Friday, November 17, 2006

Abuse of Power?

I put a question mark in the title since I'm still not sure what to make of this.

If you have the wherewithal, watch this video:



If you haven't heard of it yet, it's video of a UCLA student getting tasered at Powell Library after refusing to show ID afterhours. I usually don't pay too much attention to stories about excessive force, but in this case, it's UCLA...I've walked around Powell and I can, more than usual, place myself in the shoes of each person there.

So back to me not knowing what to make of this. From this video, it's hard to argue that the UCPD over-reacted and were wrong in expecting the guy to get up after being tasered. What I can't understand is how it got to this situation. Like most security guards, UCPD is usually pretty cool. By the name, you can guess that they are actual cops and much more than just security guards, but on campus, they're far from menacing and are usually there to help out. So I'm just perplexed as to how it turned from a request to show ID, to the video you see.

Madness.

The only judgement I'm going to pass right now is that the UCPD was idiots for thinking this guy could physically get up on command after being tasered. If he was being non-cooperative before or after the tasering, they should have just picked his ass up and carried him into their cruiser. End of story.

I'll guess that the guy was probably being somewhat beligerant/non-cooperative when asked to show ID. Obviously nothing he could have done in a library situation should ever lead to something like this, but I've gotta assume there was something amiss about the situation which required mutliple UCPD to show up.

I'll also guess that the UCPD guys were in over their heads and were scared of causing an even bigger situation what with the dozens of students hovering over them. Apparently one of them threatened a student who was asking for a badge number, etc. That had to have been in the heat of the moment.

Thank god they didn't go midevil on any other students. That would have spiralled into something insane.

Thank god the other students didn't cause a physical ruckus. That would have mean serious harm to all involved.

I can't imagine how tense it must be on campus right now. I don't think too much about my UCLA days any more, but watching this, having walked those same steps, forces me to really think about the excessive use of force and what could have lead to this.

I'll be watching this story closely.

UPDATE: So it looks like the student who was tasered will be filing a civil suit against UCPD. Not surprising as well he should do that considering what nonsense the cops put him through. Not sure of how the legal system works on this, but at first blush, I would assume that a potential criminal proceeding should occur first, then the civil portion comes next. Anyways, what I find fishy about this is the lawyer he hired has said that Tabatabainejad refused to show ID because he thought he was being racially profiled and picked out for looking Middle Eastern.

That seems like playing the race card and it really annoys me. Having been at UCLA for 5 years, I would honestly call out BS on that. Why? Because it's such a diverse campus. Because you see just as many Persians on campus as other races. If that sounds racist, sorry...but it's fact. I find it difficult to believe that a CSO would decide to pick on this guy because he looks Middle Eastern. If that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised if he had 10 other Middle Eastern people to pick from. Sounds like the lawyer is just trying to get some leverage here.

And the other interesting thing the lawyer said is that when the cop didn't take his hands off Tabatabainejad he went limp. Now, there's certainly nothing wrong with that and in fact it's a perfect example of non-violent protest. But it just seems kind of dumb to bait cops like that. I mean, if you've got a cause or purpose, then yeah, go limp, but in this situation it just contributes to an ever-more tense spiral. Just seems ill-advised. The idea behind non-violent protest is, at some level, to make the opposing party think about their actions and potentially change them. The UCPD obviously weren't having any of that at midnight in a library and took alarming actions...but seriously just leave well enough alone and walk away.


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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Heart wrenching

It's been quite a while since I posted. The world has seemingly changed what with the election results and all. A lot remains to play out so I'll reserve comments on that for a bit.

The world has also changed for me because I finally bought an iPod. Yeah, I finally jumped on the bandwagon. I'm sure I'll be listening to a lot of music on it (indeed I've got 15GB of music it on it already), but I've mainly been using it for podcasts.

I had already been using iTunes to listen to podcasts while at the computer, but having the iPod now lets me listen to news and lots of other stuff while I'm at the gym or in the car. Any MP3 player would let me do this, of course, but it's a lot simpler with the iPod since I can simply subscribe to them via iTunes.

Anyways, this isn't a post about my new iPod or about podcasts in general. It's about an NPR audio portrait which I just listened to on the drive home. Titled, "'The Ground We Lived On': A Father's Last Days", it's the story of a father's last days battling lung cancer recorded by a loving daughter. I encourage you to spend 10 minutes and hear this loving remembrance.

I've been lucky in that I've never had to deal with loss. Of course, family members have passed away, but I haven't lost someone who I've had an everyday connection with. In the remembrance of her father, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, demonstrated the power of words and capturing moments in time.

I must say that something about these types of stories really get to me. When I hear of a loss, I seem to internalize it and can't help but put myself in the shoes of the person experiencing the loss. I can't help but imagine what I would do if put into the same situation. Empathy I guess...

Oddly enough, I do the same in positions of joy. When I'm photographing a wedding, I find myself smiling so often from behind the camera. It usually happens when I see the couple smiling at each other or really letting loose after the ceremony is complete. I think about that when I take photos and when I'm doing post-production of photos or watching the video footage of the events. Ya, it's kind of odd to have a dumb smile on my face while staring at my computer screen, but that's me.

I've actually been thinking about how best to remember an upcoming trip to India. Of course, I'll be taking my camera equipment, but I've been wondering how I can record my thoughts. I'll certainly be writing, but I've been thinking about recording audio as well. Maybe it's too much NPR, PRI, and BBC I've been listening to, but the power that these recordings hold me for really makes me want to capture the moment not just visually, but through sound as well.

We'll see how it goes.

Anyone got an iPod voice recorder I can borrow for 5 weeks?

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Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Snap! Crackle! Click! Expression

I haven't posted a photo of mine in quite some time since I haven't been doing any weddings since Labor Day. I have done some photoshoots though and this is a shot which I think really shows off the girl's personality quite well.


It's usually all in the eyes, but in this case, I think it's in her smile too. You can always tell in a photo when a person isn't comfortable or is elsewhere in mind. In this instance, the girl is posing for me, but I feel like she was really "there" and having a good time with her fiance while I took photos of them. When I look at this photo, I somehow end up thinking serenity every time. At some point, I'll post another bride-to-be that makes me think "zen"

Funny, but I tend to apply descriptive words to my clients without even thinking about it. They're not usually insightful, but the terms are the first things that come to mind when I think of them and their photos.


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Strategery Watch

Lo and behold, we're 14 days away from an election and we're magically able to start defining timelines and metrics for Iraq?

If you've been stuck in last week's news, catch up: U.S. general: Iraqi security can take reins in 12-18 months


This coming after months and years of hearing that no timetable could be set because it would embolden the enemy! Heck, just 8 days ago, Tony Snow said, "We're making progress. I don't know. How do you define 'winning'?" And now we're being told definitively that the US can have just a minimal supporting force in Iraq. 14 days before a mid-term election which could re-draw the political lines and shape things for the presidential election 2 years from now.

Huh.

Is it any surprise? Of course not.

Some things to think about...we should be delighted that we're getting some semblance of "truth" from some of the people in charge. But given the willful ignorance (or outright lies) we've been seeing from the admin, we should be outraged that it has taken so long to come to this point. We should be even more outraged at the politically timed messaging we're getting.

And most concerning of all, we shouldn't be surprised if we get more of the same BS once the election is over. Afterall, the current political environment is one where policy serves politics, not the other way around. So 15 days from now, I fully expect to hear about "progress" and "staying the course" and "islamofacists" and stop hearing about a well-thought out plan to help Iraq become a peaceful nation.

I don't care of that plan takes 2 years, 5, years, 10 years, or 100 years. The problem here is not the amount of time it would take to provide some semblance of peace to the region. The problem is the continued ineptitude which our leaders show at every step of the Iraq puzzle. We went in there for purely poltical reasons. Now we're showing a way out for purely politcal reasons.


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Monday, October 23, 2006

It's Strategery, Stupid

And wouldn't you know it...the admin is at it again. Trying to re-write history by claiming things that are completely wrong. What is it this time? W is trying to convince us that "Stay the Course" was NEVER part of the strategy for Iraq?

Huh?

WHAT?

Up until last week, "Stay the Course" was used so often by the admin that it was the butt of a joke on the Colbert Report where Stephen Colbert said there have always been two options on Iraq: "Stay" and "the Course"

And now we're being told that the administration is "constantly adjusting the tactics, constantly" and that "It's never been a stay the course strategy."

