Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Symmetry breaking happens when a group of particles that once had no preferred alignment or direction suddenly does, creating a collective behavior.
~WIRED, Theory explains weirdness 

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

The Indian Government Strikes Again

Today I read "G20 summit: India announces $10 billion for debt-wracked Eurozone"
Have these guys been to Europe and have they been beyond their city in India?
Is this really a time to gain leverage? Because of China?

Tell them this:

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur

...stopover on the way home from Timor-Leste (over 3 days of travelling because of strange connections :))

Friday, June 15, 2012

“Because I’ll Never Swim in Every Ocean”

Want is ten thousand blue feathers falling
all around me, and me unable to stomach
that I might catch five but never ten thousand.
So I drop my hands to my sides and wait
to be buried. I open a book and the words
spring and taunt. Flashes—motel, lapidary,
piranha—of every story, every poem I’ll never
know well enough to conjure in sleep.
What’s the point of words if I can’t
own them all? I toss book after book
into my imaginary trashcan fire.
Or I think I’ll learn piano. At the first lesson,
we’re clapping whole and half notes
and this is childish, I’m better than this.
I’d like to leave playing Ravel. I’d like
to give a concerto on Saturday. So I quit.
I have standards. Then on Saturday,
I have a beer, watch a telethon. Or
we watch a documentary on Antarctica.
The interviewees are from Belarus, Lima, Berlin.
Everyone speaks English. Everyone names
a philosopher, an ethos. One man carries a raft
on his back at all times. I went to Nebraska once
and swore it was a great adventure. It was.
I think of how I’ll never go to Antarctica,
mainly because I don’t much want to. But
I should want to. I should be the girl
with a raft on her back. When I think
of all the mountains and monuments
and skyscapes I haven’t seen, all the trains
I should take, all the camels and mopeds
and ferries I should ride, all the scorching
hikes I should nearly die on, I press
my body down, down into the vast green
couch. If I step out the door, the infinity
of what I’ve missed will zorro me across
the face with a big L for Lazy. Sometimes
I watch finches at the feeder, their wings small
suns, and have to grab the sill to steady myself.
Metaphorically, of course. I’m no loon.
Look—even my awestruck is half-assed.
But I’m so tired of the small steps—
the pentatonic scale, the frequent flyer
hoarding, the one exquisite sentence
in a forest of exquisite sentences.
There is a globe welling up inside of me.
Mountain ranges ridging my skin,
oceans filling my mouth. If I stay still
long enough, I could become my own world.
~Catherine Pierce

"Waiting"

I watched you
wanted you
one day
I whispered these words
wrapped in a gentle wind
through the flower of my lips
glazed with want
you flirted
then fled
how fast you run
feet trip over hot steaming sidewalks
you dance and dodge
at last feet sidle back
I sit wrapped
wrapped in a cool
breeze of assumed indifference
I wait for you
~Marilyn Buck (1989)

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

"Atephilia (love of ruin)"

A phantom feeling: lashes fluttering
against my cheek. No flesh, no nerve. Wax wings:
imaginings that spring from wish alone.
The thirsty wanderer endures the same
fateful mirage: eats sand and tastes champagne.
You seem so whole; I’m left no room to mourn
the rubble we’ve become. The pilgrimage
we make each day; our devastated bed
beguiles. And we are sights to see. Engaged
by graveyard days, I rest against your head-
stone chest like flowers, so you’ll understand
what wilting is. One kiss with ravaged lips.
Embrace with wasted lust. Remaindered man
and woman wrecked by wants. This mess is us.
— Jessica Piazza

Monday, June 11, 2012

Wake Up Campaign for Mumbai

...and perhaps other lost cities of the world: where-ever the sky is greyed with pollution

Media:
posters, stickers, banners, car paint, carrying placards, blogs, t-shirts

Some of the messages:
More Open Spaces | Less Ugly Buildings
More Public Spaces | Less Malls
More Bicycles | Less One-Member Cars
More Trees | Less Cement
More Solar, Wind, Hydro | Less Oil
More Uniqueness | Less Brands
More Art | Less Posh
More Functional | Less Fancy
More Need | Less Want
More Humility | Less Ego
More Natural Light | Less Tubes
More Meditation | Less Idolization
More Life | Less News
More Community | Less 'Less Community'
More Human Being | Less Human Resource

Languages:
Marathi, Hindi, English

What do you'll think?
I'm leaving Mumbai but it's still been home for 20 years.

How to execute this?

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Astronomy in Timor Leste!

This is a photo story of a journey I took to the country Timor-Leste with the larger aim of introducing astronomy among the children and public. The project was a student ambassador project of the Universe Awareness Foundation (www.unawe.org), where I am currently completing an internship.

Our days were packed with activity, laughter, tempers, disillusionment, hope, joy, and love. We conducted activities for over 800 kids over two days, one in the capital city of Dili and one in a town-village called Gleno, a teacher’s training program for about 40 teachers on how to introduce astronomy in the classroom, and a public observing event for the transit of Venus, which occurred on June 6, attended by about 3800 people from the capital.

We were the team: Cindy (our ever trusty project officer, who took care of our lives), Pedro (the international project manager of UNAWE, our supervisor and guide), Ana (the program coordinator from Timor-Leste, an amazing spirit and math teacher and almost an astronomer), Carla (a super-passionate Portuguese fellow student and dear friend), Ainil (a gentle Indonesian soul and an excellent astronomy out-reacher), and me (a universe opener).

I hope you enjoy the journey (this is the short version. For all 300-something snaps and the complete story, click here)

CLICK ON SHOW INFO FOR THE DESCRIPTIONS IN FULL SCREEN MODE:)

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