Placeholder for the awesome Honda-Ad that we all saw a few years ago.
here
Friday, October 21, 2005
Creativity On Demand
Todd Coats from CapStrat said - "stay in touch with the child in you"
Creativity On Demand - so true for people like Todd at Capstrat - where they are paid for their creative abilities.
Todd's advice on staying in touch with the child in you, is right on - the child in us helps us go beyond our mental blocks and makes us do things seemingly impossible.
And hey - while you are at the CapStrat website, do remember to peek at the remarkable Elvis made of post-its - outside, the wall, sideways
Creativity On Demand - so true for people like Todd at Capstrat - where they are paid for their creative abilities.
Todd's advice on staying in touch with the child in you, is right on - the child in us helps us go beyond our mental blocks and makes us do things seemingly impossible.
And hey - while you are at the CapStrat website, do remember to peek at the remarkable Elvis made of post-its - outside, the wall, sideways
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Machines Playing Music (Not Making!)
with ref. to Mark Spearce (composer - classical music)
For a regimented form of music like classical music, where the musicians are essentially expected to reproduce exactly what is written on the music-sheet, I think that it would be apt to have computers play the instruments.
Something on the lines of the automatic-piano, which plays the piano depending upon your programming for the piece - more like a robot being programmed to play a real piano - as opposed to digital music where a computer creates the sounds.
I guess sooner or later, Classical music orchestras would be replaced by robots/computers playing all the musical instruments - precisely and exactly like how the composer intended.
Interesting how Mark dimply hated the idea of computers making music - he however was referring to computers "composing" music, as opposed to just playing!
For a regimented form of music like classical music, where the musicians are essentially expected to reproduce exactly what is written on the music-sheet, I think that it would be apt to have computers play the instruments.
Something on the lines of the automatic-piano, which plays the piano depending upon your programming for the piece - more like a robot being programmed to play a real piano - as opposed to digital music where a computer creates the sounds.
I guess sooner or later, Classical music orchestras would be replaced by robots/computers playing all the musical instruments - precisely and exactly like how the composer intended.
Interesting how Mark dimply hated the idea of computers making music - he however was referring to computers "composing" music, as opposed to just playing!
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Art and War
Art and Mass Thinking
I think that art is closely tied to harsh circumstances - I feel that the best art has always come in times of global unrest and pain - when there has been some common factor affecting large masses of people. And I think that this pain/unrest/suffering is reflective in the works of art of the time. And the collective mindset helps both, the artist as well as the masses to connect better with the art itself.
Some of the examples I can think of are
- The 60's and 70's which saw some of the best music to ever come out.
- The works during the French revolution.
- Recent works of art after 9/11.
I think that art is closely tied to harsh circumstances - I feel that the best art has always come in times of global unrest and pain - when there has been some common factor affecting large masses of people. And I think that this pain/unrest/suffering is reflective in the works of art of the time. And the collective mindset helps both, the artist as well as the masses to connect better with the art itself.
Some of the examples I can think of are
- The 60's and 70's which saw some of the best music to ever come out.
- The works during the French revolution.
- Recent works of art after 9/11.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Microwaveable tea-stick
Ali's Tea-Stick is a wonderful invention ... but I wonder if we could take it to the next level and make it out of microwaveable plastic.
I have always had this problem in the US - where hot chocolate or hot coffee is never "hot" enough and that’s really annoying for people like me who like their tea/coffee piping hot!
I have always had this problem in the US - where hot chocolate or hot coffee is never "hot" enough and that’s really annoying for people like me who like their tea/coffee piping hot!
Monday, October 03, 2005
power the lights or surf the internet
Ethernet thru Electricity
This sounds like a really nice concept, since electricity pretty much exists in most places. Avoids the hassles of cable or telephone lines.
Of course it will be interesting to see how the telephone industry and/or the cable industry responds!
This also reminds me of the Power over Ethernet concept that Cisco pioneered last year - wonder how that is doing.
These are truly creative inventions - almost like the safety pin. Unfortunately for them - there is a lot of "investment" which would go bad if these new products succeed!
This sounds like a really nice concept, since electricity pretty much exists in most places. Avoids the hassles of cable or telephone lines.
Of course it will be interesting to see how the telephone industry and/or the cable industry responds!
This also reminds me of the Power over Ethernet concept that Cisco pioneered last year - wonder how that is doing.
These are truly creative inventions - almost like the safety pin. Unfortunately for them - there is a lot of "investment" which would go bad if these new products succeed!
