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thoughts and thinkings by azhar chougle 
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November 16, 2009

$15 and a Year of Jail

"The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world - bar far" (here's an excellent read about that). Today I got a first hand experience of that.

No, I'm not blogging from jail (though I would throw a pretty sick 'Free Az All' campaign online if I was)

A month ago I ordered a roundtrip to Jamaica station for a trip to Canada. Its cheaper and it means I don't have to wait in a line with luggage. Tickets arrive in 1-3 business days, usually.

So when they didn't show up for a month I called to ask them to refund me. I thought this would be straightforward but it isn't. Now, things get lost in the mail. Its impossible for every single envelope to be delivered successfully given the volume of mail USPS handles and the sometimes ragged appearance of the people walking around with the mail. So mine was one of those unlucky ones. Ok, they can grasp that concept, even though this a government company.

They send tickets in unmarked non-privacy (which means you can hold it against the light and see its a ticket in there) plain white envelope. 

A few days later I get a form. The usual regrettance-inconvenience schmitz part and then a form I have to send back. It just scared the wits out of me.

Essentially its a legal document that makes me swear that they're actually lost in the mail and I didn't get them. If I'm lying here, I'm lying to the government. There's a lot of the word 'perjury' sprinkled all over this thing. Swearing is alright, I guess. Its the penalties that really got me.

If it turns out, if the ticket that I don't have i.e. somebody else might, gets used, they can prosecute me and fine me $1000 and... send me to prison for a year.

A year.

That's a ridiculous penalty for cheating a railroad company out of $15. For one if the postman who nicked my ticket decided to use it, there's no way to track the person who actually used the ticket, all that's known is that someone used it, someone lied about getting it, someone needs to go to court.

Suppose these ridiculous threats are just deterrents? Well then, to the person who actually had their tickets lost in the mail and signs this thing for a refund, good guts you got there. I'd never sign this thing. Even if one would never end up being convinced and given a sentence, having to land up in court for such a thing is maddening in itself. They can keep their schmeasly $15.

Think about the loss they were to make if indeed someone did cheat them using this system (whichever mad person it would be). They're hauling an extra 60-100kg (on average) for a few miles. Trains can do that pretty ok without posing much of a severe threat to their operation or others' safety. This unlike people with knives and guns walking around who are the people who happen to go to prison too, like this man who cheated the government out of $15 (which isn't enough for more than a day's living in Manhattan)

Just another one of the tales that makes this country so fascinating to study. 

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

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November 13, 2009

The Block System

   
Click here to download:
The_Block_System.zip (411 KB)

In New York its easy to take the block system for granted. Since streets and avenues and numbers are all in logical order it's pretty hard to get lost here (in Manhattan). 

Compared to Mumbai (Bombay, i.e.) which is a haphazard system of curvy roads and lines in a big mush where the names of streets hardly holds much value except for the postal service. After getting the chance to experience both, lets compare.

1. Noise

If you walk down a street in between avenues in the middle of Manhattan with no traffic on it, its completely silent. The block system is supreme when it comes to noise control between streets. The buildings on both sides act as a vertical funnel for the noise channeling it upwards so it doesn't spill into the next street and an ambulance siren will only reverberate in a street in the second it crosses the intersection at the avenue. 

Unfortunately for the people living in the vertical funnel of noise, it only serves to amplify the sirens and ambient traffic. So everyone gets their fair share as the vehicle screams along. 

In a non-block system (Mumbai specifically, of course), noise isolation between sections is poor. In this system, buildings aren't always facing each other, and due to the unsymmetrical (and fairly larger) plots of land, the buildings don't always take up the entire plot (leaving space for parking garages or a lawn, or as of late swimming pools and gyms). Hence there isn't much channeling of noise and depending on your situation the noise can simply travel up to your floor because it radiates all over - however, although one could possibly be on the receiving end of a larger quantity of noise due to the space involved, there's no funnel to direct and amplify it. So the overall received level of noise, is less, especially so if you aren't facing a road. Since Mumbai isn't completely flat (unlike Manhattan, which is for the most part), elevation varies, roads twist, and people can land lucky situations.

2. Transport

The block system wins in transport (both in reducing congestion and time for travel). A grid system distributes traffic extremely efficiently compared to a non-block system. Manhattan has two major arteries on the periphery of the island (FDR, Hudson Pkway), which makes it easy to skip over as many blocks are required then re-enter the system. Mumbai has similar, but these arteries are a part of the non-block system instead of being separate entities. That is, they are roads used to access housing, business etc. while Manhattan's arteries are dedicated highways. 

