Rio in Pictures

Celebration

Today is a good day to be an American. Today we've witness the forces of democracy turn the tide against incompetent, arrogant leaders and bring a new wave of hope to the world. Congratulations to all Americans who worked hard to make this happen.

Cidade Maravilhosa

Beautiful bodies. Smooth, defined and tanned to various shades of orange. Skimpily covered beautiful bodies. Hundreds of them. No, thousands. Everywhere you look. Little is left to the imagination. A thin layer of lycra away from complete nudity. Surfing, swimming, walking, playing or just lounging by a shack sipping agua de coco or Skol.

The only distraction from the beautiful bodies are the mountains. Scraggy, forested peaks jutting up everywhere you look. Favelas draped on them like moss. Tunnels weaving through them, hopelessly trying to reunite what nature tried to divide.

First impressions of Rio de Janeiro.

Little Actors

Ever wonder where they get those tiny babies that magically appear from under the hospital gown? Ever wonder about that gooey stuff they're covered in? Ever wonder what it takes to make them cry? A pinch? A spanking?

All I know is I'm never lending any baby of mine to play a newborn on a TV show.

Ghost

Can you see it?

R U Real?

Here's a fine example of makeup & Photoshop transforming an everyday woman into Billboard Barbie.

Fall

Small Penis Syndrome?

More Fear Mongering

San Jose, California. Local news. Special investigative report. The results of an extensive scientific study show that - OMG - school kids spread germs!!! Scientists carefully sprinkled glow-in-the-dark powder on one kid and watched as it spread throughout the class. The thoughtful lady on the television then proceeded to "inform" us of the wide variety of hand sanitizers available to protect our kids from these deadly germs.

I have several issues with this news report. First - anyone with an IQ in the double digits or higher should know that school kids share everything, not just germs. Yes, parents, your kids are eating - gasp - other people's lunches! Secondly, there are trillions & trillions of bacteria all around us - in the air, on our skins, inside our digestive systems, inside our respiratory systems and practically all parts of the body. We develop immunity to the bad ones by being exposed to them during childhood. Take away this essential aspect of development and we're weak for life. Thirdly, nowhere in the news report did they extoll the virtues of proper hand-washing, which removes most newly acquired germs. Finally, frequent use of hand-sanitizers is actually bad for you. There are strains of deadly, resistant bacteria that survive in this environment. You just eliminated all their competition and helped them thrive!

So let's face it parents - schools are a breeding ground for microbes - but so is the rest of the world. Unless you want to raise a family of bubble-boys, teach your kids proper hygiene, keep some Tylenol on hand and let nature take it's course.

Food for Thought

America

Thumbing through my iTunes music collection, I came across a song I haven't heard in ages. America by Simon & Garfunkel. A simple, silly song that magically captures the spirit of youth and that of a nation. It takes me back to when I was younger and exploring a new land. This, I thought, would be a good epilogue to the prior post.

Let us be lovers we'll marry our fortunes together
I've got some real estate here in my bag
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And walked on to look for America

"Cathy," I said, as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now"
It took me four days to hitch-hike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America

Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit is a spy
I said be careful his bow-tie is really a camera

"Pass me a cigarette I think there's one in my raincoat"
"We smoked the last one an hour ago"
So I looked at the scenery, and she read a magazine
The moon rose over an open field

"Cathy, I'm lost", I said though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all gone to look for America

The End of Innocence

As I sit here on this Monday morning, sipping a cup of tea, I'm taken back to this same morning, five yeas ago. That's the morning everything changed. For a city, for a country, and for me. What began as yet another day in paradise turned into a journey of anger, fear, disgust and soul searching.

While the American media, this morning, focuses on the human face of this tragedy, there's another aspect often overlooked. This is the morning when a certain innocence was lost. Decades of invincibility came to an end for a nation and its people. While the twin towers may have seemed like ugly monstrosities to most Americans and even some New Yorkers, to the rest of the world they were the ultimate symbol of an idealogy. Towering temples to the human spirit, unleashed through the forces of capitalism to go forth produce its best. An ideology that brought peace and prosperity (and some might say decadence) to almost 300 million people. An ideology that most of the developing world looked up to. They stood proud like lighthouses - shining beacons of hope to billions. Standing in the lobby, or up on the rooftop, one couldn't have felt more safe & secure in these edifices of steel and concrete.

That's why they were brought down. It wasn't a murder of people, but the attempted murder of an ideology. Yes, thousands of people died, but people who focus on that completely miss the point. If the loss of human life is more important, what about the thousands who die of meaningless gun violence every year? What about the thousands who died of AIDS in the 80s as an administration joked about the crisis? What about the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians who die every year in Iraq, Darfur, Lebanon, Palestine or Sri Lanka? Does a human life automatically become more important by virtue of being in a certain building on 9/11/01?

