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Why Yesterday was Significant (in quotes)

Throughout the course of Obama's inauguration day, I encountered a mixture of emotions from people I spoke with. The most prevalent ones were, of course, feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and the sense that history was being written. However, for all these people, there were a large group who were mystified by the fact that people were making such a huge deal about the whole thing. They felt that it was a lot of hullabaloo for nothing. While it is true that all presidential inaugurations are highly televised and intensely covered, this one seemed to garner an amazing amount of attention, from all corners of the globe. This was the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY yesterday, where they held a public viewing of the inauguration.

So the question needs to be posed. Was the hype justified? After all the pomp and circumstance, the official ceremonies, first dances, record setting crowds, the influx of Hollywood's finest, and Obama's remarkably moving speech, what comes next? Will the change that Obama has promised proliferate or fizzle?

I personally believe that, in one significant way, things will change under Obama. For the purposes of this piece, I want to concentrate not on specific issues but more on the general ambiance of America's political arena. In terms of the oftentimes vicious relationship between the Democrats and the Republicans, of the widening chasm between small town conservative America and big city Liberal America, of the general tone of daily interactions between politicians and citizens alike who passionately hold fundamentally opposing views, Obama will make a difference. My guess is that he will promote a richer sense of empathy, understanding, and cooperation in America.

Here is a list of quotes made by the new President, which lead me to believe that he does represent a significant change in attitude (which will prove to be contagious) from many of his predecessors:

#1 - “It [the absence of even rough agreement on the facts] rewards not those who are right, but those who can make their arguments most loudly, most frequently, most obstinately, and with the best backdrop.” The Audacity of Hope

This quote came after Obama told a story about US personnel acting inappropriately towards prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. After multiple sources (including Newsweek and the Pentagon) essentially proved that US guards had flushed a copy of the Koran down the toilet in front of a detainee, Fox News ran this news item along their newsfeed that same day: “Pentagon finds no evidence of Koran being flushed down the toilet”. Obama's argument is that politicians need to be able to admit when a fact is a fact and that the American public has the right to a transparent government. American media should not be allowed to use their networks to manipulate the facts so as to obscure and oftentimes, blatantly erase what is true.

#2 - “The story [hypothetical news story] is not really about the merits of the tax cut or the dangers of the deficit but rather about the dispute between the parties. After a few paragraphs, the reader can conclude that Republicans and Democrats are just bickering again and turn to the sports page, where the story line is less predictable and the box score tells you who won.” The Audacity of Hope

Here, Obama used a hypothetical news story about tax cuts to prove his point that the media concerns itself more with the clashing of ideas rather than the consensus of ideas, because that is what sells papers. He writes that usually, the story will have reaction from a liberal source, followed by a conservative source, but most of the time will lack reaction from an independent analyst who might “walk us through the numbers”. Bickering begets bickering and therefore, no real progress is made and no deeper understanding by everyday citizens of the issue at hand is obtained.

#3 - “In that sense, the episode [a reporter circulating a negative article about Obama comparing himself to Lincoln] hinted at a more subtle and corrosive aspect of modern media – how a particular narrative , repeated over and over again and hurled through cyberspace at the speed of light, eventually becomes a hard particle of reality; how political caricatures...lodge themselves in our brain without us ever taking the time to examine them.” The Audacity of Hope

This is another example of Obama's willingness to listen, digest, and learn from the Republican side. He refers to the overarching idea that the media has created this giant wedge between Republicans and Democrats, essentially drawing caricatures of each side. This phenomenon only serves to distance them from each other and as a result, serves to further divide America rather that unite it.

#4 - “ And as I look over the crowd, I somehow feel encouraged. In their bearing I see hard work. In the way they handle their children I see hope. My time with them is like a dip in a cool stream. I feel cleansed afterward, glad for the work I have chosen” The Audacity of Hope

Here, Obama is talking about the grounding effect that hosting town hall meetings has on him. In almost confessional tones, he often wonders aloud whether Washington will change him and thereby shifts his focus from helping average and poor Americans to padding the wallets of the super wealthy. These town hall meetings helped to keep the big picture of America clear in his mind and to remind him of who he is really fighting for.

