Fallen Art, a hard hitting aimation from Tomek Baginski, is set in a uniquely macabre world created by the stylized imagery of Rafal Wojtunik. Part commentary on the detrimental effects of war and part satirical jab at what constitutes art, this film will keep you thinking long after its run-time of 5 minutes.
Here are some pictures of the perigee moon I took on December 12, 2008.
A full moon has occurred closer to the Earth than it has done at any time for the past 15 years.
The Moon’s elliptical orbit means its distance from the Earth is not constant.
It was a little over 350,000km away as it passed over the northern hemisphere, about 30,000km closer than usual. (via BBC)
I’m at a South Bombay location as i type this. It’s been 16 hrs since Mumbai was attacked in most unprecedented fashion, yet the city remains under siege by a terrorist group. Nonetheless, away from Colaba—the epicenter of the attacks—there is light activity on the streets and most stores are open for regular business.
The audacity of the terrorists is alarming and there is no way to comprehend their motives or the negative impact it will have on the sub-continent’s stability and geopolitical relations.
Finally given a chance to get away from the sensational news reporting and endless #mumbai twitter stream, I have a moment to reflect, meditate, and pray. My thoughts immediately go to the innocent lives that have been lost to this atrocity and I pray for their families to find strength to persevere through these testing times. Setting aside all political malaise, I salute the brave men and women of the Mumbai police, NSG commandos, Naval marines, Anti-terror squads, and soldiers of the Indian Army who are risking their lives and going on the offensive to protect the people of India. Despite numerous terror attacks on India in the recent past, the government seems to lack adequate anti-terror strategies and infrastructure. But that hasn’t stopped these brave men to step in the line of fire to save Mumbai from total anarchy—no matter how primitive their support and protective gear.
Sitting at home last night I heard two loud blasts at 22:20, which was around the time I read @kapilb’s tweets about similar noises he was hearing. I tweeted about it and a flurry of tweets followed about a firing at Leopold’s Cafe. I put on the TV and watched in horror as the despicable events began to unravel. The western world awoke unawares to the situation and turned to twitter for an up to the second update steam. I too was up all night live tweeting the developments as they broke on local news channels like Times Now, NDTV, and CNN-IBN. Various sites picked up my tweets for reporting purposes, CNN.com and Mahalo.com being the most notable. In fact, I was even called through the night for updates on the standoff by radio stations in Edmonton and San Franciso.
I’ve always been a huge Twitter fanboy but am still marveling at its worldwide adoption over the past several hours as an instant communication and event tracking tool! Tipping point for twitter? I think so. Here’s a CNN article that also heralds today as “the day social media appeared to come of age and signaled itself as a news gathering force to be reckoned with.” See for instance the way @Vinu risked his life while gunfire was being exchanged to bring us these photographs no sooner than the news broke.
Shockingly, the terrorists, all between the age of 20 and 25, exposed themselves completely while carrying out their heinous crimes. It’s discouraging to see young citizens getting disenfranchised by the system and rebeling so vehemently, especially in a country whose promising future lies in the hands of her 500 million youths. It doesn’t apply directly in this case, as most leads are not pointing to home-grown terror but its rise in India is a known fact. So what can we do about it? How can we include the youth by allowing them to express their emotions positively and make them feel like they’re making a difference or being heard. We often complain that the politics in India is outmoded, so how do we inject verve into our politics by making the youth feel like they have a duty to fulfill? After all, didn’t Gandhi say “Be the change you wish to see in the world?” I think that time has come for India. Barack Obama did it in the US and I’m certain that out of a population of 1 billion, someone can challenge the status quo and lead us towards real growth—socially, politically, and economically.
I recently purchased the domain riseupindia.com to build a social network to galvanize the large youth population in India and harness its diverse talents. I hadn’t thought through it, but now seems an opportune time as any to seed a discussion to build this idea in a collaborative format since many people are uninspired by the politics and leadership, or lack thereof, in India.
How can we build a social platform that will help increase transparency in our politics and give youth a real chance to lead our country in the forseeable future? I’d love to hear ideas and find folks to collaborate with. For how long can we have 81-year olds as leading candidates for our head of state position?
It’s 5pm. I look out of my airplane window to see Manhattan’s breathtaking skyline against the impending sunset. Far into the horizon I notice luscious hues of orange, yellow, and red. We’ve just taken off and and the plane feels like it’s floating towards this paradise. Time stands still… It’s a new beginning. Within minutes the colors begin to melt away and the sky is engulfed in darkness. The journey begins. The journey from New York to Mumbai. The journey from America back to India after seven years. The journey to find my new life adventure. The journey to fulfillment.
