Shine a Light - Trailer

Over at Asymptotia, Clifford Johnson has been busy directing a new short film entitled, "Shine a Light." I am looking forward to watching this film. Roll out the red carpet, pop the champagne ... Here's a teaser trailer:

Journey from Zanskar

I had the pleasure of watching Frederick Marx's new documentary, "Journey from Zanskar" last night in one of the class-rooms in Taper Hall of Humanities (THH) at the University of Southern California.

The documentary is about two Buddhist monks from the Zanskar region and their quest to take a about dozen kids between the ages of five and twelve from their village to a Buddhist school in Manali. The monks would like to educate the next generation in the Tibetan alphabet, so that they can learn the Tibetan Buddhist scripture and in doing so preserve their language, heritage, and culture. This fantastic documentary gives an account of how these kids along with the monks try to trek through one of the harshest terrains in the world.

Zanskar is the northernmost part of the Kashmir region, and borders Tibet. It lies at an elevation of 13,000 feet, and for most of the year the region is inaccessible to outsiders.

I won't give too much of the film away, but I will mention that Frederick Marx is an excellent film-maker and one can clearly see that this project is a labor of love. What I saw last night was a rough-cut of the documentary, but if that was Marx's rough-cut then I can only imagine what the finished product will look like.

Hiking Along East Canyon Road, Santa Clarita

I took advantage of the beautiful weather in the morning and decided to go for a hike along East Canyon Road which takes one into the mountains surrounding Santa Clarita off of the 5 interstate highway.

What makes for perfect hiking weather you ask? In my opinion, a bit of moistness in the air, a gentle cool breeze, and some precipitation, with sunshine breaking through clouds here are there. I drove along The Old Road and soon after I parked my car, I was walking along East Canyon trail.

The hike was gorgeous and was perhaps the best hike that I have been on around southern California in a long time. Every trail has its own character, its personality - a bend here, a twist there, some beautiful wild flowers along the trail, or a big and wise oak tree sprawling its myriad branches in all of its beautiful glory. This trail was quite shady and was peppered with oak trees and pines when you reached the highest elevation which was around 2,700 feet. This was not an easy hike, but if you are in moderate shape, you ought to get to the top in an hour. There was no one on the trail which was perfect because I was seeking solitude and alone-time.

Less than half an hour into the hike, the East Canyon trail forked into two - itself and Rice Canyon trail. I have not tried the latter, but from what I could make out, I am sure it would be a lovely hike as well. As I slowly, but surely made my way to the top, I came to another fork in the road. There was a trail called Weldon Road that would take me all the way down. If I had taken this road, I would have ended up farther away from Old Road on Coltrane Ave. There's an overpass on the 5 freeway that connects Coltrane to Old Road.

Anyway, I continued on East Canyon Road for a while until it forked yet again, though this time it ended at a metal gate, but the land beyond the gate was private (apparently owned by some southern California Gas Company, as I was told by a fellow hiker whom I met on the trail). I was at an elevation of 2,750 feet, and there was not a soul around. I was surrounded by rain clouds, with the leaves of the oak trees wet, and dripping with water, and the trail underneath my shoes getting muddy. I felt as if I had been transported to another world. The whole scene up there was eerie and mystical. I continued a bit further on Sunshine Motorway as supposedly it afforded a beautiful view of San Fernando Valley and the 118 freeway. However, it was so foggy, and the rain clouds so dense that I couldn't see much and so I decided to head back down.

I have always equated hiking with meditation, and it was so serene at the top of Santa Clarita mountains that on my way down I felt content and full of joy.

I highly recommend this hike, and if you have some free time over a weekday, there's nothing like spending time on a trail with a friend or a loved one. The picture that you see on the left is the one I took at the start of the trail-head where I parked my car.

FIRAAQ

I was at Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood for the screening of Nandita Das's new film called "Firaaq," which is part of the ongoing Indian Film Festival at Arclight. It was a late screening but I actually welcomed that since I cannot deal with traffic in Los Angeles, just like a million other Angelenos.

I had read about the subject matter pertaining to the film and I knew that it would be intense. I don't want to spoil the film for anyone who may want to rent it on DVD, so I won't give the whole movie away. The film is about the aftermath immediately after the Gujarat riots in 2002, where three-thousand Muslims were slaughtered to death, women raped, and children brutally murdered by fundamentalist and fanatic people who don't deserve to be called Hindus.

While there is very little graphical violence in the film, my heart nonetheless was pounding. Nandita Das does a brilliant job of conveying the violence in the way the actors intoned their dialogues, in the way their eyes look scared, tired, and wary, and in the way their frustration, anger, fear, and utter hopelessness was borne in the deep creases of their demeanor. There are several stories that run parallel, and each gives us a glimpse of how the violence affected each and every social strata of society. You must go and watch this film for Naseeruddin Shah's brilliant performance. He has this inane ability to redefine himself each time that he takes on a new and difficult character.

Nandita answered a few questions from the audience at the end of the screening. From all her answers the one I liked the best, and the one that summed up the film was:

"This is a fictionalized account of a thousand true stories."

