David Gilmour, in 60 seconds

How can it be that me and two friends glued to our computers, refreshing the ticket sales page every minute, starting right at the moment of public sales, all missed out on David Gilmour concert tickets? Easy, the entire N. American tour was sold out in less than 60 seconds! And I had been looking forward to this for months.

If this isn't the definition of heartbreak, I don't know what is.

The product or the process?

The Human Rights Watch World Report 2006 is out. It paints a brutally truthful picture of the state of human rights, much to the dissatisfaction of world leaders. The report also brings our attention to how international deals and capitalist gain has knocked human rights down to a secondary significance.

I browsed over the report for US, EU, Iran, and Israel/Palestine. A considerable amount of the evaluations are based on public knowledge, atleast at the national/local level. Why then is it so hard for people to see past political propaganda, and see the true state of human rights?

Is it because we still have to learn that the process is just as important as the product?

Science does not refer to just the final proved theorem/discovery/etc, but also to the process one adopts along the way to arrive at the results. Art does not refer to just the final painting/sculpture/film/etc, but also to the beautiful steps one takes from the initial stage of void to the final stage of completeness.

When will we understand that the process by which you bring democracy, .. should be democratic.

No day but today

Well, I'm finally back in Toronto, and back to my grad student life! I had missed it!

I saw RENT over the weekend, an excellent musical about youth, NYC, and the lifestyle that anyone having lived below 14 st. has atleast some level of familiarity with.

Yeah, I'm chillin'

I'm obsessed with interesting visualizations of data, and this one (as simple as it is) seems to be an intriguing idea!



So what is it? It's the chill factor of the world! You go to the site, select how chill you are, and register the information to your geographic location, which will be represented through a colored ordinal scale. On the two ends of the scale we have purple representing "chill" and red representing "freakin."

As you can tell from the image above, there isn't enough data for the world, other than US and the UK, both of which seem to be enjoying their sweet life! But I think we can get some interesting information on the mood of the global citizens once enough people visit the site. Check it out: WorldChill.

Well, there might be one small barrier to a true chill representation in the long run. The most devastated people probably don't have internet access. But in that case, we can identify those people by the regions having the least amount of data.

There's just one thing I don't like about it: it's sponsored by Coca-Cola, but we give credit where credit is due.

Good Night, and Good Luck

Good Night and Good Luck is one of the films I saw over the weekend that I enjoyed very much. With a black and white format, and archived footage, it is a reminder that history repeats itself.



Senator Joseph McCarthy shaped the face of the enemy to American civil liberties, rights, and freedom. He constructed a national identity and a national agenda based on fear for the purpose of defeating this enemy. In the process, he eradicated freedom of thought, speech, and press. He propagated a fierce campaign of blacklisting, without charge or proof, any individual believed to have ties to the Communist camp.

In the process, he emerged as the real enemy of American values.
Sounds too familiar?

It's amazing how time can change the face of things, but keep their essence intact. The ingredients stay the same, but the flavour somehow changes.

As far as the cinematic experience goes, I say try to catch it while it's still in theaters. George Clooney does an excellent job at taking you inside a 1950's television studios. I especially liked how the real footage of McCarthy was naturally integrated.

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty... and remember that we are not descended of fearful men; not from men who feared to write, to associate, to speak, and to defend the causes that were for the moment unpopular."

-Edward Murrow

Update :: Communism is no longer the declared enemy of America, and McCarthy is no longer an influential power in Washington. While the faces of the political spectrum visible to the people seem to have evolved, the threat of corporate media to a free and democtratic press silently continues. Dr. Kelley, a political science professor at Miami University, draws a very interesting conclusion from the movie Good Night and Good luck. Read his analysis at Media Watch.

And if the Paris riots were in Tehran...?

Niki has a very interesting post that reflects on possible media reactions if youth were rioting in Tehran, as is the case in France right now. Some possible headlines she mentions are:

"Youth Rise up Against Oppressive Iranian State"
"Iranian Regime Unable to Quell Popular Uprising"

Destructive rioting is a display of anger and terror, and not a method that any sane or self-respecting individual would adopt. Still, the truth of the matter is, if such rioting were to happen in Tehran, while I would not justify the riots, I would naturally think of them as an expected result of an oppressive regime that has forced youth to the verge of aggression and destruction. But when I first heard about the Paris riots, was my initial natural reaction that this is the expected result of poverty and a 50% unemployment rate among the rioting youth? Did I think of them as a result of discrimination that is legalised and embedded into the infrastructure of French institutions? Did I think of them as a result of when a sub-population feels invisible to their government?

