a futurist's portrait.

I often times wonder the fate of my generation and the generations after me. We live in a society consumed with technology and media. The greater our social network expands through platforms such as Facebook + Twitter, the more we lose touch with one another - how is this possible? I see the youth of our time struggle with basic conversation, or fail at discovering activities and past-times that will enrich them beyond academia. Even today's school systems take a step back from human interaction and have implemented distance learning. What will be the reprecussions of these actions?

We buy clothes through the internet, chat through our cell phones, receive groceries to our front door, classes can now be taken online - rather than in a classroom - what is the future of functional + institutional spaces like libraries, schools, shopping plazas, and grocery stores? We've started to see franchises like Blockbuster black out like lights on a switch board all over the nation. Is this a sign that perhaps we will lose the need for many buildings and structures that occupy so much of our land?

I foresee a change - a complete turn around of the architecture and urban environments of our time. We are already becoming accustomed to minimal human interaction, as well as conducting most of our business from home and the work place  - what if that was taken one step further. Who knows? So many questions, any answers?
 

pace maker gone awry.

there's a crack in the wall.
my brain seeps through. 
i see here, now, then, when.
we were us, and they were them.
i miss everyone i've ever
known at the same time.
i care and cared for it all.
the good and the better,
the ugly and the worse.
i've been up, down, inside, and out.
squeezed in between,
and laughed til i said ouch.
tomorrow may never come
and you may cease to exist.
but what would be worst
is that a memory of us,
the last surviving thing
that proves that we were a
categorical, classifiable,
unforgettable, everlasting,
love - could vanish,
poof.
deep into the abyss of the
bolt-shaped cavity
known as my mind.
i inhale, exhale. blink slow, blink fast.
clench my fists, and dig my toes.
i'm alive,
because you live in me.

Sounds.

music (ˈmjuːzɪk)  —n 1.   an art form consisting of sequences of sounds in time, esp tones of definite pitch organized melodically, harmonically, rhythmically and according to tone colour
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	Music, being defined as a string of sounds that are organized in a specific manner, is an extremely subjective form of art. What is beautiful to one person, may sound completely obnoxious to another. Then add in lyrics that an artist may choose to use - which could be meaningful to your mother, and speak nothing to you at the same time. Then one day MTV created the music video, and the appearance of a musician added another element to our taste. The way we experience music has also changed over the years. Let's make a time-line: Phonograph - invented by Thomas Edison in 1877 Radio - invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895 Turntable & use of Vinyl Records - 1940's ---> LP's (longer-play) - advancements made in terms of time play on the records Reel-to-reel audio tape recording - 1940's Compact cassette + cassette players - 1963 Eight-Track - 1965 Compact Discs (CD's) - 1970's MP3 Players - 1990's The platforms on which music is played have transformed drastically over the years. If we consider the environment in which a phonograph was used, versus an mp3 player with ear buds - we get very different feelings. If the feeling we receive from listening to music can be changed according to how we absorb the sounds, then can one argue that music must also change in reaction to those different platforms.    I have recently started to listen to more independent and instrumental led music. I try to share some of it with my family and friends, and often times find it difficult to listen in a group environment. I find the sounds and the lyrics to be very personal, and are made more for a crowd of one versus a group of three or more. I have yet to experience artists like Bon Iver in a concert environment and cannot see how it would "work." Some music is meant to be listened to through head phones at the loudest setting possible. It flows directly through your ear canal, and into your soul. I am not claiming that the more archaic methods of music listening do not allow the same emotion - but I do think music is transforming to a style that cannot be listened to over the radio or a phonograph in an empty room. There are delicate sounds that are lost once they reach the air.    Perhaps a concert with Radiohead could work. I just need to experience it and see if the quality is the same.   I do however wish I owned a record player. I want to design a house one day, with a room made for listening to music. The room would feel like your eyes are closed and your ears already opened. It would be empty. All that would exist would be a chair, record player, and the listener. Windows surrounding the entire space would reach from floor to ceiling and create light patterns that danced on the wall as the sun fell in the sky. The sounds would carry you away to a place of bliss - a concert hall for one.

new beats.

Dubstep has been around since the late 1990's, but I am just discovering it now. I like the mellow beats, and heavy sounds. Here's a fun sample:






WIKIwhat:

Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals".  Dubstep's early roots are in the more experimental releases of UK garage producers, seeking to incorporate elements of  drum and bass into the South London - based 2-step garage sound.

want more? here's some dubstep artists you can check out on your own:

Musicians

three days from today - a look back.

