I tend to stay up late in general. It gets even more likely I will stay up all night when traveling abroad. Janary 21, 2012 had a forecast for snow pop-up after I had already purchased my tickets.
To make things worse, the snow arrived earlier, wetter, heavier on a colder night making roads icy. It was a Saturday early morning so there was not even enough traffic to melt the icy road surfaces. I left even earlier for the airport than was required on normal days.
One of the most boring things in the world, besides listening to idiotic talking head hate mongers on TV, is waiting four hours prior to departure on what is already supposed to be a nearly 24 hours long pair of flights.
Seeing the snowflakes raining down heavily coating everything in a heavy white fog, mist, coat and cover was making the day even more dreary.
Then, I saw her… a beautiful princess asleep, awaiting the arrival of her prince captain, as dwarf-like machines and minions gathered to de-ice and prepare her, before awakening her engines into a mighty roar of passionate power, that would carry her over the oceans on the invisible flying carpet of jet propulsion.
But until then, there she lay, silent, unmoving, on the cold slab of frozen tarmac, her frozen white body and fuselage merging in color with the iced surface, and the snow-filled sky.
But, like beautiful, lust and love filled red engorged lips, her tail cone proudly lifted in the air, right above an orange traffic cone below.
She shone, proudly showing her seemingly shut rear entrance, next to the bright red steel lips and tips of the tail and rear control surfaces, overcoming the frigid moment, promising the warm embrace of her seat to the chosen pilot taking command of the joytstick or yoke….
(Like A) Virgin / Snow (White)…..
Silently saying, "Come, take me, ride me and fly me, to blue skies, leaving a contrail of sighs, Captain Of My Soul."
© 2012 IMRAN
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Monday, January 30, 2012
(Like A) Virgin / Snow (White) - IMRAN™
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Swan / Lake - IMRAN™
I am just mixing up the style and subjects of photos I post here, as 2012 will shape up to be a year of major changes in my life.
I will have less time to post also, especially as I am traveling in Asia this quarter.
This is just an 'ordinary' shot compared to some of the wonderful landscapes and sunsets I have savored looking at and photographing. But this winter NY shot, on a murky brackish lake walking distance from my home, took longer to execute as the swan moved about.
I had to wait until it was perfectly framed within the hanging dead branches that would spring to life in Spring.
If you look closely you cn still see the reflection of the swan on the greenish gray water, and even see the tuft of grass hanging from it's beak.
I am posting this in the same Album (Gorgeous Greens) where I posted a photo of a swan on the same lake in lush green colors. I am not sure if it is the same swan wondering why I keep following it for so many years. :-)
I would love to have your feedback because I was not sure if I should post this shot. It had over 100+ Views on TwitPic where I test-posted it, so decided to try it here.
Let me know your thoughts, my friends. Best wishes from Pakistan...
© 2012 IMRAN
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Product Review: Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Pro FireWire 800 USB 2.0 Ultra-Portable External Hard Drive for Mac STBB750100
Hopefully the background of my decision will help you in making a decision, especially if you're using an older Mac laptop.
Having an early 2008 Apple MacBook Pro (which I got with the faster 7200rpm 200GB drive rather than the slower 250GB one) meant my having to keep my iTunes and iPhoto files on external bus powered USB-drives for several years. Generally I use Carbon Copy Cloner for my internal drive clones to external FireWire ones, and am OK using the USB powered drives like Iomega 320 and WD 160 in the past to keep my libraries.
I did want to upgrade my internal drive to the 750GB Momentus and keep all the data in one place, but opening up the MBP, going through that hassle, and then hopefully getting an early 2012 MacBook Pro with something like a 75pGB or 1TB internal drive (whenever they come out) would mean wasted money and effort on this older laptop. So, an external bus powered drive was my practical choice for now. When I saw the 500GB bus powered 7200RPM Seagate on the shelves of the Apple Store I was tempted to buy it immediately. Then I found that this 750GB 7200RPM Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Pro FireWire 800 USB 2.0 Ultra-Portable External Hard Drive for Mac STBB750100 version was also available in the market, and decided to go this route.
As always, ordering from Amazon was a pleasure, and even though it was fulfilled by another vendor (HPP Enterprises), even as part of a larger multi-item, multi-shipper order, everything went smoothly. The shipper was very quick in responding, understood my request to ship the drive soon as I will be traveling soon, and the drive arrived very quickly. The packaging was great from the shipper, and the Seagate packaging was OK too.