Listen, I'm happy as fuck if there is some actual rethinking about how to turn Iraq into a safe and thriving democracy. But seriously, we don't need lies heading into the final weeks of mid-term elections.

You know that the term "when the shit hits the fan"? Well, obviously, this admin is the one throwing up the bullshit left and right. Too bad that the fan spatters the crap across all of America and what it stands for.

Stay the fucking course, my ass.

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Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Product Placement

It's pretty commonplace to see products placed in TV shows and movies. It's no surprise to see a character crack open a cold one while we're reminded that he likes Bud Light. It's no surprise to see the same type of Cisco phone on almost every show you watch.

I find it really odd then, when product placements are so blatant like it makes you gag ...or worse laugh. Case in point, I finally saw The Island last night (sort of dumb movie BTW, expect for the eye candy that is Scarlett Johansson). At one point, Ewan McGregor goes for a drink and we're zoomed into a shot of an aluminum bottle of Michelob which stays on screen for at least 3 seconds. Ewan then proceeds to take a small swig and we never hear from the bottle again. That doesn't sound like much screen time for the brand, but the way it was done was really odd. Seriously, it was a fast zoom into just the bottle with nothing else on screen. I get the feeling that the director, Michael Bay, was told to place the bottle into the movie and he didn't like that. So he directed this ridiculous spot in. But hey, I guess I remember the brand so in some sense it worked.

Compare that placement with Puma's placement of their shoes at the beginning of the same movie. There was a rack of the same cool looking pair of shoes which Ewan McGregor looks through. Not a huge deal and the puma logo itself is a bit blury since the focus is not on the shoes themselves. In this case, I still remember the brand, but it definitely didn't feel odd to see the shoes in this context.

The most ridiculous, contrtive product placement in recent memory has got to be Oreo cookie placement on 7th Heaven. It might just be because I think 7th Heaven is the most contrived drama on TV, but the way they "weave" the story of Oreos into the plot itself. At a few points in this episodes, the characters specifically mention Oreos and talk to each other about whether they like to twist open their cookies and lick the cream or if they just bite right into them. Actual plot lines to ensure we remember the product!

Got any other ridiculous, contrived product placements you recall?


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Friday, October 13, 2006

Old News

I get a lot of random magazines for free - not free trials, I just continually get them without ever getting asked to pay for them. I signed up for a free magazine once and now I get emails for even more magazines. Most of them are useless, some are interesting. The latest one I got is MacWorld.

The magazine itself is fine and a good flip. Except for the fact that it's all old news. I just looked through the October issue and ever bit of news on there seems like it tired stuff back in August.

There is quite a bit of space devote to the Mac Pro, which is the high-end desktop Apple produces. This was a desktop announced during the Mac Worldwide Developers Conference during the week of August 7th.

And I'm reading about it in the Octover issue of MacWorld. Their website has obviously moved onto other things, but the print publication just seems out of it.

Now I totally understand the nature of publishing and deadlines. I used to manage a small monthly news magazine and we had to plan way ahead for anything that was date oriented (thus we usually just stayed away from time-sensitive stuff).

I also understand that I, along with tons of other web-savvy people, get the latest news from various blogs, news sites, and friends. For the people who care, details about the Mac Pro (or any tech item) become old news so quickly.

So why is MacWorld bothering to devote so much space to this a full two months after the product is announced? They already know most of their audience must be web-savvy and on the news. And they know their publishing cycle. If they're going to miss a hot topic like a big product announcement, they should deal with it by focusing on something more useful (which is what the latter part of the mag is devoted to) and not seem totally out of it by talking about something like it was just released the day before.

It's a new world and magazine production staffs should come to grips with this. It's no wonder that these types of publications are having trouble staying afloat. The lastest breaking news is rarely news to someone when they're reading it in a magazine. Even daily newspapers sometimes feel old depending on when an event occured. But a monthly mag? Stay away from "introducing products" to your readers. And gravitate to how the product is going to impact your readers.

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Do the Most Good

Public Radio International's "The World" program had a report today on the Beirut Film Festival which is going on despite the recent bombings in Lebanon. This year's festival was in doubt for obvious reasons, but the organizers strove to make it happen no matter what. Despite the organizers' will, they still had various challenges to overcome including funding. The usual sponsors diverted funds to help rebuild the country. However an American institure (not sure which) came through with necessary funds. This got me to thinking about what should be done and by whom.

While it's great this film festival went on despite the troubles in Lebanon, I wonder if the money spent on it could have been better used to rebuild some portion of the city. One of the organizers commented about the need for entertainment and inspiration and there's no doubt that such things help to keep the human spirit chugging along. But in times of acute need, I just feel like this money could have improved the lives of people in much more important ways.

Of course, I'm not privy to all of the details and I don't even know the reality of the situation in Beirut right now. And I know full well that bread and water do not feed the human soul. Film and art are important to the being of people everywhere. But the cynic in me tells me that charity for humanitarian purposes is much more important than giving to the arts.

How does one make a decision? For me, I tend to donate to causes where not too many people seem to recognize a need. After the US invaded Afghanistan, I donated the the UN Refugee Agnecy (UNHCR). I did this not because I was against the invansion of Afghanistan. In fact, I think W did the right thing with that one. But I saw a need for the people who would inevitably have to flee from all the stuff going on around them. It was also a bit of a contrarian viewpoint to all the people donating to fund helping 9/11 victims. I felt that the US government would help those victims out in the end (which, as far as I know, it has) and so I sent money where I thought it was seriously needed.

I think for most people, this sort of decision comes down to interest and personal meaning. If someone you know has a disease, you're more likely donate for research into erradication of that disease.

But I still feel a bit odd about donating to a film festival in a time of great humanitarian need. I wouldn't have done it. Would you?


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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Rules of War

It was 5 years ago this week that we went into Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime. While they are no longer officially in power, the Taliban is apparently gaining strength in many localities. Essentially, the Karzai led government only has control over big cities. The rest is left up to the Taliban and other local war lords.

Who would have thought Afghanistan would be in this situation 5 yrs after the most powerful nation in the world resolved to oust the mastermind behind 9/11 and the regime that gave him protection.

And who would have thought our leaders would purposely continue to restrict our freedoms and curtail our Constitutional Rights in the name of a war on terror. If you read my maddened and dazed state the other day, you know I'm in complete disbelief about where this nation is headed. Not only are we stuck in Iraq in a misguided attempt to...um...actually I don't know why we're there.

But anyways, while we're stuck there, we're seemingly losing the war on terror left, right, and center. How's that? There hasn't been another attack on US Soil since 9/11 so how could we be losing. Well, keep in mind that terrorism isn't necessarily killing innocent civilians. It can striking fear in the hearts and minds of innocents. And to be honest, I'm scared of where we're headed as a free nation.

The latest Detainee bill that passed through Congress (before the ridiculous Foley shit) should really make us stand up and shout "No!" "Fuck No!" "Not in the name of America!" Instead we have calmly argued cases for why it should be possible to hold a US Citizen in Guatanamo as an enemy combatant. We're told that as citizens we could still contest our detentions from jail. We're told that the system will ensure that innocent Americans will still have due process. Just lke Jose Padilla, a US citizen who has been in prision since 2002 and STILL HASN'T BEEN CHARGED with a crime. Now, Padilla may well be out to kill, but what's the reasoning behind not charging him with a crime. For 4 years!

And now, we have people like John Yoo telling us that a valid reason for not allowing detainees to contest their arrests is the expense to the country if every detainee were to file in court. Read up on this nonsense. And if you have the time, you should really listen to the interview (link right under the title of the article). Steve Inskeep has this sort of incredulous thing going on in his voice like he's ready to blurt out "Are you fucking kidding me?!". I can't imagine that a valid reason for limiting Habeus Corpus is that it costs too much money and time to deal with each of these guys.

Give me a fucking break.

At least tell us that these people, if let out, could proceed with planning the next attack and kill us all. Oh that's right, so many of the people detained are eventually let go without ever being charged. Keep track here.

So instead of our government taking reasoned responses to terror, we get bullshit about the expense of Habeua Corpus and continued conflation of 9/11 terrorism with Iraq.

