ryan's legroom

Happiness

I heard a profound statement this past weekend. Something that I think I have always subconsciously thought, but never considered.

It was about the idea of happiness or the lack thereof. Is happiness a symptom of billions of dollars worth of advertising? Is it a manmade product or human instinct? Is it even attainable?

My friend will not admit happiness. He instead prefers contentment. I agree with his overall philosophy, but I am still pondering the idea of human instinct. There are certain things that humans just do from day one. I can’t help to think (or maybe dream) that smiling is one of them.

iPhone 3G : The Elephant in the Room

Did you see Steve Jobs yesterday? As expected, he released the iPhone 3G. It is faster, cheaper, and all around better.

I followed the whole thing from my office on TechCrunch.com. I am such a dork for technology!

Last night I watched the full video of Steve’s keynote speech, and I was perplexed by the obvious elephant in the room.

As he was going through his checklist, I noticed that one thing was missing. I give Apple all of the credit for opening up the iPhone to developers. I am thrilled that they have dropped the price (a huge drop I might add). But Steve kept talking about the “top reasons that people have not purchased an iPhone”. In my head I was thinking…. uh…… because you are forcing us to switch to AT&T. This of course was not mentioned.

It is the single biggest factor that keeps me (and most people, I think) from switching to the iPhone. I have Verizon Wireless, and the service is FAR superior to AT&T’s in the New York area. I should not have to give up great service for the iPhone.

As most companies are beginning to push open standards (as is Apple with the iPhone SDK), Apple has chained the iPhone to a network, and that should be number one on Mr. Jobs check list.

I LOVE THUNDERSTORMS! I miss a good old southern thunderstorm!

A JIHAD FOR LOVE

I saw a film last night call A Jihad for Love. It was about the stuggle of muslum homosexuals and the constant fear that they live in.

It was a beautiful film. The characters envoked intense emotions, from the mostly gay audience that I have not seen in any film for a long time. The memories of our own guilt, peut-être.

It follows the lives of about four different groups of people. One is a previously married gay man who is living in South Africa. He has been a very outspoken supporter of gay rights in the Islamic world.

His story most parrells maybe stories that I hear in the United States. He got married because he thought he would change, then realised that it wasn’t possible.

Another character was arrested for being gay in Egypt. He spent around 4 years in jail (1 year and then resentenced to another 3 years). He now lives in Paris where he is struggling to find a home.

The final 4 characters are Iranian refugees seeking Canadian citizenship. They are currently waiting in Turkey, to find out if their refugee applicaton is accepted, or if they will be shipped back to Iran.

The stuggle that these people face is something that millions of people all around face every single day. I faced it in South Carolina, though not to the degree of being faced with the option of death. While I love my family, they do have a seriously shortsighted view of the world. This is what motivated me to move all the way to New York. A place that I imagined throughout my childhood as a mecca of openmindedness. New York (like any city) has its flaws, but damn am I lucky.

If we all just learned to love, we sure could curb the suffering. There is a little hope, as some Muslim people are beginning to become to accepting. Let’s just cross our fingers.