Is more growth really the answer?

I know the U.S. economy has gone through some ups and downs, but I don't remember it ever being as bad as it is right now. When a recession hits, conventional thought tells us that righting the ship involves getting our economy back to a "growth phase".

Maybe I'm being a little naive here, but I tend to question how much more growth is really possible in both our country and certain parts of the world (remote, third-world areas excluded).

Breaking it down in real-life, practical terms, I'll provide a small glimpse into some of the things I see when roaming around the concrete slab we like to call Houston:

1. Strip mall
2. Megafreeway
3. Infinite number of street lights
4. Megamall
5. Gigantic houses
6. Strip mall next to megamall
7. Countless number of bars and restaurants
8. Endless array of cars and gas stations pumping them up
9. Coffee shop dwellers and their laptops
10. List goes on and on....

Creating and sustaining these different entities already takes up a lot of energy and manpower. At some point, it was only natural to think we'd reach a saturation point where there would be less need/consumption of them.

For starters, we'll look at megamalls. Current news and consumer spending reports show that malls are empty right now. Quite simply, consumers aren't buying anything. Hasn't this retail slowdown been long overdue? How long could our nation's kids continue buying designer-name clothing in the name of "back-to-school" shopping? Aren't there already enough clothes in circulation that our closets have reached their tipping points?

Ok, ok, obviously I'm a big mall hater, but let's move the argument against malls and "growth" even further. Who does a mall really serve? Land developer - check. Fast food owners in food court - check. Donald Trump (selling his line of clothes inside department stores) - check. Owner of Visible Changes - check.

Why is it so important for us to re-grow our retail sector so that the aforementioned parties make more money and build more megamalls on our precious land?

Ok, ok, now you're thinking I'm completely oblivious to all of the people losing jobs when a mall or corporation shuts down. Believe me, I care about people losing their jobs, but I also wonder if we've been living one way for so long that we have trouble seeing the long-term benefits of letting these companies fail and replacing them with "alternative" models that benefit more people (including those losing their jobs).

Just imagine that mall being one big and juicy organic farm that feeds a whole community of people fresh fruits and vegetables, both making us healthier and eliminating the waste of fuel that occurs everytime foods are shipped cross-country or store-to-store. With self-sustaining communities, maybe our whole idea of "jobs" and "employment" gets thrown out the window. Instead, we stop caring about designer clothes, start eating healthier, and build closer-knit communities in the process.

Maybe I'm a dreamer...maybe I'm a socialist...maybe I'm just way over my head in trying to figure out this economy. In the end, I'm just not convinced that "growth", in the conventional sense, is the answer to our country's current economic dilemma. A shift to conservative, self-sustaining communities that better utilize and distribute resources might be a better long-term solution for all of us.

For now, that's all I got. Wrapping one's head around the U.S. economy is no easy task. I just know I prefer organic tomatoes over kung pao chicken. Well, sometimes.

20 DVDs recommendations in under 2 minutes

For the second time in my last three blog entries, I am resorting to cutting and pasting from an old email to keep this blog going. Survival is key!

This time, I present 20 DVDs that have my stamp of approval. In parentheses, my one-line review/thoughts of each video.

1. persepolis (awesome and enlightening comic strip. dvd extra = press conference = A+)
2. into the wild [don't we all wanna escape sometimes? soundtrack (lots of vedder) is incredible - especially if you're lost in life!]
3. american gangster (denzel and crowe at their finest - powerful stuff)
4. michael clayton (clooney takes on corporate giant with beautiful northeast feel/backdrop)
5. 25th hour (few capture nyc's spirit like spike lee. ed norton's frustration-infested diatribe is classic)
6. march of the penguins (ok, mother nature is seriously freakin' amazing)
7. juno (amazing cast and dialogue. cast interviews on youtube are cool too - who knew jason bateman was so funny?!)
8. gone baby gone (bean town thriller)
9. arthur (dude is a straight alcoholic - cracked me up! superb acting and cool 80s nyc feel)
10. batman begins (just rewatched it - so inspiring!)
11. born into brothels (kids from the motherland. so sad yet so empowering. human spirit is amazing. cried at end.)
12. sicko (america's healthcare fiasco - get rid of private health insurance companies!)
13. saving face (lesbians/asian americans/generation struggle/nyc. light and funny. joan chen is gorgeous.)
14. arrested development - tv series (who knew jason bateman was so funny?!)
15. weeds - tv series (mary-louise parker - who said suburbia can't produce strong, beautiful women?)
16. devil wears prada (nothing wrong with a good chick flick. hathaway is brilliant.)
17. hoop dreams (long but good. hardwood struggle in chitown)
18. menace II society ('what the fu*k you say about my mama?!' made 10-year old vilas want to be a gangster).
19. fellowship of the ring (life-changer. at some point, you just gotta get out there and run for your life!)
20. garden state (sometimes, we spend so much time trying to build new, fairy-tale lives in faraway lands that we simply overlook all the great people and things lurking around our own childhood backyards)

Democracy - WHOA

It's official. Obama is Prez!

