foie gras

I just posted on my personal blog about a photo essay on foie gras. Mike Belleme is a photographer in North Carolina, and he did this piece on the controversial practice of force feeding the ducks a few weeks before they go to slaughter. It's gruesome, beautiful, and informative. Be prepared for moving and haunting images; but also, be prepared to leave duck liver (and maybe other types of meat) for at least a good long while.

cheers,
s

Power Rangers



A weaver preserving a generations-old method of weaving (called Tangalia) in a rural village in Gujarat. How I love his shirt.

corner of MLK and MacArthur

marketing II

It turns out that Tata's Himalayan brand water has many cutesy little paragraphs on its 1 L bottles, not just the one I posted last month.

"I look back on life - it's funny how things turn out. you, the creator of beeping sirens and honking cars, yearn for the solitude of the mountains. You, a connoisseur of fast food, now gaze at water that took years to gather natural minerals as it trickled down the Himalayas to within your reach. And I, some of the purest water in the world, stand here, trapped in a bottle.

Come, enjoy the irony."

[eye roll],

shelley

fab india

I went to Fab India today. It's a trendy store that reminds me of Pier 1 except 1) they carry clothes as well as home furnishings and 2) the goods aren't imported. They're actually made in India and sold in India. They sell lots of bright linens that look so pretty all neatly folded on the shelves.

Going back to my argument about "wannabe-ism," I feel that this is an example of reclaiming traditional Indian style. It's obviously catering to a certain elite class because the prices are sometimes exorbitant, but that's sort of the point. They have brilliantly marketed cottons and "ethnic" prints to be chic and trendy. Instead of selling the idea of Italy to Indians, this sits much better with me. That is, assuming that selling an idea or image is necessary at all...but that's a whole other debate.

Knowing that if anyone saw me taking pics, they would probably escort me to the door (they are very strict about that kind of thing in this country; I get scolded all the time for taking pics in public), I snuck a couple of pics while standing behind a curtain.

diptych of the week: artificial

(click for bigger version)

[left] There's an unmarked, largely artificial Berkeley-Oakland border running along Alcatraz Ave that becomes most pronounced for me whenever I'm surfing Craigslist rentals listings. At this divide, I often see properties described as "practically in Berkeley" when it's an Oakland zip code. In my experience, this means either 1) the kind of landlord to stay away from; they live elsewhere and don't care about the experience of living in the area, and sooner or later you'll get kicked out when they decide to put the place on the market (*cough Andrea), or 2) the kind of landlord who's responsive; who wants to say to those who are unfamiliar with the area, You should check this place out- North Oakland has its own sweetness.
--
[right] I found this posted at a Barista coffee shop in Juhu as part of their current "Escape to Italy" ad campaign. I took this picture because I've been thinking about what it means to truly be authentic in this modern India. In being "opened up" to the West, I find that in the past few years, India has transformed, and its establishments (and people and culture) are facing a sort of identity crisis. They want to be chic and posh, hip and modern (for example, by cultivating a US-style Starbucks cafe culture), but that doesn't necessarily match traditional Indian style, so other cultures' styles are adopted and appropriated. Consequently, we are left with a lot of what I call "wannabe-ism," e.g. really striving with all the intention in the world to be something "better" but missing the mark. I wonder if, in time, people will see through this and start redefining "Indian" to include modern, civilized, hip, and cool.

marketing



label reads:

I am so pure I make a wordly-worn out cliché like "pure" seem new again. So pristine, I could have only survived twelve hundred meters above the rest of the world. So removed, the only things I've been in contact before you are sun, wind, earth, and snow. I am one of the purest things you've laid your hands on. I hope you're thirsty.

Plus, it's called "Himalayan." Genius, really. Who wouldn't want to put this to their lips after reading that? Also worth mentioning is that this bottled water is distributed by India's largest business group and multinational company, Tata.