June 2, 2014 · 2:15 am

Radical Innovation: Universal language translator for Skype

SEE http://www.toptechnews.com/article/index.php?story_id=0010002PP2U0

Microsoft has demonstrated a real-time Relevant Products/Services translator that seems close to Star Trek’s vision of a universal translator.On Tuesday evening, CEO Satya Nadella joined other Microsoft employees in demonstrating such a system, which will first be rolled out through the company’s Skype video communications tool.** The presentation was made at the Code Conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes, California. Two Microsoft employees conducted a conversation, one in English and the other in German, while a generated voice and text-over-video displayed the near-simultaneous translation. The translation system will be dubbed Skype Translator when it is offered in that product. It is expected to be available as a Windows 8 beta app sometime this year.

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June 1, 2014 · 4:08 am

Talking Literature and the Gratiaen Award with Malinda Seneviratne

Courtesy of The Daily News, May 2014 …. Also see Asian Mirror video: Interview With Gratiaen Prize Winner Malinda Seneviratne

MALINGA SENEVIRATNEForty nine year old Malinda Seneviratne is the winner of this year’s most coveted award for creative writing [in Sri Lanka] – The Gratiaen Award. Down- to–earth, practical Malinda writes intense poems for pleasure. One of those collections of poems over the twelve months of 2013, published as The Edge has won this year’s Gratiaen Award (Rs200,000) for its outstanding literary attitude and sensitivity to human emotion. We had a quick chat with him.

Q: How does it feel to have at last won the Gratiaen Prize?

A: Winning any prize feels good. The Gratiaen is special because it is the most prestigious prize for creative writing in English in Sri Lanka. It is extra special to me, naturally, because I had been shortlisted on four other occasions. Continue reading →

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June 1, 2014 · 3:50 am

For Sri Lanka: follow Coomaraswamy and Kadirgamar and consolidate the Middle Ground in Sri Lanka

Raj Gonsalkorale & an Anonymous Tamil Moderate, courtesy of Asian Tribune

This article is about suggestions made by a moderate member of the Tamil Diaspora for a political solution in Sri Lanka. The person concerned is a professional and someone who loathes the extremist elements within the Diaspora as much as he loathes similar elements within the Sinhala community.

national unity convention april 2014  Pic from National Unity Convention, April 2014

He opines that extremism is contagious and breeds competition to outdo each other and develop contempt of each other, leaving moderates in a helpless situation to have their voices heard. He says that when political leaders on both sides do not show leadership to give voice to the moderates, they end up being held captive by the extremists and their lack of will and honest intention has led to the impasse that one continues to witnesses in Sri Lanka. In his words, he states he is a great believer that in the end “it is the intention (or that beautiful Sinhala word – ‘Chetanawa’) that counts. If that ‘Chetanawa’ is enforcing an exclusive Sinhala Buddhist identity, it is bound to fail, .not through the ‘betrayal’ / ‘conspiracy’ of the Tamil Diaspora or the famous ‘Batahira Kumanthranaya’, but as that is the natural order of things in this world.” Continue reading →

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May 31, 2014 · 2:25 pm

Inside Galle Fort in Recent Years

Photographs by Michael Roberts during visits to his old stamping ground

871144-111015-twam-galle-fort the lighthouse and mosque on the southern side Continue reading →

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May 31, 2014 · 2:15 pm

Galle Fort in British Times

Courtesy of the Australian National Gallery

Galle Fort rooftops-resized Fort ramparts 1890s-RESIZED

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May 31, 2014 · 1:48 pm

Renovations of the Dutch Hospital within Galle Fort add further lustre to this magical place

Dhaneshi Yatawara, in the Sunday Observer, 25 May 2014, where the title reads “Galle Dutch Hospital restored to former glory”

 

