Of Death, Lists, and Art in Pittsburgh…..

Rather than bore you with my own musings, I thought I would subject you to the musings of others! These are things that I happened upon: on my own, by force (ie. via work related research), and through a friend, not in that order.

If I have intrigued you, then by all means, click the link and read more! Life is too short to say you don’t have the time. I hope any and/or all of it catches your fancy like it did for me.

• Happy Ending by Todd May = (essay/blog post from the NYtimes) (length – 2 scrolls with your mouse thingie)

At first glance the essay seems a little morbid. But actually it is incredibly thought provoking in its discussion about living and dying. Wonderfully written. My take away thought- we have to die in order to truly live. It is the idea that our lives will eventually come to an end that enables us to live with a certain degree of purpose. I’m curious to hear what you get from it. It’s the last post of an awesome column, blog, discussion or whatever hosted by the NY times. It’s called, “Happy Days: The Pursuit of What Matters in Troubled Times.” A dream blog I wish I knew about earlier!!

• We Like Lists Because We Don’t Want to Die = (interview w/ a famous Italian dude :) who is curating a new exhibition at the Louvre in Paris (think-tough life) (length – 2 pages worth)

Hmm it really seems like I’m obsessed with death doesn’t it? Well it’s either because I’ve hit that age OR that I don’t believe that discussion about death should be limited to the morose. Or I was just so inspired by the previous posting. You be the judge. While some parts of the interview are not that riveting, I have never ever thought about the role and importance of lists in a given culture before. Umberto Eco thinks their important enough to build an exhibit around. It could still seem boring but it’s absolutely fascinating for those of us who enjoy considering new ways of thinking about things. Thanks to my friend for shooting this over. She knows who she is.

• Bill Strickland makes change with a slide show = (TED talk/video) (length - ~35 minutes but worth every freaking second)

If you watch this, you’ll know that I’m not in a Goth phase. I don’t know how I got to this video. But that is probably what happens when you are still on your computer in the wee hours of the morning. Like crack. I love TED like crack, which could also explain it. Anyway, in my am delirium, I sent this link to a bunch of friends who probably saw the length, rolled their eyes, and said “one day.” Well after seeing it, after shedding tears while brimming with inspiration, I felt I needed to plug it again. It’s about how a man named Bill Strickland from a rough neighborhood in Pittsburgh is using his love for art and humanity to make a difference. I’m sure he is well known enough by now to have plenty of critics but it can’t take away from how special this talk was.

A Little Walking Never Hurt Nobody!

I enjoy walking. I really do. But I wasn’t counting on the amount of walking that I’m doing now!

The SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) workers in the city of brotherly love are ON STRIKE. Since Tuesday, November 3^rd, all buses, subway lines, trolleys and their operators have come to a bumpy halt.

That means in true working woman/grandma style, I carry a bag containing my work shoes to switch out from the sneakers I use for the 30-45-minute brisk walk to work.

I guess you could argue that this strike is good in that at the very least, it is forcing people whose signature dish is the philly cheesesteak, to walk more. But given the growing traffic volume and number of taxis dispatched, I think we found a way around that.

Now, this is the first time that I’ve been personally affected by a strike. In the past, I’ve only seen strikes and/or boycotts on television and have read about them occurring in a distant land or state. Being on the free-radical side of things, and given my parents’ socialist homeland, I’ve always thought myself a “power to the people” sort of person. Inquilab Zindabad (Long live the revolution) as the brown folk used to shout at the Brits.

BUT this little uprising in my backyard got me thinking more deeply about the other side of strikes. Are they always justified? How does it affect others apart from the evil boss man?

In this case, there are mixed reviews on if this strike is justified or not. The abridged version is that union workers were negotiating their contract and are not satisfied with what SEPTA management is bringing to the table, specifically by way of contributions to pensions. The Philly Examiner has a good update for specific details.

The Mayor, the Governor, SEPTA and a growing number of disgruntled commuters think that the union has been given an excellent offer in light of the economic climate. I should add that the offer includes a $1,250 bonus upon signing the contract. The general feeling is that the offer might not be great but hey, its better than what a lot of folks are getting right now. In fact, some Philly brothers and sisters are so annoyed that they are advocating for a protest in front of the union’s headquarters!