So these are the Rules of War.

Confuse.

Scare.

Lie.

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Thursday, September 28, 2006

It's Over

In a wonderful example of our representatives doing what's best for the American and the American way...the Senate has rejected an amendment to the pending "Torture bill" which would have allowed detainees to challenge their detention.

In other words, if you're locked up as a suspected terrorist, you can't question why you've been taken in. It's called Habeus Corpus. The use of Habeus Corpus has basically ensured that everyone gets a day in court. It's been a common concept since 1305 - or for the mathematically challenged, it's been around for 700 years! And America has stood for the best of this concept since day one. Not any more though.

Okay, just so I don't come off looking like a partially informed idiot, Habeus Corpus still applies to regular crimes, but it would no longer be common law for any one who has supported terrorist activity. But let's also be clear here, the government has made it pretty easy to call anyone a suspected terrorist. If you've donated to a charity which later is identified as possibly supporting terrorism, then you're on the hook and could be taken in. Heck, if you've ever talked to a brown man with a beard and turban, you're on the hook. So that may not happen much, but it has happened since 9/11 and don't be fooled into thinking it's just a corner case. Is this the start of a slippery slope? Umm, in case you were sleeping, we're half way down the slope and should be fearful of hitting bottom.

In fact, this torture bill that's coming through right now allows the government to take in a US-born citizen for anything deemed to be in support of terrorism. And don't expect a court date because a suspected terrorist doesn't have to be tried in court. They can be held indefinitely unless and until the govt decides to charge them with a crime. And that's the only time it can be challenged.

Good stuff here.

So you say, well, we need to make sure the terrorists don't get us. Well, let's be clear here, the government has always had the ability to detain suspect terrorists in a time of war. There have always been rules and protocal which could be followed to spy on anyone and to arrest them before they start blowing shit up, especially in a time of war. Beyond in addition to everything else, this bill allows all this non-sense to occur at any time, war or not.

Here's a great run down of so many little tidbits about this bill: Dan Froomkin's White House Briefing is a great daily read, but today's version just left me shaking my head. I'm beyond pissed...I'm dazed. Spend 10 minutes and read his pretty thorough summary about where this bill takes us.

And in case you haven't put two and two together, this was rushed through Congress at the urging of Pres. Bush before Congress adjourns for their elections push. Of course, now they can go back to their districts with this feather in their hats. Yeah, as we all cheer on our representatives to electoral victory, we can be assured that the terrorist next to us could be taken in and just disappear. No court date, no charges. Nothing. And then be tortured with clarity until a confession is extracted.

All for a mid-term elections push.

Game Over.

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Tuesday, September 26, 2006

It's On

Not bad...only two months of being too lazy and distracted to post on my blog. But it's on now.

As usual, there have been a few random topics that I've thought about blogging, but none of them drove me to click "New Post". Except Pres. Clinton's interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News. If you haven't seen it, have fun. I happened to be flipping channels Sunday night trying to avoide a hangover from too an afternoon of wine tasting and I came across a re-run of the Fox news program. It's not something I usually watch, but I had to stop there since Clinton was on and it's not an everyday thing to see him on Fox. Anyways, I was glued and as I expected, it's been all over the news since then.

But this post isn't really about the interview. Everything to be said about it has been said. I'll only add that I was smiling during the whole thing since Clinton said what so many others haven't been willing to say.

What really got me to click back to Blogger after so long is the Newsweek International site (Via).
Check out the image grab I've got here. It's a listing of the current (Oct 2) global issues of Newsweek. Notice something odd? The non-US versions carry a cover highlighing the "Jihadistan" article within while the US version highlights a piece on Annie Leibovitz. So just to be clear, both articles are in all versions of Newsweek globally, but Americans don't have to deal with another reminder of where we are with our fight against terror.

Seeing this difference didn't make me think that the media is fucked up. There are certainly some jacked up things which the media presents to us all the time. But this is really about we as Americans and, more generally, about human nature. As a whole, we just don't want to hear this bad stuff, especially when it relates directly to the War on Terror. Sure it's a downer, but it's still happening. And I keep noticing more and more instances of us blinding ourselves to the reality of the situation.

I had not really been focusing too much of my attention on the assessment of where we are. This was mainly because I felt like I already knew things were bad and not too many new facts have been coming out which would convince nay-sayers that things really are pretty fucked up. But seriously, Clinton's interview got me riled up. Just like Clinton handled Chris Wallace in a "Fuck That!" type of attitude, I'm pretty much in that same mindset. Fuck That!

We've been too soft on how fucked up our current admin has made things and MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY we've been too soft on ourselves for the role we have to play as citizens.

Anyways, I'm always reading so much on politics, the war of terror, and general state of things...I'm going to try to highlight the most interesting stuff over the next few weeks. We've got elections coming up and it's our job to know as much as possible in order to go to the polls as an informed populous.

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Monday, July 31, 2006

Disgustinly Yummy

As I devoured my nachos at lunch, the guy behind me gave me the perfect title for my post. After more than 3 months, I finally ate at a crappy fast food joint. This time it was Taco Bell. Funny thing was that I wasn't really craving it, I wasn't that hungry, nor was I tagging along with someone who was going there.

I just decided to go.

And oh did my stomach complain.

So in the time since I last wrote about this stuff, I've actually eaten as fast food joints, but only a select few: "healthy" or "high quality". That list has included only In-N-Out, Quiznos, and Subway. That's it. Oh, I did grab an ice cream sundae from McDonald's once but that wasn't really a meal and I would have gotten something similar elsewhere anyways since it was so hot!

I don't think my health changed in any way during the last three months. People keep telling me I've lost weight, but I venture to say that's because I've been working 6-7 days a week this whole summer (work and photography) and sweating like a pig on the hottest days. During that whole time, I can't say that I craved anything from the crap fast food joints. The only times I thought about going to them was when I was in a rush at work or I wanted a change from the cafeteria food at work. That being said, I'm really not sure why I went there so randomly.

But I must say, I still feel a bit off this afternoon. I didn't eat that much, but I still feel like I just ate an hour ago. Processed crap can do that to ya, can't it?

Anyways, I don't plan on eating that crap again any time soon. Now, let me run and make another pit stop.

Ugh.

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Allies Fo Life

I was listening to BBC Radio yesterday for a recap of events on Israel and Lebanon. If you don't know, the bombing is still going on, civilians have been killed, and Condi Rice has been carrying the influence of the United States into cease fire negotiations.


Oh wait, un-check that last item. After two weeks and international pleading, Israel is still continuing with bombings and in fact have proceeded further with ground troops. So it begs the question...why is Israel still doing this?

In my last post on this subject, I guessed that Israel is basically taking a "don't fuck with us" attitude. Which doesn't help the Lebanese, but certainly makes a statement. But the path these cease fire "negotiations" have been going has made just as big of a statement.

BTW, before I proceed, I should say that I made a couple of mistakes in my last post on this subject. Hezbollah obviously doesn't run Lebanon...they have seats in the parliament, but not a majority, far from. Also, the US didn't support an election there. In both cases, I was confused with Palestine & Hamas. Anyways....

The duplicity of this situation is really amazing. The BBC Radio reporter (can't recall his name) really got me kind of pissed off - bot he himself, but just because of how this is being portrayed. In response to some questions by the show host, the reporter stated that Condi Rice is in some really tough negotiations and the temporary pause on aerial bombings (which they've already renegged on) are a way for Israel to give some to Condi for all her negotiations.

My ire was raised the fact the the US apparently has no pull with Israel. Seriously, we're the biggest supporter of Israel. Without all of the arms that we provide to Israel, the country would have been under seige from Day 1. Without our support, there's no way Israel would have any place in the world.

So despite all of this, we're in "tough negotiations" with Israel. Dude, fuck that. The country owes is complete existence to us and they don't listen to a word we say?

I don't actually think there are tough negotiations at all. I think Condi has gone in there and essentially confirmed that it's okay for Israel to destroy Lebanon. Anything else would mean that for all its support, the US is Israel's bitch. And W would have none of that.

