Deconstructing Quotidian Rhapsody

Via Technorati this morning, I ran across a video from a 2004 TED conference in 43 Folders, in which Austrian design guru Stefan Sagmeister talks about design + happiness. Yes, Virginia, there is happiness in design!

In it, he references The Bubble Project as one of the designs that made him happy, and I quite have to agree: 

It reminds me of a guerrilla artist in Berkeley whose work I've been following for some time. They're standard labels affixed to bus shelters, abandoned store windows, newspaper stands, bathroom stalls... they're everywhere. I'd love to know who does them. I'll take some photos around town and post them.

Great blog if you're concerned about toxic chemicals in the environment: www.angrytoxicologist.com

Written by someone who knows his/her stuff, and actually accurate information. Check it out.

India has a fascination with fierce women. The great mother goddess Durga, for instance, is a warrior queen revered throughout the country as both loving and terrifying. So it's no wonder that women like Phoolan Devi, and now copycat Seema Parihar, are managing to capture the public imagination.

Okay, so most people who know me well know that I'm a big Bollywood fan. Combine that with my knowledge of Sanskrit and travel history, and as my friend Dana says, I'm one of the freakiest white girls you'll ever meet.

Anyway, if you live in the West, and if you're not desi, then you may not have heard of one of the biggest events of the year - Bollywood superstars Aishwarya Rai (a former Miss World) and Abhishek Bachchan (son of the inimitable, immortal Amitabh) were married today in a small wedding - well, small by Indian standards. About 100 guests were invited, but thousands upon thousands of people thronged outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of the happy couple.

The happy couple!

There are several photos (on the scale from lousy to decent to absolutely great) here and here.

My Hin-Jew wedding this Fall definitely won't be as posh as all that, but I think my fiance will be glad he doesn't have to ride in on a horse.

Women in the US were dealt a low blow yesterday when the Supreme Court upheld the idiotic Federal abortion ban - despite vociferous opposition from various groups, including the vast and overwhelming majority of physicians, and despite being turned down by six other federal courts who declared it unconstitutional. The ban eliminates access to a particular procedure, making no allowance for the health of the mother. Even though physicians have said that this procedure is the only healthy one for some women. 

That's the bad news.

The good news, though, if there is any to be had, is that Senator Barbara Boxer (represent!) and Representative Jerrold Nadler re-introduced the Freedom of Choice Act yesterday, which would guarantee the right of any woman to carry a pregnancy to term, or to terminate that pregnancy. It's almost certain to be vetoed by President Bush if it passes, so Congress will need a 2/3 majority to override presidential veto.

If there were any time to call or write to your Senators and Representatives to ask them to support something, now would be the time. I'll be calling Barbara Boxer to thank her for re-introducing this legislation.

Now - how about the re-introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment? Or do we have to wait till a Democrat is in the White House to get this guarantee of basic freedom for everyone going again?

Apparently, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has intervened on behalf of millions of Indian women, and at the behest of a delegation led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP and women's rights activist Brinda Karat. So, the menstrual history form has been sacked. This is a victory for women's right to privacy, for sure.

That's what the Indian government has tried to do with its female civil servants who are over 40, introducing a new mandatory health evaluation form this week that has rightfully outraged female employees as a gross invasion of privacy. Apparently, the country's health ministry suggested the change, to evaluate fitness levels, but I'll bet that change wasn't predicated on a lot of common sense. A woman's reproductive health is her own business - though many governments (including our own here in the USA) don't seem to quite understand that point.

And it's not just about your last period - it's a detailed menstruation history, including your history of maternity leave. Imagine what could be done with this information, or how it could be used to justify passing a woman over for promotion, simply because she had a child, or because she called in sick one day that coincided with the first day of her period?

Fortunately, due to tremendous backlash, the ministry of personnel has announced suddenly that it will re-evaluate the forms. This doesn't automatically mean those questions will be removed, but at least someone is starting to think clearly.

I read a BBC story today, Assam's missing women and the sex trade. It just made me ill.

I've spent some quality time in this beautiful, wartorn state in Northeast India - and I do mean quality, as the people I've met in Assam are amongst the most heartfelt and friendly I've ever met. But a bitter war is raging between the separatist organization United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the state and national government. Just last month, a train station was bombed in Guwahati. In February, they assassinated a prominent member of the state Congress. The month before, two more Congressional leaders were killed in bombing attacks. Thousands have perished as a result of violence that's been ongoing since the late 70s.

In the midst of all of this, poor women and children are being kidnapped and sold as sex slaves. This bleak opportunism is a growing problem - these women and children have little recourse. Poor, married off young to unscrupulous husbands, they are then sold to sex traders, raped, beaten, forced into unspeakable situations and conditions... it's horrendous. Local police are so busy fighting the insurgency that there are few resources available to those in crisis.

In wanting to do something, I found a great NGO that's doing awesome work to combat this problem, and is also addressing serious problems like female infanticide, HIV/AIDS, and the lack of sex education in general. Shakti Vahini  means "the vehicle of power" in Sanskrit, and they are certainly that. They have rescued girls from the sex trade, mobilized government, and generally kicked a lot of ass.

The problem? They have no easy way to donate online, to support their work.

I recommend checking out their website and their work, in any case. It's so incredibly important.

Video podcasting has taken on a life of its own - and people like me who live almost entirely without television are eating it up. There's a huge variety out there now, almost all of them in bitesize pieces, with minimal advertising.

NYC has spawned what has become one of my favorite podcasts - The Burg, set in Williamsburg - as my friend Suzy puts it, the home of the ironic trucker hat. And my friends Jason and Meg have together with their friends launched the new PodOperaBrooklyn in - you guessed it - Brooklyn. This one's got a twist - you vote on which direction the next episode will take. It's choose-your-own-adventure on a grand scale.

But my beloved San Francisco keeping up, for sure. If you're a socially aware hipster type with an itch to stitch, you'll probably love Threadbangers. I found them on YouTube, which is a great place to seed your podcast if you've got one.

So what's the secret to a great podcast? Well, I tend to think of it in terms of what works in poetry slams. You want great writing and great delivery, packing a lot of punch into a very short amount of time. Your audience is judging you every second, and whether your show thrives is dependent on people loving it, and sending it to their friends. Also, make it easy for people to share it. Make it fast, funny and relevant. If it's a drama, make it stick. Internet users have a notoriously short attention span (many of these are why I can never make it through an episode of Ask a Ninja). Grab your audience in the first 10 seconds, and keep them there.

Looking for some guidance while you seek enlightenment on your spiritual path? There's religious podcasts, too - and a whole lot of them. One of my favorites is the live video streams and podcast library at shreemaa.org, the home of the Indian saint Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda Saraswati. They've made things available through video, CD, audio recording, transcript and books that you'd otherwise have to travel through India and search diligently to find.

I just love the Internet, don't you?