Friends Without Faces

We sit and we type, and we stare at our screens.
We all have to wonder what this possibly means.

With our mouse we roam through the rooms in a maze
Looking for something or someone as we sit in a daze.

We chat with each other. We type all our woes.
Small groups we do form and gang up on our foes.

We wait for somebody to type out our name.
We want recognition, but it is always the same.

We give kisses and hugs,and sometimes flirt
In PMs we chat deeply and reveal why we hurt.

We do form friendships - but - why we don't know,
But some of these friendships will flourish and grow.

Why is it on screen we can be so bold?
Telling our secrets that have never been told.

Why is it we share the thoughts in our mind
With those we can't see as though we were blind?

The answer is simple. It is as clear as a bell.
We all have our problems and need someone to tell.

We can't tell real people, but tell someone we must.
So we turn to the 'puter and to those we can trust.

Even though it is crazy, the truth still remains
They are friends without faces and odd little names.

English signs in foreign countries

Cocktail lounge, Norway:
"LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR."

At a Budapest zoo:
"PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. IF YOU HAVE ANY SUITABLE FOOD, GIVE IT TO THE GUARD ON DUTY."

Doctors' office, Rome:
"SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES."

Dry cleaners, Bangkok:
"DROP YOUR TROUSERS HERE FOR THE BEST RESULTS."

In a Nairobi restaurant:
"CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER."

On an Indian river highway:
"TAKE NOTICE - WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE."

In a City restaurant:
"OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND WEEKENDS."

A sign seen on an automatic restroom hand dryer:
"DO NOT ACTIVATE WITH WET HANDS."

In a cemetery:
"PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY, BUT THEIR OWN,GRAVES."

Tokyo hotel's rules ad regulations:
"GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIORS IN BED."

On the menu of a Swiss restaurant:
"OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR."

In a Tokyo bar:
"SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS."

Hotel, Yugoslavia:
"THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID."

Hotel, Japan:
"YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID."

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery:
"YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY."

A sign posted in Germany's Black Forest:
"IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE."

Hotel, Zurich:
"BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE."

Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand:
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?"

In the window on a Swedish furrier:
"FUR COATS MADE FOR LADIES FROM THEIR OWN SKIN."

The box of a clockwork toy made in Hong Kong:
"GUARANTEED TO WORK THROUGHOUT ITS USEFUL LIFE."

In a Swiss mountain inn:
"SPECIAL TODAY - NO ICE-CREAM."

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen:
"WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS."

A laundry in Rome:
"LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME."

Bangalore 1946

Welcome back into the past. Here are some images of Bangalore, generations old, that are apparently lost in the pages of history. Come, travel with me back in time to the Bangalore in the days of the Raj, when it was still a small cantonment town. The year was 1946, and the place Namma Bangalore.

Does this frame look familiar??? It should. This is the BRIGADE ROAD. The left hand side building is still standing, and housed the Ashok Electricals, the Post Office, now it is the LEE and Luis Phillips showroom. The road hasn't got any bigger, but the traffic and the crowd definitely have.

And here's the SOUTH PARADE road...

Any guesses what it is called now?? THE M.G. ROAD. Yeah. The building you are seeing is the Higginbothams bookstore, which looks dilapidated on the present day.

The above picture is of Hosur Road. The present day electronics, IT and BPO Hub.

The town hall area....

This strong stone building is now only known as the Oriental Building (presently houses the LIC) and is at the intersection of MG Road (then called as, South Parade) and St. Marks Road. There apparently was a large circle at this juncture as can be seen in the photograph. The road you are looking at is St. Marks Road.

This is the Mayo hall. It sure looks much more regal than what it does today. It houses the Courts and was apparently also one of the main Police Station jails. I do not believe that the staircase shown in the picture still exists, and the view is supposedly that from Residency Road, only after taking a print out will I be able to compare because the building is so symmetrical.

Observe something?? The license plate shows BAN565 suggests that there were fewer than 1000 cars in Bangalore in 1946. Or in the entire state (then known as the state of Mysore).

Cyborg Animals

Happy Easter