Milindo Taid - Part 15

Michael Dudok de Wit: Animation Shorts 1992-2001

Sep 29

I first watched ‘Father and Daughter’ quite a few years back, and have never stopped watching it. The narrative sensitivity, technical finesse, and the labour of love was so evident and heartfelt. Dutch-British animator and illustrator Michael Dudok de Wit is part of a rare breed of creative artists whose work transcends spatio-temporal as well as socio-cultural boundaries, arguably, with relative ease. This is a selection of some of his best known animation shorts.

Al Di Meola: Mediterranean Sundance. 1977

Sep 29

Mediterranean Sundance - Al Di Meola

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1977 | Al Di Meola: Guitars | Paco de Lucia: Guitars

National Geographic Photo Contest 2012: Entries

Sep 28

Danielle Lefrancois: Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Canada

Last year the National Geographic Photo Contest saw more than 20,000 entries from over 130 countries. This year there are three categories, like before: People, Places, and Nature. Amateurs as well as professionals are sending in their entries for 2012. Take a look at some of them.

Pierre Bourdieu: Sociology is a Combat Sport

Sep 21

‘La sociologie est un sport de combat’ was how Pierre Bourdieu stated it. My first brush with Bourdieu was through the articulation of ‘cultural capital’ and ‘symbolic violence’. It is quite a challenge to engage with the ‘Bourdieuesque’ deployment of language – complex constructions and almost a maze-like language interface. But, it is all worth the while. Apart from being a prolific ‘sociological genius’, what strikes me most is that he became, through his ‘combat sport’, an inspiration for so many movements opposed to neo-liberalism and globalisation in France and elsewhere. His legacy of social concern lives on, and the world is better for that.

Rotary Yoneyama Research Scholarships for International Students, Japan. 2013

Sep 21

This is for international students scheduled to enroll in April or October 2013 in a Japanese university or graduate school under Japan’s pre-arrival university admission system. “Pre-arrival admission approval” is a system whereby applicants to Japanese universities and graduate schools are allowed to take the entrance examination and apply for admission while in their countries, without having to come to Japan to do so.

Level of Study: Research Degree
Subjects: All

This scholarship program is reserved for people residing abroad who wish to apply for admission in a Japanese university or graduate school. The program’s eligibility requirements are as follows:
(1) Have already chosen the university or graduate school s/he will apply for
(2) Be in the process of applying for admission
(3) For the subject university to have a system for issuing “pre-arrival admission approval.”

Persuaded not to perspire! Early deodorant advertisements.

Sep 16

How did urbanites, like us, get so daily dependent on the ubiquitous spray can of deo? For a long time deodorants and antiperspirants were niche products and were often perceived as unnecessary and unhealthy. The late 19th C and the early 20th C saw advertising come to the rescue of a disastrously failing product, and the rest is sprayed history. 1888, was when the first deodorant (kills odor-producing bacteria) called Mum was trademarked and the first antiperspirant (preventing sweat-production and bacterial growth) was called Everdry and launched in 1903. Later in 1912 an enterprising young lady started a company selling an antiperspirant – Odorono (Odor? Oh No!). Yes, as blunt as that. Modern sensibilities might find some of these advertisements insensitive, sexist and incorrect. But don’t fall into that ‘armhole’.

Josh Fox: Gasland. 2010

Sep 10

Columbia University alumnus Josh Fox introduced me to ‘fracking’. Halliburton prefers to call it ‘Hydraulic Fracturing’. Either way, you can set your house water on fire. Modelling himself on American banjo playing folk protest singer Pete Seeger, Fox crafts an emphatic documentary on endless greed and endless suffering. Educative, to say the least. Take a look.

John Scofield: Hottentot. 1997

Sep 10

John Scofield Band - Hottentot

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1997 | John Scofield: Guitars | John Medeski: Organ, Clarinet, Piano | Chris Wood: Bass | Billy Martin: Drums, Tambourine

Iphoneography, Instagram and Rear-view Mirrorism

Sep 10

When I first laid my eyes on Iphone generated imagery replete with ‘Instagrammatic’ filters, I could not help but think of ‘Mcluhanesque’ strains of determinism as made well known by his thought from 1967: “we look at the present through a rear-view mirror, we march backwards into the future”. Iphonegraphy and Instagrams’ wistful longing for time past, as made clear by their rabid recall, or should I say redial, of Polaroid and Kodak Instamatic aspect ratios, colour and exposure sensibilities, coupled with an even more peculiar recall adherence of wanting to be ‘painterly’, made me reflect on the rear view metaphor as not being concerned with just the immediate past, but also to deepen the metaphor to be inclusive of the distant past as well. It could also be reflective of the complex (and stressful) weave of the immediate, where we could seek to find firmer ground, by engaging with the comforting known rather than the frightening not-known. The examples here are from the Los Angeles Mobile Arts Festival. Take a look.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: Faith and Language

Sep 05

Wittgenstein in many ways opened quite a few vistas for me to re-examine my epistemological and existential bearings. The first excerpt here from 1984 gives a rather crisp and lucid account of Wittgenstein’s ‘reliogiosity’ and his piercing contemplation of the notion of Faith-God. The second excerpt (Bryan Magee in conversation with Professor Anthony Quinton) provides a glimpse into his central and important philosophy of language, both the pragmatic view of language as well as the logical view. The first excerpt is split into two parts and the second excerpt is split into five.