First thing you notice is how cheap, flimsy and low quality the Seagate product is in manufacture. It is a plastic case with silver sort of painted on it. It looks like some child laborer was given a spray can to paint drives, as the paint is uneven. The drive itself is light (considering how much data it lifts :-) ). The 2 interfaces included were nice to have, the FW800 and the USB2 to use on PCs. It came Mac formatted but that was irrelevant to me, as I partitioned it into 3 with Disk Utility.
The drive runs fine, fairly quiet, fairly fast. Not MUCH faster than the FW800 external powered ones, but quite good for bus powered. I did not notice the interface overheating as I have read some reviews mention. Pretty warm, but not burning hot. I did not test the USB one yet. The 200GB Carbon Copy Clone and even the 160GB iPhoto library moved over quite fast and without any errors or problems. Overall, satisfied with current (new) use. I cannot speak for long term reliability (e.g. the interface cable cheaply glued to the unit is said to be susceptible to breaking) but it is cheaper looking than it should be at $175 or so.
I am hoping the new MBP that comes out will have a 7200 rpm 750GB in it so I can then use this as the take-along on trips backup while larger desktop drives are stay at home backups. Hope this helps you in your decision as you consider a portable external drive for your Mac or PC. Please oblige with your acknowledgement if it is. Thanks.
Imran Anwar
Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac, Technology, Macintosh, MacOS X, Seagate, Storage, Reviews, MacBook Pro
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Dark Of The Moon - IMRAN™
SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, cropping, of ANY, ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved image as merely a 0.5MB JPG.
On the occassion of the STOP SOPA campaigns, and the massive popularity of the recent Transformers 3, Dark Of The Moon, movie, this was a perfect photo to complete the transition of my last several photos to something completely different.
The previous several photos had color themes transitioning from red to gold to orange to multi-colored bright smiling faces.
So, a dark night, with no Dark Knight to Transform the darkness, or crusade against global governments slow and inexorable movement to colonize the Internet, was the perfect time to go from the bright colored previous photo to this totally natural, but almost black and white full moon rising over my home in NY.
The Black and Dark Gray color theme was to complete the contrast from my previous photo, and to support the STOP SOPA efforts by leading web sites blacking out their pages to protest those government attempts to curb freedoms.
I am all for intellectual property rights, but not for them being used by governments to start controlling the avenues of free expression… of ideas, of dissent, of opinion, of protest, even of creativity.
Maybe we are howling at the moon, but the wolf, my dear friends, is often dressed in threads of government suits, regardless of what country or political system we live under.
© 2011-2012 IMRAN
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Less Weight More Smile Wait Less Waitress California - IMRAN™
SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, cropping, of ANY, ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved image as 5.5MB JPG.
My first trip to San Francisco had been after I moved to the USA in 1989. I flew there to meet my brother who had flown in from Pakistan via Tokyo. Our plan was to meet there, and then make a trip to Los Angeles with my old Lahore neighbor, friend, partner in my Internet business and co-founder of the .PK Internet email system, Ashar Nisar who had moved to the Silicon Valley area the same year.
During that trip we drove to LA but took the fastest highway routes. Over the years I also flew the SFO-LAX route a few times. But, going down the famed California Pacific Coast Highway was something it took me 22 years to getting around to doing.
Making it a 2-day trip, I had a beautiful trip. {See the Big Sur photo previously posted here. }
One stop was at Stearns Wharf, in Santa Barbara, to get a late lunch.
This naturally lovely, very sweet, fun, and very service driven young waitress at a place called Longboards Grill was a delight. And in that late afternoon falling sunlight casting a glow around her light hair and face, perfectly lighting up the deck umbrellas in an explosion of colors framing the picture, it became a lovely memory of a gorgeous moment, a beautiful girl, a great trip, and a collection of gorgeous colors.
I will have to dig up the contact info she gave me to tell her this timeless photo of hers is among the very few of non-landscape/nature shots I post here. {See Cat's Eye, for example.}
Slim, slender, fit, happy, smiling, serving food quickly, she was all about being a Less Weight, More Smile, Wait Less, Waitress!
© 2011-2012 IMRAN
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Nikon D300 ISO200 95mm 0EV f/7.1 1/200 sec.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Happy New Year, First Sunset 2012 Atlantic Ocean, Long Island, NY - IMRAN™
Happy New Year, First Sunset 2012 Atlantic Ocean, Long Island, NY - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.
