This is the first time in my life I can proudly declare a sense of nationalistic pride, that we, the people of the United States of America, elected a president who embodies our values, hopes and goals.

I have no illusions about the challenges ahead. I just believe that my generation and many others have finally declared, “Yes We Can!”

I found out about Memory Maps on Lifehacker, and decided it was worth a try. After all, I’ve had an interesting childhood, moving around to different countries, and so forth.

Check out my Memory Maps photoset on Flickr. The Memory Maps group is worth perusing as well.

• 8ito ou 8itenta
• Flickr.org
• Make Mine Mosaic
• Little Gwion
• NYC Exposition (I knew about this one already)
• Freedom Spice in The New Mash-Up World
• Wikipedia(!!!) article on Oradea, Romania | direct link to image
• Mahavamsa : die große Chronik Sri Lankas (do a search for Kataragama or romanedirisinghe)
• Photography [AO]
• A Girl Named Boo
• Benjamin Johnson
• Model Motion | 2
• Serpuhov: Кому дреды?! Почему без дредов!?

The loneliness that I feel is an absence of spirituality.

Um. How would you like to see this in person?

The artist Gabriela Rivera says her “work is a metaphor for the relationship that people have with themselves every day when they look in the mirror.”

Yikes. I hope that’s not what I see when I look in the mirror. If perchance you DO see yourself like this, I would recommend professional help.

Via Ananova

Satellite Image Wallpaper

Clarisel, one of the group’s administrators, asked me to compose a little blurb about myself, which I did. It now appears in stunning beauty at the NYC Exposition blog, accompanied by my favorite picture of Ian, David Stocker’s son.

The creation of WOMAD (which stands for World Of Music, Arts, and Dance) was inspired by Peter Gabriel in the early 1980′s, and since its inception has dazzled audiences by bringing together the most awe inspiring performers from around the world.

I’m quite excited that WOMAD will be held in Sri Lanka this year, especially since most people had never heard of the country prior to last December’s tragic tsunami. WOMAD’s presence in Sri Lanka will bring greater awareness of this cultural gem to the rest of the world, and only time will tell what creative bridges will be spanned as a result.

For any of you in the general area (Sri Lanka is quite a short trip from Europe, Asia, Australia, and India), the WOMAD festival will feature such greats as Billy Cobham, the Master Drummers of Burundi, and many more.
via World Music Central

Music in Similar Motion

Search for “Roman Edirisinghe” on the photo credits page

View my original image on Flickr

Nude Favorites, originally uploaded by romanedirisinghe.

I find it amusing that I uploaded this pic on July 4th, 2005, but it has acquired more than 11,000 hits since then! I owe it all to the tags. It seems that people are totally in search of free smut on Flickr. Tsk, tsk. As a consequence of the general desire for porn, this is now my most viewed pic in my photostream.

This is a collection of my nude favorites, created by other photographers on Flickr. None of these pictures are actually mine.

To those of you visiting from the Flickr site, consider this an unwelcome study on human sexual behavior. Your visit has been logged. You are not eternally damned, nor are you perverse. This is perfectly normal. Thank you for participating.

Yesterday, I was napping with Nicole, when I suddenly woke up craving steak. I told her, and she looked at me like I was crazy. As I recall, I believe I had a crazed look in my eye, too. But there was no denying it. Rather than hit a restaurant, I wanted complete control over my first piece of meat in years. I wanted it to be farm-raised, free range, non-GMO, antibiotic free, and prepared by experts. So I called up my parents. My mom thought I was crazy. So did my dad. But they grudgingly agreed.

Nicole & I picked up my mom & bought the beef at the Outpost. I wasn’t even grossed out looking at the meat. I felt like eating it raw. It was rather strange, really.

When we got back, my dad started preparing the steak. We boiled potatoes and made a red cabbage salad. And the steak was excellent. I ate very slowly and thoughtfully, appreciating every bite of it. I tried to chew it really well, to make sure I wasn’t going to put my body through hell digesting it.

I survived the night with no upset stomach or vomiting. For a minute, I thought my stomach was acting up, but it was fine. It’s been a full twelve hours with no adverse effects.

I hadn’t eaten steak in years. I started being vegetarian when I was in high school. That was approximately 15 years ago. But I haven’t been strict in the least bit. I have eaten meat here and there. I’ve definitely eaten plenty of seafood over the years. Nonetheless, I’m surprised by my ability to eat red meat without being sick. A couple months ago I had some great chicken in Seattle, but my GI tract was messed up for a week. So how can I explain it? I’m not sure. But the steak was great!

I want more.

via turbulence.org