And so came summer...

What's Going On?

Marvin!

May 21st marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album. It's still ranked in the top ten of Rolling Stone's greatest albums of all time and I'm not sure a week has gone by in the better part of ten years when I haven't plugged into "Mercy Mercy Me", "What's Happening Brother" or "Inner City Blues"; the sound, the words and the feel are timeless.

I found myself skimming through an NPR piece commemorating the anniversary of the release this morning and I was inspired to pull my headphones on once again. I have literally listened to "Mercy Mercy Me" hundreds of times but the echo of the beat and that first "woooah" gave me the chills.

What's Going On has been my companion when I have been in love and when I have been heartbroken. It has moved me to think about how we live, how we consume and it has also moved me in the shadows of a late-night dance floor.

NPR's Felix Contreras said this about the album and "Mercy Mercy Me":

"Listen again to the words: Have things really changed that much? I hear references in 'Mercy Mercy Me' that could just as easily point to the oil spill in the Gulf and the recent nuclear crisis in Japan. It's hard to imagine any other song that still holds so many lessons for us, let alone in a mere three minutes and 12 seconds.

Marvin, you're forever.

"He was a tall rich kid who thought God talked to him"

I'm an avid reader of Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog over at the Atlantic. He's their culture blogger and recently posted an interview the author Pete Hammill gave on Osama bin Laden's death.

I haven't read any of Hammill's stuff, but his novels are littered across book shelves in my parents house. As my Dad -- a former journalist from New York -- recently told me, "Hammill was one of those great, edgy New York reporters. I remember the buzz around town when he first started. He is a once in a generation talent."

I think one of his novels is in my very near future. If there is a better interview out there about bin Laden's death and the reaction in the U.S, I haven't seen it:

What was your response?

Nothing dramatic. I didn't jump for joy because after 50 years of being a newspaperman, I realize that if you think you know what it's all about at the moment, you're usually wrong. I was also hopeful that nobody would say, "This brings closure."

Don't you think that killing him will help Americans deal with the losses we suffered on 9/11?

If you lost a daughter or son or father or someone at the Trade Center, it will follow you to your grave. You're never going to get rid of it just because somebody shot this asshole in the head.

What did you think about the Daily News' headline, "Rot in Hell"?

I wasn't thrilled by it because bin Laden couldn't see those three words.

But didn't you agree with the sentiment?

It's easy to be a tough guy when no one's going to come knocking on your door. I thought of all those people--the ones who jumped out of windows, the firemen, people running down the jammed hallways trying to get out. I thought more of them--but I'm glad they got bin Laden. I have no sympathy whatsoever for him--he was a tall rich kid who thought God talked to him. He used money he'd never earned to kill people and called it a holy mission.

Hot Knockers

There's a lot to like about Old Town, Alexandria. Historic charm blends with colonial elegance. Stately brick and clapboard homes, worn sidewalks and cobblestone streets make it an oasis in the sprawling suburbs of northern Virgina.

Most people come to Old Town for the architecture, antique shops or cafes but they often miss the small details that residents hold dear. For example, Old Town simply has great knockers...door knockers that is.

So begins the first installment of what will become a series on this blog: "hot knockers." Enjoy.

The Office Punka Wallah

Spring in DC is a fickle season. One day it’s cold and rainy and the next it’s mid-summer hot. Today was of the sneaky hot variety and temperatures around town hovered in the mid-eighties.

Coincidentally, my firm was hosting a large group in our conference room – a room notorious for its impossibly bad ventilation. This got a few of us talking about last-resort cooling systems, which reminded me of punka wallahs.

For those of you unfamiliar with punka wallahs, they were manual fan operators particularly popular in Raj India. The punka is a large, overhead, swinging fan and the wallah its power source.

It’s not so difficult to imagine Victorian British at dinner in their Bungalow, dressed to the nines, with a grumpy, mustachioed coolie sitting to the side, pulling the cord for their luxurious fan.

After losing myself in a Siege of Krishnapur fantasy, I returned to earth with this rather solid idea for the office. Let’s hire an intern and get them a pullin’. There is no reason they couldn’t answer the phones with one hand and power the conference room punka with the other – common sense if I say so myself.

So, if you’re looking for a summer internship with a Washington PR firm, or know someone who is, I have a “unique opportunity” for you.

A New Chapter

And back to Capitol Hill… I have little interest in changing the title of the blog but I returned to Washington two months ago. My time abroad already seems like a far-off moment tucked into a photo album. I have traded rickshaws for the DC metro and dumpling houses for Five Guys’ burgers.

If Washington was my far off, exotic adventure, and not home, what a destination it would be. The city is simply magnificent. Spring has come, with it Cherry Blossoms and a burst of activity on the Mall. L’Enfant’s elegant avenues are infested with tourists but this year I don’t seem to mind the plague.

To watch a 10 year old boy look onto the Capitol or the Lincoln Memorial for the first time will get you if you’re not careful. I suppose a little flag waving isn’t such a bad thing.

So, I’m going to begin writing again. I’m going to give Washington the same attention I gave Bangalore, Hong Kong or Taipei.

It’s good to be back.