In reality, I think the situation is much worse: The US supports Israel's destruction of Lebanon. Afterall, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization (albeit it, with parliamentary seats) and they need to be removed, right? And the US is too tied up with Iraq to do anything else. So letting Israel do its bidding would seem a really smart choice for Condi and W. The public pronouncements by this administration pretty much back this up since the US has not called for a cease fire. They've called for a negotiation to address the root causes of the situation. That's all fine and good. Addressing the root causes is obviously the only way to solve this once and for all. But how can one faithfully enter negotiations when you're bombing the fuck out of the other country?

And that just disgusts me.

So either the US is Israel's beeyotch (which I completely doubt). Or this is a much more disappointing and maddening situation where the US is supporting the utter destruction of another Middle Eastern country. Sometimes, I wonder about diplomacy. The real deal here is pretty clear, and yet diplomats every where can't call it for what it is. Heck, at the beginning of this, when someone said that Israel had bigger aims with its bombings than simply to gets soldiers back (which is totally the case), he was ridiculed! Why can't you call a spade a spade and be done with it?

Seriously, we got the idea. Don't fuck with Israel. Stop the bombing already!

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Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Snap! Crackle! Click! My Photos!


Holding the Dupatta
Originally uploaded by Jigar.
Well, it's been over a year since we started the business and I finally got tired of not being able to show off some of my favorite photos. Let's start with this one since it's near the top of my faves list.


It's actually from one of the first weddings we covered, but I still love it for the meaning behind it.

Sikh wedding ceremonies are so calm that they're almost non-events. However one of the most important ceremonies is when the couple walks clockwise around the Guru Granth Sahib four times. This is pretty similar to the Hindu ceremony where the couple walks around the fire 4 times as well.

One of the things I noticed about the Sikh ceremony is that the bride holds her groom's dupatta (rather than having their dupattas tied as in Hindu ceremonies). For some reason I find this to be so meaningful. In Hindu ceremonies a similar thing is done where the dupattas of the couple are tied together, but something about the bride holding the dupatta during the entire ceremony conveys more to me.

And, for me, this moment is transformed by this photo. I've taken several very similar to this, but this is still the one that I like the best. Indeed, the bride loves this photo too.

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Monday, July 17, 2006

Escalating Madness

By now, the escalating battles between Israel and Hezbollah are something that we should all be pretty concerned and fearful about.

Recap: Hezbollah (the group who's political arm happens to run the Lebanese government) kidnapped 2 Israeli soldiers. Israel said "WTF?!" and proceeded to go midevil on Hezbollah. What does midevil mean? Well, it started with disabling the Beirut airport by bombing runways and some other known Hezbollah strongholds. It continued with further bombings in the Beirut suburbs targeting areas where Hezbollah keeps arms, plans, etc. Meanwhile, Hezbollah hasn't backed down and has sent a mulitude of rockets into Israel. Apparently, fully 1/3 of Israel is under bombing alert. I'm guessing that 100% of Lebanon is under bombing alert.

So since this is my blog, I've gotta write about my take on this nonsense, right? Well, obviously, nobody is right and nobody will win in this situation. As usual, lots of innocent people have already and will likely lose their lives or livelihoods.

So who's to blame? Well, obviously Hezbollah's the instigator in this. But I'd say that Israel is definitely an enabler. They certainly didn't need to go this far in attempting to recover their soldiers. But the undercurrent here is that Israel is making a much larger point about incursions on its territory and against its people.

Do I think it's okay that Israel is sick and tired of this? Of course. No single event can justify the kind of force Israel is using. And I don't think any series of events can provide the rationale for this type of action. But seriously, what Israel's really saying (in Tupac's words) is "Fuck you and your muthafuckin homies"

No seriously. They're raining flyers down on the Lebanese telling them that they need to drop their ties to Hezbollah if they hope to see tomorrow.

So, not surprisingly, it's up to the US to do something about this. Israel is obviously living under our wing. Make no mistake that Israel would have been destroyed without the support of the US all these years. And if W is to live up to his goals of fostering democracy, he and his admin have to broker a deal here.

Let's not forget that the current admin pushed for elections in Lebanon even though it was pretty clear that Hezbollah would win. That electoral win may have provided some legitimacy to Hezbollah, but from what I can surmise, the Lebanese people aren't exactly happy with the direction of the country. Any doubt amongst the people should certainly be erased after the current beat down by Israel.

So I think W actually has a perfect chance to get a huge win here. Broker a deal that not only stops the bombs, but also leads to better democracy. By applying conditions to the cease fire, hopefully Hezbollah is backed into a corner and really has to give up its use of violence. At the same time, Israel needs to back off and not go bombing left, right, and center. Those things tied together will actually show the people of both countries how to proceed from the current no-win situation to a win-win where the people actually benefit. And in the best situation, this is actually how democracy spreads. Not by dismantling the very foundation of a country just to get one regime out (irony of Israel's actions here is that they're so similar to what the US did to get Saddam out).

Progress begets progress. Let's hope for some in the coming days.

W, the ball is in your court. Don't fuck it up. Again.


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Going Once, Going Twice


We're finally no longer the owners of two homes!

Our previous home closed last week and I walked inside it for the last time on Thursday. Neither of us got truly attached to the home, but there was a bit of reminiscing in those last few minutes in the house. As the first home we owned, it'll always be remembered, but at the same time, we knew we didn't want to stay there forever.

So now we're in Mountain View and loving it. Our mortgage payment is ungodly, but it's just different to live here versus there.

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Thursday, July 13, 2006

Snap! Crackle! Click! Photography in the New York Times

Wow, I haven't written about photography since March! And just when I was trying to find some interesting portfolios to talk about, I run across a link on the NY Times homepage. Being that I love photography, I find this Q&A with the NY Times Assistant Managing Editor for Photography very interesting.

Talk to the Newsroom: Assistant Managing Editor for Photography, Michele McNally

I'm far from a news photojournalist, but I'm always amazed by photographs of news-worthy events. This Q&A features several wonderful photos in-line and the discussion of the philosophy about what makes a good news photo, what choices are made when selecting photos to run, and so many other things really intrigues me.

In a future life, when I don't have a 9-to-5, I'd love to do more freelance work. Most likely, not on-going event coverage, but editorial coverage would definitely be right up my alley. Here's to hoping that the plan works out.

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Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Rocket Bust

If you follow the world of blogging and trends on the internet itself, then you've probably heard about the whole drama with RocketBoom. If you haven't heard of RocketBoom, don't worry, you haven't misseed much. In fact, I hadn't heard of the website until a few weeks ago. It's referred to as a video log (vlog), but my take on it is that it's a daily news tidbits show.

As a vlog, I guess it's revolutionary. Apparently, it took the web by storm and was "the next big thing". Given those comments about the vlog, I had to check it out post-humously and well, I'm left wondering why it could be considered the next big thing. Like I said, as a vlog, I guess it's a big deal, but overall, it's not much more than a basic cable tidbit show.

It's produced pretty decently, but in the end, it's no better than most of the crap that's on Mountain View Comcast Channel 15 (that's the local access channel where people can buy TV time and host their own show). So why did it become a hit?

Well, the biggest thing behind it is the nature of the internet. Local access cable is, by definition, local. Only people in your general area are going to see it. If you make waves on local access, it's still a long, long way between your neighbors seeing you and the rest of the country seeing you. On the internet, your neighbors are all across the world. And if you make a splash, it's much less difficult to make a name for yourself on computer screens across the world.

And how does one make a splash on the web? Well, you can be funny/wierd (most of the stuff on YouTube), you can be insightful (several blogs). Actually you can just be consistent and build an audience. We're very used to seeing new versions of things on TV every day or week so we come to expect the same thing online. So if you post something every day or week, your audience will come to visit just be nature of habit.

So why did RocketBoom make a splash? Well, I think it's the last thing that can get you noticed on the web: Sex. Okay, so Amanda Congdon didn't strip on her show, but let's all be honest here, people wouldn't watch her if she wasn't cute with big boobies. Go watch her show. I watched a few episodes and the only thing I could imagine around why she's so popular is her looks. The actual content of her show is pretty annoying, to be honest. I couldn't watch a single entire episode simply because I find her mannerisms either copies of other stuff (SNL's Tina Fey on the Weekend Update skits) or just kind of annoying.

Okay, so maybe I'm being cynical and since I didn't follow thing vlog while it was still alive I can't really say why people found it so interesting. And what I find annoying could be in-jokes with the vlog for people who have followed for a long time. But seriously...go watch the archives. How many episodes can you find where she's not wearing an extra thin baby-T and where she's not showing her chest? How many times does she do something unique?

