Tag Archives | video

A year in Japan

By on March 28, 2013 in Japan, JAPAN, News/Events

Travel writer Mariellen Ward in Tokyo Japan

My life in Tokyo, Japan

One night, many years ago, I dreamt I moved to Japan. I had just moved in with my boyfriend in Toronto and we were buying furniture and decorating. After that dream, I bought black lacquer bedroom furniture and Japanese prints for the walls. Then, he was offered a job in Japan.

We flew to Tokyo on Valentine’s Day, on Singapore Airlines, my one and only first class flight so far. When the beautifully attired air hostess offered me Johnnie Walker Blue Label, I thought she was mistaken about the colour of the label.

On Valentine’s Day, I landed at Narita International Airport to begin my new life. My life in Japan. I had never been to Japan before, never been to Asia before, when I agreed to move there. Tokyo was my first Asian megalopolis. The population of the greater Tokyo area including Yokohama equals Canada. Continue Reading →

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Introducing: The Breathedreamgo bumper

By on June 13, 2012 in News/Events

Travel videos coming soon!

I’ve taken a couple more steps towards making travel videos by taking a course in using Final Cut Pro X — the new version — and finishing my video bumper. [A bumper goes at the beginning of videos.] The video was created by Mike Corey of KickTheGrind TV for me with music supplied by composer Mychael Danna — who is my oldest friend. Among many other movies, Mychael wrote the music for Monsoon Wedding and Water — two of my favourite movies. This piece of music, Fuse Box, is from Monsoon Wedding. Isn’t it evocative?

Continue Reading →

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Introducing Breathedreamgo travel videos

By on February 10, 2012 in News/Events

Travel videos coming right up!

Thanks to Mike Corey of KicktheGrind TV, I now have a stunning opening sequence for upcoming Breathedreamgo videos … now all I have to do is make some! Isn’t this lovely?

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India’s soft power and what it can teach the world

By on October 21, 2011 in India, News/Events

India’s pluralism in the 21st century

The country with the best story wins

I love TED Talks. They almost universally deliver intelligent and insightful ideas from charismatic and entertaining people. This is a particularly good one. Indian author, politician and Twitter personality Shashi Tharoor talks about India’s “soft power” — in other words, India’s ability to influence and make impressions upon the hearts and minds of people. IT expertise, Bollywood and yoga are just some of the things India is exporting with great success all over the world. But there is something India has, and does, that is better than all of this: India’s robust and abiding pluralism.

According to Shashi Tharoor, when it comes to soft power, “It’s the country with the best story that wins.” And India has the best story — a story that rests on the platform of political and religious pluralism. With 23 official languages, dozens of religions, hundreds of  dialects and on and on, India has (largely) achieved consensus on how to survive without consensus. Watch this video. It’s very inspiring, as well as fascinating.

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Commonwealth Games opening ceremony video

By on October 4, 2010 in India, News/Events

Commonwealth Games India

Spectacular, flawless and Indian

I felt a swell of pride and a wave of relief as I watched the truly gorgeous opening ceremonies of the Commonwealth  Games in Delhi, India on October 3, 2010. This is just a small portion, and not even the best part. You showed ‘em India! Jai Hind!

If you enjoyed this post, you can….

Get updates and read additional stories on the Breathedreamgo Facebook page.

Buy Song of India, a collection of 10 feature stories about my travels in India. E-book version is now only $1.99.

Subscribe to the free — and inspiring! — e-newsletter, Travel That Changes You.

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Video Friday: Sita Sings the Blues

By on August 15, 2010 in India, News/Events

Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley

Video Friday: Trailer for Sita Sings the Blues

The greatest break-up story ever told

Oooops, missed Video Friday on BreatheDreamGo because of the Eat, Pray, Love juggernaut. (btw, did you know that juggernaut is a Hindi word? It refers to Lord Jagganath and the massive chariots pulled through the streets of Puri during the annual Rath Yatra festival. Apparently, the frenzied faithful used to throw themselves under the chariot’s wheels to be crushed to death — much to the dismay of the British Raj.) This video is a trailer for the delightful full-length feature film, made by cartoonist Nina Paley, about both her break-up and the Indian epic The Ramayan. You can watch the full-length version and read the true-life story behind this inspired creation and how Paley decided to release copyright on it on her website, Sita Sings the Blues. Continue Reading →

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