An Unnecessary and Entertaining Reminder

Sometimes when I’m really doubting people and I feel depressed to conclude that there are only certain types and categories of people, I start to think that there’s a lack of genuine intention out there.  Then I realize I’ve just closed my shutter lens.

In photography, a shutter is a device that allows light to pass for a determined period of time, for the purpose of exposing photographic film or a light-sensitive electronic sensor to light to capture a permanent image of a scene.

When I open myself up to the unique possibilities of personalities that are impossible to categorize by any stretch of an empirical method, I find articles like this one. (A NYTimes article about people who are so particular about “type,” as in font type, that their vacations can be ruined when they see signs with “typographical gaffes”).  As if I’m opening my camera lens to allow more light to shine through, the refreshing feeling I get from hearing about these bizarre hobbies brightens my outlook and gives me a much more positive picture of what it means to live a life.

Another recent reminder of people’s unique hobbies was the  antiquarian book fair I went to over the weekend at Hynes Convention Center. A first edition copy of Mrs. Dalloway signed by Virginia Woolf.  An “unopened” copy of Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote.  A letter to his publisher, handwritten and signed by Mark Twain.  (Each was more than $500.)  Talk about a treasure trove of words.

It was the most luxurious library I’d ever been in.  Despite the fact that I was one of the few people under 50 years old, I loved being in a cultural haven for quirky collectors.

And that’s when I feel most happy– when I remember that I know that it is perfectly acceptable to not be a “type.” And some other people know that too.

Typewriter Tip,Tip, Tipy mp3 by Asha Bhosle & Kisore Kumar

Shop for Service

Keeping up with the trends hasn’t been very hard the past couple of seasons, what with punk studs piercing their prongs in everything from the runway at Chanel to $5 tanks at Forever 21.  And it’s pretty clear by now that bangs are back, and British blonde/white hair is lightening up the dark mood of winter.  But one thing I’m pretty surprised to see becoming a trend is community service.

Giving back is the new black?  Following Entertainment Industry Foundation Week, when all of the major television networks featured their stars doing an act of service, Gap Inc. is now the one bringing service in style.

Working with ServiceNation.org, both EIF week and Gap, Inc. are shining a spotlight on service.

From Nov. 12-15, you can get a 30% discount at Gap and all  of its constituent stores, and they’ll give a portion of the proceeds to support a non-profit.

Although I’ve always believed that if you give into trends it means you’re not creative enough to come up with your own style, this is a trend I feel proud to support.  And I hope it’s a trend that lasts, unlike hareem trousers…

THE MAN HIMSELF, A Review of Daniel Johnston

Following Daniel Johnston’s October 15 show at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, I wrote a review for the Daily Free Press that was Published: October 22, 2009.

Just as a turtle has a shell, and the Beatles have fame, Daniel Johnston has fans.  These are certainties of life.

Despite the dramatic change in his style, not talking about  his donning of sweats and sneakers, and too-tight t-shirts, but the update in his music to something that sounds highly professional on his latest album,  “Is and Always Was,” Daniel Johnston’s fans keep coming back.  The new style, which is a decided step away from the lo-fi songs he is loved for, may have come as a surprise, but Daniel Johnston hasn’t isolated any fans.

At 48 years old, Johnston is back on tour, looking familiar and just as friendly but his sound is different.

What’s different? Why?

Follow the jump for answers, questions, and answers in Daniel’s questions.

Hard Times for Harvard

After a lifetime of feeling stupid for neglecting what I’ve been told is “the most important meal of the day,” I no longer feel lonely in my ignorance.  Harvard University is keeping me company in my decision to forego the first meal of the day because they’ve stopped serving it, or, at least a hot version of it.

An article I wrote that appeared in the DailyFreePress.

Published: September 23, 2009

It is no secret that Harvard University has a feast of funding, what with its rank as the University with the largest endowment, but if this is the case, why can’t it afford to feed its students hot breakfast food?

Due to Spring 2009 Faculty of Arts and Sciences budget cuts, Harvard stopped serving hot breakfast in all but one of its dining halls Monday through Friday.

“Students were upset when they heard the announcement in the Spring, but they were more upset this Fall when they walked into the dining hall and instead of finding French toast, omelettes, and some sort of meat, they found a few slices of cold cantaloupe,” said sophomore Nima Khavanin.

Why the scrimping?

Say Yes to Monotonix

photo cred: Jenn Pelly

As I stared blankly at my International Relations text book that was supposed to serve as a “Do not Disturb” sign, a voyeuristic stranger peered over my shoulder and breathed hotly on my neck on the Lucky Star bus.  He’d obviously just eaten Indian food and I’d just lost my iPod.  There was no sign of a book or a magazine in his lap or behind his seat. This was going to be a long ride.  I anxiously adjusted in my seat and I could tell he thought I was “making myself more comfortable,” or something equally embarassing like that.  When my feet stuck to the Pepsi-coated floor and my head crunched against the 1990s carpeted head rest, I began to question the logic of traveling 4 1/2 hours by myself.  It was my friend’s birthday in Boston and my first bit of “free time” in weeks but  instead of catching up with the people I wish I could see more often,  I was skipping away in solitaire to New York City to see the sweaty Israeli band that had swooned me once over the summer at Sirenfest.

And there would be crowd surfing.

Over the summer, when I was starting to think that I was becoming a very serious person with a very serious internship, I escaped to NYC seeking frivolity.  Luckily, I walked upon the wonder of what appeared to be a 1970s rock show mixed between a set of indie bands: Monotonix in the lineup at Sirenfest. With three more-than-half-naked Israelis bouncing atop the audience’s outstretched arms, the show was a spectacle for sure.  It was fleshy but the music wasn’t messy.  There was symmetry in the steady drum and bass riffs and their transitions were precise, although mops of 2-feet long hair made it hard to see this as an orchestration.  It was more like a melodic execution.  The rhythm cut clear and did not falter even as the band pulsed up and down above the crowd.

