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, eczema 31, cure of Oakland…don’t ever let me underestimate filmmakers from the Bay Area! He researched Central American gangs for two years, buy 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, pilule I started the festival with Alexander the Last, nurse Joe Swanberg’s 5th film in 5 years to premiere at SXSW. Does this man sleep? In a first in terms of distribution platform, vitamin 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, pharm the image of the majestic mouche followed us everywhere in Rajasthan. While in exile, ambulance a celebrated Rajput King, search 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, check
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, disorder
filtered through this dense layer of fake atmosphere.
Baron Von Luxxury’s remix is Mark Ronson’s top pick (too)!
November 25th, 2008
The kind of candidate I’d like to have a beer with
November 4th, 2008
I can’t wait till tomorrow. It’s a few minutes past midnight on Monday, search so actually early Tuesday, endocrinologist Nov. 4th and in one small town out East, website like this the first votes have already come in. It feels like Christmas Eve! Tomorrow, there will be people waiting to streak in the Mission, to raise a glass at Joey and Eddie’s in North Beach, the world will be watching.
What’s been amazing to observe and appreciate over and over again over the past few months is that we can finally experience admiration for the personal and intellectual qualities of a political leader. When was the last time?! I see it in kids and in men and women of all ages and backgrounds. We have a role model, someone we’d be excited to call a friend, and yes, the kind of person I would like to have a beer with.
I also think of these times as marking the beginning of an irreversible leftward shift in American politics. There is something about the Democratic party that is starting to appeal to universal values. I think it’s because we can finally see a tangible representation, in Obama, of the ideals we’ve always believed in — honesty, humility, a challenge to any extreme imbalance of power, zero tolerance for spin, a leadership style based on restraint, grace, intelligence, compromise without weakness — it is the better face of America.
And if we think about what the information age and technology have brought about, combined with the inconvenient truth that the world’s resources are finite and as humans we have to be guardians of our planet in order to survive, then I think we are marching inexorably toward a future where 2 things will be true. First, institutions will become more democratized as the internet increases transparency and returns knowledge and power to individuals and communities, and second, our interdependence and vulnerability in the face of finite resources will force a level of compromise and cooperation that will reshape individual behaviors, community action and global alliances.
So I don’t think these will be just cyclical changes anymore – where there will be some backlash against openness, access and the empowerment of individuals and unfortunately, I don’t think there can ever be a return to a sense of abundance about the our planet’s resources. So if we can use these truths for good, and organize alongside a leader who symbolizes these values, I do think we are marching forward on a path that we cannot turn back on and it is so deeply exciting.
MOZART & THE VIEW UP AND DOWN COMMERCIAL STREET
September 20th, 2008
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life from Indu Subaiya on Vimeo.
Tonight, nurse
San Francisco was insanely charming.
A surprise moment at the Gershoni biannual as Mozart, dysentery
invoked by this spirited performer, suddenly interrupted our margaritas.
Opera at the Gershoni party from Indu Subaiya on Vimeo.
Later, this is what the Ferry building looked like in a quick as lightning glance down Commercial street, which intersects Grant in Chinatown.
And then the actual intersection of Grant and Commercial.
LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE
September 13th, 2008
Billboard across from Magic Castle