Of course not! France is not an oppressive regime. Or perhaps I should say, it is not "perceived" as one.

What constitutes this inconsistency in how we would view riots in Paris vs. riots in Tehran, both ignited by youth who feel invisible and unattended to by their governments?

Probably one reason that accounts for this inconsistency in how we view the democratic nature of governments is that, still in the globalised world of 2005, the democracy of leaders is evaluated on the basis of how they act towards their own people. Often *their own people* is determined based on ethnic/racial lines.

Israel can dehumanise Palestinians, America can terrorize Iraqi civilians and torture detainees without charging them in secret prisons, etc, but none of these Western countries are oppressing *their own people* in conspicuous ways.

Islamic governments have the same oppression characteristics, but without the political capacity and maturity. Their oppression is directed towards their own people.

Western countries have learned that the strength of a government comes from satisfying the intellectual and material needs of their constituents. They can do whatever they wish to people of other countries. Islamic countries, on the other hand, believe that the strength of a government comes from suppressing the intellectual and material needs of their citizens.

This makes all the difference in how these countries are perceived politically. You have to look from a human rights perspective to see the similarities between "democratic" and "oppressive" nations.

Moral of the story: The word "democracy" indicates how a government treats human rights domestically. This word is seriously misleading. In a globalised world where powerful leaders directly influence and manipulate the affairs, lives, well being, and human rights of those in weaker nations, we need a new word that indicates how well a "domestically democratic government" adheres to human rights internationally.

Comedy and Tragedy; The summits of people vs. Americas

There is a famous quote by Carol Burnett, "Comedy is tragedy plus time."

But the news this weekend is comedy and tragedy simultaneously!

Yesterday, while the Senate and House approved $35 billion and $54 billion cuts, respectively, to Medicaid, food stamps, student loans, child support enforcement, and the Children's health insurance program, Bush head down to Argentina to preach on ways to help relieve the pain of the poor!

Meanwhile, in Mar Del Plata, a People's Summit is taking place alongside the America's Summit. Another dimension of the comedy-tragedy issue, the people are voicing clearly what they want (or more specifically don't want), and leaders promoting democracy for the people by the people are behind closed doors, deciding for the people.

The world can't wait

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of Bush's reelection. Across major American cities, Americans hit the streets once again protesting against Bush's roaring cannons, under the umbrella group "The World Can't Wait". [NYTimes,Commondreams]



There are two indications in the American behaviour that illuminate just exactly how much America has been transformed and reshaped, not only as a government, but as a nation, since Bush's first election.

The culture of resistance is now well imbued in large American cities, and I've tasted a good deal of it in NY. This is not to say we should jump for joy, as it is not an indication of a change in the direction of American policy. The prominent change in direction is in urban Americans' attitude towards resistance. During Clinton's term, street protests were seen mostly as a characteristic of the Third world. For a group of people to assemble, carry posters, and have their slogans heard on American streets was almost as foreign as assembling prayers on public streets (another characteristic of some Third world countries). Yet, in just a matter of years, things have transformed to the degree that NYC students would walk out of class to join fellow protestors to speak against their own government, in a coordinated endeavor that extends to other cities! Indeed, just six years ago this would be unimaginable, but keep in mind that mass protests do not come together unless the masses were truly weary and infuriated by the administration.

Now let us step out of the urban metropolitan areas, to the casual cities and towns of America. Yes, there is radical transformations here too, only in a profoundly different manner. In Clinton's term, the average American's perception of America's foreign policy was that of a peacekeeper. Obviously even then, this was not true. I remember talking to classmates in suburban NJ (this is not even Mid-Western America, this is just 25 miles from NYC) about why America feels the need to have troops stationed everywhere, to which usually I would get a perplexed look, "But what's wrong with our troops, we're only there as peacekeepers, to help the indigenous people." The point here is not about America's troops, it is about the peaceful and simplified mentality that most Americans used to have. For the most part, it was a mentality of peace and good will. Today, it's consumed by war, and a serious demarcating of "Us and Them."

Thank you Mr. Bush. Honestly, the world can't wait until you step down, even your own people.

Happy Spooks!

"Pumpkin Field" copyright ©2005 sam javanrouh

Podcast with Chomsky

A great podcast with Noam Chomsky, my favourite intellectual.

A good deal of his interview is about the propaganda and the formal integration of corporations, media, and power structure. Following is a small excerpt. He also made a reference to the political philosophy of David Hume, and his work in Foundations in the theory of government, which I found very interesting and relevant to our current experience with our governments.

