Late Morning Dili Haat, Delhi

This is Dilli Haat, an outdoor market where fine artisans sell direct to consumer. The white haze in the photos is actually the smog or the dust or who knows what but the city is cloaked in it. It makes almost midday seem like dawn. The winter sunlight feels weak and cold, filtered through this dense layer of fake atmosphere.

Baron Von Luxxury's remix is Mark Ronson's top pick (too)!

The kind of candidate I'd like to have a beer with

I can't wait till tomorrow. It's a few minutes past midnight on Monday, so actually early Tuesday, Nov. 4th and in one small town out East, the first votes have already come in. It feels like Christmas Eve! Tomorrow, there will be people waiting to streak in the Mission, to raise a glass at Joey and Eddie's in North Beach, the world will be watching.

What's been amazing to observe and appreciate over and over again over the past few months is that we can finally experience admiration for the personal and intellectual qualities of a political leader. When was the last time?! I see it in kids and in men and women of all ages and backgrounds. We have a role model, someone we'd be excited to call a friend, and yes, the kind of person I would like to have a beer with.

I also think of these times as marking the beginning of an irreversible leftward shift in American politics. There is something about the Democratic party that is starting to appeal to universal values. I think it's because we can finally see a tangible representation, in Obama, of the ideals we've always believed in -- honesty, humility, a challenge to any extreme imbalance of power, zero tolerance for spin, a leadership style based on restraint, grace, intelligence, compromise without weakness -- it is the better face of America.

And if we think about what the information age and technology have brought about, combined with the inconvenient truth that the world's resources are finite and as humans we have to be guardians of our planet in order to survive, then I think we are marching inexorably toward a future where 2 things will be true. First, institutions will become more democratized as the internet increases transparency and returns knowledge and power to individuals and communities, and second, our interdependence and vulnerability in the face of finite resources will force a level of compromise and cooperation that will reshape individual behaviors, community action and global alliances.

So I don't think these will be just cyclical changes anymore - where there will be some backlash against openness, access and the empowerment of individuals and unfortunately, I don't think there can ever be a return to a sense of abundance about the our planet's resources. So if we can use these truths for good, and organize alongside a leader who symbolizes these values, I do think we are marching forward on a path that we cannot turn back on and it is so deeply exciting.

MOZART & THE VIEW UP AND DOWN COMMERCIAL STREET

Tonight, San Francisco was insanely charming.

A surprise moment at the Gershoni biannual as Mozart, invoked by this spirited performer, suddenly interrupted our margaritas.


Opera at the Gershoni party from Indu Subaiya on Vimeo.

Later, this is what the Ferry building looked like in a quick as lightning glance down Commercial street, which intersects Grant in Chinatown.



And then the actual intersection of Grant and Commercial.

LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life from Indu Subaiya on Vimeo.

PUERTO VALLARTA OFF SEASON

THE MOPED GANG

On a warm Indian summer night's walk to North Beach, we came upon a scene outside a Chinatown bar - a crowd of kids in hipster-nerd-sexy-schoolmarm attire milling around. We decided to buy a mai tai and hang out. We answered a nerd trivia question - Who is the Captain of the Starship Enterprise? - to get into a dark basement with a small but packed dance floor. Everyone seemed to know each other and we couldn't figure out how. We speculated - the same college? Some type of art-school fraternity? Nope. It's a San Francisco Moped Gang - the band were also members of the gang - and yes, then we remembered what we saw on the way in - lots of mopeds.

TRYING IS HARD AND WHY YODA SHOULD SHOVE IT

This week in Indu's life thanks Winston Churchill and Esther Dyson.

Esther for saying "Always make new mistakes." And Churchill for saying what the graffiti on this phone booth in Venice, CA says.



Also the person who said "Anything worth doing is worth doing badly."

I kind of love that and I think if you've tried something hard you know exactly what that means. You can't be self conscious about looking stupid if you are taking a risk and starting a start-up is about as exposed and illogically risky as it gets.

SIGNS I LIKE IN LA - Part II

INDIA CELEBRATES HER INDEPENDENT SPIRIT

August 15, 1947 is a milestone in Indian history but I can't bring myself to call it Independence Day. India as a place, a people and a construct has been a powerful influence on global trade, culture, religion, academic study and philosophy for thousands of years. To define its "independence" as something that started 60 years ago seems inadequate. Nevertheless, I'm in awe of the courage it took to overturn centuries of outside rule. It was a time of pain and bloodshed too. Today I feel respect and pride. (Pics of Gandhi and Nehru from 1946 courtesy of Rhoda D'sa.)

MAN PRAYING AT GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY

SECRET LA

One particular table at the sunny and sweet Alcove Cafe and Bakery in Los Feliz has secret drawers with messages left by errant customers over the years.

SIGNS I LIKE IN LA - Part I

ON A FERRIS WHEEL IN ECHO PARK

MY FIRST LA EARTHQUAKE

I was on the phone with Matthew Holt when my chair felt like it was shaking. I thought it was the pesky landscaping and waste trucks that go by right outside our bungalow on Willey Lane in West Hollywood. Within seconds CNN's breaking news said it was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. Later in the afternoon, at the Whole Foods' fish counter, a small group of us shared our earthquake stories. For the next 24 hours, there's a not insignificant chance that there will be a bigger one.

CAT CALL WEHO STYLE

"You. Look. Adorable! I love your skirt!!!" Gay man calls out as I walk past see-and-be-seen cafe on Santa Monica Blvd.

DANCE FLOOR, CLUB RHONDA, LA

STRAWBERRY LETTER 23

A "why we love California" afternoon in Golden Gate Park. Strawberry Letter 23 was playing as these rollerbladers appeared to perform for the camera. It became the soundtrack for the day in my mind. And we also saw butterflies and carnivorous flowers and fluorescent blue shimmery beetles that made me rethink natural selection; all told, a sunny clearing in our urban, laptop-centered, interweb haze.

SPRINGTIME IN INDIA

In our hearts...

My grandmother, Eunice Christabel D'sa, was taken from us this morning. She was surrounded by family, love and support in the comfort of her home in Bangalore, India. She is more with me in spirit today than ever before. I have to leave to get on a plane to host the Health 2.0 conference in a couple of hours. It is what she would have wanted, she was proud of this gathering and this movement. Nothing serves as a more powerful reminder of our commitment to make healthcare more human-centered than moments like this.