I had decided over the summer that Mumbai with a teeming population of some 15 million, its expanding financial and entertainment industries, and enigmatic promise would be my next stop after Bangalore, Ann Arbor, Prague, and New York. The city whose essence NY Times writer Anand Giridharadas captures so wonderfully:
Here the highest social boast is that you “just got back” from abroad; the loftiest praise for a restaurant is, “It’s like you’re not in India.” Mumbai’s globalized class hungers for it to be a world city, and its leaders pledge to make it Shanghai-like by 2020; the plan is, to put it gently, behind schedule. (full article)
Similarly, my decision was met with much cynicism amongst my friends back home: “Why leave America?”, “Enjoy one of the worst cities of the world. It’ll destroy your soul. Have fun!” So why am I doing it? What am I looking to get out of it? I can’t foresee the future but as I was deliberating these thoughts, I chanced upon Tony Robbins’ provoking TED talk, “Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better.” Littered with nuggets of wisdom, it gave me perspective and a chance to reflect on what I was doing and where the motivation was coming from.
Over the past few years especially, I haven’t taken conventional paths when presented with a decision. When most of my friends were clamoring to business school, I opted for film school. When the same friends were headed to Wall Street internships, I moved to Prague to shoot a film and then finally ended up at a comic book company after graduating. Being a startup, we were hit by the financial crisis this year and I decided to move on.
Evaluating the decision through Tony Robbins’ six basic human needs, I’m definitely looking for more uncertainty at this formative stage in my career. Life in New York was getting predictable and I missed the chaos of India. Chaos breeds creativity but on the flip side, getting things done can be draining.
As Giridharadas goes on to say:
Mumbaikars, as they are known, cannot resist one another, cannot resist Mumbai. Those who crave departure could depart if they wanted. They are still here. The newly arrived could have stayed in the villages, basking in their certainties. They too, choose to invest themselves here.
Neither investment is total, unreserved. But Mumbai works on the agglomeration of these hopes: Because so many cast their lots here, it becomes a place worth casting lots. The longer you remain, the less you notice what Mumbai looks, smells, sounds like. You think instead of what it could be. You become addicted to the companionship of 19 million other beings. Surrounded by hells, you glimpse paradise.
Then there is the need for achievement, which will lead to significance and fame. That said, I strongly believe that given appropriate educational and cultural backgrounds, there is a window of opportunity for faster rates of professional growth in emerging markets like India. Finally, when one can take the need for connection and love beyond the familial context—by embracing cultural and geopolitical roots—contribution beyond ourselves (to society) will begin to emerge. Call me an idealist but Barack Obama’s recent exploits have really shaken me up from the inside to take part in pro-social activities and get involved in the political landscape of my country.
I’m on the journey to discover my destiny but somewhere in between I see those glimpses of paradise. Maybe that is the final destination!
A google search for “Obama” returns almost 500 million matches, so what’s left to say about the 44th President of the United States of America that hasn’t been said already? Charismatic, suave, determined, unifier, eloquent… I’ll probably run out of superlatives before the list is complete. Hell, even a search for “messiah” has Obama in the top 5 results. The illustration above by artist Patrick Moberg deserves special mention for his poignant representation of the event… seriously, anything is possible! Here are some more memorable pictures from the Obama campaign over the last couple of months.
Billions of dollars have been spent on this election, millions of words written, as many pictures taken and numerous tears of joy shed in response to Obama’s urgent message to usher in a new era of change and hope. Obama resonated with a new America—one that the Republicans were completely out of touch with—a new America that responded with unprecedented enthusiasm to elect its first black President.
Personally, I’ve been in the US for seven years and last night I really wished I could vote for Barack. I like what he stands for—he understands that the world is now globalized more than ever and America needs to reassert herself as a respected hegemony. He challenged voters to restore the American Dream and they responded in overwhelming fashion. As a young guy setting out to build my career, I feel deeply inspired especially given the timing of this historic moment. I recently decided to move back to my home country of India to pursue entrepreneurial projects, reconnect with my roots, and promote social change so we can eradicate poverty and dogmatism. India too faces a defining moment in her history; with a phenomenal 500 million youths under the age of 21, the country needs leadership to leverage and mobilize this massive youth population.
Barack Obama’s campaign is a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit to overcome the most daunting obstacles. Such human beings come around once every generation and I hope Obama’s journey inspires more individuals around the world to rise up and make a difference in their communities. Obama has reminded us of the potential of grassroots campaigns and that we all have a part in creating a free and peaceful world.
The two-year long show is over, now let’s get to work.
GO BARACK YOUR WORLD!
Alessandra Ferri is a highly accomplished Italian ballerina and performs a beautiful ballet routine as Sting plays Bach’s Perlude on his guitar. The warm up scenes are very intimate too as he does yoga stretches and she gets her shoes ready—it’s soothing and has a nice ending as well.
Digital Imagery Architect, Mark Goldsworthy, has some amazing samples of his film and video game work on his website and here’s a particularly cool evolution of an image from concept to final product, inspired by the Natural History Museum, London. Do you think a landscape orientation would make it stronger or do you like the imposing size of the structure by giving it more height and shooting from a low angle? I really like how low it’s set, getting you very close to the destruction.
