I guess you can call the movie sci-comma-fi as opposed to sci-dash-fi, writer-director Mike Cahill said of his new film, I Origins, which continues his exploration of science as an engine for emotional storytelling. Building from ideas involving iris biometrics eyes as a unique identifier Cahills new film exists at the intersection of the headier (some might say trippier) aspects of modern science with all-too-human issues of identity, spirituality and love.

In the film, Dr. Ian Gray (Michael Pitt) is a scientist determined to give sightless worms the ability to see, jump-starting the process of evolution and thereby disproving the existence of God or intelligent design. While working intensely with his assistant-turned-lab-partner Karen (Brit Marling),his head and heart are turned by Sofi (Astrid Berges-Frisbey), a bohemian free-spirit. A few years later, Ian is with Karen, committed to each other and their work. Then a database of human eyes turns up a match to Sophie somewhere in India a seeming impossibility that implies some divine intervention. Ian goes to India to find those mystery eyes.

As an artist, youre trying to transmit emotions to an audience, and the landscape, the frontiers, discovered by science are new lands to tell new stories in, said Cahill of the connection he sees between science and storytelling.

The film opened last weekend in Los Angeles and New York and will be platforming to more cities. As part of theL.A. Times Indie Focus Screening Series, Cahill, Pitt and Marling appeared for a Q&A after a showing of I Origins.

In the freewheeling conversation, the trio spoke of the creative process behind the film. Cahill recalled photographing exactly 273 pairs of eyes for the film its all on a hard drive, he said of the specific count while also noting more than 200 visual effects shots are in the film.

Marling and Pitt recounted how the trio went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to spend time with researchers there, learning the basics of working in a laboratory.

I dropped somebodys thesis in a petri dish, and it shattered, Marling said. We broke some hearts at Johns Hopkins.

Joked Pitt: I saw his heart shatter. She took like seven years of his life.

But for a good cause. It was a good movie, right? countered Marling.

Marling and Cahill previously collaborated on Another Earth, directed by Cahill and co-written by the pair. That film supposed that a parallel planet just like ours existed elsewhere in the universe, an offshoot of the scientific ideas known as string theory.

See the rest here:
Mike Cahill, Brit Marling and Michael Pitt on science of 'I Origins'

Title - New Dimensions of Yoga; Author - Osho; Publisher - Penguin Ananda; Pages - 200; Price - Rs.299.

Title - Nowhere To Go But In; Author - Osho; Publisher - Penguin Ananda; Pages - 429; Price - Rs.499.

As he travelled across India in the 1960s speaking against politicians and institutionalised religion, Chandra Mohan Jain (born 1931) came to be known as Acharya Rajneesh and, later, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. He was one of the most controversial among Indian mystics and spiritual teachers. He accepted divinity but rejected god, angering many. (He called the Vedas and the Bible paper boats!)

The sprawling ashram Rajneesh set up in 1974 in Pune attracted hordes of foreigners as well as Indians but soon became notorious for its permissive climate, leading many to dub him a "sex guru". With tensions mounting vis-a-vis Pune residents and the Indian government, Rajneesh left for the U.S. where he set up a commune at Oregon in 1981.

But conflicts developed there too, both with the locals and the American authorities. The commune collapsed in 1985, Rajneesh was arrested after he admitted to crimes committed by his followers, and was deported. With no country ready to admit him, he returned to Pune, where he died in 1990.

Notwithstanding his notoriety, Rajneesh's teachings - he wrote hundreds of books and delivered hours of lectures - have commanded a huge following, their popularity seemingly soaring after his death. It is not clear if the two books under review are from unpublished question and answer sessions he had with his followers or have been published earlier.

Osho, as he became known, was a great votary of yoga and meditation and proud of their Indian roots. He himself believed strongly in Zen and meditative therapy. Underlining that yoga is a science and not a belief, Osho called the ancient Indian teaching "a systematic methodology of scientific experimentation in the search for the truth of life". He preached: "Meditation is a lifestyle, not an activity."

For all the criticism he faced, Osho was extremely well read and could talk on any subject with authority. His knowledge base was vast. In the volumes here, he dwells at length on body and mind, disease, death (a favourite subject for him), duality, sharing, family life, the Hindu mind, the Quran, mantras, godliness, sex and celibacy, and more.

One may not agree with everything Rajneesh says. That of course goes for any spiritual guru. Nevertheless, both books make for great reading, more so for those interested in spirituality or Osho.

(21.07.2014 - M.R. Narayan Swamy is Executive Editor at IANS. He can be reached on narayan.swamy@ians.in. The views expressed are personal.)

Continued here:
Osho on yoga and meditation (Book Review)

parenting

Lisa Flam TODAY

2 hours ago

In her 55 years, Barbie has worn many hats: Shes been a princess and an aerobics instructor, a presidential candidate and police officer. Now, the wildly popular yet often controversial doll is joining the ranks of the Girl Scouts, and causing a stir once again.

The Girl Scouts teamed up with Barbies maker, Mattel, last year. Scouts can earn a Barbie Be anything, Do everything participation patch, the first ever with a corporate sponsor, and a Girl Scout-inspired Barbie doll is rolling out in stores.

Although corporate sponsorship is everywhere, from athletic stadiums to youth baseball jerseys, critics believe the partnership is a bad fit for the Girl Scouts. With her passion for fashion and impossible hourglass shape, consumer groups feel that Barbie in a scouting uniform sends the wrong message.

Barbie is basically a terrible role model for girls, and shes not about what the Girl Scouts principles are, which have to do with leadership and courage, Susan Linn, a psychologist and director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, told TODAYs Janet Shamlian.

The Girl Scouts strongly defended the partnership and the new doll, countering that Barbie has a wholesome image.

Girls and moms alike associate this doll with the outdoors, camping, giving back in your community, and we think that those are really positive messages to all of our girls, said Kelly Parisi, spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of the USA.

Mattel stood by its three-year deal with the Girl Scouts, saying in a statement to NBC News that Barbies mission is a good fit with the scouts, inspiring girls imaginations and showing them they can be anything they want to be.

See more here:
Barbie: Inspiration or 'terrible role model'? Girl Scout partnership sparks controversy