I wish you all, my dear friends, a very happy new year. May the tides always bring glad tidings, may your days always be bright and your nights always glow with joy.
Sunset on the Atlantic Ocean, at Cupsogue Beach (Westhampton Beach), Long Island, New York. An unprocessed Nikon D300 image did have to be straightened -1.3 degrees in Photoshop before framing.
f/14 1/800 seconds, 450mm eq zoom, 0EV, ISO200, compressed to JPG format.
© 2012 IMRAN
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Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Imran Anwar Keynote Speech Filipino American Association Philadelphia An...
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Dealing With Nasty Criminals Like The German Los Angeles Arsonist & His Disgusting Mother
Imran Anwar · CEO and Founder at ICloud.PK
Janet Margrave I understand. But, then people who later claim mental illness for serious crime perpetrators should be able to show proof they tried to have the person committed as a danger to society. Then, the state, or whoever set them free, should be liable for the damage they do.Reply · 4 · Unlike · about an hour ago
Paul Birmele · Top Commenter · Santa Monica College
Imran Anwar And who is supposed to pay for that? The state is broke. The feds are broke. And guess what gets cut FIRST: Mental health support. The justice system is FULL of people who should have been put in a mental institution long before they committed a crime, but there aren't any. Talk to any sheriffs deputy or jail guard. They will agree.Reply · Like · 45 minutes ago
Imran Anwar · CEO and Founder at ICloud.PK
Paul Birmele , and who pays for THAT? The cops, the courts, the jails, the food, the upkeep, etc? We all end up paying that, ON TOP of the cost of the damage criminals do to lives and property. Almost all of whom claim some sort of insanity when that is the only way out of prison time. My proposal, seriously, is to outsource prisons…. abroad. Mexico, Pakistan, India…. then see how many people want to go to jail.Reply · 1 · Unlike · 41 minutes ago
Paul Birmele · Top Commenter · Santa Monica College
Imran Anwar Imran Anwar They already outsource prisons. They already privatized. 264 of them in the US are private. Has it made it cheaper? no. Scarier.
I think its nice that you suggest he not have any civil rights. I assume you are a native american and have lived here for thousands of years, but the rest of us and our ancestors came to America to live a free life, with civil liberties. Saying he should lose his is stupid.
Case in point: Some people believe in profiling at airports. This is something YOU should know about. That would mean any time YOU were in a public place the cops would search your whole body. Why? Because you aren't blonde and blue eyed. But they aren't supposed to. Why? Because in America we have civil liberties.
I SURE AS HELL DON'T WANT TO LIVE IN AN AMERICA WITHOUT CIVIL LIBERTIES.
Imran Anwar · CEO and Founder at ICloud.PK
Paul Birmele , I have news for you. I AM profiled when I am at the airport. But, no one strips me down… maybe if the TSA officer was a pretty blue eyed blonde I would not complain. LOL. But, seriously, in addition to that profiling, the dirtbag Mayor Bloomberg of NY was working closely with the CIA or others to spy on MULIMS (not some suspicious individuals). Did you do something about that to complain? NY Daily News, the rag from NYC, wrote editorials defending profiling Muslims… wonder if they'd write the same if cops used profiling to catch expensive car thieves in certain uptown parts of NYC. Bigots like LOWE'S management can express their hate for Muslims and get away with it without any of my fellow Americans stopping shopping there.Reply · Like · 17 minutes ago
BUT, hate is not against the law, crime is. This dirtbag's fat ugly b*&ch mother was illegally here, committed crimes in her own country, apparently ran a sensual massage service (with her son? who knows), and he hated America, committed serious crimes, and should be thrown in the slammer forever (or maximum sentence possible if that is not possible) after a trial. Sorry, but what part of that is taking away his civil rights?
The only good news in all this was this scumbag was not a Muslim. LOL. In that case, he'd be charged with terrorism. Sad, but true. LOL
---Technorati Tags: Justice, Germany, Crime
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Paristmas! Paris Christmas & Happy New Year! - IMRAN™
Paris is one of my favorite places to visit. And, like my other favorite city, Manhattan, New York, which is amazing to visit at Christmas, France's capital city is a spectacular experience at holiday season time.
My first visit to the United States, New York, was in 1987 around Christmas time, the same year I had spent my birthday Summer 1987 in Paris, among other cities of Europe.