Dutch hospiyal -galle 11 Galle has always been a great attraction of local and foreign tourists since ancient times. The place of great historic value is a compulsory visiting point for all travellers and during each tourist season it becomes one of the most crowded tourist locations. Over a period of time and change, Galle still retains – as few other towns in Sri Lanka – an atmosphere of the past. The Galle Fort, which is the main attraction of the city, is a well preserved monument due to the efforts of the Archaeological Department. The heritage value of the fort has been recognised by the UNESCO and the site has been inscribed as a cultural heritage UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fort has a colourful history, and today has a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. Within the Fort itself there are several preserved ancient buildings and few others remain in a dilapidated situation. Among these buildings the old Dutch Hospital remained unique and demanded special attention. Continue reading →

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May 31, 2014 · 1:12 pm

The Modi Phenomenon in Sri Lankan Eyes: Some Selections

mODI-Island

A SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY from May 2014

Sunday Leader: “Mixed Reactions To Modi,” in May

Sunday Leader Editorial: “Modi’s First Hurdle Over Sri Lanka,” Sunday Leader, 25 May 2014.

Malinda Seneviratne: “Modi as gonibilla and maverick’s plaything,” Nation, 25 May 2014.

Shenali D Waduge: “Modi’s balancing act: Hindu Nationalism vs. neo-colonial corporate agenda,” Daily News, 31 May 2014.

Lucien Rajakarunanayake: “Modi and the Aspirations of the Tamils,” Sunday Island, 1 June 2014,

Lucien Rajakarunanayake: “Modi’s comprehensive victory,” http://thuppahis.com/2014/05/17/modis-comprehensive-triumph-lucien-rajakarunayakes-review/ Continue reading →

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May 31, 2014 · 12:52 pm

Products from the northern Tamil districts impress visitors at Colombo ‘fair’

Courtesy of the Daily News, May 2014

northern handicraftsA variety of products from the Northern Province made an eye catching display at the newly built market stalls at the Diyatha Uyana, close to the Diyawanna Lake in Kotte on Thursday. Products showcased by over 250 individuals representing various villages in the Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mulaithivu, Mannar and Vavuniya districts at the Diyatha Uyana premises were a major attraction among the local and foreign visitors. The government facilitated the opportunity with the financial and organising support of several organisations, including the USAID and Nucleus, to allow these producers to promote their products, and make commercially viable interactions. Continue reading →

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May 31, 2014 · 7:36 am

Ominous Facets of the Indian Elections: Modi and Beyond

RAJESHRajesh Venugopal, courtesy of http://groundviews.org/2014/05/23/brassed-off/ where the title is “Brassed Off. and where comments will be found.

In 2014, the year when Bollywood’s most popular ‘item’ song featured an Indo-Canadian porn star lip-syncing a song called ‘Baby Doll’, India elected a conservative Hindu chauvinist as its prime minister. Narendra Modi’s extraordinary ascent to power from humble party worker to a national icon of communal violence to hyper-efficient developmentalist leader is intriguing and revealing in itself, but let’s leave that aside for now.

The poll surveys and election data shows that the demographic most responsible for placing him in harm’s way came largely from young upper caste North Indian Hindus. Draw a line from Mangalore in the south-west to Darjeeling in the north-east – and with the exception of tiny pockets in Punjab and Kashmir, the saffron wave swept the vast majority of parliamentary seats to the north and west of that line. Continue reading →

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May 28, 2014 · 2:57 pm

About Ceylon: Arthur C. Clarke, Pablo Neruda & Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

Jane Russell and Ruth Allaun**  … Foreword to their essay on Leonard Woolf

ARTHUR C CLARKE“When I’m in the Strand or 42nd Street, or at NASA Headquarters or the Beverley Hills Hotel, my surroundings are liable to give a sudden tremor and I see through the insubstantial fabric to the reality beneath…” These words by Arthur C. Clarke, the sci-fi writer, are quoted at the end of Roloff Beny’s photographic chronicle Island Ceylon. But where does Clark’s reality reside? He writes, “No other place is so convincing as Sri Lanka.” As he spent almost fifty years there, we are tempted to believe him. Continue reading →

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