With an election year upcoming, Obama faces a tough battle. Despite passing landmark legislation (DADT) and handling tough foreign policy choices (Osama bin Laden), the economy in the US has lagged and with it his prospects for second term. The critics are cutting him little slack and even loyalists are questioning strategy. To win the campaign, the President will need to renew his image from an outsider driving hope to an insider creating opportunity.
But how do any of us really renew ourselves? Let’s look to the arts for some ideas.
The reimagining of the Broadway musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever has an inspired premise. In the original production the tension, where a psychoanalyst by conducting hypnosis falls in love with the past life of his client, was firm but not taut. The revival with Harry Connick Jr. as the physician changes the patient’s gender to a man and heightens the inevitable love triangle. The doctor’s self-confidence is shaken professionally by falling in love with a patient, personally by questioning his attraction to a man, and spiritually by throwing out his academic knowledge in the belief of an after-life.
The first step to renewal is a crisis of confidence whether it be in oneself, our support network (family/ friends), or in the institutions surrounding us (work, state, government). The quandary provides the catalyst for change. In the case of On a Clear Day, Connick’s character must choose either to end his career or change his beliefs. While the production’s revisions are clever and the actors are terrific, there is not sufficient charm to lift the material. By the end we feel we feel pleasantly hypnotized but can’t seem to remember what was so enjoyable.
John le Carre’s novel Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy has a new film adaptation that wipes away the veneer of the seductive Bond stereotype to reveal the rotten underbelly of espionage. The head of British Intelligence is forced out and then killed after he suspects a mole lies at the top levels of his team. His protégé George Smiley played in silent awe by Gary Oldman is brought out of retirement to create a secret group outside of British Intelligence (“the Circus”) to find the mole. Smiley was forced out of the Circus at the same time as his boss and since his life has been interwoven with work the ousting was his crisis of confidence.
His secret to renewal though is not revenge but reflection. He persistently, methodically, unemotionally, replays the information to find the mole. Oldman is glorious as a hyper-rationale man in the midst of chaos. His face barely quivers a sentiment as he step-by-step reclaims what was taken. Especially fascinating is how the film maker portrays this period of reflection. The scenes are quiet tension with a pervasive dread that the plans will be revealed. There are no heart-pounding action scenes, or special effects dazzlery. The director films the scenes as if they are an optical illusion. Like Smiley, we observe the action through windows, glasses, or bars never participating but always a voyeur. This film is a must see for any Bond, Bourne, Mission Impossible fan. It calmly wallops them away.
In the French movie, The Artist, renewal comes not just to the protagonist but to an entire genre of film. Jean Dujardin is George Valentin, a silent-movie era hero who is brought down by the advent of talking pictures. Luckily, the hero has a supporter who watches over him through his mistakes, downfall and eventual redemption. This is not a new plot line (see Sunset Boulevard or Garbo Talks), but the revelation is that the story is told as a silent movie and the audience forgets that there is no dialogue.
Having lost his career Valentin, faces a crisis of confidence and passes through years of reflection for not choosing to move into the Talkies. His renewal occurs once he overcomes his pride and recognizes that he needs the help of others to be successful again. When one has been on top, swallowing your self-importance is not easy, but is likely the hardest step to renewal. Dujardin is charm and light in the show, and he along with the film, director and production are easily the ones to beat at the Oscars. Silent movies are on top again this year.
Obama has already encountered the first two challenges to renewal – facing a crisis of confidence and reflecting on his actions and judgments. To ascend in the polls, it is the final challenge of pride, which will be the toughest. In his case, pride comes from a belief that multi-lateral negotiations are the key to success. On the international landscape this noble intention has borne out well. In the domestic field, he will need humility to recognize that he needs to drive some agendas unilaterally, e.g. job creation. Although he does not like playing in the mud, he will need to get his hands dirty for the good of the country.
Happy ReNew Year everyone.
December 31, 2011
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Some thoughts on… Having Privilege
From the last blog, I am continuing the theme of entitlement. In the US and EU, people are protesting austerity measures, because they feel they are owed something by the government rather than taking accountability themselves. The surprising part is that the protestors are relatively affluent members of society. If this were poor people in the US dissenting austerity measures or demanding jobs, their requests surely would be ignored.
So does having economic privilege result in a feeling of entitlement? Once again rather than the arts, I am going to use my experience in Mali to inform the question.
Last Monday, Cisse, my guide, and I drove to Djenne a city about 500km from the capital Bamako – leaving at 4am and getting back around 11:30pm. Each way took about 6 hours (enough time to sleep and write these blogs).
Figure 1: Cisse on right
The trip was comfortable. The road was paved and truck drivers pulled to the side to let others pass. The scenery was surprising for sub-saharan Africa. Although much of Mali is desert, the parts around the Niger River are lush and the crops feed much of the country. The contrast of the red earth with the green landscape is striking.
Figure 2: Landscape outside of Bamako
Along the way, were numerous guard and toll stops. The guards did not hassle the drivers nor were they looking for bribes. I am sure there is corruption in Mali but it was not obvious to me. One of the most organized stops was a Cholera checkpoint where everyone was supposed to wash their hands and shoes.
Figure 3: Mandatory cholera station along the road
The Djenne Mosque is a mud structure, the largest in the world, and a UNESCO Heritage Site. It is located on the original site dating back 1000 years, but the recent structure was reconstructed a hundred years ago.
Figure 4: Djenne Mosque
The market outside of the mosque takes place every Monday, and has been occurring for centuries with people coming from Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania to exchange goods.
Figure 5: Marketplace on Mondays
The setting provided an opportunity to reflect on privilege and entitlement. Imagine a 2x2 grid with the dimensions of “privilege” and “no privilege” on one axis, and “entitlement” and “no entitlement” on the other. We can imagine people falling into each of the four boxes:
• No privilege – No entitlement: Almost all the parents in the hospital queue in Bamako would fall into this category.
• Privilege – Entitlement: The Greeks and Americans seem to have this in spades
The corners of the grid seem to be the uncommon categories:
• Privilege – No Entitlement: These are people who continue to work hard, earn and contribute to society, even though they have enough money to live quite happily. A few people seem to fall into this box – Warren Buffet, Mike Bloomberg, George Clooney, Bill Gates.
• No Privilege – Entitlement: I thought it would be hard to find examples of this, but I describe one below.
At various points throughout our road-trip, there were kids trying to sell things. One rather entrepreneurial boy was selling rusty tin cans recreated into cars, bicycles, and dumptrucks. They were made by his “brother” and though a fascinating toy, I was a little frightened of typhoid. After my typical “merci non”, he surprised me by asking for a “cadeau”, or present, in French. Somehow the tourist culture has led to a dependency amongst the population where they expect items like bic pens or paper as a present – for not doing anything. Giving out pens was a practice I followed in India, but I now realize this is leading to an unhealthy reliance. This was one of the few examples I have seen of No Privilege – Entitlement outside of aggressive children beggars in India which have their own story (see Slumdog Millionaire).
Heartwarmingly the Malienne culture is trying to break the habit. Waiting for the ferry to Djenne, a 2-year old boy came up to me and started engaging. He was playing with two empty Fanta cans; I poured a little bit of my juice into his can which he drank with relish; when he came back for more, his brother batted him away. I didn’t take pictures of the boy or the children at the hospital, because it seemed to intrude on privacy.
Figure 6: Ferry to Djenne (truck fell into water trying to get on ferry)
Although privilege doesn’t always imply entitlement there does seem to be a strong correlation. I don’t have a solution to the issue (by no means advocating communism), just hoping that by being more aware we can choose a better path.
October 2, 2011
So does having economic privilege result in a feeling of entitlement? Once again rather than the arts, I am going to use my experience in Mali to inform the question.
Last Monday, Cisse, my guide, and I drove to Djenne a city about 500km from the capital Bamako – leaving at 4am and getting back around 11:30pm. Each way took about 6 hours (enough time to sleep and write these blogs).
Figure 1: Cisse on right
The trip was comfortable. The road was paved and truck drivers pulled to the side to let others pass. The scenery was surprising for sub-saharan Africa. Although much of Mali is desert, the parts around the Niger River are lush and the crops feed much of the country. The contrast of the red earth with the green landscape is striking.
