The Brief Gardens

Litterbugs infest the Galle face Green

The largest and probably the oldest public space in Colombo, the Galle face green has faced many enemies in the recent past and now is being challenged by the invasive litter bug.

Pinnawala Zoo

Image stolen from here

‘Join us and feel how well we live’ is the theme of the state-of- the-art new zoo which is being developed at Pinnawala, approx 60 km from Colombo . A new zoo has been a long felt need since the existing Zoo in the suburbs of Colombo has its limitations in expansion and upgrading. The new zoo is based on the conceptual theme that focuses towards developing truly an International Zoo reflecting the cultural heritage, highest conservation standards, educational and research demands, and socio-economic aspirations of the nation. The zoo follows the global trend in specialized zoos that rear animals in environments simulating their natural ecological habitats. Once completed , the new Zoo at Pinnawala will truly be not only a much loved destination among tourists, but also an educational and recreational centre for all visitors.

Museum for Sigiriya

Image stolen from here (more images are available here)

The Sigiriya Museum and Information Centre which will be opened on the 28th of July 2009, has been funded by Japan, through JICA, under its Project for the Development of Culture-oriented Tourism (COT) which hopes to promote nature-culture-traditional lives. The funds were channelled through the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage and the project executed by the CCF.

The museum was a long felt need to attract the up-end tourist market, local as well as foreign, stressed CCF DG Prof. Seneviratne. “These tourists look beyond simplistic information or just visiting a site and moving on.”

Source

Sigiriya Museum Web Site

How the Lankans Landed on the Moon

The moon landing is considered to be one of the most significant historic events witnessed by modern man. Even if it was a hoax as some skeptics argue, it would still remain significant since it undoubtedly would be one of the greatest hoaxes pulled off in history!

I thought of writing this small post to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. The ground views web site had posted an article which presented an interesting insight on how Sri Lanka had reacted to this historical occasion.

The following images were taken from original newspapers, painstakingly scanned by yours truly, which sheds some kind of light on how the media back then captured this event in a Sri Lankan standpoint.

All images (which are readable) can be found in my photo stream

Dinamina, 16-07-1969



Dinamina, 18-07-1969

Even though for some mysterious reason the Sri Lankan Prime minister had refused to send a message of good will to be etched on the silicon disc, which was to be left on the moon, The Sri Lankan flag had made its way to the moon

Dinamina, 19-07-1969


Dinamina, 20-07-1969


Dinamina, 22-07-1969

Dinamina, 22-07-1969

One of the great sons of Sri Lanka, Professor Cyril Ponnamperuma lead a team in examining a potion of the moon debris collected by Neil Armstrong.

Dinamina, 26-07-1969

The head lines of Dinamina, published on the 26th of July 1969 reads "Mars Next -the project to start off in one year".

That was 40 years ealier.

Porn and Viagra on SLIA website

Just in case they delete the pages I have added images to my photo stream

Previously I have criticized the SLIA web site of not being able to contend with other websites by similar International organizations, but today I may have to take that back. I Just visited some of the links in the SLIA website to end up in some sort of forum, created by the website admins, which took me from tribal tattoo websites to viagra advertisements and to "free porn trailer movies".

The SLIA web site also has a killer discussion forum. check it out here (Read the Address bar which states "http://www.slia.lk/21/topiclist.php")

I agree that the SLIA web site needed a boost in terms of traffic, but this is ridiculous!

ps: Lets just hope that the admins wont remove these pages.

So Long,Frank Lloyd Wright: One of those songs That Architects should give a listen to

So Long,Frank Lloyd Wright by Simon and Garfunkel

It is said that before starting off his singing carrier, Art Garfunkle, had studied Architecture. Their musical genius surpass the boundaries of time. "Even though Bridge over trouble water" and "sound of silence might" be more notable tunes, all their music captures a serene quality which often reminds me of Bawa's Architecture.