So now the big question for people who have been following this whole thing is whether she will succeed in "the real world" based on her internet success. C'mon...given the nature of Hollywood she won't be doing anything unless she continues to show off those boobies. From watching a few of her episodes, I can't find anything interesting about her. My guess? She'll end up on one of those tech tv shows as "the hot chick who digs tech".

Afterall, that's pretty much all she was on Rocketboom.

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Thought less

I woke up this morning to the horrible news of the bombings in Mumbai. Somehow, I almost feel numb to this kind of thing now. It's sad...while it's certainly not a regular thing, we've seen enough of this kind of horror that the shock and automatic "WHAT!?!?!" reaction is no longer there.

And that's why it's sad. The dozens of people who died and hundreds who were injured deserve our thoughts and sentiments. So is this what they want? Certainly they want us to live in fear. But instead I'm numb. Thought less. Without thought.



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Monday, July 10, 2006

Through to the End

We had our first weekend with the photography biz where we had two clients booked at the same time. We didn't exactly plan to booked two clients at the same time, but it also wasn't a mistake or an overbooking. Booking multiple clients is part of the progression of the business.

So the plan was for Sandhya to stay with the morning client all the way to the end of the their event and I would go to the other client's event. We would both hire extra photographers to ensure that we'd have sufficient coverage. In the end, I think we both did great jobs for both clients and they should be very pleased with the coverage.

But an interesting thing happened on my way to the second client's event. I had a feeling of emptiness. This was the first time I wasn't able to stick around to watch the unfolding of things as things progress from a wedding ceremony where the couple can be a bit tense all the way through to dancing at the reception when the couple is happy beyond reason.

Ok, so I'm not a guest I don't need to share in the joy of the couple, but we're doing this because we love it, not because we desperately need the income. As such, we not only take a lot of pride in what we do, we find a lot of enjoyment in getting to know our clients and feel just as happy for them as their guests.

At first it felt a bit odd that I would miss not seeing our morning client at their reception. Then I thought...well, it's a business. But after another day, I'm actually proud of myself for having that empty feeling in the first place. I'm in this for the love of photography. Yes, the money is worthwhile, but it's not the beginning nor the end of the involvement.

That's one of the differences between working for a living and running your own business. I'm happy to say that even after a year of double-duty with my day job, and several months of feeling like I've got too many things to keep track of, I'm still happy to be doing this and even happier to feel a connection to the people that trust us to cover the most important events in their lives.

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Thursday, July 06, 2006

Make sure you get my panties while I'm putting on this Salwaar Kameez

Imagine if you had a bride-to-be tell you that while you're photographing her getting ready for her big event. Thank god neither I nor my partner have ever gotten a wierdo request like that. And hopefully we never will.

But given the way white people seem to be headed with the wedding photographs they want, I wouldn't be surprised if we get similar oddball requests.

I had heard some random things about women wanting more revealing photos taken of them while they getting ready in the morning. However, I thought those type of shots were limited to some tasteful behind the back photos of the bride's top being buttoned, etc, but with nothing actually revealed.

Little did I know that both the Wall Street Journal & ABC News have gone to great lengths to tittilate us with how far brides will go to have intimate photos of them taken. Thanks to Seshu's Bliss blog I now have something else to leave me speechless and shaking my head:
Brides Gone Wild (PDF link so I suggest you download it rather than load it directly)
and Nightline

In the coming days I'll try to post a bit about the interesting things we've seen and been part of while photographing weddings. For the most part, it's a pretty standard thing and as photographers we don't really know much more than the average guest besides timing, but sometimes, due to the specificity of what our clients want, we get to find out about the great lengths to which the couple has gone just to have a perfect day. A perfectly produced day too.

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Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Wait and then wait some more

I went to the post office this morning. It's a rare thing for me to go to there since I don't have much need to mail physical things. Email, PDFs, and especially online bill payment has replaced just about any reason for me to visit USPS.

This morning reminded me why I'd like to avoid USPS completely.

I got to the post office to find that about 8-10 people were in line. Not a huge deal since the lines tends to go down quickly since there are usually several people working the desk.

But just to avoid any wait, I went to the automated machine to see if I could get my postage done automatically. I tried finding the specific option on the machine but couldn't find it. So I figured I'd just go to the line since the lines usually just take 5-10 mins (at least at other post offices)

Lo and behold only 1 person is working the main desk. There's another woman working the passport desk and there at least a couple of people in the back since they keep poppping their heads out when someone rings the bell for pick up service.

After waiting about 10 mins, more people had joined the line (I counted 15 people) and only 2 people had actually gotten their task completed at the front of the line. Seeing these other USPS workers sit around seemingly doing nothing really pissed me off. I'm sure the other people were doing something useful, but what got to me is that none of these other workers thought to do a thing about the length of the line.

That means a few things:
1) Lines of this length are nothing new at USPS
2) One person working the line is nothing new at USPS
3) Other workers not being very helpful is nothing new at USPS

So I finally got tired of waiting in the same spot without making any progress so I went to the passport lady and asked if the automated machine should be able to help me (she wasn't doing anything anyways). Even though I explained that I wasn't able to find the option on the machine she didn't offer to help me out by showing me. What's more, I actually asked if there's anyone else who can work the main line and she just said nope. I asked her if she thought that having just one person there after a long weekend was a good idea since so many people were waiting. With a big smile on her face, she said I'd have to talk to her manager about that.

So not only is this person not helpful she happily passes the buck.

And our tax dollars subsidize this private company?

Yes, the USPS is a private company, it's not a federal agency like the IRS. Amazing how well USPS can act like a typical govt agency.

Anyways, I didn't bother to complain since I didn't want to wait around longer. I went to the machine and after clicking around in a few places I found the option I was looking for and was on my way.

On my way home from work, I'm stopping by again just to lodge a complaint. See you tomorrow.

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Thursday, June 29, 2006

Entrepreneurial Philanthropy - More on the Gates Foundation


I'm fascinated by the continuing developments with the Gates Foundation (GF). If you didn't hear, Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world and good friend of Bill Gates, recently announced that he would be donating $37 billion dollars to the Gates Foundation.

The donation itself is interesting since it's not a lump sum. Buffett is splitting the donation over a number of years and requires that one of the Gates actually runs the foundation. The most interesting financial thing is that Buffett is also requiring that the full amount which he donates in a given year must be spent in that same year. This is different than how most foundations work in that they keep most of their money invested and only use a small portion of it in any given year. That's how they survive through the years. The IRS requires that foundations spend at least 5% of their worth every year and that's the percentage that the Gates Foundation has been spending up to now. Not any more - it will have to disburse the regular 5% plus the full amount which Buffett donates every year.


So now why does this foundation intrigue me so much? Well, in addition to what I wrote about in the last post regarding its goal to eradicate so many major diseases, let's start with this new Economist article: The new powers in giving

I suppose some of this analysis makes it seems like GF is simply making a business out of charity, but over the years I've come to realize that true progress can only come from a concerted effort that looks at all angles. Moreover, there is no need to start from scratch if someone else may already have the skills and the capability to accomplish great things. So leverage what's there and as they say so often, don't reinvent the wheel. The Economist analysis brings up some good thoughts on the challenges GF will face as it grows larger and larger, but they've done great work so far. Besides, The Sage of Omaha has been right on so many big bets...why should we think he's not perfectly on track with his biggest bet so far?

I could go on for quite some time about other examples of this viewpoint, but I'll just leave it with saying that I think Gandhi would be very proud of the ways in which GF is tackling some of our world's biggest problems.

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Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Random Rudeness

Just as important an issue as Flag Burning is the random rudeness I face :)

This isn't a straight-up kind of rudeness, but it's just stuff that makes you go "WTF?" quietly...not enough to actually say anything, but enough to make you wonder what people were thinking.

Case in point, I was washing my coffee mug in the breakroom when some guy I had never seen, creeped up beside me and poured his cup of coffee down the drain without asking for a little space. Now, it's not like I need the personal space, but I also don't need coffee to splash on me, especially someone else's coffee. Especially while I'm washing my mug in the same sink at the same time and don't even have time to move my mug to the side. Dude proceeds to pour himself another cup and walk out. No excuse me, thanks, or any other niceties.

