Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Stay
The critics are mostly negative. While it is true that the movie could be more, the style and atmosphere alone are worth watching. But I can see why people may not like it, be upset by it. The movie is not linear and logical, breaks a lot of rules of filming and story-telling, and there appears to be no point to all this, until the end. The problem is, I think, that most people assume a movie is always told in a sequential, logical way.
But what if the story is told from the point of view of an individual experiencing some kind of psychological disorder, or a dream. Does that make it any less valid as a story? Imagine you are attending an art exhibit: you thought it was about photography, but the pictures look nothing like reality, they are surreal, distorted. It turns out they are paintings -there is absolutely nothing wrong with them, other than your own wrong assumptions.
Luckily, artists need not be bound by their audience's comfort zone.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Detachment
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Black Rocket
It is amazing how quickly time erodes the past. Today, while updating my resume, I decided to google Genuity. I had to dig deep to find any links, and then all I came up with were old IT news articles. It raises all sorts of existential questions when three out of four employers in your resume are little more than dust in the wind. If not for the few trinkets with Genuity lables I still have, I would be wondering if I had just imagined the whole thing.
When I found this link, I couldn't at first believe my eyes: that looks exactly like Black Rocket... -I thought to myself- could it be that somebody made a replica...!? No, wait! It is THE Black Rocket!! It is flying, flame shooting out of it, for real!!!! At first I started laughing, exhilarated, it was just too cool -then mixed feelings crept in. To see the icon of so much effort used as a toy, the remains of a previous life bought at some online auction for a few bucks...
Black Rocket was Genuity's prodigal son. Conceived by marketing, and suffered by the rest of us, its needs and wants extended to every corporate nook and cranny. To accomodate it, adjustments were required, processes expedited, trips made, people trained. Inevitably, we all developed feelings for it. When the first TV spots aired on prime-time, we would all proudly point at it and say to whoever would listen: "pretty cool, isn't it? -I worked on that", then launch into a monologue about our Network Services Platform, and how our stock would shoot straight up like a black rocket, or just show our Black Rocket tattoos -yes, I even had a fake tattoo in my arm, they used to pass them around at meetings -and was secretly proud of it, too.
Funny, even though the commercials were really cool, it somehow seemed like something was missing... the black rocket was just sitting there -it had a presence, they got that part right -but it didn't move. Nice to finally see it flying after all these years -as a rocket should.
Team Vatsaas, your next beer is on me.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Garbage
Keyboarditis
Monday, September 10, 2007
Mount Rainier
Though the mountain is majestic and the views breathtaking, the trail istsefl -if one can call it that- is less than satisfactory. Most of it consists of climbing over crumbling stones, gravel, sand and the occasional snowfield. With virtually no vegeatation to protect the rock, extreme temperatures, ice, and water, make the effects of erosion plain to the observer. The spectacular views, however, make it all worthwhile.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Mach 5
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Home
Monday, July 02, 2007
iPhone
It can do the same things PocketPC Phones have been doing for a few years, only better, smarter, and sexier. It is not, however, a ground-breaking concept at all -Apple simply took an existing product, and made it the Apple way.
1 -You are stuck with a EDGE (2G) data network, which leaves much to be desired in this 3G age- just read the user reviews- so you're kind of relegated to browsing the web via WiFi only.
2- The onscreen keyboard is not great for typing.
3- It does not have a slot for a flash card, which it is a very practical feature that I would seriously miss.
4- You cannot install additional sofware in it, which is one of the major attractions on a PDA or PocketPC.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Comfort
In order to document this ecosystem, a crew had to spend a lot of time filming inside the cave. In an addendum to the documentary, the crew described their misery in detail -how the guano and the cockroaches got inside their clothes, their underwear, and everywhere else. They had to do this every day for an entire month.
Makes you rethink the whole concept of "being uncomfortable", doesn't it?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Nonsense
I stand overwhelmed
by a rapturing tide
Where is my strength
to flee fast and free
this ethereal charm?
To that bittersweet feeling,
my free will is bound
...for no reason at all
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Union
One of the keys of the new treaty is that the word "constitution" does not appear in it. It has no anthem and it gives more power to members and less to Brussels. You could say its key denominator is more autonomy and less union -in appeareance. The failure of the constitution-though rejected by only two members- speaks about the fear of giving up local power -is the tribal instinct whispering in Europe's collective ear. The old "us vs. them". Granted, more sovereign power may have advantages for a member state in a particular situation -at least on the short term; that's its selling point, however, a Union with a single, solid foreign policy -eventually backed by a European armed forces- would be enormously beneficial, not only for Europe itself, but for the world at large. In my view, Europe has been, at least in the last decades, a tempered and benevolent -albeit weak- influence in world affairs. Iraq comes to mind: had the EU presented a united, solid voice opposing invasion during the last Persian Gulf crisis, it would have proven virtually impossible for the US to muster enough support at home to commit to war. I would imagine a united European foreign policy would have had a similar cooling effect on Putin's overbearing Russia.