Figure 2: Landscape outside of Bamako
Along the way, were numerous guard and toll stops. The guards did not hassle the drivers nor were they looking for bribes. I am sure there is corruption in Mali but it was not obvious to me. One of the most organized stops was a Cholera checkpoint where everyone was supposed to wash their hands and shoes.
Figure 3: Mandatory cholera station along the road
The Djenne Mosque is a mud structure, the largest in the world, and a UNESCO Heritage Site. It is located on the original site dating back 1000 years, but the recent structure was reconstructed a hundred years ago.
Figure 4: Djenne Mosque
The market outside of the mosque takes place every Monday, and has been occurring for centuries with people coming from Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania to exchange goods.
Figure 5: Marketplace on Mondays
The setting provided an opportunity to reflect on privilege and entitlement. Imagine a 2x2 grid with the dimensions of “privilege” and “no privilege” on one axis, and “entitlement” and “no entitlement” on the other. We can imagine people falling into each of the four boxes:
• No privilege – No entitlement: Almost all the parents in the hospital queue in Bamako would fall into this category.
• Privilege – Entitlement: The Greeks and Americans seem to have this in spades
The corners of the grid seem to be the uncommon categories:
• Privilege – No Entitlement: These are people who continue to work hard, earn and contribute to society, even though they have enough money to live quite happily. A few people seem to fall into this box – Warren Buffet, Mike Bloomberg, George Clooney, Bill Gates.
• No Privilege – Entitlement: I thought it would be hard to find examples of this, but I describe one below.
At various points throughout our road-trip, there were kids trying to sell things. One rather entrepreneurial boy was selling rusty tin cans recreated into cars, bicycles, and dumptrucks. They were made by his “brother” and though a fascinating toy, I was a little frightened of typhoid. After my typical “merci non”, he surprised me by asking for a “cadeau”, or present, in French. Somehow the tourist culture has led to a dependency amongst the population where they expect items like bic pens or paper as a present – for not doing anything. Giving out pens was a practice I followed in India, but I now realize this is leading to an unhealthy reliance. This was one of the few examples I have seen of No Privilege – Entitlement outside of aggressive children beggars in India which have their own story (see Slumdog Millionaire).
Heartwarmingly the Malienne culture is trying to break the habit. Waiting for the ferry to Djenne, a 2-year old boy came up to me and started engaging. He was playing with two empty Fanta cans; I poured a little bit of my juice into his can which he drank with relish; when he came back for more, his brother batted him away. I didn’t take pictures of the boy or the children at the hospital, because it seemed to intrude on privacy.
Figure 6: Ferry to Djenne (truck fell into water trying to get on ferry)
Although privilege doesn’t always imply entitlement there does seem to be a strong correlation. I don’t have a solution to the issue (by no means advocating communism), just hoping that by being more aware we can choose a better path.
October 2, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Some thoughts on… Feeling Entitled
People in Greece are protesting the government for imposing austerity, people in the US are blaming Obama for not having passed a job program, and politicians across the US/ EU are blaming each other for the impasse. We seem to have devolved into a society that keeps asking the government or our leaders, what next they can do for us. Is it just Westerners who have this feeling of entitlement or do others as well? Instead of seeing what the Arts have to say about this, I’ll use our visit to Mali to inform the question.
On the spur of the moment, Klaus signed up 1½ weeks ago to carry out burn and facial surgeries in Bamako, Mali with an organization called ReSurge! The team of 15 surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and pediatricians, arrived on Saturday night for a 2 week assignment at Gabriel Toure hospital – one of two public care settings in this city of 1.2 million. Since I was in Europe anyway, I decided to join for the first few days.
Mali is amongst the 25 poorest countries in the world, and yet socially very rich. The streets are safe and people are welcoming. Like other cities, kids try to sell you phone cards or trinkets or water, but a gentle “non merci” and they don’t bother you further. There is respect for the elderly, a conscious requirement for politeness – one must say “bonjour” or give salaam before engaging in discussion, and a sense of public discipline. The oppressing heat and local culture may prevent the Northern go-getter environment, and music pervades the cultural aesthetic.
In advance of surgery over the next two week, the team on Sunday was devoted to setting-up the operating rooms and screening patients. The hospital is an open architecture African edifice with large verandas, a network of crumbling buildings, and patients waiting on hallways floors perhaps days on end to be seen. Their faces exude patience and trust rather than frenetic activity. They may be seen by a physician today, or they may not, at least they are here.
One stream of activity is the arbitrage of patients. Radio announcements to outlying villages and the city told people about the free service weeks in advance. On Sunday morning, the halls were filled with over 300 people including parents and children. The diversity of the afflictions varies from cleft palates to severe burns that have healed and left the children functionally compromised, i.e. can’t lift an arm or open their hand. The parents likely amongst the poorest in the country sometimes require two translators to get to English – there are 21 local languages and French is spoken widely. They have dressed themselves and the children in their finest clothes and shoes to see the physicians, some of them likely having waited weeks or traveled hundreds of kilometers.
The hospital is not equipped to conduct these types of operations, and so the group brought 37 boxes of anesthesia equipment, gauze, antibiotics, and other essential items. Much of the material will be left behind except the equipment which must be taken back for the next outing. At the outset, the operating room contains two beds, two trolleys and good air conditioning. By the end, the set-up is sufficient to conduct about 6-8 surgeries a day, leading to a total of perhaps 60 cases in the 2 week period.
Figure 1: Klaus and Giem (from Vietnam) having set-up operating rooms
Figure 2: Anne Marie (Netherlands) and Fran (San Francisco) with OR supplies
Figure 3: Improvising anesthesia exhaust
Although poor, this country is not Somalia. The kids are not malnourished, and the affection shown by the family to travel this far for a second chance is inspiring. The children are pure joy. They wait with open eyes and infinite patience likely not even understanding what the doctor will do.
Perhaps the most heart-rending decision is choosing who to treat given the seriousness of the condition and physical ability of the patient.
• A 3-month old with a cleft palate is turned away because she is too small – perhaps next year; sadness envelopes the parents’ face.
• A 4-year old with severe facial burns has a fever and screams for minutes at the touch of the nurses or instruments. He may be too frail to go through surgery, but the risk is taken otherwise he may lose his vision.
• A 6-year old named Aliya with a burn extending down her arm so that her wrist bone is showing, is so calm in the screening room, there is a thought she may not recover from anesthesia, the mother insists she is just very scared.
It would be impossible to treat everyone. As with any volunteer program, the point is to see and heal as many kids as possible with the limited resources of time and money.
In the US, the “Great Generation” went to war believing in the creation of a world which would be a better place for their children. Their offspring, the Baby Boomers and Gen X, twisted the challenge into believing that they deserved a better world, and needed to acquire it at any cost including leaving a worse world behind. This sense of entitlement is pervasive, to the point where there is a prospect that the next generation (those under 5 now) may be poorer than us and inherit a degraded environment.
In Mali, the children and parents in the hospital are not feeling entitled. They have endured a tough circumstance and are thankful for the assistance – they are in no way expecting or believing they deserve support. Perhaps it is privilege in the US that is driving this sense of entitlement. The next blog will be about the distinction between the two terms.
September 26, 2011
On the spur of the moment, Klaus signed up 1½ weeks ago to carry out burn and facial surgeries in Bamako, Mali with an organization called ReSurge! The team of 15 surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and pediatricians, arrived on Saturday night for a 2 week assignment at Gabriel Toure hospital – one of two public care settings in this city of 1.2 million. Since I was in Europe anyway, I decided to join for the first few days.
Mali is amongst the 25 poorest countries in the world, and yet socially very rich. The streets are safe and people are welcoming. Like other cities, kids try to sell you phone cards or trinkets or water, but a gentle “non merci” and they don’t bother you further. There is respect for the elderly, a conscious requirement for politeness – one must say “bonjour” or give salaam before engaging in discussion, and a sense of public discipline. The oppressing heat and local culture may prevent the Northern go-getter environment, and music pervades the cultural aesthetic.