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Comics
I read a lot of comics - I try to read as much as possible and I even have a wall at home dedicated to comic posters. I even have quite a few comic character T-shirts - Wolverine, Hulk, Batman, Superman, GL, JL etc.
I have been called a "freak" by some and have been laughed at by some others - I really don't understand - how come something as intersting as "comics" can be equated to childishness or immaturity! So does someone who reads Ryand or Sagan or the really really fat books automatically become an intellectual?
I'm sorry but I don't subscribe to that point of view.
I read a fair bit - fat books included - and I enjoy reading comics equally.
In fact, there is so much to learn from comics or any kind of medium - I remember reading about the "aurora borealis" or "mount rushmore" or "nanotechnology" first in my comic books - even before I read about them in the newspapers or science journals!
A book is a book - just because it has drawings in it does not mean it is for kids.
In fact some of the graphic novels like "The Dark Knight Returns" speak volumes about the socio-political scene in the nineties (heck some of it is representative of recent times!).
And as for art - do check out the works of "Alex Ross" or "Jim Lee" (again) - now if that is not fantastic artwork then I don't know what is!
And these are only the popular works - stepping outside of the DC and Marvel universe would take one to another parallel universe - but then ...
I have been called a "freak" by some and have been laughed at by some others - I really don't understand - how come something as intersting as "comics" can be equated to childishness or immaturity! So does someone who reads Ryand or Sagan or the really really fat books automatically become an intellectual?
I'm sorry but I don't subscribe to that point of view.
I read a fair bit - fat books included - and I enjoy reading comics equally.
In fact, there is so much to learn from comics or any kind of medium - I remember reading about the "aurora borealis" or "mount rushmore" or "nanotechnology" first in my comic books - even before I read about them in the newspapers or science journals!
A book is a book - just because it has drawings in it does not mean it is for kids.
In fact some of the graphic novels like "The Dark Knight Returns" speak volumes about the socio-political scene in the nineties (heck some of it is representative of recent times!).
And as for art - do check out the works of "Alex Ross" or "Jim Lee" (again) - now if that is not fantastic artwork then I don't know what is!
And these are only the popular works - stepping outside of the DC and Marvel universe would take one to another parallel universe - but then ...
Interesting car
Saw this egg shaped car being made by Nissan and thought that it was a wonderful idea. Kinda like the cars in sci-fi movies - only real.
OK its is Egg shaped - but as long as it handles well and drives well - I'm not sure that should matter - given that boxy cars are still around!
OK its is Egg shaped - but as long as it handles well and drives well - I'm not sure that should matter - given that boxy cars are still around!
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
NC Museum Of Art - 09/27 2005
Spent a few hours at the NC Museum of Art on Blue Ridge Road - very nice place.
Something’s that caught my eye ...
There was this piece by Ron Rozelle called “Me and Apocalypse” – At first I dismissed it for another representation of the A-Bomb mushroom cloud – but on closer inspection I saw layers in the painting. The artist actually described the piece as “Growing up under a bomb” – which is very very true for most people who have been around for the last 30 years or so! He had pictures of various stages of his childhood and his growing up years as a part of the artwork! Very thought provoking!
Anne Kesler Shields –
Here was this piece of art which was a collage of pictures from different parts of the world in different times, representing the “Visual Clutter” that we are faced with today – thru Television, Radio and the Internet.
Although the work mostly reflected war and religious conflicts in history, I particularly liked the “Visual Clutter” description – that resonated with the way I feel sometimes about the world!
Stacey L Kirby – A Salt Library
Interesting piece of art – with blocks of Salt. Stacey basically placed these salt-cubes by the sea shore and then picked them up after a few hours – after the sea had deformed the cubes in interesting ways! And she made this wall out of many such salt pieces!
More interesting was that she documented this activity in painstaking detail – the times that she placed the cubes and pictures of each cube at regular time-intervals.
What interested me most was the various realizations that she went thru during the process – in her log, she talks about how she learnt about Gandhi and the Dandi-march and how Salt is actually representative of oppression in the world and how important it is to all of us. A truly surreal experience for her!
Jeff Whetstone
And his BW pics – which always interest me. There was this particular pair of pics called Turkey hunter – with the first pic of this man dressed regularly and then in the next one he is dressed ready for a hunt – ready to kill - face covered and all. Interesting.
Mirror Paint
This guy called Jimmy O Neal actually invented a special kind of “mirror paint” - which gives depth to the painting and is actually reflective. Very neat stuff.
More interesting was that he actually invented a machine that would capture his brain activity over a period of time (say – during the day) and then amplify these signals and play them back to another device which would translate them into pictures on paper. This device actually burn dots on the paper to draw the image – neat!