So, I can’t say if this strike is justified or not but I can say there is enough dissent within and outside of the union ranks to raise a few questions. A woman I work alongside even claimed that her uncle works for SEPTA and he didn’t even know about the strike until he got to work in the morning and the station was still locked. At the very least, it was poorly organized.

And to tell you the truth, I never thought too much about others affected by a strike before. Of course, there are the union members. But there are also workers that don’t have a car and have relied on public transportation to get to their jobs across the city, which they desperately need. There are seriously ill patients who need to see a doctor. Equally awful is that there are hundreds of children attending public schools in the city who depend on public buses and subways who are sh-- out of luck. The mayor says it’s the responsibility of the parents to get their children to school. Well how feasible is that directive for a single parent who now has double the commute to work without public transportation, and needs this job to provide for his or her family?

As much as I dislike dirty, dingy, urine-scented SEPTA facilities, as infuriating as it is to see an inexcusable lack of handicap accessibility, and as much as I feel the whole system should be burnt to the ground and rebuilt, I have also come to realize that there are people out there who will take what they can get.

I can’t say who is right or wrong in this strike situation, and I’m sure the devil is in the details of the contract. But who do you support as the strike evolves into the union people vs. the rest of the people, and has become an issue of worker’s rights on both sides?

I will definitely look at strikes and their dynamics differently from now on.

I will also don my sneakers without complaint come Monday, since other people in this city have a lot more to contend with.

I admit it. My glass is half-full

Molay is a bit of a movie enthusiast. Maybe that is a bit of an understatement. I watch all sorts of movies from You, Me, and Dupree to the Japanese film, Departures (whose music was fantastic). I don’t playa-hate on movie genres.

To defend what ends up being hours of time I could have spent on finding a solution to poverty, I often watch movies to observe the craft of storytelling and messaging. So in a weird way it is educational for me. That said, I admit that I’m not immune (read: I’m a sucker) for a good ol’ fashioned movie that pulls at the heartstrings and makes us want to root for the underdog.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire is one such movie, that I’m eagerly anticipating.

But I find the response to my excitement in this film very interesting. Or at least telling of the way different people see the world. For those of you who haven’t heard the hype a la Oprah and Tyler Perry or seen the preview, here is a short summary from Film Jabber, which seems to be the same as the official one:

“Set in Harlem in 1987, it is the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a sixteen-year-old African-American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother (Mo'Nique), a poisonously angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is a place of chaos, and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and an awful secret: she can neither read nor write.

Precious may sometimes be down, but she is never out. Beneath her impassive expression is a watchful, curious young woman with an inchoate but unshakeable sense that other possibilities exist for her. Threatened with expulsion, Precious is offered the chance to transfer to an alternative school, Each One/Teach One. Precious doesn’t know the meaning of "alternative," but her instincts tell her this is the chance she has been waiting for...”

Now depending on our clichéd half-empty or half full view on life, you could see this as having the potential to be incredibly depressing or immensely uplifting.

Some people I have talked to ask me why I would want to clinically depress myself by watching something like that? Am I being morbid? Others are curious about the hype. But funny enough, no one who has expressed they want to see this to me, has suggested that it is because of the half-fullness they foresee in the story.

Is it because it is sort of weird to admit you want to see a more elevating story? I guess I can see that. I don’t think many people walk around saying they want to be inspired by watching Rudy. I know I don’t….yet…

But on the other end, its seems kind of unfortunate that its harder for us, myself included, to welcome inspiration more openly. Apart from the few motivational articles, videos, etc forwarded to me by friends, most of what I come across in a week are negative and hugely disheartening. The ceaseless fighting of politicians claiming to have our best interests in mind, the missing Caucasian child on CNN (sorry guys, its true), or imagery and language of the rest of the world crumbling (except India and China of course) because of civil strife and natural disasters - it is all dismal. And yes, I would include Jon & Kate plus 8 here also.