In advance of surgery over the next two week, the team on Sunday was devoted to setting-up the operating rooms and screening patients. The hospital is an open architecture African edifice with large verandas, a network of crumbling buildings, and patients waiting on hallways floors perhaps days on end to be seen. Their faces exude patience and trust rather than frenetic activity. They may be seen by a physician today, or they may not, at least they are here.
One stream of activity is the arbitrage of patients. Radio announcements to outlying villages and the city told people about the free service weeks in advance. On Sunday morning, the halls were filled with over 300 people including parents and children. The diversity of the afflictions varies from cleft palates to severe burns that have healed and left the children functionally compromised, i.e. can’t lift an arm or open their hand. The parents likely amongst the poorest in the country sometimes require two translators to get to English – there are 21 local languages and French is spoken widely. They have dressed themselves and the children in their finest clothes and shoes to see the physicians, some of them likely having waited weeks or traveled hundreds of kilometers.
The hospital is not equipped to conduct these types of operations, and so the group brought 37 boxes of anesthesia equipment, gauze, antibiotics, and other essential items. Much of the material will be left behind except the equipment which must be taken back for the next outing. At the outset, the operating room contains two beds, two trolleys and good air conditioning. By the end, the set-up is sufficient to conduct about 6-8 surgeries a day, leading to a total of perhaps 60 cases in the 2 week period.
Figure 1: Klaus and Giem (from Vietnam) having set-up operating rooms
Figure 2: Anne Marie (Netherlands) and Fran (San Francisco) with OR supplies
Figure 3: Improvising anesthesia exhaust
Although poor, this country is not Somalia. The kids are not malnourished, and the affection shown by the family to travel this far for a second chance is inspiring. The children are pure joy. They wait with open eyes and infinite patience likely not even understanding what the doctor will do.
Perhaps the most heart-rending decision is choosing who to treat given the seriousness of the condition and physical ability of the patient.
• A 3-month old with a cleft palate is turned away because she is too small – perhaps next year; sadness envelopes the parents’ face.
• A 4-year old with severe facial burns has a fever and screams for minutes at the touch of the nurses or instruments. He may be too frail to go through surgery, but the risk is taken otherwise he may lose his vision.
• A 6-year old named Aliya with a burn extending down her arm so that her wrist bone is showing, is so calm in the screening room, there is a thought she may not recover from anesthesia, the mother insists she is just very scared.
It would be impossible to treat everyone. As with any volunteer program, the point is to see and heal as many kids as possible with the limited resources of time and money.
In the US, the “Great Generation” went to war believing in the creation of a world which would be a better place for their children. Their offspring, the Baby Boomers and Gen X, twisted the challenge into believing that they deserved a better world, and needed to acquire it at any cost including leaving a worse world behind. This sense of entitlement is pervasive, to the point where there is a prospect that the next generation (those under 5 now) may be poorer than us and inherit a degraded environment.
In Mali, the children and parents in the hospital are not feeling entitled. They have endured a tough circumstance and are thankful for the assistance – they are in no way expecting or believing they deserve support. Perhaps it is privilege in the US that is driving this sense of entitlement. The next blog will be about the distinction between the two terms.
September 26, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Some thoughts on… Brinkmanship
President Obama and Senator Boehner are locked in an epic struggle around the US budget and an increase in the debt ceiling. At stake is a potential government default resulting in stalled salary payments to government employees, a mar on the US’ debt rating and a further unraveling of the economy.
Held hostage to its Tea Party constituency, the Republicans have hijacked the conversation and are unwilling to accept any increase in taxes. The White House has acquiesced to the extent that many Democrats believe the President has given away too much. The current bill which has been broadly agreed to by both will be brought for a vote on Monday.
In these situations of brinkmanship, where the two sides are unmovable from their positions, how can a resolution be formed? Let’s see what the Arts have to say.
In Stephen Adly Guirgis’ play The Motherf*** with the Hat (MwtH), which ended on Broadway in mid July, the three main characters are caught in a love triangle. Bobby Canavale plays Jackie – broke, out of prison and can’t hold a job. His AA counselor played by Chris Rock is an upstanding citizen with a questionable moral standing. While Jackie’s fiancé, Veronica, is disappointed in his inability to be financially productive is still sexually attracted to him, and may or may not be having an affair.
The play is 90 minutes of strained yearning, dogmatic posturing and unrivaled cursing. The divide between Jackie and Veronica is heart wrenching. You know that the two should be together, but by the end of the play, they have moved to such resolute positions, that they are unable to come together. The emotions of the characters are open wires sparking at each other when near, but so twisted in polarity that they nullify each other on contact.
In the recent Harry Potter movie, Deathly Hallows Part II, the saga closes with the archetypal clash between Harry and Voldemort. The books and movies have become our modern day morality tales – teaching society about choices and consequences similar to Aeschylus and Euripedes. Good and evil are apparent in the main characters, but the spectrum between is filled by other characters who are more fascinating. These individuals, like Dumbledore, Professor Slughorn or Draco Malfoy, are gradations of good and evil, and bridge the distance between Harry and Voldemort to find a peaceful resolution.
J.K Rowling sets out from the beginning that there is not a common ground, and in order for one to live the other must die. Harry’s realization of this truth allows him to resign to death eventually coming back stronger to vanquish a weakened Voldemort. The eighth movie is the best since movie #3 (Prisoner of Azkaban). The dark tones and immediate pacing propel the story to the inevitable conflict, leaving the viewer exhausted and enthralled on the sideline. We saw the movie in IMAX 3D – definitely worth the $4 extra dollars.
In the on-going budget battle, there seems to be two resolutions. The first is for the President to relent to the demands of the Republicans. This seems to be the path he is taking. The hope is that by submission on the current battle, similar to Harry, he can eventually win the war. The second option is to hold to the positions, and let the country default. This will be a difficult outcome and like the characters in MwtH, we can wish for a different resolution. Perhaps US citizens and Tea Party members need to see the depths of an economic downturn in order to appreciate the consequences of brinkmanship.
July 31, 2011
Held hostage to its Tea Party constituency, the Republicans have hijacked the conversation and are unwilling to accept any increase in taxes. The White House has acquiesced to the extent that many Democrats believe the President has given away too much. The current bill which has been broadly agreed to by both will be brought for a vote on Monday.
In these situations of brinkmanship, where the two sides are unmovable from their positions, how can a resolution be formed? Let’s see what the Arts have to say.
In Stephen Adly Guirgis’ play The Motherf*** with the Hat (MwtH), which ended on Broadway in mid July, the three main characters are caught in a love triangle. Bobby Canavale plays Jackie – broke, out of prison and can’t hold a job. His AA counselor played by Chris Rock is an upstanding citizen with a questionable moral standing. While Jackie’s fiancé, Veronica, is disappointed in his inability to be financially productive is still sexually attracted to him, and may or may not be having an affair.
The play is 90 minutes of strained yearning, dogmatic posturing and unrivaled cursing. The divide between Jackie and Veronica is heart wrenching. You know that the two should be together, but by the end of the play, they have moved to such resolute positions, that they are unable to come together. The emotions of the characters are open wires sparking at each other when near, but so twisted in polarity that they nullify each other on contact.
In the recent Harry Potter movie, Deathly Hallows Part II, the saga closes with the archetypal clash between Harry and Voldemort. The books and movies have become our modern day morality tales – teaching society about choices and consequences similar to Aeschylus and Euripedes. Good and evil are apparent in the main characters, but the spectrum between is filled by other characters who are more fascinating. These individuals, like Dumbledore, Professor Slughorn or Draco Malfoy, are gradations of good and evil, and bridge the distance between Harry and Voldemort to find a peaceful resolution.
J.K Rowling sets out from the beginning that there is not a common ground, and in order for one to live the other must die. Harry’s realization of this truth allows him to resign to death eventually coming back stronger to vanquish a weakened Voldemort. The eighth movie is the best since movie #3 (Prisoner of Azkaban). The dark tones and immediate pacing propel the story to the inevitable conflict, leaving the viewer exhausted and enthralled on the sideline. We saw the movie in IMAX 3D – definitely worth the $4 extra dollars.
