rantlust

Posted by papi on June 09th 2008 in Architecture, Art, Far East, Raves, Religion, Travel
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“You know it might be just this one anonymous glory of all things, this rich stone forest, this epic chant, this gaiety, this grand choiring shout of affirmation, which we choose when all our cities are dust; to stand intact, to mark where we have been, to testify to what we had it in us to accomplish.”

The quote is Orson Welles talking about the cathedral at Chartres, and it’s from the movie “F for Fake” but it could just as easily have been about the topic of this post. Borobudur - a tapestry of stone, a rich stone forest, an epic chant. I’d read about Borobudur in history textbooks, as the lesser known sibling of Angkor Wat, and I’d long had a desire to visit the temple and see for myself if it matched up to its formidable reputation. Earlier this year, an anthropologist friend researching urban planning in the nearby Javan city of Jogjakarta urged me to visit, and I did not need to be asked twice.

Borobudur is located about an hour away from the city of Jogjakarta in East Java, brooding over the surrounding paddy fields. It is rather too close for comfort to the active volcano Gunung Merapi, and the latter has over the years been a constant concern for the safety of the temple. However, Borobudur has survived not only the vagaries of Merapi’s explosions and numerous earthquakes, but even human attempts to destroy it. It still stands largely intact, a testament to the endurance of faith.
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Posted by papi on May 26th 2008 in Art, Entertainment, youtube
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One of my favorite channels on youtube recently seemed to end with the following episode. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there will be more, but if this was the last, what a way to go! If you haven’t seen any, check out all the episodes. They all tell part of the story so watching them in sequence is recommended.

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Posted by papi on January 27th 2008 in Art, Earth, Movies, Reviews, Science
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Saw this short movie today, and thought I’d share it. The full version is not available on youtube, but the first chapter is shown above, and you can catch the full movie in one piece at:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Some of the things shown are overly simplified, but then cramming even a broad explanation of a complex problem into a 20 minute short necessitates a certain amount of abbreviation. There are some little nuggets here that are revealing. Only 1% of the consumer goods purchased in the US is used 6 months after its purchase?? That’s a telling statistic! [see comments below]

On a related note, there’s a stunning documentary doing the rounds right now which I highly recommend. The movie is “Manufactured Landscapes” and it’s a documentary by Jennifer Baichwal, on the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. Baichwal follows Burtynsky on his travels as he photographs the impact of humans on the landscape. Some of the shots in the movie are scarcely believable, as the scope of industrialization in parts of our planet takes time sink in. The images will stay with you long after you’ve left the theatre. The opening tracking shot of a factory is worth the price of admission in itself. Watch, and wonder.

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Posted by papi on January 23rd 2008 in Art, India, Movies
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Recently, I rediscovered a true classic – a movie that I’d watched and enjoyed several times in years gone by, but had almost forgotten. The movie is Mughal-e-Azam, K. Asif’s magnum opus of Prince Salim (later to become Emperor Jahangir), and his ill-fated love for the beautiful courtesan Anarkali. The legend of Anarkali (literally - pomegranate blossom) has been immortalized in art, but its historical authenticity is disputed due to the lack of official records corroborating the story. There is a tomb in present day Lahore, Pakistan which is generally believed to be that of Anarkali, but historians are not sure if that is indeed the case. Regardless, it is a story that has drawn painters, poets, musicians, and of course, movie makers.

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Posted by meerkat on November 06th 2007 in Architecture, Art, Design
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Frank Gehry has been blamed for serious design flaws at Stata center in Cambridge. This seems to be the price you pay for having an unconventional building which looks stunning and for sure, breaks the monotony of the buildings.

From the article-
“Because Gehry’s so daring, you figure you’ve got to be daring, too, if you’re a client,” Campbell said. “You know if you hire Frank Gehry there are going to be new kinds of problems.” But he said clients accept the risks because “they’ll get a building like no other building.” (Read more…)

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Posted by anupcs on August 31st 2007 in Art, Music, Photography, Travel
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Posted by anupcs on July 28th 2007 in Art, Entertainment, Photography, USA
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Posted by papi on May 31st 2007 in Art, Movies
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Last night, I watched one of the oddest movies I’ve ever seen. It was “F for Fake”, the last movie that Orson Welles made, and probably his least known work. It’s a movie that defies genre, neither documentary nor fiction; but rather an account of one man’s meditation on art, life, and the nature of truth. The man is Welles playing himself, and the truth in question is that of originality in art. The movie primarily deals with the life of one of the best known art forgers of the twentieth century, Elmyr d’Hory. His forgeries are reputed to adorn most of the great museums of the world, which display their fake Matisses in blissful ignorance. It also shows the man who chronicled Elmyr’s life, and shot him to world prominence - his biographer Clifford Irving. Irving apparently picked up some tips from his dealings with Elmyr, because his next work was the “authorized autobiography” of the famous eccentric and reclusive billionaire playboy industrialist Howard Hughes. Except the autobiography turned out to be a total fake, complete with forged letters and memos written in Hughes’ handwriting. From there, reality and imitation blend in bewildering chaos.

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