#5 – “I believe a stronger sense of empathy would tilt the balance of our current politics in favor of those people who are struggling in our society. After all, if they are like us, then their struggles are like our own. If we fail to help, we diminish ourselves. But that does not mean that those who are struggling...are thereby freed from trying to understand the perspectives of those who are better off. Black leaders need to appreciate the legitimate fears that may cause some whites to resist affirmative action. Union representatives can't afford not to understand the competitive pressures their employers may be under. I am obligated to see the world through George Bush's eyes, no matter how much I may disagree with him. That's what empathy does – it calls us all to task, the conservative and the liberal, the powerful and the powerless, the oppressed and the oppressor. We are all shaken out of our complacency. We are all forced beyond our limited vision.” The Audacity of Hope

This quote seems to lie at the crux of Obama's set of values and ideals. From the beginning of his political life, he has always spoken of empathy, the lack thereof in our lives, and the need to reinstate it. The wealthy need to understand the needs and circumstances of the poor in order to understand the world they live in. And vice versa. Americans are far less different from each other than they think, no matter how the media wants to portray them. They possess common needs, goals, aspirations, and values and I believe that Obama will succeed in helping many Americans turn the page on divisiveness.

It is precisely this overarching idea of inclusiveness that Obama promotes which made yesterday so very significant. Here is a man who I can relate to as a politician. I feel like the way he views the world mirrors in many ways the way I view the world. He speaks of inclusiveness, of sameness, of consensus and of cooperation rather than conflict. I have been studying politics for quite a while now and politicians to me have always seemed distant, boring, and robotic. Something to be studied rather than something to be admired. People trying to spin the media in their favour in order to win an election rather than people relying on their honesty and their values to win over the public. But with Obama, you get this magical sense that he is speaking from the heart. That all his hopeful rhetoric is not just a shtick but rather a set of values that have been planted in him from a young age. Now, he has the ultimate stage to promote those values.

And today is only Day #2. Let's see how he does.

An Historic Day

Today, something will happen that I did not think would happen this soon in the history of America. At around noon today, Barack Obama will take over presidential duties from George W. Bush . In what is turning into a music festival type atmosphere, the whole world is expected to tune in to be part of this momentous and historic occasion. Here's hoping my boss lets us take a break to at least check out his speech, which is highly anticipated. Congratulations to the Obama family for this amazing accomplishment.

Slumdog Millionaire

Wow.

That was the first word that came to mind upon seeing this film. It was emotional, powerful, beautiful, violent, disturbing, funny, dramatic, gut-wrenching, and tear-inducing all at the same time. I could have used less adjectives but a complex film such as "Slumdog" (possessive of so many layers and diverse attributes) deserves to be lauded as such.

Here's the trailer (which, by the way, does not do the film justice):



Honestly, the best way I can describe this film in short would be to call it the "City of God" of India. There are many parallels that can be drawn between the two films. Both are violent, sexy, funny, and most important of all, authentic. Both involve troubled and extremely poor youth trying to find their way in a scary world. And both are fantastic.

Long story short, see "Slumdog Millionaire". You will not regret it.

Is "Obamamania" Getting out of Control?

It seems that it's not only the nationalistic pride of American people who have and will capitalize on their new and highly promising next President. He is also helping to line people's pockets. Obama has successfully created a wave of merchandising and branding which is no doubt unprecedented in American politics. Now we are all fully aware of the standard bumper stickers, buttons, and political signage common to all politicians, but some Obama products take political merchandising to an entirely new and oftentimes, excessive and downright weird level.

Some examples include: Now you can apply your Obama lip gloss, pop on your Obama earrings, and plant a wet kiss on your very own life-sized Obama cardboard cut-out in the comfort of your own home! WARNING: dangerous levels of hope may result.

Let me just assure you that I am a huge Obama fan and have been supporting him since the start of the primaries against Hilary Clinton way back when. I was beyond ecstatic when he won on November 4th. I hold high hopes for him now. And I genuinely relate to the way he speaks and the humility, integrity, and rationality of his words.

But there is such a thing as over-hyping someone, hence creating gargantuan and unattainable expectations of him and his performance. There is no doubt that Obama is inheriting a country in shambles, leaving him with a very full plate. Let's review:

• Two wars that are raging in Iraq and Afghanistan with favorable results from either seemingly out of grasp
• An almost impossible tightrope act in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• An economy that is going through its worst times since the Great Depression of the 1930s
• A national debt of over a trillion dollars
• Difficult questions regarding Guantanamo Bay, Iran, Russia, and North Korea

On top of all this, add the huge expectations of the man, the incredible hype surrounding Tuesday's inauguration, and a populace suffering from a need for instant gratification, and the mere fact that this guy can sleep at night is amazing.

