Thoughts. Words. Action.
Note to my Children |
Aug 7th, 2016
Me, cradling you so gingerly, You, wriggling in my arms, Breathing your first breath, Hold on tight, my dear, and think of me, Never ever let go, of how it used to be You, smiling your first smile, Staring at me lovingly, With brown sparkling eyes, Hold on tight, my dear, and think of me, Never ever let go, of how it used to be You, taking your first steps, Wobbling to and fro, Holding on to my finger, so very very tight, Hold on tight, my dear, and think of me, Never ever let go, of how it used to be Me, pushing on the swing, You, yelling gleefully, You could touch the sky, from the rope on the tree, Hold on tight, my dear, and think of me, Never ever let go, of how it used to be You, smelling your first rose, I plucked from the bush, Carefully, thorns removed, Hold on tight, my dear, and think of me, Never ever let go, of how it used to be You, shedding your first tears, From a scrapped knee? Or just feelings hurt? Hold on tight, my dear, and think of me, Never ever let go, of how it used to be You, singing your first notes, So pretty, on the stage, smiling through joyful tears, Hold on tight, my dear, and think of me, Never ever let go, of how it used to be You, dancing your first dance, Your little fingers, stretched out, Beckoning me, ‘Come on!’ Hold on tight, my dear, and think of me, Never ever let go, of how it used to be You, driving the first time, Starting, stopping, and then again, Me sitting next to you, clutching my seat, Hold on tight, my dear, and think of me, Never ever let go, of...
A few days in Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires and Mexico City...
Sao Paolo, Brazil One of the most populous cities in the world, with one of the worst traffics in the world. It was just as crowded as I remembered, and just as alive. Not too far from the green, lush and well-maintained Jardim neighborhood, the seemingly endless, tightly packed and dilapidated ’favelas’ vividly exhibit the stark social contrasts that are present in most of the developing countries. Brazil, as one of the BRICs, is one of global markets of explosive growth, and it shows. There are more cars, more opportunities, more excitement and more pride in the people of the city. The cab driver shows how he regularly uses the ‘Waze’ iPhone app to stay abreast of traffic jams and accidents, and to connect with other drivers – yes, while driving. The Daredevils of the Road, however, are the motorcycle riders. The natives have a much more derogatory name for them. These guys do play with their lives, with one finger on the horn; they whiz past you, weaving in and out of the traffic, whether it is standing still or moving steadily. They will deliver their packages to their destination, come hell or high water. Take that, Dominoes! And what can you say about Brazilian steaks? Flavorful, tender...The Uplifting and the Heartbreaking – September 26, 2013...
Life. It can uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time, in the same place about the same people. The uplifting. Watch it for yourself at http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2013/09/18/pakistan-smartphone-app-success-mohsin-pkg.cnn.html. It warms your heart, and makes your chest swell with pride. Eyedues Labs, a nascent Pakistani company comprising of young students who have developed an app that merges two pictures together to allow the photographer to be in the picture. An ingenious idea, solving a real-life problem, and executed well enough to attract the attention of Google, which flew all members of the company to Northern California for a mentoring program. As if this was not enough, another surprise! Plan 9, a program to foster innovation using the latest technologies is being funded and backed by the Pakistani government. Amongst the torrent of news of government corruption and general lawlessness in Pakistan, it was like a breath of unexpected fresh air that the same government is actually beginning to take a few steps to leverage the intellect and industriousness of the Gen-Y of Pakistan. I hope this effort continues, and brings more positive news from Pakistan. The heartbreaking. After reading the very short article at http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/09/24/city/lahore/kidnapping-racket-busted-police-arrest-27-forcing-children-to-beg/, the only question that comes to mind is – how is this possible in this day and...Completing an Art Project
Creative activities, such as painting or writing a book, should be treated like a project. Why? Because while we are driven to start them by a desire stronger than ourselves, it is very possible to not have enough time to finish them – life gets in the way. To avoid this, I use a variation of Fergie’s catchy song from The Great Gatsby – ‘A little organized thinking never hurt nobody’. What are the characteristics of a project? Well, (i) it should be started with intent, (ii) it should be planned out, and (iii) it should be diligently executed to completion. While this may sound more like doing an engineering project, I have found that if a writing or art project does not have a plan – even a loose one – around it, it could easily end up being that, half-finished canvas or almost complete manuscript, lying forgotten in the far corner of the basement or the garage. Once I have taken the first step, which is also the easiest – deciding that I want to start an art project – I spend some time recognizing and internalizing that I have made this decision, this commitment. I try to think about what this means, how much time each...A few days in Madrid and Lisbon
Madrid last week was quite warm during the day, around 30C, but the mornings and evenings were a little cooler and pleasant – apparently much more so than in San Diego. Wednesday afternoon there were very heavy showers, which helped cool things down more. On Tuesday night a huge fireworks display lit up the skies near Alcobendas. A neighboring town was having a celebration and was doing fireworks every evening during the week! Spain is one of the best places to indulge in one of the top three existential human experiences – savoring flavorful foods with all your senses. Very few places compare to the steak eating experience one can enjoy while in Madrid. A rock-salt seasoned version is served raw with an extremely hot stone plate. The server prepares the plate by rubbing it – very carefully – with a piece of beef fat, after which you cook the raw slices of the steak on the stone plate. It is very simple, but oh so delicious! Of course, nothing beats the seemingly unlimited varieties of Spanish tapas (the extremely tender, sliced octopus with potatoes stands out as it melts in your mouth), except maybe Chinese Dim Sum. Central Madrid is a great place to walk around. Evening strolls...3 Simple Maxims of Writing
In his article in the NY Times http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/should-we-write-what-we-know/, Ben Yagoda reminds us of three maxims of writing. Kill your darlings Show, don’t tell Write what you know All three of these deceptively simple adages are known, maybe even understood, at varying levels by every writer. But living them is quite another thing. Being ruthless on your own creation is not a skill that comes easily. Yet it is even more necessary in writing than if you are creating a painting. You can more easily justify the forms and colors in a painting by telling yourself ‘I am making this for myself. I don’t care if anyone else likes it or not.’ However, when you put pen to the paper (or fingers to the keyboard), it is rarely for your own gratification. Whether you admit it to yourself or not, the real desire is to have others read your words and be moved by them. To do that, you must excise every unnecessary word from your creation. And if you cannot do it, hire a good developmental editor to do it for you. Making the reader share the image the writer has in his or her mind is even more difficult. It is easier to describe the scenario is excruciating...Using Art to Transform Communities
Art is most often used as an instrument for personal fulfillment. It is the material expression of one’s deepest thoughts and feelings. It is an outlet for that which must be voiced in one’s unique way, through poems, essays, paintings, sculptures. A little less often, while still resting on the personal expression of its creator, art goes beyond the individual, expanding and engulfing entire communities in its embrace. Three such projects have been featured in the media. Manya A. Braechar’s article in the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hometown-buddha-20130616,0,224336.story) covers the ‘Ten Thousand Ripples’ project, in which one hundred of artist Indira Johnson’s emerging Buddha heads have been placed, in parts of Chicago where one would expect to see anything but that. I have not personally seen them, but looking at the images, I can imagine the unexpected smiles of bemusement and involuntary oohs and aahs when people see these sculptures during the daily bustle of a metropolis like Chicago. Teo Kermeliotis’ piece in CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/17/world/africa/weapons-creation-guns-art-liberia/) describes how a metal works founder, among others, in Liberia is collecting scraps of the killing machines that devastated the country, and recreating them into useable art – think tables and candle holders with machine gun legs, trees and furniture using bazookas and rocket launchers....