Its easier to get around when the streets are numbered and the direction of traffic alternates. In a non-block system its just simply the opposite. Random roads become one-ways and its impossible to know the name of every street in Mumbai. 

If one avenue gets clogged in a grid, the traffic can simply be diverted into adjoining streets to find alternate routes - since streets alternate in direction, the jam can dissipate easier. In a non-block system, if one main road gets clogged, it just spreads a traffic failure to connecting roads - because of the haphazard manner in which the traffic flows.

This is also complicated by signal issues. In a block system signals are timed extremely efficiently to ensure traffic flows in neat blocks (you can notice this anytime you look down an avenue in Manhattan). In a non-block system, due to major intersections composing of more than four roads (each in different directions sometimes) - signals have a hard time ensuring an efficient flow especially when the pattern reverses between the two rush hours. 

3. Space & View

In a block system, there's a very good chance your view is simply someone else's window. Since every building occupies its entire space, unless you're higher than the building you're facing - your view is pretty much their view which is you (get it?). Having a-building-as-a-view-system also means getting cut off from the sun when you're in its shadow. An exception to this is (other than being higher up) is the corner view. The people in the corners of the buildings can usually see down the avenues/streets **

In a non-block system, there's a good chance your view encompasses more than just another building. Again, due to the erratic sizes of plots, spaces for garages, orientations of buildings, irregular width of roads, varying topography etc. etc. there's a good chance you're going to be able to see more. The non-block system also means that if you happen to be staring into another building, the gap is probably a bit larger. Since a non-block systems' edge artery roadways aren't highways a lot more people get a view of the sea. 

** Another exception is anyone overlooking central park, which is the best living view on the planet, that very, very few can ever afford. 

And that, is the block system.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

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November 8, 2009

Wolfmother

Today I went for Wolfmother with thenewno2 and the Heartless Bastards. 

(The opening acts were pretty darn good I'll say, but lets move on) 

I landed up in Row 4 of the madness that is Terminal 5 in NY's westside. As soon as Wolfmother came on, man, the destructive energy this crowd had was insane. The moshing was extreme - both my feet were hardly on the ground during the entire thing. Crowdsurfers galore, just toppling off all around. I circulated between Row 2 and 6 and managed to cover almost the entire stage laterally in my moshing journeys. 

Wolfmother brought so much P-P-P-P-PPPPOW! with them. And the improv was great, Andrew was on top of his game, jumping around 4 feet ahead of me (vocals were top notch almost album quality). My ears are still ringing (1 hour, 20 mins later) - they were that heavy. Voice is pretty rustled up too combined with a headthrob from the headbanging. By the end of the whole thing I felt like I had had a shower over the course of two hours - my hair was soaking wet. This was at least 500 calories of cardio here (and strength training for those triceps with all those people flying above me)

Back Round and (of course) Joker & The Thief were the best two of the night. Especially the latter, this song ranks up there with Aces High in terms of concert experience. WILD. Just WILD. 

F**kin ace show. 

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

 

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October 21, 2009

Apples

It was somewhere in 2003 that I was asked by my Mom's friend to rip a couple hundred CDs to her laptop so she could put it on her iPod. Being completely business-minded since a young age I charged her per CD (at the time this was a skill not many kids my age had). I didn't know what an iPod was. Heck, nobody new. I hardly even knew Apple even did anything other than that Mac thing that so totally failed - and anyone who bought one was an idiot.

So there I was with this PC laptop and a boxed third generation iPod and a big stack of CDs to get onto it. As I un-boxed the iPod, you can't imagine the sort of immense 'wow' you get out of it. They don't package iPods like that anymore. It came in a medium-sized cube which folded out, and one was greeted with the 'Designed by Apple in California' on opening it. The type on the box was glossy silver. It came with a Firewire and USB cable, along with a dock, pouch, case and cloth.

I didn't know how to use it. It only took a few minutes to figure the thing out. The backlight to the four top buttons was red. I liked that. The hold key got me confused for a second (why isn't this darn thing working?!) but then you just click it back to white and it lights up on its own. You scroll around, you punch in the center. Hey these headphones came with it... hey this sounds pretty good! Oh shit this thing lasts 8 hours?! How many GB did you say? I don't even have that much music.... Oh wow the metal back is so shiny... and there's a silver Apple etched right in the middle of it... they muse use lasers to do that...

... Holy expletive who came up with this.