Speculations aside, at first glance this yet-to-be-approved treaty appears as a step backwards, though this could be said to be mostly a cosmetic change to appease the public- regardless of your view, zooming out with the historical lens reveals a steady trend towards Union. What I am trying to say is this: Europe is the best example of the old national/tribal barriers being slowly, consciously, and laboriously torn down, to replace the old "Us vs. Them" with a new "Forward Together" way of thinking; and while some may not be too enthusiastic about it, no one really thinks about halting the process; so it seems safe to assume that in a few short decades, Europe will become a single entity for all practical purposes.
The remarkable thing about this is that political unions this diverse and on this scale have always been forced on their members by a conquering power. For the first time, the union was initiated by the member states of their own free will -I find it absolutely amazing to be witnessing what I think is the beginning of a global union of all nations, and the beginning of the end, for tribal warfare.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Photographs
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Unexpected
Had I had to guess ten thousand things that could have happened that day, this wouldn't have made it to the list.
I can't help but wonder -whatever will happen tomorrow?
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Evasion
Impressionism
The result: push-button impressionism.
Who would have thought I had it in me.
Vacation
At the beginning, I didn't much welcome the prospects of a trip to the east coast -using up vacation time already allocated for another trip, being trapped in a tiny seat for hours, the memories of hot humid weather and the hostility of certain family members.
I am glad to say that my fears were never realized. I had a very nice and restful vacation -I reconnected with my family, and even the weather was friendly. Except for the first leg of the trip, that is, which I spent in a dazed state half-way between sleep and vigil: the picture above reflects my lack of focus.
Luckily the picture is much clearer now...
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Climb
There is something about hiking that is extremely rewarding -perhaps it is the sense of total immersion in nature, as you see trees, moss-covered rocks, streams, ferns -and when you reach a high viewpoint- the forest and mountains extending all around. Perhaps is the very tangible feeling of having accomplished your goal as you stand atop the peak.
Whatever the reason, right now I can't imagine ever getting tired of it.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Search
All I wanted was to find a headset which was:
-Bluetooth (to avoid the messy tangle of cables and occasional snags)
-Passive noise-blocking (for use at the gym or outdoors active systems aren't good enough)
-In-ear (I don't want to walk around with two pounds of gear around my skull)
-Dual Use -for phone calls and music (who wants to swap headsets every time you get a call?)
-A2DP and AVRCP capable (for stereo sound and remote control functions)
-Boom-mounted mike -ideally retractable- (so that callers can hear me better in noisy environments, such as outdoors, or on a bus)
After hours spent researching this, it turned out there isn't a single product in the market that matches my wish list. I have to say I was a little disappointed -one would think the global electronics market big enough to support a number of products with all of those attributes, especially considering that most of them go hand-in-hand.
The one that came closest does not support phone use (no mike) and aside from being overpriced, they only had the version with the iPod adapter, which I don't need and bumps up the price by 50 percent. I could order that one and toss the adapter, but it would be wasteful-and it still does not work for phone calls.
Guess we'll have to wait for the overpaid product-manager geniuses out there to catch up with the market.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Aeria Gloris
By Origa
Ангелы и демоны кружили надо мной
Рассекали тернии и млечные пути
Не знает счастья только тот,
Кто его зова понять не смог
Налюбуйтесь, налюбуйтесь
Aeria gloris, Aeria gloris
Налюбуйтесь, налюбуйтесь
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris
I am calling, calling now
Spirits rise and falling
Собой остаться дольше
Calling, calling, in the depth of longing
Собой остаться дольше...
Налюбуйтесь, налюбуйтесь
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris
Налюбуйтесь, налюбуйтесь
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris
Stand alone... Where was life when it had a meaning . . .
Stand alone... Nothing's real anymore and . . .
Бесконечный бег...
Пока жива, я могу стараться на лету не упасть,
Не разучиться мечтать...любить...
Бесконечный бег...
Calling, calling, for the place of knowing
There's more than what can be linked
Calling, calling now, never will I look away
For what life has left for me
Yearning, yearning, for what's left of loving
Собой остаться дольше...
Calling, calling now, spirits rise and falling
Собой остаться дольше...
Calling, calling, in the depth of longing
Собой остаться дольше...
Налюбуйтесь, налюбуйтесь
Aeria gloris, Aeria gloris
Налюбуйтесь, налюбуйтесь
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris
. . .
Music by Yoko Kanno, lyrics by Origa & Shanti Snyder, vocals by Origa & Benedict Del Maestro
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Party
Saturday.
Dinner, downtown movie, a last-minute invitation -to go or not to go.
