CRUNCH - All things crunched.

Is the concept of abundance rooted in insecurity ... A lot of behavioral experts talk about, why the human mind gets attracted to early warning signals or negative images. Over the years, TV and news in particular has successfully used this learning to feed disasters, crime, killing and similar images to nourish that part of the human mind. Truth is, this model works, not just on TV but also in Movies. An interesting analogy of this model can be found in the modern housewife, not just any ordinary but the super rich housewife, the kinds who have to do nothing all day and have everything to lose in every moment. They are married to the notion of abundance, this makes them fragile and susceptible in the real world. A lot of this fear is shielded by designer brands. Luxury brands work as shields, it conceals insecurities and galvanizes those in search of identity. The kitty party is the manifestation of this collective incompetence. Here insecurity is complimented by counter question...

Rarely, does a game of cricket represent a spectacle of current affairs. The fan cant ask more, than a stage, set ablaze when 2 neighbors enter the same arena to decide the many contentious issues (those outside cricket) in the past.  An indo-pak game is many ways a metaphor that settles unresolved issues. Cricket here transcends beyond the game and players assume superhero status. 22 players stand up for the several million people on both sides of a highly disputed border to settle scores. Even at a neutral venue the intensity is emphasized by the contrasting nature of the opposing forces.One raw and sinewy and  the other potbellied by glory and success. One hungry and deprived while the other loathed in cricketing plentiful and over-sufficiency. Sport is meant to test the individual in more ways than physical. A contest of this nature, particularly in the case of these 2 countries, were won by individual brilliance in the past. Mental strength swayed the outcome of these ...

I grew up as an only child, with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from Syria, I imagined he looked like Omar Sharif. I hoped he would be rich and kind and would come into our lives (and our not yet furnished apartment) and help us. Later, after I’d met my father, I tried to believe he’d changed his number and left no forwarding address because he was an idealistic revolutionary, plotting a new world for the Arab people. Even as a feminist, my whole life I’d been waiting for a man to love, who could love me. For decades, I’d thought that man would be my father. When I was 25, I met that man and he was my brother. By then, I lived in New York, where I was trying to write my first novel. I had a job at a small magazine in an office the size of a closet, with three other aspiring writers. When one day a lawyer called me — me, the middle-class girl from California who hassled the boss to buy us health insurance...

Bill Gates – Microsoft Co-Founder I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work. Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.  For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor.  I will miss Steve immensely.  Paul Allen – Microsoft Co-Founder My condolences to Steve Jobs’ family and friends. We’ve lost a unique tech pioneer and auteur who knew how to make amazingly great products. Steve fought a long battle against tough odds in a very brave way. He kept doing amazing things in the face of all that adversity. As someone who has had his own medical challenges, I could...

Legend Tribute Courage celebration of loss Confession Departed dual loss installation Creative 

A city of contrasts  To call Hanoi just the capital of Vietnam is a gross understatement. Hanoi is almost an expression of a painter’s imagination, created with exquisite hues and myriad colors. It is a perfect synchrony of diversity, elements thrown in from art, culture, poetry, history and stunning natural beauty.  Cities, they say tell their own tales. Hanoi is not just another city with a tale, it is the cultural powerhouse of Vietnam. Its contrasting tones of power, culture, history, beauty and people blend together to form an array of shades & emotions. It offers multiple vantage points from where the outsider can venerate its magnificence and expanse. Hanoi may seem lazy on the outside yet is captivating and elegant in the inside. Once in Hanoi it is easy to understand why visitors fall in love with its indulgent way of life.  A Confluence - High Street fashion and A Palette For Street Food     It is a city where street food is consumed i...

Some of greg rowland's is inspiring and informative at the same time. It tends spark answers to questions that lie subdued in the mind. An ongoing  project in the lab of the mind is - the creation of illusion amidst reality. Or to find whats real in an illusion. Rowland throws some rare light on the subject of dreams (illusions). His idea - dreams exist to heal otherwise disturbing paradoxes is an interesting one. While at one hand it brings clarity to the role of dreams, it also displays the process dreams control. He views desire as an ongoing process and dreams as the means to sub-consciously or willingly navigate the bouncy paths of desire. In my business of ideas - there is a powerful role for the context. An idea does not work if it is decontexted. While ideas create a layer of compelling or alternate reality, there are other ideas that jump out of existing contexts. Therefore contexts are either local or clan or community. Essentially what ideas do is to herd alternate r...