IMRAN™: In My Humble Opinion: October 2025

Friday, October 03, 2025

K2, Framed By Fall, A Portrait At The New York Property - IMRAN®

Late last November, K2 joined me on a drive to Long Island, New York—his quiet strength filling the space left behind by Kennedy, whom we had bid farewell eight months earlier in April. That autumn late morning, he posed with a grace that felt both present and timeless, captured against the fading gold of trees at the property in East Patchogue.

#IMRAN #GSD #GermanShepherd #LongIsland #NewYork #EastPatchogue #autumn #portrait #nature #humor

100,000 Viewers on Google vs. 14+ Million Views on Flickr; Where Do We Go From Here? — IMRAN®

A late night notification from Google caught me off guard pleasantly: over 100,000 people have viewed the handful of photos I’ve posted there only recently. That’s less than 1% of what I’ve shared on Flickr—where I’ve amassed 14+ million views over nearly 20 years. But let’s not confuse metrics.

Google counted viewers, Flickr counts views. One is pure generic global reach, the other is fewer but with many loyal viewers over the years. It’s a moment to reflect—not just on numbers, but on platforms and squandered potential.

Microsoft let Skype rot on the vine. IMHO, WhatsApp and its clones wouldn’t have been necessary if Skype’s global community hadn’t been mismanaged into oblivion. Yahoo did the same with Flickr. Instagram might’ve remained a footnote had Yahoo not fumbled its head start—first under Jerry’s indecision, then under Marissa Mayer’s overhyped tenure.

Today’s Flickr is a shadow of its heyday. I recently scrolled through its primitive messaging system—still a stream of unthreaded, individual messages spanning hundreds of screens—to revisit my earliest interactions. Most of those accounts are gone. Others haven’t posted in a decade. Many have deleted their entire libraries, including non-erotic content, just to comply with Flickr’s shifting paid account policies.

In a world of uncensored paid platforms, wildly popular free PG-13 services, and even Google’s passive hosting options, it’s increasingly difficult to justify the steep annual cost of a Flickr Pro subscription.

So I ask: What are your thoughts? What’s your plan? Where do we, and Flickr, go from here?

#IMRAN #Yahoo #Flickr #Microsoft #Skype #strategy #consumers #customers #loyalty #CX #UX #innovation #future #photos #photography #SocialMedia #PhotoSharing #censorship #IMHO #commentary #management

Thursday, October 02, 2025

Fortunate To Know & Understand “O Fortuna” - IMRAN®

“O Fortuna” from “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff is not just music—it’s a thunderous invocation of fate’s cruelty and fortune’s volatility. Composed in 1935, when my late father was a toddler, this choral masterpiece opens the cantata with a primal force that has echoed through concert halls, film scores, and—regrettably—too many superficial ads. But beneath the bombast lies a profound meditation on the wheel of fortune, the rise and fall of human destiny, and the raw unpredictability of life.

This particular performance by the Vienna Philharmonic (Wiener Philharmoniker) captures both the grandeur and the anguish embedded in Orff’s vision. The Latin lyrics, drawn from 13th-century medieval poetry, speak of fate as a tyrant—blind, capricious, and ever-turning. If you take a moment to read the translated text, you’ll uncover lines like:

“Fate—monstrous and empty, you whirling wheel…”

These aren’t just dramatic flourishes—they’re existential truths, shouted into the void by monks and minstrels who knew suffering, joy, and the impermanence of both.

There are many reasons why it moves me so much. The music’s relentless rhythm mirrors the pounding of time itself. The choir’s crescendos evoke the rise and fall of empires, fortunes, and lives. The lyrics remind us that no triumph is permanent, and no despair is final.

This piece has been one of my personal favorites for decades—not just for its sonic power, but for its philosophical depth. It’s a greatness-inspiring reminder that art can scream truth louder than any sermon or slogan.

Watch the video in the comment below—and if you’ve never read the full translation, do it. You’ll never hear “O Fortuna” the same way again.

I first heard O Fortuna more than 35 years ago—and it struck a chord so deep, I’ve never stopped resonating with it. Its fierce truth about fate and fortune mirrored my own worldview so precisely, it felt like the music had named something I’d always known. That alignment wasn’t just emotional—it was philosophical, spiritual, and enduring. I consider myself truly ‘Fortunate To Know & Understand “O Fortuna.”’

#IMRAN #music #classics #ClassicalMusic #Vienna #orchestra #CarminaBurana #fate #fortune #philosophy #history

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DEoy1une6/?mibextid=wwXIfr

MMM: Making Music Magic: See How New Order Created Blue Monday - IMRAN®

How many of you love this great dance track from the 1980s? I enjoyed the breakdown https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1LnMUsCPRn/?mibextid=wwXIfr of the awesome song Blue Monday by New Order. https://youtu.be/9GMjH1nR0ds?si=Iro8-uJ8N2_3lWaq

Having loved the song since it came out, and being into MIDI music-making since the start of MIDI, literally 40 years ago, it makes me appreciate their talent and the power of this track so much more.