So, it was great to return there, nearly 20 years later, but merge my NY Christmas and Paris Summer experiences with a magnificent, MY PARISTMAS… MerrY Paris Christmas.
This photo, taken at the world famous Galeries Lafayette in Paris, is one of the most unusual I have taken.
I almost lay down at the base of the Christmas tree, to capture the full height of the massive tree, and the stunning ceiling of the building. The golden decorations, balls and balloons created a unique view.
I had to do that with my pocket Nikon S6, while trying not to be accidentally thought of as a foreign born Muslim troublemaker trying to topple the tree! :-) I look forward to returning to Paris in the near future, God Willing.
As Christmas season draws to a close, and as 2011 nears its inexorable end, I leave you with this wish and prayer….
No matter how down things look right now, never stop looking up, at the bright skies and gifts of God's blessings just waiting to be placed at your feet.
Remember me in your prayers too, my dear friends. Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you, your families and loved ones.
© 2006-2012 IMRAN
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Ashes To Flashes, Dusk To Decks - IMRAN™
This SOOC {Straight Out Of Camera) photo was posted on TwitPic and already got 300 views there. To post if for your pleasure I did straighten it out 0.8 degrees and framed it in Photoshop as is my style here.
I had been waiting for this sunset. The weather was just the right amount of layered cloudy, which, as I had hoped, kept its promise of offering magical layers of colors that are unique and magical once in eternity visuals to savor.
As this stunning sunset unfolded outside my home, I put my longest Nikon D300 zoom lens (450mm eq) to use and was able to capture sky colors as if painted onto a soft canvas. by God himself, with the stillest portions of water off my beach acting like a mirror reflecting the sky colors to the lower left of the image.
The plentiful flashes of light from the tower and lighthouse 20 miles away had not yet started up, nor could my camera flash have fought off the ashes of darkness that had descended on the landscape beneath me.
Day turned into night, as the golden Phragmites (reeds) turned black and the sky turned golden in preparation of itself turning black. I was reminded of the eternal circle of life, and light, and death, and dearth of light, as the delapidated deck, its dead wood decaying becoming its own coffin, dissolving slowly into the icy waters and ravages of years under the dusk…. The words of a burial phrase came to my mind, which seemed here to say….
Flashes To Ashes, Dusk To Decks….
May we be blessed to live our lives to the fullest, happiest, blessed maximum, before, like the dusk signaling the end of day, our end of days comes. And may the canvas of our lives leave a portrait of great deeds painted on a landscape of blessings God opened before us… a painting of our lives for others to see, and, if we are worthy, savor our memories as we do this dusk.
© 2011 IMRAN
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Fiery Red Blue Sky Turns Blue Water Liquid Gold - IMRAN™
There's nothing that makes my spirits soar than flying over ocean beaches and yachting havens, in, under and through blue skies… except yachting and sailing in New York even in mid-December, under fiery red skies turning the cold calm Great South Bay waters beneath me bubbling hot liquid Gold. Unedited iPhone 4S photo taken across from my blessed home at sunset, as the only other mariner out there also heads home.
Technorati Tags: Boating, iPhone, Life, New York, Photography, Sailing, Yachting
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Cold Man & The Sea - IMRAN™
In keeping with the series of photos you have loved, The Old Men And The Sea, The Odd Man And The Sea, The Young Woman And The Sea, and The Young Boy And The Sea, I am happy to share this photo for which I braved the frigid weather on the Fire Island, Long Island, NY, beach last evening…
The Cold Man And The Sea is the perfect title. It is reflective of the hands in the pockets, as well as the fact that one of the waves rolling on to the shore soaked my dress shoes & socks, drenched my feet, and chilled my bones until I got the car heater warm enough on the drive back home to start to thaw me out!
Absolutely no color editing, changes or color processing done to this photo from the Nikon D300 working optimally again.
I hope you will enjoy this cold and coldly beautiful moment with warm feelings (and in your warm homes or offices).
© 2011 IMRAN
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Friday, December 09, 2011
The Young Boy And The Sea - IMRAN™
A starkly different scene, and set of colors, from two of my favorite photos previously posted… The ODD Man & The Sea (Nikon D300), and The Young Woman & The Sea (iPhone 4S), this photo was taken with my pocket Nikon Coolpix S6 during a wonderful trip to one of the most beautiful places I have been, The Baths at Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands.