Queen Anne. Strangers. Surprisingly smooth merlot. Lapses of boredom. Meaningless chat in the midst of pseudo bohemian decor -a red ribbon and holes in the walls. Rich, thick, porter. Signatures in a door-frame, #11, a humble servant. Exchanges about who knows whom from where.A friendly surfer-turned-bureaucrat. Outstanding jambalaya. City-planning, friendly people. A ridiculous lamp, the source of the red ribbon discovered. Serious doubts about wasted time in empty socializing for no reason whatsoever. Suddenly, Sunday. More conversation. Fashionable outfits blurring the lines of poor taste. A pretty but too skinny architect. Wigs laying around for no apparent reason. Silly camera phone photographs taken in the spur of the moment. An Ethiopian delicacy -a jar full of tasty seeds, and talk about relationships in an Ethiopian-Italian family with a Spanish last name. A too hard to uncork bottle of something carbonated, passed around until the jubilant climactic cork-shot. Taking a load off on a too-low couch. Fatigue catching up. An art documentary playing in an old laptop screen. Unidentified glowing ornament, intriguing but not enough to take a closer look. Lemon scented chocolate cookies. The occasional exchange with one of two acquaintances. Winding down, slow good-byes. Going home.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Espresso
Luckily, there is an all-curing balsam called Coffee.
I'm not talking about the filtered boiled-socks juice that passes for coffee for some people, I'm talking about coffee beans grown in the mountain slopes of Sumatra or Colombia or some place where coffee is supposed to be grown, then cured and roasted to perfection, shipped to your favorite coffee stand to be ground seconds before hot steam condenses as it passes through it, capturing all its flavor and other qualities in the perfect shot of espresso. Three of these, combined with chocolate syrup, steamed milk, water, and whipped cream make up my usual grande mocha with an extra shot. By means of a caffeine and sugar high, it has the effect of restoring -if not the actual, at least the illusion of- a normal mental state. But it does more than that. It is definitely a mood enhancer –imagine being transported from a modern, neon-lit, slightly cold and grey Monday morning in a plastic and metal office chair, to an old, warm leather armchair by the fireplace, in a log cabin somewhere, surrounded by an old-growth forest. Well, not exactly, but that’s the best way I can think to describe it. All this from a hot beverage. How I went from not liking coffee, to my current state, is somewhat of a long story, but let’s say that along the way I was in need of a sleep substitute.
Take enough caffeine, and your state in the morning after a sleepless night goes from zombie to alert. The price you pay is your judgment. If your brain is truly exhausted, it will still make mistakes; paradoxically, sleeping eventually becomes more productive than staying awake. And by the way... lack of sleep kills neurons.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Starlight
Perhaps I need not look farther than the mirror, to find an alien mind.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Cynism?
I think, all of the above.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Mars
I hope so.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Peace
Friday, January 05, 2007
Thurnesday
How could this be? Whatever happened to Wednesday? Where are my 24 lost hours? And the most interesting part: how could I miss a day and still not have any missing entries in my calendar? Well, the logical answer seems obvious now -I was transported to a parallel universe by some kind of freak natural event. other than the missing Wednesday everything seems to be pretty much the same -wait, this could be great! Let me check something, hopefully.....
....no, (sigh) we still have the same President.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Ca
Tell me something I don't know, you say.
Well, I'm not just talking about the obvious enjoyment of laying down with your jaws wide open for what it seems like hours on end, while two strangers probe with drills, water jets, suction tubes, steel hooks, UV lamps, needles, x-ray contraptions, and other charming utensils evocative of the inquisition. There is also the gentle soundtrack (weeeeeeenkrrkrrweeeeeeenkrrkrr...) of the drills boring into your teeth, that you not only hear, but also feel as the drilling machine vibrations reverberate from your jaws to your skull. Accompanying this music, is the delightful scent of tooth ejecta -pulverized calcium.
Still, the best part of this experience is being completely trusting (not that you have a choice), hoping that the inquisitor -I mean, dentist- knows what he's doing, doesn't accidentally perforate the wrong tooth, or otherwise commits a maxilar aberration.
It makes perfect sense then, doesn't it, that we are willing to pay handsomely for this privilege.
Monday, January 01, 2007
2007
Looks like this will be a pretty intense one for me. I have a few major resolutions and some specific deadlines...
1. Get in shape -not just excercise and eat right, but be in optimal condition by July 1st.
2. Not get a car before June 1st -and consider finishing another year without one.
3. Fearlessly complete all necessary dentist sessions no later than July 1st.
4. Complete detailed plans for a major 2+ weeks West Coast, Southwest & Mountains road trip.
5. Put in place a new, functional SIC website by spring.
6. Find ways to make my job more fun and dynamic.
7. Redesign, rethink, and reactivate my business by February 1st.
8. Complete at least half of the stages of my special project.
9. Do volunteer work on a regular basis
I actually have 2 or 3 other goals, but they are either too boring or too personal to share with the world.
Well, better get to work now :-)