In the on-going budget battle, there seems to be two resolutions. The first is for the President to relent to the demands of the Republicans. This seems to be the path he is taking. The hope is that by submission on the current battle, similar to Harry, he can eventually win the war. The second option is to hold to the positions, and let the country default. This will be a difficult outcome and like the characters in MwtH, we can wish for a different resolution. Perhaps US citizens and Tea Party members need to see the depths of an economic downturn in order to appreciate the consequences of brinkmanship.
July 31, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Some thoughts on… Holding out for a Hero
The hero of the weekend is Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who in the start of his first term has managed to pull off Marriage Equality in New York – a feat that has daunted leaders before him. The legislation makes sense because it draws a distinction between church and state. Religious organizations are exempted from conducting ceremonies if they wish, and cannot be sued by the state for doing so.
The celebrations in the City and around NY are a justified recognition that a commitment between same-sex individuals is as valid in the eyes of government as those between other people. But with all the euphoria, there is an underlying question of what exactly have we been waiting for?
Many same sex couples are already leading their lives – conducting commitment ceremonies, adopting children, serving the community, and creating their own legal contracts that simulate the benefits of marriage. The legislation will not make them more productive members of society and provides minor additional protection. So what have we really accomplished?
Let’s see what the Arts have to say. The summer blockbuster X-Men: First Class is a prequel to the series and presents the origins of how the super-beings were brought together. The X-Men are products of advanced DNA evolution giving them skills that differentiate and isolate them. Society fears their power and is biased against their mutant nature. Even though they continually save human society from destroying itself, they remain unappreciated and reviled.
In this installment, the director has introduced younger versions of two main characters James Macavoy (Professor X) and Michael Fassbender (Magneto). Both actors are thrilling. Their wry humor and intensity aspirate the deflating series back to its taut and punchy introduction. In the story, the leads take different approaches to dealing with a society that doesn’t appreciate their help. Magneto chooses to support mutant power by empowering them and divorcing from humans, while Professor X wishes to integrate and find common ground. They’re basic paradigms for the disenfranchised.
The meaning of Marriage Equality will differ for individuals. For some, it’s merely an indication of the separation of church and state – New York has no jurisdiction to discriminate relationships between individuals based on religious arguments. For others, it’s validation that same-gender commitment is equal in stature to different-gender relationships – opening the door for less prejudice. Overall, the measure is confirmation that GLBT individuals are not secondary citizens in the eyes of New York state law and that we can find common ground.
But, the rich and well-off individuals who supported and funded the measure are likely not the ones who will realize the true benefit. These folks already have enough legal documents in place to secure their financial and personal affairs. The true beneficiaries will be people that are not allowed to visit their loved ones in a hospital or are excluded from inheritance because they are not related and don’t have the finances or education to establish common law rights.
For everyone State measures are critical, but eventually the removal of the Defense of Marriage Act and Federal recognition of tax and benefits for same-sex relationships is essential for true integration and common ground. Here we may be tempted to hold off for another hero – President Obama – to change the law. But as we learned from X-Men and from ourselves we can’t wait for others to save us. Along with supporting Federal measures to change law, we need to find alternate ways to secure these benefits within the existing system.
June 26, 2011
The celebrations in the City and around NY are a justified recognition that a commitment between same-sex individuals is as valid in the eyes of government as those between other people. But with all the euphoria, there is an underlying question of what exactly have we been waiting for?
Many same sex couples are already leading their lives – conducting commitment ceremonies, adopting children, serving the community, and creating their own legal contracts that simulate the benefits of marriage. The legislation will not make them more productive members of society and provides minor additional protection. So what have we really accomplished?
Let’s see what the Arts have to say. The summer blockbuster X-Men: First Class is a prequel to the series and presents the origins of how the super-beings were brought together. The X-Men are products of advanced DNA evolution giving them skills that differentiate and isolate them. Society fears their power and is biased against their mutant nature. Even though they continually save human society from destroying itself, they remain unappreciated and reviled.
In this installment, the director has introduced younger versions of two main characters James Macavoy (Professor X) and Michael Fassbender (Magneto). Both actors are thrilling. Their wry humor and intensity aspirate the deflating series back to its taut and punchy introduction. In the story, the leads take different approaches to dealing with a society that doesn’t appreciate their help. Magneto chooses to support mutant power by empowering them and divorcing from humans, while Professor X wishes to integrate and find common ground. They’re basic paradigms for the disenfranchised.
The meaning of Marriage Equality will differ for individuals. For some, it’s merely an indication of the separation of church and state – New York has no jurisdiction to discriminate relationships between individuals based on religious arguments. For others, it’s validation that same-gender commitment is equal in stature to different-gender relationships – opening the door for less prejudice. Overall, the measure is confirmation that GLBT individuals are not secondary citizens in the eyes of New York state law and that we can find common ground.
But, the rich and well-off individuals who supported and funded the measure are likely not the ones who will realize the true benefit. These folks already have enough legal documents in place to secure their financial and personal affairs. The true beneficiaries will be people that are not allowed to visit their loved ones in a hospital or are excluded from inheritance because they are not related and don’t have the finances or education to establish common law rights.
For everyone State measures are critical, but eventually the removal of the Defense of Marriage Act and Federal recognition of tax and benefits for same-sex relationships is essential for true integration and common ground. Here we may be tempted to hold off for another hero – President Obama – to change the law. But as we learned from X-Men and from ourselves we can’t wait for others to save us. Along with supporting Federal measures to change law, we need to find alternate ways to secure these benefits within the existing system.
June 26, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Some thoughts on…Vanquishing an enemy
Osama bin Laden has been killed. A sense of awe and resolution may pervade the country, but I am unsettled about the aftermath. It’s not because of the pro-USA chanting by crowds which carries a whiff of celebrating on people’s graves. We know that this brings closure to a manhunt that led to two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and thousands of deaths. It also gives credibility to Obama’s administration and affirms his strong hand on foreign policy.
The unease comes from the gnawing thought that once we captured bin Laden, should we have brought him to trial? I realize that there are tortuous, international legal laws that surround such a decision, and that much of this would have been considered by the President’s advisors. And yet it raises the broader question:
What is the best way to deal with a vanquished enemy? Let’s see what the Arts have to say about this.
With Tony season, new shows are blooming on the Great White Way. Catch Me If You Can is the creation of Marc Shaiman and Terence McNally who shepherded the film to musical conversion of The Full Monty. The show follows the true-story, narrative of the movie – the tale of a teenage con artist, Frank Abagnale, who through forgery, wit and luck becomes a pilot, physician and lawyer while embezzling millions of dollars. The show is a gift of 1960’s style – a time when air hostesses were glamorous, bank tellers were trusting, and martinis were plentiful.
Yet the production lacks novelty in the story-telling. We know where the characters are landing before the plane leaves the gate. Kerry Butler’s fiancé to Abagnale is one character altered from the movie and yet her part is relegated to the second half and is given one big song (a waste of her talent). There are points when the production sizzles – Leo Norbert Butz’ portrayal of the detective Carl Hanratty who pursues Abagnale like a modern day Javert is pure joy when he breaks out into song. The obsession leads to eventual apprehension of his foil, and the twist is that instead of putting him in jail, he takes pity on the boy and recruits him to help catch other forgers; a pleasing resolution to a comfortable albeit not very challenging evening.
War Horse, a transplant from London’s National Theater, brings to life through breath-taking puppetry the story of a boy that loses his beloved riding horse to the vagaries of World War I. The plot is simple – boy meets horse, boy loses horse, boy finds horse again – but the staging elevates the storyline into a meta-physical world involving pastoral bliss and horrific fighting. The central character is the horse, Joey, portrayed by three actors who are immediately visible and yet blend into the soul of the animal so perfectly they assimilate into one creature. Joey’s emotions and struggles are real beyond anthropomorphism; one believes his longing to live and see his master again. This should be an easy winner at the Tonys.
There is no surfeit of enemies in this play – Germans and English soldiers fighting a tired war involving, unkind fathers and military leaders wrapped in their ego-driven ambitions. The combatants show little pity in defeating their foes; in fact they can only escape self-examination of their deeds, by painting each other as foreign elements bent on destruction. The true adversary is war itself, because it throws apart loved ones – daughters from mothers; husbands from wives, boys from their horses. No one wins in this slide to annihilation, and the only survivor is the hope of an eventual end.