The date was September 11, 2001. It was the first week of high school, and I was in ninth grade. The days leading up to this were filled with wonder, fear, and nervousness. I had no idea what high school had in store for me. I was a blooming adolescent, and was looking for some sort of support system or a constant reassurance that would help me through this transforming time.

On this morning, I was in my social studies class. The room was filled with students like myself who wanted nothing more than to find someone they knew in the room so they wouldn't have to deal with all the questions and uncertainties on their own.

News from the class room down the hall urged my teacher to turn on the television. In the next few moments we all sat witness to a crime so heinous we knew the world would never be the same. Rumors already began to spread that the attacks were committed by Muslims - Middle-Eastern Muslims. I instantly froze. The room around me begin to spin and close in. I was no longer just one of the newbies, but I was singled out amongst that group of youth as a foreigner, and as a threat.

It only took a few minutes, and the hate towards my people, and my religion began to take form. A student rose from his seat, and angrily asked for the Muslims to leave the class, the building, and head home - because they were not welcome there. I ducked my head down in fear, in confusion, and in distress.

Not too soon later we heard that another attack was taken against the Pentagon in Washington D.C., not too far from where my mother worked. Would she be okay? At that time we had no idea if the attacks would continue, where they were coming from, and why they were happening. We all had so many questions - and no one to answer them. And I say, "we," because I felt just as much threatened as the students sitting next to me. I may share the same religion as the persons conducting the attack, but I was in no way a supporter of their cause.

I was only thirteen years old - but I knew my life, the lives of my family, and the lives of the Islamic community would no longer be the same. The so-called, "Muslims," that hi-jacked those planes on that day, also hi-jacked my religion. They took my Islam, so near and dear to my heart, and managed to bastardize it to a point beyond recognition. They made claims that held no validity in Islamic teaching or in the Quran.

It took me a couple days to gather the strength to go back to school after that. News began to spread of attacks against Muslims all over America. I did not want to be one of those few who were harassed. Muslim women began to remove the head scarf because they did not want to be recognized as Muslims. We went into hiding - we were treated like demon aliens, and I resented it.

I decided to create a response group for people who were being singled out and abused. People who weren't even Muslim - Sikh's because they wore a turban were also being attacked. I went to a large high school (my graduating class was 800 students alone) - and was able to find many victims who needed somewhere to go, and wanted to share their stories. Students who had garbage and stones thrown at them, students who's homes were vandalized, and students who received verbal attacks on a regular basis. After some time the anger subsided and the harassment became less and less. But the scars from that period would always remain. I would never feel 100% accepted into American society again. I knew that I was now the new favorite minority to be attacked of our time - just as the Native Americans were, the Japanese were, and the African Americans were. American history shows that we need to have someone to single out and treat as a lesser people.

I have not stopped paying for the crimes of a group of people who carried the name of my religion and my family's religion. I think its time that the rest of America opens their eyes and realizes that Islam is not to blame for the attacks, and American Muslims should not be treated as third class citizens in their own country. I come from a family that works hard for a decent lifestyle, just as many other American citizens do. We vote during the elections, we support our local fire fighters, and always give donations to local food pantries and clothing drives. We are an active part of our immediate and surrounding community.

Today Americans cannot accept the construction of the Cordoba House near Ground Zero in New York. I ask why not? What are you afraid of? That group of Muslims has been in that area for years - and no one has ever complained. The new interfaith center and mosque would bring revitalization to that area. It would be a place of acceptance, unity, and growth. For Muslims to back down now - would be admittance to guilt, which would imply that Islam is responsible for the attacks on September 11. I would have to argue that these attacks are not to be blamed on the religion - and therefore Islam should not be targeted as an enemy. Once we can get past the false and skewed image that has been formed of Islam - I believe we can all realize that Muslims are an important part of our society today.

Islam speaks of acceptance of other faiths, kindness towards your neighbor, and completely condemns attacks towards innocent peoples. So shame on people like Reverend Jones in Gainesville, FL, shame on the people who cannot accept new mosques all across America, and shame on people who attack fellow Muslim Americans like the cab driver in New York on August 25, 2010. I hope we can all come to a peaceful resolution, and work together as the diverse community we were taught to strive to be.


"Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in God and the last day and does righteous good deeds sha'll have their reward with their lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." - The Holy Quran, Surat Al- Baqara, 62

why did the butterfly cross the road?

more like, how?