Noam Chomsky:

"If you read the pronouncements of the worst monsters, Hitler, Stalin, ..., it's all full of the most eloquent rhetoric about their noble intentions and how they're sacrificing themselves for the benefit of the people. And yes major institutions are developed to try to propagate those ideas. And in fact it is true that in their countries, most people believed them."

"In Nazi Germany, Hitler was very popular, .., his conception of the nobility of their engagement in the world and domestically was why they accepted him. It was the same in fascist Japan, same in Stalinist Russia. This also happens in free societies, and furthermore there is nothing novel about it."

"Centuries ago, David Hume pointed out that power is in the hands of those who are governed. They don't know it, but power is actually in their hands. Therefore, to maintain authority, it is necessary to impose consent, it is necessary to compel the general population to consent to the authority of the masters. That's true in every society, from the most free to the most despotic."

Man of Peace

Who else has received greater favourable publicity and recognition in his efforts for justice than Bob Geldof in the past year? To top it off, just yesterday Geldof was named "Man of peace" by the Nobel Peace prize recipients. I think it is well deserved! He will be presented with the award at the World Summit of Nobel Laureates on November 24. [BBC report, Mirror report]

This is in addition to being nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace prize back in July!


Geldof wearing the white band

I have always found it rather ironical that the religious population of the developing/third world countries view Western musicians and entertainment icons as immoral and corrupt. Yet, it is often members of this "liberal, immoral, and corrupt" class of people who have spoken out and acted for peace and justice towards the developing and third world. Just a few examples that come to mind at the moment include Roger Waters, Bono, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, of course the "Man of peace," and a myriad of others.

I only wish the religious civilian population would appreciate these efforts more, and see these brave and hard working individuals in a more favourable light.

Open Content Alliance

A few days ago newstatesman published a report on Brewster Kahle, one of the prominent players in the Open Content Alliance, which received a considerable amount of press earlier this month. The article is an interesting read, as it presents Kahle's motivations for creating a library that provides access to universal human knowledge, a model analogous to the ancient Library of Alexandria, with one notable difference: the Library of Alexandria did not bear the burden of copyright lawsuits on their shoulders.

Although much controversy has been centered around the copyrights issues, one of the primary intentions of OCA is to digitize content which is in the public domain, out of print, and rare. I think even those copyright-paranoid individuals who impede such projects will appreciate this significant cultural preservation in the future. The hope is that modern publishers will opt in voluntarily. O'Reilly has agreed to provide some of it's content for the library, which is a positive step.

I don't believe it to be too pretentious to predict that open-access digital collection will be developed in other areas, such as film. The OCA's agenda includes "multimedia content" in addition to text. Also, Rick Prelinger who works with Internet Archive has already archived a great deal film footage, although the content is not mainstream cinematic material and also suffers from poor resolution.

-----

On a related note are virtual reality archives for cultural heritage preservation. An example is the Cultural Heritage research project at Swiss Virtual Reality labs. The aim is to model the architecture specific to ancient theaters, mosques, monuments, etc. Furthermore, the movement, rituals, celebrations, and practices of people in such ancient institutions are carried out by behavioral animation techniques, adding to the realism of the simulated environment.


From the Cultural Heritage Project at the Swiss VR Labs

This research project is currently not intended to be an archive, but once comprehensive statistical information, tools, and applications are readily available, it does not require a distant imagination to construct an archive of simulations relating to a certain time period and physical location.

A network of such archives can prove to be a priceless gold mine of human information and experience. Imagine reading a (history, theatrical, etc) text and viewing a simulation of the exact time and place, complete with architectural monuments and human locomotion patterns.


From the Cultural Heritage Project at the Swiss VR Labs

Variety, celebrating 100 years

This past Sunday the centennial issue of Variety came out. The issue features some great articles, but more importantly, it features the "top 100 icons" of the century.


Cover of Variety, AP photo.

I wouldn't have guessed that The Beatles would make it to #1, but I was definitely pleased to discover three of my all-time favourite entertainment stars being listed in the top 10: Lucille Ball, Marlon Brando, Humphrey Bogart. No amount of recognition can do justice to their salient talent, creativity, and brilliance. But it's just another step to celebrate their lives. Take a look at the list, certainly you will find some of your favourites there too.

Although there were some deviations from what I would have anticipated. Lassie made it to the top 100, while Pink Floyd (or it's members) did not!

Baby Melon

Today I ate the world's smallest watermelon.
5.5 inches head to toe, and a 4 inch diameter. This was from my mom's garden. The weather is getting colder so we had to pick them before they froze.