Preternatural Beauty
Michael Schultz actually had digital pictures of Industrial Complexes! Sounds absurd but you need to take a look at his pics to understand the beauty of his pics and the ingenuity of this dude. Regular worn-out walls which we might have seen while driving thru old-towns – but on close inspection, you realize that they truly are works of art – industries helped shape this nation and the pics were the artist’s tribute to them!
Something’s that caught my eye ...
There was this piece by Ron Rozelle called “Me and Apocalypse” – At first I dismissed it for another representation of the A-Bomb mushroom cloud – but on closer inspection I saw layers in the painting. The artist actually described the piece as “Growing up under a bomb” – which is very very true for most people who have been around for the last 30 years or so! He had pictures of various stages of his childhood and his growing up years as a part of the artwork! Very thought provoking!
Anne Kesler Shields –
Here was this piece of art which was a collage of pictures from different parts of the world in different times, representing the “Visual Clutter” that we are faced with today – thru Television, Radio and the Internet.
Although the work mostly reflected war and religious conflicts in history, I particularly liked the “Visual Clutter” description – that resonated with the way I feel sometimes about the world!
Stacey L Kirby – A Salt Library
Interesting piece of art – with blocks of Salt. Stacey basically placed these salt-cubes by the sea shore and then picked them up after a few hours – after the sea had deformed the cubes in interesting ways! And she made this wall out of many such salt pieces!
More interesting was that she documented this activity in painstaking detail – the times that she placed the cubes and pictures of each cube at regular time-intervals.
What interested me most was the various realizations that she went thru during the process – in her log, she talks about how she learnt about Gandhi and the Dandi-march and how Salt is actually representative of oppression in the world and how important it is to all of us. A truly surreal experience for her!
Jeff Whetstone
And his BW pics – which always interest me. There was this particular pair of pics called Turkey hunter – with the first pic of this man dressed regularly and then in the next one he is dressed ready for a hunt – ready to kill - face covered and all. Interesting.
Mirror Paint
This guy called Jimmy O Neal actually invented a special kind of “mirror paint” - which gives depth to the painting and is actually reflective. Very neat stuff.
More interesting was that he actually invented a machine that would capture his brain activity over a period of time (say – during the day) and then amplify these signals and play them back to another device which would translate them into pictures on paper. This device actually burn dots on the paper to draw the image – neat!
Preternatural Beauty
Michael Schultz actually had digital pictures of Industrial Complexes! Sounds absurd but you need to take a look at his pics to understand the beauty of his pics and the ingenuity of this dude. Regular worn-out walls which we might have seen while driving thru old-towns – but on close inspection, you realize that they truly are works of art – industries helped shape this nation and the pics were the artist’s tribute to them!
Pattern Matching
I have always been interesting in Matching patters - in anything (even faces).
I actually realized that when I took this aptitude test when I was 14 - they told me that my pattern-matching skills were exceptionally good and that I could be either an architect or a computer-engineer!
Just the other day, I caught myself trying to distinguish between the two pics that made the "Turkey Hunter" at the Museum. I notice that I do this quite often!
And then there was the time when I first saw the "Ghosts" video by Michael Jackson - a long long time ago - something about the fat professor (his eyes) in the video made me believe that he too was actually MJ and it was not until a few years later when I came to the US and saw the complete making of the video that I found out that I had been right all along :)
I actually realized that when I took this aptitude test when I was 14 - they told me that my pattern-matching skills were exceptionally good and that I could be either an architect or a computer-engineer!
Just the other day, I caught myself trying to distinguish between the two pics that made the "Turkey Hunter" at the Museum. I notice that I do this quite often!
And then there was the time when I first saw the "Ghosts" video by Michael Jackson - a long long time ago - something about the fat professor (his eyes) in the video made me believe that he too was actually MJ and it was not until a few years later when I came to the US and saw the complete making of the video that I found out that I had been right all along :)
Sunsets and Moons
Have always been fascinated by the sunset. Something about the way the big red orange looks with the sky on fire and in its colors!
Have never been a fan of sunrise - not that I have seen many, but still - sunrise seems so much shorter and so less colorful.
And then of course theres always the rising moon - I could swear that it looks bigger in the US than it does in India - dunno if its because India is closer to the equator!
And then the sunsets in Bombay are better than any place in the world I have been - better than California too! - don't know if its the pollution but it truly is fun to watch the sun sink into the water in Bombay!
And A full-moon rising over water - truly truly enchanting experience.
Have never been a fan of sunrise - not that I have seen many, but still - sunrise seems so much shorter and so less colorful.