As exciting as that is, I must say that seeing Bush fly off in a helicopter was one of the more remarkable scenes I've ever witnessed. This dude was as Big Brother as they come, but even he and his cronies couldn't beat out democracy. During the last eight years, there were times, especially when most of our country fanatically supported an invasion of Iraq, that I truly thought our country was heading down an ignorance-infested path of no return.

To me, U.S. democracy had become a big lie, just another marketing slogan in a country already watered down by corporate interests and big money. If our country's citizens were uneducated enough to support an Iraq war, Guantanamo Bay, and the Patriot Act, how in the world were we ever going to right this ship? I thought there was a very good chance the dumb would get dumber, the rich would get richer, and right-wing, neo-conservatives would continue to use these two principles plus fear-invoking propaganda to run our country in the same fashion for the next 40-50 years. Heck, I even wondered if George W. might, in the name of the "War on Terror", extend his term limits to become a 50-year ruler (see Mayor Bloomberg of New York).

In the end, Obama is in, Bush out. Up to this point in my life, today offered the most clear-cut picture of democracy at work. As Sachin said to me, "Peaceful transfer of power. Pretty amazing concept."

Now, let's get these next eight years right...

Palin scared the hell out of me!

With America only one day away from history, I thought it would be fitting to simply cut and paste an email written by me to a fellow "liberal" on Sept 3, 2008 (one day after Palin caused mass hysteria at the RNC Convention). As you can see, I was terrified.

your reply is littered w/ logic - doesn't really account for much w/ certain segments of this country's population.

seeing how quickly GOP was able to shift some of the nation's chatter from economy/war to abortion issue by bringing in a VP w/ a pregnant teenage daughter scares me a little and makes me wonder what else they have up their sleeves.

and we're only 5 days into the palin selection. somewhere down the road, you know abortion issue is going to be front and center in presidential debate, and i think it's safe to say mccain knew this could happen w/ palin. unfortunately, there is still a HUGE segment of the population ready to vote on nothing else but abortion. GOP will be ready to use it to their advantage and know it will be very difficult for two men (obama/biden) to pose much of an opposing dialogue against palin on the issue.

as far as having a child w/ down's syndrome and then trying to juggle responsibilities of being VP - again, too much logic. GOP can crush that argument pretty easily - "look at these democrats, always talking about equality...yet they can't handle a mother in the white house. don't tell us what a mother can or can't do - this is america!" - yes, its that easy.

finally, texted you last night while watching segments of republican convention. intro video was about a soldier in iraq. obviously, they were painting him as a war hero who sacrificed his life for his country, then they came back to convention and gave a standing ovation for soldier's sister and brothers who were in attendance. i realized how much this war crap still resonates with people, and they can still grab people's attention with it.

PS - While the end of my email may sound harsh, in no way do I mean to belittle a soldier or any other person's life. Instead, I was referring to the manner in which RNC glorified war in their campaign and the particular video in question.

Staying the Course

Man, I started off 2009 so well. Stayed in by myself on New Year's night, then had very deep meditation sessions on both January 1st and 2nd. I've realized that meditation is probably the highest priority in my life. Few things put me in such a peaceful and sometimes euphoric state of mind. Today, I skipped meditation in the morning to eat brunch with my sisters and family friends, then explored Htown some before settling into drunken fun for Keval's birthday. Good times indeed.

Nonetheless, something is missing. I need to meditate and be away from alcohol for a longer period of time than just three or four days. I know myself well enough to know that my soul is yearning for a purpose right now. Furthermore, I think that abstaining from alcohol and reaching deep meditative states give me the best opportunity to find what I'm looking for and be the person that I truly I want to be. Back to square one tomorrow...grrr, life's always a little bigger beyatch than I can handle.

Maybe I'm not as lost as I had suspected!

Just came up with my personal career mission statement:

"My personal career mission is to bring different communities together, add more positive than negative vibes to the world around me, and help bring out the best in people."

I know it's a little broad, but I think it can help keep me focused on what jobs are worth looking at and which ones I should eliminate right off the bat. Yay!

Kind of like this job-searching business...

The Tooklyn Resurrection

It's been a while since I've written here, so I felt like it was important to resurrect this blog before it faded into oblivion...

Today, I finally sat down to truly start my job search here in Houston. Generally speaking, I've just been allowing different ideas of what I want to do float around my brain aimlessly. One day I want to do business development for a non-profit organization, the next day I want to work at Spec's liquor store advising Houstonians on their wine shopping. For the most part, I simply let these thoughts come and go as they please, ultimately believing the universe will solve matters when it wants to. Well, today, as I actually started taking a serious look into what I want to do, I realized how lost I really am. Just because I believe in the all-mighty universe, this doesn't mean I believe life is supposed to be a constant state of laid-back bliss. Sometimes, it's simply time for a little stomach-churning, soul-seeking, job searching to keep the soul aligned with the powers that be. For me, that time has come...doh!