Today I Am

My Unkymood Punkymood (Unkymoods)
Showing posts with label Days in US. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Days in US. Show all posts

Saturday, April 7, 2007

The Development Set by Ross Coggins

My fiance passed this to me..its amusing!

http://www.geocities.com/shores_system/development_set.html

The Development Set
by Ross Coggins

"Adult Education and Development" September 1976

Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet
I'm off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I've had all my shots
I have traveller's checks and pills for the trots!


The Development Set is bright and noble
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes
Our thoughts are always with the masses.


In Sheraton Hotels in scattered nations
We damn multi-national corporations;
injustice seems easy to protest
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.


We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with open mouth.


We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution --
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.


The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like "epigenetic"
"Micro", "macro", and "logarithmetic"


It pleasures us to be esoteric --
It's so intellectually atmospheric!
And although establishments may be unmoved,
Our vocabularies are much improved.


When the talk gets deep and you're feeling numb,
You can keep your shame to a minimum:
To show that you, too, are intelligent
Smugly ask, "Is it really development?"


Or say, "That's fine in practice, but don't you see:
It doesn't work out in theory!"
A few may find this incomprehensible,
But most will admire you as deep and sensible.


Development set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios, and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the great and the poor.


Enough of these verses - on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray god the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

i am an amazing cook! :P

last night, i came home at 10p and Ryan wanted dinner but american/european meal. so the chicken was defrosting and i had picked up some mushrooms on the way home as well as this green eggplant shaped squash...just wanted to try it. anyway..i had no clue what to make! i ransacked my mother's cabinets and came across soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, maggie seasonings and chicken abode marinade. Had fresh limes, tomatoes and broccoli. and put some potatoes to boil.

i marinaded the chicken in a mixture of all the liquids w dash of lime. cut up 1 and half purple onions. I sauteed half the onions in some oil and put the chicken in. let it cook a little bit then poured in all the marinade into the pan and covered to let it simmer. next i had to fig out what to do w mushrooms. ryan wanted a gravy. meanwhile i boiled broccoli and the squash and Ryan made the mashed potatoes with too much salt!

to make mushroom gravy i boiled a half cup of water and mixed in 1 heaping table spoon of all purpose flour and made a thick concoction. the chicken was done on 1 side and flipped to brown the other. Pulled it out and put in serving plate. the pan had oil, marinade and the remainder onions cooked in. i poured in the flour concoction and stirred w a whisk to get a nice consistency then put in the mushrooms and cooked for a bit. added a bit of lime juice to give a bit of tangy flavor. once that was thoroughly mixed and cooked, poured over the chicken. served the broccoli, squash and tomatoes suateed in olive oil and garlic -and mashed potatoes on the side.

my goodness. the chicken and mushrooms came out fantastic! i should just open a restaurant!!! seriously make my best meals unplanned n from bare fridge and cabinets!

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Mischeif by ShonC


Photo Credit: Shon C
Visit her site and more pics from RHYTHMS:
http://flickr.com/photos/shonc/sets/72157594452273103/

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Arranged marriage

Arranged marriage – not exactly sure how to define it. Traditionally, it’s your parents arranging your marriage. This, in most cases, meant that you would not meet your future spouse till the day of your wedding. Other cases, you may have met once or few times chaperoned and possibly exchanged letters (or emails) and phone conversations (or texts/sms). Today, however, the concept of arranged marriage has somewhat changed. It has evolved into parents setting you up. You get pictures and bio-data (his or her educational or family background) and decide whether you want to meet them to see if there is any chemistry. When I was a teenager, my friends and I scoffed at such an idea. Ugh..how could you meet someone like that? So not romantic! But as we aged and most of more or less been single for over 5 years and increasingly difficult to meet Mr. Right as opposed to Mr. Right Now…the idea of parents setting you up is not so bad! We willingly get set up by our parents, aunts, uncles, friends…sift through tons of bio-datas and pictures. Even travel cross state lines and internationally boundaries to meet the possible Mr. Right. Success rate? Well, I have heard great stories of love affairs gone right and nightmares of relationships. Not much different from real world. Hrmph!

A problem with arranged marriage is that people (the respective boy/girl and family members) put their best foot forward. Their family names and images are at stake here! So how do you really know who you are marrying? The future in-laws are the nicest people, the respective boy/girl is a gem of a human being and such a catch. Call me cynical….ok I am cynical. How are you supposed to know what you are getting? Well, I guess one could argue that you never quite do. I mean, you could be in a relationship with someone for 6 years and find something about them that totally throws you off.