Tony Kushner’s new play, The Intellectual Homosexual’s Guide To Capitalism And Socialism With A Key To The Scriptures (IHo for short) is as dense and long as the title with a four hour run time. Somehow the writing and acting soar despite the weight of such a premise. A father, Gus, brings together his family in Brooklyn to gain communal consensus on his committing suicide. Gus is a socialist, long shoreman who has toiled for the recognition of the common man’s labor, only to be facing a world where all that effort has been erased and forgotten. His disillusionment with his children and more importantly himself, leads him to the decision of self-immolation. The ensemble is winning and transports the show surprisingly quickly with occasional lapses into inscrutable erudition.
For the father, the foe he is fighting is himself. He can no longer live in a world which has given up on his manifesto, and as we later find out, where he has betrayed his own ideals. In his fight for workers’ rights, he made his own pact with the devil. He was able to achieve the victory of guaranteeing a worker’s income after retirement demonstrating that laborers own the value of what they create. But to garner this win, he gave up on his ideal of union for all people, since the salary was given only to certain individuals. The rest of the workers union were eventually laid off and replaced. Gus has never been able to live with this compromise of principles, and his solution is to find solace in death.
Unlike the fairy-tale ending of Catch Me if You Can, with the capture of Osama, it would be idealistic to think that he would partner with the US to stop terrorism. Although in today’s Op-Ed in the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof writes that Richard Holbrooke was trying to accomplish a similar strategy, by creating a peace deal with influential members of the Taliban.
Instead, we seem to have taken the “eye for an eye” path. Osama would not have thought twice to conduct on his own enemies a similar exercise as the US did, in other words, send emissaries to a foreign country and kill people in their homes or at work. In fact, he repeatedly carried out this terrorism. But as we saw in War Horse, the true enemy is the warring itself. Continued retributive actions leave collateral damage making the entire world blind. In many cases, this is the efficient and realistic path to take, but it demands questioning whether there is a way to elevate ourselves out of these no-win situations.
The elusive solution is a twist on the golden rule: to treat the enemy, the way we would want to be treated if the situation were reversed. By treating Osama the way that he has treated us in the past – without remorse, pity or mercy –we are like the Father in IHo, giving up a little of our moral high ground to achieve the goal of bringing justice to the country. We can claim this as an act of self-defense, but it still leaves me unsettled.
May 15, 2011
The unease comes from the gnawing thought that once we captured bin Laden, should we have brought him to trial? I realize that there are tortuous, international legal laws that surround such a decision, and that much of this would have been considered by the President’s advisors. And yet it raises the broader question:
What is the best way to deal with a vanquished enemy? Let’s see what the Arts have to say about this.
With Tony season, new shows are blooming on the Great White Way. Catch Me If You Can is the creation of Marc Shaiman and Terence McNally who shepherded the film to musical conversion of The Full Monty. The show follows the true-story, narrative of the movie – the tale of a teenage con artist, Frank Abagnale, who through forgery, wit and luck becomes a pilot, physician and lawyer while embezzling millions of dollars. The show is a gift of 1960’s style – a time when air hostesses were glamorous, bank tellers were trusting, and martinis were plentiful.
Yet the production lacks novelty in the story-telling. We know where the characters are landing before the plane leaves the gate. Kerry Butler’s fiancé to Abagnale is one character altered from the movie and yet her part is relegated to the second half and is given one big song (a waste of her talent). There are points when the production sizzles – Leo Norbert Butz’ portrayal of the detective Carl Hanratty who pursues Abagnale like a modern day Javert is pure joy when he breaks out into song. The obsession leads to eventual apprehension of his foil, and the twist is that instead of putting him in jail, he takes pity on the boy and recruits him to help catch other forgers; a pleasing resolution to a comfortable albeit not very challenging evening.
War Horse, a transplant from London’s National Theater, brings to life through breath-taking puppetry the story of a boy that loses his beloved riding horse to the vagaries of World War I. The plot is simple – boy meets horse, boy loses horse, boy finds horse again – but the staging elevates the storyline into a meta-physical world involving pastoral bliss and horrific fighting. The central character is the horse, Joey, portrayed by three actors who are immediately visible and yet blend into the soul of the animal so perfectly they assimilate into one creature. Joey’s emotions and struggles are real beyond anthropomorphism; one believes his longing to live and see his master again. This should be an easy winner at the Tonys.
There is no surfeit of enemies in this play – Germans and English soldiers fighting a tired war involving, unkind fathers and military leaders wrapped in their ego-driven ambitions. The combatants show little pity in defeating their foes; in fact they can only escape self-examination of their deeds, by painting each other as foreign elements bent on destruction. The true adversary is war itself, because it throws apart loved ones – daughters from mothers; husbands from wives, boys from their horses. No one wins in this slide to annihilation, and the only survivor is the hope of an eventual end.
Tony Kushner’s new play, The Intellectual Homosexual’s Guide To Capitalism And Socialism With A Key To The Scriptures (IHo for short) is as dense and long as the title with a four hour run time. Somehow the writing and acting soar despite the weight of such a premise. A father, Gus, brings together his family in Brooklyn to gain communal consensus on his committing suicide. Gus is a socialist, long shoreman who has toiled for the recognition of the common man’s labor, only to be facing a world where all that effort has been erased and forgotten. His disillusionment with his children and more importantly himself, leads him to the decision of self-immolation. The ensemble is winning and transports the show surprisingly quickly with occasional lapses into inscrutable erudition.
For the father, the foe he is fighting is himself. He can no longer live in a world which has given up on his manifesto, and as we later find out, where he has betrayed his own ideals. In his fight for workers’ rights, he made his own pact with the devil. He was able to achieve the victory of guaranteeing a worker’s income after retirement demonstrating that laborers own the value of what they create. But to garner this win, he gave up on his ideal of union for all people, since the salary was given only to certain individuals. The rest of the workers union were eventually laid off and replaced. Gus has never been able to live with this compromise of principles, and his solution is to find solace in death.
Unlike the fairy-tale ending of Catch Me if You Can, with the capture of Osama, it would be idealistic to think that he would partner with the US to stop terrorism. Although in today’s Op-Ed in the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof writes that Richard Holbrooke was trying to accomplish a similar strategy, by creating a peace deal with influential members of the Taliban.
Instead, we seem to have taken the “eye for an eye” path. Osama would not have thought twice to conduct on his own enemies a similar exercise as the US did, in other words, send emissaries to a foreign country and kill people in their homes or at work. In fact, he repeatedly carried out this terrorism. But as we saw in War Horse, the true enemy is the warring itself. Continued retributive actions leave collateral damage making the entire world blind. In many cases, this is the efficient and realistic path to take, but it demands questioning whether there is a way to elevate ourselves out of these no-win situations.
The elusive solution is a twist on the golden rule: to treat the enemy, the way we would want to be treated if the situation were reversed. By treating Osama the way that he has treated us in the past – without remorse, pity or mercy –we are like the Father in IHo, giving up a little of our moral high ground to achieve the goal of bringing justice to the country. We can claim this as an act of self-defense, but it still leaves me unsettled.
May 15, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Some thoughts on… Exiting Gracefully
The spring awakening of people-led revolutions in the Middle East is wondrous to behold. The public taking control of their future in Tunisia and Egypt with minimal violence is admirable. The ongoing conflicts in Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen are still playing out.
It is fascinating to see how the leadership in these countries differentially has dealt with the unrest of their populace. The authoritarian president of Tunisia, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled with an iron hand for 23 years left relatively quickly after the Jasmine Revolution. Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, who held power for 30 years put up more of a fight, but in the end the Army tipped the balance on his governance. In Libya, Muamar Qaddafi has been in control since 1969 and isn’t giving up his position easily.
All this unrest begs the question - when is it time for a leader to leave? Let’s see what the Arts have to say about this.
Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark has been tangled in its own web for the past year. Repeated opening night delays led to an unprecedented review of the show before the show was considered complete. The critics were scathing. Ben Brantley of the New York Times, said the $70 million show (twice as expensive as any other show to date) may “rank among the worst” in Broadway history.
