Re-imagining by @rishadt http://rishadt.posterous.com Most recent posts at Re-imagining by @rishadt posterous.com Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:12:00 -0700 Creativity and its Future. http://rishadt.posterous.com/the-future-of-creativity http://rishadt.posterous.com/the-future-of-creativity

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What is Creativity?

The three definitions that I found most helpful are:

a) Creativity is not copying (Ferran Adria)

b) Creativity is connecting the dots (Steve Jobs)

c) Creativity is copying in new ways ( Unknown)

My definition conflates these three and is:

Creativity is connecting the dots in new ways that resonate 

The key to the future of creativity is understanding that we are living in an era when new dots are being formed. To be as creative as possible one must be aware of all the possibilities and then become adept at leveraging them. 

In addition to the traditional dots we connected to tell stories which were word, audio, graphic and video we now have at least three powerful new dots that will make our stories and brand efforts resonate even more.

1. The mobile dot which merges analog/digital and person to place.

2. The API (application protocol interface)  dot which allows creatives to link via api's to the content and data that is available on the Internet.

3. The participatory dot which recognizes that people now participate and contribute to the story telling and creativity.

Also one must not use the new dots or technologies because they are cool but because they resonate. They resonate with the other dots, they resonate with the brief and most importantly they resonate and build on a consumer/people insight.

Here is a great example of how Vicks Thermometer leveraged the mobile dot and the API dot in new ways that resonated powerfully. To read more about this case look here.

 

And another terrific example of leveraging the participatory dot in ways that resonate with a category and its consumers.

 

In no way, am I suggesting that that one cannot develop great work and be highly creative with some of the traditional dots of audio, video, word and graphic. It is just that we now have the ability to leverage additional tools in our kit. 

Raphael was a great painter but maybe if he had known about perspective painting he would have had even more ways to express himself. 

What we need today are Picassos' who like the great artist embraced, utilized and invented new ways and forms including Cubism and Collage.

The future of creativity are people who can connect dots (old and new, existing and to be invented) in new ways that resonate! 

 

 

 

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:27:00 -0800 Analog Feelings From A Carbon Form In A Digital World Of Silicon Objects http://rishadt.posterous.com/analog-feelings-from-a-carbon-form-in-a-digit http://rishadt.posterous.com/analog-feelings-from-a-carbon-form-in-a-digit

Bitquit2

 

The 2012 edition of the International Consumer Electronics Show just concluded in Las Vegas.

I was fortunate to be one of the 140,000 individuals who attended the event which combined dazzling technology, agressive networking, pontificating pundits, client/partner/internal meetings, and alcohol infused get togethers, meals and parties.

After three days of participating in all the activities noted above and listening to wonderful experts my summary is things are getting larger, thinner, faster, clearer, cheaper and more connected, while everybody is lusting after or leaking into everybody else's business.

CNET, Engadget and the New York Times, among others have wonderful insights and reviews on what was hot, what was not and what it all meant. I encourage you to read their summaries for their thoughts on the cornucopia of gadgetry.

This post is not about the things and the objects I saw in eight hours of walking the floors but on the feelings and thoughts I took away. It is what one carbon life form felt among the twinkling of silcon wizardry.

1. Optimismn: Despite the currently over pessimistic perspective about the economy or the state of the world, things are actually getting better. And technology is absolutely magical in making it so. More and more people can afford some of the most mind blowing technologies that let us discover more, entertain more, express more, learn more, be more productive in finding a job or at a job and save more. For a cost of less than $250 a month, a family can have a 50 inch state of the art television, a tablet, a powerful home computer, a couple of smart phones, a decent internet connection, and access to  streaming movies via Netflix and music via Spotify.And the power and connections of Google, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and much more. Globally, smarter and cheaper phones are providing opportunites for both a better life and people revolution. We all have "God like" power.

2. A Need For Feminity and Fashion: At an AOL sponsored meeting, Christian Kugel shared research that nearly half of folks would be willing to sacrifice a family pet than rather give up a computer or mobile phone. These objects have become a part of us and we have a strong emotional connection to them. At the same meeting, Tim Armstrong decried how all the interfaces and devices were undifferentiated in looks, designed primarily by a male tech culture at platform companies. I came to the same conclusion when I saw how many companies were hawking accessories that allowed people to add a sense of personality, art, whimsy and fun to jungle of black and glass. From cheap Chinese plastic to highly expensive Italian leather. From characters to sounds. From Swiss Army knives where the blades were replaced by USB keys, tiny cameras and much more. As we carry around more silicon objects and in many cases they become smaller and wearable, there is a huge opportunity and need for fashion. I do hope Vogue and not just Wired has a big presence at the show in the future.