And then of course theres always the rising moon - I could swear that it looks bigger in the US than it does in India - dunno if its because India is closer to the equator!
And then the sunsets in Bombay are better than any place in the world I have been - better than California too! - don't know if its the pollution but it truly is fun to watch the sun sink into the water in Bombay!
And A full-moon rising over water - truly truly enchanting experience.
Night
I have noticed that I am most active after about 6pm. I am most sluggish in the morning and I would rather sleep than do anything else!
In fact after @10pm is when I get most of my work done - wonder if that is because I was born at 11:20pm!
In fact after @10pm is when I get most of my work done - wonder if that is because I was born at 11:20pm!
Black and White
Always wondered why the best photographs in museums and art exhibitions are in black and white.
I personally love BW pics - given a choice between the two.
But still - how come we (majority of the ppl I know) like BW pics more, despite the fact that we want everything in color!
I personally love BW pics - given a choice between the two.
But still - how come we (majority of the ppl I know) like BW pics more, despite the fact that we want everything in color!
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
hmm...
Nice to have a log-book and hence this blog.
Still going to keep my main blog alive for more "descriptive" entries - although I just might merge the two at a later point in time - we'll see.
Still going to keep my main blog alive for more "descriptive" entries - although I just might merge the two at a later point in time - we'll see.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Is the Door fully open yet?
Saw this latest offering from Sprint PCS and looks like my personal mobile gadget has arrived - PPC-6700
Am not saying that I would buy this very device - but the features say it all - a handheld computer, phone, mp3-player, video-recorder, decent camera and internet capability - all rolled into one device that fits in your pocket - sweet.
I know the Treo was there, but it still was not seamless for Wi-fi connections.
Looks like the time has arrived.
like I have said before - shuffle your feet ipod(and the ntire i-family as well)! you might have to move!
Which Fantasy Character am I?
Took this 1-min survey thingie - thought it was fun. Thanks to Brij
Must admit - not a huuuuuge LOTR fan - but will have to read about Galadriel now. Esp. since this is what they say -
Galadriel
Possessing a rare combination of wisdom and humility, while serenely dominating your environment you selflessly use your powers to care for others.
Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
And Hey - I checked out the LOTR museum while in Houston and Galadriels dress was quite pretty :)
Which reminds me - I have seen the LOTR series only once! OMG!!!
Must admit - not a huuuuuge LOTR fan - but will have to read about Galadriel now. Esp. since this is what they say -
Galadriel
Possessing a rare combination of wisdom and humility, while serenely dominating your environment you selflessly use your powers to care for others.
Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
And Hey - I checked out the LOTR museum while in Houston and Galadriels dress was quite pretty :)
Which reminds me - I have seen the LOTR series only once! OMG!!!
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
From Dust to Computers
Dust and Death!
Its in the dust - can you believe it. I have been getting pretty frustrated with my laptop over the last few months. It’s been almost two years since I bought this machine - has worked flawlessly till recently - speed dropped by almost 50%! Knee-jerk reaction, I blamed windows for it - regular stuff - backed up my HDD - reformatted it - reinstalled stuff ... and convinced myself that it was running faster ... sure enough a few wells later I was back to square one - guess it wasn't Microsoft after all (OMG)
Googled 'Dell inspiron 5100 heat problems' last night - and guess what - all my computer needed was a few good blows (of air) in the ducts behind!!! DellForum
Yep! you read it right - apparently it was the dust that has been collecting on my heat-sink and fan over the months and my poor P4 processor was running dangerously hot (and slow)
I kinda figured this a while ago and even bought a cooler pad for the laptop - so as to keep the CPU cooler - but nothing helped like a few good blows of air :D
My CPU was constantly working @68C for the last few months - and since last night it’s been @50C and works a lot lot lot faster. Waiting for the weekend to go to Wal-Mart and buy a can of compressed air - to blow all the dust out!
Moral of the story - clean the heat sink and fan on your CPU and watch your computer fly :)
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
We really are Animals - or are we?
I was reading news @Google and somehow stumbled upon a few articles on Afghanistan - and then I remembered about the Buddhas @Bamiyan - how 2000 years were destroyed in the name of ... I don't know what to say !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas_of_Bamiyan
Hard to stop my blood from boiling when I read comments like - During the destruction, Taliban Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal lamented that, "this work of destruction is not as easy as people might think. You can't knock down the statues by shelling as both are carved into a cliff; they are firmly attached to the mountain."
Carved into a cliff a few thousand years ago - can you imagine how difficult that must have been to do ... and we don't think twice before we destroy it!
