Outreach ~ when to stop !!

In life, every morning – we are out running after material things – how much we need, and how much we reach for ! is known to us ! – yet the race is on !  Is it possible to stop at somepoint of imaginary line, where we would feel ‘it is sufficient’ !! 

Joe Mahoney, a vaudeville performer who has fallen on hard times, has to leave his best friend and stage companion Rupert, a dancing squirrel, in the town. Rupert will have to fend for himself with the other squirrels and live in a tree. Mahoney had been renting a flat (attached to the Dingle house) from the Dingle family consisting of miserly father Frank, his wife and their son Pete, an aspiring composer. Frank recently learned a gold mine he'd invested in years earlier will start paying a return of $1500 a week. Frank begins cashing the checks and hiding the bills in a hollow baseboard.  .. .. ..

 

Even squirrels tend to 'out reach !!;    Outreach- the act of reaching out as a   transitive verb would mean :  to surpass in reach; exceed;  to get the better of by trickery 

The Great Rupert is a 1950 comedy family film starring Jimmy Durante, Tom Drake and Terry Moore, produced by George Pal and directed by Irving Pichel. It is based on a story written by Ted Allan that has also been published as a children's book under the title Willie the Squowse. The story revolves around a little animated squirrel who, with much charm, accidentally helps two economically distressed families overcome their obstacles. 

Interesting !
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
10.1.2025 

நீர் காகம் ~ Water Crows !

காகங்கள் சரி !  நீர் காகம் தெரியுமா ??  -  Water Crows !?!? 

"கட்டுக்கடங்காமல் பறக்கும் ஏலியன் பறவைகள்" - ஏதோ  ஹாலிவுட் பிளாக்பஸ்டர் படத்தின் பெயர் போல் தோன்றலாம். ஆனால் கடலோர கென்யா மக்களுக்கு இது நிஜத்தில் நடக்கும் ஒன்று. 

இந்திய காகம் கென்யாவில் "குங்குரு" அல்லது "குராபு" என்று அழைக்கப்படுகிறது. இந்த பறவைகள் இந்தியா மற்றும் ஆசியாவின் பிற பகுதிகளிலிருந்து வந்தவை. பெரும்பாலும் வர்த்தகக் கப்பல்களில் பயணம் செய்வதன் மூலம் கண்டம் தாண்டி பரவுகின்றன.  அவை 1890களில் கிழக்கு ஆப்பிரிக்காவில் வேண்டுமென்றே அறிமுகப்படுத்தப்பட்டதாக நம்பப்படுகிறது, அப்போது பிரிட்டிஷ் பாதுகாப்பில் இருந்த சான்சிபார் தீவுக்கூட்டத்தில் பெருகிவரும் கழிவுப் பிரச்னையைச் சமாளிக்கும் முயற்சியில் காகங்கள் கொண்டுவரப்பட்டதாக நம்பப்படுகிறது. கென்யாவில் காகங்கள் கென்யாவில் பெரும் பிரச்னைகளை ஏற்படுத்தி வருகின்றன. இதனால் அங்குள்ள அதிகாரிகள் பிரச்னைக்கு தீர்வாக 10 லட்சம் காகங்களை கொல்லும் பணியை தொடங்கியுள்ளனர். 

The little cormorant (Microcarbo niger) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant it lacks a peaked head and has a shorter beak. It is widely distributed across the Indian Like other cormorants, it is often found perched on a waterside rock with its wings spread out after coming out of the water. The entire body is black in the breeding season but the plumage is brownish, and the throat has a small whitish patch in the non-breeding season. 

The species was described by Vieillot in 1817 as Hydrocorax niger. The genus Hydrocorax literally means water crow.   