I'm not saying that people should not celebrate this historic moment with all their enthusiasm. It is what it is and the Obama bandwagon has gained too much steam to stop now. I guess my point is that we should all herald the fact that with so much going on around him, he remains just as calm, cool, and collected as we have ever seen him.

I have no doubt in my mind that while millions of people around the world revere and idolize him, very few would actually want to be him.

We've All Been Had!

So in my earlier post, "The Official 'Videos that Travel around the World' Post", I posted two great viral videos that use music in a wide range of locales to produce a couple of intensely uplifting clips. The first one, "Where the Hell is Matt", with over 17 million views worldwide has become nothing less than an internet sensation. The New York Times has called it "an almost perfect piece of internet art". To get the full effect, it is obviously preferable to watch the whole thing, but to give you the gist: Matt is shown dancing (proving at the same time all those who said that white men can't dance to have been correct) in 70 different countries, with the local folk acting as enthusiastic participants.

No, that is not really a Korean soldier but one of Matt's buddies.

One of the reasons I think that the video pleased me so much and put an instant smile on my face was the feeling of global unity and cooperation that it elicited. However irrational, it evoked the feeling that given all the conflict, the tension, the wars, and the hatred in this world, that we are all still more united than we are divided. That we are not just a collection of red states and blue states...kidding, but I'm sure Obama would enjoy it.

Appreciate you can, but the revelation a couple of weeks ago that the whole thing was an elaborate hoax took away the authenticity, and hence, a lot of its charm and impact. Yes, ladies and gents, the video was a pure product of excellent video editing, green screen technology, and dancing actors. The following clip is Matt himself explaining in great detail just how and why they did this. Extremely interesting video, especially for all you graphic designers out there!

Disturbing Article

I came across this piece of news today in the Toronto Star, the headline reading "Aid destroyed as UN's Gaza HQ hit by Israeli fire"

I always try to approach issues with a high dose of realism, temperateness, and logic. With vital issues where lives are at stake, emotion can be a dangerous thing. Emotion has the powerful ability to override the facts. It can serve to blur the line between right and wrong. And it can be dangerously contagious, oftentimes needing only an emotional and charismatic proponent to sway hearts and minds. I realize that everybody has their personal history and therefore emotion is practically impossible to brush aside. But with this conflict specifically, if one lets emotion take a back seat letting rationality guide their opinions, it is becoming very hard to support the Israeli actions.

While it is true that Hamas is a terrorist organization hell bent on destroying Israel and that it was them who broke the cease fire by firing rockets into Israel, the question begs itself. Where should the line be drawn in terms of proportional retaliation? How many innocent civilians who have nothing to do with Hamas need to be killed in order for Israel to make its point? How many hospitals, schools, and peoples homes need to be destroyed in order for Israel to intimidate Hamas into calling it quits? The latest numbers have the Palestinian death toll at more than 1,000, including over 300 children. And the Israeli? 13.

The somewhat promising development is that the international community (most notably the UN) is very slowly starting to condemn these atrocious attacks. Ban-Ki-Moon (secretary general of the UN) is in the region and is calling for an immediate ceasefire, labeling the death toll on civilians as "intolerable". In a more hostile fashion, Bolivia's president has called on Israel to appear before the International Criminal Court to face charges.

While all this represents progress towards a more balanced view of the conflict rather than knee-jerk support for Israel and all of its actions, the big names have yet to voice their opinions. The US called for a ceasefire about a week ago, only to be rebuffed by Israel. But there have yet to be any calls of human rights violations emanating from US shores. We have not been much better here in Canada either. This article states that Canada was the only country out of 47 who refused to support a UN motion condemning Israeli's actions. The headline is a little misleading, given the fact that the US, Britain, France, Japan, and South Korea were not involved while most of the countries involved were Arab nations. But it still represents somewhat of a break from a more neutral and balanced take on the conflict that Canada has shown in the past.

Countries need to start looking at the numbers. Politicians need to put their political futures on the line and stand up for a devastating offensive where innocent civilians who may have nothing to do with Hamas are losing their families, their homes, and their futures.

Personal Trainer Cooking, for Nintendo DS.

