Cafe Culture

Photo Courtesy: Lilit Cafe

Soo ... it's been a really long time since I've written here. I've been preoccupied with work and grad school applications and what not. I'm sorry. Let me make it up to the zero of you reading this blog with this interesting article on how original ideas are generated and the importance of cafe culture in said generation of ideas.

I someone who has worked, studied, napped and eaten all three meals on a daily basis for months at a time in one cafe or another I must say that I thoroughly agree. I've always found it easier to write/talk/work at cafes. Did you know that Hemingway wrote at cafes? Well he did.

See? That's better right? Friends again? Good. This can't be healthy.

How the Internet is Killing EVERYTHING

First of all WOW. This Esquiire article is really well written. I have a good writer friend who's OBSESSED with Esquire, I also know someone who thinks it's a joke wannabe Playboy publication. I agree with the former, I thoroughly enjoy reading Esquire particulalrly for articles like this one detailing the fall of the mighty movie rental company, Blockbuster.

That said, I've never gotten into Blockbuster. I've tried to use it once when I needed to rent something right away, but I ended up buying it. Sidenote: I was doing a class project on the American Dream as seen through the lense of Titanic (ha! I know. Ridiculous.) Double Sidenote: WTF kind of movie rental store doesn't have Titanic in stock, I mean it's only the great movie of our time. No sarcasm there, I'm 100% serious.

Anyway back to Blockbuster. I'm pretty sure that Netflix, the wildly popular online movie rental site, has a lot to do with Blockbuster's demise. I'm a Netflix subscriber, even though I now live in Trinidad where the service isn't even available. The draw lies in their ability to suggest similar movies based on my tastes. Yes, I know that they're using my info to sell shit to me, I know. I know that the internet is an information sucking monster. But I guess I don't mind when my info is used to make life better. On the other hand when Facebook does it, it's really annoying, sometimes terrifying and never of any obvious benefit to its users. Ok, I'll stop now because if I start complaining about Facebook I may never get back to work.

Ciao!

$100M Donation to Human Rights Watch!

Image Courtesy Human Rights Watch

Have you heard about the great news for Human Rights Watch? Philanthropist George Soros has donated $100 million to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. This article form the NYT gives a good breakdown of Soros' donation and what the money will be used to do. It also mentions that donations like Soros' are becoming increasinly rare. No doubt the economy is to blame. Still I'm happy about he donation and even happier that it went to Human Rights Watch. I rely on the services to keep up on my Human Rights news and I trust the accuracy of their reports. Now Soros has made it a little easier for them to keep doing what they do.


Sidenote: There's an interesting little lesson on human interaction hidden between the lines of the article. Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, states that many people at Human Rights Watch didn't even know who George Soros. Yet Soros states that his presence at Human Rights watch has a hada profound impact on his life. It just goes to show that you can interact with someone and have a huge impact on their life without knowing it. If the impact is positive, you can reap the benefits of this in an unexpected ways. I'll keep that in mind as I go about my day today.

Ciao!

Closure of Upper West Side Barnes & Noble

Photo Courtesy LA Times

You know I never thought the day would come when I'd be sad to see a Barnes & Noble go. But I really did like this Upper West Side location. I strated going there as a freshman at NYU, I'd stop by on my way to volunteer at a nearby homeless shelter. After I graduated from NYU, I'd take long walks up to the Upper West Side and mill around the bookstore to clear my head from my job search woes. Plus everyone knows that Barnes & Noble is the best place to read magazines for free. According to this article, I'm not the only one that feels dissapointed by the closure.

But I'm not too devastated, as the article points out, there are still a gazillion other locations that can entertain me on my next visit to New York. In any case my attachment to this Barnes & Noble is connected to a time of my life that I hold dear, it really has very little to do with the actual store. Many of the people interviewed for the article admitted that they'd never bought books at the store and used it as a browsing spot instead. While I've purchased stationary there, I too never bought a book from this location. I guess when it comes to actually purchasing books, I'd pick a mom & pop store over a big chain anyday.

Don't Forget

(Photo: UNICEF)

Please don't forget the millions of people displaced by floods in Pakistan. The aid efforts currently underway in Pakistan are in desperate need of funding. Click here to donate through UNICEF.

More Ground Zero Talk

(Photo: ABC News)

Yesterday I posted about the clash over the Ground Zero mosque. Well here's another perspective from Akbar S. Ahmed a former Pakistani ambassador for the UK. My previous post was largely my non-American, non-Muslim understanding of the American Muslim v.s. American non-Muslim position. Ahmed has opened up yet another corner of the debate to non-American Muslims.

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I was a communication major as an an undergrad and I live for this kind of rich, complicated dialogue with multiple conflicting voices. I live for it because I firmly believe that a multiplicity of voices offers a multiplicity of solutions. Not surprisingly, I think that the best part of this article comes at the end when Ahmed gives his entirely new suggestion for the solution to the problem. He suggests that the property be sold and proceeds be donated to the victims of flooding in Pakistan.

I'll bet the house that this will never happen. This controversy has grown beyond the bricks and mortar of a building and taken on its new meaning and symbolism. This is not a real estate dispute. This a clash of religion and culture. Selling the building would be the equivalent of dispelling these two weighty principles that it has come to symbolize. Definitely not gonna happen, but still good food for thought.

Read the entire article here.

NY Times and 20-Somethings

Here's an article from the NY Times about 20 somethings (me) who left home (me) didn't make it on their own (me) and moved back home (me) and who generally take a lot longer to become an adult in the financially-dependent-home-owning-baby-making sense of the word. It's reassuring that other people are having identical experiences and in large enough numbers to make me a statistic as opposed to a loser or worse a failure. I also feel a little better because this probably would not have been my story if the United States were not in the midst of an economic depression when I graduated from college. Also, in a strange way, I'm grateful for the tough experiences that I've had since graduating. Losing everything has a way of making you realize what's really important. I spent most of my life feeling embarrassed about being smart and being a bookworm. That will never happen again. I'm so much more appreciative of what I have and I'm more sure of my goals and interests than I've ever been. Now I know that when I do go back to school it won't be for want of better options. It will be because I want to pursue a field of study that I'm genuinely interested in. I've taken to referring to the last year as my "lost year" but when I think of how much I've matured in the last twelve months it's clear that it wasn't wasted at all.

Happy World Humanitarian Day!

(Photo: United Nations)

Today is World Humanitarian Day. Round of applause to all the humanitarian aid workers across the world who are working for the good of humanity and a prayer for those who have lost their lives doing so.

In recognition of this day and what it stands for I'd like to shine some blogger light on the humanitarian crisis that currently taking hold of Pakistan.

(Photo: AP)

Particularly heavy rains have lead to devastating floods which have lead to loss of life, economic losses and the displacement of millions. International aid has been slow and without it Pakistan has no chance of recovery. Please click here to donate through UNICEF.