about pete selling stuffs

thanks for taking up this issue, aditi,a worthwhile public issue, and one thatlies at the interface of our aesthetic andmoral values and brings to bear on thisissue the serious understanding of mattersof symbolization that you have.no, i don't have ideas about what kindsof protest make sense in a world wherethe public space of dissent has beenhijacked so badly by so many inappropriateforms of discourse that many people nolonger take the appropriate forms seriously.but best of luck.

probably we can start a campaign through Net. We should write in the newspaper. You can post it to your blog.

This just shows how low and petty is the culture of modern technology in relation to the culture of soul and spirit. On the one hand, we can ignore their abuse of culture by saying that since they don't understand, they may as well make clowns of themselves. On the other hand, they cannot so blatantly exploit a revered song for their own little ends and get away with it. I have personally not seen the ad but feel sickened that our modern culture can reveal itself so crudely for the sham and deceit that it really is. If you wish, I can help in writing something to the Chairman or CEO or Head or whatever telling him to his face just what he and his company really are. If he were sitting in his luxury den at the end of a tiring day, would he need a sleek car more than a humanising song? And is such a song meant to minister to a car and all that it represents? The song is superior to the car and always will be. Since this fact is uncomfortable to the makers of our modern world, they will make the song a slave for the march of their products. May they be damned. If you take any initiative by way of a written protest or otherwise, please include my name as a supporter. Thanks so much for bringing up this issue and not keeping silent.

hi dekho eta tokhono i ... protest er jaigai asbe .... jodi ...ora accurate lyric use korto .... jehetu ekhane ora hindi te gaan ta kora hoechhe ...sutorang ... korar kichhu nei ...tobe amra jeta korte pari .... seta .... oder against e ekta community kore setake popular korar chesta korte pari ....eta amaar dharona ....tobe kono protest e jabaar age ... ekbaar gaan er copyright er portion ta plz check kore nio ...ei prochesta nebaar jonno onek onek dhonnobad..

Sorry if i haven't replied, but i haven't been online. First a bit of info on little boxes:Though Pete's version rocks and I consider it his song, unfortunately his version is not the first. It was originally written by Malvina Reynolds, and to add to the outrage, Her version is currently being used by soem american show(Weeds) as their theme song(the show is a bout a desparate housewife growing crack in her back yard!How sad can you get???)Not only that their getting some strange rock bands to perform it i think.... As for using it to sell stuff....sigh...must think a bit more....

Pete Seeger to SELL stuffs?

I am absolutely outraged at the new advertisement for Zen car

they are using Pete Seeger's 'little boxes' to sell stuffs?

that is totally unacceptable, I dont know how this has happened

i am looking for ways to protest against this.

if anybody has any idea please comment.

I remember michael jackson doing a similar blunder trying to sell Beatles lyrics (revolution) to sell shoes. he faced stern opposition and Nike had to take the ad off air.

NOT EVRYTHING'S FOR SALE

little boxes -- lyrics

Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky tacky

Little boxes

Little boxes

Little boxes all the same

There's a green one and a pink one

And a blue one and a yellow one

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same

And the people in the houses all go to the university

And they all get put in boxes, little boxes all the same

And there's doctors and there's lawyers

And business executives

And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same

And they all play on the golf course and drink their martini dry

And they all have pretty children and the children go to school

And the children go to summer campAnd then to the university

And they all get put in boxes, and they all come out the same

And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family

And they all get put in boxes, little boxes all the same

There's a green one, and a pink oneAnd a blue one and a yellow one

And they're all made out of ticky tacky And they all look just the same

FILM FEST THIS YEAR

thought i would write down a bit of precis-cum-review of the movies seen in this years film fest. the first one i have seen is from switzerland, language french, director fredevic Choffat

REAL LIFE IS ELSEWHERE/La vraie vie est allieurs

which at some level looked like a critical analysis of one night stands, two women and one man embarks on their own separate journeys to separate destinations. one an academic looking forward to defend her project in Marseilles, helps a man in the train who, as he says, have lost his purse and other papers... another girl shifting her home to a Naples gets relentlessly annoyed by the lonely guard...another man gets stuck in a platform as he misses the last train to Berlin to meet his girlfriend and his newborn boy, meets the free spirited bohemian. they all go through different experiences, ending up liking their respective companies in various ways and in various degrees only to resume their regular (unreal?) lives from the next day. the actors were really natural, and i don't know what it is with trains and romance, it keeps on coming back to movies, thinking of nayak (the hero, satyajit ray.

the second one i saw this years in one of the few showcase movies from China, director Quing Hong,

SHANGHAI DREAMS

gives a glimpse of unbearable repression in rural China, specially for young girls. on the one hand they are exposed to the western culture which they are helplessly prone to imitate. on the other there is a strict ban on bell bottoms and Bony M. their predicament is worsened by their parents desperate attempts to leave the village to look for a better life in Shanghai, putting on hold their present as a consequence. all leading to terrible tragedy to young Quinghong's life. very touching tale...the movie felt a little longish, but it brought out the slow built up of pressure and tension.