I had a point I was making with this—but really—I can’t remember what it was. I am not against or for this method of marriage. It has worked well for some and not worked well for others. Relationships are tricky. Feelings are what they are. When it feels right—go for it.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Artists and Money

I & Dina Denis (Dins Denis Dance) at the Cheryl Pelavin art gallery in NY
Rang de Nila (Color me Blue)
Bringing Siona's art to life in dance

(FYI: It’s a rant. Not meant to offend anyone.)

Why is it that people will pay their plumber, doctor and babysitter but when hiring artists they try get the work for free? I cannot count the number of times that organizations have contacted me and they are willing to pay venues and staff to organize event, etc…but dancers and performers they just expect to do the act for free! And what is with compensations through great exposure? “media will be there” “our audience is high net worth individuals” blah, blah, blah… No, I need to get paid – I have expenses! I need to pay for studio, compensate dancers, transportation to and from venue for me and my dancers, food, costumes, CDs for music, just to name a few. These are my basic expenses and they add up!

Alright—I am willing to work for free if it is a really good cause or believe that the exposure will realistically benefit me and my dancers.

But seriously, I know I am not alone out there…you artists out there know what I am talking about. And you organizers out there—understand that artists need to put roof over their heads and food on tables as well and need to be compensated accordingly for their time. Its not just a 15 min lecture or just a 5 min dance…in order to produce that is hours of work.

Not to be a hypocrite—I ask dancers to dance without compensation for my RHYTHMS showcase as well. But that’s different—I provide a space and the performers are welcome to invite who ever they please to watch them perform. Be it agents, friends, anyone. I am creating a space to try out new works and a space allowing freedom to experiment and push creative boundaries. It’s a dance creation space. And I am working on creating a stipend for choreographers.

Performers and artists use their creativity as medium to express. That’s real work. Sitting in an office, typing away, going to meetings and doing presentations to clients are not the only way to be compensated for “work”. When you walk into an office and start your day, you are expected to be thinking about your job and you are compensated for it. Artists likewise need to be compensated for their creations. So next time you go to see a show---don’t gripe about the price of your tickets. If you are willing to pay $60 for a haircut and drop $100 for a dinner, you can spare $15-$30 to be entertained as well.

More later on arts and politics and lack of funds...

Being cynical n’ cautious?

I was waiting at the port authority for Siona to meet me and something weird happened.

I was waiting at Au Bon Pain in the corner seat and there was an older well dressed, seemingly normal guy seating in front to the right of me. The place is pretty crowded so nothing out of ordinary except that the guy wasn’t having anything (well—neither was i) and he kept turning back in my direction. At first I thought he must be waiting for someone and looking. Then I thought maybe it was a blind date and he didn’t know what the person looked like or something that’s why he kept looking back. It was only me and another woman sitting behind me. And every few mins he would get up walk around then sit back down. Ok, he was waiting and searching for someone. But then I get creepy feeling he is staring. Ok—I am by myself a lot and always try to be aware of surroundings but this guy gave me severe hibbyjeebies. Then he takes out a notepad and starts writing stuff down. And keep looking back again. Then I think maybe he is like an undercover agent and just noting strange happenings…a brown girl with a backpack and laptop is worth noting down I guess. Then he takes out a phone, scrolls through it, shuts it and points the angle in my direction and I hear a shutter click. I have purposely kept a hand over my face (I was sneezing so didn’t look too awkward) just in case he is taking a picture with his phone. He says “bless you” as I sneeze. Soon after he looks back again, gets up, puts his jacket on and leaves.

I know…it was nothing except a guy that was probably waiting and whoever he was waiting for didn’t show. Feel like NY’s made me overly cynical n’ just too cautious about everything. Or maybe its just me.

Gloomy morning

Siona Benjamin, Finding Home #81 (Fereshteh), 2006
Thats Siona with 2 faces and me coming in from the side--inspired by our work Rang de Nila

This morning was pretty difficult to wake up. No sleep from the last few days because of the shoot and body just really exhausted. I think my body is just revolting from not having its own bed to sleep on for past month! I had to make a trip into New York to say more goodbyes to friends before I leave. Thought of just using the food poisoning as an excuse to get out of it all. But then I really wanted to see Siona (check out her links on the left) before I took off for 3 months. She is like the big sister I never had. I pulled myself out of bed and made the train…I will be late to meet her but at least I will get to see her for a little bit.

…met up with Siona. Was absolutely wonderful catching up with her. I forgot it was Chanukkhah and did not get her or Rachel (her daughter) a present L She gave me a beautiful set of earrings…well two sets. And a calendar with her works in it. We may be doing Rang de Nila at Drew Univ where she will be teaching next summer. Possibly at Ithaca as well. She is so brilliantly artistic…in the course of us catching up she came up with a new additions to Rang de Nila. Excited about it and looking forward to seeing if it works out! I have gripes about being an artist and not being paid for the work…more about that later.

