I always wanted to make movies. Somehow I managed to convince my very reluctant parents of my desire to become a film-director. In the culture I came from, it was like saying I wanted to be a pot smoking, beach bum. A drifter with no purpose in life. With infinite patience coupled with a healthy dose of persuasion, I prevailed. My folks relented. Eventually, I landed at a university in Italy studying the art of film, Italian style. I spent 5 of the happiest years of my life, in a little medieval town just outside the Eternal City.
Life eventually took in me in a completely different direction. Today I work in as corporate an environment as it gets. Far away from anything remotely close to film-making. Rather then hobble along, trying to preserve a meager existence holding on to the improbable hope of making it big, I chose to embrace a pragmatic solution. A stable career that would eventually give me the tools to revisit film making again. It was a strategic retreat so I could fight my battle another day with reinforcements and a stronger footing. As soon as I established my day job, which took me a couple of years, I shifted focus again.....
It had been almost 10 years since I left film school and technology had a taken a giant leap forward. When I was a student, it was near impossible for an individual to edit his/her movies without engaging the services of a post production house or an editor. Today, at a relatively small cost, an individual can do it alone. 10 years ago, the cost of cameras, editing software, hard drives, computers, lighting were prohibitively expensive but today, supported by the incredible advance in technology, costs have shifted down dramatically.
And then there was the internet. Use of the world wide web exploded over the last decade. In the old days, budding filmmakers needed to find distribution channels for their movies, a daunting task to say the least. Distributors only went for big ticket projects with proven potential at the box office. The little ones struggled mightily. Many great movies and documentaries never saw the light of day because of how the system worked. These days filmmakers upload movies onto any number of websites, taking content directly to the consumer. The internet revolutionized and completely changed the landscape of film making.
In early 2007, I bought a 24 inch I-Mac and Final Cut Express, Mac's amazing consumer level editing software. Having been to film school, I knew all the basics from production to post production. I visited Craigslist.com, where I found a working Final Cut editor, willing to give me a few private lessons. Final Cut had a somewhat steep learning curve and rather then stumble along by myself trying to master complex software, I figured private lessons would provide the quickest, most efficient way to study. Sure enough, within 3 weeks, I had the basics down and was ready to start editing.
In retrospect, my decision to reenter the field albeit on a part time basis, could not have come at a better time. Initially I wasn't sure if the money spent setting myself up was such a good investment. This wasn't going to be an income generating venture and all projects I had planned were documentaries about social welfare projects with zero commercial potential. But it was an investment in my dreams, an opportunity to get back to what I really loved doing.
We've heard it many times before and it's true. We should never give up on our dreams and aspirations however trivial or Utopian they may seem. If it's what we love doing, we owe it ourselves to make it happen....
Friday, May 22, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Ever wondered about our Sun?
Astronomy is a fascinating subject. The study of our breathtaking universe continues to be an important step in my spiritual evolution. Every time I read about new discoveries or view pictures from outer space, I can't help but wonder. Could one entity really be the architect, the invisible hand, the engineering virtuoso behind our vast universe?
Let's start with the sun, at the center of our cozy little solar system neatly tucked away in an obscure corner of the enormous Milky Way galaxy, 100,000 light years across, containing between 200 billion to 400 billion stars. Our sun sits about 93 million miles away from earth. Any closer or farther would mean the end of life. It is maintained at precisely that distance.
The sun is classified as a GV Star and small by cosmic standards. There are much much larger stars out there and yet the total volume of the sun is 1.4 x 1027 cubic meters, enough to fit 1.3 million earths with room to spare. From a human perspective, this is almost unfathomable. Every second, the sun fuses approximately 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium converting about 4 million tons of matter into energy. Each second mind you and this is just a small yellow dwarf star.
Solar energy is created deep within the core of the Sun. It is here that the temperature (15,000,000° C; 27,000,000° F) and pressure (340 billion times Earth's air pressure at sea level) is so intense that nuclear reactions take place.
