When i think of buffaloes, the first thing that comes to my mind is momo ..... and then chowela and then 'safu-mhicha' and what not. A wonderful array of dishes one can get from them.
Besides being used for meat and milk products, i don't think buffaloes are used for any other purposes in Nepal. When i saw this article about the Police in Brazil using buffaloes as mounts, I was a bit surprised. Of course I have been seen herders in villages riding bare back on buffaloes but I never thought they would make good modes of transportation. It seems they perform better than horses in marshy terrain.
I wonder if they can be put to use for policing in the marshy areas of Terai.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5126216.stm

I tried my first culinary endeavor today after moving to a new dorm. It wasn't anything that special. Just rice on the rice cooker, onions and 'banda' with some soup to compensate for the absence of 'dal', and 'hariyo lasun' separately. I've always liked the taste of 'hariyo lasun' specially with 'haku musya' but i haven't seen them anywhere here.
The attempt was better than i expected. Didn't burn the rice, the water i put in must have been of the right quantity. The 'hariyo lasun' was good, with a distinct taste of 'jwano' that i had put in, which lingered in my mouth. The soup from the 'banda' and onion mixture was the best ..... maybe because i was taking it hot and freshly cooked. After eating all that heated-again-and-again-and-still-cold food from the cafeteria, this meal was a welcome change.
The only thing that seemed to be missing was some 'achar'. I should tell someone coming from KTM to get me a bottled one.
After relishing every bit of what I prepared, I still have one concern though. I have yet to do all the dishes.

It seems that armies everywhere have some anachronic customs being observed through the ages.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5113188.stm
Is it seriously to get a good laugh or what.
A trained dog .... very practical and useful, but a goat? Well that's something. I wonder if the goat's family is sent home the pension when he dies in the course of duty.

http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/cheers.htm
This list was a good find. Lots of movies there i have already watched, and many others i should get my hands on. i am not counting on being influenced though, just want some good movie entertainment.

I had watched a movie called 'Lord of War' some time back. The movie was much better than what i had expected from the name and the poster. The movie revolves around the life and times of an illegal arms trader. His monologues are most striking. And one line that rang true went something like - 'Nuclear and chemical weapons are not true WMDs, they are hardly ever used, the true WMDs of today are bullets'.
It's the small arms that kill most of the people. Bullets have taken the lives of thousands in Nepal, some forty thousands in the Iraq conflict and maybe millions in Africa. I saw a news piece today with a neat graph of the top ten small arms exporters and topping that list is the country which set out to destroy WMDs.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5081360.stm

While most people, including me i must admit, are busy talking and discussing about the maoists and security forces and politicians and the king there is large section of the population that has been forgotten. they have been harassed and driven from their homes by the maoists and security forces alike. is their cause gonna be lost somewhere in the overwhleming hue and cry of a constitutional assembly, a new consititution and a new democracy?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5050108.stm

I stumbled upon this site - http://www.guitarshredshow.com/
fully built on flash.... there's this character called mr. fastfinger who performs a shred show and jam sessions. amazing site with amazing guitar sequences.

http://www.picturesofwalls.com/gallery01/003.html
some are crap but some are good.