So I spent a few days transferring the music onto it and careful sneaking in a couple hours of listening time in between study breaks. Eventually, since it wasn't mine, I had to let it go but the fascination continued and I found myself on Apple.com a few times a week just reading about what they were up to with all this.

I don't remember how long it was till Mom gifted me one of these. 20 gigabytes. Carry all your music in your pocket. Before this I used to listen to music on my phone or carry around a little pocket radio (those were so popular, and when they started making them look like iPods you knew radio is dying). I was addicted to it. A little treasure. Always carried in the case. No keys in that pocket, ever.

Having an iPod in 2003 was very different from having an iPod in 2009 (wow, six years huh). I'm not talking about it being a status symbol. It wasn't just that. Sure, you had to be quite fortunate to have one, but there was more to it. iPods weren't popular at all. Especially in India. Not many people even knew what Apple was all about (me included). So this exciting new device came fresh without any background and could just stun people. If you had an iPod then, you were unique (and again, not only because your parents could afford it). There was something about it that said you knew what good design was all about. It was almost as if you knew Apple was going to take over the world at that point. And you had the first bits of it. The iPod wasn't a trend, it wasn't cool necessarily, it was what is was because of design and function. No other player could carry as much music. No other player was as thin, sleek and well thought out in doing so. As simple as that.

So there was something special in being part of the Apple culture at the time. Was it because it was so small? That's one of the reasons. Another reason is you had to be smart to have one. This is a time when (in my surrounding humanity) the knowledge on how to properly copy a CD wasn't very widespread (this also because most people didn't have CD burners). Sure the thing came with a manual, and everything you needed - but you just had to be a geek of sorts to really use it (this is how we started - with me getting the work of somebody who didn't have a clue about using it). You had to know how to obtain music (P2P was still quite new back then and CDs were expensive) then get it on the thing and then keep it there while knowing how to avoid breaking this delicate glossy godly creation. Not everyone knew it back then, and at age 13 in 2003. You were, essentially, part of the technological elite. And that was something. To this day I consider the 3rd gen iPod the best design Apple has produced for its iPod line.

Today's iPod has retained nothing of the sort. Now, I'm not saying this in a bad way. If iPods didn't become popular, Apple wouldn't have rejuvenated Mac - and the iPhone simply wouldn't exist today. So it was definitely a great thing to happen to the company. But along with this came popularity. Mass popularity. It wasn't because suddenly everyone knew how to use iPods i.e. they became geeky enough to evolve into the culture, its simply because the average-everyday-daily-Joe-Windows2000user people started buying it, and rattled their way around and somehow got it to work. Then it became cool. Then everyone had one. So it became a necessity. A requirement. Not a choice, a requirement (and how and why is another long story).

You know what was the requirement in 2003? Windows XP.

Funny, isn't it.

So Apple has become immensely popular, people flock to the 'Mac Store' (ugh, idiots), buy up their shiny new gear and profess their genius for choosing 'an Apple'. Why did they choose it? Heck they aren't entirely sure themselves. But they knew that they couldn't go PC. Isn't current requirement.

Then Apple started catering to the mass market. Oh yes, this is optional extra. So is this. Hey, new iPod! Hey look guys, time to upgrade your Macs to this one! Yeah isn't Steve Jobs your childhood hero?

And then every time Apple releases something new the whole world goes 'Oh my... honey, get the car' and dashes off to stand in line so they can get one on the very first day, use it to a quarter of its potential, and repeat the process within the very same year. Apple is my life!

Well, I'm portraying Apple as quite evil here. Far from. They still do make better computers than any other company. A better phone. Best portable music device. The people who deny it are doing it because - Apple consumers are now either a) Normal people who bought a Mac because they're ignorant or b) The ultimate fanboys. Neither of the groups give the culture a very good standing.

You know when I used to drool over new products Apple came out with? When I was sure the entire world wasn't behind me willing to stamp me down to get to it first. Now, I'm content with my Mac (and will be for years), don't plan on replacing my iPod for a long, long time (or my iPhone) and the new releases of iMacs yesterday just flew right by me.

Its impossible to get small-company Apple back. When they were generous enough to present us with the full package rather than have us buy additional bits which should've been in the box. What I'd like to see is companies bringing back that innovative charm to technology that won't have the masses swooning - because they won't understand it. Just like the first iPod.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

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Filed under  //   apple   articles   geek   ideas   iphone   rant   tech  

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October 8, 2009

Modern Criticism

Artists have to deal with it day in and day out. Well, not really 'deal' with it, but require it. Sift through a splurge of reactions to find that one person who appears to make a little bit of sense.