The costs and reviews had their effect. Producers recently removed Director and MacArthur genius Julie Taymor as well as the show’s choreographer. Ms Taymor was known to command the show from her “God microphone”, perhaps not too dissimilar from a Mideast dictator. In the end, despite her vision and capabilities, her inability to complete the show caught up with her towering expectations. When we saw the show in December, we were an initial believer that she would get to the finish line and produce greatness similar to Lion King. Pity she didn’t make it.
The Book of Mormon just opened on March 24 on Broadway. The show is a collaboration of Trey Parker and Matt Stone (from South Park fame) and Robert Lopes (the composer of Avenue Q). The story relates the tale of a group of Mormon missionaries sent to a village in Uganda that is being terrorized by a War Lord. Foibles, frustration and friendship inevitably unfold. In the end, the allegiance of the village is transferred from the rifle-carrying General to the Mormon Elder bringing the promise of a better world. Not the promise of heaven, but a world where people take ownership of their own destiny.
This show is a perfect mix of the creators’ styles – a raunchy and politically incorrect view of religion’s impact on its followers – all conducted with heart. Somehow the show makes fun of the Mormon religion while at the same time respecting the benefit it has brought to millions of people. The musical numbers pay homage to Broadway and one can almost recognize the shows from which they are pilfered and altered. This show is going to stick around for a while.
In arts, politics or business, the value of a leader lasts as long as they make a positive incremental impact to the people they are leading. Incremental implies that the benefits bestowed are greater than the costs imposed. With politics, impact has multiple dimensions – growing the economy, defending the country, educating people, providing food, water and other necessities, etc. For business, impact is increasing profits and in the process developing employees. Although, there will always be people questioning a leader’s ability, he or she has to judge for themselves if they are positively impacting.
The wrinkle is that no one thinks they are a bad leader. Many leaders start out providing immense benefit – Mubarak was the right hand man to Anwar Sadat who established the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel – but over time there are diminishing returns. By surrounding themselves with a select group of people that benefit from the largesse, they become enclosed in an Echo Room where their benefits are amplified and extended. The great leaders look beyond their coterie to the external world - a theater critic, the world press, an independent Governing Board, junior employees – to judge their effectiveness.
The public has a responsibility to be critical of their leadership and see if they are really getting what they deserve. Many times they may not have a viable alternative or the opportunity to choose someone other than a Warlord General. Luckily, in a more inter-connected world with education and information, these cases become less likely. Surprisingly, Mubarak and Ben Ali, exited gracefully in a relatively peaceful transition of power. A lesson for all of us.
March 26, 2011
It is fascinating to see how the leadership in these countries differentially has dealt with the unrest of their populace. The authoritarian president of Tunisia, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled with an iron hand for 23 years left relatively quickly after the Jasmine Revolution. Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, who held power for 30 years put up more of a fight, but in the end the Army tipped the balance on his governance. In Libya, Muamar Qaddafi has been in control since 1969 and isn’t giving up his position easily.
All this unrest begs the question - when is it time for a leader to leave? Let’s see what the Arts have to say about this.
Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark has been tangled in its own web for the past year. Repeated opening night delays led to an unprecedented review of the show before the show was considered complete. The critics were scathing. Ben Brantley of the New York Times, said the $70 million show (twice as expensive as any other show to date) may “rank among the worst” in Broadway history.
The costs and reviews had their effect. Producers recently removed Director and MacArthur genius Julie Taymor as well as the show’s choreographer. Ms Taymor was known to command the show from her “God microphone”, perhaps not too dissimilar from a Mideast dictator. In the end, despite her vision and capabilities, her inability to complete the show caught up with her towering expectations. When we saw the show in December, we were an initial believer that she would get to the finish line and produce greatness similar to Lion King. Pity she didn’t make it.
The Book of Mormon just opened on March 24 on Broadway. The show is a collaboration of Trey Parker and Matt Stone (from South Park fame) and Robert Lopes (the composer of Avenue Q). The story relates the tale of a group of Mormon missionaries sent to a village in Uganda that is being terrorized by a War Lord. Foibles, frustration and friendship inevitably unfold. In the end, the allegiance of the village is transferred from the rifle-carrying General to the Mormon Elder bringing the promise of a better world. Not the promise of heaven, but a world where people take ownership of their own destiny.
This show is a perfect mix of the creators’ styles – a raunchy and politically incorrect view of religion’s impact on its followers – all conducted with heart. Somehow the show makes fun of the Mormon religion while at the same time respecting the benefit it has brought to millions of people. The musical numbers pay homage to Broadway and one can almost recognize the shows from which they are pilfered and altered. This show is going to stick around for a while.
In arts, politics or business, the value of a leader lasts as long as they make a positive incremental impact to the people they are leading. Incremental implies that the benefits bestowed are greater than the costs imposed. With politics, impact has multiple dimensions – growing the economy, defending the country, educating people, providing food, water and other necessities, etc. For business, impact is increasing profits and in the process developing employees. Although, there will always be people questioning a leader’s ability, he or she has to judge for themselves if they are positively impacting.
The wrinkle is that no one thinks they are a bad leader. Many leaders start out providing immense benefit – Mubarak was the right hand man to Anwar Sadat who established the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel – but over time there are diminishing returns. By surrounding themselves with a select group of people that benefit from the largesse, they become enclosed in an Echo Room where their benefits are amplified and extended. The great leaders look beyond their coterie to the external world - a theater critic, the world press, an independent Governing Board, junior employees – to judge their effectiveness.
The public has a responsibility to be critical of their leadership and see if they are really getting what they deserve. Many times they may not have a viable alternative or the opportunity to choose someone other than a Warlord General. Luckily, in a more inter-connected world with education and information, these cases become less likely. Surprisingly, Mubarak and Ben Ali, exited gracefully in a relatively peaceful transition of power. A lesson for all of us.
March 26, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Some thoughts on… Japan Earthquake
The impact of the Japan earthquake is still playing out. It is a national tragedy for Japan, and the country is handling the disaster with its typical grace. Being in the middle of Tokyo at the time quake hit, it is with a great deal of humility that we appreciate that our IMS team is safe. Below is a re-cap of a very long day.
Act 1: Earthquake
Friday, March 11
11:00 am: The IMS team arrives at the client site in the middle of Japan (Point D on the map). Team members are: Fumi, Akhito, Samina (6 months pregnant), Andy, Catherine, Keith and myself.
2: 45pm: During the middle of the presentation, the room starts to shake slightly. People are startled but the team continues the discussion. Shaking becomes more intense, and then continues for what seems like 1-2 minutes. Looking out the window, we can literally see the other buildings bending and swaying. The client says that he had never experienced anything like this before. We continue and complete the presentation, and everyone appreciates the marvel of Japanese engineering.
5:00pm: The meeting ends. In the client’s conference room, we are unsure of what to do. We hear that the subways have closed, but we think that we should be able to find a cab or ask the hotel to send a car. In the worst case we will walk to the Westin Hotel (about 6 kms). We leave the office building to at least have a beer and wait until the subways open again.
Act 2: After Shock
5:30pm: Walking through the streets of Tokyo we get our first realization of how big the event really was. The streets are packed with people trying to get home. Cell phone networks are overloaded, and not a cab is to be found. We try a number of places to stop for a drink, but most have closed down to get people home. We go to the Mandarin Oriental and find the lobby full of guests who can not get to their room since the elevators are not working.
6:00pm: Fumi directs us to an alleyway near the Tokyo Train station where we get cold Japanese beers, canned mackerel and popcorn. Delightful. The TV shows us the first images of the destruction, and over our blackberries we search about news from Japan Times, then Wall Street Journal and then New York Times. The level of the destruction and the enormity of the event settle upon us.
8:00pm: We expire the bar’s 2 hour limit for occupying a table. We decide to check out the subways and start our walk home. The temperature has decidedly dropped and it is close to 40F. Andy and Keith did not bring their coats, and we quickly realize that there are no cars, taxis or subways available. Walking is a possibility, and Samina is happy to try, but given her pregnancy, we realize that we need another option.