3. Connectivity is a two edged sword: Everything is getting connected from large objects like televisions and automobiles to smaller objects like pedometers and watches. Humans like interaction, but we will soon reach the stage of more than occasionally wanting to be disconnected. It was only when I left the panels, meetings, gatherings and put down the phone and just walked around either the show or between the hotels or swam could I think and actually be me. Otherwise I was finding myself in the flow of the status quo. It is important to recognize that our minds are being both enriched but also colonized by connectivity. If I am constantly connected and interacting with you and your thoughts what will happen to "me"? Man is both a social animal but also a solitary one. Robert Frost noted that " Two roads diverged in a wood and I -  I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference ".

4. Mongrel living will create huge new business opportunites: Humanity is slowly blending silicon and carbon, analog and digital to become a hybrid mongrel being. We are more empowered by "bits and bytes"  and more enlivened to feel the  "bursts and bites" of the world and people around us. There will be experts in advising us on this intersection from psychologists to film makers, poets and a range of artists. There will be companies that not only manage our online reptuation and "klout", but also how do we relate to the lingering online presence of those we loved and are not around and should we plan for an ongoing silicon presence when our carbon presence gives up the ghost? More pragmatically, connected homes will require hundreds of thousands of contractors from electricians to builders to become mini-geek squads as short silicon life cycles intersect with the longer life cycles of brick and wood.

As humans and as businesses we will need to learn to live in a world of carbon and silicon, of being off the grid and being deeply connected, of being here and there and everywhere. We will have to become comfortable with our inherent duality and oddly come to realize that Andy Grove's advice of "only the paranoid thrive" has given way in a mongrel world  to one where we will have to be schizophrenic to thrive.  '[tweetmeme source="@rishadt" only_single=false]'

 

 


 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:19:00 -0800 How Connections Let Us Tell Stories In New Ways http://rishadt.posterous.com/two-examples-of-how-connections-spur-creativi http://rishadt.posterous.com/two-examples-of-how-connections-spur-creativi

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Technology is enabling creativity via new ways to enhance stories, express ideas and discover new worlds

1. Storify ( http://storify.com )  allows social media to add to and become a new form of Journalismn. Before the world of social media and mobile phones with cameras that allowed easy uploading of material such storytelling would not have been possible.

 

2055-11202011100746pm

 

2. The Creators Project ( http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/ ) enables is a showcase where technology meets the arts. A great place to see how folks from around the world are leveraging the Art of the Possible.

238684-11202011101158pm

 

At its heart the Internet is a connection engine that allows people not only to transact and discover but also find new ways to express and share their thoughts, ideas, dreams and stories.

Joan Didion wrote " we tell ourself stories in order to live", and today we have new ways to tell our stories which often allow for more vivid ways of being alive.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Thu, 08 Sep 2011 03:55:55 -0700 "Music happens in the space between the notes" http://rishadt.posterous.com/music-happens-in-the-space-between-the-notes http://rishadt.posterous.com/music-happens-in-the-space-between-the-notes

Space_between_the_notes

Claude Debussy's statement holds true for most forms of communication. The non verbal gestures at a meeting. The unsaid rather than the said. The stirring of memory with desire. But most of all in poetry which is described as "perfect words in perfect order" but where all the action happens somewhere else. For instance...

My son makes a gesture my mother used to make. The sun
    in their eyes.
Fluttering their fingers. As if to disperse it.
He does it again. The sun, like the drifting ashes of a distant
    past. The petals
Of some exploded yellow roses.

The miracle of it.
The double helix of it.
The water running uphill of it.

From- "My son makes a gesture my used to make" by Laura Kasisch

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:16:00 -0700 What Art Has Got To Do With It http://rishadt.posterous.com/les-quatre-cents-coups-physical-education-les http://rishadt.posterous.com/les-quatre-cents-coups-physical-education-les
Beautiful_and_pointless-_a_guide_to_modern_poetry
A couple of weeks ago on a flight to Silicon Valley, I removed three paperbacks from my brief case to peruse on the long flight. (Yes, I do have a Kindle and an iPad but I enjoy reading books the old fashioned way). A book of poetry, The Paris Review (a quarterly magazine on the arts that is bound like a book), and a third a story about Victor Muniz an artist whose work had been featured in a documentary I had recently seen called "Wasteland"
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The gentleman sitting next to me on glancing at the books asked if I was a writer or an artist. When I told him what I did for a living he looked again at my reading material and asked "what has art go to do with your job?"

My initial answer was not much but that I loved reading, movies and going to museums.

A few days later thinking about his question, I decided art has everything to do with many aspects of work, particularly in spurring innovation.

I define innovation as "fresh insightful connections". For more please check out...http://rishadt.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/becoming-innovative/

Art truly serves as a catalyst to innovation in at least four ways. Each of these feed fresh thinking, insights or the ability to see connections. First, artists transform beauty out of materials or words or a point of view by connecting things in new combinations to illustrate the reality of being human. Second, art particulary the written arts allows you to be in the mind of somebody else, allowing you to feel and understand from a different perspective and therefore gain insights. Third, art teaches you to see or shows you how to see in fresh new ways. And finally, the arts can be used to help communicate and make a point better than stating it directly.