For some reason we require a form of validation that what we're working on happens to be acceptable (or even better, appreciable) to someone other than oneself. Here's the cool part, most of the artists we recognize today didn't need that (Robert Frank being my favorite example). They just went along and worked on what they had to. 

When we ask someone for criticism we're putting them in a position of power. They are suddenly put on the pedestal and given the right to form a (hopefully unbiased) opinion on what they think about something. Part of the problem is, when someone is asked to be a critic, some people are put in this subconscious mindset that whatever they come up with has to be criticism. This is where most of the praise just withers away. To be given the title/power of 'critic' means that you obviously are regarded highly for your opinion by that person. Hence he/she expects something unique, useful and honest from you. Which means the 'critic' here, to keep up his/her won status, is going to consciously search for negatives to either balance out the positives or negate them altogether. Otherwise, what's a critic?

When I'm working on something I'm always asking people what they think. I listen to all of it. I accept around 13-17% of it. I act on about 1% of it. There are very few useful critics around. There may be several hundred good ones, but they probably aren't of much use. A large lot of people are unaware that this applies to most if not all artists and isn't just me being a narcissistic dick. For one its impossible to act on 99% of critical suggestions because 1) It doesn't fit with what the artist wants to convey and 2) Another critic already conflicted with your recommended course of action. 

So really what criticism is is a little fun game we artists play. We skip along asking what you think and throw it out until we reach somebody who can actually help more than just critique. We're a confused lot. Half the time we don't know what our own vision is and sometimes we rely on other people to figure it out and scratch at it. Sometimes we just need a nudge in another direction to get things going again. And sometimes playing the criticism game is the only way to get it.

By now most of you who have ever offered me advice or opinions are probably thinking 'Hey, WTF - well, this guy doesn't need to know what I think anymore' and its probably true (even though I'll still ask you and continue to play the game). Look at that sentence again, it centers around you, not me. Those are the sort of people who are out throwing opinions (and will do so when asked) at people for their own mood. I'd like the opinions that are centered around me, because it's my work and not yours - and if you treat it the other way around anything you have to say will be useless.

And that's modern criticism. And y'know what? Guilty as charged.

P.s. It goes without saying how much worse the people who can't be honest are. Even if your opinion could turn out useless don't hide it. Lying and saying you love it is worse than saying you hate it but you're not sure why.

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September 30, 2009

The Corporation

This is a movie you really should watch. There's a lot to be said about the topic, but instead of me ranting about it just sign up for a Netflix trial and get it.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

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September 29, 2009

The Contact Sheet Project

This is a photographic project I've been wanting to execute for quite a while actually. As my critique teacher made me notice it took all of 6 months for the lingering stagnating idea to become what you see now.

Check out the series here, though it isn't complete just yet, and will remain an ongoing passive project.

I also have done another mini-series this semester which I'll be putting up on my photoblog first before uploading it to my portfolio.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com



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September 28, 2009

Joel, My Pasta Guy

For whatever reason I've ended up talking to a lot more people this year.

It has become routine that I get a pasta every alternate night from the cafe below my dorm. I used to get it made by the same guy every time last year and it was only a few weeks before I left for the summer that I got his name. Well, he left the job and this year I've found a new fellow who I meet nearly every day at 9 30. Every day we inch a little forward in conversation. His English isn't very good which is why I try and keep it simple small talk. Today I found him crouched under the counter holding a first-gen iPhone in his hand. Now that's a conversation starter for me. So we got talking and eventually he mentioned how he has no music on the thing. He can't afford an AT&T phone plan so using it as a phone is out. So I gladly offered to put some on to it for him, since he didn't have a computer - let alone an internet connection and a lot of music.

So for the second time so far this semester I took my laptop out, set up in the cafe, got the cables and started trying to figure out what sort of music he likes. He seemed to be in to metal and rock which were my speciality. He didn't know many artists names. He knew a few, so I gave him all I had from those he mentioned. He also mentioned an artist that I don't have which I'll procure eventually. So when I connected the iPhone it asked what I wanted to name it, so I finally got his name, which is Joel. And then dragged all that he wanted into a playlist and left it to sync (my lossless files meant it took an hour in the end). During this time I got to know him a little better.