8:30pm: Fumi is able to convince a random person driving a car to take Samina, Catherine and Keith to the hotel. Ms. Harami is an angel in disguise, and agrees to go the 6 km out of her way. She is the first person to agree to make the trip after Fumi has tried flagging a full taxi, a police car and a TV crew. (Point C)
9:00pm: Team B (Fumi, Andy, Deep and I) are all relieved that Team A (Catherine, Samina and Keith) will reach the hotel soon and perhaps can send a car to pick us up. We head out to walk towards the hotel and perhaps have more food and beer along the way.
Act 3: Parting Ways
9:30pm: Team B finds out that the Ginza line is working sporadically. We jump on the subway only to have the car go one stop and no further. We get out and start walking around the area of the IMS office (Point E) towards the hotel. On the way we find a Shinto bird shrine and several restaurants that are full. We finally settle in a wonderful rame noodle place.
10:00pm: Team A has traveled 1 km and then gets stuck in gridlock traffic (right at the corner of Chiyoda park).
11:00pm: After ramen and more beer, Team B tries for the subway again. Gets on the Ginza line and makes it to about 2km from the hotel.
12:00pm: Team A has traveled 10m in the car after 2 hours.
Saturday, March 12
12:30am: Team B finally arrives at the hotel (Point B). We declare victory only to finally reach Team A by phone and find that they still have not moved from where they were 3 hours ago.
1:30am: Ms. Harami after 4 hours in the car and moving half a kilometer decides to turn around and take Team A to her daughter’s apartment.
2:30 am: Team A arrives at Ms. Harami’s daughter’s house.
Act 4: Reunion
2:00am: Team B at the hotel realizes that they have to pick up the remaining team. (No consultant left behind). We leave the hotel and start walking to town center in the hopes of finding a taxi, since all the rental cars and hotel cars are unavailable or sold out. Luckily we flag down a cab and start hurtling towards Ms. Harami’s apartment (Point A). The traffic is fine towards downtown, the other direction is still at a stand still.
2:30am: While in the cab, Michele connects a call from Catherine’s mom phoning from DC and wondering why her daughter is at a random person’s home in the middle of Tokyo without anyone that speaks Japanese from the team. The question is completely valid.
3:00am: Team B finds Ms. Harumi’s daughter’s apartment. Everyone is back together again, but we still have to get back to the hotel through the grid-lock traffic. We decide the best thing to do is wait for the subways to start again at 5am. We decide to walk to towards the Tsijuku Fish market.
4:00am: Incredibly no restaurants are open in the market yet. They only open at 5:30am. The market is bustling even though it is just 12 hours after the earthquake. The world fish market keeps moving.
5:00 am: We catch the subway
5:45am: We finally arrive at the Westin
Act 5: Aftermath
On Sunday a few days after the quake, the tremors keep coming yet Tokyo is functioning normally. It will take time for the country to heal, and the death toll is to be determined; and yet one knows that the country that survived two nuclear bomb attacks will make it through thanks to the generosity and grace of its citizens.
March 13, 2011
Act 1: Earthquake
Friday, March 11
11:00 am: The IMS team arrives at the client site in the middle of Japan (Point D on the map). Team members are: Fumi, Akhito, Samina (6 months pregnant), Andy, Catherine, Keith and myself.
2: 45pm: During the middle of the presentation, the room starts to shake slightly. People are startled but the team continues the discussion. Shaking becomes more intense, and then continues for what seems like 1-2 minutes. Looking out the window, we can literally see the other buildings bending and swaying. The client says that he had never experienced anything like this before. We continue and complete the presentation, and everyone appreciates the marvel of Japanese engineering.
5:00pm: The meeting ends. In the client’s conference room, we are unsure of what to do. We hear that the subways have closed, but we think that we should be able to find a cab or ask the hotel to send a car. In the worst case we will walk to the Westin Hotel (about 6 kms). We leave the office building to at least have a beer and wait until the subways open again.
Act 2: After Shock
5:30pm: Walking through the streets of Tokyo we get our first realization of how big the event really was. The streets are packed with people trying to get home. Cell phone networks are overloaded, and not a cab is to be found. We try a number of places to stop for a drink, but most have closed down to get people home. We go to the Mandarin Oriental and find the lobby full of guests who can not get to their room since the elevators are not working.
6:00pm: Fumi directs us to an alleyway near the Tokyo Train station where we get cold Japanese beers, canned mackerel and popcorn. Delightful. The TV shows us the first images of the destruction, and over our blackberries we search about news from Japan Times, then Wall Street Journal and then New York Times. The level of the destruction and the enormity of the event settle upon us.
8:00pm: We expire the bar’s 2 hour limit for occupying a table. We decide to check out the subways and start our walk home. The temperature has decidedly dropped and it is close to 40F. Andy and Keith did not bring their coats, and we quickly realize that there are no cars, taxis or subways available. Walking is a possibility, and Samina is happy to try, but given her pregnancy, we realize that we need another option.
8:30pm: Fumi is able to convince a random person driving a car to take Samina, Catherine and Keith to the hotel. Ms. Harami is an angel in disguise, and agrees to go the 6 km out of her way. She is the first person to agree to make the trip after Fumi has tried flagging a full taxi, a police car and a TV crew. (Point C)
9:00pm: Team B (Fumi, Andy, Deep and I) are all relieved that Team A (Catherine, Samina and Keith) will reach the hotel soon and perhaps can send a car to pick us up. We head out to walk towards the hotel and perhaps have more food and beer along the way.
Act 3: Parting Ways
9:30pm: Team B finds out that the Ginza line is working sporadically. We jump on the subway only to have the car go one stop and no further. We get out and start walking around the area of the IMS office (Point E) towards the hotel. On the way we find a Shinto bird shrine and several restaurants that are full. We finally settle in a wonderful rame noodle place.
10:00pm: Team A has traveled 1 km and then gets stuck in gridlock traffic (right at the corner of Chiyoda park).
11:00pm: After ramen and more beer, Team B tries for the subway again. Gets on the Ginza line and makes it to about 2km from the hotel.
12:00pm: Team A has traveled 10m in the car after 2 hours.
Saturday, March 12
12:30am: Team B finally arrives at the hotel (Point B). We declare victory only to finally reach Team A by phone and find that they still have not moved from where they were 3 hours ago.
1:30am: Ms. Harami after 4 hours in the car and moving half a kilometer decides to turn around and take Team A to her daughter’s apartment.
2:30 am: Team A arrives at Ms. Harami’s daughter’s house.
Act 4: Reunion
2:00am: Team B at the hotel realizes that they have to pick up the remaining team. (No consultant left behind). We leave the hotel and start walking to town center in the hopes of finding a taxi, since all the rental cars and hotel cars are unavailable or sold out. Luckily we flag down a cab and start hurtling towards Ms. Harami’s apartment (Point A). The traffic is fine towards downtown, the other direction is still at a stand still.
2:30am: While in the cab, Michele connects a call from Catherine’s mom phoning from DC and wondering why her daughter is at a random person’s home in the middle of Tokyo without anyone that speaks Japanese from the team. The question is completely valid.
3:00am: Team B finds Ms. Harumi’s daughter’s apartment. Everyone is back together again, but we still have to get back to the hotel through the grid-lock traffic. We decide the best thing to do is wait for the subways to start again at 5am. We decide to walk to towards the Tsijuku Fish market.
4:00am: Incredibly no restaurants are open in the market yet. They only open at 5:30am. The market is bustling even though it is just 12 hours after the earthquake. The world fish market keeps moving.
5:00 am: We catch the subway
5:45am: We finally arrive at the Westin
Act 5: Aftermath
On Sunday a few days after the quake, the tremors keep coming yet Tokyo is functioning normally. It will take time for the country to heal, and the death toll is to be determined; and yet one knows that the country that survived two nuclear bomb attacks will make it through thanks to the generosity and grace of its citizens.
March 13, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Some thoughts on… Making Connections
The awe-inspiring revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia are a testament to the power of being inter-connected. With repercussions in Yemen, Algeria and Bahrain, the ripples of these events are yet to play out.
While we wait to see what happens, what better time to discuss the Oscars? The lead movies this year reflect this idea of connectedness. By reaching out to people outside our inner circles, we are transformed – hopefully for the better.
