Tag: Mecca

Dylan’s time a changin!

Years ago, I rode in the back , my friend and his wife in front, and I popped “The Essential Bob Dylan” on “to knock, knock ….on heaven’s door” all the way to a Vietnam beach. On April 10th, the singer will be there in person, finally.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20043290-10391698.html

American celebrities with conscience have fascinated with Vietnam e.g. “Mr & Mrs Smiths“, De Niro, J Fonda and now Bob Dylan.

Lady, lady, lay….A lot of teach-in and sit-in to culminate in his only appearance in the land which has sparked so much division and protest (take Wisconsin and multiply by 1000).

A legend in his own right, Dylan carried his guitar to NYC, played at clubs

and became a prophet of sort to his generation. During the 80’s, Dylan and  Springsteen flirted with God and Country, in that order. “You got to serve somebody” if you are “Born in the USA“.

Now, after a gig in Vegas, his promoter booked him for modern-day Mecca: China and Taipei. Vietnam will be something of a side tour, for catharsis.

Dylan, like other musicians of his time – Neil Young for instance – nurtures a love-hate arm-length relationship with the “System”. Damn if you do, damn if you don’t,  “in, but not of it”.

The WSJ pulled a quick punch when the man was almost down (saying he couldn’t keep up the beat during his Vegas’ gig).

At 60, you are glad to stay alive (his early date died just recently).

Keep knocking on heaven’s door.

One of these days, it will open up for those who are persistent.

Meanwhile, we live on, never stop questioning while the answers remain elusive, as if  “blowing in the wind”.

I can’t help noticing a stark contrast between two iconic photos: the Woodstock’s couple wrapped in a blanket, and the lone Japanese-quake woman among the rubbles. The former had a choice to be outdoor and enjoyed a 3-day of Peace, Love and Music. The later was forced to be victim of a 8.9 earthquake.  To celebrate or lament our existence, we need artists to point us to a more transcended reality (Dylan showed up at the concert by G Harrison for victims of Bangladesh flood).  In Dylan, it’s the combination of poetic justice, lyrical poignancy and one-of-the-kind eccentricity that set him apart from other revolving-door names (Ricky who?).

Dylan and Vietnam seem to be a match made in heaven, without all the knocking. Both seemed to survive myriads of controversies and contradictions.

Both remain mystique, alluding our attempt to put people and places in a box.

Moore’s Law for Tech Giants

If Rip Van Winkle woke up today, he would be surprised to see Facebook. If he had waken up a decade ago, he would have read about Google.And the decade before that, Microsoft.

Except this time, Mark Zuckerberg is much younger than the other founders, dominated the media landscape quicker . And he donated part of his earnings to charity, much earlier (Bill and Melinda Gates took off to India a few Window versions later).

In short, everything (concept to contribution) seems to follow Moore’s Law which was first applied to the speed of chips.

When Microsoft opened its Silicon Valley branch, and Facebook its first summer frat house on the West coast, we know where Mecca for techies is.

One can only hope the rise of Facebook inspire others, despite its floundering IPO.

Tech year, like dog year, ends quickly. It just seems like yesterday, when Bill Gates

tried to size up Netscape, or Murdoch MySpace and WSJ mix.

Today, half of the staff  are clearing their desks, leaving behind half of My Space For-Lease. Moore’s Law is ominous when applied outside of chip manufacturing.