Cheerios bailing out the newspaper business?
April 5th, 2009
Advertising has always supported the papers but now it's heartbreakingly not enough. Which is why I must admit that getting two boxes of cereal attached to my LA times was pretty moving and even softened this harsh critic of the packaged goods industry for all the processed foods they churn out. The NYT also came wrapped in a Kellog's Raisin Bran advert but no actual cereal to report (score 1 for General Mills). Maybe the packaged goods industry can convert their severe mastery of brand management and ability to zombify a nation of millions into believing artificially colored popped rice flakes coated in sugar were part of the food pyramid because a funny cartoon animal said so..into a set of creative partnerships and campaigns to save our newspapers. I still ate oatmeal for breakfast.
Candlelight Dinner at Town for Earth Hour in Honolulu
March 29th, 2009
Blip.fm
March 18th, 2009
Posterous
March 17th, 2009
“We are not a destination site” was the most frequently heard phrase in my conversations at the interactive parties at SXSW. But Garry Tan of Posterous said it to me early in the evening so he gets credit there. I’m happy about extreme meta-organizing tools, the organization of organization.
SXSW Day 2
March 16th, 2009
Holy crazy overachieving feature directorial debut alert! Sin Nombre was jawdroppingly good. Cary Fukunaga, 31, of Oakland…don’t ever let me underestimate filmmakers from the Bay Area! He researched Central American gangs for two years, sat in prison cells with them as they copyedited his script (which was in Spanish, even though he’s not a native speaker), then rode on TOP of immigrant trains from Honduras to Mexico to prepare for this moving, beautifully filmed, border crossing saga. No surprise, it will be released in theaters (NY, LA and SF) on March 20th.
SXSW Day 1
March 15th, 2009
From the balcony level at the majestic Paramount theater in Austin, I started the festival with Alexander the Last, Joe Swanberg’s 5th film in 5 years to premiere at SXSW. Does this man sleep? In a first in terms of distribution platform, it was simultaneously available on demand to cable viewers. Handheld, intimate shots of couples in relationships, being tempted by people they worked with in creative collaborations; lots of talking, staring, thinking, making out. It was sexy and real.
Walking down 6th Street.
The Rajputian Moustache
January 18th, 2009
Imbued with both historical significance and straight-up vanity, the image of the majestic mouche followed us everywhere in Rajasthan. While in exile, a celebrated Rajput King, Maharana Pratap (1542-1597) gets a letter from his cousin about the Mughal emperor, Akbar’s planned seige of the kingdom of Udaipur. Knowing Akbar’s might, the cousin asks if he should “keep his hand over his mustache” (various translations – from twirling the moustache, to wearing the moustache in an upturned arch vs. turned down) or take his life with his own sword. Maharana Pratap famously writes back that he must wear his moustache turned up proudly as a symbol of defiance and they successfully fend off the Mughals for the ensuing years. As seen on the streets today, the tradition continues.
The Road to the Taj Mahal
January 1st, 2009
Late Morning Dili Haat, Delhi
December 29th, 2008
This is Dilli Haat, an outdoor market where fine artisans sell direct to consumer. The white haze in the photos is actually the smog or the dust or who knows what but the city is cloaked in it. It makes almost midday seem like dawn. The winter sunlight feels weak and cold, filtered through this dense layer of fake atmosphere.
Billboard across from Magic Castle