The Shanghai Restoration Project

No, not architecture, business news or anything of that sort. Of the new tunes I’m sampling right now, this is what I’m hooked on: The Shanghai Restoration Project’s latest release, out this month, called Zodiac. A great blend of electronic, jazz, hip-hop, traditional music and great vocals. It’s perfect. Check it out.

Your pledge: Start with just 5 hours

If you’re thinking about how to make a difference in your community, the Corporation for National & Community Service proposes a good and easy way to start — by volunteering just 5 hours of your time, maybe to a food bank, a nonprofit, helping local families in need or cleaning up your community. And now, as an added bonus, Starbucks will give you a free brew if you sign up in the next couple of days. It’s really easy to get involved, lots of volunteer opportunities to choose from, free coffee, and best of all you can make a difference.

Zimbabwe then and now

A friend of mine who recently returned from Harare described how Zimbabwe has been devastated by the political and economic turmoil. People carry around bags full of money just to pick up a few groceries — if you can find them at all. And no one tries to steal your money — it’s just not worth it. Especially now that the inflation rate has hit an unfathomable 231 million percent, and the government has started issuing a $50 billion note.

My family moved to Zimbabwe in 1980, the year of its independence from Britain. It was a good time for the country because of a newfound hope and promise. It was a beautiful country but even then, at the best of times, we were always dealing with droughts, food shortages, and frequent trips to South Africa to stock up on supplies. We left Zimbabwe in 1987 when it appeared that things were starting to deteriorate. We would never have imagined that it could get this bad. And it doesn’t seem to be at the bottom yet.

One of the best sources of news about the country and its struggling neighbors is the dedicated coverage on the BBC’s site. In particular, its recent reportage about the stunning cholera epidemic, exacerbated by the collapse of government services as well as all functioning hospitals, is truly heartbreaking.

Still good radio: KCRW

Does anyone still listen to radio? I don’t. Not generally. Like most people I know, my music interests fall into such niche genres that my favorites were rarely played on the radio even before the prevalence of digital music. And now, there seems to be no need at all to listen to the radio. With one exception: KCRW.

Angelenos know and revere this Santa Monica College-based public radio station, regarded as one of the premier launchpads in the country for new artists. If you’ve never heard of it, you have to give it a try. They’ve “broken” numerous music artists with unique shows like Morning Becomes Eclectic, Metropolis and Chocolate City, with veteran hosts like Nic Harcourt, Jason Bentley and Garth Trindad.

This is the station credited with first exposing audiences to artists like Radiohead and Coldplay. Their music covers a wide range, but it’s the electronic, alternative and low-tempo stuff (think Thievery Corp, Owusu & Hannibal, Stephanie McKay, etc.) that I appreciate most.

They also have great news, arts and cultural programming, but I’ve been listening to the station on and off for many years primarily to learn about new artists. When I take a break from my iPod, and just don’t want to have to think about what to listen to, I still stream KCRW.

Building a green city: The Masdar Initiative

My family lived in Dubai years ago, at the beginning of the massive economic and building boom, but even then it was clear that the United Arab Emirates was undergoing some dramatic changes.

The Masdar Initiative to build a ‘green city’ is one such monumental effort worth tracking. It provides a platform to find and build solutions including those involving sustainable energy and water conservation, and to drive the commercialization of these research technologies. It will also create new industries and new markets for the UAE, and provide an interesting model for the rest of the world.

Chronicling the end of Wall Street

There have been some interesting articles published recently by Michael Lewis who has a lot to say about the inner workings of Wall Street players since he wrote Liar’s Poker two decade ago. For Portfolio and the New York Times, he chronicles the end of the financial world as we know it, with some interesting insights– for example, even in the chaos of our current financial meltdown, why does much of the world still look to the United States for guidance on money matters? I’m looking forward to Lewis’s next book.