Social Network, my choice for Best Picture, defined the notion of connection for our generation. David Fincher’s direction paces the human story at internet speed demonstrating why we no longer tell people to “call us” rather than “facebook me”. Colin Firth in A King’s Speech deserves Best Actor portraying the royal who seeks out and finds renewal through the teachings of a commoner. Finally, Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right (tight match for Best Actress) is the mother who is forced to change because her kids have contacted their genetic father.
Who says Hollywood doesn’t reflect reality?
February 20, 2011
While we wait to see what happens, what better time to discuss the Oscars? The lead movies this year reflect this idea of connectedness. By reaching out to people outside our inner circles, we are transformed – hopefully for the better.
Social Network, my choice for Best Picture, defined the notion of connection for our generation. David Fincher’s direction paces the human story at internet speed demonstrating why we no longer tell people to “call us” rather than “facebook me”. Colin Firth in A King’s Speech deserves Best Actor portraying the royal who seeks out and finds renewal through the teachings of a commoner. Finally, Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right (tight match for Best Actress) is the mother who is forced to change because her kids have contacted their genetic father.
Who says Hollywood doesn’t reflect reality?
February 20, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Some thoughts on… Going West
On our cruise from Valaparaiso, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina around the tip of South America and through Cape Horn and the Strait Magellan, we are reminded of the historic context of the passages. This is an inhospitable part of the world – only 300 miles away from Antartica – the Atlantic and Pacific clash with 40 foot swells and 100 mph winds. And this is still summer. The area is littered by ships making unsuccessful attempts around the continent to find routes to the East Indies and new world.
Direction is ever important for navigation, and sailors use compass terms in highly specific terms. Variations by degrees, minutes or seconds may lead to safe passage or disaster. Our common use of bearing though allows for greater latitude.
• “Following True North” implies certitude in our moral compass. Following this direction indicates that we are keeping true to our heart and integrity.
• “Heading South” implies life is falling apart and becoming more decrepit.
• “Go West”, similar to the Village People song, implies recreation of oneself, discovery and innovation. For the US, going West is our Manifest Destiny.
• “Returning Back East” is revisiting our traditions and heritage. Coming back home.
With President Hu’s visit to the White House and Obama’s State of the Union Address, the question of US direction comes into question. There is much to emulate from China. They are a strong competitor – robust economy stronger than Japan’s, students achieving higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics than the US; and a society with unstoppable motivation to improve their lives.
So, instead of continuing in our Westward direction should the US re-navigate to go East and be more like China? Let’s see what the arts have to say about this.
In Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue, the protagonist is a 5 year-old boy growing up in an enclosed room with his mother. Unable to leave the 12’ by 12’ space, Donoghue’s relates a convincing story of how two individuals can coexist, accommodate and grow under stifling conditions. As we understand the circumstance for their confinement, we see how claustrophobic conditions can be shaped into an environment that is reality. Once the two are thrown outside, a literal extension of Plato’s Cave, they are overwhelmed by the expansiveness of the real world. What they have learned from their confinement is applicable, but woefully inadequate.
Donoghue’s novel is impressively fast-paced given the self-imposed boundaries of the premise. The star of the book is Jack, whose impressions of a limited and limitless universe are memorable wisdom for any jaded, world-weary adult.
The Kids Are All Right came out over the summer, and is in Oscar contention for its performances. The story of two women who raise their children through parental confusion and marital crisis has been coined by some members of the press as a Lesbian-family story. The writer/ director, Lisa Cholodenko, has created more though. She spins a relatable tale of any family bringing up children. The fact that this one happens to have two female parents may be the hook, but that is merely incidental. The ensemble cast works fluidly and soon the audience forgets the hook and becomes enmeshed in the characters.
The movie is symbolic of Western cinema not that it portrays gay characters, almost every country in the world has done that by now, but that it shows the couple as no more or less tough than their straight counterparts. They are not glamorous, hard-working or exceptional. They are hard-working beings trying to make it in the world with their share of travails and mistakes. One reason we enjoy the story is because the lesbian characters are “normalized” their uniqueness is just part of the variance of US’ diverse society. Annette Bening is in a tight race with Natalie Portman to get the best Actress Oscar, but my bet is on Annette’s performance.
We can extrapolate from these examples.
The US can learn much from China in terms of being more industrious, proactive, and being less entitled. But the constraints in freedom of expression, ability to challenge the status quo, and diversity of population handicap China from becoming a world power. These tenets are essential for societal innovation or Schumpeter’s creative destruction. With these constraints the country will continue to grow, but eventually the government will encounter the will of its citizenship to break against them. Good business and good political economy demand the ability to question and allow for diverse perspective.
Similar to the inhabitants of the Room, the country can make the best of its restrictions, but only when it decides to step out into reality will it face the “true” reality requiring a new set of skills to compete. Acceptance of its own population diversity, e.g. Tibetans or Muslim Uighurs, is the first step.
For now there is no other direction for the US to emulate but the one it created – Going West.
January 29, 2011
Direction is ever important for navigation, and sailors use compass terms in highly specific terms. Variations by degrees, minutes or seconds may lead to safe passage or disaster. Our common use of bearing though allows for greater latitude.
• “Following True North” implies certitude in our moral compass. Following this direction indicates that we are keeping true to our heart and integrity.
• “Heading South” implies life is falling apart and becoming more decrepit.
• “Go West”, similar to the Village People song, implies recreation of oneself, discovery and innovation. For the US, going West is our Manifest Destiny.
• “Returning Back East” is revisiting our traditions and heritage. Coming back home.
With President Hu’s visit to the White House and Obama’s State of the Union Address, the question of US direction comes into question. There is much to emulate from China. They are a strong competitor – robust economy stronger than Japan’s, students achieving higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics than the US; and a society with unstoppable motivation to improve their lives.
So, instead of continuing in our Westward direction should the US re-navigate to go East and be more like China? Let’s see what the arts have to say about this.
In Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue, the protagonist is a 5 year-old boy growing up in an enclosed room with his mother. Unable to leave the 12’ by 12’ space, Donoghue’s relates a convincing story of how two individuals can coexist, accommodate and grow under stifling conditions. As we understand the circumstance for their confinement, we see how claustrophobic conditions can be shaped into an environment that is reality. Once the two are thrown outside, a literal extension of Plato’s Cave, they are overwhelmed by the expansiveness of the real world. What they have learned from their confinement is applicable, but woefully inadequate.
Donoghue’s novel is impressively fast-paced given the self-imposed boundaries of the premise. The star of the book is Jack, whose impressions of a limited and limitless universe are memorable wisdom for any jaded, world-weary adult.
The Kids Are All Right came out over the summer, and is in Oscar contention for its performances. The story of two women who raise their children through parental confusion and marital crisis has been coined by some members of the press as a Lesbian-family story. The writer/ director, Lisa Cholodenko, has created more though. She spins a relatable tale of any family bringing up children. The fact that this one happens to have two female parents may be the hook, but that is merely incidental. The ensemble cast works fluidly and soon the audience forgets the hook and becomes enmeshed in the characters.
The movie is symbolic of Western cinema not that it portrays gay characters, almost every country in the world has done that by now, but that it shows the couple as no more or less tough than their straight counterparts. They are not glamorous, hard-working or exceptional. They are hard-working beings trying to make it in the world with their share of travails and mistakes. One reason we enjoy the story is because the lesbian characters are “normalized” their uniqueness is just part of the variance of US’ diverse society. Annette Bening is in a tight race with Natalie Portman to get the best Actress Oscar, but my bet is on Annette’s performance.
We can extrapolate from these examples.
The US can learn much from China in terms of being more industrious, proactive, and being less entitled. But the constraints in freedom of expression, ability to challenge the status quo, and diversity of population handicap China from becoming a world power. These tenets are essential for societal innovation or Schumpeter’s creative destruction. With these constraints the country will continue to grow, but eventually the government will encounter the will of its citizenship to break against them. Good business and good political economy demand the ability to question and allow for diverse perspective.
Similar to the inhabitants of the Room, the country can make the best of its restrictions, but only when it decides to step out into reality will it face the “true” reality requiring a new set of skills to compete. Acceptance of its own population diversity, e.g. Tibetans or Muslim Uighurs, is the first step.
For now there is no other direction for the US to emulate but the one it created – Going West.
January 29, 2011
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