I was trying to take some good shots before we had to leave to catch the ship, and I wanted to do so before the small boat with several men on it would pop into the middle of the frame.
But, this young boy, oblivious to the travails of travel schedules and science of scene setting was just running around.
I decided to capture the shot, and succeeded in catching him in mid-stride, confidently taking on the wild blue sea yonder but under his feet as the sands of time of the future awaited him.
And I wondered, if, by some weird chance of verbal fate, the little boy near the big rocks could possibly from some place called Little Rock.
I hope you will relive the first time you met the ocean when you enjoy this photo. What were your first memories of the sea?
© 2008-2011 IMRAN
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Monday, December 05, 2011
The Young Woman And The Sea - IMRAN™
It was thus ironic how quickly it came to mind when I met an old young beautiful intimate beloved friend, from recent years past, for an unexpected dinner and evening together. I had been planning to go to Smith Point beach to catch what was sure to be a beautiful sunset and dusk, when we connected on the phone after a very long time. So, we ended up going there together, a place we had last been several years ago, together, and with another love past and gone.
She, always patient, loving and caring, waited while I captured photos of the setting sun with my new Apple iPhone 4S. Not knowing I was watching her, she stood atop the forlorn log that had made the sands of Long Island its temporary home. And, I saw a moment that was as magical as it was timeless.
The Young Woman And The Sea, I said to myself as I clicked.
The wide angle view from an external lens I was testing on my new iPhone, the moment, the lighting, the log, the way the sun reflected on her golden tresses from the right, and the incredible way the tide had made the sand flow in the shape of angel wings around the log she stood on, I saw a timeless and absolutely unique moment in time…. a surreal almost masterpiece-like painting of life, accidentally brought to life, etched into memory, and now captured for the ages, by a mere cell phone camera.
I quickly snapped this photo and, later, at home, as I imported it into iPhoto, something struck a powerful chord....
We had been going through amazingly tumultuous and yet interesting and wonderful times in our respective lives when we last met and shared many wonderful experiences. And, as time, life, circumstances, people, events and fate dealt their hands, their blows, their stabs, it meant we continued our separate, still event-filled, surreal, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, journeys through life, until we got together again tonight. As these thoughts passed through my mind, in my ears Glenn's voice rang out truly, how "So much has happened, but nothing has changed".
As I pasted the lyrics to that wonderful song below for your pleasure, I could not resist but tweak some of the words (I hope the Text shows how I replaced some of the words {strike-through font} with ones even more suited to this moment {shown in bold}).
As you, gentle readers, dear friends, lovers old, new and future, read these words, just know, your most difficult, arduous, lonely journey is shared with me. It is shared by those you love, loved and will love. We may not be on the same part of the road, or hitting the same bumps at the same exact time, but, sooner or later, our paths will cross. I will take your hand, and be there for you. I promise.
One day, you will look back on the cold stormy nights and know that you did make it... because….
You Belong To The City
Original lyrics © Glenn Frey
Photo, prose, and this work © 2011 IMRAN
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sun Way Sunday - IMRAN™
Fall in New York is a time of contrasts, and surreal colors.
Because of some currently unresolved issue in my camera, it is not recognizing lenses, defaulting to the slowest speeds. Trying to get it to behave I randomly changed many settings back and forth, and kept shooting. Consider this random surrealism.
The clouds were dark initially but brightened and filled with color as the sun slid down. You can make out the steamy fog starting to form on the Atlantic Ocean in the left of the photo, making the terrain in the distance on that side hazier than straight ahead.
This accidental almost vintage toned shot just heightens the contrasts -- between the pinkish yellow sky from a sun bursting forth under clouds and the pale yellow green of reeds, drying grass and evergreens -- providing an interesting backdrop for the almost bleached looking boardwalk, like a path, a walkway to the Sun.
Sun Way, Sunday.
Have a great week and rest of the year, my friends, as the nights get colder, and longer, and, as the clouds get darker, and lower, remember, the bright new sunshines, the brave new springs, like hope eternal, will spring forth around the calendar's corner.
Hold my hand, and come with me...
© 2011 IMRAN
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Friday, November 11, 2011
The Hands Of Time On The Sands Of Time: Eid Mubarak - IMRAN™
Different worlds, different nations, different holidays… one planet, one day in time…
Eid Mubarak, Veteran's Day, 11/11/11….