Sunlight is the primary source of Earth's energy. The source of our power. Sunlight traveling at 186,000 miles per second takes approximately 8 minutes to reach the earth. So powerful is the sun that even from that distance, it can vaporize water. A powerful solar storm can unleash a tidal wave of destruction pulverizing everything from orbiting communication satellites to power grids on the ground. A single powerful storm has the capacity to take civilization as we know it back to the stone ages.
The sun is about 4.5 billion years old. It is slowly but surely dying. As it fades away, it will get progressively hotter and more violent. In about 5 billion years, the sun will enter the red giant phase, its outer layers expanding as the hydrogen fuel in the core is consumed. By this time, life on earth would have been long extinct or perhaps humans would have found a way to exist on other planets. The sun's radius will swell. The inner planets, Mercury, Venus and Earth will be obliterated. As the sun cools down and shrinks into a white dwarf star, the outer planets of our solar system will become cold, dark, hulking masses. Ghostly silhouettes, spinning aimlessly in a once effervescent solar system.
Because our sun is not big enough to explode into a supernova, it is destined to become a white dwarf star. The sun will dim, burning at a tiny fraction of it's former self; no longer able to sustain life. It is said that the sun could remain in the white dwarf stage for a trillion years before the candle is finally extinguished.
Let's start with the sun, at the center of our cozy little solar system neatly tucked away in an obscure corner of the enormous Milky Way galaxy, 100,000 light years across, containing between 200 billion to 400 billion stars. Our sun sits about 93 million miles away from earth. Any closer or farther would mean the end of life. It is maintained at precisely that distance.
The sun is classified as a GV Star and small by cosmic standards. There are much much larger stars out there and yet the total volume of the sun is 1.4 x 1027 cubic meters, enough to fit 1.3 million earths with room to spare. From a human perspective, this is almost unfathomable. Every second, the sun fuses approximately 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium converting about 4 million tons of matter into energy. Each second mind you and this is just a small yellow dwarf star.
Solar energy is created deep within the core of the Sun. It is here that the temperature (15,000,000° C; 27,000,000° F) and pressure (340 billion times Earth's air pressure at sea level) is so intense that nuclear reactions take place.
Sunlight is the primary source of Earth's energy. The source of our power. Sunlight traveling at 186,000 miles per second takes approximately 8 minutes to reach the earth. So powerful is the sun that even from that distance, it can vaporize water. A powerful solar storm can unleash a tidal wave of destruction pulverizing everything from orbiting communication satellites to power grids on the ground. A single powerful storm has the capacity to take civilization as we know it back to the stone ages.
The sun is about 4.5 billion years old. It is slowly but surely dying. As it fades away, it will get progressively hotter and more violent. In about 5 billion years, the sun will enter the red giant phase, its outer layers expanding as the hydrogen fuel in the core is consumed. By this time, life on earth would have been long extinct or perhaps humans would have found a way to exist on other planets. The sun's radius will swell. The inner planets, Mercury, Venus and Earth will be obliterated. As the sun cools down and shrinks into a white dwarf star, the outer planets of our solar system will become cold, dark, hulking masses. Ghostly silhouettes, spinning aimlessly in a once effervescent solar system.
Because our sun is not big enough to explode into a supernova, it is destined to become a white dwarf star. The sun will dim, burning at a tiny fraction of it's former self; no longer able to sustain life. It is said that the sun could remain in the white dwarf stage for a trillion years before the candle is finally extinguished.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Why do bad things happen to good people? We find ourselves asking this question time and time again. The answer is simple but to understand it we must first try to fully understand the concept of Karma. Karma, contrary to the beliefs of some, is not some hippy Hindu term based on the foundations of a misguided religion. Karma is a very intelligent concept engineered by one the most ancient religions in the world.....Hinduism. Thousands of years ago, the Hindus not only figured out the essence and purpose of life but provided a detailed explanation on the real causes of human suffering.