On Set...


Since Friday, I have been in Philadelphia. My friend was out of town and we were using her apartment as a set for the film I have been working on. The apt was home to my character and her husband. I have worked on movie sets almost all my life…behind and in front but this weekend was truly a long weekend. Don’t get me wrong-I love the work, it’s the waiting between takes that is so tasking! Now I know why people can make careers out of being stand-ins for actors and actresses. Why there should be a caterer and a prop master. This is a low budget indie film so everyone is wearing several hats…so the actors have to think about when to get food (like getting food from a shady restaurant in Philly –Kabobeesh-at 11pm and the entire cast & crew – 5 of us—have been struck with food poisoning!) and the director has to worry about damaging the walls and not being too loud for neighbors (my friends only request was to not damage her walls and of course, the walls were damaged.). It gets challenging to do it all! Regardless, I had a good time being Ria. Probably my most favorite character to date.

The film is called Nokhotrer Doshe (in Bangali) – loosely translated in English it means – well—not sure what it means exactly..Nokhotrer means stars or celestial and Doshe means the fault of. Maybe along the lines of… “Its Fate” or “Its in the stars”. The writer/director wants the English title to be Urban Tribes…But I really don’t like that, don’t think it accurately captures the meaning of the film. The film is about Bangladeshis living in America. That’s all I can probably say right now. It will be in English and Bengali.

I really loved the script and believe the characters. So, looking forward to the final product! Hopefully, it will be ready by summer ’07!

Check on the link “Film I am working on” to see pictures from the filming.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Coming Home...

I haven't visited my mother's house in close to 5 months. And dang! I really missed my mom's cooking. Since I came home she made fried fish (salmon), chicken curry, dal, vegetables...Yum yum yum diggers!! There really is nothing like a meal cooked by your mother!! But, it does come with a price...she had shown signs of backing off the whole "we need to get you married..." deal but looks like she is back on it.

Before it was 27-29 yr olds who were apparently very much like me and she would set up the "dates" and then laugh when i told her that he was a total dud. Then it went through a phase of...don't marry a desi, they won't get you...find yourself a nice Italian boy (don't ask..my mom is a unique creature) then it went into..."i understand marriage isn't a priority as long as u are happy, i am happy"...now the latest is... "I have a PhD professor in his late 30s, never married, kind of weird he never married but he is a great guy, what do you think? want to meet him?" As I choke on her deliciously fried salmon, I look at my mother...she is completely serious!

It was pretty common place for desi moms to make their sons get married to "settle down"...but in my family my younger brother is getting married and is very settled down with a great job and very responsible financially and otherwise. I, the older daughter, am a complete disaster. At 27, I have no steady job, no permanent home of my own, did not go to school for a MA/PhD and decided to live a bohemian lifestyle. Doing what I please and whatever makes me happy. Its a major thorn on her side to not see me "settle down"! Apparently, in her mind, marriage is the only thing to make me settle!

Well, to be completely fair...she has given the option of getting married OR going back to school. I can't do neither..it absolutely has to be one or the other. Sadly, I am not interested in either right now..thus an impasse with my darling mother!

Major price of coming home...my mother driving me bonkers with her ideas of what is a "good" life vs. what I have chosen as a lifestyle.

For the chicken curry and fried fish...I think I can put up with it for two weeks...I hope...

Monday, December 11, 2006

Good Byes and Rambles...

It is cold! And I have a cold and a fever. I finally moved home to my mother's for two weeks i have left.

Monday started with the goodbyes. I will only be gone for a 2 1/2 months! Its just a blink of an eye! But anyway...yesterday was the last day of my classes. Said good bye to my students and the studio. I will miss my dancers. I will miss the studio.

I should go take a nap...

The Beginning...

Welcome to The Bohemian Bongo.

FYI: Bongo--is a term used to refer to Bangalis of Bangladesh and West Bengal (India).

Dance. Travel. Write. Feel. This space will hold thoughts, experiences, questions and observations.

I am Bangladeshi-American. Part of the Hyphen generation. Comfortably straddling the line between a Bangali heritage and an American up-bringing.

A performing artist. A classical dancer. Constantly sifting through ideas for my next project(s)...in search of stimulation and motivation.

Love to travel and find pieces of myself in unexpected places. This blog is created in anticipation of my extended trip to India & Bangladesh.

I leave the country on Dec. 25, 2006 and expected back in the States on March 15, 2007.

Feel free to leave comments or anything of interest--
a poem, a painting, a picture, a thought...