What really came down that day was the American spirit - a spirit that gave us the towers in the first place. A spirit so destroyed, that today, five years later, there is no sign of rebuilding. A fraction of the $500 billion that have been spent in Iraq, could have given us, in a couple of years at most, shining new symbols to replace the fallen ones. We would've been redeemed. The world's best architects rushed in with plans to fill the void. Instead, they've been overrun by bean counters concerned about square footage & insurance payouts. People don't want to work on higher floors, they say. Yet, people will happily move to Florida and build homes on former marsh land directly in the path of a hurricane. My alien mind fails to grasp this.

Something else happened on 9/11/01. It brought the entire thinking world together, in solidarity with the American people, in defense of our values of freedom & democracy. Even socialist Parisian newspapers proclaimed "We Are All Americans". Offers of support came pouring in. It was a unique opportunity to put extremism to an end and bring the same peace and prosperity to a neglected part of the world. Instead, I watched as a corrupt administration and an ill-informed population squandered it away. I watched as they sowed the seeds of a new wave of unrest. I watched as they turned on minorities within their own nation. It suddenly turned from a war of economic & social ideologies into a war of straight, white Christians against brown Muslims - and everyone else. Suddenly grandma was being wiretapped, brown people (such as myself) were greeted at the border with sneers and citizens were being lifted out of homes and transported to secret detention camps without trial. A whole new generation witnessed the ugly side of American power.

Since 9/11, I've been struggling to understand and find the true American values that made this nation what it is. I'd like to believe it was "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". However, 9/11 also brought out certain voices that portray a much darker picture. A picture of greed and imperialist oppression dating back to the 19th century. I don't know what to believe anymore. However, I certainly know that I do not identify with the values portrayed on CNN and Fox News.

Politics is an ugly game.

Party of Death?

What is it with Indian-Americans joining the ranks of conservative bigots? Here's another one to the fray. Ramesh Ponnuru writes a book, provocatively titled "The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life". For added effect, it even has a quote from Ann Coulter on the cover. Wow. I'm really impressed. Makes me want to rush out and buy it. Puke.

I'm trying to understand this phenomenon of people of Indian descent, such as Dinesh D'Souza, Bobby Jindal, Raj Bhakta and now Ramesh Ponnuru, joining the ranks of conservative idealogues. I've always cherished the belief that Indian values - specifically Hindu values - and by Hindu I don't mean the mosque-demolishing, saffron-wearing fundamentalist flavor - I mean the organic, harmonious traditions that evolved in the sub-continent over thousands of years - always espoused liberal social values and a balanced view of economics & statehood. Why then, do children of such a culture, raised in a foreign land grow up to be so conservative? Is there a deep rooted psychological need to overcompensate for their brownness and fit in?

Let's take the case of Bobby Jindal. Growing up in racially tense Louisiana, Bobby chose to "fit in" by converting to Christianity. Unfortunaltey, that didn't turn him white a la Michael Jackson so during high school he converted to Catholicism - an even more conservative flavor of religion. Today, Bobby is probably as desi as Michael Jackson is black. I cringe every time I see an Indian diasporic organization fete him.

Everyone's entitled to their opinons and beliefs. However, I find it unnerving that there is such an overwhelming tilt towards conservatism amongst Indian-Americans. Where are the voices on the other side of the camp?

Nina

Say hello to Nina. She's a 10 week old purebred Shih Tzu. Came home Sunday.

... oh and the pink bow-tie was not my idea.

Who's your daddy?

UN observation post on Israel/Lebanon border.

Ruffled Feathers

Seems like the Brita commercial I talked about here might have ruffled some feathers. It now sports a disclaimer:

Municipally supplied water has been treated to make it safe for drinking

The whole commercial looks quite ridiculous now. They should just pull it.

Disgusting

This is just plain disgusting. The news business is so ugly. Ugh.

Random Observation

I'm finally catching up on Desperate Housewives: Season 2 and I have to say this. This show has turned into a glossier version of the Jerry Springer Show. Behind the pretty picket fences and flower-lined yards, these people are living like trashy low life. Also, I can't figure out why all the gay writers in Hollywood can't write a decent, realistic gay character on a mainstream show. Andrew is SO NOT like any gay guy I've known. He's a complete contradiction.

As much as I loved Season 1, I can't wait for this show to get the axe.

Domestic Bliss

I'm loving the new condo. The colours are starting to work. I can feel the space speaking to me. Accent colours are starting to pop out of everyday objects. I'm loving the spaciousness. My last apartment (which cost about the same) felt like a shoebox in comparison. I'm loving the wide-open east views. I'm loving the wrap-around kitchen. I'm loving my new home office. I'm loving the little park downstairs. I'm never moving out of this place.

Fear-Mongering

Just watched a Brita commercial. The tagline goes something like this.

"Water for your tap and toilet come from the same source. Brita - for water than is 98% pure".

I see so many things wrong with this reasoning, I don't know where to start. Are people really that stupid or paranoid (or both)? Isn't it obvious that all water ultimately comes from the same source? When I see a tagline like this, my initial reaction is - "omg, we're wasting drinkable fresh water in toilets." Not - "I'm drinking toilet water."

Am I weird, or is that commercial just a blatant example of fear-mongering?