OK, so we all know that the Nintendo company has done a fabulous job of keeping themselves relevant by releasing some of the most unique and innovative products over the last few years. I mean, after Mario and Donkey Kong, did you ever expect them to release a fitness and weight loss video game? A stop smoking game? Learn French or Spanish games? I don't think I could have predicted that.

They have managed to make a huge comeback against the Playstation and XBox folks by releasing games with themes one would never have expected to show up in a video game and which appeal to all age groups, from toddler to grandma. The Wii was more interactive than the other systems. It appealed to adults as well as children. And the DS built upon the Palm Pilot craze with its touch screen and stylus.



Anyway, I have a DS but not a Wii and I recently picked up Personal Trainer: Cooking. This is a perfect example of the type of game that has helped Nintendo reclaim its status as one of the big players in the video game world. Appealing to all age groups, interactive, and finally, educational so you know the parents will approve. It is also important, because I believe that everybody should at least know the basics on how to cook. I have been working in a kitchen for the past couple of months and have really developed a high appreciation for the culinary arts. I am far from an expert chef but there is no doubt that I have learned at least one new thing every day at my work and am getting better.

So the game has over 400 recipes from countries all over the world. For each recipe, there is a guiding voice to talk you through each step. You can look at the list of ingredients needed and check off which ones you need; essentially creating a virtual grocery list. There are numerous short videos that explain everything from dicing an onion to rolling sushi. And you can search by ingredient, country, time needed, and even calorie intake.

I have yet to actually make one of the dishes from the game but I will be soon. Keep you posted.

New Music for You and for Me.

So, Israel has tightened its grip and intensified its attacks on Gaza. A new ground offensive has been under way for a few days now and the likelihood of a peaceful two-state solution to the most consequential conflict in the world is becoming less and less likely. Obama's inauguration day is less than two weeks away and I know my eyes will be glued to the TV. And my beloved Toronto Raptors are showing strong signs of improvement with two big wins against quality clubs but need to string together a 5, 6, or 7 game winning streak to really get the post-season back into their crosshairs.

But I digress.

Today, I want to mention a few albums that I have recently started listening to and that I would like to recommend. I don't usually write about music but after recently discovering some new albums and artists, I wanted to share some with you.

Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreaks

I've always liked Kanye. When he first came on the scene, I found him to be a fresh voice that broke the monotony of mainstream rap at the time. He was a welcome respite from all the regular "bling-bling", "I got shot 8 times", "my bitch is hotter than your bitch" fare. You could tell by listening to his lyrics that he was intelligent, insightful, and that he had something to say. With this new album, he has mellowed out substantially, ditched the rap verses for singing, and has moved toward a more R 'n' B sound. It takes a few listens to really appreciate the production of Kanye's beats but they are undoubtedly very unique, perhaps even groundbreaking. At least I had never heard anything in rap music like the drums on the chorus of this song:



Kate Nash - Made of Bricks

This is an album that sounds like a cross between Rilo Kiley and Amy Winehouse. With her clearly British accent coupled with her sometimes aggressive lyrics, the cute Londoner pulls off an album where the songs are catchy yet meaningful. Couple this with my penchant for female singers and I was hooked. Here is a good example:



K'Naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher

Speaking of rap music with good lyrics, this is a great example. I have a total love/hate relationship with rap and the deciding factor is and will always be the lyrics. This makes sense because mostly, the song is the lyrics in rap, with the beat often acting merely as a metronome of sorts. Put it this way: for me, a bad rap song will always have bad lyrics but good ones with bad beats can exist. Anyway, K'Naan is a highly talented rapper. He grew up in Somalia but has spent most of his formative years in Toronto. Growing up in Somalia clearly has had a large influence on his lyrics and his general message. This leads to very interesting and passionate rhyming both about his move to the First World and his early years in the Third. Here is a good sample:



Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

This American indie rock outfit has a fun, bouncy, and non-pretentious sound to them. I believe that they would be considered "hip", whatever that means nowadays, so don't be surprised to hear them at your local hipster haunt. In any case, a solid album from the New Yorkers. Wonderful album to clean to! Here's a sample:



So there are a few albums that I've been jiving to recently. Others might include the new Beck as well the new Tryo. Tryo are a French quartet whose sound is hard to pin down, but there are strong folk rock and reggae influences going on. They are a great group with poetic and socially conscious lyrics. I'll leave you with their new video:



Long live tunes! A la prochaine!