I often say that we all are animals, but then sometimes I think that realy is an insult to the animals - they never would destroy the ecosystem in which they live - Like Agent smith said in the Matrix - we really are like parasites (or worse) - we destroy the place we live in ... unlike any animal on the planet.
And why is all this for - money, power - what for?
That takes me to the recent Live Aid concert in UK, which takes me to the first Live Aid concert in 1985, after which Bob Geldof (http://www.bobgeldof.info/) commented that charity was not really going to solve the problem in Africa - countries like the US, UK, France etc. needed to move away from their terrorist agendas in Africa and allow the country to have at least an economy!
Quick fact - Africa produces almost 90% of the world's cocoa but produces less than 5% of the world's chocolates! Why? - because these "developed" countries ensure that Africa does not develop, so that they can suck all the resources out of it and make money! And thats just one small example!
How different are these acts from the Taliban destroying the statues? to me they seem terrorist alright! How come noone gets tried or jailed?!!?
Calling us animals would be quite an insult to the animal kingdom!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas_of_Bamiyan
Hard to stop my blood from boiling when I read comments like - During the destruction, Taliban Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal lamented that, "this work of destruction is not as easy as people might think. You can't knock down the statues by shelling as both are carved into a cliff; they are firmly attached to the mountain."
Carved into a cliff a few thousand years ago - can you imagine how difficult that must have been to do ... and we don't think twice before we destroy it!
I often say that we all are animals, but then sometimes I think that realy is an insult to the animals - they never would destroy the ecosystem in which they live - Like Agent smith said in the Matrix - we really are like parasites (or worse) - we destroy the place we live in ... unlike any animal on the planet.
And why is all this for - money, power - what for?
That takes me to the recent Live Aid concert in UK, which takes me to the first Live Aid concert in 1985, after which Bob Geldof (http://www.bobgeldof.info/) commented that charity was not really going to solve the problem in Africa - countries like the US, UK, France etc. needed to move away from their terrorist agendas in Africa and allow the country to have at least an economy!
Quick fact - Africa produces almost 90% of the world's cocoa but produces less than 5% of the world's chocolates! Why? - because these "developed" countries ensure that Africa does not develop, so that they can suck all the resources out of it and make money! And thats just one small example!
How different are these acts from the Taliban destroying the statues? to me they seem terrorist alright! How come noone gets tried or jailed?!!?
Calling us animals would be quite an insult to the animal kingdom!
Sunday, May 01, 2005
India described ...
Quite often I am faced with this situation where I have to describe
How do you explain our country to such a bunch ... I get scared that if I tell them about the unity in all the diversity their brains might just explode with all the thinking ... gosh, their ignorance is sometimes so irritating - but then when I think again - it just makes me feel so so so good :)
The quickest way that I am able to get "ahhhhh's" out of them is by telling them that India is like "Europe - as a single nation" - that explains the different languages, traditions, cuisines, music, attire etc. etc. pretty quickly.
Any other suggestions ...
The average Indian
Amidst all this chaos of this last week of the semester ... exams ... reports et all - managed to squeeze in 10 mins to watch the Aishwarya @Oprah show today - I know I'm late - bite me! in fact bite the MBA program :)
have seen Aishwarya on the David Letterman show before ... and this did not seem very different. Now I really don't like Aishwarya Rai ... personally I think she can not act for nuts nor is she the prettiest - but then that’s a topic for another day ...
point I noted with both these shows is that the questions she gets asked are pretty weird - in the sense that the questions are more targeted towards India than towards the person. So Oprah asks her all these questions about Indian women and Indian culture and tradition, what women in India think about sex etc. etc. - That’s when I got to thinking ... is Aishwarya truly a representative for India?
I remember having a lot of conversation with Scott, a good friend of mine in the program, and we would have these long discussions on music, movies, culture ... and somehow I always used to end up telling him that it’s very difficult to define an "average Indian"; or that I really may not represent the average Indian male. How do you define the average Indian?
Is he liberal or conservative? Does he listen to Carnatic or Hindustani or Rock/Pop/Grunge? Is he a racist - a sexist -... opinionated/proud/deep-rooted in his culture? Does the average Indian know the Mahabharata and the Ramayana in detail? Knowledge on
Well to me all these questions are quite personal and also very collective at the same time. The best explanation that I have come up with is that
In that respect I guess it’s really unfair to Aishwarya that she gets asked all these questions in these shows ... what would she say? She definitely is not the "average" Indian - well actors/celebrities in any country are far from "average". Its definitely a huge huge honour to be able to represent your country ... I would love to be in that position - but then I really would not know what to say if I were asked such questions ...
so who is the "average Indian"?
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