To illustrate this I will use how I learned something new or had a thesis underlined by three "artistic incidents" over  the past week.

1. Photos that ask you to see differently: This week Chicago had one of its pleasanter days and I decided to walk over to the Art Institute of Chicago at lunch time. The walk through Millenium park is beautiful and as a member of the Art Institute I try to get in a lunch visit monthly and spend time in a new exhibit or favorite gallery. On this day there was an exhibit of photography in the Modern Wing by a Los Angles artist named Uta Barth.

Ms Barth leverages photography in a novel way to get you to both see what you may not have seen but as importantly to make you forget what you are looking at but be aware of the resultant feeling.

Her work which can be simple as conveying the feeling of light on a curtain or a shadow on a kitchen wall is inspired by a line from Robert Irwin which goes..."Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees".

Uta_4
Uta_2
My takeaway was to a heightened sense of awareness to everything we see or miss seeing around us. While this clarity may lead to a more sensitive life, it can also open us to the phrase or snippet or number that can be the seed of an idea. Often it is in the crevices and niches of a flow of data and verbiage that the pearl lies.And by seeing without putting things into containers and pre-concieved notions we see anew.

To enjoy more of Uta Barth's here is a gallery: #mce_temp_url#

2. How Poetry helped inform me about what is personal and how to think about privacy and how people use social media :David Orr is a poetry critic for the New York Times who has recently published a book called "Beautiful and Pointless". In the opening chapter titled "the personal" he seeks to show how "private" and "personal" are two very different things. 

David provides a list of sentences:

Bob Smith was born on November 9, 1971.
Bob Smith's favorite password is "nutmeg456"
Bob Smith's Social Security number is 987-65-4320
Bob Smith has a foot fetish.
As a child, Bob Smith had an imaginary friend named Mr Pigwort.
Whenever Bob Smith hears the sound of a high wind, it makes him think of his wife, who died ten years earlier, and he hears her voice faintly calling, as if from a great distance.
He notes that the first three sentences contain deeply private information but they don't seem personal like the last three.

Mr Orr then states:

"The point here is that our conception of "the personal" has to do more than the data of our lives, no matter how sensitive. It has to do with how we see ourselves, how we see others, how we imagine others see us, how they actually see us, and the potential embarrasment, joy, and shame that occur at the intersection of these different perspectives"

More insight and wisdom about how people may relate to social media in that sentence than all the conferences and privacy seminars that are filled with braying experts!

3. How a 50 year old French classic reminded me about leadership: This Memorial weekend it rained a great deal and I took advantage of being indoors by re-watching two of my favorite films by Francois Truffaut. One of these was "The 400 Blows" which gave birth to "new wave" film making and is a story about a young boy in a hostile world.

There are many amazing scenes in the movie including its classic ending freeze frame. One scene that is both hilarious and telling is one where students have to follow a gym teacher on a run along the streets of Paris. Furiously blowing a whistle, running ahead of all his students, and oblivious to them the teacher does not realize that all his followers are peeling away from him.How many times do leaders bark out orders and run ahead to storm the hill without bringing their teams along with them ?  Either emotionally by "following but not really following" or physically by leaving and finding other jobs some of the most talented folks leave the pack. Do leaders recognize that in their urgency to  move ahead and win at all costs they risk losing the people they most need? Check out the short segment...

via youtube.com

 

My original answer to my flight companion continues to be true. I watch movies, read books including poetry and go to musuems because i love doing so and find it fun and fullfilling. But while it makes life better, I also believe it makes my work life stronger.

I encourage folks to embrace the arts because not only does it remind us that it is life we are living  but it can make work so much more meaningful.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Fri, 27 May 2011 15:00:00 -0700 The Literary Portal http://rishadt.posterous.com/the-literary-portal http://rishadt.posterous.com/the-literary-portal

Arts & Letters Daily

 

There is a place on the web that curates the most interesting writing, opinions and points of view.

Its a literary Drudge Report

A single portal into a life time of learning...

http://www.aldaily.com/

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Thu, 26 May 2011 12:15:00 -0700 Roger Ebert. On Life. http://rishadt.posterous.com/roger-ebert-on-life http://rishadt.posterous.com/roger-ebert-on-life

 

Roger Ebert is probably the best living reviewer of movies and with the exception of Martin Scorcese the most learned man about film. Some years ago beset by illnes that severly constrained day to day living, Roger Ebert began to adapt to his new constraints via implementing technology (including twitter) and a new outlook on living. in 2010 Esquire conducted a long and thoughtful interview with Mr Ebert which I recently re-read. It continues to be one of the most compelling pieces I have ever read. A sample of what you will find if you click on the link is here...