While I would never diminish the reality or seriousness of these situations, I find it hard to believe that there isn’t more good stuff happening out there. Hell, if a large chunk of the people I know are working towards the social good and for social change, there has to be a lot of great things happening out there. The question then becomes why aren’t we seeing it?

So without belaboring my point, and I think I have one, I really want to see movies, articles, tv shows like Precious (not to be confused by the creepy dude saying that in Lord of the Rings) and more like them because: I want to see the good in life and in the world and I refuse to settle for less.

I want to see her character getting a chance to make it despite her circumstances. I want to see more positive portrayals of minorities as heroes and inspiration in the mainstream, not just funny sidekicks. I want to cry but then smile.

And soon I will admit that I saw Rudy for the inspiration.

Is there a space between East and West?

I read a passage today that really got me thinking. And we all know how dangerous that can be.

Unfortunately, Malcolm Gladwell is an author that consistently jump-starts the intellectual, pondering Molay.

This time it was his book Outliers: The Story of Success. I won’t spoil it for you except to say that it compels the reader to challenge traditional notions of success - that someone is just naturally brilliant, talented, etc. Gladwell doesn’t deny a certain level of skill or talent or interest in a given individual. Yet, he begins to analyze some of the circumstances in which success is born and thrives, which are intriguing to say the least.

The passage that got me this evening was his discussion about culture and language. He talks about power hierarchies that are part of the culture in many Asian countries versus Western. Even more interesting is Gladwell's discussion about the differences in the way each culture uses language:

“Western communication has what linguists call a 'transmitter orientation' – that is, it is considered the responsibility of the speaker to communicate ideas clearly and unambiguously…But Korea, like many Asian countries, is receiver oriented. It is up to the listener to make sense of what is being said."

Are you fascinated yet? I’m guessing not. But for me, this passage really clicked and brought me back to my confused cultural roots. Although I was born and brought up in the U.S., my parents came from India. I think India, in the case of Gladwell’s observation above, is similar to most other Asian countries.

Like many others of my background, we were exposed to the American culture but we also absorbed the culture that our parents transplanted from India. We were brought up in a bubble of Indian culture (frozen in time by our parents), only to exit that protective world and be face to face with a very different way of life. So when I was reading Gladwell’s passage, I was imagining a kid like me growing up stuck between the cultures of transmitter and receiver. Literally, stuck inside the phone! Don’t cry for us….. yet.

Anyway, with this notion in mind and growing up in the mighty West, most of the time, the culture of transmitter won out. It was only after college that I realized that I had to un-train my deferent, self-effacing, respectful ways that I was brainwashed to believe in by my parents. To make it out there, I needed to thump my chest, market myself, and never take no for an answer!

Although I’m still fighting old tendencies of cultural expression, I’ve made a lot of progress, and Gladwell’s sentence about Asian cultures placing emphasis on the listener for making sense of what is being said, almost seems foreign.

BUT then in a cruel twist of something, our dear Gladwell comes full circle to say something I don’t think I’ve ever heard uttered so eloquently by a westerner. After citing an exchange between a Korean employee and his supervisor, Gladwell says:

“There is something beautiful in the subtlety of that exchange, in the attention that each party must pay to the motivations and desires of the other. It is civilized, in the truest sense of the word: it does not permit insensitivity or indifference.”

WHAT THE??? I am trying to get over years of eastern cultural brainwashing just so it can start being understood now?

Okay, now you can cry…. Or at least hit the transmitter and receiver ends of the phone against the wall for me. J

Oh the websites you will go (NR materials not covered today)!

One of the things that I love about the World Wide Web is the random, but fascinating places it can take you. Sometimes I think they should call it: World-Wide-Choose your own Adventure, because depending on what and where you click, you could stumble upon a whole new world that you have never considered.

Speaking of stumble upon, I just found out that there is a site called Stumble Upon which if you sign on for and personalize your specific interests, will take you to a random site or article that matches your interests whenever you feel like surfing.

An example of a little adventure before I actually learned about the stumble upon tool, started when I was reading about TED on Wikipedia. (For those naysayers of Wikipedia – I say, it’s a great baseline to begin learning more about something, not a one-stop shop).

