The internet and everything it has changed, wrecked, impacted, overthrown, empowered and otherwise touched in our lives. Online communities, self-publishing, blogging, social media, apps, gaming – how these transform who we are. Also my work in this field.
Why is a life of dignity one that a woman has to earn through abuse & assault (and fight to keep) when men have it handed to them as birthright? I’d love an answer to this instead of potshots at how I’ve framed the question. And since I have never received one, I chose the path of feminism.
IdeaSmith is not just my name My Clubhouse bio says βThat is my name. Say it like that only.β IdeaSmith is a filter on who bothers to read the bio and who wants you to explain why you wonβt fit the boxes they have in their heads. βWhat an idea,…
Life is a cycle ride. You can twist that metaphor so many ways. You never really forget how to, even if you check out of actively doing it for a bit. It’s about balance. It’s when you stop thinking about it & just do it. Would death be when you…
Clubhouse has really brought home the meaning of this phrase. The ability to read a room is a fundamental social skill involving waiting, watching & listening. Any adult who doesn’t display this is choosing not to. People wander into rooms with clear titles, raise their hands to be called up…
I started cycling. It’s a wobbly road back into the world, hard for me used to coping with fear by retreating into a shell & forgetting that I’m in a shell. But August approaches. It’s Leo season, that promises & demands strength, courage, vitality, things that cannot be contained inside…
I wrote to all the guys who list ‘long drives’ as what they like on dating apps
I lost a friendship sometime ago because the person took something I said on one of my Instagram Lives, personally. I don’t know what was said or which Live it was but I know I didn’t say anything aimed at them or about them. I know this because I’ve been…
I met Scorpio in a chatroom. Reeling from heartbreak, I blundered into a new internet in 2000. We traded barbs, volleyed rock lyrics. When I was all cried out, I wandered back. This time we chatted. Then emailed, a song lyric here, an essay there, a letter then a poem….
People say get over it, never realizing that time is a broken, winding street, and the soul, a hemline that catches, snags and stains with every step. Conquer it, they say as if the past is a monster, a trap, not a blanket of known thorns, an old jacket that…
In 2019 I wanted to create content about US race relations & its parallels in caste/religion politics in India. I knew many Indians consumed only whitewashed/uppercaste content. Reading non WhiteMale writers opened my mind to how history is shaped by the powerful, how it impacts public attitudes, personal relations &…
In the 2000s, I helped curate the desi blogverse as part of a filter-blog called DesiPundit. This was way before Facebook force-fed us timeline propaganda and Twitter created the phenomenon of rage-typing both via algorithms. Back when, we relied on each other with networks the old-fashioned way and recommendations the…
Art that is honest & vulnerable makes you want to be honest & vulnerable too. Well, honesty is infectious, or so I want to believe though I keep learning time and again, that that’s not true. But art showcases vulnerability, makes honesty accessible, believable, livable. It makes vulnerability look appealing…
Fleeting Mutual Intimacies are….
I lost all my Instagram Drafts, at least 15 Drafts in stages of completion. Gone in one shot. Backup? I have a Gallery, Text Notes. But an Instagram post is more than a camera pic and hastily done caption.Last year I felt burnt out by the viciousness of social media,…
I saw this on Twitter and decided to ask Instagram because my peeps there are more responsive. Even so, I was surprised by the questions that came in. And really touched that I was asked. Thinking about my answers helped me pry loose the heaviness that has lain on my…
We are a generation of people identifed by our tastes and experiences. Not our ethnicity, religion, education or even profession. So it becomes a matter of personal identity to have experienced certain things. To be the person that carries the entire bibliography of a particular genre. To use an artist’s…
I don’t understand what the problem with selfies is. I remember a time when people would keep handing their camera over to others and asking them to shoot their pictures. THAT was really annoying. Selfies put people in charge of their own vanity. Also, vanity. It’s defined as ‘Excessive pride…
Minimalism. Colour pops. Office beanbags and gym balls. Ironic teeshirts & cause-stickers for formal wear. Technology slimmer than our desired waistlines. Value systems bigger than paychecks. The planet. The economy. Endangered species. Endangered morals. Flexible schedules & flexible boundaries. We survived Y2K (of which an entire generation exists in blissful…
Why would I? Iβm a woman. Nothing about virginity in any form is appealing to me. Virginity is only attractive to someone who knows/has/is very little and fears anyone with more knowledge/experience than them. I donβt claim to know everything and if I were smart enough to, why would someone…
So I did the #10YearChallenge. And this is what I figured out about myself. View this post on Instagram A post shared by IdeaSmith ππ±πββοΈ (@ideasmithy) I’ve not gained a lot of kilos in ten years. But I have accumulated memories that give me a certain jaded, wary, not-much-impresses-me-anymore look….
Pain. Disbelief. Grief. Guilt. Rage. And also…Joy.
I switched dating apps. No, this time it wasn’t because awful people drove me away. It’s because Tinder kept demanding my phone number and wouldn’t let me login without it. I’ve never indulged corporations that think they can hold me to ransom, especially when I have a choice. So my…
Last month, SXonomics met the Stance Podcast team. Stance Podcast is an independent arts, culture and current affairs podcast exploring diverse, global perspectives. Presented as a transatlantic conversation between broadcasters, Chrystal Genesis in London and Heta Fell in San Francisco, Stance aims to inform, entertain and inspire action. We met…
Last month, SXonomics met the Stance Podcast team. Stance Podcast is an independent arts, culture and current affairs podcast exploring diverse, global perspectives. Presented as a transatlantic conversation between broadcasters, Chrystal Genesis in London and Heta Fell in San Francisco, Stance aims to inform, entertain and inspire action. We…
I’ve been quiet on the blog, haven’t I? It’s been a very busy first half of the year. I’m not complaining because it keeps me from worrying about other things that I can do nothing about. And the work has been good and fulfilling. Ishmeet and I got invited to…