All events, some twice a year, some annual, and some once a millenium, all reminders of the inexorable march of time, the hands of time, the ebb and flow, of life, of history, the world at our feet, across the sands of time.
Unedited/unprocessed iPhone 4 photo framed in Photoshop in about 5 minutes of work. Ironically, I had no time to work on the photo about time.... I had to do other work. Name text not perfectly centered, etc. but it's the thought that counts.
© 2011 IMRAN
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Monday, October 31, 2011
Imran Anwar on Imran Khan: Why The Future Of Awakened Pakistan Is Not In One Man's Hands
Imran Khan was about a decade ahead of me at Aitchison College, Lahore, Pakistan, and about 100 years ahead of me in popularity (and dashing good looks :-) ). He will always have my respect for sacrificing his popularity not for wealth but for a Cancer Hospital (in the memory of his late mother). With that one mission in life, he has done more good than Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharaff combined could do - even if they had tried.
However, there were two reasons Imran Khan struggled in his quest for national power.
Initially it was the typical curse of Third World countries like Pakistan... the same "awam" (عوام - public/populace) that curses crooked politicians is also the one that votes them in to power. Why? Because the crooks are the ones who will help peddle influence illegally, to get things done when voters ask for favors. Someone supposedly aboveboard will not. So, he, like Imran Khan, will stay on the fringe and not get real power. This one sad realization was one major reason I said good bye to my political aspirations in Pakistan when I left 20 years ago. (I do salute Imran Khan for staying and putting up a good fight, even at great personal risk).
Now that the Arab Spring in the Middle East, the Occupy Wall Street in the United States, and far more importantly, the middle class uprising in India against corruption has vested interests and tyrants (political and economic) running for cover, Imran Khan may have a real chance.
But, that brings us to the second serious problem. He is still hampered by lack of any clear (articulated) PLAN that he would execute on, if he was in power. Even his speech in his largest rally (which is being reported on by media including the New York Times, etc.) was another "letdown".
Image via WikipediaThe only Pakistani leader who could get away with rambling speeches, and still have a million people or more listening and jumping into action, was the late, once-great, later-tyrannical, deposed and hanged Prime Minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Imran Khan is nowhere near that man's stature, statesmanlike quality, popularity, or even vision. In the end, even with his charisma (that Bill Clinton would want to learn from), speaking ability (that Barack Obama would dream of achieving without a teleprompter), it was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's hubris, putting the interests of his crooked henchmen ahead of the nation's, and having no more vision and plan beyond getting re-elected, that got him hanged by General Zia-ul-Haq and the military.
Image via WikipediaImran Khan needs to do more than gather 100,000 people (and make a meaningless speech).
Even I can make a speech about what the problems in Pakistan are, name who the crooks are, and why we need to solve the problems....
But, without saying HOW I would solve the problems, WHO I would have as my trusted and nationally trusted lieutenants to execute the plan, I too would be as useless in power as Imran Khan will be - if he does by some twist of fate find himself in government.
Unfortunately, even 15 years in politics getting to this point, Imran Khan, whom I would love to see in power compared to the current crop of so-called leaders, has neither stated his vision, nor articulated his strategy, and neither has he shared a roadmap and execution plan. That is what makes Pakistan's leadership void doubly sad.
Even worse, regardless of his Western education and former lifestyle, Khan's current wave of popularity is driven by a populist state-the-obvious (politicians are crooks and have done nothing for Pakistan), blame-USA fervor (while sometimes sounding like a Taliban apologist).
Yes, the current leaders and even the opposition are crooks. News Flash: So are the ones in the USA and other countries. (Italy's Premier could give Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari a run for the money and the scandalous behavior). Yes, the USA has a shameful record in Pakistan. Yes, Pakistan's spineless sellout leaders have allowed even more exploitation for their own power. But, Pakistan had economic problems since independence. It has had ethnic near-civil war in different regions for decades before 9/11 or America's arrival in Afghanistan.
Without addressing specific problems that Pakistanis themselves tolerate -- and allow their leaders to create -- neither the cronyism-loving leaders, populist personalities, nor well-intentioned analysts, or worse, power-hungry dictatorial generals, can change the country's future.
As I have said in my own public speaking and on radio & television.... "National destinies are created by people, not by leaders, dictators, pedagogues, or sycophants. Pakistan needs to be saved not from America, but from (illiterate, violent, extremist, close-minded, crooked, corrupt) Pakistanis, by Pakistanis (who still believe in the great future that the nation is capable of achieving)."