And TED for those of you who are unfamiliar, stands for: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. TED is known for their “idea” conferences, for attracting attendees across sectors who can afford it (read: rich and famous people) to share thoughts and ideas on an array of topics, and for ridiculously interesting and often inspiring talks which are easily available to us commoners, online. TED’s excellent business model does a great job of keeping the event exclusive but making it accessible to everyone via the (yes, you got it): World Wide Web J The best part is that these talks are usually no longer than 20 minutes. I could go on and on but check it out if you want. One of my favorite talks so far is from Benjamin Zander on music and passion. You won’t be disappointed.

ANYWAY, so one of the founders of TED is Richard Saul Wurman. I clicked on his name and found out that he is a pretty cool guy. He is seventy-something and he is considered a pioneer in the practice of trying to make information understandable. Calls himself an information architect. Very neat. A few clicks later and I’m on his website.

A few more taps on the mouse pad and I was onto his latest project: 19,20,21. COOL STUFF!

I’ll let you explore but it is basically an effort to identify, map, and understand the 19 most populous cities in the world. Why? Because more than half of the people on earth live in what he calls super cities, and the trend is accelerating to where 2/3rds of the population will be concentrated in cities in the future. Wurman and his partners think that by understanding different issues in cities (eg. Health, transportation, demographics, economics, etc) and making that information available to policymakers, businesses, non-profits and others, we can better prepare for this trend ahead. And given his TED founding, and just the design of his website, I can’t wait to see how Wurman and his crew share this with the world! Did I mention that he is seventy something? That’s even more amazing to me.

Breaking the vicious cycles of boom and bust?

The oppressor becomes the oppressed. The oppressed becomes the oppressor. OR put more simply: the bully will eventually become the smallest kid in the class. The smallest kid in the class will become the bully eventually.

It struck a chord when I came across this idea in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire, a well-known Brazilian born educator and theorist whom I am a fan of.

Amongst religions, races, castes, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, political parties, and on and on – we work towards an idea of freedom, equity and power (let’s be real) only to impose that “power” on someone else. Even and especially without realizing it. In my opinion, we never truly understand what it means to be free. So the cycle continues across the globe and history.

For all of the example categories of separation, that divide us mentioned above, people feel like they are justified and are geared up to vehemently defend their rights. But what happens when we explore the category of age?

If you are older, you were once young. If you are young (sorry to burst your bubble) but it’s only a matter of time friend, until you are considered older (by others of course!). What happens then?

A recent conversation that I had with someone that included: “This was before you time, so you probably haven’t heard of it…,” got me thinking about this issue. If this wasn’t in a professional context I might not have cared. But since my value/role in the conversation diminished after that comment, it got me thinking…

It got me thinking about quite a few past experiences where my elders in a work, academic and personal environment have written me off because I’m “too young.” On the other end: MTV-culture; certain friends, family and others make it clear that I’m not getting any younger, especially after the big 3-0! I'm sure I'm guilty of quite a few age-ist comments on either side myself.

In essence – it seems we have a societal culture where the more experienced generations (better word? J ) antagonize the younger generation and they in turn, disregard, undervalue and even neglect their elders when the ball is in their court.

Does this make sense especially given that we will be both young and old through the course of our lives?! It doesn’t to me. We are on the same damn continuum! It’s kind of ridiculous. So my next question is, can we actually break cycles like this?

I am not sure of the answer here, and would love to hear what you all think. I could say that this is just how things are and accept it, but er, well, uhh,…that didn’t work!

Something tells me that there is a common thread here that might involve an incredibly difficult but worthy leap of faith in ourselves and in others. But where do we start?

Until then, I guess it’s a fight to the finish - literally!

Taking a Reflective Moment

Muir Woods National Monument, CA

"Watch an animal, a flower, a tree, and see how it rests in Being. It is itself. It has enormous dignity, innocence, and holiness. However, for you to see that, you need to go beyond the mental habit of naming and labeling. The moment you look beyond labels, you feel that ineffable dimension of nature that cannot be understood by thought or perceived through the senses. It is a harmony, a sacredness that permeates not only the whole of nature but it is also within you."

- taken from Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle

Nuff said until next time....