Of course with it came the guilt of eating anything that small... but so juicy and tasty!

Solar Impulse

If all progresses according to plan, in 2008/2009, a piloted solar airplane will take to the skies at an altitude of 12,000 meters, and fly at night by the energy it saves during the day. The plane (named Solar Impulse) even takes off autonomously, although I'm not sure about the landing. This is probably the role of the pilot. I would like a ride!

Solar flight has a longer history than I initially thought, dating back to the 80's. Here is a photo of an earlier solar plane. This plane was named the Gossamer Penguin.



It may be interesting to know that the Gossamer pictured above was a mere 68 pounds, while it's pilot weighed under 100 pounds!

Neat user interface designs

Do you have some time for experimental navigation?

DontClickIt
BigIdeasComeOutOfBigPenciles

Environment Matters

Oct 5/2005. Environmental Matters (publication of the World Bank) reports that:

"Close to one-fifth of the burden of disease in developing countries can be attributed to environmental risks - with unsafe water, poor sanitation, and poor hygiene as leading risk factors, causing 1.7 million premature deaths per year; and urban air pollution estimated to cause about 800,000 premature deaths annually.."

Not too long ago, I used to believe environmental issues have no direct impact on global affairs. Global war has an impact, civil war has an impact, human rights violations, poverty, and hunger all play a definitive role, but where does the environment fit in?

Thanks to numerous socially responsible and active people, and non-mainstream media, I am glad to say my stance has changed. This is not to say that concern of a degrading environment replaces or mitigates other threats to humans. Rather the environment is affected by, and in turn affects other global threats (i.e war, poverty), much like a cycle.

It silently leads to long term and irreversible threats to our health, well being, and existence. What is the effect of the massive glacier melting? What will become of the people drinking from and living off polluted rivers? Who will breathe in the air poisoned by weapons in war? These questions are not in theory, they are happening.

Why should you care? Because first it is the "other" people on the "other" side of the world who are affected. In the limit, however, we don't have an "African environment" or a "Middle Eastern environment." We all inhabit the same planet.

Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open

The title supposedly says it all; that's what the new Microsoft Vista's interface, AERO, is promised to represent. Here is a video giving a sneak preview of some of the basic features of AERO.

I'm not sure why Microsoft believes that users will be so excited by transparent glass window title bars and buttons that light up. As exciting as such lucid graphics may be, these are the constant features of your daily interaction with your desktop.


'The glass' -from jkontherun.blogs

Their UI philosophy is valid though, namely, to give greater weight to the content of the window, rather than the window itself. If content is the priority, perhaps advanced and temporal visualization of data will be of a greater benefit to the user.

In fairness, Vista does offer some neat features, that go beyond lame visual effects. The flip 3D navigation of windows is a rather neat illustration of form + functionality! The search engine and Windows Explorer are supposed to be completely revised and improved, allowing for better data management. Now that's a change we can appreciate.

While we're on the topic, I'll mention that I finally upgraded to FC4.

Ca Ira

I've been listening to Roger Waters' album Ca Ira in the past few days, both English and French versions. Opera, the French revolution, the perspectives on contemporary issues that matter to us, all put together by a legendary rock star. This man has extraordinary multi-disciplinary talent.

Here is a review from USATODAY From Pink Floyd to opera



I am completely naive when it comes to opera, but Waters' work is powerful and moving, full of emotion. Some tracks evoke a feeling of darkness, some tracks evoke a feeling of hope. The French version is even more mysterious and dark, since I don't understand what is being said. Just listen to it, it's the work of a genius!

No Direction Home

Tonight was the concluding part of Martin Scorsese's acclaimed documentary "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan," and I must say it was an extraordinary documentary.



Apart from a select number of Dylan songs which I'm crazy about, I admit I'm not a particular fan of his general music style, not of his dehydrated voice nor of his screeching harmonica. Still, this documentary was strong enough to leave me intrigued, wanting to know more about this mysterious man.

I'm a fan of Scorsese's work though, and this documentary by all means was above and beyond my already high expectations of Scorsese. The interviews with such prominent artists, the archived footage, the reflections of the greater atmosphere of the 50's and 60's, and how all these elements are woven together to take the viewer through the early transitions of ups and downs in Dylan's personal life, and the transitions of culture and folk music, truly makes you admire Scorsese's artistic direction.



One of my favorite scenes is footage from the old days where the young Bob is being asked questions by a group of highly passionate and perhaps somewhat political and sentimental fans who regard him as the enlightened voice of their generation, a leader of some sort. Bob simply can't answer any of their questions, and frankly it seems as though he can't understand why they are reading so much into his songs and symbols. He denies association with any movement and says his success just "happened, like anything else happens" with such an incredible cool and carelessness.