WTF?

Proceeding to the counter in the breakroom, people seem to think they can leave their random sugar, half-and-half, and other used packets on the counter. Why? There's a trash can right in front of you. Use it!

And finally, someone I had never worked with scheduled a meeting with me yesterday and didn't show up. No big deal, it happens. So I left the person a voicemail mentioning that I waited 15 mins then left and to schedule another mtg if they need to. Later that day I got a re-scheduled mtg request but no comments about completely missing a mtg. No voicemail reply either. Again, missing the mtg wasn't a huge deal, but a simple comment about it would give me the confidence that this person would actually attend the second time around.

Anyways, I haven't ranted for a while, so there you go...my rant for the month of June.

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The Burning Issues

It's that time of the summer when there's not really too much going on. We're waiting for a nice long weekend (although I'll be working for much of it), but beyond the long weekend, it's just a lot long hot days broken up by a few BBQs and a lot of beers.

But not if you talk to the politicians in Washington. Apparently, they've taken on the burning issues that we're all riled up about because...well because they're issues that need to be tackled.

What issues you say? Flag Burning. Illegal Immigration. Minimum Wage. Pulling tropps from Iraq.

Now, I'm not saying that none of these issues is important, but have you noticed that each of these issues has been quickly brought up, riled a varying number of people, then voted upon by Congress? And once the vote occurs, have you heard anything else about these issues? Unless it's about Iraq, I doubt any of us will ever hear of these issues again.

Until the next long hot summer.

Before an important election cycle.

Get where I'm going? I've known all along that these issues have been brought to the forefront not mainly because the American people are clamoring for closure on the issue, but mainly because our representative want to show they stand for (or against) something. [Ok, so people may be clamoring for some closure on immigration and troops in Iraq, but the timing of the presentation of these issues has as much to do with political needs and the desires of the public.]

And don't think it's just the GOP that's guilty of this non-sense. The Dems are just as shameless in bringing up these topics.

What I don't get though is why this even works any more? Doesn't it seem like the American public is too smart to be tricked by these ploys? It's quite obvious that these issues are only played for the theatrics. They'll be used later on to help market the politicians in their election campaigns.


"Now even more against Flag Burning!"


I didn't even know flag burning was an issue any more and here we are on June 28th and our Congress almost passed a Constitutional amendment to ban flag burning! (It would then have to be ratified by the states before getting added to the Constitution, of course).

Minimum Wage? Why did it take so many years to bring this up? And only then, for a week of discussion and a quick vote?

The sad thing is that this will continue to occur, bang bang bang on random issues through the summer. The even sadder thing is that in the upcoming election cycle, politicians on both sides will do their darndest to remind us how they voted on these issues. They've gotta market themselves somehow!

The saddest thing?

The Amercian people are going to slurp it all up. After all, it's a hot summer and they could use some refreshment.

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Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Drinkin Blak

So as I battle the multi-tasking withdrawals (actually the withdrawals aren't so bad if you don't quit), I realized I forgot to update the Coke Blak status. If you'll recall, I blogged about finding Coke Blak at the grocery store. Thoughts?

First of all, it's not cheap! It's like $2 for a tiny little bottle. But on the taste? Well, it's better than Pepsi Tarik, which is what I had a can of in Malaysia. The drugged up Pepsi sort of tasted old. Drugged up Coke has a distinct Coffee flavor.

But I don't think I'll drink it again, unless someone buys me a case for my birthday :P Hint: Please spend your money on better things than coffee flavored coke. Hint: Please give me something other than coffee flavored coke for my birthday. Hint: A New Car! (Just spent $700+ on car repair, singular...fixing a single thing cost $700+!)

There are so many new fangled beverages coming out. A drink for every niche. Hey, if every niche gets it's own cable channel and website, why not a drink, right? That's true to some extent, but I just don't think Coke Blak or any coffee-mix will catch on. Soda is usually really sweet (even if it's calorie free), while coffee is usually bitter (unless your idea of coffee is a 25 pump vanilla latte) with a bit of sweetness thrown in. In fact, I think part of the pleasure of coffee is the mix of coffee bitterness with sugar sweetness. So that would make you think mixing coffee with cola would work really well...but not so much. Cola just doesn't lend itself well to bitter mixers. Cherry, vanilla, lime and the like seem to do really well with cola, but they're all sweet and/or sour. And coffee mixes well with sweetness, but that's usually in some creamy or foamy form of sweetness, not cola.

So never shall the two covort in my mouth at the same time.

Now, let me get back to uni-tasking.

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Uni-Tasking - Counterproductive

I realized today just how antsy I get when I can't multi-task or I have to do just a single thing for hours on end. I've got all-day mtgs this week and I've been trying to pay more attention than I usually do. So I actually followed the "laptops down" rule even kept track of every presentation and conversation. Good stuff.

Except for all the things I didn't get done. So now I'm totally behind on emails, voicemails, etc, etc. What a pain.

I know that paying attention to things is actually a good thing. But doing just a single thing at a time seems like such a waste of time. Yes, it's bad to do a half-ass job of things while multi-tasking, but I think I've gotten so used to multi-tasking that I end up actually accomplishing more than if I just did those same things one after another. Sure that just may be a rationalization, but whatever. I'm addicted to multi-tasking and it's gonna be hard to quit.

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HDTV better than the real thing

So we got a new HDTV last week. I've been wanting one for ages, but never really prioritized it since we had a lot of other things to think about. So now having this huge TV is not just fun to watch, many times it feels better than actually being there.

This is usually the case with sports since TV cameras usually have much better views than what the average person can get in the cheap seats. But with the HD, every detail is amazing. Yes, yes, I know, HD has been around for quite some time. I'm certainly not an early adopter, but when I finally jump in, I'm totally pleased.

What is even more amazing is watching the documentary shows on Discovery and these two channels called INHD (get it? In High Def? Ha!). At the moment, I'm watching "Jeremy Piven's Journey of a Lifetime". Or should I say re-watching it? I wrote about the program previously when I first saw it. I specifically recorded it since I knew it would be a different experience in HD.

No kidding. Piven is currently on the backwaters in Kerala and it's exactly like a I remember it from my trip there. Makes me want to return post-haste. I want to return even more due to some discussions we've had around the photography and trying to concentrate more on the art of our work; not just event coverage. More on that soon.

But anyway, it's truly amazing how a higher definition image just takes you away from your living room and places you smack dab in the middle of a Kathakali performance. I'm not surprised by this at all. Afterall, our photography almost always takes our clients away and places them right smack dab in the middle of their memories.

By the way, I've gotta add a few more comments about Jeremy Piven. The program is just wonderful. I wish he had spent more time in India. The interesting thing is that his experience is full of spiritual connection (which is what I usually expect when white people go to India), but he also just acts sort of random. I'd say he acts dumb or demeaning or racist, but it's not that. I suppose I could get offended by some of it, but I'm far from offended. In fact, it makes his trip all the more real. It's not like he's treating India as some cultural oasis. He treats it like a place when people actually live - they're not just religious kooks living in a Land of Culture, they're people! And so I think this makes the show (and Piven) a bit more charming and more real. And ya, the HD makes it more real too.

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Thursday, June 15, 2006

Today it was a good day

Man, today really seems to be a banner day for the benefit of the world as a whole. President Bush announced this morning that the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands will now for a National Monument. It's bigger than any other nat'l monument and it's the most intact marine region within US jurisdiction.

Let's leave aside my thoughts on W and his term so far, but I've gotta say that our president has given the world a huge gift here but designating this area as a national monument. In the grand scheme, the war and everything else W stands for may nullify the good things Bush as done, but let's give W a hand for doing this.

President Clinton previous called this same area an ecosystem reserve, but the nat'l monument status guarantees permanent funding to maintain the reserve and it's very hard to change in the future.

Yes, another huge win for the world. Take a second and smile.

:)

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Philanthropy for the rich and famous

Bill Gates just announced that he's going to be leaving his day-to-day role at Microsoft in 2008. He's going to concentrate on the great work that his charities are doing.