What do you think?
© 2011 Imran Anwar
IMRAN.TV
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Commentary, Democracy, IMRAN, Opinion, Pakistan, Politics, Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, Bill Clinton
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Let's Talk TV: How The Post-PC Era Enables Mac/PC To Dominate The Post-TV Era
In my opinion, there are many different options open to Apple, in what strategy to follow. That also means several options for the technology industry in general to contemplate, rather than wait for Apple's moves and then trying to play catch up.
It would make perfect sense to see these "two" Apple operating systems (both with similar underpinnings) follow the typical development path -- of launching bare essential features, adding features, improving usability, improving performance, and then bringing in new features to start the cycle over again.
In this next decade, all this will be happening in an area not just of convergence in the technology arena (from cloud computing for consumers and converged infrastructure data centers for corporations), but also the form and factor areas of consumer & technology products; the convergence of entertainment & communications; and melding of the time we spend living, working & playing.
Image via WikipediaWe had laptops/desktops, and we had smartphones/iPhones. Then came the late Steve Jobs' iPad. Even as a Mac and Apple fan from it's launch as a company, a platform, and a way of life, I was not certain how big a market iPad would find. It went on to create a whole new market category.
More people increasingly expect to be able to do everything they can do on a laptop now on their iPad and even iPhone in many cases. And the reverse of that is an increasing expectation too. People want user interface, display quality, and app features from the mobile platform to be fit where appropriate on the desktop/laptop, the PC that is.
We can easily imagine retina quality laptop displays (requiring higher resolution handing in the computer OS), touch interfaces, etc. making their way into laptops and desktops.
By the very nature of us living in an increasingly mobile world, the lower price point for cell phones versus laptops, the greater convenience of tablets than carrying laptops, etc. we can obviously continue the market share of handheld mobile devices to grow over even increasingly 'mobile' wireless connected laptops.
But, much that I agree with Steve Jobs' contention that we live in a Post-PC age, it does not, at least in my opinion, mean the end of the PC. Instead, it is my contention that there is a huge opportunity for laptop (and desktop) makers to avoid becoming the platform that dies out and instead to make it the coming second age of the PC.
At the very least they can build in 3D, much more powerful iterations of Siri-like (voice recognition and context driven intelligent assistant) logic on board, rather than requiring an internet connection as the iPhone 4S version requires. These are just some of the features they can add, but they also have a huge opportunity to pull a side-slide instead of being left behind in a paradigm shift.
Everyone agrees that the TV industry is ripe for massive change - one that even Apple and Steve Jobs failed to truly deliver on with AppleTV.
Image via CrunchBaseWith the visionary, one-man-industryial-revoltion-creator, Steve Jobs, gone, Apple has a chance to deliver on this vision. At the same time, competitors, from Sony to Samsung, Mitsubishi to Microsoft, Goldstar to Google, all have an opportunity to remake an industry and remake themselves. As a bonus, they could prove Steve Jobs wrong on his Post-PC contention.Let mobile devices with cloud connectivity increasingly make Personal Computers less important for "Computing". Instead, make PCs drive the TV experience that industry and society are ready for, even though they don't know it.
Here is just one small bit of how I see this near-term future... [Long 'Vision' Sentence Alert].
The ability to have the same device intelligently streaming exactly the programs we want to see on our big screen, the ads we are less likely to scream at, an ability to click a micropayment to skip a commercial at a particular cliffhanger moment, an ability to click our Likes or + on shows, specific scenes, even product placements, or characters, all while working on a video our 1080p iPhone or smartphone recorded that day, being edited in iMovie, automatically shared in the cloud, and onto new services that enable friends and fans to show appreciation (or make micro-payments) for our masterpieces, with built-in mechanisms for leading channels to track popularity of our creations on the fly in dynamic new content marketplaces, and bidding on them in real time, so they get added to their programming catalogs and we get paid... all while watching House on any TV in the house.
Welcome to the Post-TV PC/Mac. It is time for your company and you to think of Mobile representing the Post-PC world -- with a parallel universe emerging, where the [PC/Mac/Your Product] is the hub of the Post-TV era.
Tech, television and electronics company leaders... Do touch that dial. Let's change the channel(s).
What do you think? Have your people call my people. Let's Talk TV™.
© 2011 Imran Anwar
IMRAN.TV
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