Most Fun Here at Macworld 2009

This is my second Macworld conference that I've ever attended--meaning that I take in the technical talks given as part of the Conference and Expo. Although, I've attended the Expo for some years now (along with my bosses) in up-and-back one-day trips, I do the MacIT segment of the conference. In general, this is an interesting and good learning experience, at least for those who support the Mac in the enterprise.

Also part of the Macworld event, the current N.Y. Times Tech Columnist, David Pogue presents his Macworld Live with David Pogue show. I've been following him for years (before he got famous and was merely a lonely Mac pundit in the 80's). You can check out his NYT column in my blog links. This morning's show was the best so far. It included Ge Wang, creator of the Ocarina iPhone app, and those crazy guys who put on the hilarious You Suck at Photoshop tutorials/soap opera.

But, for me, the highlight remained his first guest, Matt Harding, the creator of the Dancing Matt 2008 video:

I guess I don't watch enough YouTube and missed this phenomenon. But, I found the video (and music) an entralling piece of humanity. I can't quite nail it in words, but the breath and scope of the people and cultures on display gave me a nice bit of hope among our current mix of crises and violence (that we never seem to tire of as human beings). That, and the translation of the words in the song (titled Praan) being sung in the video (copied from the FAQ page on Matt's web site):

The English version of the poem is called "Stream of Life." Here it is:
_____

The same stream of life 
that runs through my veins night and day 
runs through the world 
and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life 
that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth 
in numberless blades of grass 
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life 
that is rocked in the ocean-cradle 
of birth and of death, 
in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious 
by the touch of this world of life. 
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages 
dancing in my blood this moment.

_____

To fit the song, we had to chop things up a bit; turning one verse into a repeating chorus and omitting other sections. Here are the lyrics as they ended up in the song, translated in a more direct way from the original Bengali:

_____

I will not easily forget 
The life that stirs in my soul 
Hidden amidst Death 
That infinite Life

I hear you in the thunder 
A simple tune 
A tune to which I will arise (3x)

And in that storm of happiness 
As your music plays in your mind 
The whole wide world 
Dances to your rhythm

I hear you in the thunder 
A simple tune 
A tune to which I will arise (3x)