 

I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.

 

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/roger-ebert-0310-7#ixzz0gDmqUh0D

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Thu, 26 May 2011 12:10:00 -0700 Six Word Stories http://rishadt.posterous.com/six-word-stories http://rishadt.posterous.com/six-word-stories

Ernest Hemingway once claimed he could write a great story in six words or less. His story:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn:

Margartet Atwood once wrote:

Longed for him. Got him. Shit.

Here is a site dedicated to ultra compact stories for the snack size addicted web age

http://www.sixwordstories.net/

And there is a book dedicated to six word memoirs

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18768430

There is infact a cottage industry around six words. Just Google "six word stories"

Tweets compared to this are never ending novels...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Thu, 05 May 2011 11:03:00 -0700 Using Emotion To Sell The Benefits of Technology http://rishadt.posterous.com/51943296 http://rishadt.posterous.com/51943296

Google increasingly realizes that one must use emotion to sell the benefits of cold code and algorithms.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sun, 24 Apr 2011 05:40:00 -0700 In Praise of Poetry http://rishadt.posterous.com/in-praise-of-poetry http://rishadt.posterous.com/in-praise-of-poetry

I once read  literature described as "words in perfect order."

And poetry as "perfect words in perfect order."

Poetry

I try to read a book of poetry book every month and this year was lucky to have read the Pulitzer Prize winning book before it was announced.

This years winner "The Best of It" is a terrific and very approachable book. http://www.pulitzer.org/works/2011-Poetry

But, to get a daily fix of Poetry or just learn more there is no better place than Chicago based Poetry.Org (and soon there will be a wonderful building in downtown Chicago dedicated to poetry)

Explore http://www.poetryfoundation.org/

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sun, 24 Apr 2011 05:25:00 -0700 The Single Best Short Story Ever Written http://rishadt.posterous.com/the-single-best-short-story-ever-written http://rishadt.posterous.com/the-single-best-short-story-ever-written

Chekhov
Buy the book or you can print out or just read online "Lady with Lapdog"  here http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyWith.shtml

Best to read one evening as the sun is setting and you are near a large body of water...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sun, 24 Apr 2011 05:06:00 -0700 A Platform for Creative Portfolios http://rishadt.posterous.com/a-platform-for-creative-portfolios http://rishadt.posterous.com/a-platform-for-creative-portfolios

How do creative people do it? To see them strut their stuff go here...

http://www.behance.net/

The_dark_fiddler

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sun, 24 Apr 2011 04:50:00 -0700 Spark your inherent creativity by visiting My Modern Met http://rishadt.posterous.com/spark-your-inherent-creativity-by-visiting-my http://rishadt.posterous.com/spark-your-inherent-creativity-by-visiting-my

http://www.mymodernmet.com/

Moonthief

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:32:00 -0700 Life is short.Art is Long. http://rishadt.posterous.com/life-is-shortart-is-long http://rishadt.posterous.com/life-is-shortart-is-long

The Google Art Project. Explore it and keep on zooming and you will have a better look at the art in some ways then people who are in the musuem.

http://www.googleartproject.com/

Altesnational

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:05:00 -0700 In case you were wondering what Social Media is http://rishadt.posterous.com/social-media-explained http://rishadt.posterous.com/social-media-explained

Social_media_explained

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:31:00 -0700 Innovation in Alcoholic Libations... http://rishadt.posterous.com/innovation-in-alcoholic-libationshttponwsjcom http://rishadt.posterous.com/innovation-in-alcoholic-libationshttponwsjcom

 Read about the magic created at Aviary. http://on.wsj.com/ensv6Y

Aviary

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Wed, 06 Apr 2011 04:49:00 -0700 Untitled http://rishadt.posterous.com/48632541 http://rishadt.posterous.com/48632541

Tumblr_lievearssw1qc0k3vo1_500

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Mon, 04 Apr 2011 06:07:00 -0700 The best technology disappears leaving only magic http://rishadt.posterous.com/the-best-technology-disappears-leaving-only-m http://rishadt.posterous.com/the-best-technology-disappears-leaving-only-m

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sat, 02 Apr 2011 04:06:00 -0700 Photography is about a probing eye which combines light, mood and memory in new ways.. http://rishadt.posterous.com/httplightboxtimecom http://rishadt.posterous.com/httplightboxtimecom

Explore http://lightbox.time.com/ for amazing pictures and what is the best if not among the best curated photograpy sites on the web

Japanese_phone_booth

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala Sun, 27 Mar 2011 12:19:00 -0700 Wonderful Music...Listen... http://rishadt.posterous.com/example http://rishadt.posterous.com/example

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1177260/Rishad_Tobaccowala_B_W.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snC35CNJHwd Rishad Tobaccowala rishadt Rishad Tobaccowala