Categorically Not - Doing Darwin Differently

Yes, it is that time of the month again - "Categorically Not." I have been attending these talks for the past three years, and I have never found the talks or the variation in the subject matter uninteresting. KC Cole who organizes these talks at the Santa Monica Art Studios has this beautiful ability to bring scholars from different subject areas to talk about a particular topic. Tonight's topic will be related to Darwinian Evolution.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and the program itself starts at 6:30 p.m. I highly encourage arriving early as seats are limited and the place fills up quickly. They ask for a $5.00 donation at the front door to cover expenses for refreshments. If you are looking for some intellectual stimulation, please do come.

Santa Monica Art Studios is located at:

3026 Airport Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 397-7449

MAP

Here's a description of the talk from the Categorically Not website:

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Darwin's Origin of Species has been around for 150 years, but people are only beginning to appreciate evolution's richness and beauty--the wild and wonderful life forms that seem to get weirder and more interesting with each new discovery. As for Darwin himself, his 200th birthday this year has already been the peg for a multitude of celebrations. So for our April 19th Categorically Not! we're doing Darwin a bit differently, exploring what evolution tells us about differences between male and female behavior, how life may have evolved on alien worlds, and what artists have made of nature's grand creations.

To wit: Darwin described females as coy and passive and males as ardent and indiscriminate. He didn't tell us why this was the common pattern he saw. And Darwin's generalizations are often not what moderns observe. Patty Gowaty--Distinguished Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA-- will describe new theory that says it is the different social and ecological environments the sexes inhabit rather than inborn sex differences that determine commonly observed variations in reproductive decisions of females and males.

And what about life in the billions of possibly habitable worlds beyond our solar system? How strange might life be? Astronomer (and self-described biology dilettante) Chris Impey, the youngest ever Distinguished Professor at the University of Arizona, will ponder whether or not Darwin's dominion extends to alien creatures that might have no use for water or carbon or even a sheltering star. Impey has won 10 University of Arizona teaching awards, and is the author of The Living Cosmos: Our Search for Life in the Universe.

Artists have created their own wealth of works based on life's bounty, and we'll hear about some of them from Rosie Mestel, a geneticist-turned-journalist who is now deputy science and health editor of the Los Angeles Times. Rosie will explore the ways that art has borrowed from biological themes to create glass, knitwear, napkins and home decorations. Who would imagine that a herpes virus would make such exquisite doilies, jellyfish such stunning chandeliers, a human gut look so adorable when worked in wool in stocking stitch?
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TEDx USC

I am very excited about listening to TED talks which have been independently organized at USC. Imagine that you have been asked by the world's most prestigious conference organizers to give THE 18 minute talk of your life!! These talks range from science, art, history, metaphysics, to morality, technology, and really anything worthwhile that you may think of. The event starts tomorrow at 1:00 pm and ends at 8:00 pm. This is supposed to be a completely immersive experience, so that once the doors to Bovard Auditorium open and everyone is seated, the doors close and no one is allowed to go out till the end of the talks. USC is allowing the audience to blog live from the conference, so hopefully I will be updating my blog with interesting talks. Here's a description of what has been lined up, which I have borrowed from the USC Stevens Institute website:
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USC and the prestigious TED conference have partnered to deliver an independently organized TED event at USC.

TEDx USC will stay true to the spirit of the TED Conference – hosting the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, and challenging them to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. The half-day event will comprise of a mix of pre-recorded talks from TED 2009 in Long Beach and live talks. Sprinkled throughout & in-between the lectures will be short films, musical performances, and thought-provoking entertainment.

Some of this year’s TEDx USC speakers and performers include a worldwide rock star that has sold more than 30 million albums, one of the creators of the most complex scientific instrument in history, and an inventor who is restoring sight to the blind. Plus several USC innovators that are changing the world in gaming, immersive environments, bioengineering, animation, and music.
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Elizaveta Khripounova at Hotel Cafe

I had the pleasure to hear and see Elizaveta Khripounova perform at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood this past Thursday (03/19/09) evening. Hotel Cafe is one of the best venues in Los Angeles for live-music. Their focus is mostly on rock/indie-rock. There were four other musicians lined up Thursday evening, and all of them came with their own flair, skill, talent, and personality. I must admit though that Elizaveta's music, and her songs stood apart from the rest of the musicians. She brings passion and soul to each note and each of her lyrics. There is depth, clarity, and vision in her songs. If you listen intently and mindfully, she will take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. You will feel happy in one song, with a smile beaming across your face, while in the next one, you may feel sad, and lonesome. There are songs where you feel hopeful and optimistic about love, life and your career, and then there are songs where you are reminded of love lost, friends lost.

Among some of the instruments that she used in her set included a regular electronic keyboard, a toy-piano, and an Indian harmonium. If you ever get a chance to hear her in the future, you must go and request the song where she uses the toy-piano. It was a real treat for my ears.

Hotel Cafe is a mellow place, with subdued lighting, beautifully tiled floors, and a tasteful lounge once you enter through the main door which happen to be at the back of the building.