I need some time alone. I need to get out of town. I need to reflect on the chaotic lifestyle I live in this modern age. I need to admire simplicity and the complexity of nature. I need to write and to discover myself in words. I need to look down from a mountain peak in the morning and be able to write until the sun sets and the words become to dark to see.

I want something I can’t have. What I what, I need. I can’t have what I need. I can go there in my dreams, but if won’t suffice. I can wish and wait but no such dream turns to reality. In a year time, I will follow any road that leads to natures beauty and a reclusive retreat.

Labels: nature, prose, simplicity

The United States just reached a population mark of 300,000,000 people. It's sort of hard to believe for most Americans, but it might seem like nothing to the Chinese who have an approximate 1.3 Billion people (a billion more then us). Luckily, our population is growing at a steady and healthy rate compared to European nations who have been loosing populations steadily for quite some time. Competition from Europe, in terms of population at least, is not a problem. Asia is a different story. I truly believe there, indeed, is strength in numbers. While China is rapidly industrializing, the United States might face another Superpower on the playing field. My advice to the world is to stop nationalistic bickering and united in solidarity for the advancement of human civilization, while simultaneously preserving cultural identity, pride, and history.


courtesy: nytimes


U.S. 300,000,000
World 6,550,963,974
11:46 GMT (EDT+4) Oct 17, 2006 ]

Labels: china, civilization, industrialization, population, solidarity, superpowers, united states

Finally, a film I can watch over and over again, a sort of film this year has been missing. Prior to seeing this film, Little Miss Sunshine stood as my favorite of the year. That changed soon into this new film by the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Michel Gondry. This new film, which has many parallels to his previous work, is filled with dreamlike sequences filled with a plethora of artistic accents such as stop-motion photography of cardboard and fabric cutouts. Its main character suffers from a condition in which has trouble differentiating dreams and reality. The film is rightfully called The Science of Sleep.

The film started with a pleasant surprise of French title credits. Entering the theatre, I had no clue the film was foreign. While it is a ‘French’ film, more then half of the dialogue is in English (which the two main characters find easiest to converse with). Another surprise came when I noticed the main character seemed awfully familiar; it happened to be Gael García Bernal (who played the lead role in the Motor Cycle Diaries, portraying Che Guevara).

The film progressed from being quite understandable to, towards the end, a jumble of images and scenes which confuse but at the same time touch inner feelings with great finesse–which made it something memorable, by no means a run of the mill movie. I could truly feel the power of Stephan, the main character, and his love for his apartment neighbor, Stephanie.


Quite an interesting coincidence to have the same name in male female forms, but that’s what movies are for. Another interesting aspect of the film was Stephan’ job: an artist who draws huge natural and man-made disasters for a calendar company. His mother got him and was reluctant to start, but would soon find friendship from his co-workers.

Emotions rushing from wonderful to tragic, I began to feel that this film was neither comedic nor tragic, but something else: perhaps it would be considered a ‘dark comedy.’ Although the film may seem hopeless or desperate at time, it left me with a feeling hope and the passion of love.

Labels: art film, film, foreign film, french, indie film

This is my new blog and after a year of the old one, I was ready to start another. This one is different then the last in that it doesn't strictly focus on politics, but rather on anything that sticks me as interesting enough to talk about. My core focus topics will be: film, art, literature, politics, and society. Some other things I’ll write about might include travel logs, humanities, architecture, science/technology, school related stuff, stories/poetry, food, and activism. Hopefully I’ll include it all!

As for my other blog, Truth and Ignorance, I’m wishing to make it more accessible to the average student. By that, I mean making it more interesting and including more then one opinion. To achieve this goal, I’m hoping to open it up to several writers (possible 5-15) who will contribute posts to make the blog something that students will wish to visit daily. Ideas? Contact: arikwithana@gmail.com

Also, for anyone interested in joining my new organization–Students for a Democratic Society–which will be a local chapter of the larger regional and national organizations, please contact me at: arikwithana@gmail.com

Or if you’re interested in writing for a collective Northville newspaper, please contact me. It might be titled Appeal to Reason, or something else depending on what the writers what. It will be a collective effort and will be one-hundred percent democratic, please contact me at: arikwithana@gmail.com