t contain myself and decided to also go through it. I hope you have so much fun while reading it as I had while making it. Cheers!

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?

“OH my God… Call the hair police”

2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?

“Around 17€ and some cents…”

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?

“More”

4. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?

"A fellow student who wanted to inform me that we should meet in the library"

5. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?

"HaHaHa, the feel good song from my nokia"

6. What are you wearing right now?

"T-shirt and sleep shorts”… I suppose to be studying…. ;-)

7. Do you label yourself?

"I don’t know!"

8. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently own?

"Owe many… but the most recently bought ones are Geox"

9. Bright or Dark Room?

"For studying and reading I need a bright room… for sleeping a dark one!"

10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?

"She was my first follower…and I like her blog!”

11. What does your watch look like?

“It’s pretty old… Silver color with Crystals”

See pic…

12. What were you doing at midnight last night?

"Was struggling with my MacBook and an external HD… hahahahaha"

13. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?

“Got it from a nice friend, she was thanking me for the birthday present I gave to her”

14. What’s a word that you say a lot?

"I am a language freak; I keep on saying whatever it comes to my mind."

15. Who told you he/she loved you last?(please exclude spouse , family, children)

"I can’t remember so far…"

16. Last furry thing you touched?

"My rain coat"

17. Favorite age you have been so far?

"When I was 15"

18. What was the last thing you said to someone?

“Talk to you later."

19.The last song you listened to?

"Solo con te by Eros Ramazzotti."

20. Where did you live in 1987?

"Guatemala City, Guatemala."

21. Are you jealous of anyone?

"Yes, of Barbie Dolls…They look ravishing all the time!!! Hehehe… "

22. Is anyone jealous of you?

"Nope…"

23. Name three things that you have on you at all times?

"First thing my mind doesn’t stop thinking… so I would say my thoughts… second thing my eyeglasses (I am kinda blind), and my teddy bear necklace ;-)"

24. What’s your favourite town/city?

"Have been to so many beautiful towns, cities, countries, Islands… Hmmm… Worth to mention: Barcelona, Spain and Mackinac Island, USA."

25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?

"Last time I wrote something on paper and mailed it was a postcard… but can’t remember the exact date…"

26. Can you change the oil on a car?

"Yes, I can. I just go to a Car Maintenance Station and get it done!!! ;-)"

27. Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?

"Don't remember"

28. Does anything hurt on your body right now?

"Thanks God.. There’s nothing that is hurting!!"

29.What is your current desktop picture?

"A beagle doggie…Crazy about them…"

30. Have you been burnt by love?

"Burnt to ashes…”

Basic Bharatanatyam Hand Gestures - Part II

This post is the continuation of my previous post concerning the 28 single hand gestures that make up the vocabulary for the dance form of Bharatanatyam. This hand gestures are manly used in the story telling part belonging to the Natyasastra science (science of stage) and serve as ornaments to the rhythmic steps during a Bharatanatyam performance. This hand gestures are single since they can be used on one hand independently from the other. Let’s explore more about hand gestures and give me the opportunity to introduce you to the following ones.

	Arala (meaning "Bent") Index finger and thumb make a circle. The rest of the fingers are held straight.
	Shukatunda (meaning "Parrot's beak") Index finger and thumb make a circle (like in Arala). Ring finger is bent to the front. Middle finger and little finger are held straight.
	Mushti (meaning "fist") All fingers are clenched in the palm.
	Shikhara (meaning "spire") Thumb is pointing up and the rest of the figners are clenched in the palm.
	Kaphita (meaning "elephant apple") Little finger and ring finger are clenched in the palm. Middle finger and ring finger are pressed by thumb finger.
	Kathamukaha (meaning "opening in a link") Thumb, index finger and middle finger they all touch each other. Ring finger and little finger are pointing up.
	Suchi (meaning "needle") Index finger is simply pointing and the rest of the fingers are clenched in the palm.
	Chandrakala (meaning "digit of the moon") Index finger is pointing to the side, thumb finger is pointing up and the rest of the fingers are clenched in the palm.

I have prepared a video which contains the 'mudra shloka' (a shloka is a sanskrit word which denotes a metered and often rhymed poetic verse and/or phrase) for this eight hand gestures. This shloka also contains six other hand gestures which I introduce in a previous post.

Name of the hand gestures contained in this video: Pataka, Tripataka, Ardhapataka, Kartaramukha, Mayura, Ardhachandra, Arala, Shukatunda, Mushti, Shikara, Kaphita, Kathamukaha, Suchi, Chandrakala.

The Linux Mascot in Crochet - A Dedication

I must confess that lately I am getting a bit too crochet-a-holic. But, before you guys start marking me with such a ‘label’ I would like to dedicate this post to a very special person. So, dear special person, if you ever get to read this post let me tell you that you are a great human being and you occupy a very important role in my life. Thanks for always supporting my craziness.

Now let’s get back to work! I have crocheted this cute penguin. I am pretty sure that many of you must be familiar with him. His name is Tux and he is the official mascot of the Linux kernel. This little creature was sort of a challenge for me. Not only because of the little time I have left for crochet but also because I wanted to surprise someone with it. And like this passage suggests: Do not wait; the time will never be "just right'. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along (by Napoleon Hill).

Hence, let’s get started!

Get a crochet hook and knitting yarn. For the penguin you need 3 colors: black, white and yellow.
	Head/Body I would suggest you start by making the penguin’s head and body. Please bear in mind that the head and body are a single piece of crochet. Choose the black color and make 3 chains and join them into a ring. For the first round fill the ring with single crochet (the number of how many single crochet you have to do depends on the thickness of the yarn). Continue increasing the number of single crochet on each round. Once you have achieved the desired size of the head you start by decreasing the number of single crochet in each round. (This is the same basic idea I followed while doing the doll’s head - see previous post). Once you were able to get a sort of ball shape for the head. You start on doing the body. For this you start by increasing the number of single crochet in each round. When you have achieved the desired sized of the penguin (in this case would be the belly button) you decrease the number of crochet. Keep in mind it always follows the same basic idea over and over… Isn’t it boring??? Joke!
Feet The feet are crocheted in rows. For the 1strow make five chains and five single crochet stitches. For the 2nd and 3rd row you make seven stitches. For the 4th and 5th row you make nine stitches. Keep on increasing the number always by adding two single crochet stitches. Till you reach fifteen stitches. Once you have fifteen stitches in the next row you only crochet five stitches, on top of those five stitches of single crochet you do four, further on top of those four stitches you crochet three more and at last you crochet one stitch on top of the three more… This is for making the webbed feet shape… the same process will follow with the ten other left stitches. I know it sound complicated (and I might not have been so capable of explaining it) but have a look at the picture to get a better understanding of the same.
	Bill The penguin bill is also crochet with rows. You started with three chains and increase it by two stitches each time (and making two rows of it). It follows exactly the same process as with the feet.
Flipper-shaped Wings Do four chains and stitch rows with half-double crochet. Continue on stitching always for rows till the desired size of the wing is achieved. Have a look to the picture for checking out the pattern. Remark: this is the only part of the body done with half-double crochet stitch.
	Belly/Eyes For the belly you need a piece of white cloth. You cut the oval shape out of that white piece and stitch it to the belly; you perform the same process for the eyes.
Proceed by filling the penguin body, stitch wings, bill, eyes and feet together. I really hope I could give you some insights on how to do the Linux mascot. If you have any query please do not hesitate to leave a comment. Happy crocheting!