A NON-BELIEVER’S DATE WITH THE CELESTIAL

Ten odd pairs of eyes were looking at me… reflecting shock, disbelief, fear… What did I say? “earth is flat and sun goes round it” “I am a psychopath killer” “Iraq has weapon of mass destruction” … nah, none of those, said something far worse.. “I DO NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO ENTER THE TEMPLE, I CAN STAND OUTSIDE AND WATCH OVER YOUR SHOES AND BAGS WHILE YOU PAY A VISIT” Understand the gravity of the situation now? No? let me elaborate.. Time: early morning Place: a boat on the river Ganges, Varanasi The Temple in question: do I have to mention? Once my co passenger’s shock started breaking into disgust, anger, pity, sympathy, indifference and various other emotions, I changed my mind. I have to see the place, got to feel the faith. So I started approaching the centre of earth – Needless to say, I was not alone, a few thousands went along As I was approaching the sacred zone down the slippery alley, jostling with hundreds to stop myself being separated from my friends, trying my best to keep myself from falling or being crushed or crushing someone else, marvelling at the monkeys who jumped on from the electric wires to the golden trisuls through the humongous bells and at the heavily armed policemen on the verge of losing it in an attempt to keep order ….I felt the presence of supernatural …this cannot be natural… tens of thousands regularly swarming through a lane that can hardly accommodate a single person queue and coming out without a broken bone !!!…no logic can explain this All pushing, shoving, elbowing, shouldering one another to beat the other, yet stopping just short of breaking into a fight … this is no ordinary phenomenon! I looked around … narrowest of lanes and largest crowd imaginable… people, rickshaws, autos, cars of all make, buffalos all bumping into each other as a normal routine … the only order is that of chaos… And those buffalos and cows… what to say of them… what glossy fur! What strong built! And they know exactly where to go through those maze of lanes! And they stop for no one! … why should they? Look at them and look at us ungraceful, feeble creatures! It is our duty to sense their presence beforehand and make way for them…as so we do… … had the good fortune to witness celebrations of an auspicious day …devdeepabali…witnessed the never-ending staircases lit up with millions of diyas, saw Ganges being jammed with 500odd boats… innumerable people filling up every centimetre of those eighty ghats ….

What colours! What magnanimity! What enormity! What grandeur! There is miracle happening everywhere! There is magic in every nook and corner ! There is divine in all over, (specially in those heavenly rabris and peras) The oldest living city! More vibrant than any city on earth! Beautiful, fascinating, celestial Varanasi!

THE LOTUS EATER'S MAIL

Hello all,
Hope this finds you hale and hearty.Here is an update from my side, (though some of you know this already)This January I have joined .......... - This means a long cherished dream have come true --This means my adventures in Silchar Assam are over for good, and of course, I am missing them,--This means I am career wise in my 'happy ever after' stage---This means there is a problem… When you get something you hoped for and struggled for so long, you cannot immediately find and an answer to "what now?"
I am back in my old surroundings and running dangerously close to having a totally sedentary life from a reasonably active one...It is a transition from Ulysses (to strive, toil and seek) to Lotus Eater (why should life all labour be?)[due acknowledgement to lord Tennyson]
That is the curse (or is it boon?) of familiarity I guess...You don’t have anything new to discover, nothing to catch you by surprise, you been there, done all that.
Recently a friend from Silchar visited me and was absolutely smitten by kolkata. I felt jealous, I love every bit of this city, but I cannot feel that sense of wonder.The only new thing I keep doing here is keep reminding myself "I am not a student here. not anymore" when I enter the statuesque buildings. Expectedly, I feel small, humble, very young and a little weighed down, but nothing to worry, I will take it all in my stride.My stint in Silchar has instilled that much confidence in meThat already seems like a distant dream, and I am glad it happened.