“Body Language” – Monotonix mp3

Women Breaching Cultural Boundaries

Afghan & Rwandan Women at the Peace Through Business Conference

In the midst of a war zone, and with no internet access, or even full rights to leave their homes, these Afghan women are working hard to start their own businesses.  And they are succeeding.  This story made me think twice about ever being lazy, or not using all of the resources I have.  It’s also a more useful approach to spreading democracy in Afghanistan than sending more troops…

As it appeared in October 11th’s Boston Herald:

When Nancy Freeman of New Bedford agreed to mentor Mariam Yousufi of Afghanistan about business in America, she didn’t expect that they’d have a lot in common.

Nancy, who grew up in America, attended college and returned to New Bedford, where she opened up a consignment shop/co-op called Penelope’s Loom—“a place for women who don’t have jobs, or who have to stay at home, to sell their handmade art, jewelry, and knitted items,” said Freeman.

Mariam, 31, grew up in a warzone in Kabul and was exiled when the Taliban invaded.  She walked for days with her 9-year old daughter and took refuge in Pakistan.  After five years, she returned to Kabul and started a school that trained 320 Afghan women to weave, sew, and tailor.  She then opened “Mariama Education and Cultural Association,” which sells these women’s handmade items.

Although their backgrounds differ, “we both run small retail businesses in an effort to help other women,” said Freeman. “The difference is: Mariam sometimes has to go to women’s houses to pick up their handmade goods because they’re not always allowed to leave the house.”

Follow the jump to find out how these two ended up together.

A Film/Food Review

Food Inc.: A Hearty Buffet

Forget about buying popcorn before you see this film.  Or at least hold the butter.  The documentary Food Inc. sets out to feed viewers the truth about the food industry and you might find some of the footage hard to digest.

Cows struggling on a conveyor belt.  Chickens screaming and spewing blood after their necks are slit.  Children dying from E. coli in a hamburger. The graphic shots in this film are stomach-churning.  But they are necessary.

Food Inc., directed by Robert Kenner, confronts viewers with a behind-the-scenes look at farming practices, or rather, the mass production of meat using heavy machinery.  Authors Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan, of “Fast Food Nation” and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” respectively, narrate this tour into the inner workings of our food industry.  Using interviews with such food experts and also with consumers, farm owners, and owners of socially responsible companies, like Stonyfield Farms, the documentary brings the texts of the aforementioned books to life.

Corn in Coca-Cola? “This Land is Your Land”? Children dying? Click to read more.

Breakfast With My Shadow mp3 – Cloud Cult

Fidelity ‘genocide’ vote set

For the second year in a row, Fidelity customers of 13 of its mutual funds have an opportunity to vote on a question concerning donating dollars to Darfur, that is, inadvertently donating dollars to companies such as Petrochina Co., and CNPC, two oil companies that pay royalties to the government of Sudan, by investing in mutual funds that have holdings in those companies.

The vote culminates in tomorrow’s shareholder meeting, where the issue will be discussed.

Here’s the article as it appeared in the Boston Herald.

This Never Would Have Happened If…

I have been meaning to post this for a while, and today seems to be more appropriate than ever, seeing as I was hit by a cab on my way to work this morning. (Also– I think my beloved bike June, who brought me so much joy and facillitated so many bizarre friendships, deserves some commemoration, seeing as she is now badly bent and…unridable.)

Boston is a friendlier city on wheels.  It’s true. Partly because it means you can say goodbye to the T, and also because you get to become a member of a whole new burgeoning community of superior individuals who choose to forego blatant pollution and who are proponents of physical exercise as a means of transportation (and who just might not have enough money to buy a car, but that’s probably just a coincidence…)

I highly recommend investing in these two-wheel  dream machines for those of you who get anxious on the T, or who believe that it shouldn’t take 45 minutes to get to Cambridge from the B.U. area.

I began to fall in love with June (my beautiful teal 1950s bike with pegs, a wooden backseat, and spaceship-styled lights) about 2 months ago.  And around that same time, I began to fall in love with Boston.

I can prove this. Click to read more.

Making Off with $65Billion?! Reporting on Madoff: Some Real Business News

Here’s an article I collaborated on with Jerry Kronenberg.  It was cool to interview businessmen (no wowen) in Post Office Square for this piece.  My job was to ask passersby how they felt about Madoff’s attorney writing an appeal for the schemer to only get 12 years in prison.  Some people said it was old news and they were tired of hearing about it. Others are still passionately angry and want to see this case to the end of it, and maybe even to the end of Madoff.  I learned 2 things:

1. Some people move on more quickly than others.

2. There is a beautiful serene walkway with hanging plants in the middle of the Financial District?!

Now the article:

“Mercy, mercy Madoff”

Published in The Boston Herald June 24, 2009

Bernard Madoff’s victims say they support his plea for just 12 years in prison – if he serves 50 such terms in a row or spends his entire sentence “hung by his toes.”

“When somebody has devastated people’s lives by the thousands, it doesn’t seem to me that a 12-year sentence is very much,” victim Lawrence Velvel told the Herald yesterday after Madoff’s lawyers petitioned the court for a relatively light sentence.

Attorney Ira Sorkin asked a New York federal judge not to give into “mob vengeance . . . emotion and hysteria” when sentencing Madoff on Monday.

Madoff faces up to 150 years in prison for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, but Sorkin asked the judge for just a 12-year term – or 15- to 20-years tops.