All around us, everyday, we bear witness to unbelievable human suffering affecting our fellow brothers and sisters in all corners of our planet. Why are some born wealthy and others born into abject poverty? Why are some born with serious, debilitating illnesses while others enjoy life long health? Why do some die happy, peaceful deaths while others exit the world in a most horrible and painful way? Does fate randomly pick its victims?
Thousands of years ago, Hinduism figured it out. They gave us Karma; a diffident but brilliant concept that is both logical and intuitive. Karma states that every action, results in a corresponding reaction. The effect of this corresponding reaction does not always happen in the present life. For e.g. an individual commits murder; punishment is carried out in the appropriate dose, usually many times the scale and brutality of the original crime. I am not talking about our human justice system or "the law" as we know it. In fact, "the law" with it's imperfect blend of judges and juries, is the least of the wrong doers problems......
The Universe created a system of karma to address precisely this type of aberrant truancy by the soul. The individual will have to reincarnate again on earth and suffer the extreme consequences of his/her dastardly actions. This system of justice, presided over by the universe and its tributaries is uncompromising unlike the human penal code. It will inflict a punishment far harsher so that the soul will never forget the lesson again and permanently refrain from ever taking innocent life.
The life we lead today is a result of our actions from a previous incarnation and the life we lead in our next life will be based upon our actions in this life. It's so simple and yet so many of us struggle to understand it especially when we bear witness to the pain and suffering of seemingly innocent individuals. Everything we do, from the thoughts we think, to the actions we commit are recorded and accounted for. We will enjoy or suffer consequences of these actions in this life or the next.
When General Maximus returns as a gladiator to Rome in the film, Gladiator, Emperor Commodus insists on meeting the fearsome gladiator not knowing his real identity. When Maximus finally reveals himself to the emperor, he looks the evil Commodus straight in the eye and utters the following words "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
Maximus embodies Karma and whether it's in this life or the next, the whip of karma is inescapable as it is inevitable.
All around us, everyday, we bear witness to unbelievable human suffering affecting our fellow brothers and sisters in all corners of our planet. Why are some born wealthy and others born into abject poverty? Why are some born with serious, debilitating illnesses while others enjoy life long health? Why do some die happy, peaceful deaths while others exit the world in a most horrible and painful way? Does fate randomly pick its victims?
Thousands of years ago, Hinduism figured it out. They gave us Karma; a diffident but brilliant concept that is both logical and intuitive. Karma states that every action, results in a corresponding reaction. The effect of this corresponding reaction does not always happen in the present life. For e.g. an individual commits murder; punishment is carried out in the appropriate dose, usually many times the scale and brutality of the original crime. I am not talking about our human justice system or "the law" as we know it. In fact, "the law" with it's imperfect blend of judges and juries, is the least of the wrong doers problems......
The Universe created a system of karma to address precisely this type of aberrant truancy by the soul. The individual will have to reincarnate again on earth and suffer the extreme consequences of his/her dastardly actions. This system of justice, presided over by the universe and its tributaries is uncompromising unlike the human penal code. It will inflict a punishment far harsher so that the soul will never forget the lesson again and permanently refrain from ever taking innocent life.
The life we lead today is a result of our actions from a previous incarnation and the life we lead in our next life will be based upon our actions in this life. It's so simple and yet so many of us struggle to understand it especially when we bear witness to the pain and suffering of seemingly innocent individuals. Everything we do, from the thoughts we think, to the actions we commit are recorded and accounted for. We will enjoy or suffer consequences of these actions in this life or the next.
When General Maximus returns as a gladiator to Rome in the film, Gladiator, Emperor Commodus insists on meeting the fearsome gladiator not knowing his real identity. When Maximus finally reveals himself to the emperor, he looks the evil Commodus straight in the eye and utters the following words "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
Maximus embodies Karma and whether it's in this life or the next, the whip of karma is inescapable as it is inevitable.
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