The part which hit me right in the face is the guy is hardly a year older than me. He works from 10am to midnight, I think everyday. I obviously didn't ask him what he gets paid but I'm sure it isn't enough for the amount of work these guys put it (they're hardly ever idle). He said he wanted to learn English so he could take some courses at Baruch across the street "I want to improve my life man" - coming from a guy not much older than you working 14 hours a day isn't easy to hear. I know that a lot of the world is full of much worse than this. Wars, poverty, hunger, starvation... and there are so many people in far worse situations than he, but I don't have an income to help those more in need and worse still I haven't had many a chance to come face to face with them like I have with him. This probably hit me a lot more because I'm here, living in Manhattan, going to one of the best visual arts colleges on the planet, fully paid for by my mother and uncles - and this guy who works at the cafe downstairs, less than a year older than me, is going to make his life better all on his own.

I found out his birthday is October 27th (I hope I heard it right) so I can spare a bit to get him a decent pair of headphones and figure out a way I can help him learn better English other than just talking to him a bit more.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

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September 24, 2009

Muse/U2

I have this strange costly habit ; whichever band I see live I just have to buy a shirt. It ends up being a costly affair (just like the concerts themselves) but it has become an expensive tradition from the start. So I have my little collection of memoirs from some of the best shows I'll ever see - especially because a few of these bands may not be touring in the years to come, some of them are just getting old, physically - and I'm only going to be in New York for so long. I think one of the reasons I go for them is they're a direct support to the band (monetarily).

If you ever get the chance to see either of these bands live - GO. Both were fantastic live and U2 put on the most phenomenal show I've seen. The scale of their production is unprecedented. Their stage, the lighting, the 360 degree screen, I mean, no other band has created a concert experience quite like it, and U2 has managed it and turned it into something out of this world. There is nothing that can substitute actually being there and taking it in so its useless to go on about it. If you ever can, go for it, even if you aren't a U2 fan (I wasn't till last night)

Edit : I forgot to mention. I was originally row 40 behind the band. Was a good seat, but not the best by far. Luckily this couple got separated so I traded with one of them for a row 3 seat in front of the band towards the sides. Far far far better than my original seat because I could see the whole stadium (no Mezzanine hanging over my head since row 40 is all the way to the back).

Here are some photos from last night's show (U2 and Muse, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford at the Meadowlands, September 23rd 2009)

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com


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August 30, 2009

My Bio-Discography

The Bio-Disc is really, quite a stupendous product.

                                                 
Click here to download:
My_Bio-Discography.zip (1476 KB)

There's nothing like it. What other device can make your cats jumpier, your hair softer, your vodka smoother, your veggies fresher, your sleep better, your car more fuel-efficient, heal Parkinson's disease, prevent jet-lag and make you the biggest dumbf**k on the planet.

This $300 piece of glass (feels like plastic, but fine, it's glass) claims to do all that and more by producing 'Beta Rhythm Resonance' (oh yes, that!) and 'Scalar Energy' using of course, nanotechnology (d'oh). And the secret to it's effectiveness? It 'restores the molecular structure of water', because obviously, there was something wrong with H2O in the first place.

In the pamphlet I've pictured above one can discover the many wonders of this amazing product. Do have a look. The last page is the best.

And then have a laugh at the thousands of people who bought it. Apparently the one aspect of your life this can't fix is extracting your brain back out of your ass.

You know, there's hardly any convincing required here. This thing is apparently made by fusing 13 types of 'technically engineered' minerals into the glass at 3000 degrees (Kelvin? Now that's convincing enough for most people). This is probably the only believable part of the entire thing because I'd assume if you mix some salt, tabasco and rat feces into the sand you make the glass with, you'd have fused some crap into it. 

I assure you there is no need for you to see, touch, taste, use or test this product to believe that it is a complete and utter lie. Just look at their websites.
http://www.biodisc-energy.com/
http://bioenergiseme.com/

After ranting on for countless paragraphs about it's amazing healing power they'll cite labs and sources that don't actually exist and then slap on some testimonials about people all over the world who benefited 
marvelously from a $300 piece of plastic (alright, alright - glass).

I hardly need to present my logical (like why is the entire medical community unaware of such a miraculous product?) or scientific (oh don't get me started) arguments here because anyone with a little common sense will know by looking at that pamphlet, that it is indeed, a scam.

But people still buy it. And use it. And then call me an absolute retard for not believing in it's magical powers (of course then prescribing me 3 liters of super-alpha-energized water per day). There's no point convincing them though, because people will hardly ever admit that the $300 piece of glass they just bought is made in China for $2 and has absolutely no capabilities except for making you a dumbf**k (which, mind you, not many products can do these days).

So the only thing I can say is, which f**king genius thought of this before I did.

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