My next wallpaper

As you can see, Samsara Shmamsara has a new look. I got persuaded to switch to a new format and I'm slowly learning how to add new features -- accent on «slowly».

What I'm waiting for, to replace the wallpaper background, is the picture of Dubya in ao dai.

I said: ao dai, not Halloween costume.

Associated Press - World leaders gathering in Hanoi this weekend for the annual Pacific Rim summit will be invited to don traditional Vietnamese "ao dai" silk tunics and black velvet turbans for their group photo, staff of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum said Tuesday.

Making the custom-tailored ankle-length ao dai, pronounced "ow zai," requires more than 20 measurements — details some of the less-than-svelte among the leaders might not be so keen to disclose. But that's the price the leaders pay for their photo ritual, a highlight of the annual summit of 21 APEC leaders.

The tradition of posing in clothing symbolic of the host country began with the first APEC summit in Seattle in 1993, when the leaders wore leather bomber jackets. Indonesian batik, Filipino barong made of pineapple fiber, and gold-embroidered Chinese silk tunics are among the other traditional shirts the leaders have worn, sometimes to their apparent chagrin.

The centuries-old ao dai was banned briefly after Vietnam's communist revolution but is now worn by school girls — preserving a touch of traditional elegance in a fast-modernizing society. Vietnamese otherwise rarely wear ao dai except as uniforms or for formal occasions or special holidays.

The traditional women's costume includes a long tunic with slits up the sides revealing just an inch or so of flesh at the waist above long white slacks. The men's version adds a headband-like turban, usually in black or brown.

On Vietnamese men, it looks great. I can hardly wait to see the results with President Bush.