If you listen to public radio and watch public TV, then you've probably heard the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as the William H Gates Foundation (that's Bill's father). What I've liked about these foundations is that they have been focusing on such basic things, but things which have a huge impact on the global level. Things like Tuberculosis, Polio, AIDS, and vaccines for a multitude of other diseases which are so prevalent in the 3rd World we should be ashamed of ourselves. And then there's all the education related work the foundation undertakes. And this work isn't just a drop in the bucket - we're talking hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, the Gates Foundation is the world's largest charitable foundation.

Much of the discussion about Gates' announcement will focus on what happens to Microsoft going forward (in fact, the CNN story hardly mentions a thing about what Gates is moving onto, it just talks about the Microsoft plans). But I think this is a HUGE win for the world as a whole. Many people deride MS for providing crappy products and using it's marketshare to squash everything good in the software world, but it's clear that Gates has had an eye out for what good he can do outside of the sofware world for a long time. Given his success with MS (luck and timing included), I think he'll do much much greater things for the world as he begins to focus on the philanthropic work his foundation can lead.

The current leaders of our world can learn a thing or two from this announcement. Here's to people taking a step back and doing things for the greater good.

Cheers, Bill Gates.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Ergonomics and Industrial Design

Yes, yes, I know, yes another long time between posts. I've just been lazy and have had other things on my mind. I've been pondering some topics to blog about and something I heard on NPR told me I finally had to post.

So NPR had a profile of an industrial design legend named Viktor Schreckengost who is turning 100 next week. This man has designed so many things it's quite amazing that he's not a household name. One of the things he said while being interviewed is that he always thought from the user's perspective and how they would feel using one of his designs. That seems pretty obvious.

So it's funny that I was thinking about the same topic and was chatting with a friend about it just a few hours earlier in the day. I brought up the topic because I just got a new Apple Macbook. While it's a great little machine and I believe it's going to serve my needs very well, I realized within a couple of hours of taking it out of the box that there was an odd flaw with the physical design of the thing. Don't get me wrong, overall, they've done a great job combining good looks with a very useable design. But there are two things which, to me, are glaring mistakes.

The first is the most annoying since my wrists won't let me forget about it. While closed, the macbook looks so sleek it just brings a twinkle to your eye. Open it up and the keyboard looks funky, but it actually works quite well and is very comfortable. In fact, I like it a bit better than the MacBook Pro's keyboard. Anyways, the problem here is not the keyboard, it's the front edge of the machine. It's got a sharp edge which just digs into your wrists while you type. Not a good thing. This is not a matter of how I type, since I believe most people lay their wrists on the space directly in front of the keyboard. When you do this on a MacBook, your wrist just scrapes along this hard, sharp edge.

So if you see me sometime and the inside of my wrists look all raw and ready to bleed, don't worry, I haven't tried to slit my wrists, I've just been using my laptop.

So in Apple's attempts at creating a truly slick (literally) laptop, they didn't think about how the clean line of the front edge would affect a user's ergonomics. For a company that's lauded for its industrial design, that's a a huge mark against them. I haven't heard of any other complaints about this, but I'd be interested to learn about other people's experiences with this.

Ok, so moving on, the other problem with this laptop is the position of the lock receptacle. If you haven't used one of those Kensington Laptop Locks, you really ought to. I've been using them for so long, it's a no brainer for me. So when I take this laptop to work, I immediately lock it up so some random person walking by my cube can't just lift my shiny new money pit. Well, as soon as I put the MacBook on my desk, I immediately recognized something wrong with where the lock receptacle is...it's on the left side of the laptop, but it's the front most thing. Check out this photo. The lock receptacle is the little hole all the way on the right side (on the black MacBook). So the problem is that with the lock in, the cable for the lock (which runs to the back of my desk) covers up ALL of the ports. Dumb. So let's say I run my lock to the side of the my desk...in that case, the cable for the lock would be smack dab in the middle of my desk and block everything else. What if I run the lock over the front edge of my desk and underneath? Well then I've got a cable hitting my knees all day. No matter where I run the cable for the lock, it's gets in the way of something else.

Every PC I've seen has the lock receptacle as far back as possible. This makes sense since the lock is really the last thing you really need to be touching once you put it on. While using the computer, chances are you're going to want to plug in USB devices, a network cable, etc. Whenever I do this with my MacBook, I've gotta push the damned lock cable out of the way. How annoying. And by placing the lock reception all the way in the back, you can just run the cable to the back of your desk and it's out of the way and doesn't impede on your knees or anything else on your desk.

Now...I'm not saying this is the result of something thinking the lock receptacle look cool in this wierdo spot, but it's definitely a sign of someone not thinking about how people use laptop locks.

Of course, Apple has done a great job thinking about other day to day problems of laptop users, like the powr plug. The MacBook and MacBook Pro have a magnetic power plug which will come out if it's tugged too hard. Sure this might mean you lose power more often since the plug comes out, but it's better than the plug staying in and dragging the laptop off your desk and onto the floor when your dog runs by and snags the cord. Believe me, I've had several heart stopping moments when I've had to catch my laptop just as it teeters on the edge of my table since it was just dragged off the edge as my dogs ran by.

Ok, so I'm going to give Apple lots of credit for how well they design so many thing, but when they miss, they miss in ways that really annoy me.

Want more examples?

The Apple Keyboard...While the laptop keyboards are quite nice, the external keyboard looks so sweet, but it's something I really can't stand. Notice the curve on it? From an ergonomic perspective, it's actually the exact opposite of what it should do. They say that you should type in such a way that your hands & wrists sort of hang limp. The Apple keyboard makes you bend your wrists backwards. On top of that, the keystrokes are so long that you have to really punch at the keys to get them going. As a result of this, they make tons of noise too. And not the nice clicky-clicky noise that old school IBM terminals make, It's a really annoying noise. So the Apple keyboard is a definite loser from an ergonomic & user perspective. Looks cool, but looks only go so far.

One more example?

The Apple mouse. Sucks. Let's not worry about the single mouse button thing since the latest Mighty Mouse actually has two buttons, they're just technological buttons instead of a separate buttons. But look at this thing. It's so cool! That should be your first sign :) This geometric design is actually quite bad for your mouse hand. Again, looks very cool, but totally wrong from an ergonomic perspective.

So which external keyboard & mice do I like best?

Microsoft. Gotta love that wave keyboard...it really keeps your hands in the right spots. And the first generation ones actually let you hang your hands in the perfect position. If you've got one of those first generation ones, lemme know and I'll buy it from you :) I also like the nice mice they make, although I don't have a favorite. I'm sure Logitech makes very nice ergonomic mice also. Bottom line though is that Apple definitely doesn't know how to make them.

It's funny...Apple does a great job at user interface from a software perspective, but I've just gone into waaay too much detail about how badly they can miss on the hardware user interface. Apple certainly isn't the only company that misses on their hardware interface, but given how much Apple puts into how much better their products are than everyone else's, they really should address these things by thinking more about the ergonomics of these devices.

In the meantime, I'll go blot my bleeding wrists.


Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Singapore's stranglehold on Democracy

I've written several times previously about the nature of democracy in Singapore. Generally, this topic comes up when I visit the city-state since that is when I can get an in-person taste for what democratic freedom amounts to there.

The Economist has published a pretty spot-on account how things work there. I encourage you all to read it since it's short and it'll give you an idea of what I mean by a democratically elected benevolent dictatorship.

Just to recap, I think Singapore's ruling party, the People's Action party (PAP) has done a great job at ensuring the the country continues to move forward. Additionally, they continue to find a way to toe the line between control of everything and the resulting grumbling from folks who dislike the lack of American style freedoms.

In practice, I think most of SGP's population could care less about freedoms as long as they are able to live a comfortable life in relatively efficient world. The PAP has realized this (or more correctly, created this attitude) and caters to it on a daily basis. In the end, I think most people operate in that fashion whether it's in SGP or in the USA.


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Monday, May 08, 2006

Two words for every brand

Forgive my usual stupid pun in the title (a free photo for the first person who knows the reference)

So since last year have you been noticing that much of the consumer goods you get the store have things written in two languages? Considering that we're in California, one would expect the two languages to be English & Spanish. Afterall, the vast majority of the population speaks one of those two languages fluently.

But as you've probably figured out, the second language we see is not Spanish, but French.

Why French? Because the Quebecois are uppity like that. Now, don't go thinking I'm a French hater. I actually took 4+ years of French classes and I think the French bring a lot to the cultural table (if nothing else). But despite all they bring to the table in terms of cuisine, culture, and art, the French seem to have this inferiority complex when it comes to the English language and especially Americans. Quebecois seem to have this same issue.