The little cormorant (Microcarbo niger) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds.  சிறிய நீர்க்காகம் ( கரண்டம், அர்க்கம்)  என்றழைக்கப்படும் பறவை தெற்காசியாவில் இனப்பெருக்கம் செய்கின்றது. ஏறக்குறைய 20 அங்குலம் (53 செ.மீ) நீளமுடையது; ஆண், பெண் பறவைகள் ஒரே மாதிரி இருக்கும். உடல் முழுவதும் கருப்பாக, ஒருவித பச்சை நிற மினுமினுப்புடன் காணப்படும். தொண்டைப்பை பகுதியைச் சுற்றி வெண்ணிறத் திட்டு இருக்கும்.

 

Cormorant landing and water splash  was pictured at Kairavini thirukkulam – the temple tank of Sri Parthasarathi Perumal.  

Mankind’s cruelty extends beyond imagination.  Cormorant fishing is a traditional fishing technique in which fishermen use trained cormorants to catch fish in rivers. Historically, cormorant fishing has taken place in China and Japan,  as well as Greece, North Macedonia, and briefly, England and France. It was attested as a method used by the ancient Japanese in the Book of Sui, the official history of the Sui Dynasty of China, completed in 636 CE.   

It is a technique where the birds catch their prey but cannot eat them.  To control the birds, the fishermen tie a loose snare near the base of the bird's throat. The snare does not stop the bird from swallowing small fish, but prevents the bird from swallowing larger fish, which are held temporarily in their gullet. When a cormorant has caught a fish in its throat, the fisherman brings the bird back to the boat and has it regurgitate the fish. 

Cormorant is also a font.  Cormorant is a free display type family.  The project currently comprises a total of 45 font files spanning 9 different visual styles (Roman, Italic, Infant, Infant Italic, Garamond, Garamond Italic, Upright Cursive, Small Caps, and Unicase) and 5 weights (Light, Regular, Medium, SemiBold, and Bold.) Cormorant was conceived, drawn, spaced, kerned, programmed, interpolated, and produced in its entirety by Christian Thalmann of Catharsis Fonts.  

 
Interesting !
 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
9.1.2025 

பொன்னோவியம், கண்டேனம்மா எங்கெங்கும் - Up in the sky !!

Up above the World so high … like a diamond in the sky !, nay, not diamonds, not Stars but Birds – big ones, wheeling at a height where  they looked more like Pigeons !!

 

பொன்னோவியம், கண்டேனம்மா எங்கெங்கும்

கொண்டேனம்மா பேரின்பம்

அன்பில் ஒன்று சேருங்களே; இன்பம் என்றும் காணுங்களே

பார்வையில் ஆயிரம் பாடுங்களே  .. .. ..  பொன்னோவியம்

 

The above was a famous hit song from a movie which did not do well in the box office

 

Fly, Eagles, Fly

On the road to victory

Fight, Fight, Fight

Fight, Eagles, Fight

Score a touchdown 1-2-3 

Philadelphia is a sports town through thick and thin. And even though their beloved Eagles have never won a Super Bowl, fans are never shy to cheer for their team. In 1960, Charles Borrelli and Roger Courtland took their fandom to the next level and created the "Eagles' Victory Song." The song lost its popularity in the early 1990s and in an attempt to bring it back, Eagles management changed its musical key and renamed it "Fly, Eagles Fly." They planned to reintroduce it in the 1998 season, but the team played so poorly that they decided to wait. The next season, the Birds were successful and the song was played after every score, which is still tradition today. 

The song at the start -  பொன்னோவியம், கண்டேனம்மா was from  Kazhugu  - Rajnikanth, Rathi Agnihotri, starrer, directed by SP Muthuraman, music by Isaignani Illayaraja, released in 1981. Though a cult with Rajni style manenrisms, the unconventional story, which revolved around hypnotism and human sacrifice did not go well with the audience and it became an average grosser in the box office. It was an adaptation of the 1975 American film Race with the Devil.

 

The ones that soared high in the sky, pictured here are not Eagles but Pelicans !!

 

Regards – S Sampathkumar
8.1.2025 

Two-wheelers on Chennai roads

 

Rule : Pillion rider must wear helmet. Not when tails-up