The list of interviewees is simply incredible (Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, Pete Seeger) and the interviews are just as strong, informative, and personal.

I don't think anyone else could have structured this documentary so well.

Bravo Marty!

You have to realize you are in a constant process of becoming -Dylan
You can't be wise and in love at the same time -Dylan

The 100$ "rugged" laptop

Yet another intersection of technology and humanism, MIT is designing a fully functional Linux based laptop, complete with WiFi and USB capabilities for 100$ ! The targeted users are school children, with an emphasis on students in the developing world. This is part of the "One Laptop per Child" (OLPC) initiative. The research group claims that the laptop has nearly all the functionality of a 1000$ laptop, without a large storage capacity.



I think MIT is doing a fabulous job, but the governments who will be subscribing to the OLPC program will probably need to revise their educational system comprehensively. How will they provide the support and training to children, such that their laptops will have an educational impact, and not end up as a toy in the dirt?

Assuming that sufficient support and training is provided in grade schools, third-world country youth who will be the new owners to these laptops will likely develop expectations as adults that will exceed the opportunities provided to them in their communities. One community MIT is working with is a village in Cambodia without electricity. Is it fair or reasonable to raise a generation of youth acquainted with technology, only to have them throw it all down the drain a few years later when they are constrained to agricultural or labor jobs as young adults? Certainly the governments will need to provide a network of suitable higher education systems and opportunities for the coming generations.

This and that

Transcript and show of interview with Hugo Chavez while he was in NY for the UN summit.

The question is, is he a new type of world leader? His message has been echoed numerous times in history, but he has non-violent (and generous, I should add) strategies for alleviating the problems faced by the poor globally. One example is his popular cheap oil for America's lower income class program. He outlines a few other programs in his interview. It seems he is reviving the revolution of the poor, without the culture of a hard revolution.

In the absence of posting to my blog and flickr, I have been reading some great books, ( Computer Animation, Real -Time Rendering, and in the process of reading Learning Bayesian Networks ), had a couple trips to NY and DC to see friends, and have submitted myself completely to cinema.

I have become rather fond of classic movies recently. Recent ones I have seen include The band wagon, To have and have not, It happened one night, On the waterfront...and the list goes on. The film experience must have been more sincere and true back then.

Although not a classic, I was truly impressed by Hotel Rwanda, an intense eye opener that fulfils the unique type of social responsibility of storytelling with a humanitarian purpose, along with superb cinematic elements.

I am restlessly waiting to see Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. I have been waiting since the beginning of summer actually. Now the wait is down to two days.

Flying Maryam

Motion shots are very hard to take, but this one turned out exactly like what I had in mind.



Maryam flying above CN tower, Kensington Market.
(best viewed large)

40 goats, 20 cows

In some humorous but factual news, a love struck Kenyan has offered Bill Clinton 40 goats and 20 cows for Chelsea's hand in marriage.



Does Clinton look pleased at this unusual offer?

Compassionate conservatism

Today the NYTimes published an article stating the possibility that conservative Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum might run in the presidential elections in 2008.

The timing of this news is grievous for me since I attended the AFC celebration just this past Saturday, where Sen. Santorum gave a speech on the American family (I arrived a bit later, after his speech) and promoted his new book "It takes a family." The speeches given that night were a shameful display of intolerance towards modern lifestyles, freedom of choice, and a secular nation.

As an example, one such speaker was a black belt martial arts master who was also an ardent Christian. He had several blocks of cement piled on top of eachother on the stage, which he was to break in half in one sweep as a symbol of the factors that devastate the "American family." While he was gaining his momentum, he mentioned these factors one by one, about 8 or 9 of them, which included drugs, alcohol, lack of communication..,..,..,..,.."LIBERALS", and then BOOM! The martial arts kihop, a loud echoing sound, pieces of cement scattered on the stage, the audience standing, cheering and clapping. My jaw dropped in shock at this display of uncalled-for aggression.

Liberals? In the same list as drugs? Liberals? As a factor devastating the American family?

Yes, for a group who elucidate what the sacred family institution should constitute based on the Bible, for a group who reject abortion, divorce, homosexuality as deviant behavior, liberals do pose a threat to their faith based lifestyle.

Bill Maher was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday. He said during the past few years, conservatives have set the pole so far to the extreme right, that what was not so long ago regarded as conservatism is now viewed under a moderate light. So true.