And thus you get the French Language Charter, which, among other things, requires that all consumer products to be labelled in French to the same degree that they are in English (or any other language I suppose). If you're in Quebec and love you some French, this seems fine, but when you're in the one of the most highly Hispanic regions of the United States? Useless. Even worse, it takes away from the table.

While English is the main language in this country and I think every person in the US should have working knowledge of the language, let's admit that not everyone knows English. While there certainly is no reason to require any language on any package, if there were to be additional languages on packaging, it should be Spanish. No questions.

But here we are with this stupid French-Canadian law that forces me to read French every time I go to buy household items.

Why? Because the people who make my air freshner make the same stuff for our northern neighbors and it's simpler for them to have a single package for the entire market. No sense in creating totally separate packaging for a mere 7 million people so they just make a single package. And so 300 million Americans get to read French on a daily basis.

Anyways, I've been thinking about posting about this forever, but I finally did it because I saw the new air freshner my wife picked up yesterday. Lo and behold...no French! In fact, Glade was smart enough to put Spanish on the packaging in addition to English. I'm sure the millions of Spanish speaking people in this state and others will appreciate a major brand recognizing and tailoring their products to them.

Fuck the Quebecois, dude. I'd much rather deal with a little Spanish on my household items because it serves this community in a much more significant way.

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Thursday, May 04, 2006

Back in Blak

I meant to post this last week after a trip to Safeway, but what can I say? I'm forgetful.

Anyways, we were in Safeway and I walked by the cold single serve beverages in the back (you know, just in case you need a mixer for the fifth of rum you're buying).

First thoughts: This photo kind of sucks. My new cell phone is really cool, but the photos it takes aren't nearly as nice as I'd like.

Second thoughts: Coke Blak? Huh?

If you recall my wrap-up posts from my recent trip to Singapore, I found and consumed a can of Pepsi Tarik, which is a mix of cola & coffee. As you can review, I wasn't blown away. At that time I found some news that Coke would be releasing something in France and lo-and-behold, I just found a bunch of bottles at Safeway!

While the bottle is intriguing (it's a metal bottle wrapped in plastic sheathing), based on my experience with Pepsi Tarik, I wasn't intrigued enough to grab a bottle and get lit up with caffeine.

Now that I've blogged about it, I might just drop by the market and grab a bottle. I'll keep you all updated since I know you're sitting on the edge of your collective seats.

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Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Soul-Full

The other while driving I saw a car in front of me I saw a station wagon with a bumper sticker that said "Drum Machines Have No Soul". I started to wonder what type of music the person didn't like. New Wave? R&B? Hip Hop?

I then started to wonder what type of the music the person DID like. Hard Rock? Classic rock? Maybe the bumper sticker was supposed to be ironic and the person actually liked New Wave music?

Since this was the only sticker on the car, I was very perplexed and thought about it for much longer than I needed to.

So coincidentally, I listened to a lot of Depeche Mode this weekend while painting our new house. I had downloaded a DM discography a while back and had yet to listen through stuff. So I just loaded up iTunes and had it set to random.

DM was the first band I really obsessed over. And yes, I admit that :) While I don't really like or listen to any of their newer stuff, running through a few dozen of their tracks over the weekend really took me back to when Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, at al were gods to me. Man, as far as music went, DM was it and nothing could beat their keyboards and drum machines.

It was only near the end of the day that I recalled that bumper sticker and had to smirk. Here I was remembering my spiked hair, rolled pant cuffs, pastel shirts and dopey glasses. And man, was that music full of soul.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Wake Up and Shake Up

My entire schooling occurred in the LA Unified School District (LAUSD). The whole time, having friends that lived in Orange County, I knew that the LAUSD sorta sucked. Well, it's come to a head and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says, "wake up and shake up the bureaucracy at the LAUSD".

The Economist has a pretty good summary of what the Mayor has proposed. I tried to find something from the LA Times since it should have a good local take, but I could only find something about the reaction to the proposal..nothing about the proposal itself (logins required for both).

Since I'm not too familiar with the specifics of the proposal, I can't really say if I'm totally for it or against it, but let me tell you...something needs to be done. My high school was all right, but every time I drive by that place now, I just feel like it's gotten a lot more ghetto over the years. I know, I know, a ghetto look to a school has no tie to how well the eduction is in that school, but even when I was there, most of students really had no plans to do anything after high school except work. Even then, it was pretty clear that one can't go too far in this world without some sort of further education. And as you can refer to in the Economist article, a staggering number of LAUSD students don't even bother to finish school.

The LATimes article refers to the range of schools in the LAUSD since there are many rich areas in LA City in addition to the many poor areas. This is a clear example of how "Separate But Equal" is still a reality even though it's unconstitutional. I'm not 100% sure about the charter school concept, but I am definitely sure about the utility of managing schools at a smaller level. Not micromanaging, but just focusing on a smaller number of students.

One of the proposals I heard on NPR last week (though I'm not sure if it's actually a part of the mayor's plans) is to manage every school in the district at a 500 student max. This doesn't mean creating physical schools with no more than 500 students, but I take it to mean that a person will be in charge of a 500 student slice of the school to ensure the success of those students. Sort of like the multiple schools at any university (School of Engineering, Arts & Letters, etc).

I think that's a really good idea. Simply throwing money at a problem rarely solves the problem. But thinking about ways to re-envision the existing structure can really lead to new ways to succeed.

At this point, the mayor's plan would have to be approved by the California Legislaure. Given Villaraigosa's history with the Leg. and the Governator's support, I have a feeling it will pass. Here's hoping that the 727 thousand students in that district really benefit from the plans.


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Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Sickly Sweet 16

Don't deny it. You've seen MTV's Super Sweet 16.

In fact, I've seen it often enough that I actually edited a video for a 16th birthday party so that the opening sequence had a similar look to the opening of the actual MTV show.

This is what I do in my spare time. Pretend I'm MTV.

Anyways, this NYTimes article doesn't have any new, but....

Click onto the second page to read about the spoiled Indian girls. I can't wait to watch that one. Not that they deserve any more or less attention and ridicule than any of the other 16 year olds on this show.

All this proves of course is that most Indians just wanna be like everyone else. As Dr. Kothapalli, the girls' father says, "It's the American way. You work hard and you play hard."

BTW...the gift from the parents? A Bentley, diamonds, and two homes in India.

Play hard indeed.

McTummy

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Finalizing the house purchase and the sale of our current house has kept us rather busy.

Anyways, we finally watched Supersize Me and both my wife and I were pretty disgusted.

I have to admit I eat a lot more fastfood than I should or want to. It's not so much that I like the taste, but that's it so convenient on my busy days. My wife actually much better than I do.

I won't really comment too much on the premise of the documentary since I'm sure we've all come to the realization about McDonald's a long time ago.

Morgan Spurlock did a good job with editing since the film really punches at the right time and rarely seems to pile on. Don't get me wrong, he obviously wants the fast food industry and the mass food industry in general to be depicted in a very, very bad light. However, he does a good job with just moving on to another topic once he's made his point. I feel like this is rather different than Michael Moore's editing of Farenheit 9/11. He really seems to love piling on. I definitely prefer the method of making a good point, then moving on.

So coming out the this movie, I've made a mid-ur resolution to cut-out (or cut down drastically) the crappy fast food that I tend to eat. If I'm in a rush, I'm going to do my best to choose something more healthful (or at least less unhealthy). In practice, this might mean going to Quizno's for a low-fat sub (rock on Honey Bourbon Chicken!) rather than grabbing a double cheeseburger and/or a McChicken. It also means going to Baja Fresh rather than Taco Bell.

In general, I don't think I overeat, since I try not to fill my stomach, just satisfy my hunger. But as far as I'm concerned, eating a small amount of shit food on a consistent basis is just as bad as eating supersized meals regularly.

And just to mention that I tend to eat decent food, here's my regular, rather bland diet: Oatmeal in the morning, Gardenburger (no cheese) for lunch. Dinner can really vary since lately we've been eating-out or ordering-in more often than usual. It's those times when I'm sick of the cafeteria environment that I fall off the cliff into a pile of McFat.

No more.