Just to fuel the conspiracy theorist in me… watching media coverage of the operation unfold over the last week has got me thinking. Is it mere coincidence that the following, seemingly unrelated, events have unfolded in quick succession:

1. President Obama announces that current CIA director, Leon Panetta would replace Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates.
2. He also announces that he plans to nominate General David Petraeus,current commander of USFOR-A, to replace Leon Panetta as Director of the CIA.
3. Within weeks of these announcements, he sanctions a covert, special forces operation in Pakistan with the 60 % chance that OBL would be found in a palatial, well guarded and fortress-like compound in Abbottabad.
4. OBL is encountered. A battle ensues and Navy Seals shoot and kill OBL.

Coincidence? or something more… ?

via: The Cool Hunter

Photography is an easy activity. It is a record of perception and memory. As memory fades, perception changes to accommodate that which is forgotten. These memories take on a new meaning. They become unreal images from a world of real things. My photography is a means towards creating an archive of my memories – one that can be revisited at will. As such, memory is fleeting, and the human mind is fickle, but nature endures – beyond the accumulation of all things beautiful, synthetic or artificial. Only the human eye can instantaneously capture the real glory of nature, but the moment lasts only for that instance before it ages, perhaps becomes memorable. Photography is a cheap substitute to extend that moment – a means to slow down to the speed of the world and revel in its silence and beauty.

I photograph many things. People, nature, objects…the artist in me wants to believe that I create art, but all I really do is create a record of what I see today, may not see tomorrow and want to remember from yesterday.

Photography requires a discerning eye and devotion to the God of small things. I believe it is in this devotion lies the zen of photography.

Architecture is the confluence of the rational and the abstract – a practice of logic mediated by whimsy, which makes everyday inhabitation an interesting experience. It is what elevates a space from being mere refuge from the elements to a place of being. The architect designs this place. He holds the ability to bring a vast array of complex systems together that combine and converge into a whole that takes on a life of its own, almost like an organism.

Architecture is an adventure, an almost dangerous one at that. Architects walk the fine line between art and science, between originality and memory, between modernity and tradition. We have to be exceptionally brave individuals to straddle this knife-edge that threatens to cut one way or the other at every given instance. We do this on an everyday basis with nonchalant ability. This is one of the many reasons I find myself to be proud of this community.

Architecture is, perhaps, the finest job in the world. In a time when our world has taken on a frenetic pace and almost everything is already a memory by the time you begin to understand it, architecture is one of the few discoveries possible that can enthrall and hold promise for an extended period of time. It is essentially a cerebral quest, that can bring anxiety, bewilderment, fear, excitement, adventure and fulfillment. I try to undertake this quest in everything that I do – fear, anxiety and all.

Architecture is a journey. We set off to find, to learn, to anticipate the unexpected. To find beautiful things, to discover new ways and means. To adapt to changing terrains and climate. To engage in dialogue with strangers in strange lands, understand and convince them to become part of a vision that may not seem apparent. To find new ways to sustain and resuscitate this planet, which can only give so much.

We live, breathe and exist as architects. With a discerning eye and the knowledge to create, we make life easier to live in a world that is a better place because of our actions.

Architecture is life.

Top Movies : Based on how many times I can repeatedly watch them…

1. The Godfather ( I, II & III)
2. Master & Commander – The Far Side Of The World
3. The Great Escape
4. The Shawshank Redemption
5. Heat
6. My Cousin Vinny
7. Mackenna’s Gold
8. Indiana Jones ( Raiders Of The Lost Ark & The Last Crusade)
9. The Jason Bourne movies (The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Ultimatum & The Bourne Supremacy)
10. The Gladiator

Top Ten Actors:

1. Al Pacino
2. Robert DeNiro
3. Russel Crowe
4. Denzel Washington
5. Clint Eastwood
6. Michael Douglas
7. Dustin Hoffman
8. Johnny Depp
9. Tom Hanks
10. Matt Damon

Top Ten Actresses:

1. Nicole Kidman
2. Meryl Streep
3. Kate Winslet
4. Cate Blanchett
5. Michelle Pfeiffer
6. Kate Beckinsale
7. Glenn Close
8. Julia Roberts
9. Halle Berry
10. Naomi Watts

Top Ten Bands

1. Metallica
2. Iron Maiden
3. AC/DC
4. Deep Purple
5. Led Zeppelin
6. Black Sabbath
7. Rainbow
8. Queen
9. The Doors
10. Pink Floyd

Top Ten Writers: Fiction

1. Arthur Conan Doyle
2. Enid Blyton
3. Clive Cussler
4. Douglas Reeman (as Alexander Kent)
5. Michael Crichton (R.I.P)
6. Wilbur Smith
7. Arthur C. Clarke (R.I.P)
8. Isaac Asimov
9. Jack Higgins
10. Larry McMurtry

Top Ten Comedians:

1. Robin Williams
2. Jim Carrey
3. Russell Peters
4. Billy Crystal
5. Tim Allen
6. George Lopez
7. Whoopi Goldberg
8. Bill Cosby
9. Eddie Murphy
10. Jack Black

Top Ten Architects:

1. Renzo Piano
2. Richard Rogers
3. Thom Mayne (Morphosis)
4. Norman Foster
5. David Chipperfield
6. Jean Nouvel
7. Zaha Hadid
8. Coop Himmelblau
9. Kengo Kuma
10. Patkau Architects

Top Ten Typefaces:

1. Meta
2. Helvetica
3. Aksidenz Grotesk
4. Officina
5. Bodoni
6. Frutiger
7. Info
8. Rotis
9. Futura
10. Myriad

To be continued…

1. Robin Williams: The emperor of stand up, Robin Williams’ live shows are neurotic, obscene, irreverent and totally hilarious. In fact, during Williams’ six-hour long, freestyle interview on James Lipton’s Inside the Actor’s Studio, paramedics were called and had to take a guy to the hospital. Turns out he laughed so hard that he gave himself a hernia. Enough said.

2. Russell Peters: Canadian-Indian comedian, Russell Peters is a product of You Tube. No other comedian has had as much word-of-mouth success than Peters. His brand of cultural, communal, impressionist comedy is totally brilliant. Russell Peters shows sell out within minutes – Amazing for someone who has no formal publicity. Peters’ knack for Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian and generally Asian impressions is the highlight of his shows.

3. Billy Crystal: Billy Crystal is the king of straight-faced comedy. He can tell the most fantastic joke with the best poker face you’ve ever seen. Billy Crystal shows are akin to Broadway extravaganzas, expensive big productions and yet the tickets disappear in a matter of hours. To explain Billy Crystal’s position in the world of stand up, is it enough to say that on his last outing, Robin Williams was the opening act…

4. Tim Allen: Tim Allen is one of the best comedians I’ve ever seen. Although I’ve never seen a stand up show by him, his TV show, Home Improvement is hilarious and I can just imagine what his stand up act must’ve been like. Tim Allen has some of the best comedy timing of all time…and as they say about comedy, timing is everything…

5. George Lopez: George Lopez is the original Latino. His stand up is steeped in Latino culture and its assimilation into Americana. His self-titled sitcom about life in suburban Los Angeles with a family comprising of a do-goody wife, a dyslexic son and a love-obsessed daughter is a laugh riot, especially the relationship of George and his on-screen mother Beny. Needless to say, I record this series obsessively. After my wife’s collection of Friends DVDs, I think this will be the next TV series we own on Video